It was Charlie’s turn for a break, but Vanhi never came back. He’d felt a nagging dread since the moment she left. The fear had stayed at a low churn for an hour or so. But now, with every passing minute, it was spiraling out of control.
Finally, he couldn’t stand it and went to get his phone from his locker. As he got near and entered the combination, he could already hear it buzzing away inside, and his stomach churned. It was Vanhi’s mom calling. He recognized the number and her voice and wondered if it was really her.
“Charlie?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Mrs. Patel, Vanhi’s mom.”
“Is Vanhi okay?”
“That’s why I’m calling you. Have you seen her?”
“She left to pick up Vik, over an hour ago.”
There was an anguished silence.
“Mrs. Patel?”
When her voice came back, it was trembling. She was barely holding it together.
“She never showed up. She left Vik standing there with his teacher on the sidewalk. That’s not like her, Charlie. She wouldn’t do that.”
“I know.”
“Oh, God, do you think she was in a car accident?”
Charlie’s heart sank. He remembered his steering wheel spinning against his will, whipping under his hands. “Wait. Hang on.”
He ran to the parking lot. Sure enough, Vanhi’s car was still there. But she was nowhere to be found.
“Her car is still here, Mrs. Patel.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Where is she?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s good news,” he lied. “It means she has to be on campus, somewhere. Maybe she just got distracted. I’ll find her. I promise.”
He prayed that was true.
He promised Vanhi’s mom that he’d call as soon as he learned anything.
He tried calling Vanhi next, but it went straight to voice mail. He texted her:
r u ok?
No answer.
But then the Game wrote:
What are you dooooooooing?
He ran to the library, then the Tech Lab. It was empty, the lights off. He went to the Embankment. A lone couple were making out on the hill in the darkness, but otherwise it was abandoned. He interrupted them to ask if they’d seen anyone, and they looked at him as if he were crazy, a mix of annoyance and interrupted lust. Charlie felt despair setting in, infusing the fear. He ran back inside and looked up and down the long hallways. He could spend hours combing the school, going room to room. He could call area hospitals, but who knew if the Game would even let his calls go through? Every second he wasted meant Vanhi could be lying bleeding somewhere, or tied up in the back of a windowless van, speeding away. His imagination raced out of control.
There was another option.
He could already feel the burn of the hypocrisy.
How can I help you if you only believe in me when you need something?
What was the old saying? There are no atheists in foxholes?
Fine. So be it.
He was a Deathbed Christian, then. That was fucking fine, because Night Cometh.
He put on his Aziteks, and the first thing he saw was:
Congratulations!!!
You Unlocked Dirty Laundry and ***PUNISHED THE WICKED*** Righteous dØØd!
TIME TO LEVEL UP