Chapter 1

Growing up in downtown New York City was never easy for Austin. Austin, a tall, skinny, and maybe a little nerdy guy didn't really have a lot of friends. Dealing with bullying, and taking caring of his little sister, Kate, life wasn't a dream. His mom and dad divorced a year ago, and his mom hasn't been in the right state of mind since.

Austin's number one priority has always been his family, but the only family he really has left is his little sister. From playing video games, to hosting tea parties, Austin loved being around Kate. He couldn't even imagine how he would feel if something happened to her, and he would never forgive himself.

The next morning, Austin walked Kate to school, and dropped her off at the front entrance.

“Bye Kate, I love you!”

 “Bye Austin, I love you too!” she responded.  

 Little did Austin know, that this would be the last time he would see his little sister for awhile.

Bye Austin, I love you too!

Bye Kate, I love you!

After school, Austin went to go pick up Kate from school. He saw the first wave of students come out. Kate always liked to stay and talk to her friends, so she was usually in the last wave of kids. Austin waited and waited, but Kate never showed up. He started to get really worried and asked the teacher if she had seen Kate. She said Kate never showed up at the walkers station. Austin knew something was wrong. He ran home, and saw his mom drinking as per usual. He ran all of the possibilities of what could be happening to her, and just broke down. He kept crying, and he turned to his mom. She was too drunk to even notice what was wrong. He wanted to call the police, but he knew they usually don't do anything before the 48 hour mark. Gone. That's all he could think about. Her being gone. He decided to do something about it. He went to his room and really thought hard about where she could be. He had a couple of suspects who might have taken her, but he doesn’t know what their motives would be. He knows only one person who could help him. It’s risky to ask for help, but if she says yes, it will be worth it.

At school the next day, Austin leaves a note in her locker asking her to meet him in the back corner of the courtyard at lunch.

“Here goes nothing.”

At lunch, Austin is sitting at the back table waiting for her to show up. He is just about to leave, when he hears footsteps. He follows the sound of footsteps and he sees just who he was looking for, Veronica Smith. Her long, black hair was glowing in the sunlight, and she was staring at Austin. Then she started getting bigger and bigger, and Austin realized she was coming this way.

“Hello Austin.” she says.

“Hey Veronica, you gotta second?” he asks.

“Sure, just make it quick.” she responds.

Austin starts explaining the situation he is in, and asks if she can help him. She has to think about it for a minute or two.   

“I’ll help you, only if you buy me lunch for the rest of the week.”  

“Deal!” he says.   

It looks like Austin is going to get his sister back.

Chapter 2

When school comes to an end, Veronica tells Austin to meet her at her house at 5:00 sharp.

“Do not be late, or this project will come to an end before it has even started.” she says harshly.

“Trust me, I’ll be there if it means I’ll be able to get Kate back. See you later!”

At 4:59, Austin arrives at Veronica’s house. He wanted to be early just in case his clock was a little behind. If he’s being honest Veronica kind of intimidates him. She is very isolated at school and doesn't talk to a lot of people. She has this wall built up, and he’s just hoping it won’t affect how their work goes.

He knocks on the door, and not even five seconds later, Veronica is pulling him into the house, rushing him to her room.

“Sorry, I just didn’t really want my mom to see that I’m having a boy over.” she says.

Austin responds, “Why does it matter?”

“Well, I’ve never really had a boy over, but that’s besides the point.” she blushes.

“Oh, okay well we should get to working on the plan, and also our main leads.”

“Okay, good idea.” she says

For the next 3 hours, they come up with ideas of who the kidnapper might be, and a plan to find his sister. The plan is very detailed and it's actually pretty genius. They have backups in case it doesn't work, and they have all of the supplies they need. It got a little hot in Veronica’s room, so Austin went to open the window, and on the window ledge he found a note. He opened the note, not really thinking anything of it, and inside the note, contained information about his sister.

Austin shows Veronica the note, and she gasps.

“Austin, we can’t go, it’s a trap! She’s just trying to lure you in so she can kidnap you too!”

“Veronica, we have to go! It’s our only chance right now to see her again!”

“Well, I’m not going. If you’re going, you’re going alone.” she states.

They argue, and argue, and it gets ugly. Eventually, Austin leaves Veronica’s house. He doesn’t need her help anyways. He can do this all by himself.

That night, right before Austin is about to go meet the kidnapper at the warehouse, he receives another note. Austin was getting really nervous all of this sudden. His palms were getting sweaty, and he kept shaking his hands and feet, something he always did when he was nervous.

“Be ready to make a deal” it says.

Austin has no clue what this means. What if she hurts Kate? What if she already has? He sprints out the door, making his way to the warehouse.

When he shows up to the warehouse, it’s pitch black. He doesn’t hear any cries, screams, or even talking, which scares him even more. He finds a set of stairs, and goes up, when all of this sudden he hears a noise coming from downstairs. He freezes. He watches the figure run around, almost like they are looking for someone. Suddenly they make eye contact. The figure starts running towards him. He pulls out a knife from his pocket.

“Come any closer, and I will hurt you!”

The person takes off their mask, and he sees Veronica.

"Austin, shut up!" she whisper shouts.

"Sorry." he says sympathetically.

Austin was actually really scared, and he didn’t want to do it alone. He was glad Veronica was there by his side, to comfort him through this rough time.