Chapter seven: Missing

“That hurts!” I swatted Cody’s arms away as he attempted to wrap the bandage wrap around my ankle. He kept rolling it around too tightly, hence my outburst.

Grumbling, he threw the roll at me. “Then do it yourself!”

Angrily snatching the bandage roll from him, I began wrapping it onto the injured part of my foot.

“Do you think I twisted it?” I asked, hoping for another answer than yes.

“I would say you sprained it.”

I sighed, attaching the clip to hold the bandage wrap in place. To make matters worse, my parents weren’t home yet. It was a pretty awkward ten minutes with me clinging onto Cody and patiently waiting for my front door to open. As you can guess, it never opened. I had called them about five minutes ago, and apparently they went out to eat for dinner. That left me stuck with Cody and Sadie for the time being.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something?” Cody sat up from the couch, pointing to the big TV placed in the middle of the living room.

Nodding, I hobbled towards  the movie shelf with him.

“Are we watching a movie?” Sadie pounded into the living room with two Barbies clutched in both of her hands. “Can I pick?”

Cody quickly froze, instantly denying her request. I snickered silently, remembering the last time Sadie got to pick the movie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so miserable before. I couldn’t blame him though. I too was slowly losing it. I guess two hours of colorful singing ponies can be pretty damaging to one’s mental state.

I nudged Cody on the shoulder. “C’mon Cody. Just let her pick something to watch. It won’t be so bad, right?”

He glared at me, already knowing the devious plan I had in my brain. “Never again. Not after the last time.” He shivered, recalling the memory.

“I’ll pick a different movie, I swear!” Sadie pleaded, tugging harshly on Cody’s shirt.

“What movie then?”

Sadie quickly held the movie up, grinning toothily at the both of us. I stared at it, perplexed at her choice.

“You like horror?” I nervously got the DVD from her, flipping it around so I could read the summary. According to it’s blurb, the movie revolved around two teenage boys who were in the middle of a zombie invasion and they must somehow escape. I frowned, already disliking the movie. Not only did I absolutely detest horror, the story line seemed too cliché. It was just your average zombie invasion movie.

Cody however, reacted differently to the movie.

“Yes!” He cheered happily, already setting it up. “I didn’t know grandma had this movie!” Smiling, he turned to me. “Sadie and I love this movie.”

 I blinked, stunned. How did the little girl who carried Barbies around and who wore unicorn t-shirts ended up liking a movie called “A Taste of Zombies.” My only conclusion was that her dearest older brother brainwashed her into liking this garbage. Knowing I stood no chance of rebelling against the movie choice, I miserably stepped back and watched as Cody set the thing up.

Soon enough, Cody and I sat on the outer edges of Mrs. Net’s sky blue couch with Sadie propped up in the middle. Even Cupcake decided  to join in as she laid down on the bottom of the carpet, getting ready for a nap.

*****_*****

Halfway into the movie and I still didn’t have a change of heart for my hatred of horror films. Like I expected, the plot was absolute rubbish. It was basically compiled of two guys hacking as much zombies as possible with a bunch of trash they found. There was even one part of the movie where one of the two guys stabbed a charging zombie with a lamp. My inner crabbiness was beginning to leak at the sight of this movie.

“I’ll make us some popcorn.” I sighed, getting up and strolling into the kitchen. To my surprise, Cody got up and offered to help me out.

“It’s an awesome movie, isn’t it?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, grinning.

I rolled my eyes, getting out a package of microwavable popcorn. “The best.” I sarcastically replied, punching in two minutes for the popcorn to cook. “I never realized that household items could turn into zombie slashing weapons.”

He chuckled, getting out a vibrant green bowl for the popcorn.

“What do you want on the popcorn?” I asked, taking out the bag from the microwave and pouring it in the bowl.

Cody shrugged. “I’m up for anything.”

“Ask Sadie then.”

He sighed at me, walking back into the living room to go ask Sadie.

I popped a piece of popcorn in my mouth, savoring its…plainness. Just as I was about to eat another piece, Cody came barreling into the kitchen with frantic eyes.

“She’s not there.”

I dropped the piece of popcorn that I was holding. “What do you mean she’s not there?”

In an exasperated tone, he began explaining. “I mean that she’s not in the living room. Cupcake isn't there either.”

“Did you check the other rooms of the house?” I asked, beginning to panic along with Cody.

He shook his head. “The front door is wide open. She must’ve went outside.”

A feeling of dread exploded in the pit of my stomach. I rushed out of the kitchen, putting on some slippers before heading out.

“What about your ankle?” Cody hollered behind me, quickening his pace to match my strained strides. I couldn’t hide the fact that I was limping horribly.

“I’ll endure it.” I waved the matter off. “What’s important is we find Sadie.” My eyes strayed over Mrs. Net’s lawn. To my disappointment, there was no sign of the rambunctious little girl. I was hoping that she simply went outside since Cupcake needed to go pee.

“Where is that brat?” Cody seethed, his bronzy eyes flashing irritation and frustration as he quickly dashed around, hopeful to at least get a glimpse of his sister.

I longingly looked at my house garage. If my parents were here, I could get in my garage and use my car to drive around and look for Sadie. The process would’ve been much quicker than strolling around randomly.

“C’mon.” I patted Cody on the shoulder. “She might’ve gone to main street.”

*****_*****

“Check in the library,” I pointed towards the gray building to the right. “There’s a chance she’s in there.”

Cody shook his head. “I know Sadie. She’d never go near a library, much less a book.”

I shut my mouth, getting discouraged. We’ve been searching for about two hours now, and we still had no luck. My ankle was throbbing intensely now, but I couldn’t care less. I just wanted to find Sadie before it got dark out. The sun was already beginning to set, which didn’t bode well for me.

“Do you want to check the park? “I asked.

Cody sulked, nodding. He too, was beginning to give up.

*****_*****

I bit my lip, using every bit of strength I had to keep up with Cody’s steady pace. Each step I took on my bad foot felt like I was clashing my ankle with a metal pole.

“Are you okay?” Cody stopped suddenly, almost making me run into him.

“I’m fine.” I answered curtly. “Just hurry up, it’s nearly dark.”

*****_*****

After fifteen minutes of unbearable limping, we finally arrived.

“I haven’t been here in forever.” I whispered, my eyes soaking up the ominous looking park. At daytime, the park was a joyous and exciting place to be. At night, it looked like something from the movie Cody, Sadie, and I had watched earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if a zombie were to randomly pop up from behind those bushes near the fence.

“She’s not here. It’s empty.” Cody wistfully sighed, already turning around.

I latched onto his shoulder. “Wait.” I closed my eyes, focusing on the barely audible sound. I opened my eyes, facing Cody. “Did you hear that?”

He nodded, bewildered. “What is it?”

“I think it’s…sobbing.” My ears picked up the sound again, but this time it was louder, more defined than before. “Definitely sobbing.” I nodded, confident on what I heard.

“Where is it coming from?”

I warily glanced at the dingy bathroom stalls, not wanting to go in. Swallowing my fears, I walked towards them ands stopped right in front of the graffiti covered door of the girl’s bathroom. “I think it’s coming from here.”

Cody nodded, urging me to open it. He was obviously hesitant in entering a woman’s bathroom without knowing who was inside, so this task was left to me.

I gripped the grimy doorknob tightly, turning it slowly. Soon enough, the door swung open. At first, I saw nothing. My eyes were only able to perceive the thick darkness that the unlit bathroom was consumed in.

"Sadie?" I called out, testing to see if it actually was her.

“Char, no!” A shrill voice cut through the darkness, shocking me. It was at that moment that I realized it was Sadie in there.

And that she wasn’t alone.

Cody was at my side instantly. He timidly stepped inside the bathroom first, beckoning for me to keep behind me. I did what I was told, doing my best to not jump at the slightest sound I heard.

“Please don’t come here.” Sadie begged, her sobs reverberating around the bathroom. Her voice was desperate and hoarse, probably from her sobbing. “He’ll hurt you too.” She whispered.

Cody and I froze.

The rapist.

“One step from you two and I swear she’ll get a lot more than slapping.” A gruff voice sadistically threatened.

That was it. After those words, Cody completely lost it. He was in a blind rage as he slammed stall door after stall door open . It didn’t take long for him to finally find the stall where Sadie and the man were located.

I watched in horror as he grabbed the man from the collar of his shirt. Cody walloped him several times in the face, making the man bleed profoundly from the head. Sadie slipped past the both of them, running towards me. My eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, which let me  see Sadie’s tattered clothing.

“Charlotte, watch out!” Cody weakly warned. He was slumped on the ground, clutching his arm tightly.

I didn’t have time to react, but before I knew it I felt an incredible amount of pain on my stomach. I landed on the cold tiles of the floor, numb from pain. Then another blow came to my face, right on my left cheek. I groaned in pain on the ground, my senses all jacked up. I forced my eyes to open, meeting a pair of cold lifeless blue eyes.

“You.” He spat menacingly, some of his spit landing on my face. “You my darling have put up a very, very, long search. I have some friends that I want you to meet.” He snickered, his menacing tone making me shiver.