Ever since that day, I haven't been able to sleep or eat anything. It's been over three days now, and I haven't talked to Jasmine either. I really hope she's okay.
The police ended up adding Lucas to the list of missing kids, but Jasmine and I truly know what happened to him. I'm grounded for leaving the house that day since Mom came home long before I did.
But something still bothers me… Why did that thing run from me that day?
Even the TV is talking about it:
"With the disappearance of young Lucas Payne, Cincinnati's toll of missing kids has gone up to twenty-five over the past week alone. If you have any information related to this event, please contact the city police for a $50,000 reward."
Yeah… disappearance. I wish I could brave up and tell someone what really happened that day.
bzzzzbzzzz
"Hello?"
"Hey, Kali, it's Jasmine."
"Oh, hey Jasmine! I know we haven't talked about that day…"
"Well, we need to. Are you going to be in school tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Mom's making me. I can't keep playing the sick card."
"Good, because I have some important info I need to talk to you about—and show you something I can't send over the phone. Anyways, I'll let you go for now. We'll talk later."
Click.
What could she want to talk about that she can't say over the phone? I guess I'll have to wait and find out.
The Next Day
Ugh, I can't believe I had to ride the bus today. It's still dark out—and raining.
The bus screeched to a halt and the doors opened.
"Heeeyyy, look everyone! It's Killer Kali!" shouted Mason.
All the kids laughed.
"Yeah, where'd ya hide the body?" Jax added.
This is bad… everyone thinks I'm a killer because people found out I was with Jason the day he went missing.
"Yeah, she probably hid him in her backyard!" Mason laughed.
Then—out of nowhere—the bus collided with an SUV. It spun out of control, rolling five times before coming to a stop. The bus was completely destroyed.
I got up, my head pounding. My vision was blurry. I was bleeding from several places, but as I looked around, I realized—I was the only one alive.
How was that even possible?
"There she is! Get her!" shouted one of the men outside.
The back of the bus caught fire. Gunshots rang out—they were shooting at me.
But why?
"The vessel must not be allowed to escape!" another man yelled.
And then—everything went black.
I woke up in what looked like an ancient world.
"Where am I…?"
"Good, you're awake! We have to go—the enemy is overwhelming us! With your power, we can defeat them!" said an older man.
"What? What are you talking about? I was just on my way to school…"
"You must defeat them. You're the only one who can, my lord. Please, help us!"
And then—I woke up again. This time, in a field.
"What was that? Why did he call me lord? And… what was that world?"
"Hey, Kali!"
Huh? Oh—"Jasmine?"
"You don't even have to fill me in—I heard about what happened. I came to check on you. Now let's get you to the hospital so you can be—huh?"
"What? What's wrong?" I asked.
"Kali… you were in a major accident. You were shot at. How do you not have a single scratch?" Jasmine's voice trembled. "Kali… I wanted to explain something to you—something that might actually line up with all this."
"What is it?"
"Kali… you're not an ordinary human."