9 Chapter 7: Where's Rachel? But Who's Rachel? part 1

6:30 AM March 5th, Billy Baker awakes to find himself covered in some sort of cleared viscous liquid, his vision blurry, he looks to find his glasses next to him, sitting at wet rocks of the river, upon putting them on and adjusting to the world around him he realises he lays in the dirt beside crater lake, he feels the warmth of the sun, piercing through the fog on the left side of his face. Papers litter the water around him with his back washed up on shore.

Billy: "Rachel? Rachel?! Oh no, oh no!" he approaches his backpack, cleans himself off from the liquid he is covered in and looks for his skateboard and finds it propped up beside a rock, wet and covered in leaves and grass, appearing to have been banged up. Billy though seemed fine, no scratches nor bruises in place.

Billy: "I have to tell somebody, I have to call the cops!" He runs to the road with his skateboard and rides up to the assisted living complex, where a lot of out of towners and low income workers in Kollok currently resides. Billy runs up to the front door finding it locked, he bangs the door calling for someone to answer him, while a lone individual an old man walking in the lobby notices him banging the door, he goes to open the door and sees Billy panicked and frantic.

Old Man: "I'm sorry uh do you live here?"

Billy: "Hi I'm Billy Baker and I'm the paper boy and i was out delivering papers and i saw something, I need to call the cops!"

Old Man: "Oh oh okay, come in come in, um behind the counter here there's a phone, what did you see?"

Billy: "I- I can't explain it, but I have to call the cops immediately!"

Old Man: "Okay okay um, this isn't some prank now is it?"he holds down the phone doubting if billy is just joking around.

Billy: "What no! absolutely not! My friend Rachel is missing! I watched her go missing!"

Old Man: "Wait what, who?"

Billy: "It doesn't matter just give me the phone!"

Old Man: "Okay okay, here you go." he gives Billy the rotary phone the cored stretched out over the counter desk, as he goes to dial 911.

Operator: "Kollok Police, What's your emergency?"

Billy: "Hello, my name is Billy Baker I'm the paper boy and i saw something."

Operator: "Oh Billy Baker, how are you doing? and why are you calling so early?" the operator knowing billy because of his eventful coma it made him quite famous to the town, the boy who woke up a ten year coma.

Billy: "Um a- Rachel Jewel, was just taken!"

Operator: "I'm sorry Billy who did you say it was?"

Billy: "Rachel Jewel! She's seventeen, she's like a junior in kollok high?"

Operator: "Billy... I don't know any Rachel Billy, are you- have you been taking your medication?"

Billy: "Yes i have been taking medication! what does that matter? Rachel Jewel is missing! She went missing at the bridge along the Reilly river, we need cops to get to the bridge I'm not kidding!"

Operator: "Is this a coma thing? I don't appreciate the call Billy, the Jewel family has no children"

Billy: "What?! no they have a daughter and a son, Rachel and Lenny. Rachel was my tutor, talk to my parents tell them that i said Rachel is missing!"

Operator: "I am gonna call your parents, where are you right now Billy?"

Billy: "I'm at the assisted living place with all the... old people."

Operator: "Okay it's not just old people, its assisted income living Billy."

Billy: "Listen! I don't need a lecture right now there is a girl missing!"

Operator: "Okay Billy, well we're gonna call your parents okay so, stay right where you are."

Billy: "Yeah well don't take your time about it!"

Operator: "Stay right where you are Billy, don't go anywhere." as the line hangs up Billy hops on his skateboard and goes to the road, the old man calling out to him.

Old Man: "Hey where are you going!?"

Billy: "I gotta go tell someone that cares!"

Billy speeds off on his skateboard going towards the North west part of the town where the Jewel Residence resides. Skye Hawkins's house, she awakens, she rises and then notices the viscous goo that is covering her whole body from head to toe, she sees her bedroom, destroyed, things pushed and moved around, she started to panic, hyperventilating, remembering her friend Rachel at the middle of the night appearing above her bed.

Skye: "What is happening!? What happened to Rachel!?" Oh my god! Oh my god I have to get over to her house right now! Oh my god what is all this stuff!? and my room!"

she cleans herself up and then dashes to the front of the house, her parents quite surprised to see her just up and left all of a sudden, she runs to the neighboring house where Rachel has lived she then starts banging on the door, calling Rachel or anybody that lives inside of the household.

Skye: "Rachel! Rachel! Anybody home!"

Jacob: "Wait a minute! hold on!" hearing a groggy voice coming from inside the house, the moments of her waiting outside are like the longest moments all her life as she hears tumbling footsteps approaching the door as the latches open and then a second time and then the door opens appearing just slightly through the chain is Rachel's father.

Jacob: "Yeah? What the- Hawkins kid? What the fuck do you want?"

Skye: "I- I'm so sorry, I know it's really early but, is Rachel there? I need to know she's okay." she says weakly.

Jacob: "...Who did you say?"

Skye: "Rachel..."

Jacob: "Look Hawkins, I don't appreciate being woken up this fucking early could you just get off my lawn, okay?" Skye hesitates to leave which makes him more agitated.

Jacob: "Get the fuck off of my front porch! is that clear?"

Skye: "I'm not leaving until I know that Rachel is okay!"the door shuts as lock disengages and came out Jacob Jewel as he very strongly puts himself in front of her, intimidating her to leave.

Jacob: "Hawkins, go the fuck home little girl, I do not appreciate, your attitude or being woken up at this hour." as he is in front of Skye, she notices that he reeks of alcohol and also quite disheveled.

Skye: "Ughh... You know what? Alright, I'll leave, I can see that you don't care."as she turns she sees in the distance a young Billy Baker riding his skateboard extremely fast up the hill, knowing that he has a paper route this wouldn't be a problem although he looks panicked and troubled.

Skye: "Billy?"

Billy: "Mr. Jewel! Skye!"

Skye: "No! Billy don't talk to him, he's super wasted." she whispers to Billy.

Billy: "No, he- His daughter went missing! I saw, Rachel's missing!"

Skye: "Wait what!? What did you see?"

Billy: "She was on the bridge in a robe and then she got- she got like taken! There was this light and all this stuff, and then she got taken!"

Skye: "Wait, I saw the light too."

Billy: "You saw what I saw too? Mr. Jewel! we have to go and find Rachel." as he says this Jacob Jewel leaves the two of them and goes inside seeming to look for something, he finds what he's looking for and then he came out of his front door revealing a baseball bat, he starts smashing the bat on his hand, intimidating the two.

Jacob: "I'm not gonna tell you again, you kids get the fuck out of here!"

Billy: "What are you talking about!? I'm serious! I'm sorry I don't mean to wake you but, Rachel is missing!"

Jacob: "I will beat the piss out of you little boy, now get lost!" Billy and Skye shocked as they back away from Jacob Jewel's front lawn.

Skye: "Billy I think he's super drunk, I don't even think he remembers who Rachel is. I just got here before you and he started cussing at me so let's just go.

Billy: "She always said you were trash! But I didn't realize you were this bad!" he calls out to Jacob Jewel who was getting inside of the house, Jacob raises his hands frustratingly and walks balk quickly towards them as the two ran from him going to Skye Hawkins's Residence. Entering the household Skye's Parents sitting at kitchen table looking at the two kids, questioning why are they in such a hurry to get inside.

David: "Skye is a- everything okay? I heard yelling."

Skye: "Dad, things aren't okay. I saw something happened to Rachel last night, and Billy saw the same thing, even more than what I saw."

Billy: "Yeah I was riding my skateboard and I went over the bridge over the river and Rachel was standing there in a robe, and she was- I think she was smoking marijuana."

David: "Billy, it sounds like you need to report this to the police."

Billy: "I did! Wait isn't she your daughter!? shouldn't you be concerned that Rachel's missing?"Billy quite distracted of all the things that he saw the couple of hours, confusingly thought he was still speaking to Jacob Jewel.

Skye: "Uh... Billy this is my dad."

Billy: "Oh this is your dad?"

Skye: "Yeah earlier we were at Rachels house-"

Billy: "And that was Mr. Jewel."

Skye: "Did you smoke some marijuana?"

Billy: "I don't know, is that how it works? Well anyway sidetracked, yes I already called the police." David looking at him weirdly goes back to the previous conversation.

David: "Okay, so you told the police, I'm sure they're dealing with it Billy."

Billy: "Well can you help us? Because I don't think they took us seriously."

Skye: "Dad, you know how important Rachel is to me, she's my best friend." David walks toward to the front of the house where the two teenagers are, he puts his arm out and around Skyes shoulder to comfort her but says he doesn't know anyone named Rachel.

David: "Honey, I don't know a Rachel- I'm not quite sure who you are talking about." as he says this Skye aggravatedly pushes his arm off of her.

Skye: "Dad! how could you not know who this is!? How could you just wake up today and not know who this person is!? This is my best friend, she lives next door to us, she's gone missing! Why don't you care!?"

David: "O-Okay Skye, Obviously you are very upset-"

Skye: "I am very upset, I want to be taken seriously, this is ridiculous!" they here a slam near the kitchen table where Skye's mother Gwen Hawkins stands and makes her way to them.

Gwen: "Skye I will not stand for you talking to your father that way in this house. Show some respect for your father and apologize now!"

David: "Honey, no it's fine, Skye obviously something is happening and you're very upset-"

Gwen: "Apologize to your father now!" Skye looks defiantly at her mother, squeezing her hand.

Skye: "Dad... I'm sorry. I just- I'm very upset, this is so messed up, I-I- whenever i talk to you, you would always seem to understand and get me, we were always on the same page but today your like mom." her mother scoffs as she leaves and goes back to the kitchen, her father continues to comfort her.

David: "look I'm here for you Skye, I'm always here for you okay? You can talk to me anytime you want, I think you might be... stressed about something, maybe there is something going on at school? something that's going on your mind? College exams are coming up and-"

Skye: "Rachel... Rachel is missing, that is all I'm upset about! I'm not lying about anything."

David: "I-I'm sorry I don't remember your friend, I don't remember a-a... Rachel."

Billy: "Is everyone on this side of town taking crazy pills!? I gotta go." he runs to the door and leaves slamming the door.

Skye: "I can't believe what's going on right now. This doesn't even feel real, I don't even know if I'm real." she says quietly as she tries to slap herself trying to wake herself up thinking that this is all just a dream, her father very quickly, rushes to grab her hand

David: "Woah woah woah, Skye what are you doing? What's wrong? What's going on?"

Gwen: "She obviously doesn't give a shit about her parents, she still has not apologized."

Skye: "I did apologized mom! No one is even talking to you! You wouldn't even know who Rachel is anyway because your always at work!" A dish breaks at the kitchen as her mother stomps to the other side of the house towards the master bedroom.

Skye: "Real mature!"

David: "Please just- I- I don't know what to say honey, I feel like somehow i'm upsetting you even more right now and that is not my intentions, I definitely don't want to do that- look I gotta get going to the bike shop soon um... we'll talk after school okay? coming from work, we'll talk and... maybe we could call someone for help, like a... a therapist or something."

Skye: "Sure dad... I gotta go to school."

David: : "Great w-we'll talk after school."

Skye: "Sure..." she goes past her father and goes to her room, she grabs her stuff gets inside the jeep and leaves the house without saying goodbye, she went to the bridge as what Billy said, where he last saw Rachel Jewel.