Missing

Alieen:

Hearing a knock at the front door, I put down my spoon and head toward the door. Grabbing and opening the door, I see a tall young man standing there. He had short brown hair and is wearing a red coat with an orange undershirt. He smiles and nods when he sees me.

"Excuse me," the young man starts. "My name is Jacob. I don't suppose, by chance, Lafayette is here. Is she?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "Leia--Layafette isn't here. She left a few days ago and we haven't seen her since. I'm sorry."

I try to close the door but can't. Somehow, the door is now stuck. I throw my whole weight onto it but it won't move an inch.

"What the heck," I say. As I keep trying to close the door, I see Jacob still standing there. Only, he's not just standing there. Looking down, I see Jacob waving his hand around. The way Jacob is waving his hand, I recognize it almost instantly.

"A waved his hand like that when he used his telekinesis power," I think. "Oh no."

Now pushing against the door, trying to shut it, my feet scraping against the wooden floor, I look back up at Jacob.

"Oh my god," he says, his smile disappearing as he looks at me. "You know. Don't you?"

I give up on the door and turn around.

"Matt," I yell, running up the stairs. "Alfred! Call the police! We have an intruder!"

As I run up the stairs, I see the door opening and then Matt and Alfred coming out. Alfred is holding his cell phone.

"Alieen," Matt says. "What's going on?"

Reaching the top of the stairs, I'm about to tell the two about Jacob but before I can, I feel something grab my leg. Screaming as I fall to the floor, I'm then dragged down the stairs. Hitting each step until I reach the bottom, I push myself over and see Jacob standing in our hallway.

"Alieen," Matt shouts. He runs down the stairs after me. About halfway down, he places one hand on the wall and his other hand on the railing. He then throws himself into the air.

"Take this," Matt screams as he tries to kick Jacob but with Jacob's power, he catches Matt in mid-air. Now hovering, Matt looks down at me before looking at Jacob. "Oh boy."

Jacob looks up at Alfred as Alfred calls the police. Placing his finger on his thumb, Jacob flicks something invisible at him. Whatever it is, it hits Alfred and knocks his cell phone out of his hand. Alfred's phone breaks as it falls onto the stairs.

"I'll owe you a new phone," Jacob says, now picking up Alfred. Alfred tries to hold on by grabbing the railing but it's no use. Jacob's telekinesis is too strong. He pries Alfred's fingers from the railing and brings the three of us together.

"You all know," Jacob says. "Don't you? Lafayette, you reckless idiot."

Jacob turns his head around and whispers something to himself. As he whispers to himself, I turn to Matt and Alfred.

"What do we do," I ask. "We can't move."

"I would say cross our fingers," Matt answers, "But I can't even move my fingers."

"Just stay calm," Alfred says. "Just stay calm."

I nod my head as Jacob turns back to us.

"You three are coming with me," he says. "We need to have a long talk."

With that said, Jacob waves his hand in front of us. As he waves his hand, my eyelids start to feel heavy. I can't keep them up and before long, they close and I see nothing but a black void.

Lafayette:

Flying through the night sky, looking down at the busy city street, I slow down when I see my apartment building. At least, I hope it's still mine.

"Alfred and Matt don't know yet," I say to myself, "But I'll tell them. And maybe, just maybe, they'll forgive me."

I can't help but think about Alieen.

"Out of the three of them, I hope she forgives me."

Making sure there isn't anyone around, I fall and land directly in front of the stairs. Running up the stairs, I raise my hand and knock against the door. As I knock, the door slowly swings open.

"What the--," I say, stepping back as the whole door slowly swings itself open. Looking left and right but seeing no one, I prepare myself and step into the apartment building.

"Hello," I say, hiding a fist behind my back as I look around the empty hallway. "Alfred? Alieen? Matt? Anyone?"

No one answers me. The lights are still on and I see a bowl with mac and cheese on the kitchen counter. Walking over to it, I place my hand against the bowl.

"It's warm. Why would they leave a bowl of mac and cheese like this?"

I turn around and look at the hooks on the wall.

"Wait, they can't be gone? The car keys are still here."

I take a step toward the car keys but stop when I hear something crack. Feeling something under my foot, I step back and look down.

"No," I say, dropping to my knees. There, on the floor, is Alfred's phone. Picking it up, I turn it over and see a cracked screen. Besides the cracked screen, the phone still works. Pushing the power button, it comes on but what's on scares me.

"9-1-1," it reads.

"Alfred was calling 9-1-1," I tell myself. "Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. No!"

I shoot up to my feet and run up the stairs. Practically breaking through both of the bedroom doors, I look around for anyone but the two rooms are empty.

"They're gone," I say. "They're missing!"

I slam my hands against my head and fall to my knees. I can hear the sound of my panicking voice as I try to figure out what the hell happened.

"Where did they go? They should be home but they're gone. Someone must have taken them but no! That can't be right. There is no sign of a struggle. Everything is still neatly in its place. Also, from the looks of it, nothing was taken. All the drawers are closed. All the doors are shut. It couldn't have been a robbery. Could it have been A? No. No way. A, at least the current A, wouldn't do something like this. Besides, even with all his powers, he can't be in two places at once. And I left him at his gas station. So what? What happened here?"

I look at Alfred's phone still in my hand before letting my hands fall to my side.

"Could I have stopped this," I ask myself. "If I was here, then could I have stopped this?"

I ask myself this over and over, running through all sorts of different scenarios.

"Maybe," I start to think. "Maybe it would have been better if I never met Alieen."

I think back to the box of macaroni. I think back to the day I met Alieen. I think about what would have happened if I said no.

"What is the point of being an angel if I can't protect the people I care about?"

"Have a little bit of hope," a voice says, startling me. Hearing the voice, I jump to my feet and turn around. Prepare to swing my fist, I stop when I see the voice belongs to A.

"A," I shout, looking at A as he stands in the doorway. "A! Oh my god! Why are you here! Did you do this? So much for my leap of faith. Where are they?"

I take a step toward A but he quickly puts up his hands and backs away.

"Easy Lafayette," A says. "It was not me."

As A puts up his hand, I stop walking. It was weird to see the demon leader not wanting to fight.

"A really had changed," I think, lowering my hand. "But wait, if this really wasn't you, then why are you? Did you follow me here?"

"No," A says, shaking his head. "I did not follow you. Instead, this did."

A reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled slip of paper. He hands it to me and I read it.

"Lafayette," the message starts. "I know it was you. I have them. You know where to meet me."

"In case you are wondering," A says, "That message fell from the sky above my gas station. Do you know who it is?"

"Yeah," I say, crushing the slip of paper in my hand. "I know who it is."

"Then lead the way," A says, stepping to the side.

"A. I can't have you following--"

"Alieen is missing," A says, cutting me off. "Alfred is missing, and as much as I do not like him, Matt is missing as well. Also, as much as I do not like you, I sense you will need help. After all, this is for you. It is not for me."

I look at the crushed slip in my hand.

"You're right," I say, sighing. "Aw, man. I can't believe I'm now working with the demon leader."

"I cannot believe that after two long years, I finally know who I am," A says. "But as Alieen told me, with or without my past, I choose who I want to be, and right now, I want to be the one that saved my friends. Our friends. So again, Lafayette. Lead the way."