Chapter Twenty-Six

Angella suppressed a yawn as she carefully descended the stairs to the main hall of the house.

Everything seemed as magical as last night. She felt like the protagonist of a romantic movie, wandering around an inappropriately large-scale mansion, and searching for the billionaire mafia-guy who abducted her just the night before[1].

With nothing more to do, she wandered across the room and stared out the front patio doors, making strange though mostly pleasant sounds. And, just like how it would happen in the next movie sequence, a while later, the distant sound of people speaking caught her attention, and she ended up following the sound to what she assumed to be the parlor.

The room was very pleasant; soft pastel colors adorned the walls, and the faint sweet scent of cherry vanilla took her to the memories of her childhood.

The space was simplistic but at the same time refined and elegant. A similar chandelier to the one in the hall hung on the ceiling, two chaise lounges faced each other all while providing their users with the warmth of the fireplace by proximity, a small round table at the center with bare necessities, a magnificent piano which seemed to be used on a regular basis at one corner, and an LCD on the opposite end to the fireplace.

Ethan was sitting on a lone sofa, facing the TV set. By the expression he wore on his face, he wasn't exactly enjoying what was rolling on screen.

And with that in mind, Angella shifted her attention to the television, hoping to see for herself what was troubling him so. She waited, staring blankly at the unroll of the France 24 News Channel.

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Female Reporter: 'Bonjour. It's Wednesday November twenty-first, two thousand and twenty. My name is Sabine Cousteau.'

Male Reporter: 'I'm Richard Picard.'

In unison: 'And this is the France 24 morning News.'

* France 24 News Channel music intro plays*

Female Reporter: 'This is just in. Breaking News is breaking out everywhere. Isn't that right, Richard?'

Male Reporter: 'That's right, Sabine. Another person was reported missing, the fifth of a series of disappearances reported during this last month.'

Female Reporter: 'A seventeen-year-old girl, Rebecca Clair, from Boulogne-Billancourt was last time seen at 7 am on Monday 19th by her parents when leaving for school that morning--'

*A picture of a smiling brunette girl with almond-shaped black eyes popped up in the right corner of the screen*

Female Reporter: '--At this hour, a desperate search is underway for Rebecca's whereabouts. La Police Nationale Française is at the scene as we speak sparing no efforts to find the girl. Many Parisians have also joined the search party, trying to help in any way they can.'

Male Reporter: 'Let's go right to Alex Perez who's with the captain currently leading the police task force responsible for the case. Alex, can you hear us? What news you've got for our audience?'

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She waited patiently under the doorframe, curious and uncertain if she really wanted to know more about the child's disappearance and its contours.

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Journalist: 'Oui, I hear you loud and clear Richard. This has been a moment of pain and desperation for Rebecca's family and friends. We are at the scene with Captain LeBeau, the one responsible for the operations. Captain, what can you say about this case?'

Captain LeBeau: 'It has been 72 hours since the detailed report submission. We have set a perimeter of 10 miles radius around the area of Family Clair's house. I assembled a team of ten policemen with sniffer dogs on the field and have the best detectives leading the search party.'

Journalist: 'Have your team found any leads on the girl's whereabouts?'

Captain LeBeau: 'Yes. We have found her backpack near Park Boulogne-Edmond de Rothschild's River, later confirmed by the parents as the girl's belonging. So, we're searching the area, but a body has yet to be found.'

Journalist: 'A body? Captain, do you believe that this is a retrieving case?'

Captain LeBeau: 'All, while the first 48 hours are crucial, with each passing hour decreases the likelihood that the subject will be found, alive or not at all.'

Journalist: 'Is Rebecca's missing correlated with the other cases reported throughout the month?'

Captain LeBeau: 'We strongly believe that this is just an isolated case, all things considered. Still, we advise everyone to take precautions and be safe, go home straight after school or work, and inform at least one person of their whereabouts.'

Journalist: 'Thank you, Captain LeBeau. Now back to you.'

Male Reporter: 'These next few days will surely be dark times for the community of Boulogne-Billancourt.'

Female Reporter: 'We hope for the best and send the family our sincerest sympathy and support. Now, for the next breaking news: a F1 driver survives a high-speed crash and fireball blaze on the opening lap of Bahrain Grand Prix[2] --'

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"Oh Mon Dieu," she gasped anxiously and covered her mouth. "What awful news… I had no idea."

As Ethan's mind processed Angella's voice behind him, his body acted on its own accord, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV reflexively. "Els--!"

Angella frowned, looking Ethan over from head to the remote on his hand, the way he turned off the TV surprised her and left her confused as to the reasoning behind it.

Ethan jolted up and, before she could process what was going on, he took hold of her hand and dragged her out of the room. "Come, you must be hungry."

It only took them a few stares for the room to fall awkwardly in silence. She sat down at the dinner table beside Ethan, his butler brought them a gallon of warmed milk and a plate of wheat mixed toasts.

"Here you have miss," said Monsieur Bertram and Ella thanked him for his service. "Excuse me." And the man left.

"Are you going to eat?" The girl asked, seeing that the butler hadn't brought anything else or placed any plate in front of Ethan.

Ethan glanced up, gaze lingering on his childhood sweetheart, then shook his head. "No, I have already eaten. I woke before sunrise."

"Oh," She stuffed a few bites of food down her throat, tasting the garlic butter while it slowly melted in the back of her tongue. In due time, Angella found herself eating faster than she should have, not because she was eager for breakfast but for the need to focus on something else instead.

"Is it good?" Ethan asked, at last.

She hummed a response while chewing onto a large piece of bread, her puffed cheeks making her look like a little cute squirl.

"Good," Ethan chuckled, and soon his lips pursed into a sheepish smile, entertained at the funny view of her eating. "Eat up. Once you're finished, I'll drop you off at school."

She must have been satisfied because she nodded shortly and placed down the toast.

"I guess, we're on our way then."

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Rain. Needless to say, it came un-announced. It washed the world, quenching soil and bringing freshness to the air with each drop while cascading from a confident sky.

"For today's lesson, we'll discuss several literary genres and how they're perceived. So, who wants to give me an example?"

Ella's gaze wandered absently, following the faint outline of raindrops in the distance with her eyes. From the cozy classroom, she watched it enrich the sweet brown soils and make glossy every leaf, fallen or not.

"Myth. An interesting concept, if I may say myself." she noted, "It can be a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, mostly non-factual, and that explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature."

Everyone who knew her, would tell you that she wasn't exactly a fan of rainy weather. Still, at the present time, the female student felt mesmerized by the season. Who would have guessed that the sound of the raindrops tapping on the glass would come as soothing to her? Even the droplets sliding down the glass was strangely calming.

The teacher was writing on the blackboard a few key sentences about the subject intended for the class.

Normally, she would be paying attention to class but, the more time she spent staring outside, the farthest her teacher's voice sounded. Today's lecture was far from being boring and Mademoiselle Regnard 's voice wasn't that soporific; she just wasn't interested in what she had to say. All she could think about the incident that she saw in the news before she and Ethan left the mansion.

"Undoubtedly, the concept of Myth does not have the same connotation as a Fable[3], Legend[4], Invention or Fiction[5]." The teacher clarified and promptly continued with her explanation, "What strongly differentiates this concept from the others is the full acceptance given by the archaic societies, those improperly called primitive cultures by the illiterate. It is often referred to as the account of an event that occurred in the primordial time, through the intervention of supernatural beings."

The news had a devastating impact on her, as if the rug had been pulled underneath her feet drastically. She wasn't expecting identifying herself with the situation as much still, she did.

She recalled the captain's speech from memory, during which he implied that they were looking for a dead body but hadn't found one yet.

'So, no body means no crime, right?', and the thought filled her with more questions than answers. There was a high chance that they were being held somewhere. Could it really be a case of kidnap? But, if that were the case, a forced disappearance implied murder.

A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found, or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. But, if that were indeed a criminal abduction case, that could remain unresolved for many years to come.

Ella nervously fidgeted a strand of hair between her fingers. While her mind whirled with this latest news, there was nothing she could do other than pray for the girl would be found safe and sound, as well as the other teenagers missing.

The young student was certain that whoever was in charge would eventually figure it out. One must have faith in their police force. She quickly thought, hastening to reassure herself.

Despite such horrible news, everyone seemed so supportive though - even complete strangers, who came up to meet the family as soon as they heard the news and volunteered to join the search. She was distraught thinking about how those parents must be feeling, and that immediately reminded her of her fight with her father.

'I should apologize next time I see him.' And with a strong desire in heart, she resumed with her staring. The rain looked like it wasn't going to slow down anytime soon.

The professor continued with the lecture, unaware that had a spaced-out student in her class, and the student kept dwelling on the issue. "According to Mircea Eliade, a Myth narrates a sacred history. They relate events that takes place in a primordial time, the fabled time of the beginnings."

There was no pause in Mrs. Regnard's explanation as she walked to her desk to grab her pointer from her purse and turning it to the board. "Meaning, every myth shows how a reality came into existence, whether it be the total reality, the cosmos, or only a fragment -- an island, a species of plant, a human institution."

Angella yawned. Gradually, her eyelids grew heavy too fast with each drop of the rain and began fluttering shut with more frequency.

"According to the author's reasoning, we can conclude that a Myth is then a narrative of creation, one that tells us how something that did not exist came to be in the first place." The elder woman began scribbling an anagram on the blackboard next to the image projected, "However, on the other hand, it is always a collective representation, transmitted through several generations and which ensure an explanation of the world."

The girl yawned once again, and in the end, didn't bother to keep her eyes open as the teacher went on with her lecture.

But then, the sudden ring pulled Ella out of her temporary sleep state, making her immediately stand off her seat in an alert. However, it was not the school bell but the emergency alarm that sounded. Everything went dark, only an intermittent red light was giving the classroom some sort of luminosity.

Confusion and panic slowly crossed each student's semblance as they looked at one another, setting the classroom's environment to almost knife-cutting, leaving everyone on the brink of breakdown.

A sharp clap of the hands ended with all the whispering and chit-chat in the classroom. "Alright class, don't panic, I'm sure it's just a drill."

"Professor!" Called a female student at least two desks from where Angella's were; she was your rich type of girl, her blond hair was neatly combed into a fashionable style, golden shiny props, and several layers of make-up covering the porous of her skin. "If this was really a drill, the headmaster would have given us a heads-up in due time, right?"

"Yes, of course--"

"Then, this isn't a drill." She slammed her hands on the table, "Something way more serious must be happening outside of this room, right between the halls of our beloved academy. If I were to guess, this concerns the events that we all saw in the news this morning. It's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"How would that make any sense, Alyssa?" Prez crossed her arms and looked down at her peer with a deep frown between her brows. "Did you saw the same news as all of us?"

The popular girl chose to ignore her and address the rest of the class instead, "Just think about it for a moment. The ones reported missing are mostly girls, between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, simple teenagers attending high school. And what are we? Look around, everyone! We are also potential targets to a serial killer!"

"You're saying as if a body had been found--" Sarah's arms were crossed and she had a brow arched.

"Who said it hasn't?" Her statement yearned a few shocked gasps and seemingly scared whispers from the peers around her.

"B-But that's... not what they really said..." said the brunette student on the back of the room, in a voice that trembled a little.

"People--! They found her backpack near the river!" Alyssa always had some argument to oppose what was being discussed.

"Yeah, so? They told the press that a single body hasn't been found." argued the boy-in-waiting, his observation was well and wisely used.

"Didn't they say it was just as isolated case?" Asked another student, a blond boy in the back.

"I heard it is an abduction case! One in which the culprit abducts young girls like us to torture and then taste their flesh." Said Alyssa, trying to scare the crowd into cowardly coiling in a corner.

The class president sighed in exasperation and raked a hand through her cut-short hair. "For crying out loud... Do you have any idea what you are talking about?

Alyssa glared at her over her shoulder before turning her back once more with a motion of hair, "But, of course. My father is the Deputy Chief. He is well informed of the ongoing operations."

"Show off," Sarah finished with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't think you understand the severity of our situation, dear Prez," And at that moment, instead of keeping her mouth shut, Alyssa just kept shooting up barbarities. "We are being killed for our beauty, youth and innocence."

"Is she serious?" one of their classmates asked.

Sarah sighed in exasperation, hoping she would just shut up. "I'm afraid so…"

"Listen up everyone!" Alyssa got up from her seat and walked to the front of the class, addressing her peers with confidence and determination. "There is a lunatic on the loose targeting younglings like us! He is surely on the move and coming our way! First Saint-Denis, then Nanterre, and now Boulogne-Billancourt. Next stop, Paris." She shouted, pointing at the circle marking 'Paris' on the map by the left of the blackboard.

"This is getting too scary..." and one of the female students' voice quivered like that of a child about to cry.

"I think I'm gonna pass out!" cried another girl, joining her peer in hysteria.

"There is nothing to be afraid of," beckoned the boy from before with a calming voice. "Let's trust that our authorities will take care of it."

"Aren't you blowing this way too out of proportions, Alyssa?" Sarah asked.

"My father always says not to believe everything that comes up in the press." She honeyed her words with sarcasm as gave her blond curls a quick lift with her fingers. "Besides, have you never heard of police tactics? This is what they do on a daily basis. They do not tell the whole story so they can keep an advance in catching the culprit. I bet that they already found the corpses, only they omitted during the press conference to not stir panic."

"They wouldn't lie to us, would they?" another male voice addressed the teacher, who was quick to reassure him with a warm smile and a shook.

A pitched-black haired girl turned to her desk-neighbor, "What if Alyssa is right, sister? Then, we're all in danger!"

"We need to get out of here asap!" Cried the other girl in return. "Before he catches us and cuts us into pieces!"

"I want to get out now!" the girls whimpered in unison, in a shrill and childish voice.

"Seriously, Alyssa?" Sarah felt like slapping her, "Good way of not stirring the panic."

"Please, class-- let's not be hasty here..." Mrs. Regnard tried to calm down her students and do some damage control after Alyssa's little display. "We need to stick together and follow the emergency plan: that is marking our door and barricading ourselves in. Staying put is the best plan of attack for now."

"The teacher is right!" Prez immediately supported, "Even if what Alyssa told us is true, we should act like this is a shooting. We shouldn't engage the malefactor, ever, we shall stay hidden and wait for further instructions."

"Do you as you please, I'm not sticking around to be the next prey. I'm going to look for Nicholas, he'll surely protect me from harm's way!" She yelled out in frustration before stalking out of the room.

Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose, "Is she brainless?"

"I'll go after her!" Angella volunteered, "It'll be only a minute. She couldn't have gotten far."

"Ella, no--!" Sarah grabbed her friend's arm by the elbow and refused to accept that she would offer herself for someone who was not even worth the effort.

"Sarah, I must." and smile, "Remember, every life is equally important, be it a nice or a rude one."

She bit her lower lip and looked down at her hand reflectively. It was when Sarah realized; she was too kind for her own good. "You're right. I'm sorry." And, promptly released her.

"Thank you." And gave a smile in return.

"Please do and be quick about it, Mademoiselle Roosevelt. We don't want any kind of tragedy befalling us today." said the teacher with hopeful eyes.

At first, she nodded agreement, and then a cold feeling clutched at her heart. Now it wasn't the time to have cold feet, not when someone else's life was at risk. Despite her relationship with Alyssa haven't started the right way and being on the best terms, she still needed to go look for her, she was her colleague after all. So, she grabbed her overcoat from the chair and left as well.

"Be safe, Ella." It was probably wishful thinking - nothing more.