Chapter 6

"Chris! Time for dinner! Come down!" I hear mom shouting.

"Yes mom, coming!" I reply. I can't hear a thing to be honest. My heart is thumping too loud. Tomorrow, I'm going to the rent-a-bike. I don't care what Checkmate told me. I don't care at all. I don't care about the stupid protocol, or my life, or Checkmate. I want to know what is going on. That is the only thing I want for now. If people are planning a massacre, I'm going to do my best to stop it.

I run downstairs and take my usual place at the dining table.

"What took you so long? The food's getting cold." mom says.

"Yeah buddy. You were a minute late! That is so unusual!" dad says, grinning. He looks at mom and makes one of his mischievous smiles. She smiles back at him, knowing she gets scared about my safety too fast. I guess she doesn't want to loose me the way she lost Zach.

As I eat my spaghetti and meatballs, my thoughts drift elsewhere. My mind drifts back to the day I got to know that Zach was missing. After 5 weeks of searching, the cops turned up the jacket he wore the day he went missing. They thought it safe to say he was as good as dead. He had vanished without a trace. His body has not been recovered till now. I remember his friends coming over and telling me how sorry they were. I remember finding mom in the kitchen, in the middle of the night, eating ice cream and crying.

I had refused to go anywhere, or do anything that reminded me of him. It was then, that I chose to start investigating. I figured that if the police wouldn't look into the matter any further, I would.

My mind drifts back to when I first met Conner and Diana. Town hall had planned a trip to the Grand Canyon in America for all the teenagers in Upper Church Town. All we needed was a permission slip from our parents. Many children didn't get it, but luckily, I was not one of those kids. Mom and Dad thought it would be a chance for me to take my mind off Zach's loss.

We were all arranged to sit in alphabetical order. I was sitting right beside Conner and Diana. Halfway into the journey, I got bored, and I had nothing to do except look at my phone. Soon, I ran out of battery. So, to make things less boring, I thought of cracking a joke. I can't remember what it was, but I remember it was a bad one. To my surprise, Conner burst into laughter. Diana followed. By now, I got curious. No one laughs at my jokes. (I just said it so that I could talk to them without feeling awkward, I think) I asked them, "Did you really like it?"

"I loved it" Conner replied.

"I hated it. I laughed looking at him. I just didn't think someone could laugh at a joke that bad." Diana replied, smirking. Ever since that day, we've been good friends.

I remember the day I first met Sarah. She was the new girl in class. I was to be her lab partner. I remember that she had moved in from the States. During science, she used to ask me about Terra Pacis' history. I remember telling her the way our country had been a part of America, and then torn away from it. We were friends long before I met Conner and Diana. She is my best friend. When Zach went missing, she used to be over every day, helping me and mom. If she wasn't there, I wouldn't be coming out of my room. That is the reason I won't rest till she is found.

"What are you thinking about? You've barely touched your food." Mom asks, snapping me out of my trance.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about Sarah." I reply.

"So did you finally get the courage to ask her out?" Dad asks, grinning.

"Nope. Did you know she's gone missing?" I ask them, knowing that it came in the newspaper today.

"What? She can't be missing. If she is, then, you find her. I know how much you love investigating. This is the perfect way to show the world how good you are at these things." Mom says, looking satisfied with herself. I hate what she has said.

"Yeah. I agree with your mom on this. When you finally find her, ask her out. It would be perfect for you." Dad agrees. They seem to forget the amount of danger she could be in.

"She's my friend, not some lottery ticket! You're forgetting what happened to Zach when he went missing! This is someone's life you're talking about!" I say, loosing my patience. I know they mean no harm, but, you just can't talk about anyone like that in such a situation.

"We know what happened to Zach." Mom says, quietly.

"We know what we're talking about. We're looking at the bright side of things, Chris." Dad says. "Sorry. My mind is just preoccupied. I'll look into it. Conner and Diana wouldn't love anything more than to investigate." I say, quite truthfully.

"Now that that's over, care to tell us why you left school yesterday? Mr. O'Brian sounded irritated." Mom says, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah Chris. Why?" Dad asks.

"Don't even try to change the subject. You know I won't answer." I reply, trying to finish my food fast.

"I know you won't. Mr. O'Brian never called me. I saw you outside the rent-a-bike yesterday. You're already investigating Sarah's disappearance, aren't you?" Mom asks.

"That's classified. Please stay away from that place. There's things going on there. I wouldn't want anything to happen to both of you." I reply, determined not to let them know anything. "Answer me, Chris. I don't want anything to happen to you." Mom replies.

"Would you look at that. My food's done, I'm going upstairs." I say, and run upstairs, before mom asks me anymore questions. I run to Zach's room, listening to everything mom and dad say.

I hear mom say, "He doesn't understand. We were warned. If he fiddles too much he'll go the same way as Zach. I don't know what I'll do if something happens to Chris too. He's all we have left, Justin. The Altruism Union already took Zach."

The Altruism Union already took Zach. Altruism Union. So that's what Checkmate was trying to warn me about. He must also be a victim, like Zach. I still don't trust him.