Case File: The Hall Kidnapping
Subject: Ryan Winters
Recording Number: 9
An Unfortunate Development
After whatever it was that happened in the clearing, Josh and I slipped back to camp wordlessly. Needless to say, it was a little awkward. We got back to the cabin, and he put his hand on my shoulder to say goodnight and his touch lingered just a little bit too long and I didn’t know how to process it, so I responded “coolio beans” and walked away. That was pretty much the highlight of the night.
After that, I didn’t sleep.
And I don’t think Josh did either.
Everyone who had actually gotten a full night’s sleep was nice and perky, and more than willing to go on a two-hour hike up to the top of Mt. What-the-fuck-ever. My tiny nerd frame almost couldn’t take it.
I was hanging at the end of the pack, groaning to myself. Sweat dripped down my back in between my wings, which was just about the strangest feeling ever. Like when ice cream melts between your fingers on a hot summer day.
All of a sudden, Gigi appeared next to me, noticing how tired I was. “You look terrible. Did a bear get into your cabin or something?” She teased, nudging my shoulder in a playful way.
I scoffed, rubbing the spot where she had nudged me. Ok, so it stung a little. And, yes, I’m that weak. “That obvious?” I groaned. “Loud-mouth up there was snoring all night. I didn’t get a wink of sleep.” Of course, I had to make something up. What else was I going to do, tell her that Josh and I caused all of the… everything by having a weird moment that definitely didn’t mean anything? No thanks.
“Mr. Perfect snores? That’s surprising.” She looked up at Josh, letting out a little giggle. “I can’t imagine what kind of grief his friends would give him if they knew that.”
“You know he would pound me to a bloody pulp if I told any one of them,” I responded flatly. As much as I would have liked to get Josh back for years of torment, I didn’t want to give him a reason to blab my secret to everyone. Actually, knowing him, I was surprised he was able to keep his own.
She shrugged. “Guess you’re just going to have to invest in a pair of earplugs then, huh?” She joked, and I actually laughed.
She always could cheer me up.
“Hope they sell those at the camp store, or I’m doomed to a whole summer of sleepless nights.” I looked over at her. “Speaking of, aren’t you kind of bored around here? A camp for academic enrichment doesn’t seem to fit your style. Wouldn’t you rather be at a theater camp or something?”
She shrugged. “My parents have wanted to go on this vacation for, like, forever to rekindle their marriage. They’ve been going through a rough patch. I want them to be happy, so I told them I would just go on the school’s annual camping trip. They didn’t protest much. Besides, I have the grades, but I don’t do much outside of school.” Gigi was up for valedictorian with Josh, and on top of that, she was a theater genius. Didn't do much outside of school, my right buttcheek! She turned to me. “Why are you here?”
I rolled my eyes. “My mom was worried I would grow up all old and alone, so she sent in the application behind my back to force me to make friends. My idea of summer fun is a box full of video games and a jumbo bag of potato chips. Her idea of summer fun is going to the mall with a group of friends. Gross.”
Gigi laughed. “Oh, come on, making friends isn’t so bad.” She nudged me playfully.
“Yeah, maybe for you it isn’t, but have you seen who I have to choose between? Not an impressive crop this year, I can tell you that.” I gestured over to Josh and his goonies, who were having a contest to see who could spit the furthest off the edge of the trail. That, and making friends wasn’t high on the list of things a mutant runaway wanted to be doing. Mom always said I needed to move on, forget the past and just be Ryan in the present. But how could I forget when everyone was still looking for the Hall kid?
“Well, we’re friends, aren’t we?” She looked at me with her big, green eyes.
My heart both soared and sunk. Friends. I looked at her, and her eyes gleamed. Wow, she was completely serious. OK, friends it was. I mean, it was better than nothing, right? “Yeah, of course we are.” I tried to ignore the way my voice shook ever so slightly when I spoke. I mean, I would take friends over strangers any day of the week. At least ‘friends’ meant that she had some feelings for me. Even if it was platonic.
She smiled brightly. “Good!”
“Alright, everyone, we are going to take a ten-minute break,” Josh, who was leading the hike, sang, letting the group settle in the rest area.
Gigi and I were standing off to the side by some bushes when it happened. She looked down as if to find a place to sit, then she cocked her head to the side, looking confused. I didn’t think much of it at first.
“What is it?” I asked curiously, noticing her confusion.
“What is that…?” She wondered aloud, leaning down to grab something glinting softly in the sunlight. Clearly, she wasn’t listening to me. She pulled a gold medallion out of the bushes. We stared at it for a while. “Do you think someone lost it?” She asked, examining the gleaming jewelry carefully. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was on a thick gold chain, and there was some sort of crest embroidered on the oval-shaped pendant.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe we should ask?” It didn’t really matter much to me. If someone lost it, then it must not have been that important. She turned it around in her hands, then looked to the rest of the group.
“Hey!” She called, her voice projecting beautifully over the mountain. She was a theater geek, so being loud was kind of her thing. “Did anyone lose a necklace?” There were a few murmurs and looks exchanged around the group. No one stepped forward, but a few people’s interest piqued.
Bell, Ms. Soccer Star, walked over to us curiously. Bell and Gigi had been friends since elementary school, and even though Bell had turned to sports while Gigi took off in drama, they didn’t have any negative feelings towards each other. Unlike me and a certain someone I know.
“Oh, it’s kind of pretty. You think I could keep it if no one claims it?” Bell asked, practically shoving me out of the way. I had been completely cut out of the conversation. But that was to be expected. Bell didn’t acknowledge my existence. I wasn’t exactly “cool” enough for that.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Bell. Someone is probably looking for it. Maybe there’s a name on it.” Gigi inspected it a little bit more, gasping when she felt a little latch on the side. “Oh! It’s a locket!” She flipped it open, and she and Bell both let out a little scream of surprise, their eyes wide.
“What? What is it?” People started to swarm around them, and I squeezed through the bunch so I could see inside. My face went completely pale.
It was me.
Well, it was baby me, but it was still me. The little fluffy wings on the back were a huge giveaway. I was a baby, sitting on the lap of my birth giver, who wore a strikingly convincing smile. My dad stood behind her, his hand draped over her shoulder. My brother was standing awkwardly to the side of Birth-Giver, wearing a little tuxedo. I felt the overwhelming urge to vomit. “That’s the Hall kid! That’s definitely the Hall kid!” Gigi exclaimed.
The group went wild. “It’s probably just a prank!” I said, trying to calm people down. I mean, seriously, I had never seen that locket in my life. It had to be a prank.
Gigi shook her head. “Then why are the initials ‘JH’ carved on the other side!” She challenged, pointing to the side of the locket that didn’t have the picture. Personally, I didn’t see how that was convincing evidence, but the other students who had gathered seemed to be on her side. Okay, I was starting to see the appeal of having friends to back you up.
I don’t remember ever having any precious items, especially not anything I’d want to keep. Why would there be something like that in the mountains, of all places? What in the seven hells was going on? “Ryan’s got a point, bro. JH could be anyone, and there are pictures of the Hall kid everywhere! Someone could have easily forged this. We shouldn’t get worked up over it.”
My head whipped backward to see Josh pushing his way through the crowd, moving to snatch the locket and examine it himself. Damn. He actually did something nice for a chance? For me? Good to know a fellow winged freak-of-nature has my back. I sent him a little nod in appreciation.
I’m not going to lie; I really didn’t expect him to stick his neck out for me like that.
Gigi shook her head. “Regardless, we need to give this to the camp counselor. It’s lost, and maybe someone is looking for it. They can decide what to do with it.” Okay, I love Gigi and all, but God dammit why? The last thing I needed was the authorities sniffing their noses around.
Couldn’t something in my life go right for once?
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