Bernard
He didn’t remember running back to his car, clutching the note tightly. But nothing else happened as he threw himself into the front seat, locked the door, and drove away without looking where he was going. It was a miracle he didn’t kill anyone.
But after making a few turns, Bernard finally started to calm down enough to let his car drift closer to the sidewalk and put it in park. He squeezed the wheel and took a deep breath before pulling out his phone.
B: Guys, we have a problem. Something happened to Dad. We need to meet up now!
A: Are you alright? I had to stay late to talk to a teacher, but I’m leaving now.
B: I’m fine. Can’t talk now. I’m a few miles away from that diner you met Dad in. Can you grab the others and meet me there?
A: Yeah, that’s fine. I recommend the milkshakes. 🙂
Bernard chuckled. Antione’s jokes were rare and didn’t always work, but he appreciated the effort nonetheless.
C: I don’t think we should be out right now. My mom just messaged me saying she’ll pick me up. She never does that unless she wants me to meet her newest boyfriend.
D: Just sneak out and turn off your phone when Antione picks you up.
C: You’re horrible. What if it’s an emergency?
B: Hate to break it to you, but this is an emergency. I need to go. See you all there.
Bernard ignored the dinging and focused on the road. The fog fought with his headlamps, only letting him see a few feet ahead. Thankfully, no one else was around. They would have complained about Bernard’s speed. Normally, he’d be flying down the roads without a care in the world.
Today, he barely met the speed limit. When he arrived, the diner was mostly empty, and Bernard claimed a booth big enough to fit six. A young woman hurried over with a big smile. “Well, hello there. Isn’t this fog crazy? I feel like I’m in a horror movie! My name is Shelby. What can I get for you?”
“Um, actually, is it alright if I don’t order yet? I’m waiting for the rest of my group. They should be here soon.”
Shelby frowned slightly and turned toward the counter where a man wearing an old-fashioned paper hat and apron over a t-shirt and jeans stood, wiping down the display case. “It’s fine by me. The roads are starting to get dangerous, so waiting a bit might be the safest choice. You said they’d be here soon?”
Bernard nodded. “Yes, sir. School just let out, so I’m sure things will start picking up soon.”
The man shrugged, not concerned despite his words, as he beckoned Shelby to join him on the other side of the counter. Bernard smiled gratefully and looked out the window. It really does look like a horror movie… hopefully, it’s the kind with a happy ending.
Camille
I can’t believe I’m doing this. Camille didn’t have the best relationship with her mother, but she’d never ignored a direct order like this. She kept switching from looking at her phone to the windows next to the school’s back entrance. Her mother would expect Camille to be waiting near the front like always, but she hadn’t texted her asking where she was, and she couldn’t turn the phone off until Antione arrived.
This is crazy. Mom is going to kill me. Why can’t Bernard just text it to us? She was washed with guilt instantly. Bernard was the group’s rock and had been almost from the beginning. It must be bad if he was too upset to text them the details. And it had something to do with their father, who they just barely managed to save from Jean-Claude’s wrath.
It wasn’t fair. Things were finally starting to feel normal again, and now, they were left without a father… Antione will probably act like he doesn’t care. He’s still having trouble calling him dad. Camille didn’t understand it. She knew she and Daymond had more time with Robert, but Bernard started calling him dad right away.
And… then there was her mother. Camille was used to seeing her make bad choices and often heard her scream throughout the night. But ever since Robert took her to the woods to meet Daymond and the others, something had changed—something that her mother refused to talk about, no matter what Camille said or did.
She couldn’t deny feeling guilty about running off with Antione, knowing her mother would be worried once she couldn’t get ahold of her. But she didn’t let it stop her from moving once Antione’s car crept through the fog, like some kind of deep undersea creature hunting for prey.
Camille turned her phone off and grinned as she opened the back door, but a familiar voice called out before she could hop inside. “Camille? Camille, where are you? We don’t have time for this, damnit!”
She looked back, fear making her skin prickle as she tensed. Her mother’s shadow slowly grew along the far wall, and Camille almost lost her chance to move. How could she think of defying her mom at a time like this? But Antione’s voice softly called to her from the safety of his car.
“Sis? What’s wrong? Are you coming?”
“I–”
“Camille!”
She didn’t wait to see her mother. She turned and threw herself into the seat, Antione staring at her in confusion.
“Camille?”
“Drive. Just drive. Hurry!” she shouted, staring out the window to see her mother racing down the hall, waving her arms and shouting, but Camille couldn’t hear her through the glass. She didn’t want to. Antione didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled out and away just as Camille’s mother reached the doors.
She was still screaming. Camille covered her head and closed her eyes. I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry! Antione didn’t say anything for several minutes. She knew he would. How else was someone supposed to react to a scene like that? But she wasn’t expecting what he said.
“I don’t know how to get to Daymond’s school. Can you look at my phone so I can watch the road?”
“Huh?” Camille hesitantly moved her hands, seeing Antione smile as he kept both hands on the wheel.
“Can you keep track of the GPS? Sorry, but I don’t usually drive around here, and I’m not looking away from the road. You never know what kind of psycho will decide to take a joy ride or something.”
Camille picked up Antione’s phone from his cup holder and hesitated. “You… you’re not going to ask?”
“About… I’m guessing that was your mom?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I don’t need to know.” She froze, uncertainty mixing with fear at his words. How can he say that after everything we’ve been through? “But I’m listening if you want to talk. I’ll bet the others will, too. But I’m not going to pry.”
Her breath left in a rush as she sagged into the seat. “Antione.”
“Yeah?”
“You need to work on your big brother skills. That was almost more than I can take right now.”
“Sorry, sis. I didn’t mean anything by it… But seriously. Are you still up for this? I’m sure Bernard will understand if your mom is already freaking out.”
Camille shook her head and focused on his phone. “No, I’m fine. The damage is already done. We have a right turn coming up in a couple of minutes. Did you tell Day you already picked me up?”
“Not yet. Do you want to do it? You can use my phone.”
She nodded, checking the chat first and letting herself relax. There’s going to be hell to pay when I see her again. I just hope I’ll be able to tell her we saved Dad when I do!
Antione
They picked up Daymond and drove to the diner in silence. Bernard’s phone was on, but he wasn’t responding to their texts. Antione didn’t like it. He could see Bernard through a window and honked to get his attention. The noise made Bernard jump, but he was grinning when the three went inside and sat down.
The waitress, Shelby, walked over and grinned. “Hello again. Is your father doing alright? He never came back after you left.”
Antione grinned back and picked up a menu. “He’s fine. It was a work thing.” He looked at Bernard. “Have you eaten?”
Bernard shook his head. “I don’t think we should stay here for long. The roads are getting worse.”
Daymond opened his mouth, but Camille cut him off. “Let’s just have some drinks to be polite. You said the milkshakes are good, Antione?”
“They are.” He confirmed and looked at Shelby. “Four chocolate milkshakes, please.”
Shelby nodded, not bothering to write it down as she headed for the counter. “Coming right up.”
Daymond scowled. “I’m hungry. It’s rude to come to a restaurant and not eat.”
“We’re not here for the food.” Antione turned to Bernard and asked. “What happened at the park?”
“I… uh.” Bernard took a deep breath and pulled out an envelope with some string taped to it. “I found this in the park… Around a dead dog’s neck… It, someone staked it.”
Antione’s eyes widened, and Camille gasped, but Daymond shook his head. “Are you saying someone killed a dog with steak? Did they poison it, or overfeed it?”
Bernard sighed and quietly said. “Wrong kind of stake. Someone basically shoved a log with sharpened ends up a dog’s butt and out its mouth.”
Daymond’s face went pale, and he whistled. “That’s… that’s sick. People do that?”
Camille nodded. “We learned about it when we were reading Dracula by Bram Stoker last year. To help us appreciate the horror classics. There was a count who did that. He did it so much that he’s also known as Vlad the Impaler.”
“Why did he hate dogs so much?” Daymond asked, and Bernard shook his head.
“He didn’t. He staked people. But that’s not the point. Someone kidnapped our dad and…” Bernard looked at Antione and held out the envelope. “Read it. I couldn’t think of a better way to tell you. So, just read it.”
“Okay?” Antione took it and let his breath out in a hiss as a strange scent hit his face. It smells wrong. Danger! Everyone watched as he nearly tore the envelope open and read the message. He could feel the others staring at him, but the smell almost made him gag. It was like someone tried to drown a fish in a gallon of cheap perfume. He groaned, rubbing his nose as he shook his head. “This is insane. How can you guys stand that smell?”
“Smell? You mean the fake perfume one?” Bernard asked.
“I don’t smell anything bad,” Daymond said, taking a big sniff to emphasize his point.
“I don’t either,” Camille stated, worry filling her gaze as they stared at their oldest brother.
“You really can’t smell it? Seriously?” Antione handed the note to Camille. “Here. Smell it again. I don’t know what it is, but it’s fishy and fake. How can you guys not smell it?”
She brought the note to her nose but still shook her head. “I’m sorry, Antione. But I really can’t smell anything.”
“Let me try!” Daymond plucked the note away and took a breath. “Yeah, man. I think you and Bernard are losing it. This just smells like paper and ink to me. Maybe your noses are acting up again?”
“It could,” Antione muttered as Bernard reclaimed the note. “It might have been a bit sensitive lately. But I’ve never smelled anything like that before.”
“The only thing that I smelled was a fake flowery scent. Like perfume. But that wasn’t until I opened it. How are you, and I smelling something that they can’t?” Bernard asked as he placed the note back into the envelope. “Can you still smell it?”
Antione took several breaths and shook his head. “It’s… going away. That’s so weird. It’s like the air is absorbing it or something.”
He stared at the envelope, and Daymond shrugged. “Well, Antione’s and Bernard’s broken noses aside… What are we going to do about Dad?”
“What can we do?” Antione groaned, hiding his face in his hands as he sighed. “For some reason, these things want me, and–”
“We’re not trading you for Dad. Forget it.” Camille declared as Bernard nodded immediately.
“You guys…” Antione wanted to argue, but he couldn’t deny his relief.
“I hate to break up this touching moment, and I agree with Camille and Bernard, by the way. But… unless there was a hidden message…I don’t see how Antione is supposed to give himself up.” Daymond looked at Bernard. “Was this the only one you found?”
“Yeah.” Bernard scowled. “How did I miss that? The dog was clearly a taunt, and they gave us a deadline. But unless they have a way to track us down…”
Bernard left the sentence unfinished and looked at them. “So, what are we going to do?”
Antione groaned again. “I’m such an idiot. Longnose. He’s been in this area for a long time. I bet he knows what to do.”
Camille tapped her chin and nodded. “It couldn’t hurt, and we have three days… Should we go now?”
That’s a good question. Camille is already in trouble with her mom, and I don’t want to be accused of kidnapping. “I have a full tank of gas and plenty of room for the four of us. But if we’re doing this now. Then we need to call our moms.”
Antione didn’t look at Camille, but he felt her tense. He patted her shoulder and stood up. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom. No one drink my milkshake.”
“No promises.” Daymond joked as Antione walked away. He locked the bathroom stall and called his mother. She answered on the first ring.
“Antione?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Where are you?”
“At a diner with my siblings. Listen, something’s up with Robert, and–”
“Come home.” Antione froze in shock. Is she mad that I didn’t tell her I wasn’t coming home right away?
“Mom?”
“Come home, Antione. Whatever is going on with your father doesn’t concern you. You can bring your siblings with you. Have them call their mothers so they know they’re safe and come home now.”
“They’re already calling them right now. But what’s wrong? I thought you wanted me to have a father in my life. It’s not my fault he got kidnapped.”
“I didn’t say it was. But Robert is a full-grown man who made his choice. You are my son. I won’t have you running around messing with things beyond your control.”
“Mom…” I don’t understand any of this. It’s like she’s a completely different person. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll call you later.”
“Antione?”
“I love you.” He hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket, ignoring the fresh flood of “You are my Sunshine,” as he returned to the table. “We need to leave now. I don’t think my mom will call the cops, but she’s not happy right now.”
