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Chapter 2

She stirred as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by darkness. She tried to adjust her eyes to the surroundings, but found that there wasn’t a single ray of light to give her any idea of where she was. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed that she noticed that she wasn’t able to move around. She was lying flat on her back, her legs stretched out and her arms crossed over her chest. Slowly, she raised her arms and tried to sit up. It was then she realized that she was inside a wooden box.

In panic she let out a silent cry.

“Hello?” She said out loud. Her voice was shaking, as if she was afraid of getting an answer. She banged her fists on the side of the box, but the sound that met her was hollow and told her that no one could hear her from the outside.

“Hello? Can anybody hear me?” She yelled, her heart beating faster by the second, and panic was taking control over her body. She once again banged her fist as hard as she could on the walls surrounding her.

“Help me! Please…” She didn’t think she had ever felt this afraid in her entire life.
“Nick… Are you there? Can you hear me? Nick…?”
Minutes passed, and there was no reply or any sound at all coming from the outside of the box. Silent tears were falling down her cheek, and her voice became more and more fragile by every word that she spoke.

~*~

“What do you mean gone?”
“She’s not here AJ. All the lights are on, the door was unlocked, and she’s not here…” Nick was freaking out, pacing back and forth in Ali’s bedroom as he was speaking to AJ on the phone.
“Ok… calm down Nick. There’s probably a perfectly good explanation to all of this. Maybe she’s just out shopping for groceries.”
“It’s midnight, AJ…”
“Yea… ok.”
“What do I do man?” Nick asked as he sat down on her bed, still looking around the room to see if there was something that he’d missed.
“I don’t know… I guess you have to report her missing. If you’re sure she’s not there.”
“She’s not here Jay.”
“Right… umm… why don’t you come over to my place, and I’ll come with you down to the police station.”
“You sure?” Nick’s voice was shaking as he realized that he would have to report her missing.
“Yea, I’ll take you there. You shouldn’t be driving under these circumstances”
“Thanks man… I’ll be over in 15 minutes.”
“Alright… see ya.”

Nick quickly made his way to AJ’s place. They reached the police station half an hour later, and Nick was out of the car before AJ even had the chance to park it.
“Whoa… slow down Kaos. You’re gonna get yourself hurt if you keep up with that tempo.” AJ said, trying to keep up with Nick.
Nick didn’t reply. He just rushed towards the main entrance, AJ following not too far behind. They walked inside, and Nick quickly walked past the other people standing in line. A few of them reacted by sending angry glances in his direction, and as AJ walked past them, he sent an apologetic look.

“I’d like to report a missing person!” Nick said firmly to the female officer who was sitting behind the desk in front of him.
“Sir, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait in line like everybody else here.” She was looking stern, like she’d seen a lot of things, and nothing ever got to her anymore.
“No, you don’t understand.” He shook his head and impatiently placed both hands on the counter in front of him. “I need to speak with someone who can help me find her.”
“Sir, I need you to sit down, please.”
“No, listen to me, I ---“
“Nick, calm down!” AJ placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s sit down. You’re not making things any better by doing this.”
“But I---“
“Nick…”
He sighed, and agreed to follow AJ over to the waiting area.

Half an hour later, it was finally his call.
“Yes?” The female officer replied as he approached her again.
“I’d still like to report a missing person.” Nick said sarcastically.
“Name please.”
“Alicia Parker.”
The officer smiled a little to herself as if she was trying to make Nick look stupid. “No, sir. Your name, please.”
“Oh, umm… Nick Carter.”
“Ok, Mr. Carter, I need you to fill out this form. When you’re done, hand it to me, and we’ll see what we can do.”
“What do you mean ‘you’ll see what you can do?’ I need to know that you’re taking this case seriously. My best friend is missing, and she never leaves without telling me where she’s going. And she certainly never leaves her apartment with all the lights on and the front door unlocked.”
The officer sighed. “Mr. Carter…” She said slowly, as if she was trying to get him to understand. “You need to know that we deal with situations like this every day. People disappear, but 90 % of the time, they return the next day with a perfectly good explanation. I’m not saying that we won’t look into your case. I’m just saying that we know what we’re taking about, and that we’re almost always right.”
“Almost huh?” Nick whispered as he looked down at the form and grabbed a pen to start filling out the different sections.

“WHAT?” It was three hours later, and Nick and AJ were sitting in an office at the police station, talking to a different officer.
“We’re not going to investigate any further into this case, Mr. Carter.” He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk that separated him from Nick and AJ. “Nothing here points in the direction of a kidnapping.”
Nick felt his heart skip a few beats. “What do you mean? All the lights in her apartment were on, the door was unlocked, and all of her belongings are still there.”
“Mr. Carter, her purse containing her wallet, her cell phone and all her credit cards are not there. Most likely, she’s gone out and forgotten to lock the door.”
“If she’s got her cell phone with her, then why isn’t she answering my calls?” Nick wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and he knew that he couldn’t give up.
“I’m asking you, Mr. Carter to accept our decision, and go home. It’s almost four in the morning, and you’re not going to get any way with this. This case is closed.”

~*~

She didn’t know how long she’d been lying there… Her legs were starting to ache, and it was getting very clammy inside the box. Her breathing was getting heavier and by every breath she took, she felt a piece of her life disappear. She wanted to believe that it was all a dream, and that she would wake up soon in her own bed, but deep down, she knew that this was as real as it could possible get.