赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Caleb took a step back from Galen. He couldn’t form words. He couldn’t think.

“What are you… what are you talking about?” he managed to ask. “What does that mean? How can she be missing!”

Galen clenched his jaw.

“I’m sorry,” he said, lowering his head.

“I don’t care about your apologies, Galen! Where is Ashleigh!!” Caleb shouted angrily, taking a step closer.

Galen winced.

“We don’t know,” Galen said, with a swallow of his nerves. “The last time anyone saw her was yesterday afternoon.”

“Yester…I talked to you last night!” Caleb growled. “Why didn’t you tell me then!”

Galen took a deep breath and looked up at Caleb with regret.

“I didn’t know,” he sighed.

Caleb took deep rage filled breaths. He stared at his best friend, his beta. The one he trusted more than anyone else.

“You… didn’t know?” he asked quietly._.

Galen didn’t respond.

Caleb gritted his teeth, pursed his lips together, and leaned forward toward Galen.

“You didn’t know?”

Galen lowered his head.

“I have no excuse….” Galen said quietly. “I thought… I didn’t know she was gone until just a couple of hours ago. We have scouts searching the area.”

Caleb clenched his jaw.

“Who saw her last?” he asked.

“Clara,” Galen replied. “They were together most of the morning yesterday.”

“How did you learn that she was missing?” Caleb asked.

Galen looked away, drawing a low growl from Caleb

“Bell,” Galen said.

“How did Bell, in Winter, know before you!” Caleb asked through gritted teeth.

Galen swallowed before speaking.

“Bell was on the phone with Ashleigh after she left Clara’s office. They were talking when Ashleigh thought she saw someone strange….” Galen began. “She told Bell she would call her back, but she never did. Bell got concerned when she couldn’t get ahold of her even this morning. I tracked her phone. It was left behind near the eastern border.”

Caleb closed his eyes, desperately trying to calm his racing heart.

“I asked you to take care of her,” he whispered. “To keep her safe when I couldn’t.”

“I know,” Galen replied softly. “I’m sorry.”

Caleb took a deep breath.

“Take care of the survivors. Get them back to Summer,” Caleb said, turning to walk away.

“Wait,” Galen called, following him. “I have a car prepared for us; we can go now to search for Ashleigh. Everything is already arranged for the transport.”

“No,” Caleb said, not bothering to turn around. “Do what I asked. Take care of the survivors. I will be better off finding her myself.”

“But–” Galen started to argue, interrupted by the cold glare and snarl that Caleb gave him.

Galen stopped in his tracks. He hung his head as Caleb turned around and shifted into his wolf, running at full speed in the direction of Summer.

Even at his speed, it would still take a couple of hours to reach their territory. Galen had arranged the car to save their energy. It was a good plan, but Caleb couldn’t be near him now. Until he knew Ashleigh was safe, he didn’t trust himself not to hold Galen personally responsible for her disappearance.

All he could do was run towards her and hope she was alright.

***

It was late into the night when Caleb returned to his room. He was able to find her scent at the eastern border and for a mile past it. But then it just disappeared as though she had never been there.

He found signs of a struggle, and not far from that, he found her pin. Without it, she wouldn’t be able to summon her armor or weapons. He searched up and down the eastern border but found no other signs of her.

She was gone.

Caleb lay back in his bed, exhausted.

After he had found her pin, he rushed to the hospital. He spent two hours flushing his system of the suppressant, only to find that his connection to her was gone as well.

If he had thought for a moment that she was just lost, he didn’t anymore. Someone gave her a suppressant; they had blocked his connection to her.

“Someone…” he growled.

He knew full well who that someone must have been. The thought angered him and worried him. He needed to find Ashleigh before that bastard could hurt her.

He wanted to go back out, but flushing his system was a heavy burden on his body. Added to the fact that he had marched the survivors all day after fighting the crazed wolves of Eclipsed. He was ready to collapse.

Fiona had insisted that he return. She and a team of thirty spread out across all borders to search. She demanded that he sleep. Just like Ashleigh would have.

But alone in his bed, exhausted as he was, he couldn’t sleep. So all he could do was let the tears fall as he desperately pleaded with the Goddess to bring Ashleigh back to his side.

***

Ashleigh stirred.

Her body felt heavy and tired. Her mouth was dry with a bitter taste. She tried to lick her lips, but it did nothing to help. Her tongue was also dry. She tried to turn her head, but it filled her with a dull ache and left her feeling dizzy.

From what she could tell, she was lying down. It didn’t feel like dirt or like a hard surface. Instead, it was soft, cushioned. A bed or a couch, perhaps?

She could see the light through her eyelids, meaning she wasn’t in the dark, wherever she was. Ashleigh took a deep breath in through her nose. She could smell linen, clean linen, like an air freshener. But, beneath it, there was drywall, dirt, and metal.

She was warm, with no breeze that she could feel.

There were no sounds, no wind, no birds, nothing she would hear outside. So, she must have been indoors. It was quiet, but there was a faint, muted buzzing sound.

What happened? How had she gotten here? Where was this place?

Ashleigh tried to open her eyes, still feeling so heavy. It was a struggle, but finally, they fluttered open. She blinked several times, trying to focus her vision.

It was clear that she had been drugged. She didn’t remember how or what had happened. The last thing she remembered was talking to Clara about Nessa.

Her vision was finally settling. She stared above her; it was a white popcorned ceiling with fluorescent light. The source of the buzzing, she guessed.

Ashleigh attempted to lift her arm. She tried to bring it to her chest, where she wore her pin. But she couldn’t. Her arms felt numb.

How long would it take for whatever she had been drugged with to wear off?

She heard a door open not far from her and the sound of footsteps approaching.

“Oh, you’re awake?” a muffled voice called to her.

Even without being able to recognize the voice, she felt her heart speed up. She swallowed the rising fear.

He was standing beside her now, she felt the heat coming off his body, and it only fueled the panic that rose in her.

He moved into her field of vision, and her eyes widened. She gasped as his pale blue eyes shone with the same affection they always had.

“Hi, Baby,” Granger smiled.