my eyes. “Leave me alone! I’m too tired to run lines with you right now.”
She hops off, kneeling beside me. “B, something happened.”
It’s the somber tone that gets me. I pull the blanket down, meeting her eyes. Becca is never serious except for when a scene calls for it. “What’s wrong?”
She shows me her phone, screen flashing with the words “WARRIOR NATION UNDER SIEGE,” accompanied by the most recent group shot of the entire chapter, all shiny and smiling. What? I spring up, scrolling through the article but only taking in bits and pieces.
Unprecedented…
Chicago law enforcement baffled…
Entire chapter missing…
“Wait…” My voice trembles, sleepy brain struggling to catch up. “All four heroes are gone?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she says. “Apparently Matt was captured first, and as the rest of the heroes went in to save him, they each fell into a trap or something like that. No one knows where they are. It’s all over the news.”
I give her back the phone, taking deep breaths as reality sets in. Kidnapped? ALL of them? But…how? Usually when Matt gets in a bad spot, there’s another Warrior who can swoop in and save the day. It’s the whole reason each chapter has four members—so they can have a superhero buddy system.
Warrior Nation will have to call in the other chapters for help.
My body starts to tremble, fear’s muscle memory setting back in. But you don’t have to worry, my head reasons. Matt’s not your boyfriend anymore. Yet my heart knows better, beating with the same passion that’s propelled me all these years. I still love him; obviously I do. I can’t just turn off these emotions, especially in a time like this. Even if we’re not together, I don’t want him to get hurt…or worse…. I swallow hard, my mind playing a slideshow of all the injuries he’s incurred over the years, all the times he slid in through my window, needing to feel me, needing to feel safe himself. I think of him now, wherever he is, beaten and bruised amongst the other Warriors…. Oh god…
“B, are you okay?” Becca asks, waving a hand in front of my face. “You look like you’re visiting some kind of scary mental place. Do you need some water, or whiskey?”
I shake my head, even though my throat is dry from panic. “How…How long have they been gone?” I croak.
“Um…” She taps on her phone, looking for an answer. “I’m not sure. But couldn’t you still call up that Warrior Nation hotline you’ve used before? Ring up that Millie chick or Mr. Know-It-All, get the news directly from the source?”
“That’s a good idea.” I reach under the couch for my phone, pulling it off its charger. A stream of notifications waits for me, most of them from Claire, in an increasing state of panic.
Hey Joy’s been out on a mission for like 10 hours with no word…how long until I should be officially freaked?
Still nothing
I called HQ but they straight up gave me a no comment
Something must be wrong
The WarNat forums are going off! Help!
Oh no, oh, Claire. She must be losing her mind right now. I can’t let her go through this alone.
My only other text is from Millie, as part of the contact thread she created a while back for all those closely connected to the heroes.
Due to the current state of events, we
strongly encourage all Warrior friends
and family to report to HQ immediately
Maybe I’m not Matt’s girlfriend anymore; maybe they sent me this message by mistake. But there’s no way I’m not heading down there to find out what’s going on and what I can do to help. Without another thought, I quickly get dressed, grabbing my bag to head out the door.
“Wait, where are you going?” Becca calls after me, yanking me by the elbow.
“Where do you think?”
Her eyebrows knit in confusion, ponytail flopping to one side. “But…why? You broke up with Matt so you wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore.”
She’s right; I wanted to be rid of all this drama, free from constantly looking over my shoulder and wondering what kind of mayhem would happen next. I wanted to live my life in peace, but I can’t breathe easy knowing people I care about are in trouble. As it turns out, this world is a bigger part of me than I thought. “I may not be a hero, but I can’t watch the world fall apart.”
*
HQ is a total disaster. People running left and right, every screen flashing bright red