Aisha

We pulled that prank, and you should’ve seen his face when he realized that I was the lady who showed him to my room. He would’ve just run into my room if Haylee hadn’t said anything. I briefly wondered what she said to Elijah that made him so panicky that he didn’t pay any attention to who he was talking to, but put my mind past it when my lower back cringed again.

 

When we got home, Haylee's mother came to me and welcomed me back home. “I didn’t know you were going to get out so soon! I’m glad you called me. You made Elijah look hilarious, or at least Haylee did. I wish I had a video camera to show you his face.”

 

It’s nice to be welcomed back like this, don’t you think? “Thanks,” I said because I didn’t know what else to say. “You should’ve seen his face at the hospital, it was hysterical! Nothing like that. I’m glad I came up with the idea. You two did well making him believe I was getting worse.” I said with a nod towards Cara and Haylee.

“What, even you knew?” Elijah interjected. “Why would you pull a prank like this?”

 

“Remember, Elijah, she never pulled a prank. She almost took zero part in it. It was my idea, and Haylee was the one who mainly pulled the prank. Haylee and I, I should say,” I said, then replied, almost interrupting him, “It was fun, though, and now I have a great story to tell my friends back at home.”

 

Your friends back at home?! Elijah sent me, mad.

 

Yes. You know, Aisha, Hufart, them.

 

Oh, yeah. Them.

 

You know what? We should call them now!  

 

“NO!” Elijah screamed and Haylee and their mother jumped.

 

“No? What are you screaming about? What are you saying no to?” Cara asked.

 

“I’m about to call my friends in Huntsville to tell them about the prank we pulled and he doesn’t want me to.”

 

“Why not? He doesn’t even know them.”

 

“Actually, he knows one, Aisha Khan. She’s the girl who came with me for a couple of weeks one summer.”

 

“No, not her!” Elijah pleaded.

 

“Oh, yes her. She’s going to laugh loudly, so be prepared to cover your ears.” I dialed her number, but she didn’t answer.

 

“Phew.” Elijah let out a breath of relief.

 

No, please don’t spoil the fun, Aisha. Answer! I called again.

 

“Damn you, Aisha!” I said a little to loudly. Crap. I thought to myself.

 

I call again and again, and still get her voice mail.

 

I call again. Still no Aisha, so I left a message. “Hey Aish, please answer. I’ve got a hilarious story to tell you!”

 

“Really?” Elijah asked. “Do you have to torture me like this?”

 

I smiled evilly. “Of course I do. It’s part of the fun. I can prank you as much as I want, but do I always get to see you afraid of Aisha? No. This’ll be funner than I could ever imagine.”

 

Pick up the damn phone, Aisha! I call her again. No answer.

I call again.

 

And again.

And again.

 

And again.

 

Still no answer, so I text her.

 

And text her.

 

And text her.

 

Still no answer.

 

“Oh well. I guess we could try again in half an hour,” I said, giggling a bit.

 

While I was laughing at Elijah, my phone rings, so I check to see who’s calling. “Well if it isn’t the girl who’s been wanted for the past 30 minutes,” I answered the phone call.

 

“What? Why did you call me a hundred billion times?” Aisha responded over the phone.

 

“Say hi to my little friends.” I replied. “Haylee, Elijah, and their mom.”

 

“Where’s Nathan?” asks the oh so very curious Aisha.

 

“I’ll tell you later.” I quickly replied.

 

“So what do you want with me?”

 

“Oh, Aish, I have a very hysterical story to tell ya.” I told her about the prank, and, as I predicted, she laughed.

 

“Haha. Is Elijah there?”

 

“Yeah? Why do you want me?”

 

She laughs some more. “Isn’t it obvious?” I asked. He shakes his head no. “She wants to laugh at you some more, duh!”

 

“No, really, I just want to say, HOWCOULDYOUNOTRECOCNISEELIZABETHJACKS?!”

 

Elijah was stunned. He couldn’t answer her question.

 

“See, this is one of those times when I when I laugh at you, Aisha.” I said, laughing even harder. 

 

After Elizabeth’s conversation with Ayesha was over, her phone rang again. She checked the Caller ID and answered it. We kept quiet until she put it on speaker. I looked suspiciously at her. “Who is this?” I mouthed to her. She just shrugged her shoulders and looked at Elijah. Those two were having another conversation without me or Mom knowing what was being said.

 

__~*@*~__

 

It’s my other friend Hufsa. You want to talk to her?

 

What? Hell no! Of course I don’t!

 

Awe, come on. She wants to talk to you.

 

Of course she does. All your friends want to talk to me!

 

You’re someone out of their normal group, they always want to talk to random people.

 

Exactly the whole entire point. They’re crazy. Like you in many ways.

 

Oh, sure. I know I’m crazy, but I’m nothing like them, thank-you very much.

 

Give me the darn phone.  I sent, then grabbed it out of her hands.

 

“Hello most annoying Hufsa.” I said into the speaker.

 

“Hi,” came the voice of someone I never met but hated. “Is this Elijah?”

“Yesss,” I said, extending the ‘s’ sound. “What do you want with me?”

 

“Oh, I just wanted to talk to you. Who else is there?” Hufsa asked me.

 

I thought for a second, wondering if I should tell her. I looked at Elizabeth.

 

Only if you want to.

 

You’re no help.

 

Actually, I’m a lot of help.

 

Fine. “Haylee and our mother.”  Happy?

 

Very.

 

“Where’s Elizabeth?”

 

“Here,” Elizabeth said.

 

“Oh. Of course you are. So what did you want to tell me again?” Hufsa asked.

 

Elizabeth looked at me. You tell her.

 

Why me?

 

Because it would be better for you to tell her.

 

Why?

 

Just do it!

 

Okay, okay. I’m going to. I sighed. “Elizabeth, Haylee, and my mother played a prank on me.” I said, regretting it as soon as I said it.   

 

She laughed at me. “LOL!” she screamed into the speaker. “Elizabeth, did you really?”

 

“Yes. You should’ve seen his face! It was hilarious!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

 

“Really? LMFO!” she screamed into the receiver. What is it with Hufsa and her abbreviations or text language... Whatever you want to call it.

 

“Huffart, use proper language, please.” Elizabeth piped in.

 

“Fine.” She sounded put off. “But it’s still funny! How did you prank him?” She laughed again.

 

“How is it so funny?” I asked aloud.

 

All the girls laughed. “Because she pranked you hard!” Haylee said between laughs.

 

“Oh, alright. Fine. It’s funny Ha-ha.” I sarcastically replied.

 

“Don’t be a downer, be an upper!” Elizabeth laughed and mom and Haylee joined in.

 

“Can we please not laugh about this anymore. It’s getting to become overkill,” I requested the girls.

 

“But. It’s. Hilarious!” Elizabeth said in between laughs. 

“But, Elizabeth, maybe it is time to let it side,” Haylee suggested to Elizabeth.

 

“Not nearly,” then she received my long dagger-sending glare and replied, “Fine. Happy, Elijah?”

 

“Yes, thank-you. Now, how are we going to find-“ Nathan“Elizabeth?”

 

“What?” Mom asked me.

 

“What? Oh, nothing. Never mind. Nothing you need to know. Haylee, Elizabeth, can we go to the library or the Café on Broadway or someplace?”

 

“Why do you want to be rid of me so quickly?” Mom asked.

 

“Oh, nothing, nothing. Can we go now, please?” I asked all of them.

 

“I see no harm.” Elizabeth backed me up.

 

“Sure, of course.” Haylee replied.

 

“Fine, go on you kids.” Mom said.

 

“MOM!” I replied. Don’t you hate it when parents could be so embarrassing? “Really?”

 

“Yes, really. Now, are you going to go or not?” Mom replied.

 

“Yes, we’re going, come on.” I led them.

 

“Not so fast, Elijah.” Elizabeth said quickly. We need to look for something that could tie Nathan’s abductor.

 

And what would that be?

 

We need to ask your mother some questions.

 

No! She’s not nearly ready to be questioned.

 

Please. Do you want to find your brother or not? Besides, she’s the one who was with him when he was abducted.

 

Fine, but if she starts’ crying, it’s not my fault.

 

It’ll be mine, I know.

 

I looked at Elizabeth then at mom. “Mom, Elizabeth wants to ask you some questions.”

 

“Mrs. Hawks, can we please go into another room?” Elizabeth asked.

 

She looked a bit sad, but she motioned to the kitchen, and Elizabeth went in there, followed by my mother, who closed the door. Great, I can’t hear the conversation, nor see it.

 

__~*@*~__

 

Don’t worry, I’ll tell you the questions and answers. I sent to Elijah.

 

“Mrs. Hawks, I’m well aware of Nathan’s disappearance. I just want you to know that we’re looking for him.” I started off.

 

“Yes, I thought you three were. Is there something that I can help you three with?”

 

“Yes, could you tell me what happened exactly?” I asked carefully.

 

“Yes, I guess I should. We were at the baseball field for practice for his games. I was cheering for him from the sidelines, and my husband was coaching like usual. Then he called for a break, and Nathan ran towards the restrooms. A couple of people went in after him, and he never came back out.” This is going to be harder than I thought it would be.

 

“Did you go in to look for him?”

“No, but Mark did. He came back bewildered. That was the last time I saw Nathan.”

 

“Thanks, Mrs. Hawks. I hope we find him soon,” I said, then walked towards the door.

 

“You’re welcome. I hope you find him. I’d much rather him be found by you three than by the police.”

 

“Thanks for your confidence,” I laughed a bit, then turned to Elijah and Haylee. “Shouldn’t we go now?” I asked.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah, I guess we should,” Elijah shuddered.

 

“Dang, I wish it would rain today!” Haylee moaned when we stepped outside.

 

“Stop complaining. It could be worse,” I commanded her.

 

“You sound like an army sergeant,” Haylee pouted. Elijah and I just laughed.

 

“No, I’m much more nicer than the Army officers.” I told.

 

“She is,” Elijah agreed. “She’s much nicer than most people, actually.”

 

I smiled. “Thanks,” I looked towards Haylee. “See? I’m nicer than you think.”

 

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess you are. Come on, we should try to find our brother.”

 

We went to the ballpark and looked around for clues. “What kind of clues would last 2 weeks?” Elijah asked.

 

“Good question, but right now, we could use any help we could. Why didn’t we go here first?”

 

“Because Gertinald came into your bedroom first, that lying B*****d did,” Elijah answered me.

 

“Oh yeah. That happened.” I said sarcastically.

 

They were talking on and on about Gertinald and Shelby and stuff like that, so I just tuned them out for about an hour. It was like I had my own earplugs and was listening to a music or seeing a movie. I searched the grounds but didn’t find anything.

 

Elizabeth and Elijah apparently found something, but I didn’t hear them because I was in my own world. “Haylee!” Elizabeth screamed at me. “Haylee!” I didn’t hear her still. I walked into the restrooms because I had to go. When I opened the first stall, someone came and grabbed me and pushed a pillow towards my face. I screamed, but it was muffled by the pillow. I just hoped that Elijah and Elizabeth’s senses would hear my scream in my head.

 

“Elizabeth, Elijah!” I screamed in my head. “HELLLP!!!”

 

__~*@*~__

 

We talked about them coming into my room and why we hadn’t come here quicker, when I saw Haylee going towards the restrooms. I remembered Mrs. Hawks telling me about Nathan being abducted from the restrooms, and screamed for Haylee not to go into there. Apparently, she was either ignoring me, or she didn’t hear me. I ran in silently after her, breaking off the conversation, forgetting that I shouldn’t run. I made it in there, but I saw a hooded guy, about six feet tall, covered in black. He was carrying Haylee in his arms. Haylee was lying on a pillow. I stood behind the brick wall and watched him as he disappeared into thin air. Crap. Now what do we do?

 

Elijah, come quickly. Haylee’s gone! I sent the MIA guy.

 

What do you mean she’s missing. She only went into the bathroom.

 

Are you stupid or not? Nathan was abducted in the restroom! Now, Haylee and Nathan are abducted at the same ballpark restrooms!

 

Oh… Oh crap. Poor mom. She’s not going to take this well.

 

I starred at him when he came into the restroom. “Ya think?” I kind of yelled.

 

“Yeah, I think. Why? Did you think differently?”

 

“No, I just thought that since she was with us, she would be a little safer. Do you know what? You-“ I pointed at him, “You stay at your house. I don’t want you to come back here. Someone’s targeting the Hawks children.”

 

__~*@*~__

 

I woke up suddenly in a place that seamed so familiar, yet so unfamiliar.

 

“We’ve abducted your sister, Nathan. Would you like to do the honors?” An unfamiliar voice said. I decided that it was not safe to notify my abductors that I was awake.

 

Someone shuffled towards me. “I’d rather not, but I guess I will,” said Nathan. He turned towards me and whispered. “We know you’re awake, sister. Now it’s time to gain some payback.”

 

I tried to move my wrists, but they were tied. “Elizabeth! Elijah! Please help me! They have Nathan with them! They are in a foresty place! Nathan’s working for them!” I sent to Elizabeth and Elijah. Well, at least I hoped that I sent it, and that they’ll get it.  Why is it always me that my brothers pick on?

 

Then Nathan moved towards me. “Still going to pretend that you’re not conscious, are you Haylee?” Nathan sneered at me. “Well, this’ll teach ya!”

 

__~*@*~__

 

“Did you get that?” I asked Elijah. He nodded. “Let’s think. Where’s all the foresty places in Siloam?”

 

“Well, there’s the foresty place where we live, down by the creeks, pretty much all over the town,” Elijah replied.

 

“Thanks, Elijah. That really narrowed it down,” I sarcastically remarked. “A lot.”

 

“I know. Well, let’s start, then we’ll be able to narrow it down farther by the forests we visit,” Elijah suggested.

 

“Or, and I’m not sure you or your mother would like this, we could involve Detective Harding and the other Detectives,” I suggested, “That way, we get a better coverage in a faster time. We know one thing though, you’re brother’s one of them.”

 

“One of them?” Elijah quoted me. “What do you mean ‘One of them?’”

 

“I mean that Haylee said  that they had Nathan. Maybe they decided that it would be easier to make him a member into their group and make him do something to Haylee.”

 

“Why would he go against anyone in his own family?”

 

“Trust me, I would go against some of my family any day.”