The next day started off pretty bad, as I woke up with a nagging headache in Hannah’s bed, and it continued to get worse.

  I decided to ride the bus to school because the last thing I wanted to do was face my parents after our little dinner pow-wow the other night. But my mom had woken up early, presumably predicting I’d want to avoid them. It was awkward trying to pack lunch and go about my morning routine while she silently watched me.

  “Caraline,” she said suddenly.

  Ugh. “Yes ma’am?”

  She gestured for me to sit down. I did. “I want to address what you said to me and your father last night.”

  I stiffened.

  My mom took a deep breath. “We struggle sometimes to relate to you three. Hannah especially. Maybe she really didn’t think we appreciated her.”

  “I never should’ve said that Mom, I’m sorry.”

  “No no. I think you were right. Hannah is so different from the rest of us,” she said. I struggled to maintain a neutral expression as she continued. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on most things. But its wrong for you to say we don’t love her.”

  I looked away. I really shouldn’t have said what I’d said last night. I tried to put myself in my mom’s shoes and felt my heart break a little. I couldn’t imagine having my child go missing and my other child start ranting about what a bad parent I was and all.

  And now my mom was crying. Only a little bit but still crying. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I was hurting my family when we were at our most vulnerable. I was making my mom cry.

  “When the police bring my daughter home,” she said. “I’m going to tell her how much I love her, even if we struggle sometimes. I love her.”

  I looked at my hands and then at my leg, bouncing up and down and up and down, and then, finally I looked at my mother’s face and something inside me broke completely.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  Mom nodded at me. “Have a good day at school.”

  I knew I should’ve said something more, or maybe offer to stay with her longer and comfort her, or literally anything other than just leave but... I just left.

  It’s a wonder my parents put up with me.

  Time at school passed like peanut butter through a sieve. I couldn’t stop thinking about Hannah, and my mom, and Ms. Blem. Especially Ms. Blem. I was itching for the dismissal bell to ring so Calli and I could interrogate her. She had answers, I was sure of it.

  I glared at her all through fourth period. She didn’t glare back or really look in my direction the whole time. She must’ve known I could sense her guilt.

  At lunch, Calli and I snuck away from our main group and went over our plan for the bajillionth time since first period. If all went according to plan, Ms. Blem was going to fall right into our trap and tell us everything she knew.

  I almost jumped for joy and danced a jig when the dismissal bell rang. Let the interrogation begin!

  Calli met me outside Ms. Blem’s door and we waited while kids spilled out of her class. Some of them waved at me but I was too focused and honestly nervous to acknowledge them much.

  When we went into her room she looked up from her desk in shock. “Girls! Did you need something?”

  I pulled up a chair at her desk and Calli followed my lead, awkwardly.

  “Ms. Blem,” I said after we were situated. Lights, Camera, Action! “I’m just feeling so overwhelmed.”

  Ms. Blem said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe I should set you up with your guidance counselor.”

  I pretended not to hear that last part. “With my sister missing I just feel so... uh-”

  “Depressed,” Calli offered.

  “Yeah, I’ve been really depressed. I haven’t been sleeping well since she disappeared.”

  “That sounds terrible. Maybe I-”

  I covered my face and made sobbing noises. I also shook my shoulders for dramatic effect. Really, I deserved an Oscar. But in a way the things I was saying echoed my deepest feelings so was it really acting. I dunno.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “She’s really upset Ms. Blem.” Calli pointed out, just in case Ms. Blem was too dense to tell.

  “I see.”

  “I just can’t shake the feeling that something terrible happened to her,” I said in a fake trembly voice.

  “I wish I could help you, but really a guidance counselor would be more appropriate.”

  “It’s okay Ms. Blem,” Calli said, staring into her soul. “We know if there was any way you could help Cara and her family find Hannah, you’d do it.”

  That was the line we’d practiced at lunch. I’d laid on the guilt and now Cara had sucker punched her with a call to action. We’d got her, hook line and sinker.

  Ms. Blem looked from me to Calli and back again. “Stop crying.”

  She said it so simply and with so much authority that I faltered. DANG IT!

  “Girls let’s not have any tricks here. If you have something to ask, just ask.”

  Calli and I shared a look.

  I shifted in my chair. “You know something about my sister.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “What makes you think that, Caraline?”

  I paused at the use of my full name. Why was I so sure Ms. Blem knew more than she was letting on? Had I overreacted to our conversation yesterday?

  As I struggled to find a response Calli came to the rescue. “Ms. Blem, if you know anything could you tell us please? We’re really worried.”

  Ms. Blem gazed at us. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

  I clenched my fists.

  “That’s okay,” Calli was saying.

  “Yeah,” I spat. “We’ll just go to the range ourselves and investigate.”

  The statement had its desired effect. Ms. Blem’s face finally came alive with fear. And then anger: “Do not go looking for Hannah, do you understand me?”

  “It’s my sister. I’ll look for her if I damn well please.”

  “Cara!” Hannah gasped.

  Ms. Blem was breathing deeply now. “The range is very dangerous right now. You need to step away and let the police handle this case.”

  “No.” I shrugged. Why was everyone so intent on relying on the police when they had literally stated they had zero leads?

  Ms. Blem looked like she was about to rip my head off, but Calli interjected.

  “Ms. Blem? You said you don’t know anything about this, and we totally and absolutely believe that. But what is it about the range that you’re so scared of?”

  “Yeah. Is there a gang out there waiting to kidnap children or something?”

  “Well,” Ms. Blem struggled for words, which was out of character for an English teacher. “When she-. When he-. No, I can’t say.”

  “No, no. Tell us!” I said.

  She took a shaky breath. “Just now very bad things have happened to children who’ve stumbled on that range. I can’t talk about it.”

  Me and Calli shared another look. Why wouldn’t she tell us what she was thinking?

  “The bad things that happened there in the past,” Calli said. “Do you think they could be happening to Hannah and those other kids? Now?”

  Ms. Blem closed her eyes. Seconds passed. Minutes. Hours. Days. Months... It’s okay Ms. Blem, take your time, I thought. It’s not like my sister is missing or anything. La dee da dee da.

  “It’s possible,” she said finally.

  “What do you think is happening?” I was on the edge of my seat.

  “I can’t say.”

  “WHAT DO YOU KNOW?” I hadn’t meant to yell. But I also didn’t care that I had.

  Silence fell on the room.

  I sat back in my seat. “Look, obviously you’re scared of the range. You said something bad happened there a long time ago and that it could be happening again. Right now. I just want to know anything that could’ve happened to her, and you are my only chance. So please, for the love of God or whoever it is for you, help me find her. Please!”

  Ms. Blem closed her eyes again and sat absolutely still. Then she took a deep breath. And then another. It was like I was watching a nature documentary. “Now the hideous monster prepares to brutally murder two school children in her lair.”

  “You’re right,” she said.

  For a moment I thought she was confirming my thoughts and was really about to murder us. But no, she meant we were right that she should tell us the truth. Phew.

  “Thank you?”

  “I didn’t have a bad history with the range per se but-” then her voice faltered.

  What now?

  “I can’t speak of it.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but Ms. Blem raised her hand. “I said I couldn’t speak of it. I never said I couldn’t write about it!”

  “Huh?” I was baffled. Was this some typa weird English teacher bull crap. Ugh, why couldn’t Ms. Blem act normal for once.

  She pulled out a pencil and paper and began writing. Her pencil flew back and forth across the paper. I tapped my foot against the ground and wondered what was going on.

  Time passed slow. I wondered what I’d gotten myself into.

  Finally, Ms. Blem finished writing her whatever-it-was and passed the papers to Calli.

  “Thank you,” Calli said.

  Then the weirdest thing happened. Ms. Blem’s ears shifted back, her eyes scrunched up, she pulled her lips back from her teeth, and she cocked her head to the side.

  “Oh my God!” I shouted and clutched my racing heart. This is it, I thought. Bye bye world.

  “Cara, shut up! She’s smiling,” Calli hissed.

  “Oh. Oh?” I said.

  “Sorry,” Ms. Blem said. Still ‘smiling’. “It’s just- Well all my existence I’ve never been in control. It’s time I took a stand for what’s right.”

  “That’s great,” Calli said and gave me look meaning I should say something too.

  “Amen to that,” I said.

  Ms. Blem leaned forward over her desk. The smile disappeared faster than it had come. I decided I liked her face better this way. “Listen girls. Once you’ve read that, you can’t come back here. Okay?”

  “What do you mean? Is everything alright?” Calli asked.

  “I’m afraid not,” she said. She looked down at her hands and I followed her gaze. Her hands were gripping each other fiercely and her arms were shaking with strain. “You are dismissed.”

  Calli stood.

  “But what do you mean we can’t come back? There’s school tomorrow,” I said.

  Ms. Blem just shook her head quickly.

  “Cara let’s get out of here,” Calli said.

  But I couldn’t look away from Ms. Blem. What was she talking about?

  “Please leave.”

  I got up and grabbed my backpack. I took a last glance at Ms. Blem from the door. That had been the weirdest human interaction I’d ever had. And I have a little brother.

  Ms. Blem had her eyes shut and her head bowed low. I wanted to ask her more questions, but Calli tugged my arm, and we left the room.

  Millions of questions went through my mind as we left the school building. What had just happened? Was it possible that creepy Ms. Blem had gotten even creepier?