Nico was at work placing books absentmindedly, putting books on the shelf. Mr. Davis walked past the aisle but stopped walking back, looking down the aisle, looking at Nico, arched his grey eyebrow, and walked up to her.
"Um, Nico, are you alright?" Mr. Davis asked Nico and the teenage girl nodded her head.
"Hm yeah, I'm okay," Nico said, glancing at her boss, continuing to place the remaining of the books on the shelves.
"Are you sure because you have been quiet since you walked in? If something is bothering you, don't keep it in, you should talk about it. You will feel much better." Mr. Davis said. Nico stood there in silence and took a deep breath before facing Mr. Davis.
"It is just this guy at my school," Nico said.
"Okay, is he bullying you?" Mr. Davis asked.
"No, No, well at first, but not really," Nico said, and Mr. Davis looked at Nico, super confused.
"Nico, I am seventy-five years old. I was young a long time ago, and things are super different from then. So you have to explain things to me now," Mr. Davis said.
Nico leaned against the bookcase, and she started to explain everything that happened between her and Zane from the moment they had had talk to each other for the first time to now. Once Nico was finished, she looked at her boss, and Mr. Davis had a blank look on his face. The older man blinked a few times before nodding his head, turning around, motioning Nico to follow him to the front desk. Nico watched Mr. Davis walk towards the desk, bending over, grabbing the box next to the front desk, picking it up, placing it on top of the counter, and sorting through it. Nico walked up to the counter, watching Mr. Davis pull out many books from the box, placing them onto the cart behind him.
"Did you know when I met my wife, we hated each other?" Mr. Davis glanced up at Nico continuing to put the books away. "She was a cheerleader and was part of this popular group, and me, I was just a guy who loved books more than people. We were from two separate worlds, but something happened to us that forced us to work together. After butting head over everything, we ended up getting to know each other and realize that we were not so different after all," Mr. Davis said as he examed a book before putting the book on the cart behind him.
"What happened that made your worlds collide," Nico asked, and Mr. Davis fell silent with a grim look painted on his face. He cleared his throat and returned to his smiling self.
"It is better not to fight your feelings. Just be honest with yourself and see where your feeling takes you." Mr. Davis said, picking up another box, putting it on the counter, and began to sort through it.
"How'd did you know the feeling is actually genuine," Nico said, leaning against the counter, and Mr. Davis stopped and looked at Nico.
"Well, you don't really know how you feel it come naturally," Nico quirked her eyebrow and opened her mouth to say something, but Mr. Davis started to walking away. "All this talk is making me wanna call my wife. Do me a favor. Put these books away for me, please." Mr. Davis said, leaving Nico with a stack of books on the counter.
Nico sighed, grabbing the rest of the books placing them on the cart. Nico started setting the books on the shelves and briefly went back, getting the ladder, putting books on the top shelf. Suddenly Nico heard the door open and screamed out a welcome as the store fell back into silence. Nico shrugged her shoulder, thinking that the customer didn't listen to her, and continued to work.
"You know, if I knew that bookstores had views like that, I would be here every day." Nico heard.
She whipped her head and saw Zane leaning on the bookshelf, looking up at her, biting his lip, and Nico went to adjust her footing on the ladder but ended up slipping falling off the ladder. The ladder fell to the ground with a loud crash, and Nico closed her eyes, waiting for impact, but it never came. Nico slowly opened her eyes and was met with Amber eyes full of concern.
"Are you alright?" Zane worriedly said. Nico nodded her head, and Zane let out a sigh of relief. Nico looked down and notice that she was still in Zane's arms.
"Um, can you put me down now?" Nico said, and a hint of pink dusted across his cheeks.
"Um yeah, sorry," Zane said, and he slowly put her down on her feet.
Once Nico was on the ground, Zane's hand didn't remove his hand, leaving it resting on her lower back, and she began to examine Nico's body, making sure nothing was broken. Suddenly Nico heard footsteps coming from the back of the store towards the pair in the aisle.
"Nico, I heard a crash, and I was- Oh hello." Mr. Davis said, looking at Zane, who still had his hand on her lower back. Zane realizes what he was doing he removed his hand, taking a step away from Nico, clearing his throat.
"I am fine, Mr. Davis, sorry for worrying you," Nico said, walking up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder smiling at him. Mr. Davis looked over to Zane, who stood there awkwardly and locked eyes with him before looking at the ground rubbing the back of his neck."Well, I am going to go back to my office." Mr. Davis walked out of the aisle but poked his head at the entrance moments later. "Oh, and Nico, remember these books are fragile. They don't take too kindly when they wet." the old man said, disappearing and the heat rush to Nico's cheeks.
"Well, your boss is, um, interesting." Zane awkwardly said, clearing his throat.
"Very. Come on. We got work to do," Nico said, walking out of the aisle towards the computers with Zane close behind her.
A couple of hours have passed, and Nico and Zane worked hard to find the connection. After a while, Nico had to go back to doing her job and left Zane alone to research alone. Another hour has passed, and Nico finished the last of the returning the books to their proper home. After Nico told Mr. Davis she was done, he told Nico that he had to close up, and she was done for the day. Nico nodded her head a headed to the back, grabbing the last of her belongings before walking over towards Zane, who was working quite hard. Nico places her hand on his shoulder, and he jumped a little, looking up at Nico.
"Hey, it time to go the store is close," Nico said, and Zane nodded his head and grabbed his things, putting them away, getting up from his chair.
They walked towards the exit, and Nico waved at Mr. Davis, counting money at the counter, wishing him goodnight before walking out the front door. Once outside, Nico took a deep breath of fresh air before turning to Zane with curiosity in her eyes.
"So, what did you find?" Nico asked.
"Well, it is weird," Zane said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, did you figure out what was the connection between those people and the dates?" Nico asked with her curiosity growing even more.
"Yea, I did. I checked why the names were connected to the dates, and weirdly they all came out the same." Zane said.
"Okay, and what came up?" Nico asked.
"Well, the dates show that it is around the time they disappear, but here is the weird thing. Their disappearances are only a month apart," Zane said.
"Are you serious?" Zane nodded his head. "How odd did they show any connection on those four people," Nico said, brushing her curls back.
"No, now this is where it gets weirder. Any traces of who their family is, then there is nothing it is like they have no past," Zane said.
"So another question to add to this long list," Nico said.
"Yeah, but maybe we should talk about this more, just not in the open," Zane said, handing the journal back to Nico.
"Yea, we can talk about this tomorrow," Nico said, taking the journal putting it in her bag.
"Why can't we talk about this now?" Zane said.
"Because I don't wanna miss the bus," Nico said, pointing to the direction where the bus stop is.
"Where is your bike?" Zane asked.
"Oh, my bike was having some problems, and it is out of commission for a while, so I dropped it off after school and had Nate take me to work. So I am just going to ride the bus until I fix my bike up. So I am going to go if I make it in time so I don't have to walk home again," Nico said, and Zane looked at her, and suddenly he rushed towards her grabbing her wrist, and started pulling her in the opposite direction from the bus stop.
"Out of all the crazy things that came out of your mouth, that is the craziest," Zane said, pulling Nico's wrist shaking his head.
"W- what are you doing?" Nico asked, stumbling trying to match Zane's pace.
"What does it look like I am giving you are ride home," Zane said, walking into an empty parking lot.
"You don't have to," Nico said, walking up to his black Jeep. Zane let go of Nico's wrist, reaching into his pocket, unlocking the vehicle in front of them.
"Too late, I am already doing it, and besides, we live next to each other, so it makes sense. Now get in," Zane said, walking over to the driver's side opening it before getting in. Nico stood there watching Zane start the Jeep up before sighing, opening the car door before sliding in.
"Thank you," Nico murmured, and Zane let out a breathless laugh.
"No problem," Zane said, pulling off onto Main Street.
Nico and Zane sat in silence, but it was not the uncomfortable silence that Nico thought it would be. There were times that Zane made small talk with her, but it wouldn't go far, and it would go back into a comfortable silence as Zane turned on to Oakwood Road.
Oakwood Road was a long road that was very nice during the day, but it was an inauspicious road with no lights whatsoever and surrounded by woods at night. Everyone thought that at night Oakwood road was creepy, and Nico never thought that. Weirdly, she always thought that was somewhat peaceful. Nico always thought that people hated the woods surrounding the long road was not because of how dark it was. It was because you never knew what was coming out, which freaked people out the most. Nico sat in the car, watching the tree pass by; she suddenly felt something really odd and couldn't shake it. The feeling she had turned into something more uncomfortable, more urgent.
"Stop the car," Nico said, sitting up straight in her seat, staring out the window searching.
"What?" Zane asked, switching his gaze from the road to Nico, looking out the window with a look of worry and panic painted on her face.
"I said, stop the car, Zane," Nico said, turning to Zane with a look of concern now in her eyes. Zane sighed and pulled the car over, putting it in park.
"Okay, so what is so important that you-" Zane started turning to Nico, but she was already gone with the passenger door wider open.
Nico was running, pushing, branching out the way, and had no clear idea where she was going. Even though Nico didn't know where she was going deep down, she knew, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Nico forced herself to stop hunching over heavily, breathing, placing her hands on her knees. As Nico tried to catch her breath, the teen suddenly heard the sound of twigs snapping in the distance. Turning around in that direction, Nico notices a bright light shining brightly behind the trees. As she stared at the light, Nico felt her body moving towards the light, not knowing why she was drawn to this light, but it gave her an odd sense of safety. Nico took her final step towards the light, pushing the last branch out of the way, stepping into a clearing where the bright light was emitting. Nico gasp in awe, looking at what she was looking at. In the clearing center stood four large pillars on a platform that had a couple of steps leading up to them. Nico walked up the old steps onto the platform stepping towards the center, looking at each pillar. Nico walked up to one of the stone pillars, brushed her hand lightly against the carving made to it, and tried to make out what was edged into the stone. But Nico was soon disrupted by the sound of snapping twigs again, but this time the sound was quickly followed by another sound of running footsteps.
Nico took off running, jumping off the platform, landing perfectly on her feet, and sprinting toward the sound she heard. As Nico pushed herself to run faster, she started to think that she was close to whatever she was chasing, but that thought was soon shattered because her foot got caught onto something hard, causing her to lose her footing, stumbling on the ground. Nico pushed herself off the ground, groaning in pain, sitting up on her knees. Nico turned her head, looking over at what looks like a dark pile of dirt; at least Nico thought it was dirt. Nico squinted at the mound and shuffled closer, pulling out her phone in her back pocket. Nico's phone came to life, and she swiped the screen down, pressing the flash button turning it on. The girl held the phone down, shining the ground, and slowly scanned the area before settling on the mound she trips over. The phone slipped from the girl's hand, falling to the ground illuminating the area around her.
Nico couldn't stare any longer, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream shutting her eyes tight. Nico slowly opened her eyes, looking back at the horror that was displayed to her. Nico's eyes and were met with a pair of eyes staring at her right back. Nico started to break out into a cold sweat looking at this lifeless body on the ground. The body was a female, and Nico couldn't make out the face because it was covered in blood and the rest of her body. The girl's arms and legs looked even worst than Nico could imagine. She had pieces of flesh ripped off to where you can see bits of her bone. Nico tried to calm herself down, looking backing the girl's lifeless eyes. Her brown eyes looked in panic and search of help, but unfortunately, it never came. Nico pulled her knees to her chest and started to shake as she sat there, not looking away from the bloody corpse. As Nico sat there, the tears began to run down her face, and she heard some running footsteps towards her, a figure coming out of the darkness, revealing that it was Zane.
"Nico? Nico, I heard you scream, are you-" Zane started looking over at Nico and them to what she was looking at and gasped in horror. "Oh my god," Zane said, staring at the dead body lying barely a foot away from Nico. Nico slowly turned to Zane with tear-stained eyes, and Zane rushed to her, dropping to his knees.
"C- call the p- police," Nico said weakly, and Zane pulled out his phone and dialed. While the phone was ringing, Zane put his arm around Nico, pulling her close.
"Hello? Yes, I need help," Zane said to the police, not taking his eyes off the body. Nico shifted closer to Zane, and she felt him holding her tighter, still trembling. Nico glances at the body in horror, wondering who would do such a thing and why. She didn't deserve that, and how long was she out here. Zane hung up the phone moments later, looking down at Nico, who was now silent with no expression on her face.
"The police are on their way," Zane said. Nico nodded her head, and the girl buried her face into Zane's chest. Zane looked at the body and then off into the distance and noticed something standing there looking at the two. Zane blinked a few times, looking down at Nico and then back at the figure, and to his surprise, it was no longer there. Zane was starting to panic, and he didn't want To let Nico know, so the only thing he can do is hold her tighter, waiting for the police.
Nico sat in a chair in the interrogation room, staring at the mirror ahead of her. Nico started to play with the dog tags that hung around her neck, looking at her reflection. She knew someone was watching her, but she didn't care. Her focus was primarily on herself. Nico had dirt decorating her tan skin and leaves and twigs still stuck in her curly hair, her eyes still red from the crying she did. The moment the police arrived, she barely uttered a word to anyone and clung to Zane's side until they got to the police station. Once inside, one of the officers told them that they need to answer some questions and placed them in separate rooms. The officer said that someone would be with her in a minute. Nico glanced at the clock again; it has been almost half an hour. Nico started to feel like no one was coming until the door swings open, entering a tall man. The man had a black shirt with white stripes in a horizontal pattern tucked into his black slacks with a pair of black loafers with his black hair slicked back with a few grey hairs. He had no expression on his face and didn't say a word to Nico. Even though he didn't say a word, he looked intimidating in his black eyes. He held a folder and a notepad by his side and tossed them on top of the table with a loud slap making Nico jump slightly. He looked over at Nico, staring at him wide-eyed before looking back down at the table.
"Hello, Nico. How are you feeling?" The man asked in a rough tone but somehow sounded happy. He stared at her waiting for a response, but the girl remained silent. He sighed and sat in the chair that was across from her.
"I know you must be terrified, but I just need to ask you a few questions." Nico nodded, and the man continued. "How did you come across the body," He said.
"I- I was running into the woods, and I tripped over it," Nico said quietly.
"Why were you running in the woods?" The man asked.
"I don't know. I heard something like someone was running, so I chased after it." The man looked at Nico, confuse, and she shook her head. "I know that was stupid, but I don't know. It was like my legs had a mind of its own," Nico said.
"Did you see what you were chasing?" Nico shook her head. "I see. Zane told me that you told him to stop the car, and you jumped out and took off into the woods. Why did you do that?" The man asked.
"I don't know. I just had this feeling like something was wrong, and I needed to be there," Nico said, looking up at the cop.
"A feeling?" the man said. Nico nodded her head and looked down at her hands, and it was silent with the sound of the man writing.
"Who was it? There was so much blood on her face I didn't make out who it was," Nico said.
"Her name was Emma Silvers. You guys attended the same school. Did you know her?" The man asked, looking up at Nico.
"No, I don't really have a lot of friends. Actually, I only have two, and one of them is in college," Nico said.
"What about Zane? He was giving you a ride home, correct." The man asked.
"Yea, he is my next-door neighbor, so I guess he felt obligated to do it. Even though he didn't know, I lived next to him until recently." Nico said.
"I see. Well, that doesn't surprise me. That boy never really notices the most obvious things that are in front of him. If he wasn't so busy with his so-called friends, then maybe he can be more aware of his surrounding," The man said, leaning back into the chair.
"Not to be rude, but how would you know? You don't even know him," Nico said, looking up at the man.
"Well, of course, I do," The cop leaned forward. "It would be odd if I don't know at all considering the fact that I am his father after all," the cop said, and Nico looked at him, surprised.
"I'm sorry," Nico said, sinking into her chair feeling embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. Zane looks more like his mom, especially those eyes," Zane's dad stuck his hand out towards Nico. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am lieutenant James Peters," James said. Nico sat up in her chair and slowly took his hand, shaking it slightly.
"Nice to meet you," Nico said.
"Now tell me, is my son being nice to you?" Nico nodded her head, and James leaned back. "Good because you seem like a nice girl Nico. You have a good head on your shoulders, unlike some of the people he calls 'friends' you know. I am sorry that we met under these circumstances, but I am glad to know that my son is hanging out with someone suitable for him," James said.
" I don't think so because I am sitting in an interrogation room because I uncover one of my classmate's dead bodies. Sorry," Nico said, sinking in her chair.
"It's fine, but I understand what you are saying, but in my honest opinion, you're helping my son in ways I never could," James said with a bit of sadness in his tone. Nico wanted to question it, but another man walked in.
"Lieutenant Nico's father is here," The man said, and James nodded his head, and the officer exited the room.
"Well, it looks like our time is up. Come on, let's get you to your father," James said, getting up from his chair. Nico got up and walked to the door that James opened for her.Nico walked up and scanned the area noticing her dad talking with an officer with a look of concern and anxiety on his face. Her dad looked tired from another overnight shift he took, and he was running his hand through his unruly brown hair. Nico's dad stopped talking to the officer, turned his head, spotted Nico, and rushed over towards her.
"Oh my god, Nico. Are you alright?" Nico's dad said, grabbing ahold of her holding her tightly, afraid that she would disappear.
"I okay, dad, well physically," Nico said, and her dad pulled away, looking at Nico with a look of confusion. James cleared his throat, getting Nico's dad's attention.
"Officer." Nico's dad said, facing James.
"Please call me James Mr. Waters. We are neighbors, after all," James said, sticking his hand out.
"Oh, yes, that's rights, and please call me Greyson," Greyson said, taking James's hand shaking it.
"Of course. Sorry for bothering you at work but do you think we can talk away from a crowd," James said in a more pressing tone.
"Sure, Nico, wait for me over there. I'll be right back," Greyson said, pointing at the waiting area.
"My son is sitting in the waiting area, so you can join him," James said, and Nico nodded her head. Greyson nodded, and he followed James into his office.
Nico walked over and spotted Zane sitting there alone with his arms cross, bouncing his legs with a look of worry painted across his face. Nico walked up to him and sat in the chair next to him. They sat there in silence until Zane broke it.
"So I've seen you met my dad," Zane said, looking straight ahead.
"Yup," Nico said, mimicking his actions before they fell back into an awkward silence, not know what to do next.
"Are you okay," Zane said, glancing over at Nico.
The girl nodded her head, and the two fell back into silence. After another ten minutes, James and Greyson finally walked out of James's office, walking over to the children. Greyson had a stressed look on his face, and the older man closed his eyes, taking a breath before looking at his daughter.
"Nico, it's time to go," Greyson announced, and Nico nodded her head, getting up from her chair walking over to her dad.
"Come on, Zane, I am taking you home," James said.
"What about my car?" Zane asked, getting it up from his chair.
"You will get it back tomorrow. You know the drill," James said, and Zane sighed, and James turned to Greyson and Nico.
"Well, it was nice meeting you guys despite the circumstance," James said, and Greyson nodded.
"I agree too. Have a nice night, you too," Greyson said.
"You as well," James said, and Greyson and Nico left.Zane and James walked into the house with Zane closing the door behind him, watching his dad placing his keys on the table, not saying a word. His dad didn't utter a word to Zane the entire car ride home, making him feel even more nervous. Zane knew that not saying a word to each other would only make the matter worst, so he decided to get over with it.
"Okay, dad, let me have it," Zane said.
James turned around and looked at Zane with an unreadable expression. James walked up to Zane, and the teenage boy gulped because he was now getting a little scared of what his father might do. Suddenly James grabbed Zane, pulling him into a hug, and held him tightly. Zane just stood there confused because he didn't know what he did to earn a hug.
"I'm confused," Zane said, muffled into his dad's shoulder, and James let go of Zane with a relieved look on his face.
"About what?" James said.
"Isn't this the part where you yell at me?" Zane questioned.
"Why would I yell at you?" James asked confusingly.
"Because I was at the police station tonight," Zane said
"Were you arrested?" Zane shook his head. "Exactly, you were there because you saw something that wasn't right, and you called it in. That is nothing I would be mad about. Also, you stood by your friend's side when she needed you the most," James said, walking into the living room. Zane followed him, watching him lie on the couch, sighing. Zane walked up to the chair next to him and sat there.
"So, what is going to happen now?" Zane asked.
"Well, now we run an investigation on how and why Ms. Emma Slivers ended up in the woods." James started to rub his temple and suddenly sat up, looking over at his son. "By the way, Ms. Slivers was in your class. Did you know her?" James said, looking over at Zane.
"Well, she is in my and Nico's math class," Zane said.
"That's odd. Nico said she didn't know her, and yet you three share the same math class," James said, rubbing his five o'clock shadow.
"Well, she probably doesn't. Nico's only friend in high school is Nate Cambridge," Zane told his dad.
"The realtor's son?" James asked, and Zane nodded his head, and James leaned back onto the couch.
"Well, if that is everything, I am going to bed," Zane said, getting up and started to head to his room.
"Oh, son," James called out, stopping Zane at the doorway.
"Yeah, dad," Zane said, turning to his dad, who was now sitting up on the couch looking at him.
"Is there something going on between you and Nico?" James said, and the heat rushed to Zane's cheeks.
"N-no w-why would you think that," Zane sputtered.
"Son, I saw the way you were holding her when you guys walked into the station. I think everyone saw even the criminals in the holding cells," James said, and the heat rushed to Zane's ears when the memory of him holding Nico in his arms as they got into the station and the corny lines he was telling her to calm her down.
"I- I was just trying to calm her down," Zane said.
"Well, you looked like you were doing more than just calming her down to me. It looked like you were a caring boyfriend," James said.
"I was- NO! I am- WE ARE JUST FRIENDS. GOODNIGHT, DAD!" Zane said, rushing out of the room and up the stairs leaving his father alone, laughing to himself at his son's attitude laying back on the couch.
Nico lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a bored look painted on her face. Nico barely had any sleep, and she told her dad that it was best to stay home today with everything that happened the other night, and to her surprise, her dad agree. Nico's dad insisted that he would call out of work to stay with her, but Nico emphasized that it would be okay and needed time to herself, so Nico's dad went off to work. After a couple of hours, Nico decided that she didn't want to spend the day laying in bed, replaying that scene in her head over and over. Nico groaned and threw her blanket off her bed, getting out, deciding to keep herself busy. Nico walked up to her closet, sliding it open, grabbing her clothes, throwing on some black sweat pants and a blue and white tank top, and tan worker boots. She walked over to her mirror, grabbing a tie off her desk, looking back into her mirror tieing her curls back into a high ponytail. Once she was satisfied with her look, she walked out of her room, closing it behind her, and headed to the garage. Nico opened the front door and stepped outside, and walked onto the driveway stepping up to the garage door, throwing it open, displaying her bike sitting there.
"Hey, girl," Nico said, walking up to her bike. Nico built her bike up and took pride in the ending result. Her bike was having problems for the past two days, and she was working on the bike last night because she was restless, but after removing some pieces, she was stopped by her dad telling her to rest. She looked at her bike, looking like an empty shell. Nico walked towards the table behind her bike, examining the parts spread out over the table. Some of them we shiny and new, and the others were old and rusted and a bunch of tools scattered around. Nico picked up one of the new pieces in one hand and a wrench in the other and began to assemble them before turning around to her bike putting them inside. This process lasted for an hour, and Nico was deep into her repair; she overlooked Zane slowly walking up to her driveway.
"So this is why you weren't answering your phone," Zane said.
Nico looked at Zane with oil smeared on her cheek with a surprised look on her face. Zane suppressed a chuckle, only giving her a small smile looking at Nico's innocent look on her face before she looked back down, continuing working on her bike.
"I left it inside. I didn't need my phone," Nico said, screwing one of the bolts on her bike.
"I see. Do you need help?" Zane asked.
"No thanks, I am almost done with Sonica," Nico said, finishing up screwing in the final bolt.
"Sonica?" Zane said, arching an eyebrow. Nico finished the last of her repairs, standing up, stretching a bit before looking over at Zane.
"That is what I call her," Nico said, hopping on the bike, putting the key in the ignition, starting her bike up. After a couple of turns, the bike finally came to life, and Nico sighs a breath of relief, leaning back glancing over at Zane, who was watching in amazement.
"So you took the day off too?" Nico asked.
"Yea, my dad thought it was best," Zane said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yea, I didn't think you wanted to be crowded by people after everything," Nico said, turning off her bike, hopping off, walking up the table, and started to clean her tools. Zane stood there uncomfortably, watching Nico clean her tools.
"Nico, I have to ask you something," Zane said.
"What is it?" Nico said with her back still to him, continuing to clean her tools.
"Did- did you see something out there last night?" Zane asked in almost a whisper to where only Nico could hear him. Nico stopped cleaning, looking over her shoulder at Zane placing her tools on the table.
"I don't know, maybe. Did you see something?" Nico turned around, looking at Zane, and he nodded his head. "What did you see, Zane?" Nico asked, stepping closer to him.
"I don't know. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but now I'm not so sure." Zane said, running a hand through his messy black hair looking away from Nico.
"What do you mean you're not sure? Zane, what did you see?" Nico urged Zane to keep talking.
"When you jumped out of the car, I followed you but lost you, and I stumble across a clearing," Zane said.
"Did it have four stone pillars in the center?" Nico asked, and Zane looked at Nico, slowly nodding his head.
"While I was there, I heard something. I thought it was you, so when I turned my head towards the sound, that is when I saw it standing there." Zane said.
"Did you see what it was?" Nico asked.
"No, it was too dark to make out. I only saw its shadow, but it- it-," Zane stared and sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"It what?" Nico asked, walking over to Zane.
"It was like it was watching me," Zane said, looking in Nico's eyes with his eyes full of fear.
"Are you sure it wasn't just your shadow?" Nico suggested, and Zane shook his head.
"No, Nico, it- it couldn't be my shadow," Zane said.
"And how would you know that?" Nico asked.
"Because it didn't look like anything I could think of, hell Nico, it didn't even look human," Zane said, and Nico felt her breath hitch.
"W-what did you do?" Nico asked in a hushed tone.
"I didn't do anything. I was frozen in fear. I felt like if I moved, then it would come after me. Then I heard you screamed, and I looked away for a moment, but when I looked back, it was gone," Zane said. Nico swallowed and shut her eyes.
The images of last night's events began to replay in her head. She knew that whatever Zane saw, it might be tied to the death of Emma Slivers. Even though Nico did want to admit it, she couldn't shake that uneasy feeling. Nico was silent for too long, and Zane was concerned and placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her head back into reality.
"Hey, are you alright?" Zane said, and Nico sighed, removing Zane's hand from her shoulder.
"I have to go back," Nico said, crossing her arms.
"Why?" Zane asked.
"Because I feel like there was something that I needed to see," Nico said, looking away from the Zane.
"I don't know. I feel like you saw something last night," Zane said, and Nico rolled her eyes.
"I knew you would believe me," Nico said, walking away from Zane.
"Hey, wait," Zane reached over and grabbed Nico's wrist, pulling her back. "Just tell me what is going on," Zane said. Nico closed her eyes, sighing, running a hand through her curls before looking back at Zane.
"I felt like someone wanted me there, and I just need to find out why," Nico said, and she felt the grip Zane had on her get tighter, and she looked up at him, and he was staring at her.
"So, let's go," Zane said, looking at Nico with intensity in his eyes. Nico looked at him and nodded her head, knowing what has to be done.