Chapter 56 Madeleine Joins The Crew
THE FIFTH ELEMENT 🔥🌪️🌊⛰️🌀
MADELINE’S POV ~
I tried my best to get some beauty sleep, but it wasn’t working.
Where the hell is Cassie?
That girl has been stressing me out since the day she arrived.
Why did she have to go off with that security guard when I clearly told her not to?
And now Sage is making me feel guilty, like I don’t care enough.
I have nothing to feel guilty about. I didn’t tell Cassie to follow that man.
But… what if she’s actually missing?
I mean, there’s no way she’s still with the Elementals at this hour. There are rules. Students aren’t allowed to be out this late. Everyone should be in their dorms by now.
Oh no. I’m starting to get scared.
What if Cassie’s been kidnapped or something?
Wait… I just remembered something.
Yes! The abandoned building. Didn’t she stay there one night because she was mad at me? Could she be there right now? Did she go there to get away from everyone, or because she’s mad at someone again? I have to check to be sure.
Okay. I’m doing this. I’m going to the abandoned building. I need to know for sure.
If she isn’t there, then one thing is certain: Cassie’s missing.
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I tiptoed down the hallway, trying to make as little sound as possible.
When I finally got past the patrol points, I was standing in front of the building.
I’ve always hated this place. It’s creepy.
I climbed the stairs and gripped the door handle.
“Ew. Gross.”
I pushed the door open carefully and stepped inside.
I scanned the room for any sign of Cassie and spotted it—a light.
Someone was definitely here.
I walked toward the light, but it suddenly went out.
Thank goodness I brought my flashlight.
I clicked it on and pointed it in that direction. There were figures. Four of them.
I couldn’t hold it in.
“Ahhhh!” I screamed out loud, but someone quickly grabbed me and covered my mouth before I could scream again.
The lights flipped on, and I finally saw them clearly.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?!” I yelled the moment Phoebe let go of me.
They all stared at me like I had grown a second head.
Jake. Sage. Cara. And Phoebe.
\---
SAGE’S POV
What the hell is Madeline doing here? How did she even find us?
I glared at her while she kept firing questions at us.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your dorm painting your nails or something?” I asked, annoyance creeping into my voice.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Madeline shot back, arms crossed.
“Okay, look. We don’t have time for this,” Jake said. “Madeline, you should go back to your dorm. We’re in the middle of something important, and we don’t need any distractions.”
“Something important? What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I answered.
“Seriously? Why are you all being so secretive? Are you hiding something?” she pressed, and I rolled my eyes.
“Gosh, could you just stop talking,” Cara muttered.
“Does this have something to do with Cassie?” Madeline kept going.
We all stayed silent.
“Oh my god, it does, doesn’t it? Is she in trouble? Did something happen to her? I swear I told her not to follow that weird security guy. Why didn’t she listen to me?” She started pacing back and forth.
“Security man? What security man?” Jake asked her.
“The one who came to get her this morning. The big, weird guy,” Madeline said.
All of us exchanged looks before turning back to her.
Okay, she might actually be useful.
“Hmm. Madeline, do you still remember what this security guy looked like?” Jake asked.
“Yeah. I think so. It’s a bit hazy, but I think I can describe him,” she replied.
“Okay. Let’s hear it,” Cara said.
“Okay… okay… he was huge. Really huge. Tall, broad, muscular, you know. He wore a cap. A face cap. And he was in the security uniform. He had this mean, scary look on his face that even made me nervous. I think that’s about it,” she explained.
Cara facepalmed. “You do realize you just described every security guard who works around here, right?”
“I did?” Madeline asked innocently.
“Okay. Besides all that, do you remember anything else that seemed off about this guard? Please, Madeline, try to think,” Jake pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll try… I think… geez, it’s hard to remember,” Madeline said, hand on her forehead.
“Okay. I think we should get back to our plan from before we were interrupted,” I said. “She obviously doesn’t know anything that can help us.” Cara nodded in agreement.
“Wait… a scar. He had a scar,” Madeline suddenly said out loud.
“Huh?” Phoebe asked.
“Yes! Yes! He had a scar. On his face! It was huge and hard to miss. That’s one of the things that made him scarier than his size,” Madeline said, folding her arms proudly.
“Okay. That could really help us identify the guard. Good job, Madeline,” Jake said, and she beamed at him.
“Okay, I’m glad. Now can someone please tell me what’s actually going on?” Madeline asked.
“Cassie’s been kidnapped. We’re going to get her back,” Phoebe explained.
“Huh? Kidnapped? Oh geez, this isn’t good. Why? And what are the Elementals doing about it? Shouldn’t they be out there looking for her or something?” Madeline asked.
“They want to move slow and carefully,” Jake said, glancing down at the rough plan we’d sketched on the paper. “And I don’t do slow and careful. Especially not slow. Not when it comes to people I care about.”
Wow. I don’t think Jake even realized what he just said about Cassie.
He cares for her. Truly cares.
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