Page 84 of Tick Tock, Boom!

I turned, starting to become worried. I ran to the window, scanning the sidewalks, the street, the surrounding buildings.

The school secretary checked the attendance system again. "He was marked present this morning."

Panic burst through me as I ran down the hallways, checking every bathroom, every room, yelling his name until my voice cracked.

"Gabriel! Gabe!"

He wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere. I turned to his teacher, needing to put the blame somewhere. “How could you not ask?”

“Maybe you should breathe. Call his father. I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

I stormed outside, my vision blurring. I stopped the janitor, the coach, another parent, but no one had seen anything. The ground tilted under me as I pulled out my phone and dialed. Tick Tock answered on the first ring.

"Kitten?"

“Do you have Gabe?”

“No, I thought you were picking him up today.”

“So you haven’t seen him?”

“No baby, I’m in Lafayette with Riddick.”

"He’s gone," I gasped. "Gabe. I can’t find him. He’s not at the school. He was here this morning but..."

"What? Are you sure?”

“I searched the school, there’s almost no one out on the streets. I don’t where he could be,” my voice broke out in a sob. “He’s everything to me, Jose.”

“I know, baby. Just don’t panic, I’m heading your way.” I heard him shout something out to one of the members and the roar of the engine was the last thing I heard before he hung up. I stood there, trying to breathe, trying not to scream.

And then my phone rang again. An unknown number blinking at me and I answered without thinking.

"Hello?"

Heavy breathing followed by a low, sickening voice slithered through the line. "Did you tell your man yet?"

My blood turned to ice. "Croak?"

“That’s right, sweetheart. You didn’t think I’d forgotten about you, did you?”

"Where is my son?"

He chuckled, slow and slimy. "You didn’t answer the question.”

“Fuck you,” I gritted, my fist tightened around the phone.

“Now that’s not how you speak to your future husband.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Possibly, but see, I have something you want. And the only way to get it back is to play the game and follow the instructions. Now…are you ready to play?”

I paused, angrily gritting my teeth before responding. “Yess.”

“Good girl. Now have you called that Tick Tock of yours yet?”

My hand shook as it took everything in me to respond and not curse him out. “He’s been called.”

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