Chapter 3

Dancing in the crowd,feeling the bodies moving in time around me, it’s like being in the ocean. I feel like the sea could carry me away. A moment feels like a lifetime until the drugs wear off. I feel the drugs starting to seep from my system. Empty is the only way to describe it. Lonely is another.

It’s then I realize Skylar is gone. She isn’t with me in the crowd anymore. I’m her anchor to this world. With lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD, hallucinations can take you to another place, see another person, even have you hear and feel things differently. I’ve been told to do the drug and don’t let the drug do you. Having a person to ground you is important. I’ve done this way too many times to count, so I know how to hold onto this world and not let the drug take over. Finding things to anchor you when it’s your first time is hard to do. It’s better to have a person with you that you trust. I’m Skylar’s person, and I’m failing her. I need to find her. There’s no telling what she’s seeing or if it’s a bad trip.

Pushing through the crowd, I don’t see her anywhere. I head for the edge of the crowd to get out in hopes that I can get a better view. Everyone looks so similar with their skirts, cut-up tees and dyed hair. The tears in my eyes are brimming and I wipe at them fiercely, angry with myself for getting emotional. I have to find her. I can’t give up.

I continue walking around, looking for bright red hair. Every person I see that looks like her I grab them, turn them around, and apologize when it’s not her. The dread is seeping in, and I feel as if I’m losing hope. This is my worst nightmare. My mind races with what could have happened to her.

Feeling as if I’ve searched everywhere, I try to call her from my phone, walking to an area where the music isn’t so loud. I continue walking with the phone up to my ear. It just rings continuously before going to voicemail.

“Hey, this is Skylar! I’m currently busy reading a book or taking a nap. If it’s serious, leave a message after the beep...”The enthusiastic tone of her voice brings a pang to my heart. I can’t lose my best friend.

“Just pick up, Skylar, pick up.”

Calling multiple times in the hopes that one will go through, I don’t even realize that I’ve walked to the other side of the festival. It’s eerily quiet here with no one around. The bathroom ahead is a bright white-painted brick building. There’s one light over it that causes it to glow in the night.

Feeling drawn to it, I keep walking toward it in a trance. I lean against the building, running through ideas of how to find Sky. What am I going to do? Throwing my head back against the building, I look up at the night sky hoping I’ll see a wishing star. Just one wish, that’s all I need.

Exhaling all my frustrations, I push off the wall about to head back toward the crowds when a flash of red catches in my peripheral vision. Turning my head in that direction, I see a shadow of a figure with bright red hair dangling. My heart is threatening to beat out of my chest, and I can’t help the scream that rips through me.

“SKYLAR!”

Screaming Skylar’s name over and over hoping to get her attention, but all I see is her hair flowing in the breeze.

I run with everything I have, but they are so far away. Losing sight of them as they disappear into the tree line, I pump my arms faster. I can’t lose her. I can’t.

The trees are so dense and it’s so dark out here, I end up tripping in a hole. Almost positive I twisted my ankle, but the adrenaline was pumping through me which keeps it from hurting. I continue to run through the trees hoping I can catch them.

Then I break through the trees into a clearing. An old dirt road, in the tracks imprinted in the dirt I see Skylar’s phone, in its red and black case, crushed into pieces.

“No. No. No. No. No.”

Crawling over to the phone, I pick it up and cradle it to my heart. The tears streaming down my cheeks. I’m too late.

Screaming up into the sky, I feel like a failure. I failed her.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial the first number that comes to mind. The voice on the other end is rough and groggy from sleep.

“Hello?”

“I need you—” My voice breaks from the tears. “Will you come get me?”

“You know I can’t. Not right now.”

“Well, fuck you. Fuck you!”

The one time I call needing him. The one fucking time I ask for help. I grit my teeth and call the police.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Yes, um—” Pull it the fuck together, come on you got this. Deep breath. “I’d like to report a kidnapping.”