It was a bitterly cold night, the moon was shining and the stars were out. Phil was out the front of his house sitting on a chair, paralysed in thought. He was thinking about the incidents of the past few weeks. Ten people from Phil’s school had gone missing, unexplained, in the last 12 days. Phil was trying to think what happened to them, thinking like a detective, even thought he wasn’t one, he was only 16. He was considering the possibilities of the hundreds of rumours that had been circulating. A rapist? Alien abduction? Government conspiracy? Some of them seemed too farfetched.

Phil heard a slight crack from around the side of the house. Another Crack. Phil immediately engaged his senses. He couldn’t hear anymore sounds and after five minutes he went back into deep thought. Are they dead? Have they just been kidnapped? Held for ransom?

All of a sudden someone grabbed Phil around the neck. Phil tried to get out of the grasp of the hands that came from behind him. Panic stricken he started squirming, desperate to be free. The person behind him turned him around.

“Hi Phil,” he said.

“Bloody hell Tom!, Phil yelled while getting Tom’s hands off his neck, ”you scared the crap out of me!”

“Isn’t that the point?” Tom replied laughing.

“I thought it was they murder guy coming to kill me!,” Phil continued to yell.

“Calm down mate, it was only a joke,” Tom said.

“Well is wasn’t very funny!,” Phil continued.

“Chill mate,” Tom replied. Phil walked inside and into his room, Tom following behind. Phil’s phone started ringing.

“Hello,” Phil said into the phone.

“Oh his Greg how’s it going?”

“Yea I’m not too bad, what’s going on?”

“Oh. Really? When?”

“Shit, any idea how or where?”

“Ok, catchya.”

Phil put the phone down. The look on his face was in total shock.

“What’s wrong?,” Tom asked.

“Another ones gone,” Phil replied, still shock on his face.

“Who?” Tom asked, shock now on his face.

“Stacey,” Phil replied. For the next ten minuted they were shocked silent.