The Disappearing Page 5
“Oh, Polly, this is a masterpiece,” she cooed as she ran her hand atop Polly’s head. “I absolutely love it.”
Polly grinned widely and stood up on her tippy toes to whisper in her teacher’s ear.
“You can take it home with you if you want to.”
“I do Polly, I really do! Thank you!”
She knew she wasn’t supposed to have favorites—and she didn’t. But she hoped that one day she would have a little girl just like Polly.
With her mission accomplished, Polly ran back to join the other kids.
“Another love note?” said Ms. Horne with a smile. “You have become quite popular in your first year here.”
Ms. Horne, who had been at the school for nearly ten years, was a trusted mentor to the young teacher and also a dear friend.
“I’m going to run inside and try to grade a few papers. Think you can handle things out here on your own?” she asked.
“Of course, you go ahead,” Ms. Wolpert replied.
“Thank you so much, and listen, do me a favor, keep an eye on Matthew. He still seems a bit shy around the other kids, and I worry that he’s spending too much time alone.”
“Yes, I noticed that, too. I’ll check on him now,” said Ms. Wolpert as her eyes scouted the playground for little Matthew.
Just then a shadow passed over the school darkening the yard for a moment. She looked up to see if the beautiful sunny day was about to turn to rain, but there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
How strange, she thought. Maybe it was a plane. But it would have to be a large plane—a large, fast plane.
Within minutes she had spotted Matthew. He was under the picnic table by himself.
“Hey, Matt,” she called lightly as she reached for his hand. “Want to play on the swings?”
He eagerly took the pretty teacher’s hand and came out from his hiding spot, putting both arms around her in a big hug.
“Oh, sweet little one, why are you all by yourself?” she asked, knowing he probably couldn’t tell her as he was barely two years old.
She carried him over to a swing, gently placed him down, and began to push him from behind. Matthew felt safe, and then she began to sing, softly and sweetly, and he felt happy.
“Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A halfpenny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour.”
After a while, Ms. Wolpert put him down and led him over to a small group of boys.
“Now you go have fun,” she coaxed.
Recess was almost over, and they had made it through without any rain. Whatever had been in the sky was gone now and nothing but blue skies remained.
She looked at her watch and picked up a whistle—five more minutes, just enough time for Matthew to get to know those boys—but as she looked over, she could see he had already retreated back under the picnic table.
Oh well, she thought, there’s always tomorrow.
The kids raced into three lines when she blew the whistle. It was time to go inside for art.
She quickly scanned the lines of children. Where was Polly?
And Matthew?
She looked back at the picnic table where she had just seen him a moment earlier. But he wasn’t there. As she surveyed the lines again, she counted at least five children missing.
A slight wave of panic rose from her gut. They had to be hiding. She quickly summoned Mr. Dunkel, the principal, on her walkie-talkie.
He and a few other teachers came outside and together they looked under tables, in trees, behind playground equipment, but the kids were nowhere to be seen.
Ms. Wolpert’s eyes widened with fear, and she tried her best to stifle the scream when she realized what had happened.
The kids had vanished.
A small group of children have been distracted by a strange man. Drawn into a secluded corner, out of sight from other adults, the children follow the man out of the schoolyard and into a waiting van.
All but one, a little boy not more than two who decides something doesn’t feel right, and he runs. The feeling of dread, of sheer horror, begins to grow. Looking ahead there is a patch of flowers and a yellow house; if he can just get there he’ll be safe.
But a rock hidden in the grass is steps away and he trips, landing on his knees. He looks up, sweat dripping onto his lips, unable to catch his breath.
His breathing is so labored, the thought of formulating a word seems impossible—but he tries with all his might and can feel it rising from his gut and rolling out of his mouth in a scream.
“Mom!”
Suddenly, a strong hand grips his shoulder, pulling him up from the ground.
The man is very tall and he manages to scoop the small boy up in one big arm while placing a soft, moist cloth gently over his face with the other arm.
He feels strange.
The intense fear and panic is giving way to a sleepy sense of well-being.
Both arms are around him now, snug, secure—but gentle.
As both suns rose in the sky, a cool breeze slipped through the open bedroom window, waking Tim from the nightmare.
It had been two weeks since he had been home from the hospital after his encounter with the yellow-haired man, the one he heard went by the name Canary.
The school year loomed long without his best friend Luke to share it with. There had been no word about any of the missing. They were just gone.
As he lay in bed, he pondered just going back to sleep. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with the loss. But then again, sleep didn’t offer much relief because of the reoccurring nightmare. It had gotten worse over the last few nights. More detailed and terrifying.
Nope, sleep wasn’t where he would find comfort. The only thing that would give him peace was finding his friends. And he felt sure that meant finding the place called Earth.
I’m thankful for so many things.
A late night chat years ago under a sea of stars when my son Timmy and I began to dream up a story about a place called Briny Deep.
My daughter Emily who believed in the story and told me to write it now because the laundry could wait.
My daughter Isabelle who agreed (begrudgingly) to take a break from her Movie Star Planet computer game so I could actually use my computer to write.
A horrible boss and soul zapping job that made me realize I had to send out what I wrote because my dreams were not going to come find me.
My editors: David Dilkes for believing in me and being the original champion for this story—and the funny, patient, inspiring David Mulrine for all the pep talks and ego boosting emails.
Supportive family members like my dear mother for reading each and every word the minute I wrote it, my Dad, Jim, Danny, Stacey, Matthew, and my sister Natalie.
And finally to my wonderful husband—and fellow dream chaser—John, who refused to hear any more of my “great book ideas” until I actually wrote one to completion. I love you.
Note To Our Readers
About This Electronic Book:
This electronic book was initially published as a printed book. We have made many changes in the formatting of this electronic edition, but in certain instances, we have left references from the printed book so that this version is more helpful to you.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Torres, Jennifer.
The disappearing / Jennifer Torres.
pages cm. — (The Briny Deep mysteries ; book 1)
Summary: “Tim, Max, Emily, Luke, and Nina learn that their quiet town of Briny Deep isn’t as safe as they once thought. With children vanishing, they need to find answers before all their friends disappear”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-62285-172-0
[1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Missing children—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.T645648Di 2014
[Fic]—dc23 2014000875
Future editions:
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62285-173-7
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-62285-174-4
Single-User PDF ISBN: 978-1-62285-175-1
Multi-User PDF ISBN: 978-1-62285-176-8
This is the EPUB version 1.0.
Speeding Star
Box 398, 40 Industrial Road
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
USA
www.speedingstar.com
Cover Illustration: © Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock.com
Read each title in The Briny Deep Mysteries
Come to speedingstar.com for more information!
* * *
The Disappearing
The Briny Deep Mysteries Book 1
Tim and his four best friends learn that their quiet town of Briny Deep isn’t as safe as they once thought. With children vanishing, they need to find answers before all their friends disappear.
ISBN: 978-1-62285-172-0
* * *
The Return
The Briny Deep Mysteries Book 2
The search for the missing children has now intensified. But when Tim seeks out the truth, he learns those closest to him have been keeping secrets from him. Briny Deep is no longer the place that Tim and his friends once knew.
ISBN: 978-1-62285-181-2
* * *
The Battle
The Briny Deep Mysteries Book 3
With the secret of Briny Deep finally exposed, Tim and his friends must travel far away to a strange land. And with a war between two distant worlds about to erupt, Tim must have the courage to dig deeper than he ever has before.
ISBN: 978-1-62285-186-7