Chapter 2, Part 2
1247 Words
Eric Sampson POV
When Annie called, I put the office on high alert. They started scanning the traffic cameras in Surrey, trying to locate where Valeria had gone.
I was standing in the OP center, trying not to show how worried I was. Valeria hadn’t been outside in six years and my department had picked up some rumors about people that were out looking for her. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Anything?” I asked Sam.
She shook her head.
“Do you think someone got to her?” She asked.
I pursed my lips.
“We might have to assume that someone did.” I replied. “Keep searching.”
After an hour had passed, there were still no signs of Valeria.
“Where could she have gone?” I asked Sam, my voice laced with frustration. “She hasn’t been outside in six years. Where would she go?”
Sam frowned.
“Maybe she went home?” Sam suggested. “To her old house, I mean.”
My eyes widened at the realization.
We had been looking at this the wrong way.
Instead of scanning the streets, we should look at places where she would have wanted to go. The limits of her powers were still a mystery to me, and I didn't know if she could avoid the traffic cameras to go back to the house where she lived with her family before they were killed.
Sam and I sprinted out of the op center and took the elevator down to the underground car park.
“How could I be so stupid?” I grumbled as we drove out of the building. “I should have known that she would want some closure. It’s Christmas. She would want to be reminded of her real family this time of year.”
“I don’t get it though.” Sam said. “If she wanted to see her old house, why didn’t she just ask?”
I shrugged.
“Maybe she was too scared.” I replied.
I headed for Chelsea where Valeria used to live and pulled up in front of the property where the house once was. The night Valeria disappeared, there had been a fire that had destroyed everything and the property had been left completely empty since then. The spot where the house once stood was covered in grass and small bushes.
We got out of the car and started to look around for any signs of Valeria.
There wasn’t much ground to cover, and we quickly realized that she wasn’t here.
“If she didn’t come here, then where is she?” I asked.
“Umm- I think I’ve got something.” Sam said.
I turned around and saw her crouching down on the ground. When I walked over to her, I saw that she was inspecting a footprint on the ground.
“It’s a small shoe size.” Sam whispered. “Pretty fresh. I think she was here.”
I sent a text to Annie, asking if Valeria had come back yet. Annie replied instantly saying that she hadn’t.
If I was Valeria, where would I go from here?
I frantically looked around and saw a playground across the street.
Maybe she went there.
I jogged over the street with Sam closely behind me and looked around for any signs of Valeria. Children were playing and I saw some parents sitting on the benches around the playground.
I walked over to a mother sitting on the bench closest to where I was standing.
“Excuse me.” I said.
The woman looked up and I took out my phone and showed her a picture of Valeria.
“Have you seen this girl around here?” I asked.
The woman shook her head.
“I just got here.” She said and pointed towards the opposite side of the playground. “But they might know something. They’ve been here longer than me.”
I thanked her and jogged over to the group of people sitting on the benches and rocking their strollers back and forth.
“Excuse me.” I repeated and showed them Valeria’s picture. “Have you seen this girl?”
They looked at the picture one by one, and my heart skipped a beat when one woman called out.
“Oh yes! She was here an hour ago.”
“Did you talk to her?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“No.” She replied. “But she was studying the city map by the edge of the park. I remember her because it looked like she didn’t have a proper coat on and I wondered if she might be cold.
“Thanks for your help.” I said and walked off towards the large interactive map of London that was located at the edge of the small park. It was a large screen where you could move the map depending on which part of London you needed to see and was most useful for tourists.
Hopefully, if Valeria had searched for something, there could still be traces.
When I came closer, I saw that the map was still zoomed in on Eastern Chelsea. I prayed that it was Valeria’s search still showing on the map and I studied it to figure out what she was looking for.
She didn’t stop when she came back to her old house, so what was she after?
My eyes trailed over the map and landed on Brompton cemetery. My heart sank when I realized where exactly she had gone.
I picked up my phone and called Annie.
“I think I know where she went.” I said. “I’ll call you when we are heading back.”
“You found her?” Annie cried.
“No.” I replied. “I think she went to the cemetery.”
Annie was silent for a minute.
“Of course.” She whispered. “We’re complete idiots, aren’t we? She would want to see her family’s graves.”
“I’ll get back to you once I’m sure that’s where she is.” I replied and hung up.
“Come on.” I told Sam and started jogging the few blocks over to the Brompson cemetery.
I went to their funerals, so I quickly made my way down the aisle to where I knew her family was buried. When I saw Valeria sitting in front of the graves with her back to me, I heaved a sigh of relief.
Sam slowed down behind me, deciding to give me some space as I walked up to her and sat down on the cold ground next to her.
She wasn’t wearing a coat, so I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
I sat beside her for a few minutes, waiting for Valeria to say something. Tears stained her cheeks and she was staring blankly at the tombstones in front of her.
“I’m sorry for leaving.” She whispered after a while. “I just…”
A sob escaped her and I put my hand on her shoulder, only to pull it back when Valeria flinched.
“I’m not angry.” I said honestly. “You gave us quite the scare, but I can’t blame you for wanting to come here.”
Valeria wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve.
“We knew that you were coming.” She said.
I frowned.
“What?”
- Writer
