Never Missing, Never Found by Amanda Panitch

Author:Amanda Panitch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2016-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

Connor doesn’t find me. He might not even be working tonight, I tell myself. He might be at home, curled up on the couch, watching a movie. With Cady. Naked. She might be solving the maze of his freckles right now.

I want to throw up.

Katharina finds me instead. Right around that merch storage facility where she accosted me before, she appears. And by appears, I mean I don’t see her approach, or hear her footsteps, or smell the floral scent that clings to her hair. She materializes before us like she’s a shadow come to life. “Hey, Melly, Scarlett,” she says. “Glad you could make it.”

Though it’s not at all cold, Melody rubs her arms like she’s pushing down goose bumps. “It’s creepy back here,” she says.

“It’s creepier where we’re going,” Katharina replies.

“The Canteen isn’t really that creepy,” I say. I feel wise, giving information Melody doesn’t have. “Kind of gross, sure, but not creepy.”

“We’re not going to the Canteen,” Katharina says.

Of course we’re not going to the Canteen. I tense, my eyes darting, mentally calculating all the different ways I could run. It would be harder now that there’s two of them. I should never have come.

“We’re pregaming in one of the storage buildings,” Katharina says, like she senses my spike in stress. “Relax, girl.” She trills a silvery laugh. It floats above us, sparkling like a bubble, wavering and threatening to burst at any moment. “Come on. This one’s my favorite.”

Despite my best instincts, I follow. Melody already thinks I’m a coward. I need to prove her wrong, because Melody would never be friends with a coward.

The storage building is dark and dust fills my lungs and I will probably be crushed beneath a tower of boxes before anyone has the chance to hurt me, but then Katharina pulls a string and a light flickers on and I see that the piles of boxes are steady and I blow the dust out of my lungs and I can breathe again.

“There aren’t any cameras in these buildings, or at least none that work,” Katharina says, her voice echoing from somewhere in the back. She’s pushed her way through the boxes and piles of old clothes, opening a narrow, mazelike path to the back of the long room. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to follow her, but I sneak a glance at Melody and she’s leaning up against the wall, the thin sheet metal warping behind her, her arms crossed over her chest. Good. If Melody’s not following, I don’t have to either. I, too, lean up against the wall and cross my arms. Not because that’s what Melody’s doing. I just feel like crossing my arms.

Katharina continues, “So it’s the perfect place to hide out for a while.” Her voice grows louder as she moves back toward the front, back toward us. “And it’s not like anyone’s going to be looking for anything in here.” She jerks her head at the box of broken snow globes. “I mean, why?”

“What’s that?” I say, declining to answer.

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