Falling For The Girl I Bullied
Chapter 142

Ethan’s P.O.V.

“This is really scary,” Mathew whispered while looking at the vast area in front of us which was completely covered in darkness, just like a creepy set for a horror movie. Thanks to the moonlight, the buildings are visible to us, and we were also using the flashlights on our phones. “Do we really need to go inside?” Dustin whispered in a shaky voice and everyone glared at him. He mouthed sorry to us and looked in the other direction. I couldn’t blame him though. Just like Violet, he is also scared of darkness, and the whole area was actually looking like a set of horror movies. Even the air was colder than it was in the city.

“Okay….This is (Mr. Knight indicated towards a building a little far from us) the building and the buildings around it which they are going to demolish in the morning. They have already cleared the whole area. So, our search will be easy,” he told us and I looked at Kyle this time. “We have to search this building first as this is the main building,” he continued and then looked at all of us. “Where, do you think that they can hide her?” Mr. Westfield asked him while looking at the building. Mr. Knight rubbed his forehead while looking at the building.

I couldn’t see his expression clearly but he looked troubled. The whole building has three floors and two basements in different directions. There is no furniture inside but there are several rooms, janitors, small store rooms, utility rooms, and so many other small rooms that can be used to hide someone,” Mr. Knight answered him in a troubled tone. “What about the roof?” Noah asked this

time. “There are four large water tanks at every roof base, but they are also empty,” he answered Noah and everyone nodded. “Is there any possibility that one can carry someone to … to those water tanks?” I asked him this time. We were normal high school students yet we were trying to think about any possibility that could lead us to Violet.

“No… this is not possible. The water tanks are on a higher platform and the stairs are too narrow for someone to carry there,” he immediately denied and I took a deep breath of relief. I looked at Kyle and found him staring at the building. “We will replace her,” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly in a comfortable way. I was also hoping for the best for us, and for her right now.

It was my birthday today and all I wanted from God was for Violet safe in my embrace. I wanted my sister back with us, safe and alive. It would be the most precious gift for me if God really gave her back to me safe and sound.

“I don’t think that kidnappers are still here. They would have tried to lighten the area so that they could see. Justin spoke this time. “I think so too. If we are thinking right then they abandoned her somewhere there and ran away,” Mr. Westfield agreed with him. I took a deep breath and squeezed Kyle’s shoulder once again. He looked at me blankly. “What now?” I asked him and he sighed. “Let’s

split into a team of two with a police officer. It may be a possibility that they are still here and can attack us too,” he answered me, and then looked at Mr. Hampton. “It’s fine with us,” Mr. Hampton answered him and he nodded.

“Let’s split then and search this building first. Each team will search a whole floor. This way, we will search the whole building at once,” he suggested and I nodded in agreement. “Put on your Bluetooth and stay connected to each other,” Mr. Knight suggested this time and I connected all of them in a conference call. I was with Kyle and a policeman and we decided to search the ground floor first and then the basement joined from the back side. The night started getting colder and it was now making me more worried for Violet. We walked to the entrance of the building and then split up in different directions. We were still using the flashlights in our phones as none of us wanted to wait until help arrived. Every second was precious for Violet.

“What are you thinking?” I asked Kyle while walking in a corridor to enter the main area. “I don’t know but I am having this feeling that she is here… but we are not searching at the right place,” he answered me and I pursed my lips into a thin line. To be honest, I was also having the same feeling. “Let’s search this area first. I am also having the same feeling,” the police officer who was with

us also agreed with us. “My mind is still stuck at those water tanks,” Kyle spoke again after some time when we started searching the place. There was no furniture which made our search easy and disappointing at the same time. We opened the doors of the rooms with the hope to replace her, and disappointment filled our hearts when we found them empty.

“Is she your girlfriend?” the police asked Kyle after some time. Kyle nodded while opening the door of a utility room. “And my sister,” I also informed him. I g*****d in disappointment when we found it empty too. “Did anyone replace anything,” we heard Noah’s hopeful voice after some time. “Nothing,” Dustin answered him as if he was at a different time. “Same here,” this was Vivek.

“Continue your search guys. I am sure that we will replace her soon. She is here somewhere,” Kyle encouraged everyone in a cheerful tone. I smiled faintly at his attempt. “Yeah… let’s not give up. She is waiting for us,” Matthew spoke this time in a hopeful voice.

“You guys are really close to her, huh?” the police officer asked us in a light tone. Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah… she is kindhearted and an innocent girl. She rarely raises her voice. In spite of having so many difficulties and odds in her life, she is full of life, and her bright smile is enough to make your day,” Kyle answered him in a low voice, telling her about Violet. I could feel the pain in his voice as his voice cracked at the end. “We will surely replace her tonight. “You have to stay strong, kid,” the officer said as he lightly patted his shoulder.

We all sighed in disappointment after searching the whole area, and the basement too. It was not that difficult, as the whole area was completely empty. “What we are going to do, Kyle?” I asked him in a worried tone while looking everywhere. “My mind is still stuck in those water tanks,” he grumbled, and I inhaled deeply. To be honest, I was thinking about those water tanks too. The kidnappers had plenty of time to do anything for her. The area was completely abandoned, and homeless people could come here to take shelter at night. There was a good chance she’d be discovered by a homeless person.

“I think we should search those water tanks first,” the police officer suggested this time, and I looked at Kyle. He thought for a while and then looked at me. “Let’s do this,” he said, and I nodded. “Guys…. Let’s search the rooftop first. Try to replace the way through which they can reach the water tanks,” Kyle instructed everyone and then looked at us. “How many buildings do we have in

total here that have water tanks on their rooftops?” Mr. Westfield asked this time. “We have a total of five buildings here with water tanks,” Mr. Knight answered him.

“Five,” Kyle spoke this time. “Let’s search every building with the rooftop first. I am going to the next building. Noah, you go to the building in the right direction to this building. Mathew, you go to the rooftop of this building, as you are close to that. Dad you go to the second next building to this building. Vivek, you go to the building behind this building. Let’s finish the rooftops first.

If… if you don’t replace anything, then start searching the floors in descending order,” Kyle instructed everyone in a calm tone. I shouldn’t say this in this situation, but I was really proud of him.

“Sounds like a plan… let’s do this,” Mr. Westfield spoke this time and then Kyle looked at me. I jerked my head and took a deep breath. “Let’s go,” he instructed us and we all headed out of the building. “Why did you choose the next building?” I asked him while walking towards the other building. He sighed while taking a breath through his mouth. “I don’t know… it… it was just a

hunch,” he replied to me and I nodded while pursing my lips. “It doesn’t matter who replaces her…. The point is that we must replace her,” Hank, the policeman who was with us, said after Kyle. “Yeah… replaceing her is important,” Kyle muttered behind him.

We entered the building and I just stared at the stairs. The building had five floors and we had to use the stairs. We started ascending the stairs. “Keep your ears open and try to listen even if the sound is faint. “Let’s call her name on every floor. If… if she is here, and … and is conscious then… she will know that … that we are here,” I suggested and Kyle hummed in response. After that, we started calling her name in a light tone, as our voices were echoing due to the emptiness of the area. We concentrated if we could hear any voice but we got disappointment only. My heart was now beating furiously as I was having a feeling that whatever was coming our way, we would not like that.

Kyle’s P.O.V.

We reached the rooftop and we all looked around for anything that could give us any proof that someone was here before us. We were cautious on our way here as we were still not sure if the kidnappers were still here or if they had already gone away. Although the light was not enough, still we could see our surroundings properly. I heard a gasp behind me, and I knew it was Ethan. There were three water tanks here, and they were vast and were situated on a platform a little higher from the ground. Dad was right about the stairs to reach the top of that platform.

“I don’t think that they would take her there,” Hank spoke while looking at the water tanks. “I think so too,” Ethan also agreed with him but I was having uneasiness in my heart and there was an urge to look inside those water tanks that was very strong. “I want to go there,” I said and before they could say anything, I started walking towards them. “Let’s call her name first,” suddenly Ethan suggested when I was about to step on the first stair. I nodded and then looked up. “Violet,” I called her name in a light tone.

We waited for a response but didn’t get any. “Violet,” I called her again in a bit loud tone this time and waited for any response. My heart was now running a marathon inside my chest. What if she is still unconscious? She would not respond to our calls in that case. What if she had a panic attack? I was about to ascend when Hank yelled. “Wait” I stopped and glared at him as my heart skipped a beat due to fear. His voice was loud and it felt like he had seen a ghost. He immediately came near to me and pulled me behind him.

“What are you doing?” I yelled at him when Ethan held me from behind. I stumbled on my feet due to his sudden action. He didn’t answer me but looked at a particular place on the stairs. We also went there and I stopped breathing for a few seconds. “I… is this b***d?” Ethan stuttered hard while pointing at a spot on the stairs. I immediately moved the flashlight of my phone onto the ground. “There is a fresh b***d mark here. Call for the team,” Hank instructed someone over the call, and my eyes widened in horror when I found a few b***d drops on the ground at some distance.

“She is here…. I am sure she is here,” Ethan exclaimed in excitement and ran towards the water tank. I followed him and we both stopped right under the platform. “Violet,” he yelled aloud while looking up. “Violet,” I also yelled behind him in fear. There was no sound coming out from those tanks. Hank was busy doing his stuff while we were pacing under the platform. “There must be something through which they lifted her there,” I muttered while looking around for something, anything that could help us in understanding what exactly happened here.

“What happened, Kyle? What’s going on there?” suddenly my father yelled at me through the call. “We…. We f.. found some b***d drops here and.. and they are fresh… Hank said th.. that someone is here who is hurt and is taken here a few hours ago,” I told him exactly what happened. “Do not touch anything there, Kyle, and wait for us,” Mr. Westfield instructed me but I rolled my eyes. He was looking at everything from the perspective of a criminal lawyer but I was worried for Violet. “are the tanks covered or open?” Ethan asked me in a shaky voice. “Dad,” I immediately called my dad. “What is it?” he asked me.

“Tanks are covered or open?” I asked him as I didn’t know exactly what was the condition of the tanks up there. “I don’t know, Kyle. They should be covered,” dad answered me in a helpless tone this time. “Should we call everyone back here?” Ethan asked me and I chewed my internal cheeks while thinking about what to do next. We still didn’t know if these b***d drops were of Violet or not. “Search the rooftops as we have planned,” I instructed everyone while thinking about all the possibilities of events that occurred here. “But why?” Noah asked me in an angry tone. “We just got some b***d drops here. We don’t know if this really belonged to her or not. It can be a façade. We should continue our search according to our plan,” I tried to explain why I wanted them to look for her.

“Kyle is right. We are already at the top. We should search the area before going back,” Mr. Westfield supported my decision, making me breathe in relief. “Violet,” Ethan yelled again but there was no sound around us. “We should go up to see if the tank is open or not,” Ethan asked me in a worried tone. “Dad,” I called my dad in an anxious tone. “Yes, Kyle,” he immediately replied to me. “Look for anything that can help you take something heavy to the top. “I don’t know but something is really wrong here,” I didn’t know why but I was so anxious right now. “Hey…. Hey… did you hear that?” my ears immediately perked up when I heard someone yelling behind him.

“What is it?” I asked immediately and looked at Ethan. “What is Matthew?” Dustin asked him in an anxious tone. “I.. I think I heard a faint voice,” Matthew told us in an anxious tone. “Dad,” I yelled as dad was with Matthew. “On it,” dad immediately answered me. I heard them yelling Violet’s name. “I am going up,” I announced and ran towards the stairs. I didn’t want to leave things just because it was a crime scene. What if whoever was there is still alive? We couldn’t let anyone die just because of the law. “I am coming too,” Ethan yelled and I heard footsteps behind me. We all reached at the top in a few seconds. I sighed because the tank was higher than ours.

“Climb on my shoulders,” Ethan asked me and I nodded. “Let me go first,” Hank proposed, and I looked at Ethan. “He can pull you up,” Ethan said and I nodded. “Someone is inside the tank,” I heard Mathew yelling through the call. Hank climbed on our shoulders, and then I climbed on Ethan’s shoulders, and Hank pulled me up. “This is open,” Hank said to me while taking a deep breath. We both crawled towards the mouth of the tank. “There is more b***d,” Hank whispered, but I didn’t look there. My heart was now thumping so loudly that I could hear the voice of beating. We looked inside while throwing the light inside. My eyes widened in horror.