Apollyon

“Kae! Kae, hold on!”

I sighed. Well, I almost made it out of work on time. I turned to see my friend and coworker, Samantha, running towards me, her high heels clip-clopping on the asphalt. “I really have to get going,” I began to say as I shifted the strap on my backpack higher on my shoulder, but was abruptly cut off.

“We called ‘Joan Smith’ on Eunice,” she replied frantically. That’s when I noticed all the aides and nursing staff pouring out of the buildings. “Greg wants everyone looking for her.”

My heart sank. ‘Joan Smith’ (or ‘John Smith’ for a male) was a code we used at my to alert the staff that a resident was missing and Eunice was one of mine. “Did anyone check to see if she went out with her family?” I asked desperately as I turned my attention back to Samantha.

“The nurses are trying to get a hold of her family, but haven’t heard back from anyone yet and she’s not signed out.”

I bit my lip as I scanned the grounds. “Where is everyone searching?”

“The dining aids are searching all the other apartments in the other buildings, the nurses and maintenance are searching the grounds, and the executive directors are going to drive around the neighborhoods.” I turned and saw our campus executive, Greg, getting into his silver SUV and pulling out of his parking spot.

“Anyone looking in the woods out back?” Samantha shook her head, so I replied, “Alright, I’ll go up there. I have my cell on me, so give me a call if she turns up.”

“Okay, I will.” And with that, Samantha darted back into my building, her curly black hair bouncing as she went.

I began the trek up to the wooded area behind the property as my mind whirled with concern. When did she wander off? Did she wander off?

Trudging through the rocky dirt and around fallen branches, my backpack filled with a bit more than necessary for a long weekend, I kicked myself for not leaving my backpack behind. The zipper strained to hold in the clothes, toiletries, and makeup for the weekend trip I was now late for.

“Eunice! Eunice!” I called out, but just the birds returned my cries. “Eunice!” Other voices could be heard faintly in the distance calling out to her. She was still missing…

I continued to go further and further into the woods, my stomach tied in knots. I was tripping and stumbling in the underbrush, so if my ninety-two-year-old resident had made it out here, what were the chances that she had been able to stay on her feet?

My thoughts continued to swirl in my head when my phone began to ring, making me jump.

You took the words right outta my mouth

It must have been while you were kissing me...

Glancing at the screen, I saw that it was Samantha’s number. “Hey, Samantha! Did you find her?”

“Yea, come on back,” she replied, her tone easy and relaxed if not a little annoyed as well. “Her nephew took her out to dinner and didn’t know that he needed to sign her out.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, I’m glad, thanks for letting me know.” Samantha’s call hadn’t come too soon. The sun had already dipped below the horizon and it would be dark soon. On the bright side, I thought to myself sarcastically, we should miss the rush hour traffic into the city.

I continued to stumble on the uneven terrain, catching myself on a tree every once in a while. This was not what I envisioned my evening to consist of when I put on my dress this morning and I could feel every rock or stick through the thin soles of my ballerina flats. The encroaching darkness made things even more difficult.

Suddenly, as I inched my way along the edge of a bank, the ground underneath me gave out and I began to fall. I turned and frantically grabbed a branch with my right hand, but all I ended up with was a handful of leaves as I tumbled down...

*****

Thank you everyone for reading Apollyon! I finished the first book and am hard at work writing the second. The finished book (Heroes of Ascend Book 1 Apollyon by K.B. Wolf) is free on Kindle Unlimited. Thank you again and I hope you continue on this adventure with Kae, Bowin, and me!