Chapter 12 PT 1: Geez, Poor Zane

Zara's POV

Three Weeks After the Camping Trip

I knock on Zane's door. He doesn't answer.

"Zane?" I call, knocking again. "We haven't seen you for two weeks! Come on out!"

He still doesn't answer. I try the door, but its locked.

I take out my phone and dial a number.

"Hello?"

"Garroth, I need your help."

"With what?"

"I need you to break Zane's door."

At the word 'door', I saw Garroth running down the street. He comes over and breaks Zane's door.

We walk inside, Garroth texting Vylad to come over.

"Zane?" Garroth shouts.

"You check upstairs. I'll check down here," I say.

He nods and walks up the stairs.

I walk through the living room, looking for any sign of Zane.

I step into the kitchen, and my eyes land on something on the table.

"Garroth, get down here now!" I shout.

Garroth comes running down. I pick up the paper.

I AM dead. my life was too much for me. nobody Knew that I Did Not feel liked iN my "Amazingly Perfect" life on this Planet. my nEw life with aphmau anD travis and everyone else. my sister, zara, was always too famous. i didn't think she could really care, and i could never compete with her because i am nothing. for garroth; maybe if He had only Understood my Real Rivalries in time, i wouldn't have taken mY extreme measures. Even vylad , who learned to play the Xylophone at six months old, would never understand me.

I looked up from the note. Garroth had tears in his eyes. Vylad had come in and read it. He was also crying.

"Zane is...dead?" Vylad hugged me. I hugged him back, but something was bothering me.

"Something's... off about this note," I say. "Remember how much of a grammar freak Zane is?"

My brothers both nod.

"Well, look at the note," I say, moving my hand around the words. "None of the names are capitalized, and random letters are capitalized."

Garroth wipes his eyes and re-reads the letter.

"Your right," he says. "Vylad, quick. get Zara a piece of paper and a pencil."

Vylad hands me the paper and a pen. I sit down with them.

"Okay, read me the letters that are capitalized," I say.

"I AM is capitalised," he says. "At the beginning."

"Okay, keep going," I say urgently.

"All right. Um...a K, then an I and a D," Garroth says.

 I write them down.

"N, A, P, P, E, D."

I write them down.

"I AM KIDNAPPED," I read aloud. "He's kidnapped. Keep going."

"Okay," Garroth says. He looks back down at the note. "H, U, R,R,Y. and, uh...E, X."

"I AM KIDNAPPED. HURRY. EX." I read.

Garroth says. "why the EX part? And why does someone keep targeting Zane? Are they trying to get to us or something?"

"Not us....me," I say, realizing.

"What? Zara, are you okay?" Vylad asks.

I shake my head, then, speak the words I fear.

"I know who took Zane."