Hey, everyone. Okay, honestly, I'm not totally sure where I'm going with this story, so bare with me, please. If you have ideas, PM me. And even if you don't, feel free to tell me what you think so far. Enjoy :)

Ned had only been back to the fraternity house a few minutes when he got the call.

Almost midnight Saturday night, and the parties were just now slowing down as teens staggered in to their dorm rooms where they crashed halfway on their bed, exhausted and practically drunk from the keg that had gotten snuck onto college grounds. It was the end of summer, and everyone was getting their last bit of excitement in before college started once again.

Ned, however, was returning from the party completely sober, but exhausted. He got ready for bed as soon as he closed the door, and had just sprawled out on the bed when his cell phone rang. He groaned before looking at the caller ID. It was Bess, wondering if Nancy was still with him.

"No," he replied slowly. "She left hours ago. She should have been home by now."

"She isn't," Bess replied. "Hannah is about to go crazy with worry. Her father probably is, too. Maybe she had to stop for some reason…"

"Yeah. Maybe. Have you tried calling her?" Ned asked.

"That's the strange thing. Her phone says that it's been disconnected or out of service. It's not working."

Ned stood up. "I don't have class tomorrow. I'm going to head toward River Heights and see if I can find her."

"You don't have to do that," Bess said.

"No. If there's no way to get hold of her, I want to make sure she's all right. I'll call you if I find her."

"Okay. Talk to you soon."

As soon as Ned hung up the phone, he hastily put some clothes in a small suitcase along with his phone and charger. He would call his parents on the way to tell them he was coming.

As he drove, he almost constantly checked the roadsides, looking for any sign of an accident or even a broken down car. Anything. But he found nothing.

After almost an hour of driving, he finally stopped for gas at a small gas station practically in the middle of nowhere. It was simple, with only two gas tanks and a cash-only pay inside type of payment policy. The clerk behind the counter, a balding man whom looked to be in his early fifties and had a heavy southern accent, looked very uninterested in the vicinity around him. That is, until Ned asked about Nancy.

"I've seen a girl come in her a while ago that fits that description," the clerk said. "She came in here asking where the closest place to get her car fixed was. She headed out about two hours ago, I'd say."

"Which way? Do you know?" Ned inquired.

"Toward River Heights. The service station is about three miles away."

"Thanks," Ned said. He paid for his gas then left quickly, hoping that wherever Nancy was, she was all right.

--

As Ned left the gas station, he took the highway leading toward River Heights. He knew the road by heart; he had traveled it many times to visit family and his girlfriend. He also knew of the service station the clerk had told him about, and found it easily. However, it was closed.

Ned was still almost an hour away from River Heights, and it was late. He decided to call his parents to tell them not to expect him tonight, and that he would stay overnight at a hotel.

"Just be careful," his mother said. "Call me tomorrow to tell me when to expect you home. Good luck," she added.

"Thanks," Ned said. He sighed. "I just hope she's all right."

"I'm sure she is," Mrs. Nickerson said. "Rest up tonight. You've still got a drive tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom. See you tomorrow."

He hung up the phone and finally settled into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

--

The next day, Ned finished the drive home without finding anything—or anyone. His parents informed him that the police had been called, and a missing person's case had been filed. The police were going out that afternoon to look for any sign of Nancy.

"This is all just so strange," Hannah said. "Where could she have gone? You didn't see her…her car wasn't found anywhere…and her phone. That's the strangest part. Her phone is responding with a message as if it had been broken or shut off."

"You haven't heard anything at all? Not since she left the party at the college?" Ned asked.

Hannah thought a moment. "She called me at nine thirty. Told me that she would be leaving soon to head home. I told her to be careful since it was so late. That was the last time that I talked to her."

"Well, hopefully the police find something," Mr. Drew said.

"They're going out this afternoon, right?" Ned asked.

Mr. Drew nodded. "They should be leaving in a few minutes." He sighed. "Now, we just wait."

An hour passed by, then another. They tried to pass time by eating a late dinner, but their minds were elsewhere. The sun had just begun to set when the telephone finally rang at the Drew home.

"Drew residence," Hannah answered.

On the phone was Detective Paul Brown. They had found their first bit of evidence toward their case. On the major highway leading to River Heights—the same one Ned had traveled on the night before—was an area of scattered broken glass. In the middle of all of the glass was Nancy's cell phone, which had been completely shattered. Faint traces of blood covered several pieces of glass, leaving the police to rule this is foul play. They assumed that Nancy had been taken by force.

But a major question had yet to be answered. Where was her car? Had her captors taken it, or possibly forced her to drive somewhere? Nothing could be certain at this stage in the case.

"We'll do our best, Mr. Drew, ret assure. As soon as we find anything, we'll contact you."

"Thank you, officer."

As Hannah showed them out, Mr. Drew and Ned went into the living room and took a seat. "I can't believe this is happening," Ned said. "I mean, if she were on a case, this would be a little bit different. But she's not."

"I know," Mr. Drew agreed. Hannah walked in and sank into one of the cushioned chairs across from Mr. Drew. "It's not very often that a kidnapping occurs for no apparent reason."

"There had to be something," Ned said. "There's something that we just don't know about yet."

"It'll be figured out soon," Hannah said softly. "We've just got to have faith. We have to have faith that she'll be found, alive and well, and that's all that there is to it."

Ned smiled. "I should be heading home soon," he said. "If you find anything out, call me, please."

"We will," Mr. Drew replied. "Drive safe."

"Okay. Talk to you later. Good-bye."