The Night Orchid

by M. G. Hernandez

He peers at me with concern. “Not very much. Just half an ounce.”

  I place my palm on my forehead and lean into my cane. I question myself if I’m inebriated, but I’ve gotten drunk before when I drank my mother’s wine in secret. This doesn’t feel like that.

  He sets his hand on my arm. “You want to head back?”

  I nod. “But let me wait for this dizziness to pass.”

  He takes my elbow and leads me to the nearest bench. As I sit, he removes his coat and places it around me. I’m hit with another cool breeze, and I glance up because this chill differs from the natural movement of air. This wind is alive, and it plays with my nerves, so that despite the coolness, it causes me to have clammy hands. When I turn, I gasp. Alexa stands in the distance, more faint than what I am used to, but she is there. Her head turns towards me and locks her vacant eyes with my shocked ones. Her mouth gapes open as if saying something. Even though she makes no sound, her energy penetrates my soul so her anguish becomes mine.

  I turn to Mr. Cunningham, whose hand had landed on my forehead to check my temperature. But something catches my attention. He has folded his chambray shirt sleeves up, revealing a tattoo on his right forearm. Upon seeing the inked drawing, my mind flashes back to a necklace I found in Alexa’s closet. Sweat overcomes me as muddled thoughts regain clarity. The pendant… that tattoo… they’re the same. Cat’s eye with purple gemstones shaped into a flower.

  “Heliotropes,” I said. “Eternal love.”

  Mr. Cunningham glances at me. “Did you say something?”

  Despite my dizziness, I look up at him. “What is your name?”

  He studies me. “Josephine, are you ok?”

  “Answer me.”

  He furrows his brows, looking concerned. “I don’t understand why you’re asking me that. You know my name.”

  “Answer me!” I’m yelling now. “Tell me your name!”

  His hazel eyes cloud over, and he looks hurt and confused. I relax as his expression grounds me and make me question myself. I shake my head and take a deep breath. Maybe I am overreacting. Perhaps I’m sicker than I thought. “I…uh…shit…sorry.”

  He’s still looking at me with sadness, forcing me to reach out and touch him. But as if I flipped a switch, he morphs into something else as I stare. That frown turns into a smile, but it is not a pleasant one. It’s sinister, reminding me of Pennywise, the evil clown. My erratic heartbeat confirms my fear, and I grip the edge of the bench.

  “You know my name.” The sides of his mouth turn upwards even higher, transforming him into a grotesque character, wiping away that handsome teacher I’ve grown to trust. “Why don’t you tell me.” He bends and hisses in my ear. “I want to hear it from your lips.”

  His glacial, inhospitable words surge through my body. Gone is the warmth that exudes him as he transitions into something vile and rotten. But everything clears and makes sense now, making me sick to my stomach.

  “You killed her.” I whisper, as if not believing it.

  He sneers. “I freed her.”

  I look at him with fear, but my instinct for survival kicks in, and I stand. But something is wrong. My knees are jello, and I wobble as if my bones have disintegrated. My legs give way, and I fall. But I don’t yelp in pain because I feel nothing. It’s as if my entire body has gone numb. I raise my head from the cement, but it feels so heavy. I work to pull myself up from the ground, but my arms have no strength. His footsteps sound harsh in my ears. When he reaches me, he crouches to my level and grabs my hair, forcing me to face him.

  “Y-you r-r-roofied m-me.” I stutter and slur my words. “Y-you m-m-mixed it with alc-o-hol to intensify t-t-the effect.”

  He grins. “You’re so smart. I’ve always loved that about you.” Then he licks his lips. “Say it,” he hisses. “Say my name.”

  I try to resist it, but he only grips my hair tighter. “Say it!”

  Tears start falling. After much effort, I do as I’m told. “B-Brian.”

  “That’s better.” He gives me an unnerving smile. “Don’t be afraid, beautiful. Don’t fight it.”

  Everything spins and the surrounding images—the trees, the parking lot, Mr. Cunningham—blends together into a milky, white blur, making me vomit. Then it stops, leaving nothing but silence, except for one voice.

  “Sleep well, Josephine.”

  And then comes darkness.

  Chapter 65

  Julian

  He’s coming for her.

  Lexie’s warning echoes in my head as I break into a run to the parking lot. The raw fear of Jo’s safety comes crashing into me. That he’s absent today only magnifies the urgency to get to her immediately.

  “Ian! Wait up!”

  Dee’s footsteps are audible as she runs behind me. I ignore her as I don’t have the time to explain. Finally, I reach the parking lot and see the first sight of my Camaro. But my relief turns into irritation upon seeing a figure standing outside my car. I glare at Brandon.

  Meanwhile, Dee catches up to me, her ragged breathing a reminder of the effort she exerted to catch up to my long legs. I turn to her. “Thanks for the info, Dee, but I gotta see Joy. I’ll explain everything later but I have to get to her.”

  Her brows furrow as she nods. “I’m coming with you.”

  My eyes widen in surprise, and I’m about to protest when Brandon cuts in as he walks towards me. “Bro, stop being an asshole. We gotta talk.”

  I scowl at him. “Man, I don’t got time for you right now. I got a fucking emergency!”

  Dee turns to him. “Jo is in danger.”

  He snaps his head towards her. “What? What do you mean?”

  I run to the driver’s side and leave them behind to sort that out. Meanwhile, Dee heads over to her Tesla. As she peers over her shoulder to Brandon, she says, “If you want to come with me, I’ll explain everything in the car.”

  Brandon shrugs and follows her.

  “Where the hell are you guys going?” I ask as I pause in front of the open car door. “I didn’t say you guys can come with me.”

  Dixie fixes her gaze at me as she opens the door for Brandon. Her usually soft brown eyes look hard and determined, taking me aback. “Do you want to waste your time on us or do you want to get to your girlfriend ASAP?”

  Good point. I get in the car and within seconds I’m screeching out of the parking lot.

  ***

  I’m leaning against the wall of the elevator, biting my fingernails. I fix my gaze at the floor selection buttons, obsessively watching the illuminated buttons turn off as we hit each floor. I’m getting impatient as it feels like a lifetime before we’ll hit eleventh floor. “Can this stupid elevator get any slower? Damn!”

  “Relax, man,” I hear Brandon say. Brandon, Dee and I are the only passengers left after an elderly lady got off on the eighth floor.

  I snap my head towards his direction, and he puts his hands up as he registers the fury in my eyes. “Alright, don’t bite my head off. I’m just saying it won’t do you any good getting upset right now. Just calm down. We’re already at ninth.”

  “If you’re gonna insist on coming with me I suggest you keep your mouth shut,” I say through gritted teeth.

  He glares at me but turns away and focuses his gaze on the door. “Whatever, bro.”

  I’m a live wire right now. I know he’s just trying to help, but I don’t need it. My spidey sense is taking over my entire brain, and I can’t shake the feeling that Jo needs me.

  Finally, the elevator stops at 11th, and I tap my feet as I wait for the door to open. As soon as the doors part, I bolt out, leaving Brandon and Dee to run after me. My heart stops as I see my father standing outside a room. He’s accompanied by a younger cop who’s taking notes. My father, being the chief of police, hardly goes out and answers calls, so the only time he comes out to investigate is if it’s a special interest to him. I bite my lip. This isn’t looking good already.

  My heart sinks even further as I see my mother, Mama Nil
da and Aunt Helen together. Aunt Helen looks pale as she paces in front of my father. I run to them. “Mom! Dad!”

  They both turn and look at me in surprise. But my father narrows his eyes as soon as he sees my entourage.

  “What are you all doing out of school?” he barks.

  “Dad, what’s going on?”

  He looks at me stone-faced, and it fills me with dread.

  “Where’s Jo?”

  His eyes soften. “Well, since you’re here I might as well tell you, but first let me ask her family.” He turns around to Aunt Helen and Mama Nilda.

  Aunt Helen merely nods while Mama comes forward and places her warm hand on mine. “Julian, Jo went missing this morning after her session.”

  I inhale a quick breath as her message realized my worst fear—that I’m too late. He got her and a painful punch in the gut attacks me after hearing this news.

  “Her PT said she was last seen with her English teacher, Mr. Cunningham.”

  “Damn!” Placing my hands behind my head, I panic because the same guy who murdered Lexie is now with Jo. “Why was she left alone in the first place? Staff shouldn’t have left her alone!”

  Aunt Helen wipe her tears while Mama attempts to soothe me by rubbing my arm.

  My father places a hand on my shoulder. “Now, son. It’s only been two hours since she went missing. Let’s not lose hope. We’re on it. We’re gearing up already to do the search as we have a killer on the loose.” Then, he turns to the group. “As for the rest of you, I want you to return to school for safety.”

  I shake my head. “I’m coming with you.”

  My mom speaks up. “I don’t think so, honey. This is too dangerous.”

  “Mom, Jo is not only my girlfriend. She’s also my best friend. I will not sit here and twiddle my thumbs.”

  “Julian…” my mom starts with her warning tone.

  I ignore her because there’s nothing she can do to change my mind. I’ll sneak out of here if I have to. Meanwhile, my dad turns his back and refocuses his attention to another officer. I check in on everyone, and I see Brandon sitting on the bench with his hands on his head while Dee stares blankly next to him.

  The elevator slides open, and I turn my head out of habit. My eyes bulge out when I see Bianca and, of all people, Jordan, joining us. She beelines for me as soon as we lock eyes while Jordan follows closely behind her.

  “What the hell is going on?” I bark.

  Dee and Brandon turn and they, too, have surprised looks on their faces.

  “Wassup, y’all,” says Jordan.

  “What the fuck are you two doing here?” I cross my arms.

  Jordan puts a hand up as he rolls his eyes. “Relax. I called my sister to borrow money, and she ended up telling me what happened to Jo. So, naturally, we’re here because we want to help.”

  I scoff and cross my arms. “Really? You turned your back on her two weeks ago, and Bianca had the entire school against her. I’m supposed to believe you guys want to help her now.” I wave my hand to dismiss them. “Man, get the fuck out of here!”

  Bianca sneers at me while placing a hand on her hip in that signature Bianca sass. “I was in the parking lot with Jordan when I overheard this conversation. I know this offer of goodwill is unbelievable, but we’re here now and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “You’re not our damn boss.” Brandon pipes in suddenly. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Nope.” I respond with a glare. “This is my fight.”

  “I don’t give a shit if this is your World War III! Mr. Cunningham killed my girlfriend, and I want to be there when justice is served!”

  I flinch and after a moment my eyes soften as I empathize with him.

  But Bianca walks up to me, making me uncomfortable. “Listen, I don’t care that you want to be some hero in your story, but we’re going on this search. I know you and I have our issues, and Jo is not even close to being my friend. But I just lost a best friend through a senseless killing inflicted upon by the same person who kidnapped your girlfriend. I know I’m a selfish bitch but I draw the line at murder. I don’t know about you but I don’t want another teenager killed again. So get off your high horse because you know multiple heads are better than one… or something like that.”

  I narrow my eyes at her, but I will not waste my time arguing with these guys. But then, again, I realize why this abduction hits close to home. In the heels of Lexie’s murder, another peer is missing. This has gotta be scary for them as well. I sigh with resignation. “Whatever. Do what you guys want to do.”

  I turn away and start pacing until an idea comes to my head. I laugh as I join my dad and his team because I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier. By this time, two more cops and a detective had joined him. “I know how to find her.”

  The entire group looks at me while my dad stares with his eyebrows raised. “A week ago, Jo lost her phone. Her adoptive parents were too busy to replace it, so I took it upon myself to go to the mall, purchase a cell, activate it and sign her on to my carrier. As I do with all my phones, I turned on the ‘Find My iPhone’ app. If she has it with her, we can use it to track her.”

  “And how do we do that, son?”

  “Get me to a computer. From there I can go to the Find My iPhone page, plug in the iCloud password and then retrieve the map showing the phone’s location.”

  The detective addresses me. “You have her login credentials?”

  “Yup. I was the one who set up the account and created her password and username.”

  My dad nods and claps me on the shoulder. “It’s worth a shot. Good thinking, son.”

  Then, Dee chimes in. “What if she changed her passcode? I’m pretty sure she set that up herself.”

  I grin. “How much you want to bet I know the numbers she used?”

  She nods enthusiastically. “Justin Bieber’s birthday.”

  I smile and squeeze her arm. Later, my mom leads me to a computer behind the nurses’ station to get started. As soon as I’m seated, I get to working. Hope fills my heart, despite my nerves. I just hope that her phone didn’t get dislodged during the abduction.

  My heart beats as I punch in the last number of the password. I pray that this will prove fruitful as this is the best hope we have to finding her fast. Before I press, “enter,” I pause and take a deep breath. I feel a hand on my shoulder and see Brandon’s reflection on the computer screen. This time, I welcome the comfort as a sense of brotherhood returns between us brought by the connection from this heinous act enacted upon our girlfriends.

  Finally, I press the key on the keypad and watch the blinking hourglass. In what feels like forever, the screen finally clears to reveal a map.

  “Yo, guys!” I beckon to my dad and his crew to come closer.

  They walk over to me and peer over my shoulders. I hear the young officer ask, “They’re somewhere in the Mission Forest? Is that right?”

  My heart sinks. I know exactly where they are.

  One cop responds. “Well, that’s better than what we got. What are y’all waiting for? Let’s go. Dwayne, call for backup.” He turns to me. “We’re going to need her login credentials in case we need to keep tracking.”

  I nod and write it down on a piece of paper. Then, when they leave my side, I turn to my father. “Dad, I know where they are.”