The Hush Society Presents... by Izzy Matias (best desktop ebook reader .txt) 📕

because I’m burning the last of my savings being on this tour. If this plays up—no, I shouldn’t think about that right now. "Besides, nothin’ wrong with this one. It works just fine; I can give anyone a ring anytime and I can send messages. Isn’t that all a mobile needs to do?"

"Not if you want to grow your presence online." Eric grins. "Here, let me show you with my mobile."

At least no one’s sent Callum that tweet yet.

After what seems like hours of getting through the basics of social media—not just Twitter, but Instagram and Snapchat—I put my mobile away. We download whatever apps are compatible with my mobile, but Eric promises to give me one of his old iPhones when we get back. Good to know I won’t be shelling out any money.

I check the time on my mobile. We’ve been here nearly an hour.

Where are the gals? Is our car fixed?

I stand up to approach the receptionist, who’s busy on her mobile. When she finally puts the mobile down, she asks what she can do for me. I tell her our situation, the specifics of our vehicle.

I check my mobile once again, but still no word from Amber or Cassie, so I dial Cassie’s mobile first. All I get is a voice mail. I try Amber’s, but it’s the same for hers. "No service."

Uh-oh.

"Your car’s almost finished. In ten minutes or so. Would you like to settle the bill?"

I nod and ask Benji if he can advance the cash since Cassie holds our pooled fund for the trip. I settle the bill and wait beside the till for the receptionist to tell me the car’s ready. Once I have the keys, I dash back to my mates.

They wear the same worried faces that I must have.

"They can’t be reached," Benji says.

"I tried ringing them as well," I reply.

"So much for ‘you can call me anytime’ when the service is bonkers out here," Eric says. "This is a disaster."

"The good news is that the car will be ready in a few minutes. I’ll drive around and you two keep an eye out for the gals."

"They shoulda stayed put or used Google maps," Eric says.

"I don’t think they could have gone that far," Benji says.

"We don’t know how big this place is or where anything is!" Eric says. "Are we even going to make it in time to be able to sound check? Will we even make it to the show?"

"We won’t make it for sound check since we still have to find them," I say, "but our set isn’t until 8 PM."

"What about Amber?" Eric asks.

"She goes on at 7:30," Benji replies.

There's no way we’ll make it in time if we can't find the gals right away.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

We have been driving ‘round for more than half an hour. Unlike Brighton, the roads here are smooth.

"Just our luck," Eric whines from the passenger seat.

"Where could they have gone?" I repeat aloud for the nth time.

"Oh, I don’t know, think like a girl!" Eric snaps.

I grumble. We’re hungry, but it’s not like we can stop for food when there are more pressing matters at hand: finding Cassie and Amber.

"C’mon now, let’s be practical. They can’t have gone too far from where we were." Benji tries to quell us. "According to Google maps, there’s still a couple of roads we haven’t tried. Let’s try the next left."

I follow as instructed, turning left to a smaller road lined in old terraced homes. We enter a part of the city near the hills.

"What if they tried to look for a bus stop?" I say, an idea forming in my head. "If you’re lost, you’d want to get back to where you were, so you’d catch the bus."

"Brilliant," Eric says.

"You’re irritating me," I say to his face.

"Sorry to hear that. I’ll just shut it then." Eric crosses his arms. He’s gone all mardy.

I let out a sigh.

"There’s a bus stop two corners from here," Benji exclaims, looking up from his mobile.

"Great," I reply and speed up.

As we turn, I spot the bus stop sign. There’s a bus shelter with loads of people.

My body inches closer to the steering wheel and my neck strains forward.

"Nope," is Eric’s curt response. He’s our looker while Benji navigates and I drive. "They’re not here."

We find three more bus stops and still no Amber or Cassie.

"You don’t think they would have actually found a café and expected us to pick them up there, would you?" Eric asks, his temperament better.

"Doubt it," I reply. "We told each other to keep in touch via mobile. They would have sent a message."

"I rang them five minutes ago, but it’s still the same. No service," Benji says.

"Where can they have gone?" Eric asks with desperation.

"We should go the opposite direction," Benji says. "Try a place that’s near the hills or something."

"Yes!" Eric and I shout in unison.

Our quarrel is forgotten and this new perspective motivates us. We drive around, letting the terrain dictate our direction.

"This could very well be a start to a horror film," Eric says as fog surrounds us. "Just imagine, the cold fog, zero vision, no signal…"

"Or a Stephen King novel," I say. "What if it’s a portal to an alternate universe where we’re actually trapped inside the fog?

"The novel could be called The Fog!" Eric says and adds gory details.

"Uck!" Benji comments. "Can you focus on driving instead of your weird theories?"

"Embrace the thrill of horror," Eric teases.

"You know I hate horror movies," Benji replies, curt.

We’re at the foggier side of town. Our van accelerates with difficulty as we drive uphill.

"This place isn’t that far from the auto repair shop. It’s actually the opposite side from where we started looking." Benji points out. "They could be here."

"Please let them be and then we can grab some food," Eric exclaims.

Benji and I laugh at the incredulity of it: our stomachs have been orchestrating in the last hour and a half.

"THERE!" Eric shouts. In shock, I