“Sounds familiar! Some strange website. Thought it was a prank at first, but… well, here I am,” Mike said, looking around nervously.
They began to question each other about how they had ended up there, until together, they started repeating the words written in the message:
“YOU ARE NOT ALONE! YOU WERE BORN TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE!”
Across from them, Emily seemed to be ignored by the others, but she was secretly observing Alex. Tall, slim, and with red hair, he was striking. Handsome, curly hair framed his face. And his eyes – a gaze full of determination to change the world. And his fingers. She involuntarily imagined those fingers touching her face, then trailing down her shoulders.
Just then, Mike introduced her to Alex. “Alex, this is Emily. Emily, this is Alex.”
Their eyes met briefly.
“Nice to meet you,” Alex said, a slight smile playing on his lips.
“Hi,” Emily replied softly, her cheeks flushing slightly.
But Mike, oblivious to the unspoken connection, interrupted. “Right, well, it's 6 PM now. This mysterious stranger from the website should be showing up any minute.”
The three of them started calling out, “Anybody here? Hello?”
No answer came. Only silence. The apprehension grew.
“Maybe this is a joke after all,” one of the boys said, trying to lighten the mood with a weak smile.
But then, Emily noticed an envelope. It lay on a stone. Opening it, the teenagers read,
“SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP! OR SHE WILL DIE BECAUSE OF HER DIETING.”
Below the words was a photograph of … Jessica, lying on the floor near her locker at school. Further down the page, there were detailed instructions, outlining what each of them should do and say.
“Okay, this is getting serious,” Alex said, his voice firm. “Let’s read this carefully. We need to figure out what's going on.”