Try to Scream

Weeks had gone by, weeks, and nothing. There was no ID on the man in the pictures. There was hardly any focus on Munro. Everyone cared about the boys and I. Everyone cared about the concerts we cancelled. No one cared about her anymore. No one cared about finding him.

I felt so alone. Harry did his best to help me. He would amuse me as I talked about finding Munro, but I could see he was as hopeless as the rest of the world was. No one really cared as much as I did. Which I can admit is rude to say, considering her family knew her more, loved her as much as I did. But they were sitting at home, doing nothing.

People, over time, have assumed that I am the one that sits around, quiet, until I hear something funny. Of course, I wasn’t as quiet as people found Zayn to be. But a lot of people did consider me lazy.

I admit it, I was pretty lazy, unless I was up on stage or doing something fun and exciting, I liked to sit around, play video games or watch TV. But when I cared, my energy level was through the roof and I was doing all I could.

Today, I sat on the computer and looked for clues. I sat there for a few hours alone, but Harry came in around 1 that afternoon and handed me his phone. “Detective Teller wants to talk to you.” He sat on the bed beside me and sighed, “You really need to start picking up your phone, your family is getting really worried.”

Bringing the phone to my ear, I blocked out the ramble Harry was spewing. “Mr. Horan. I have some news for you.” My heart started racing, hopes that they found her. “We already contacted her parents and they gave me permission to talk to you. We’ve got a positive ID on the man in the pictures. Although we have a name, we are having trouble finding out where he is, there are no properties in his name or anything.”

“Who is he?” I asked.

Detective Teller sighed, “His name is Trent Pardee. He lives somewhere in New York. That’s all we have on him right now.”

“You can’t find anything else, nothing at all?”

“Mr. Horan, we are doing all we can to find Ms. Ellis, but we are not magicians. We can’t pull her out of a hat.” There was a pause. “Look, we are doing our best. We are another step closer to finding her.”

I said goodbye and hung up Harry’s phone. I handed it to him and turned back to my computer. I opened up a new tab and started looking for a place I could go. When I found the information I needed, I dialed the number on my phone and set up a meeting.

It was simple, I’d meet the guy in a busy restaurant, we’d change and take off. It’d be a quick slip from the pap and fans. I packed a backpack with one of Harry’s tops, a pair of jeans and a beat up pair of shoes. I grabbed a pair of sunglasses and s snapback the Liam had left behind. I counted out some cash and placed it in the bag as well.

The restaurant we chose was in walking distance of the hotel. I avoided the millions of questions thrown at me and slipped in the place. The man I was meeting, Rick, was standing by the bathroom. I joined him and walked in, grabbed one of the two stalls. I changed my clothes and walked out. “Okay, let me take the bag and we can take the back way out.” I handed him the bag, pulled on the snapback and sunglasses and followed Rick out.

His car was parked next to the door. We got in and headed out. The car was quiet at first, but Rick smiled as we neared the driveway, “My daughter is a big fan.”

“She’s got good taste.” I forced a smile and pulled the snapback off my head. “So I’ll give you the money now and we’ll deal with the rest after.”

Rick felt the tension and nodded, “Okay, sounds good.” We entered the building and he started handing me things. He gave me a earmuffs and glasses. “Safety first.” He grabbed a bag and pointed towards the door at the back of the shop. “Head through there, first stall.”

I walked in the back and stood at the first stall. I put the glasses on then placed the earmuffs over my ears. Rick came in and placed the bag down. He pulled out a gun and checked it out, he set it in front of me. “Check the safety, cock it and shoot. Once you’ve done that, place the gun down, set back and let me check it.” He watched me pick up the gun and cock it quickly. I aimed and froze. “Okay, deep breath, pull the trigger.”

I inhaled and tried to bend my finger. The idea of shooting the gun was scary. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t. “You need to relax, Mr. Horan.” He instructed as his hands gently grasped mine, pulling them slightly right to aim the gun better. “Relax your shoulders, clear your mind, take a deep breath and shoot.”

I closed one eye and aimed for the head on the target. I closed both my eyes and took in some air, holding it in my lungs for a second and letting it go. I opened my eyes again and moved my right index finger to the trigger and pulled it back slightly.

The loud bang was heard clearly through the earmuffs. The vibration made my hands tingle and hurt slightly. I put the gun down immediately and stepped back, looking for the bullet hole. Though it wasn’t perfect, there was a clean shot through the “ear”

“That was a great first try. We want to hit the bullseye in the center of the body this time.” He checked the gun and set it back down. “Aim for the chest, relax and shoot.”

I picked the gun back up and extended my arms. I closed my left eye and aimed for the red dot in the center of the chest. I took a deep breath, moved my right index finger and pulled the trigger again. I set the gun down and smiled as I noticed shot was very close to the red dot.

“That’s what we’re looking for. Great job.” His hand hit my back as he patted it lightly. “Would you like another go?”

I shook my head, “Naw, I’ve got to get back before people realize where I’ve gone. No need to have the place full of rowdy teenage girls.”

Rick packed up the gun and took me out to the front desk. I grabbed a pen and wrote a quick little note and signed it. “My daughter will love this, thank you.”

“No, Rick, thank you. I needed a day out.” I collected my things from the desk and called a cab. Now that I knew how to handle a gun, I could get one for myself. Once that was settled, I have one last thing to do. I needed to find Trent Pardee.