Gone (Gone #1) Read Online Free PDF

her bloody socks and slid on some flip flops. Her feet burned and throbbed, but she didn't care. She had to get back out there.
    "Where have you been?"
    She turned around to see Chad at the top of the stairs. "I've been out looking for Macy. What have you been doing?"
    "I've been on the phone, talking to everyone under the sun who's seen Macy's status update." Chad's eyebrows came together.
    Alyssa ran her hands through her sweaty hair. "Okay. You keep talking to them. I'm going to talk to more neighbors. Someone has to know something."
    He folded his arms. "We need to call the cops."
    She leaned against the wall. "You're right. They can get more done than we can. You do that while I keep looking for her."
    The corners of Chad's lips turned downward. "She's not out there. She's with some kid she met online, giving us a very public middle finger. This is her way of trying to let us—"
    "Stop! I don't care what she did, Chad. I need to find our daughter. Call the cops—please."
    "And have them take her downtown," he muttered. "That'll teach her."
    Alyssa stared at him, unable to find words. Had she really heard him correctly? She didn't have time to argue with him. He'd been such a jerk lately, and this wasn't the time to try to change that. "Just call them."
    She ran out the door again. Her feet ached more as the drying blood stuck to the flip flops. "Macy!" She looked around. Maybe if Macy was around hiding and saw how upset Alyssa was, she might come out of hiding. "Macy!"
    This time, she ran to the park. Families were already gathering there. She screamed for Macy the entire way. Who cared if anyone thought she was crazy? She needed to get as many people looking for Macy as possible. She couldn't do this on her own.

 
     
    Dungeon
     
     
    Her captor shoved Macy toward the hole in the barn's floor. She pushed against him, trying to stop him. She didn't want to go down there. She didn't even want to know what could be there.
    "Are you testing me?" he growled. "Climb the ladder before I have to throw you down. You'll break a bone—I guarantee it."
    "What's down there?"
    "It's only a storm shelter. Get in!" He shoved her with more force.
    She gulped and let go of him. He still squeezed her arm, but she lowered herself to the ground and stuck her feet down the hole. She had to feel around before finding the ladder. It was made of rope, and swung as she tried to steady herself. As soon as she was on her way down, he let go of her. Once her head was all the way below, he slammed the door shut over her. She could hear him moving the hay around over the door. Something clicked. A lock?
    Macy stared up at the closed door above her until she felt a crick in her neck. Her eyes started to adjust to the light. She looked down and saw a few bales of hay. Sunlight shone in through walls of packed dirt.
    Unsure of how long the ladder would hold her weight, she climbed down and put her feet on the dirt floor. She looked around. Everything was dirt. She walked around the square little storm cellar. It was a relief to see that it wasn't a torture chamber like she had feared. It was only a dirt cell with hay.
    The hay actually helped it to smell a little better. It was musty, but the almost-sweet scent of the hay made it bearable. She sat on a stack of two bales and looked up at the light, watching the dust dance around for a little while.
    She had to think of a way out.
    But even if she were to stack all of the bales on top of each other, she wouldn't be able to reach the boards by the ceiling.
    At least she was away from that psycho. Being alone was much better than being around him.
    Her stomach rumbled. It was finally steady enough to be hungry again, but she had no desire to eat. Whatever he would give her, if he was going to give her anything else at all, would probably only give her more problems. She kicked her feet against the hay several times and looked around the room.
    The wood at the top, near the ceiling, was old and