With their roles assigned, the group split into two teams. Harty and Michigo would head to Jess' house to ensure her safety and gather any information about Alex or Sarah, while Angie and Roselle would make their way to the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town in search of Tina.

  Harty, taking charge, spoke to his team. "Michigo, let's get to Jess' place quickly. We need to find out if she's in any danger, and if she knows anything about Alex or Sarah's involvement. Time is of the essence."

  Michigo nodded. "Right, let's go."

  Meanwhile, Angie and Roselle prepared to leave for the warehouse. Angie turned to Roselle and said, "We'll find Tina, Roselle. I've got your back, and together, we can get to the bottom of this."

  Roselle nodded. "Thank you, Angie. Let's do this."

  Harty and Michigo arrived at Jess's house. The house was quiet. There was no usual sign of any activity. After giving a few knocks on the door, Harty glanced at Michigo and said, “It seems like we're early. This gives us a chance to set up and be prepared. I'll need to plug in my laptop to gather information. Let's see if we can find an outlet."

  They looked around, and Harty spotted Jess's neighbor entering her house. Michigo recognized her as one of Roselle's friends from the other day. “Hey…it’s Chloe!”

  Harty approached Chloe's door and knocked. Chloe answered the door in just a panties and bra. Her eyes lowered. She spoke without looking up, "Jess, I'm really not in the mood right now for any of your shenanigans, okay?"

  However, when Chloe realized it wasn't Jess but rather two strangers at her doorstep, her face turned a bright shade of red. She quickly closed the door. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Please, give me a moment."

  Chloe returned, now dressed in a more presentable outfit—a stylish blouse and jeans. She opened the door with a more composed demeanor and a graceful smile. "May I inquire what brings you here today?"

  Chloe's eyes widened in recognition seeing who was at the door. She exclaimed, “Wait a minute! Michigo of the karate club and her new boyfriend?"

  Her assumption took Michigo and Harty by surprise, and both of them were left flustered.

  Chloe's eyes sparkled with recognition. “Oh, I see why you’re here! Michigo, you’re here to flaunt your new boyfriend, aren’t you? How delightful!”

  Michigo blinked. Her cheeks turned a shade of pink. “No, Chloe, it’s not like that at all—”

  Chloe waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t be shy! I’ve heard about you two. The karate club’s rising stars and all. Quite the power couple, I must say.”

  Michigo waved her hands infront of her. "No, no, no, it's not like that at all! You shouldn't assume things so casually."

  Harty chimed in. "Yes, there's been a misunderstanding… A-anyways. I just need a place to plug in my laptop to do some work."

  Chloe nodded. "I see. My apologies for the mix-up. You're welcome to use the outlet in my living room. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

  Harty settled down with his laptop. Meanwhile, Michigo seized the opportunity to address the burning question that had been on her mind. She stared directly at Chloe and said, "I'm just going to come out and ask. Why did you and the other six friends surround Roselle the other day like she was your enemy?"

  Chloe hesitated for a moment and struggled to find the right words. After taking a deep breath, she began to speak, "It's... It's not just about that day, Michigo. I've been friends with Roselle for a long time, but things have changed. You know, she's... she's different now. She's become more distant, more secretive. We used to be so close, and now it feels like she's hiding something from us."

  Michigo was surprised by Chloe's response. She decided to press further. "But Hashta told us it was like something came over her that day. What made you join in too? It seems strange that you'd all react the same way.”

  Chloe's facade began to crack as Michigo probed further. "I... I had already made up my mind about Roselle, Michigo. I believed the rumors and the stories about her, and when I saw her that day, I couldn't stop myself from confronting her. I thought it was the right thing to do."

  Michigo's eyes narrowed. "If you felt that way, Chloe, why didn't you just talk to Roselle one on one?! Confronting her like that with mob mentality only made things worse! Friends should support each other and communicate when things get tough."

  Chloe she shouted out, "What was I supposed to do, Michigo?! It's not like I could have changed anything! Roselle’s the one who didn’t want to talk or be our friend anymore, and it hurt, but I had to move on."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Michigo reached out and grabbed Chloe's cheeks firmly. She gave Chloe a serious look and shouted, "Chloe, you’re wrong! You should have talked to her, tried to understand what was going on with her. Friends don't just give up on each other like that. Just who do you think Roselle is?"

  Chloe’s eyes widened in shock as Michigo grabbed her cheeks. She pushed Michigo back slightly and her tone sharp. “Watch how you’re touching me, Michigo. I don’t appreciate being manhandled.”

  Michigo raised her hands in a calming gesture. “Sorry, Chloe. I just wanted to make sure you understood how serious this is. Roselle needs understanding, not hostility from her friends.”

  Harty, who had been silently observing the exchange while working on his laptop, looked up with a hint of concern. “Let’s all take a step back. Chloe, we’re not here to accuse you. We just need to understand what happened and why things went so wrong.”

  "You know what happened to Tina?" Michigo asked.

  Chloe shifted her tone from frustration to casual. She nonchalantly replied, "Oh, big time, Michigo. Tina's got some real talent. I know what she's up to these days, and I'm a big fan. I buy all of her films and I’m subscribed to her content page."

  Michigo was bewildered by Chloe's response. "How…could you? How could you? Do you support what they are making her do, Chloe?"

  Chloe shrugged. "It's just business, Michigo. Tina's doing well, and her work is in high demand. I'm just one of her many fans. You can't blame me for that."

  Michigo’s eyes narrowed with frustration. “Tina was a quiet girl. She was shy and kind, and she became friends with Roselle for the same reasons. Even back then, she was the same sweet person. I was friends with her too, and I can’t believe this is what she would want for herself.”

  Chloe’s gaze shifted. “Are you sure you really knew Tina, Michigo? People change, and sometimes we don’t see the whole picture. Maybe Tina chose this path for herself.”

  Michigo shook her head. “No, I refuse to believe that! Tina was never the type to willingly do something like this. Something must have happened to her.”

  Michigo then turned to Chloe, demanding, "When was the last time you saw Tina?"

  Chloe hesitated for a moment before responding. "The last time I saw her was on the day she left school. Well, I saw her one more time after that, but I can't remember the exact day. She came by and asked for skimpy clothes. She wanted to be someone else, Michigo. All I did was help her out."

  Michigo, struggling to contain her anger. She stared at Chloe and began to speak, "Chloe, you could have stopped this! You could have tried to understand what Tina was going through!"

  Chloe gasped. Then, she replied, "I had no idea what was going on at the time, Michigo. I thought she was just experimenting or trying out new things. I didn't know it would go this far."

  Michigo’s eyes blazed with frustration. “You’re telling me you just thought Tina was experimenting? You knew how she acted—how shy she was. You should have known better!”

  Chloe’s face reddened. “Look, I didn’t know things would escalate like this. Tina was always so private. I didn’t think asking for new clothes was a sign of something more serious.”

  Michigo’s fists clenched at her sides. “I don’t buy that. You saw her changing, you saw her asking for things that were out of character! What else do you know, Huh?! Tell me!”

  Chloe began to shiver from Michigo’s fury. Harty soon saw this and stepped in. "Michigo, we need to focus on the bigger picture right now. We can deal with this later."

  But Michigo’s her frustration mounted. "No, Harty, I can't let this go! Tina is our friend, and she's in trouble because of people like Chloe who just stood by and let it happen. This is unacceptable!"

  Michigo seethed with anger. Chloe, on the other hand, was put into a state of sadness and was filled with guilt from Michigo's outburst.

  Michigo opened the door to exit the house and said, "I'll see myself out..."

  Harty acted quickly. He grabbed Michigo by the shoulders and he spoke calmly."Michigo, please, we can't afford to let there be division among us. Let’s focus on our mission, and confront the bigger problems at hand. We'll address what we can do for Tina later. Let Roselle’s team worry about Tina for now."

  Michigo, still fuming with anger, reluctantly nodded at Harty's words. Deep down, she knew he was right Michigo turned back to face Harty and said, "You're right, Harty. Let's focus on Jess and dealing with Shadowcroft. We'll figure out the rest later."

  Chloe stuttered while making an effort to speak. "I... I'll be right back.” With that, she turned and headed upstairs in her home.

  Harty breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Michigo. "I'm glad things didn't escalate further. Now, I think my computer’s booted up. Let me show you something."

  He logged into a chatroom and began to explain. "This chatroom was created using the private server of Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows. It's the perfect place for us to communicate without anyone else knowing our business. When you get home, make sure to log in here. We need to stay connected and vigilant."

  Michigo nodded. "Got it, Harty.”

  Harty leaned in and whispered to Michigo, "I know nobody's home right now, but I took precautions and logged us all in for the time being. We need an active chat to keep Jess's attention when she arrives."

  Michigo raised an eyebrow. "Why do that?"

  Harty explained, "If Jess sees us all online, she'll be less likely to just leave the chat immediately. It'll buy us some time and make her less cautious. We can use that to our advantage. We will know she is home, and we will know if she ends up being attacked. We'll be able to respond immediately."

  Michigo nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Let's keep her occupied and monitor the situation closely. If anything goes wrong, we'll be ready to act."

  Harty glanced at his laptop screen, the chatroom ready for their use. "Exactly. We'll do our best to both protect Jess and uncover the truth behind all of this. Now, we wait."

  Harty, sitting in front of his laptop, began the process of logging everyone into the chatroom. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he quickly switched between usernames and signed them on:

  "StarlightSeeker27, logged in,"

  "EclipseDreamer14, logged in"

  "MysticChaos21, logged in."

  "CipherMystery08, logged in."

  "EnigmaGamer19, logged in."

  "PixelChaos03, logged in"

  "KarateSpirit23, logged in."

  The chatroom now appeared active, with all the usernames showing as online. Harty quickly started typing conversation to make it look like a genuine discussion.

  "Hey, everyone! I had the weirdest dream last night," he typed as StarlightSeeker27.

  Michigo was left using a phone to connect to the chatroom. In her role as KarateSpirit23, chimed in, “Hey team! Dreams can be as wild as a sparring match! Let’s break them down and see what hidden moves they might be hiding!"

  Project Mage