I woke up again at ten in the morning. Today was the day I would introduce the girl, whose name I still did not know, to my friends. I reached for the phone on my inn table and dialed Alex's number, pressing it to my ear. "Smith? That you man? How's it going?" his voice sounded unusually cheerful, even despite being distorted by the signal that allowed us to communicate despite being so far away. "Look, you know that girl I've been hanging with?"

"Smith...." The cheerfulness was gone, but I continued. "I want you to meet her. Look, Alex. I don't want you to hate this girl when you don't even know her. Give her a chance, yea?"

"...are you sure about this?" The answer came back almost immediately. Despite the phrase, there was still some doubt there. "Alex, don't be like this. We can get Samantha in on it too! I want you both to meet her. Alex, just trust me on this!"

"Fine, I'll be there. She usually comes by 5, right? I'll see you then." He was not happy, especially given the abrupt click of him hanging up before I could even say good bye.

I expected similar results from Samantha, even as I punched in the numbers. Pressing the phone to my ear, I waited to hear her voice. "Hm? Smith? It's unusual for you to call me this early, what's wrong?" She asked. I told her the same thing I had told Alex, that I wanted them to meet. "....I see. Do you really want that, Smith?" Samantha asked me. I frowned. "Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

"Haven't you noticed? Things were normal until she showed up. Did you think that maybe she's the cause for everything being so weird?" I hesitated. "Well..."

"Smith, I don't want to ever experience the sensation of going down that road again, and neither should you." I sighed. "Samantha, won't you give it a chance?" I heard her give a soft laugh. "You really want this, don't you? I never can say no when you're like this, so I'll be there. Five, right? It'll give us a chance to talk for real....although I doubt you'll be happy with the results."

"Yeah. Thanks....wait a second, what do you mean by that?" I couldn't hide the relief in my voice, but the relief was instantly replaced by a questioning tone. Did I hear her right? Unfortunately, halfway through my sentence, she had hung up. Putting the phone down, I sighed.

Why was it so exhausting dealing with this?

I chose to wait outside on the porch, sitting at my usual perch. The fabled time came around, although shortly before 5 both Alex and Samantha showed up. I directed them to wait in my house while I talked things over with the girl. Neither looked particularly happy, but I was glad they went along with my whim. I came back out just in time to catch the girl waiting for me, hands on her hips. "Hm..? You look like you've got something to say," she remarked, mildly surprised. I took a deep breath. "My friends are waiting in my house. I want you to meet them." The look she gave me made me want to wilt on the inside. It was not a look of anger or sadness, or even despair, just disappointment. Seeing such an emotion on her face made me instantly regret ever trying to set things up like this.

"Smith....the less I interact with people, the better it is for everyone. Your friends...are not the type of people I get along with well..." she told me softly. There was a reluctant look in her eyes, but for once, I couldn't stand by. "Come on! At least give it a shot!" I pleaded with her. The girl looked away, biting her lip. "...you're annoying, you know that?"

"You won't tell me your name, for Christ's sake! This is the least of things you can do!"

"....fine, but I'll only stay for a minute or two." She told me softly. I smiled, relieved at her agreement. "Greet, then let's go inside!" I turned around and began walking back towards the house, inviting her in. She stepped in, and I stepped into my house after her, closing the door behind us. As I turned around, the smile faded as I felt the air thicken. Alex and Sam were both on the couch in the living room, regarding the girl who had just walked in with rather hostile gazes.

In turn, the girl looked at them with an indifferent gaze, although I could sense roiling emotions behind her cool facade. Maybe this was a bad idea... I took a deep breath. "Samantha, Alex, meet my friend. I...don't know her name." I reluctantly said. The girl gave a half-hearted wave. Alex crossed his legs, regarding her. "...not nearly as impressive as I thought she'd be," he replied simply. Samantha smiled, although for me, it was as if it were forced. "...pleasure to meet you," she sad. "I've known her for quite a while, but I know you're both apprehensive, so I thought maybe meeting her in person might change your dispositions," I told them both.

Alex yawned tiredly. "Is that so? She's exactly who I thought she'd be. You don't even know who she is, do you?" I hesitated. "...what do you mean by that?" Samantha looked nervous now. "...Smith, we're worried about you. She's not the person you should get together with..." I was confused now, but the girl beside clucked her tongue softly. "I knew I shouldn't have come here. You both have no idea what you're talking about." The way she spoke...I had to wonder. Does she know them?! I looked towards her, although it was clear she was agitated. Alex stood up.

"Fucking bitch. Where did you take Mike? Or Francis? Where the hell did they go!?" The girl looked taken aback at the harsh, sudden language. "What do you mean?"

"You took them, didn't you! I know because I saw you interacting with them, the same way you're interacting with Smith right now!" I hesitated. Mike and Francis were two kids who had recently gone missing. Their recent pictures had flashed across the news, although their association with the girl had never been mentioned or even implied. The girl shook her head. "I didn't take them anywhere! They went with me willingly!" She told him.

Alex laughed harshly. "Get a load of this chick, Smith. You know the recent kidnappings? She's behind them. She's the one doing it." My heart plummeted at that. "But...what makes you say that? Where's your evidence?" I asked him. "I had my suspicions when you described her looks to me. I've been trying my best to look out for you man, and I'm glad I decided to look into things for a while now."

"Smith, I honestly don't know what he's talking about," the girl told me. I walked forward while Alex reached into a bag beside the couch, one I had not noticed before. He pulled out a small photo album and handed it to me. "Look inside this." I took it and opened the photo. To my surprise, there was the girl, although the photos depicted her talking to various people, old, young, teenagers, even people I myself knew. "What....what is this....?" I asked softly.

Some of the pictures depicted her running, some of them showing her jogging in a city, and places I had never seen. "Smith, every person who has gone missing in our city and this neighborhood...she has been seen near them. In fact, I did the math, and she's almost always the last person they saw. I cross examined with families, friends, all mentioned a girl that they never seemed to notice." I turned towards the running girl, looking at her.

"....can you explain this?" I asked her softly. The horrified look on her face showed her real emotions. "That's...I would never! I didn't kidnap them!" she told me heatedly, her cheeks flushed. "Then where the hell are they?!"

The girl hesitated. "I...can't tell you..." she said softly. "Are you serious?" I asked her. "Why the hell are you talking to these people? Running with them? I can get that maybe you just want a training buddy or running partner, but why do they always go missing?!" I was pressing forward with my words, trying to break through the barrier of silence she had erected. But the wall would not budge.

"You wouldn't understand!"

The girl shouted at me. "I helped them!" I shook my head, feeling betrayed. I couldn't believe it. I had trusted this girl, allowed myself to actually run beside her, and all it had been was a clever ploy to get me to lower my guard and probably take me away. "If you weren't guilty, then why won't you say anything?" I asked her harshly. The girl looked about ready to cry. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Hell, you don't even believe me now!" I felt a bit bad over how upset she looked, but I couldn't let this go.

It all made sense now. The girl's hesitance to tell me her name was to keep her identity hidden so I couldn't give any information to the police if I found out. She was hesitant to come here because she knew Alex had dirt on her. No wonder she was so reclusive, so reluctant to talk with anyone. In the end, it was me who was the fool.

This girl could not be trusted. "What about that road then?" I asked her. "What is it's purpose? Why does it fill people with such dread?" She shook her head. "You're not ready to hear that!" I took a heavy, shuddering breath. "Then if you can't tell me anything to defend yourself, I'll take that at evidence of your guilt." The girl's posture slumped, defeated. "...is that so?" she asked me softly. Samantha stood up, a hard look in her face.

"I think you should leave," she told the girl. I nodded in agreement. "I can't believe I wasted my time on you, Smith," the girl told me angrily. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What, upset that all that time you were trying to get me to lower my guard so you could drug me or kill me?" I asked her. "No! No...no. I tried to help you! And yet....and yet...." The neighbors had been right. I had been a fool thinking there was no this girl and the kidnappings could not be involved, or even that she was a danger.

"Go away." I told her softly. "Fine!" The girl shouted one last time, whirling around and storming out of the house. The door slammed shut behind her. I felt my eyes beginning to tear up, and I struggled to hold back the tears. Why did it hurt so much to cut her off like this, to feel like this? She was just some random girl who walked...no, ran into my life on a whim. Though I knew her well, I didn't know her name. So then why did I feel so wretched? So hurt over her betrayal?

"...hey bro, you alright?" Alex asked, walking up to me. I nodded glumly, wiping my eyes. "Y-yeah...thanks for telling me about her," I said softly. Alex smiled sweetly; there was something off about his smile, but among the turbulent thoughts whirling in my mind, I could not place my finger on it. "Of course, that's what friends are for!"

"I didn't think you were actually investigating her though," I pointed out. Alex smiled ruefully. "What, you think I'm a hopeless womanizer? Well, you're not wrong, but I think with my head up here! Once you told me you met her I started to look into it. I've been looking forward to this moment."

"Then...why were you so hesitant to meet her?" I asked him. Alex sighed as he hugged me. "Because I was afraid it could've backfired. Maybe she had you wrapped around her finger that you'd ignore even the blatant evidence, or maybe she brainwashed you. I'm glad that didn't happen though..." Samantha got up and hugged us as well. "I'm glad you decided to listen to us, Smith." She told me. I nodded, taken in by their warmth. "Yeah, thanks guys...." I replied, bolstered by their support. However, there was a worm of doubt in my mind. Why did this feel so wrong? At that moment, the warmth and comfort engulfing me seemed almost artificial, but I chose to ignore it.

These were my true friends, after all.