A Collision of Worlds

Chapter 3

I opened my mouth to scream when a hand wrapped itself around my mouth. "Did'ya think I was going to mug you?" a voice laughed in my ear.

I spun around indignantly. "What the hell do you think you are doing, Matt?"

"Where the hell did you think you were going? My car is parked over there," he said, pointing in the opposite direction.

I opened my mouth to tell him how his shitty little prank had scared me half to death, when I noticed how close we were standing... too close. Matt shifted his weight and closed the tiny gap between us. I pulled away and walked towards the car.

Matt stood for a second and followed. He unlocked the car and we both got in. After driving along in silence, I reached to turn the radio on. He pulled my hand back.

"Marisa, how long are you going to keep me in the dark?"

My heart began pounding. What did he want?
He continued. "I need to know what's going on..."

He had not yet let go of my hand. I didn't know what was going on.

"Did you get any leads with the Kayes?"

Oh.

I pulled my hand out of his grip, calmed myself, and answered, "I've got some ground work down. Umm.. yeah, I've got to finish questioning with the Kayes yet and what the Varsity Coach tells us might help my suspicions."

"What are your suspicions?"

"Right now, I think our prime suspect is a guy named Tom Riddle."

"Did you run a search on him?"

"Oh, I think we already know quite a bit about him. A Muggle search won't do much."

"There's that frickin' word again!"

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The hospital was cold at 4 AM, but certainly not quiet or dark. The emergency room buzzed with mysterious life-threatening ailments, such as asthma attacks, car accidents, bone breaks, and hang nails. I moved among the throngs of people, just trying to stay out of the way. After what seemed like an eternity, Matt, who had suddenly disappeared, returned to my side.

"He's not in emergency any more. Room 210," Matt said briskly. I got the sense he was taking over this operation, sort of like he felt I had taking over the questioning. I opened my mouth to say something and decided just to shut up and follow Matt. He led me down the hall to the only lit room.

"I would like to buy a vowel," came from the Television set as Varsity Volleyball Coach Gary Miller lay on the bed, with the remote control, IV tube in his arm.

"He's watching 'Wheel of Fortune' less than 2 hours after he's been recovered from a brutal kidnapping where other girls may be dead?" I whispered hysterically.

Matt shrugged, "Maybe he can't sleep."

Guys.

Matt strode towards the bed. "Gary Miller?" he asked.

"Yep," he answered, not looking at Matt, but watching the man on TV guess who the famous person was.

"I'm Matthew Bosh and this is Marisa Longbottom, London Missing Persons Department."

Miller's eyes lowered immediately and he switched the TV off. "I've been expecting you," he said with a different tone, far more serious and cold.

"We have some questions for you."

"Ask. Those girls' life hang in the balance."

"Tell us everything you remember," I said as calmly and peacefully as possible, "From when those girls boarded the bus on."

Coach Miller took a deep breath and began.

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Katrina boarded the bus, lugging her infamous gigantic gym bag. It was rumored that she could fit near anything in their and had once had her smaller cousin crawl in. It hit the seats as she boarded, making the simple act incredibly complex. Tonight, the bag seemed almost larger than normal. It bumped the seats as she slowly made her way down the aisle.

"'Bout time you're here, Kaye," Miller grumped, "we were near ready to leave with out you. Anyone else coming?"

"No, sir," Katrina replied, "It's just us."

Miller gave the bus driver the signal to leave as Katrina tossed her gym bag into a seat with some difficulty and sat down across the aisle from Kristi.

The bus bumped up and down a lot and there were giggles coming from the back of the bus where Katrina and Kristi joked their silly sophomoric-type jokes. 10 minutes later, Miller suddenly sat up.

The giggling had stopped. The back of the bus was silent.

Miller quietly told the bus driver to flip the lights on. The bus driver grudgingly obeyed and the bus was flooded with light.

He could see Katrina and Kristi back there, but their eyes were closed, chests heaving up and down in an incredibly deep sleep.

But they were O.K.

Miller turned around, relieved. That would be just his luck, to have two girls pass out on a bus. What stress that would give him! He already had enough work with the Varsity team going to state, and all.

But that was the least of his problems.

As he turned around, he noticed the bus driver slumped forward in his seat. Miller nearly leapt up, but then he noticed the bus was seemingly....

steering itself down the street. It was passing cars on the busy highway by itself, regulating traffic regulations, and steering around debris with out a single touch from the bus driver.

And that's when Miller noticed, that the two girls, the bus driver and himself were not the only inhabitants of the bus. A tall man with pale skin stood at the front of the bus peering at Miller. His eyes were blood red slits and his nose was like a snake's.

"Excellent," the man said in a chilling voice that made the coach's hair stand on end, "You will be the first I leave. For they must suffer as I have suffered. Suffer because they do not care about themselves. They care about her. They will be nervous for the longest time, their lives will be full of anguish, and... You don't need to hear all this, Muggle."

Then everything went black.

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"And the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance," Miller concluded.

"We found you on the side of Highway 46, unconscious," Matt said.

"I know. How I got there, though..." Miller's voice trailed off.

"The man," I asked, "what did he say? Was he was going to kill Kati?"

"No," Miller answered, but added, worriedly, "I'm afraid he just might not have gotten that far."

There was a knock on the door. The nurse walked in.

"Sorry, detectives," she said, in a voice to cheerful for 4:30 AM, "I'm going to need you guys to leave for just 5 minutes while I check on Mr. Miller."

"O.K.," Matt nodded to me and we left.

He slumped against the wall. "Who the hell could we be dealing with?"

"Lord Voldemort," I answered quickly.

"Who?"

"Lord Voldemort."

"Does this," Matt asked, "confirm your suspicion?"

"Yes, it does."

"Who is this guy?"

"He terrorized the wizard world for decades. Katrina's father, who happens to be going under an alias, made Voldemort meet his downfall. Then, about 15 years later, Voldemort was resurrected and has been terrorizing the wizarding world since."

Matt just stared at me blankly. Then he laughed, "That's a funny joke."

"It's not a joke. I'm dead serious."

He studied my face, and realized I was serious. "You expect me to believe this load of shit?"

"Matt, I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Do you believe in magic?"

Another blank look. Matt stared towards the door of Room 210. Green light flashed under the door.

"Didn't he turn that damn TV off?" Matt swore.

Realization was flashing through my mind, memories swamped my brain. "Oh, shit!" I screamed, running towards the door. I pulled it open, but it was too late.

The nurse lay slumped on the floor, her memory most likely wiped, her labored breathing rattling throughout the room.

Bur, Miller's breathing did not join in the chorus of gasps going around the room.

For Coach Gary Miller lay dead in his hospital bed, eyes wide open in sheer terror.