Norman continued to stare blankly ahead, as though he hadn't just heard Luna say that his daughter had been kidnapped. Confused, Luna choked out more of an explanation through her sobs.

"She and Quin... they're both gone, and the van-!"

A strange expression passed over Norman's face as he began to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh! Oh, thank goodness! Then she wasn't taken, she's safe! Norma and Quin must have just gone for a late night drive!"

Luna was terrified. This reaction was all wrong.

"No, listen! Quin took her-!"

"Ah ha ha! I don't know you, Luna, but you sure are a kidder! I'll thank you to stop making jokes in such poor taste though, okay?"

"Please...! We need to contact the pol-"

"Quin has been Norma's friend since they were children! Norma was not taken, she can't have been, she... They will be back by morning, do you hear me!?"

Luna stared on, dumbfounded. He wasn't listening to reason at all. But still, she had to try.

"B-but just in case-"

"I WON'T LISTEN TO ANYMORE OF THIS, GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, NOW!"

It was completely hopeless. Luna dashed down the stairs and out the door, rejoining the mysterious woman who was still waiting outside, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. She turned her head to acknowedge Luna.

"Well?" she asked.

"Before I tell you anything, you're going to tell me who you are."

The taller woman nodded evenly.

"Name's Raine. I posted my boys down the street to tell me if anythin' happened with that van that was parked outside."

"But... why? How do you know Norma?"

"Don't, really. Spotted her in big trouble the other day, kept her from being abducted once. Thought I could do it again, but..."

Luna sighed. Norma hadn't told her anything about that... This was sketchy as hell, but it was all she had to go on right now.

"Alright. I'm desperate here, so I'll tell you what I know."

Raine gestured to her jury-rigged vehicle.

"Walk and talk. No time to lose."

The two strapped into the run-down, offensively green truck. Raine eyed the serrated knife Luna had brought with her but didn't seem to find it worthy of mention. It took her a worrying number of tries to start the engine, but they eventually started moving in the general direction that the van had gone, according to her gang.

"So... my name is Luna. I'll preface this by saying I only got here last night, so I might not have all the details right. Norma's friend, Quin, is the one who drove here in that van yesterday. Supposedly they were childhood friends, but Quin looked miserable the entire time she was down. I can't prove anything, but it seems obvious that she slipped out with Norma during the night. Her dad vehemently refuses to believe it though, saying they'll probably be back soon."

Raine drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as she took in the information.

"And what do you believe?"

"I don't know. Things between Norma and I got... heated last night. It's possible she really did run off with Quin to get away from me."

"Nah, that ain't it."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"My boys said Norma wasn't conscious. Unless she's in the habit of sleepwalkin' into people's cars in the night, this Quin person definitely snatched her."

It might have come as a relief that Norma hadn't actually run from Luna, but the cost of this realization was too great.

She was right there in my arms... and I let Quin just walk out with her...!?

Raine glanced over to her passenger, who had suddenly picked up the knife she was carrying without even realizing it.

"You alright?"

"...no."

Though Luna wasn't looking, Raine nodded in understanding. She wasn't one to make people talk about their problems. Better to distract them from dark thoughts until they decided for themselves that they were ready.

"Well, it ain't much of a plan but here's what I've got. We'll drive the rest of the night and hope that by dumb luck we see the damn thing parked somewhere. Maybe ask around a bit whenever we make a pit stop. I'd try callin' the popo, but if Norma's dad's gonna play it like she's got one foot in the door I doubt they'll make a move. Once we think the trail's gone cold, though, I'll try to cash in a few favours with my contacts at the station, get some info that ain't strictly open to the public, maybe guide us in the right direction."

Raine was right. It wasn't much of a plan. But what was killing Luna inside was that this random woman had appeared in Norma's hour of need and was doing everything she could, while Luna herself had been right there and completely failed to stop this from happening in the first place.

"Raine, was it? What do you like about Norma?" Luna asked wistfully.

"Huh? What's with that all of a sudden?"

"You wouldn't put yourself out there like this for someone you didn't like. And we're only in this together now because we both care for her. So won't you tell me?"

Raine stared at the road, unable to hide the reddening of her cheeks against the dim light of the street lamps

"Everythin'. I've heard people say she's entirely forgettable, but to me she's smart, beautiful, and unbelievably kind. Whenever she's around, I can hardly think."

Luna closed her eyes.

"I see..."

Noticing her reaction, Raine hastily changed her tune.

"Ah, but it ain't like I'm after her or nothin'! Uh, except in the literal sense, while we're huntin' her down here. All I mean is, I can't help noticin' when she's around so I just watch out for her, is all."

"...if that's really all you want, that's fine. Though I must say,  if you're genuinely this earnest then I think the two of you would actually get along quite well."

"Heh, that's real nice of you to say. But I know I ain't the one for her. Besides, I may have seen you two together after school one time, and, well..."

Raine trailed off with an embarrassed grin.

"Oh, my. Sorry about that..."

"Nah, don't worry. You looked so happy, and though she was real flustered... so did she."

Their conversation lulled into a comfortable silence as they drove ever deeper into the dark uncertainty of night...

---

A few hours later...

A series of generic jingles from Norma's phone signaled new notifications.

"Now, who could that be?" Quin asked her captive with a giggle. With vomit on her face and the drug still clouding her sleep-deprived mind Norma didn't - or couldn't - respond.

Quin had hooked up Norma's phone to her van for hands-free use. She had a feeling this phone would be seeing a lot more action than her own for the foreseeable future.

"It's too much to ask for everyone to just forget about you, huh? They all want a slice of that Norma pie. I suppose I can't really blame them, though, can I...? Alright Goolexiri; Read new messages."

A robotic voice responded.

"Sender: Mae.

Message: Oh, Normie~? Are you running away from me!?

I can feel the distance between us growing, you know. What a terrible mistake you're making.

Don't worry, though! I'll never stop pursuing you, remember? So I'll be along to collect you just as soon as I can... ♥"

Some of the emotion of the texts was lost as the robotic voice pronounced 'tilde' and 'heart', but their content was no loss worrisome.

J-just what the hell is with this girl!? How could she have possibly known what happened!?

Quin had gone over every message Norma had ever sent, both on her phone and by computer. The only way Mae could have caught wind of any of this would be if Norma had used someone else's phone, but even then she'd have to have known about the trojan horse attached to her HH program... It was possible, but unlikely. Norma had never behaved any differently. But what if it was all an act, and-

No, this is getting me nowhere. There's no reason to doubt Norma or myself - I have her now, and no one else ever will. I'll look through all of our belongings to make sure there's no location tracker before we reach our destination, and after that no one will ever be able to find us.

Norma suddenly started groaning.

"Uuhh... Qu... W-h-y..."

"I'm sorry, my love. This hurts me even more than it hurts you. But it was the only way you could ever be free! You understand that, right?"

"N-nn..."

"Shh, shh, get some rest now. You'll have need of your strength for what I have planned for us..."

With a maniacal laugh that seemed to echo endlessly against the walls of Norma's prison, Quin stepped down hard on the gas, dragging her ever farther from home...