FINNEY BLAKE WAS watching the telephone like a hawk, waiting for it to ring again. He sat on the floor, knees curled up to his chest, biting his nails. While Avery Brown just sat on the bed, bored out of her mind. The girl was resting her chin in her hands, blowing a strand of her hair out of her face, watching it everytime it came back to the front of her face just like it was before, and then blowing it again, and again. Their encounter yesterday with Bruce Yamada was... something. Avery hadn't fully comprehended what had happened yesterday, she honestly thought she was dreaming, and that it was just a dream to help her cope or something. But Finn told her that it wasn't, because he experienced it too. It was kind of crazy that they talked to a dead friend through a broken phone, but Avery wasn't going to question it anymore, or else it would just make her go crazier.

Suddenly, the metal door started opening, making a loud sound as it did. Avery knew who it was, Finney did too, after all there could only be one person that was opening that door. Avery wished it wasn't him, she wished that it could be anybody but him, anybody but the man that had kidnapped her, she felt like crying all over again. But she didn't. She simply closed her eyes, breathed in and slowly opened them again. Finn quickly stood up and rushed towards the back wall, wanting to be as far enough from the man as possible. The Grabber walked in with a tray in hand, and once again, a new mask on his face.

"I made you guys some food." The man spoke up, but Avery didn't dare look at him, as much as she wanted to look at what he brought, the food that he made for them, the food she was going to eat, she wasn't going to look at him. She couldn't, and she hated that. She hated that he made her feel as if she couldn't even look at him, she despised everything about him and everything about the way he made her dislike herself.

"What did you put in that?" Asked Finney, making Avery look at him. She was now extremely tempted to look at the man, and she tried hard not to look at him. But after a few seconds, she just gave up and turned to look at the man, in a way, she had won his game, but in another way, he also didn't. Her eyes instantly looked at the tray in his hand, there was a plate with something on it, Avery couldn't see what it was but she knew it was food, she also saw a bottle of water next to it.

"Salt and peper." The man laughed, setting the tray down on the floor, and let out a big sigh.

"Eat it, don't eat it. You're already down here, what do I need to drug you for?" Avery thought of one hundred reasons why he would need to drug them, but the thought of food entering her stomach quickly dismissed all those thoughts. She hadn't taken her eyes of the tray once, but she noticed there wasn't enough food or water for the two kids locked up in the basement.

"There's only one plate and one water." She spoke up making the other two look at her.

"What?" Asked The Grabber.

"There are two people here. There is only one plate and one water. It's basic maths. Where is the other plate and water?" The girl said looking up at the man infront of her. The man simply laughed.

"What a spoiled brat. You guys aren't getting two bottles, or two plates. You're gonna have to work it out." And with that, the man left, closing the door. Except, he didn't close the door, not fully anyway. Avery instantly noticed that, her scrunched brows now relaxing and turning to look at the boy that was kidnapped with her. He turned to look at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. They both walked towards the door carefully, in case the grabber was still on the other side. When they got to the door, Finney started opening it. Avery almost had a smile on her face, how could The Grabber be so stupid? When Finn was about to open the door wider, the telephone started to ring, making both of them jump. Avery rolled her eyes and turned to look at the phone. What could Bruce possibly want now?  She thought to herself. This could literally be a chance for them to escape. Avery angrily walked towards the phone and picked it up, making the ringing stop, Finney just looked at her, still next to the door.

"What?" Asked Avery, obviously annoyed.

"Don't go upstairs." Spoke the voice from the phone. Avery's annoyed expression quickly turned into a confused one. This definetly wasn't Bruce, it was someone else, sounded like someone younger. Wait, how did he know the door was open?

"What?"

"Don't go upstairs, Avery." The boy repeated. Avery widened her eyes, she was shocked that the boy knew her name. But she quickly brushed it off and focused back to what he was saying, it was weird how everyone knew her name, at least the two boys that called did.

"Why not?" The girl asked, walking towards the door so Finney could hear the phone call too. Finn looked at her with a confused look on his face, the same look the girl had a few moments ago. She handed him the phone, and he now held it in between their ears.

"It's a trap." Spoke from the other side.

"Are you Bruce?" Asked Finney, genuinely curious to know. He kind of knew it wasn't because Bruce's voice was different. But if it wasn't Bruce, than who was it?

"Who's Bruce?" Asked the boy from the phone.

"We were just talking to Bruce."

"I don't know any Bruce."

"He's the baseball player."

"We don't play baseball here." Avery felt her heart stop beating for a second. He was dead. he was dead, just like Bruce. And that's when it hit her, he was probably another one of The Grabber's victims. Avery felt chills run down her spine, it felt as if the boy was right next to them.

"Who are you?" Avery was now the one who spoke up. She wanted to know which victim she was talking to.

"I don't remember."

"Did you play soccer? Football?" Asked Finney, curious just like Avery.

"I delivered newspapers." Avery thought hard about which victim delivered newspaper, but she couldn't remember. But Finney could, and he instanty did, his eyes widening slightly, realising which victim it was. It was Billy Showalter.

"Billy. You're Billy Showalter." Avery stopped. Her heart stopped, her body stopped, everything stopped, it was like a deja vou of everything she had felt yesterday with Bruce. She knew Billy. He delivered newspaper to her house, they were pretty close. She couldn't believe it was him, she couldn't believe she was talking to him.

AVERY'S FLASHBACK

It was a usual monday morning, Avery had already woken up and was getting ready to go to school. The girl went down the stairs to the kitchen, grabbing the cereal box, milk, a bowl and a spoon, the essentials for a delicious morning breakfast. She was about to start pouring the cereal into her bowl when she heard a bike bell ring. It rang once, then twice and then a third time. Avery didn't care about it at first, but then she realised who was ringing that same bike bell that rang every morning at around 7am. Avery rushed to the door, quickly unlocking it and getting outside onto her porch. A few feet away there was a very familiar boy riding his bike, Billy Showalter, and next to him was a very cute dog, following Billy everywhere he went. Billy and Avery were pretty close. Every morning Billy came by the Brown's household, he saw Avery standing there on the porch, waiting for the boy to give her a newspaper. None of them know how it started, or how they became close, but ever since they can remember, Billy has always given Avery the paper, and Avery has always received it with a smile. Avery, for some reason, loves being the first to receive the paper in the morning and Billy loves giving it to her, he loved seeing her smile as he came into his view. Billy, just like most boys, had a crush on Avery. But he'd rather die than admit that to anyone.

Billy currently had a frown on his face, thinking that his crush had forgotten about their daily meetup. But when he looked up towards the Brown's residence, his frown quickly turned upside down when he saw a smiling Avery looking and waving at him. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if he was the happiest boy on Earth. Billy stopped his bike and got off it, his dog quickly running towards the girl on the porch. Avery went on her knees and started petting the dog and talking to it, as if it was a person.

"Hey, Aves. I thought you had forgotten about me today." Smiled Billy, walking towards her and his dog that was wagging his tail in happiness from the love he was getting.

"No way, I'm a reliable client, Billy. I would never leave you hanging." She looked up at the boy infront of her, a smile still on her face, winking playfully at him. Billy blushed at what she had just said. He looked at her for a few more moments. He watched the way she was petting his dog, he watched the smile she had on her face, and the laugh she would have every time his dog licked her face. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when she stood up infront of him.

"So, what have you got for me today, Billy?" The girl said with a smile, her hands reached out infront of her like a child, waiting for him to give her a paper. Avery doesn't know why she likes to be the first one to receive the paper from her house, she just does. She loves to read through the articles on the paper, even if they are mostly always extremely boring and uneventful. She loves the smell of the paper, and the feeling of the paper in her hands. And most importantly, she loves talking to Billy. She thinks he's a sweet boy, and loves hanging out with him in the mornings. And his dog, obviously.

"Right. I, personally, did not find anything very interesting in the papers, but you know, suit yourself." He said handing one of the paper's to her. Avery mumbled a "thank you" and quickly read through some of the titles, hoping something interesting would finally come up. Expectedly, nothing very interesting came to her sight, making her sigh and frown, which simply made the boy infront of her laugh at her actions. The girl looked to the boy infornt of her, and let out a small chuckle along with him.

"Nothing interesting ever happens in this town." Spoke the girl, groaning but with still with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. But maybe it's for the best. I like our town just the way it is. Even if it can be uneventful." Avery smiled at his words.

"You're right. Anyways, I have to get going Billy. I was about to eat my delicious breakfast." The girl said ironically because her breakfast was literally coming out of a box, it was still going to be delicious though. Billy laughed once again at the girl.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, Aves!" And with that, Billy and his dog started cycling away, and Avery waved them a goodbye before walking into her house. And that was one of the many days that Avery and Billy had, that was until the boy suddenly stopped delivering newspapers to her house. Because he was never seen again.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Maybe." Replied Billy. Avery felt horrible, she wanted to hug the boy and tell him how much she missed him. Avery thought many things, Billy didn't deserve this, no one did, but he definetly didn't, he was such a sweet boy. Avery cared deeply for him. She remembered the day she found out he went missing.

One day a boy she didn't know came to give her the paper. There was no dog beside him, and there was definetly no Billy. The boy just threw the paper onto her foot, and on the front page, there he was. An image of Billy layed on the front page with the words "MISSING" written under it. She quickly read through it and rushed back inside her house. She layed in her bed and started crying. She didn't go to school that day, she just kept thinking about what the boy might've gone through. After that, Avery never again waited for the paper early in the morning in her porch, there was no point in doing it if she wasn't going to do it if it wasn't with her friend, it just felt wrong to her.

"No, you're Billy." Finney repeated.

"Do. Not. Go. Upstairs."

"What is he doing?"

"He's waiting on the other side with that fucking belt! He didn't say you guys could leave, so if any of you try, he'll punish the two you. He'll beat you with that belt until you pass out! It hurts, it hurts real bad. And you'll cry, you'll beg him to stop, we all did. But he just keeps beating you." Finney and Avery stood still. Not moving an inch. To say they were shocked with what they had just heard was an understatement. They couldn't believe that all those innocent kids had gone through this. They couldn't believe a human being could do something like this, to kids! They were all just kids! Both of them were feeling a mixture of emotions. Avery quickly got herself back together and gently got the phone from Finney's hand.

"Hey, Aves." Billy called out her name.

"Yeah?"

"Remember how you never skipped a day without getting a paper? You would always be on the porch. Waiting for me." A small smile made it's way onto Avery's face, along with a single tear that rolled down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped it away with her sleeve.

"Yeah, I'm a loyal client remember?" The girl slightly chuckled, sniffling a bit, trying to hold her tears in.

"You know, those moments in the morning with you were probably one of the best moments of my life. I would bring them along with me throughout the entire day, and I will never forget them." Avery felt the tears begin to get stronger, and she was struggling to keep them inside.

"I'm glad, Billy. I'm sure I'll never forget the small moments I had with you."

It was quiet for a few moments, it was a comfortable silence though. It was as if they were both rethinking about the moments they had together. But the smile on Avery's face slowly faded away.

"I miss you, Billy."

"I miss you too, Avery." And with that, the phone went silent. Billy had ended the call.

"Hello? Billy?" Avery asked into the phone, making sure that the boy had hung up. When she was certain that he did, she slowly put the phone away and turned to look at Finney. The boy was staring at the door and he couldn't take his eyes off it. Avery walked towards him and stood next to him. They looked at each other and Avery grabbed Finney's hand, she gave him a small smile and Finn's heart melted. Both of them started walking towards the door. They believed in Billy, but they just needed to check something.

When they got to the door, Avery let go of Finney's hand, making him frown a bit, but obviously not letting the girl notice. Finn opened the door slowly as quietly as he could. Both of them started walking up the stairs, however when Finney noticed that Avery was following him, he quickly stopped and put an arm infront of her, stopping her in her tracks and making her look at him. Finn was shaking his head and then pointed back to the basement, he was telling the girl to go back. Avery understood that, but she was definetly not going to go back, she wanted to go with him, she wasn't gonna let him go alone. She scrunched her eyebrows and started shaking her head in response, and then mouthed the word "no." Finney didn't let it go that easily. He wanted to protect her, he couldn't the first few times, but he wasn't going to give up. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if she got hurt.

"You heard what Billy said. I'm not going to let him hurt you, Aves." Finney whispered yelled to to the girl. As much as Avery thought it was cute that the boy was trying to protect her, and she blushed at what he had said, she wasn't going to let him fight her fights. And if he was going, she was going to go too.

"I wanna come with you, and there is no way you are going to convince me otherwise." The girl replied, crossing her arms like a toddler. Finney looked at her in awe, he found her cute when she was trying to prove her point. But he then rolled his eyes, knowing there was no way to convince her, and in one way or the other, she was going to go with him. Avery smirked triumphantly, knowing that she won.

They continued walking up the stairs. When there were only a few steps to get to the top, they stopped and looked to the room next to the staircase. And there he was. The Grabber was sat in a chair, with no shirt on and with a belt in hand, just like Billy had said. He was waiting for them. Waiting for them to come up the stairs so he could beat the living shit out of them with his belt. Avery's hand went to cover her mouth, as she felt her eyes tear up the second time today. She felt scared. She didn't want to get beat up and she was so thankful for Billy, she was thankful that he had told them that it was a trap, because if he hadn't told them, they would've been hurt. Avery felt really scared, she didn't want to be in this place anymore. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her family. She didn't want to be here. She was scared, really scared. Finney looked over at her, and noticed her hand covering her mouth, and he looked at her eyes, her teary eyes. He wanted to get her out, he would do anything to protect her. Finn grabbed her other hand, making her look at him. They started walking back down the stairs into the basement. When they did, Finney closed the door shut. Both of them looked at the tray infront of them. At this point, neither of them cared if there wasn't enough food. They were hungry and there wasn't anything they could do, so they shared the food.

...

After eating, they both quickly fell asleep, it was the best sleep they had ever since they got kidnapped. However, they were quickly woken up by the sound of the phone ringing.

Finney decided to answer the phone this time. So, he got off the bed, got to the phone and answered it. He didn't say a word. He just waited for the person on the other side to speak.

"You said my name was Billy." Finney nodded his head answering Billy.

"Billy Showalter."

"Don't call me that." Suddenly the bottle that The Grabber had given to Finney and Avery along with their breakfast started shaking. Avery sat up on the bed, paying close attention to the bottle. She stood up and slowly walked towards it, but she remained a few feet away from it for safety precautions.

"I don't remember it. It's not who I am now."

"What do you want me to call you then? What do you remember?" The bottle that was standing a few moments before, had now fell. Avery looked at Finney wondering what was going on, but he just stared at the bottle.

"I told you, I was a paper boy."

"Okay, paper boy."

"See the wall infront of Avery?" Finney looked at the girl who was staring at him with a questioning look on her face, and then looked at the wall infront of her. Avery noticed that he was looking at the wall so she turned to look at it too, thinking there would be something on it. Except there wasn't, and it only left her more confused than before.

"See the wall seperated from the floor?"

"Yeah."

"I tore a long, loose cable from down there. I kept it hidden."

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Suddenly the bottle started spinning really fast. Avery looked towards the bottle, afraid that something bad was going to happen. The bottle started spinning faster and faster each second, until it stopped. Avery and Finney walked forward, getting closer to the bottle. With their eyes, they followed where the bottle was pointing, and they saw the window. The bottle was pointing to the window. Avery still wasn't sure why the bottle was, somehow,