Free Bad Connection by Melody Carlson

anything that will help us to help Kayla. One thing I feel certain of—Kayla is in need of our help.
    Then I continue on into her room. The door is open, but I feel like a trespasser as I go inside. I know how I would hate to have anyone snooping around my room. Not that I plan to snoop. I don't. I'm just not sure what I plan to do.
    The full-sized bed has been stripped, and the naked mattress gives this space an abandoned feeling. I'm not sure why it's been stripped, but I'm guessing it has to do with the investigation. Maybe it's because they originally suspected a kidnapping.
    Her closet door is open, and although a lot of clothes 5” are still hanging there, I see the empty spaces, where I'm sure she removed the things she wanted to take with her to San Diego.
    Her dresser has the regular things on it. A few photos. One that was actually taken during middle school. I'm surprised to see it and bend down to study it. It was taken at the youth camp where I rededicated my life to God. Kayla, Olivia, and I are standing with some other girls, smiling as if we'd never been happier. I shake my head to get rid of those distracting memories. That's not why I'm here.
    Then I see a photo of Kayla and Parker, dressed formally, I'm guessing it was for prom. It was obviously taken before Emma stepped into the picture and messed things up for all of them, although as I recall it wasn't long afterward. Kayla looks so pretty. Some blondes don't look good in red, but she can carry it off with those striking brown eyes. And I'm sure she could pass for twenty-one too. Especially if she had a fake ID Still, this is not why I'm here.
    Finally I sit on her bed, lay my notebook in my lap, and just close my eyes. I take in a deep breath, and I start praying for Kayla. The words come easily. Mostly I pray for her safety, that we will locate her soon, and that as a result of whatever is going on, she will call out to God for help.
    Then I take another deep breath and just wait. i quiet my heart and wait to see if God is going to show me anything. But nothing happens. And after about ten minutes, I feel like I'm just wasting my time. And Ebony's.
    © I go out to the hallway and call to her. “I don't think this is working.”
    She comes over to join me. “Well, it was worth a try.”
    “Do you think it's okay if I use the bathroom before we go?”
    “Of course. Mrs. Henderson said to make ourselves at home.”
    So I go into the bathroom across from Kayla's room and use the toilet. Then as I turn off the faucet after washing my hands, I look up at the mirror above the sink and I experience that familiar flash of light. I hardly dare to breathe as I stare into the mirror and wait. But instead of seeing my own image, I see Kayla's face—at least I think it's her face. It's kind of blurry and dark, as if the sun is coming from directly behind her. Then I look beyond her and see what appears to be the silhouette of mountains. Very rugged looking mountains that are copper colored. I blink and try to see it better, but in the same instant it's gone. So quickly that I wonder if it was real. But I know it was. Still, what does it mean?
    “Mountains,” I mutter to myself as I walk through the house, finally stopping by the front door, where Ebony is waiting with my backpack.
    “Did you say something?” she asks.
    I quickly open my notebook and look back through my recent notes until I find the place where I wrote out the Scripture that I found in Jeremiah the other day. I find the part I'mlooking for and read it aloud. “They abandoned them in the mountains where they wandered aimless through the hills.'”
    “And? What does that mean?”
    “I just saw Kayla in the bathroom,” I begin with excitement. “I mean, she wasn't
in
the bathroom, but I was looking in the o mirror and I saw her image there. But it was kind of blurry and 0 dim, and the sun was shining behind her, and there were mountains behind her too. Copper-colored mountains that