Fan:Longest Novel Fall of the Republic Chapter 2

December Twenty Fifth Nineteen Ninety One: It was this night when thirteen year old Cody Lee was sitting in a car next to a man that he had originally hated with all his heart and soul until only a few hours ago. And now, here he was, sitting down next to him in a car while he was driving the kid home. The whole situation was just so strange to him, and he did not really know how he was supposed to be really comprehending it. In a way, he wanted no way to be able to comprehend it since doing this was just going to be giving into the idea that reality was all grey and stuff.

Before the early teen could be able to think about it too much longer, that was when the man who drove him home brought him back to reality. "Hey Cody, I was wanting to talk to you for a bit, see if maybe we can be able to get a nice conversation in here before you are forced to go home and stuff." After he had said that to him, Cody looked at this guy, wanting to get it over with while also sort of wanting to hear what his statements were going to be, and if perhaps he needed to give him a chance after all, to see what he was truly meaning here.

"What is it that you were wanting to talk about?" He asked, almost wishing that it was going to be nothing too deep. That it was going to be some vague subject that neither one of them had to try too hard with. Since in all honesty, despite eventually forgiving this man, he did not know if he was wanting to hear it. He was not sure if he was going to be ready to actually have a real conversation with this man yet.

"I know that you are still mad at me, and that you will probably never be fully over it, and that your fathers death was a really tough situation. I am glad that you have been able to see that it is not my fault entirely right now anymore. I guess that this is my silver lining to the whole subject. But I cant get you to like me, and I see that now more than ever. You are slowly becoming your own man, and you need to have the right to choose how you feel about things." After he had said that to Cody, he was taking a deep breath.

"Besides, I do not really think that I will be able to fully describe everything that is going on in my mind so far. I think that trying to do this will only be making the subject much worse and harder for all of us. And I do not believe that you deserve something like this going on with you quite yet. But before you start to brush me off, I do want to state that I see the flaws that I had made, and I do want to at least be given a chance to make it right now. I want to at least try. And this is going to be my first step." With that, he pulled something out from under his seat, and gave the wrapped gift to Cody.

The young boy looked at it confused, and was unsure if he was wanting to indulge on this quite yet. Since he was frankly unsure if he was actually wanting to believe that this was anything that would actually help him out and stuff. "What is this?" Cody asked, straight to the point, which he usually liked, especially when it was around this man.

"The only thing that your father gave me, since he was telling me that he trusted me to be giving you this more than he trusted anybody else at all. He felt like I was going to be the only one that would actually give this to you. I do not know if this is true, but he gave me a chance, and I am going to be doing what I can with it." The driver said, wondering what Cody would say, and hoped that he would be willing to not call bullshit on this right away without giving it a chance.

"What do you think he would want me to be doing with it?" Cody asked, having what might have been one of the longest sentences he had with this man before, but this news was really shaking him, and he felt like he had to find a way to be going through with this, to see what his very own father was wishing for him to understand. The older man shrugged, and just simply told Cody the very small amount that he had known about this before giving it to him.

"I have no idea what it is, but it is something that has been building dust in my place for several years. He said he wanted you to have it when you were thirteen, and that this was the most important set of information that he could give you. This man did seem to love you, or at least truly care for you, and I would not let him down by not giving this at least a chance first. I think that you have to give it a try if you truly want to live up to him, and show that you do care about him after all." The man was saying, and despite how much Cody hated him being told what his father would be wanting, deep down he knew that this man was telling the truth.

"Thanks, I will check it out." Cody said, and then he was holding the gift like it was the most important thing in the world, truly wanting to know what his father was truly wanting to tell him on the last chance that he had. This was vital, and it was the only thing that was going to be giving him some feeling of purpose now.

"Hey Ken..." Cody said as he opened up the car door, and was looking right at the man, wondering what he was going to tell this guy. If there was anything to be telling him in the first place. Ken was looking right at him, feeling like he needed to let this guy just explain what was going on in his mind. "Thanks for sticking out for us tonight." He said, and he knew it was quite possibly the only good thing he would ever tell that man, and Ken knew deep down that this was the truth, and in a way, he was kind of glad that he did not have to deal with Cody trying to be acting like there was something that kept them working together, like there was something good, when in all honesty, he knew that Cody would never truly be like this.

Before anything else can be said, Cody was out of the car, he shut the door, and went inside of the house that he lived in all of his life. Ken briefly saw the woman who was his mother, which was his classmate Jenny. As he was looking at her, thinking about his crush on her, he was slowly telling himself that it was a lost chance, and that there was nothing he would get out of trying to pursue after her, no matter how much he thought they could work. Ken was looking at her for nearly ten seconds before he nodded, finally accepting that no matter what, he would never be with Jenny, and then started to drive off.

Cody went inside of his room, not even seeing his mother or saying anything to her, and he was going right to business. He opened up the gift, and saw something strange inside. There was a piece of paper, and a set of discs under it. Right away, he was opening the piece of paper and was reading it.

"Dear Cody, it's your dad here. I know that you are not going to want me to give you any giant excuse for what I did, or anything, so I won't. Because I don't have one. However, I do have a story that you need to learn, and a full life that has been going on in this town that you need to understand. Here are twenty four, maybe twenty five, can't remember, discs. One of them breaking down the story of my time here, a very important story, one hour at a time, and I hope that it will finally help you understand what was going on in this town before you were old enough to understand. But now I feel like you are old enough, and I have to try. I love you. From Sheldon." With that, Cody was feeling a small tear coming down his face.

And he also knew what he was needing to be doing to pull it all together. He started up the mini laptop his mother gave him, and then he started to watch and listen to the information that was given to him by his father. And over time, over the next day, his entire life and perception of the city would be changed dramatically.

...

Chapter Two: Sheldon Oswald Lee

It started when I was a young kid, about ten years old. In Nineteen Fifty Six. My family had decided to move to Wayside Minnesota in an attempt to get a good job offer. My parents were finally moving up in the working world, and this was making me so happy. To know that everything that my parents had been doing had finally started to pay off. When I was a kid, I really looked up to those people, and I had felt like they were going to be my heroes. Coming along with us was my thirteen year old sister Riley, who had at the barest way of describing it took it a lot worse than I did. She did not take it well at all, and actually felt like what had happened was one of the worst things going on. I did not know why she was so opposed to us finally moving up in the world.

My parents had parked the car, and when they had done this, I was honestly wondering what was going to be coming of our new living situation. I was wondering if I was going to be making any new friends, if I was going to be popular, and if I was actually somebody who stood any form of a chance in fitting in. There were so many superficial things that I was worried about. Things that now seem totally unimportant but at the time were the biggest things that anybody could be dealing with ever.

As I was about to enter the house, that was when my mother was telling me something that I should be doing. "I think it would be really nice if you went out and tried to make some friends with some of the people around town. You know, to see if you can be able to connect with them and stuff." She suggested to me, and I was a bit annoyed because she knew that I was not the greatest person in the world on the social front. But I also knew that she was desperate to be seeing me make the best out of this that I could, and in a way, I was telling myself that I needed to be going along with this whole thing. Who knows, maybe Wayside was a clean slate. A area I can become good.

I sighed, and I knew what I needed to do. "Alright, I will give it one try. See if something like this has any chance of working." I said, and them after I had said that to her, I was seeing my mother looking so happy. Riley looked like she could not have cared less, and that the sooner she settled in, the better that it was going to be for her. I was wondering what was going on with her, and I felt like maybe I needed to try and figure that out soon enough.

I was heading along, trying to be finding somebody who I was thinking was not going to be a total asshole to me if I tried to be reaching out to them. To see if I had any real chance to make it look like perhaps this whole thing was not really all that big of a fear of mine. I hated the way that I was acting, but I could not help it given my past.

Eventually I found a red headed guy named Dakota. He lived about four houses away, which meant that it was only about a ten minute walk there and back. When I had met him, he seemed to be doing his own thing. Sort of not really caring what was even going on. I said hello to him and it was only then when he turned out and gave me any notice at all.

"Hey, I did not notice you. Sorry for ignoring you." Dakota said, and then he was looking like he was trying to find something else to say that he was feeling like I would be interested in. He held out his hand, wanting to find something to be saying here. "My name is Dakota Andrews. What is your name?" I decided that he was a nice enough guy, and for that reason, I would go along with it, and shake his hand back too.

"My name is Sheldon Oswald Lee. I just moved here today with my family. Big deal. They are obsessed with the idea of making this the best move in the world. I mean, I don't really get the urgency of it. But I really don't want to be letting them down at all, and that is the main reason I am going to be going along with it." I said, trying to make it sound like this was not getting to me all that much, and that I was not worried too much about trying to appeal to them. I mean, I knew it was a big deal, but I did not want to be making it look like it was to Dakota, since I did not want him to be edged away in case he felt like he could not meet expectations.

"I guess that maybe your parents just want to make sure that everything is smooth. I think that this is actually rather nice of them to be reaching out this way. I mean, if I were a parent, and I had kids, I would be shooting for their best interest as well." Dakota said, and then he was looking at me, as if thinking this was all perfectly natural and stuff. If he was believing in this, I was telling myself that maybe it was true, and that I needed to relax, and think about the good that could be able to come out of this anyways.

"Besides, I think that when you settle down here, you will really enjoy it." Dakota said, and then we were looking out at the trees. "Is there anything that you liked to be doing back where you originally lived?" After he asked that, I was fucking stumped. I mean, I barely had any real interests, and most of my time was spent trying to get away from people who were constantly on me, and making my life worse.

"No, I really had no big interests. I just liked staying home, and doing my own thing. Every time I tried to connect with people, they would always be really mean to me, and make things even worse for me. It was not worth it honestly." I said, and then I was thinking about that a bit more, thinking that maybe moving away was for the best, the more that I remember their rude ness, and the more that I remembered the way that many of those students treated me.

"Well, that's a shame. Maybe we can be able to find one together. Something that can keep you excited for what is in this town." Dakota said, and then he was sort of thinking about it a bit, as if trying to be finding something that I might actually find exciting. In his mind, he was clearly thinking that something like this was going to be a bit hard, but that he was needing to at least try to do something like this. I was then thinking that he was still being nicer to me than the vast majority of the people who I had known and all of that stuff.

"What are some things that you think I might be interested in?" I asked, and I was just trying to find a sense of feeling like maybe I could be able to get this guy to show me it right away. But I could tell from the way that he was looking, that he was not quite ready to be jumping into something like this. That whatever he was planning was much to special to be letting up right now, and that he was just needing to see how I would enjoy it before I made things any worse for him by rushing him.

"It might take me a little bit of time, but I think that when I show you the tree house in town, you might be really interested in that." Dakota said, and he was already getting my interest in something like this just from the very mention of it. I wondered what was going on there, and if I was going to actually enjoy it. I was feeling like maybe when he would show me this place, then I could be able to feel like I was actually finally getting more and more into this situation of the town, and that I was not even forced into it all.

"Besides, there are a lot of kids at town who you might be able to hang out with, and might enjoy seeing what a new fresh face is like." Dakota said, looking right at me, as if wondering what I would try to tell him and stuff. I felt like this whole thing was going to be a bit much for me to handle. But at the same time, I felt like it was nice to know that at least Dakota was being nice about the way that he was doing this. Nice about getting me into town.

"What was the business offer that made your parents come up here anyways? If you are fine with telling me." He said, and then after he had asked me this question, I looked right at her, wondering what the fucking hell I would try to tell him. I was thinking that maybe I might as well tell him the truth. The kind of anticlimactic truth. I shrugged, and simply tried to make it as calm as I possibly could.

"I don't really know. All that I know is that my father was considered to be doing a really good job where he worked, and everybody was giving a big case for his promotion. He was promoted, and he accepted it. I mean, I don't really know what he is going to be doing now. All he told me was that he was going to be moving, and that I needed to see this as a great chance to be able to get to know some knew people in a new town, and that is the way that I am looking at it right now." I said, and then I was sort of unsure of if it was going to really fly with Dakota, or if he wanted more than just that.

"It seems like everybody who moves in here is coming as a result of a promotion. I don't much understand it, but I guess as long as people are getting in work, and the town is getting some money, I can't really fight with it all that much." Dakota said, and he was sounding like what he was saying was not all that bad of a statement. He actually seemed like what he had said actually made some fucking sense anyways. "I just hope that your family likes it here."

"I hope so too. I just think that my sister is not going to be liking it here very much. She always is complaining about it, and I think that she just misses it. She is the exact opposite of me. She was a social butterfly there, and she was always with her friends, and she was always doing something that would get people to want to hang out with her. I just hope I can capture even half of that one day." I said, and this was slowly the start to a friendship.

The next couple of weeks, Dakota was just showing me around town. Not really doing much besides just that. And over time, I started to actually grow to appreciate his company more and more. It was a little over two weeks after moving there when Dakota showed me this girl named Ashley. She lived a couple of blocks away, and he was sort of looking like he had the hots for her, if I had to guess. Although I did not want to blow his cover by saying so, and with that, I did not make any effort to speak out at all what I was thinking. "I think you guys are simply too reckless with what you do." Ashley said as we were trying to climb up a tree one time, and I was trying to make a come back to her.

"It is a lot of fun. Why not give it a try before you completely knock it." I said, and then I looked right at her, and I was sort of wondering if this could be a way where I can get Dakota to be able to speak up with her. That maybe this can be able to start to connect them more.

"I should not try it. I mean, my parents are not really into that kind of stuff, and they might be thinking that I am hanging out with some really bad influences in the first place." She said, and then she seemed to think about it a moment longer, trying to decide if she wanted to or not. I could tell that it was a long process she was going through on her mind.

"Come on, the worst that is going to come if you try it is that you get a little bit dirty. I doubt your parents are really going to notice or care all that much. They will probably just be glad that you are doing something besides reading books all day." Dakota said, and then she smiled a bit. She was thinking deep down that maybe Dakota did have a point there, almost thinking that it was really annoying how he knew so much about her in such a short amount of time. But then after he had said that, she was pondering for a moment.

"Fine. I will try it. But if I get in trouble I will be blaming you Dakota. For egging me on." She said and then she placed her hand on the tree, and started to climb up it a little bit at a time. She was looking like it was kind of scary, but that at the same time, she was kind of excited to be doing it after all. Almost like she had opened up a whole new level of living. She was climbing each little piece that she can put her feet on, and she was slowly getting to our level. Dakota and I watched for a bit, wondering when she would reach the first set of branches.

Once she was on a branch, she laid down on it, almost hating this act because of it getting her clothes messed up. Then she looked at me. "You are pretty fun." She said, and then I smiled when I saw her say that to me. It made me feel like I was finally making a good impact on somebodys life. So with that, I was then just thinking about what I was even going to be doing from this point forward. I was just thinking about what was to happen now.

"Trust me, I am somebody who just tries to do what he can, when he can. You know, just take the moment for what it is, and enjoy life and stuff." I said, ad then I was just shaking my head, and I laid my hands down so they could hang in the air. "Trust me, I think that I am going to just take it slowly here. I don't want to get all involved with boring stuff like what my parents do." I said, smiling at that, thinking that it was more amusing than anything else.

"I think that I would not trade hanging out here for anybody else. I mean, life is just so perfect when I am up here, not giving a fuck what anybody thinks of me." Dakota said, and I was looking at him, sort of wanting to come up with a good come back, but I decided against it since I had felt like there was no real need to. I was looking out at the town, and the vast number of houses in the area. Wondering if I was going to be able to explore the whole thing some day, and when I would be able to make the most out of it. I did not know how it was to be done, but I certainly wanted to try.

"I can't believe school is going to starting soon. That is not going to be very fun honestly." Dakota said, and then he looked at me, wondering what I would say in response to this. "Were you ever a good student when you went to school back in the day? Did you ever put much effort into your studies?" I shook my head, as if thinking that such a idea would fucking suck.

"Are you crazy? That would make me even less popular than I already am. I am not going to waste my time on stuff like that. I think that this would be crazy." I said, and then I was thinking about what I had just said, and a small part of me thought that it was the best response yet. But I did not know. Maybe I did want to try. Maybe I did want to do something bigger and better. But I did not want to deal with pointless school work to get there.

A couple of weeks passed after that, when I felt like I was finally a welcome and accepted part of the town when there were only a couple of days left before the next school year started, and I was feeling like it was time to be doing something else. Dakota decided that he would show me the tree house, after all this time of hyping it up. I was really excited to be seeing what this was about, and I was just really wanting to see what it was going to offer me. Something of a thrill.

Dakota, Ashley and I went across town for a while, and when we had gotten to the forest where the tree house would be, Dakota looked right at me, as if he was feeling like he was going to be showing me some giant great secret. "You promise that no matter what, you are going to not make a deal out of this. It is one of the most exciting things about this town honestly." Dakota said to me, and as I looked at him, he was looking right at me, as if really just wanting to see what I was going to do now. "Besides, many people view this place as a way to be fully set in this town at our school."

"Alright, I guess that I will promise not to tell my parents about it." I said, not really getting it still, but feeling like there was no point in fighting the temptation. We walked to the tree where it was, and Dakota got on the steps first. Ashley looked at me as he was climbing up the ladder. She looked like she had a relatively excited look on her face, as if this was a adventure unlike any other that she had before.

"I remember when I first went up this for the first time. It was a lot of fun, and I felt like I had finally see the great secret of the town. I hope that maybe you will have the same feeling." She went up after Dakota, and I waited for about another five seconds after this before I decided that I would be going up as well. I did not know what I was going to expect, but I was telling myself that I had to be ready no matter what.

Once inside of the tree house, Dakota looked right at me. I saw that the house was covered with various objects, things that it looked like younger kids or teenagers would use. Almost as if this really was the pay off to several decades worth of material being here. I smiled, thinking that this was indeed kind of cool. "It's almost like a time capsule." I said as I went to the wall and looked at the giant hanging blanket that was going down. "How did you guys even learn about this place anyways? Were you showed the place by somebody else?"

"I found it one day, when I was playing about a year or so ago. A week or so later, I decided to show Ashley. When I went to school that following year, it had seemed like several people had known of the tree house and had gone up it themselves. I think that this is more of a requirement to go up this at least once now." He had said, and then after he looked at me for a moment to try and figure out what I was thinking, he looked like he was sort of just letting this one go after all.

"I wonder how this was even brought here. What gave it such a feeling of being a icon." I said, sitting down, and then Dakota was pulling something out from under a blanket. He was holding up three different beer cans. Ashley looked like she was revolted by this, but that at the same time, after spending several weeks hanging out with us, she was thinking that there could be a lot worse to get into. Or that at the very least this was something she was used to by now.

"Dakota, are you seriously going to be drinking three bottles of beer?" Ashley asked when her initial revulsion was gone. Dakota threw her a can, which she caught perfectly, and then threw me one, which I fumbled a bit but still caught nonetheless. I was amazed after I opened up and it did not explode like I expected it to. Dakota looked like he had hit the jack pot, and after he glanced at Ashley again, shook his head as if she had gone insane for thinking that he was going to try and do what she had suggested he would do.

"I mean, I thought that with three of them, we could all have one. To see what it is like to get a little tipsy before we can buy it. You know, to finally see if we can finally feel more like adults." Dakota said, as he took a sip of his. He looked like his face winced for a nano second, but then he went back to looking like the regular guy that I had known all this time. Ashley opened the can, and clearly looked like she had not wanted to do this. But then she told herself that there was nothing wrong with a single sip or something like that. Just to see if it really was as bad as people had hyped it all up to be and stuff.

She was more visibly tensed at the drink that she had just taken than Dakota was. "That is so gross. Is it better cold at least? I mean, you can really taste it." Ashley said, but then after she had said that, both of my peers looked right at me. "It's your turn to try. Can't leave us hanging." She said, and then I rolled my eyes, and then started to take a few sips, thinking that this was better than I feared, but worse than I hoped.

"Not really my type of thing. But I guess it's alright. Little gross for the first couple of seconds." I said, and then I was thinking that this was the type of stuff that would make the next several years of Wayside much easier than I ever thought it would be. Dakota, Ashley and I took some turns with our sips, wanting to each see how the other one would slowly become more and more wasted. But that was ruined when there was a loud noise that scared me to the core.

It was a loud grinding noise that went on for several seconds, and the longer that it went on, the more intense it seemed, and I was wondering what was going on when I was hearing this. Then I looked right at Dakota and Ashley, as if feeling like I needed to get some form of confirmation that this was just not something I heard and stuff. "That is something that comes along every six weeks or so, we don't know what that noise really is, but you get used to it after a while." Dakota briefly explained as Ashley's voice got noticeably more tense when she spoke next.

"There are a lot of people who go missing in this town. Mostly girls, but once in a blue moon a boy as well. Usually when that grinding noise happens, within four days to a week, another person goes missing, at all ages. These cases never turn up anywhere. Many people connect the two events as being distinctly related." Ashley said, and Dakota seemed to be getting a lot more serious as well. Thinking that now it was time to adopt a much more real approach with our talk.

"A lot of people have called up a folk lore of it. Something called the labyrinth. It is a name that is coined under the idea that maybe there is a place in the town where they all are, and that some scary monsters are there. Some people talk about the broadcast station up at the top of the mountain. A place that has been shut down since nineteen forty eight." After Dakota told me that, I was looking out the small window of the tree house at the mountain in the distance, about a mile to mile and a half away.

"I don't really believe that it's real. But the idea of those two possibly being connected sometimes does seem pretty scary." Ashley admitted. "Over all, this town had a lot of strange things going on in it, and I have no idea what is really causing it at all. I don't know if I want to know." With that, I was forced with the first great mystery of my time there, about a month after I moved here. What was the labyrinth? Why do people go missing? What is that grinding noise? And if I have been here five weeks, and it goes off every six weeks or so, then the last time it happened was just last week, and I needed to know who would go missing now as well as the recent one. So many questions, and I was so curious to know that I drank the rest of the beer without any forethought into it as my mind was racing.

The school year started, and I was really feeling the need to just get right into the hanging aspect of it. I did not want to be spending the school year acting like I was just going to be doing nothing. I wanted to have a good year, and maybe make some more friends aside from the two that I had. During the first few days of the school year, I had gotten to know several of the kids that I would be forced to know for the next nine months or so. Thinking that they were just sort of in it for their own gain.

It was about a week after the year started when Dakota was seeing me look a girl that I had found pretty. A couple of years younger than me, but that did not change the fact that I found her pretty. "Her name is Nicole Senicourt. She's the governors daughter. Pretty much is a silent rule to respect her no matter what, considering the fact that her dad would make your life a miserable hell if you did not. But she does not really seem to care what people think of her." Dakota said, almost impressed at how she can be able to have such a attitude towards her life.

"Has she ever dated anybody during her time here?" I asked, sort of thinking that this was a fair question. That was when Dakota looked at me, sort of unsure of what to say. But then Ashley, who had sat next to us this whole time, decided that she would finally chime into the talk.

"She's not that nice of a person. Always seems like she is thinking that she is better than everybody else. All because her dad is the governor. Does she not understand that he's an old fart anyways? Way too old to even know what most peoples names are." Ashley said with a level of hostility to her tone, and I did not expect her to be sounding like that.

"How old is her dad?" I did not think that it was too crazy of a question. I mean, forty is already kind of old in my eyes, so I felt like maybe he was like thirty five to forty five. But then Dakota looked at me, as if thinking that it was a shock that I was asking this question in the first place. Thinking that perhaps he might as well just let me know.

"He turns eighty nine this year. Oldest governor in history. Was elected eight years ago after a mining incident or something like that at the town. I don't know. I was two at the time." Dakota said, sort of thinking that there was not much more that we needed to discuss on this. But this meant that Nicole was born when her father was eighty one years old. I had no idea how that must have been, and I was wondering if maybe she needed some friends to help her get into living life a bit better. Besides, it could give me a chance to talk to her since she was a really pretty girl and stuff.

"I think that she needs somebody who can help her feel like she can get used to life here. I mean, I am not at all a Wayside veteran, but I think that I know how to have fun more than she does." I said, and then Dakota and Ashley were both looking at me, as if thinking that such a suggestion was just going to be a terrible idea. But then they figured that I would figure out why soon enough, and that they did not need to be trying to get me to stop something that I had a desire to try out in the first place.

"I would be careful on this before you were to go out and try it. You know, not to be really letting yourself down or anything like that." Dakota said, and he was just looking like he did not want to see me go through the issues of being let down. But I was telling myself that I needed to at least give this a try. At least see if there was a small chance that something like this would even be able to work out in the long run.

"I want to try at least." I said, and then I nodded, thinking that it was going to be the least that I would be able to do. I was then going right towards where Nicole was, and I was feeling like when I would be seeing her again, I would finally have a way to be able to confront her about what I was going to say. I felt like this was going to either be the best choice of my entire life, or the worst one. And I did not really know which one I was going to be more prepared for.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked, trying to make it sound like I was not being totally strange. I mean, I was not doing a very good job, but I was feeling like it was better of me to at least try. I was seeing her looking up at me, sort of unsure of what she was going to be saying to me. Almost like this was something that she did not ever feel like she would be having to deal with. But then she was nodding, almost as if thinking that the faster we got this over with the better it would be.

"I am doing alright. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be hanging out with those people over there?" Nicole asked, pointing at Dakota and Ashley. She seemed to have something of a negative tone to her voice. But at the same time, I was just telling myself to focus on the conversation at hand, and not be annoyed with the way that she was talking about them. "They are no real fans of me. They always talk about me behind my back, and they always act like I am some stuck up girl."

"Oh, they are just worried that you don't hang out with people enough. I am new here, so I barely know anything about you or any of that stuff." I said, and then after I was saying that to her, she was looking right at me, almost sort of shocked that I was trying to be open about it. "You know, I just feel like when people are sort of closed off, they need a friend and stuff. I mean, you don't have to say yes. But the offer is open, if you want to give it a try." I said, and then after I had said that, I had felt like I was good enough here, and that I did not need to push on the matter more.

"Thanks. What is your name?" She asked me, looking like she was still unsure of if she was supposed to believe the advances that I had made for her. Almost thinking that there was no way that I was actually going to be really this nice. Truly thinking deep down that I was going to use her for gain. I was wondering if this was something she felt as a result of the fact that her father was a governor, and sort of knew how to be working this stuff. I decided that I needed to try at least to make it look like this was not bothering me, and that she did not think that I was just using her like she was a tool. I was also feeling like maybe it would be awful to have a father who was a governor. Who had been just doing dirty work like this all behind the scenes. I felt like I needed to try and understand.

"My name is Sheldon." I said, and then I rubbed the back of my neck with my left hand, which was something that I had been doing a lot when I was feeling like I was under pressure. When I was sort of in a tough spot to be trying to make something work out for the better. "I think that everybody should have a friend when the offer is being made to them." I said, and I truly meant every word of what I had said here, and that I did not want the girl that I was finding beautiful to lose a chance at a regular life because of the living situation she was in, one that I would never imagined.

A week or two had passed, and as I had known it, one of the people in the town went missing as I had predicted back at the tree house. Some girl who was a grade above Riley, and when I asked her about it, the conversation that we had was a little bit interesting. Almost as if Riley did not really want to be talking about something like this, but decided that maybe she would speak to me about this.

"She was a alright class mate. I mean, she wasn't really mean to me or anything, but I barely knew her. I mean, it is strange that it happened relatively soon after that grinding noise had been made. But I guess that maybe it is just the towns way of making meat supplies or something." Riley said, and she was sounding like she had already sort of dropped the subject. "Besides, I mean, as long as none of my friends are going missing, then I suppose that it will not be all that big of a deal."

"You've made friends here?" I asked, trying to be a bit amusing as she was giving me a decent scowl. I mean, all she ever did was stay in her room and stuff. "I mean, I never really seen you go out all that much during the summer is all." I said, and then Riley looked like what I had said was really funny. As if I was the one to be talking at that moment.

"Oh yeah? Says the person who had literally not hung out with anybody in like weeks and months at a time but then the moment that we moved to Wayside, he is suddenly acting like the king of the social ladder." She said, and while I knew that there was a small amount of jabbing meant to be thrown in there, I knew that she was for the most part not taking it too seriously. I was thinking that maybe she was just wanting to see where I could be coming from with all of this. I was shrugging, as if trying to find something to keep me going with this.

"The thing is that I am just not very good at that stuff. If I was better at being more socially open, I would not be so against doing something like that. I am just not sure how I can talk and not be a idiot." I looked at the wall, just thinking that as long as I was lot looking at her, I would then not have to deal with her looking at me in a judging manner. Which I was not really sure if I was wanting to deal with any of that in the first place.

"Anyways, now that you are here, and you asked me about it, are you worried about the people who are going missing? Like does it honestly bother you at all what is going on?" She asked me, and I was seeing her sort of looking like she was getting much more serious. "I mean, I do feel bad for her parents, and I hope that the police can find her. But in all honesty, I don't really think that there is anything that I can do about it. I think that I just need to let them be doing their own thing when it comes to this."

"I think that you don't need to be worried about trying to do something. The police will find her. The police always know how to help us." I said, thinking about when I was back at where we used to live, and how when something came along, the police would take it down right away. Make sure that nothing could spread about this problem. "I think that the police are just taking in the news report. And probably looking into if that labyrinth story is true." I said, and then I was looking into the fridge, not paying any mind to what I had just said, thinking that it was a regular comment.

"What is this labyrinth thing? Just some story that your classmates said to you to get you scared?" Riley asked, and while she was saying it in a relatively playful light, I could tell that she was really just wanting to know more than anything else. I looked right at her, sort of thinking that maybe she would have something to say about it if I told her what I knew, and she would be able to make some comment on it after all. So I decided that I would answer her question after all.

"Yeah, it's something that my classmates tell me about. I've heard about it once. From Dakota. Telling me that it is a story that most people say to talk about why people go missing. I don't really think it is all that big of a deal. I think it would just be interesting to try and see if it is true." I said, and then after I had said that, I was wondering if she was going to want to speak further on this, or if she was thinking that perhaps it was not really something she wanted to consider all that much now.

"I think that it's just a tale. I would not really think about it too much. Probably something to scare little kids. You're not a little kid anymore." Riley said, and I was raising my eyebrow at that. I was shocked that she would say that about me when even a year ago she would say that I was. Maybe she thought that when somebody was ten, then they were no longer a little kid or something like that. I don't really know what to say now.

"I know that there is probably no truth to it. But people always told me that myths had a certain level of truth to them, so I wonder if that is one of those cases." I said, and then after I had said that, I was thinking that maybe I was going to be losing that status of 'no longer a little kid' in her eyes. But I was also feeling like for the first time ever, I had actually started to talk about a idea with some form of truth. That I was not lying about what I was feeling here and stuff.

"Well, as long as you are aware of the fact that virtually nothing else is going on here, then I guess that I will leave you alone about it." After Riley said that, she was looking like she was going to be going back to her room. But then as she was about to be heading out, I was sort of looking right at him, and I was feeling like I just had to find something to make her focus on me just a little bit longer. Something that I felt like she would listen to me more on. Something that could help me understand how to handle my life.

"Hey Riley, I was wanting some advice. So there is a girl I like. She's kind of cute. And I was wondering if you had any advice for me on how to get her to like me." I said, and then after I had asked her this, Riley looked at me, as if trying to find a way to be nice about what she was saying. But then she was just thinking that she would just try to find a way to be honest without being rude about it at the same time.

"What you need to do to get her to like you is to give off a different presentation. Work harder, find more swag, be more open and less afraid. Just find a way to not really be the man that you are right now. When you assert something like that, you might have a chance. But until then, there is no way that you can make it work. If you want her, think about how much you would be willing to change your behavior." She said, and then I was thinking about what she had said, and I was unsure of what was said now.

"Is there a way that I can be able to get somebody to like me while being mostly myself." I said, and then after I had said that, I was sort of unsure of what was to be happening now. Riley did not say anything as she headed out of the kitchen, clearly thinking that there was not much that she was going to want to say at this rate. That she was just thinking that I would not be able to get it even if I attempted to.

That was the last real major event that really happened for about a four or five weeks. I had been in school for a while by that point, and I had started to be social enough to where I was not really hated by my class mates, but not popular enough to really be considered everybody friends and stuff. I was just popular enough to where I can go down the hallway and make small talk with people and be fine with that. Nicole and I did not really do much, but we did make small talk once every three or four days if we saw each other. Dakota and Ashley hung out with me still, and once every weekend or so, Dakota and I would stay at each others house, with us switching who would do it every week. I had enjoyed being in Wayside. I really had. Hell, even Riley was seeming to sort of grow out of her initial protesting of the place. Almost like she actually was starting to enjoy the place herself. Although she would not be caught dead admitting something like this out loud. Life had finally looked like it was becoming good for us.

I had actually almost forgotten about the grinder noise, and when it happened, I was kind of shocked to hear it again, but remembered the time when I heard it at the tree house, and reminded myself that every six weeks or so, I needed to get ready to hear that again, and I moved on. I had also entirely forgotten about labyrinth by that point.

The reason that I bring this up is because I really honestly did not think too much on this stuff anymore, and I was actually living a relatively normal life by then. I did not really feel like I was living a life that I would be too against and stuff. I was just hanging out with Dakota again, and that was when I was getting ready for the next sleep over. For once, Ashley was coming along. By this point, the three of us hung out enough to where our parents figured that they could trust her for one night.

"One thing I do wish that I could do is figure out what is going on with this town. It always seems like there is some undercover secret and stuff. I just want to know what that secret is honestly." Ashley said, as we were hanging out, and Dakota was laying back, as if sort of thinking that Ashley was just being scared for no real good reason.

"I think that maybe the town just does not want to talk about that station that is up there. It seems like that is the one thing that nobody likes me to mention about this place. Like they don't seem to mind the missing people, or even the grinder, but when you bring up that station, that is when they turn cold." Dakota said, and he looked at me, wondering what I wanted to say to the matter.

"It does not really bother me all that much to be honest. I am just fine being in school. I mean, I am just trying to enjoy myself here. Not look into something that I know I can't solve." I said, giving a complete one eighty of how I felt six weeks ago when I had heard the grinder for the first time. I felt like it was just something that I should not be involved with, and that was something that I was fully willing to admit when I thought about it.

"I think that there are just too many things going on here for me to be focused on some silly investigation. Besides, I feel like I am slowly getting through to Nicole." I said, and then that was when Ashley and Dakota both looked at me, as if thinking that I was insane, and wanted to find a way to be nice about it. Which to be honest, I was not really in the mood for, but I was ready for them to just try to be 'honest' with me again, in their usual tone.

"I think that Nicole might just be leading you on. Just trying to get you to feel like you can be open with her. I think that maybe you need to be more careful about something like this. Just in case if it gets really bad. But I guess that maybe you are already set on something like this anyway." After Dakota told me that, I was sort of feeling like maybe he was having a good point. But I did not care. I felt the need to try at the very least.

"I think that everybody needs to be given a chance. Let's not forget that you guys were technically taking a risk by being my friend. Most people would have been telling you that this was a silly route, and that you needed to be with better people. I think that I need to try at least." I said, and then I was sort of wanting to find a way to get them to finally break through with this. But despite what was going on in my mind, I was thinking that maybe I should not be fighting this battle and stuff. I was feeling like this was going to be a battle that I was setting myself too deeply for, and that I was just needing to actually be more careful about the planning of it all.

"I don't know. Besides, I already have other people that I am looking at. Other people that I think are really hot." Dakota said, and then that was when Ashley looked like she was really interested in hearing what he had thought on the matter. I was wondering if she liked him, or if she was so tired of hearing me and Nicole that she was wanting to finally expand the narrative a bit more with hearing Dakota's side of it.

"Who do you like? I'll give my answer. I think that Troy is kind of cool. I think that maybe I should go and try to hang out with him some time. See if he might be liking me." Ashley said, and then she was looking like she was just sort of thinking that such a thing was going to be a lot of fun. I did not want to be getting on her case of how silly it was that she was getting on my case for liking Nicole when she was liking the basketball star of our grade. I was thinking that it was silly and in a way mildly hypocritical.

"Fine, if you guys are cornering me on this, I guess that I will bite. I like that Emily girl. I mean, she's kind of cool. Don't know much about her. Maybe a little too short for my liking." Dakota said, as he laughed at that statement. Since Emily was one of the very few people in our fourth grade year that was actually shorter than him. I was then thinking that maybe he was just going to have to get used to it.

"So I guess that we all have somebody who we can laugh about liking. Now I think it is time of us to start going easy on each other." I said, and then after I had said that, I was seeing them sort of looking as if they wanted to concede this whole issue. I saw them looking like they had wanted to change the subject before I would turn it into one where I was going to be the winner. I decided that I would help them with that, and not make it too much for them to handle.

"I think that maybe when its winter break, which is going to be soon, then maybe we should be going out and going to the tree house again. I think that something like this might be a lot of fun. I mean, it's been nearly two months since I been there last, and I want to see if there is anything else there at all." I said, and I was seeing them looking like maybe such a thing was not going to be the worst thing to go after.

"Yeah, let's go and do that. Hopefully something else will be there, and it will not out feeling like nothing good would come out of it." Dakota said, and then he was looking like he was wanting to see how it would be done. Since we barely had any clue on how we would get there in the snow, and if we were really going to be ready for more investigation and stuff. I don't know. But I felt it was worth a try. And if for nothing else, it could be a dose of normal child hood fun after all the stuff we went through this school year so far.

Another several weeks passed, and I heard the grinder again, and this time, when I had heard it, I was much less willing to brush it off as I had been before. I felt like if I was going to be hearing this as often as I had been, then I needed to have some idea of what I was going to be really ready for. I felt like it was the least that I could fucking do considering the situation. So with that, I was just wanting to look into who had most recently gone missing. To sort of see what I could be able to learn by something like that. I just felt like it was time for me to start branching out the stuff that I was looking into. Start to really understand what this town really was.

It was pretty easy for me to start because I had found out that the mayor was going to be giving a lecture on the town and the history behind it all. I was feeling like when he would be giving his lecture, I would be able to be getting him to tell me the truth. I felt like this would be the one time that I could be able to strike, and not be considered a loser for such a thing.

Dakota seemed to not agree with me on this assertion that I had made here. "Honestly Sheldon, you are going to lose any cool points that you have been able to build up in the last several months if you start asking him some questions. Everybody would be mad at you for making them listen to his lecture for so long. I would almost rather be in class than listen to his lectures again."

"Yeah, I'm actually with Dakota on this one. I mean, I have nothing against learning more about things, but I think that you really need to watch out for that man. He gives me the creeps. Besides, when you have to deal with the same thing every year, you start to really lose what little interest that you already had in what is being told." Ashley said, and then I looked at the two of them, as if wanting to know what was going on.

"He does this every year? Why would he come by so often? I think that such a thing would seem a little pointless. Why not other other or every third year?" I asked, and I was just feeling like this was one of the more valid questions that I could ask on the matter. "I mean, if you did it every other year or something, then that would still be enough to make sure that everybody in that school hears the lecture once, but not enough to make them sick and tired to even see you." After I had said that, Dakota shrugged, as if thinking that the way that the mayor worked was rather mysterious and that there was no point in trying to make some sense out of it.

"I think that maybe he just fears that people will not remember the good heritage of the town or something like that. Not like it really even exists, considering the fact that this town barely even has all that many things going on in it. Kind of a boring place honestly." Dakota said, and then he had looked at me, as if unsure on if I was going to confirm or deny the fact that this town was not all that interesting. He seemed to think that maybe I should be the authority on this subject considering the fact that I was the only one who had lived somewhere else first.

"I would say this place is more interesting than where I used to live, considering the fact that I lived in a place that only had like three thousand people or something. This place is a metropolis in comparison." I said, and then I was thinking hard about that place. Mainly because I had a hard time really remembering what it was like in the first place. It had been so many months that I was more and more forgetting the very set up the town had and stuff. I was almost thinking that this was a blessing in a way, considering how annoying it was.

"I guess that's fair. But imagine life like in New York, or Los Angeles. Those seem so exciting. And here, we are in a town where the biggest news story is missing people, and then under that the biggest news story is the occasional teenager who is caught having sex in a public area, or doing drugs underage." Dakota said, as if ashamed that he did not get to really have what he had wanted in the first place.

"I supposed that maybe this is not as exciting as places like New York as you say. But in all honesty, I think that this town is probably doing just fine as it is. I would rather stick with a town that does not have very much going on in it than a town where there is controversy every day." Ashley said, and then I looked at the two of them, as if wanting to get right back to the main topic at hand, since I felt like that was more important.

"As for the mayor speech, do you think that he has any plans to be asking any questions? If he does, I think I might ask him about what he thinks of the missing people, or the grinder. I think that something like this is a very good question." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I was sort of wondering if they were actually wanting me to do this. Or if this was something that I had to be working with on my own. I just felt like I needed to know what he would do to make sure this would not keep happening, or if he had any plans at all.

"I think he will take questions, but I think that he goes on such long tangents in the first place, that there will be no real point in even asking him any. All he does is talk about every single thing going on in this town for hours on end." After Dakota said that, he was sounding a bit bored at this topic, and I was telling myself that I just needed to not be pressing him any further about this for his own fucking sake.

"I will see if he addresses the points I want to ask, and if he does, then I will just leave it alone. I just need to know what is going on with the missing people in this town. I just feel like I would never let it go if I did not know." I said, and even though I was sincerely wishing that the mayor would address this, I had a feeling that this was going to be the last thing on his mind. He was going to be going really far from that discussion in order to just pretend like this town had nothing going on.

"Besides, I think that this is something that he can't really worry too much about. I mean, sure I may not like him very much, but he is the mayor of a big city, and he has to deal with giant things all the time. He might simply just not have the time to be worried about missing people or a grinder." Ashley said the first and I was feeling like probably the only thing that would be remotely close to defending the mayor. But she was probably just trying to find something here that can be able to make him seem like he was not such a bad guy after all.

"Yeah, I guess if sitting in your office every day smoking half a day talking with businessmen is busy, then I guess that maybe he is the most busy man in the entire world." Dakota said with a slight edge to his tone, and I was thinking about what Riley would think if she knew that I was planning on this. She would tell me that I ruined whatever little reputation and hip that I had been able to get.

That was pretty much the main discussion on that front. I just really wanted to know what he was going to tell us. Despite what everybody was saying, I was sort of feeling like I just needed to know what was going on here. I felt like this was the only thing that I could be able to have at mind that could be able to truly put me at peace.

Another few days had passed and the mayor was giving his presentation. Dakota, Ashley and I sat relatively close to the back. Just trying to act like we did not really care for what was going on. When we did care for relatively different reasons, such as how annoying it was to Dakota, how much the mayor creeped Ashley out for literally no reason, and I was just wanting to be absorbed into what he was talking about since I felt like this would be really important to find out more of.

"Hello everybody, my name is Jimmy White. I have been the mayor here for a little while now, and I have come here to discuss some things with you about this lovely town." He said, and he seemed like a relatively nice guy from the first few sentences that he had given off. He was then looking around at us, as if trying to scope out what we were all thinking. "Now I know that you can't wait to get back to your fun academics, and I don't take too much of your time for that reason, so I will try to be as quick as possible."

"So this town has recently faced a large economic boom that has contributed to a large sum of people moving to this town every single year. That is why I have to have this speech every year, to make sure that the people who come in here know about what to expect here. The town faced many problems, but with the guidance and the election of the great governor, he was able to start to get us out of the dirt, and was able to give us some great hope. And I would like very much to thank Mr Senicourt for being able to give us a chance to have a good place to live in." The mayor said, and put a slight smile on his face, as if thinking about something that was rather funny to him.

"Now I have had the chance to meet this man, and while he may be a bit old for many of you people here, he seems to be just as aware of the town and what is going on around it as we all are. It seems like we all have one big goal in mind. One goal that will keep us driving forward, and that is coming up with the best living situation of our own." Jimmy continued and got right to where I was more interested in.

"Several years ago, the town faced a mining disaster. Most of the mining location had started to collapse, and it had killed many people. This was the main thing that led to a large piece of our economic recession, and a large part of how we had to find a way to recover from what had happened, no matter what the cost was." He said, and then for the next hour or so went on a long story about what had happened. By the end, I was actually kind of floored by this, and I wanted to know more, and figured I could study at the library. See if that had anything.

He went on for about an hour or so before he was done with his lecture, and the entire time that I was listening to him, I was so curious on what he was going to be telling me that I did not think at all about the fact that I still wanted to be asking him some questions. I was really wishing to, but it was the last thing on my mind, and it was the one thing that I had sort of beat myself up over when I think back on it. The one thing I felt like I should have just done right away.

After the lecture was over, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly with little to no hiccup, and I did not have to deal with people complaining about me dragging on class or anything like that. So that was something that I felt like could be seen as a plus side to this. It was also something that I wish that I could just be able to sort of put behind me and stuff. I did not really want to deal with people acting like I was just being a burden.

Eventually, it was the last day before winter break, and I was super excited. Not for having two weeks off, which was something that I had no problem having, but because of the fact that I was going to be able to go to that tree house again, which was something that I had always wanted to be doing. It was something that had been at the back of my mind for months, and it was something that I just really, really, really wanted to get into checking before I lost too much interest here.

"Are you guys still able to go? I really want to go on and see what it is like. I hope that not too much has changed from it in the last several months." I said, and I thought about that a bit, almost thinking that if it were to change, then life would just never be the same again. It would almost be like it was going to just be a huge let down if it was too different, but it was also going to be a sort of nice journey to be seeing what life was truly like now. I did not know what to be expecting, or what to be thinking, but I wanted to see what it was like nonetheless.

"Yeah, I will be able to go. Took a while to convince my parents that I was not going to be doing anything crazy. They did not look like they quite believed me, but at the same time, they looked like they would rather just let me be doing my own thing than to be letting me down and stuff. So they told me that I can go." Dakota said, and we were both looking at Ashley, wondering what she was going to be saying on the matter.

"I will go. I am just worried that something has happened up there lately, and it will not really be the way that I am used to. I feel like something like this would be quite the let down, I think we would all agree. I just hope that it is not exactly like that." Ashley had said, and she was looking down, as if she was even hating to think of such a thing. But then she was looking at me, almost wanting to see what I was going to say.

"I'm personally just more excited to be going out and finally seeing it again. It was so much fun to be seeing it the first time that I don't want to be letting it down again. I just want to have some fun now. I just think that perhaps I have to be more careful on what my parents might think if they see me going into a forest like this. Since they are still worried that I might be doing something dangerous." I said, sort of unsure of what they would be saying. If they would understand me, or if they would tell me that this was something that I needed to just be ready for.

"I guess that maybe the idea of just seeing it again is a bit exciting. I don't really know what to be expecting though. And that is the thing that I am sort of worried about. That we are setting ourselves into something that we are simply not ready for." After Ashley said that, she was looking and sounding like this whole thing was truly bothering her. I did not know what was going to her so badly, but I decided not to be getting in her case about it. She was always more insecure than us, and this was no shock.

"I think that as long as we are all together, then everything is going to be fine. I think that we just need to have some fun with this, and not be taking this whole thing too fucking seriously. I just want to see what we can be doing, and I think that you guys are going to not be feeling this is so bad once we get into it." I said, and I was truly meaning what I had said. I did not think there was any level of lying to it.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Let's go and do it before we change our mind on the matter, and before we start to act like this is a terrible idea." Dakota had said, and then after he had said this, I was seeing Ashley looking like she was sort of getting over it, and that soon enough, she was telling herself this was not so bad after all.

We were getting near the tree house, and I was sort of unready for what was to be coming along now. I was just sort of feeling like when I would finally see the tree house, I would be able to know the truth to everything going on right now. "Hey, I am scared about what we are going to be seeing. I am wondering if you are actually thinking that we will truly get what we want in here. What we think we deserve to actually be seeing." I said, and we were climbing up the ladder with Dakota taking the lead, Ashley in second, and me in last place.

"Don't be scared about change. If you really think that change is going to be such a bad thing, then life is going to be rough for you." Dakota said in a matter of fact tone, and while it bothered me that he was reacting that way, I was sort of telling myself that there was a level of truth to what he had been saying. That maybe I was needing to sort of see it in his perspective. Of the fact that you needed to grow up, and you needed to sort of pretend like you were just going to like what was to come up next, when there was nothing that we would truly be ready for at all.

We were at the door, and then Dakota was thinking of something to say. Something that was sort of getting to the back of his mind, even if he did not really want to think about it too much, he just sort of knew what was to be coming along with it. "I think that maybe something is going on here. I mean, the grinder went off nearly three weeks ago, and nobody has gone missing yet."

As we were getting inside of the tree house, I had thought that what he had said was actually a good point. I mean, the other two times it went off when I lived here, somebody was gone within a few days. The first time being that person near Riley's grade, and the second time being somebody who was a junior at the high school. I mean, yeah sure maybe so many people going missing makes the story not seem like a big deal, but it was still a bit rough to deal with. "Yeah, that is a good point. Maybe the trend and the connection between the two is not nearly as strong as I expected it to actually be." I said, and then I was wondering what Dakota and Ashley thought on the matter.

"I think that if we really wanted to make sense out what is going on, we just have to see if this is a one time thing. I mean, we are nearly half way to when it is supposed to be going off again, and if something were to happen right away that time, then I guess that it is not something that we should be overtly worried about. Well, it is, but you know what I mean... It would be the new normal..." Ashley said, and then she looked down, almost wanting to hurt herself over the admitting that the idea of people going missing more often would be a revertion of the norm.

"It is interesting to think about when you live in a place for a long enough time that this becomes the normal. I mean, I never had to deal with something like this where I originally lived. And I think that something like this is a really good piece of news to me, since I do not think that I would want to deal with something like that ever." I said, and then after I had said that, I was feeling like I was just being selfish. Considering the fact that I had been going along with this for such a long time.

"I think that if I lived in a place where something like a grinder and missing cases were not a thing, then I would be thinking that something really messed up is going on. I would be sort of wondering what would create a town to have such little problems. Would almost seem unreal and stuff." Dakota said, and then he was looking right at me, and he was wondering if I had anything to be saying of it. I was thinking that there was no need to be saying anything on the matter. Since doing so would just be sort of opening a large can of worms.

"It is something that I think I would never have been ready for. But I think that it is something that is worth the trade off. Considering how much better of a living situation my family has been in lately and stuff, I would be lying if I said that I felt like there were no benefits that could be able to come out of this. So I believe that maybe we should just go along with it." I said, and then I had thought about how in the three months that we had been here already, the money that my father had been earning as well as even my mother on the few days a week she could work, was enough to really help us have extra leg room.

For once we were in a living situation that did not feel like we were truly screwed. I did not know how good something like this really was, but I knew that in my mind, it was going to be worth it. And it was going to be something that I would have to try to remember when thinking about what I was going to be sort of let down not having or anything.

"In a way, I think that maybe my father joined this job because he knew that there was something that was going to be coming out of it. He knew that there was a way that he was going to be able to help me out. Help both me and Riley out. In a way, I think my father cares about us more than he cares about himself, and that is both great and a little bit scary to be thinking of." I said, and I genuinely meant it. I was not just saying that to boost my fathers standing among people. It was something that I had honestly felt, and it was something that I honestly respected him for.

"I think that maybe when you are around him next, you can thank him for the time and the effort that he had put into the family. I think that he would really like you doing something like that for him. Besides, a little appreciation always goes a long way when it comes to my mom and dad. Every time they do something for me, they make me aware that they want to know if I appreciated it." Ashley said, and I thought about what she had said, and I felt like what she was saying was a true enough matter that I had to at least consider something like this.

"I will try to do something like that. Maybe you are right. That it is nice to just go out and show people that you do like it when something is going on that I enjoy. I think that maybe they just wish that I have done something like this more often." I said, and then I felt like something like this was a bit silly, and that I could not believe that I did not at least consider something like this at all in my time here.

"My parents are always on the clock. I usually only see them during night time. Not that it bothers me. Always gives me more time to hang out with my friends and just not be home. Besides, the longer that I wait until I get home, the longer I can put off my homework, and the more that I can just pretend like that is not a thing to deal with." Dakota said, and I smiled at the way he was speaking, thinking it was nice to see him reverting to his old way of speaking.

"I usually just do my homework right before I go to bed at night. To get it over with, and not have to deal with it in the morning or later." I said, and then after I had said that, I was then thinking of if that was really the better way after all.

We spent about an hour in that tree house, just looking around and seeing if there were anything that we could fine or use. To be honest, it was kind of a let down that we could not, but in a way, I was not at all shocked, and that was something that I told myself that maybe I needed to be more ready for in the future. The sort of let down that something like this would be able to bring up. But I decided against saying something like this to not let down my friends. But how little I knew that something like this would be the last normal time of my life, as when I got home that day, I was not at all ready for what was to happen next.

When I was near my house, I was seeing a sight that I never thought I would see in my life. I was seeing a bunch of cars in the area, and I was sort of scared of what the context behind this whole thing would have really been. I felt like I was just needing to see what the police were doing, and then when they were done explaining to me what was happening, then I would try and find a way to make things actually work.

I found my father standing outside, and he was looking right at the officer as he was answering some questions. Dakota and Ashley were right behind me, and when they were behind me, I was seeing that they had clearly looked like this was something that they were not very ready for. "Oh my god, what is going on here?" Ashley asked, and then she was looking at me, wondering what I was feeling now.

"I don't really know if I want to be going there. It seems really scary." I said, and I was truly having the fear of god kicking in. I was having a hard time seeing what was going on here, and as a result, I was not sure what the hell was even able to make me be ready for what was to be happening. "But I think that I might have to, if it involves my family."

With that, I had started to walk towards the house, and Dakota and Ashley were unsure if they were supposed to be following me yet or not. They were wanting to follow me, but at the same time, they had been unsure of if they were even supposed to be doing this, or if this was something that I should just be doing on my own. They decided that they would stay at the side line and wait until further news before they did anything too big.

I was coming up the path way, and some police officers were kind of confused on who I was, and why I was doing this, but they decided against telling me to get lost since they were thinking that maybe there was a good reason why I was doing this. They figured that I would not be setting myself into this whole disaster if it were not important for me. I eventually reached where my father was, and when we were looking eye to eye, that was when the officer who was talking to him looked slightly annoyed at the interruption but my father was holding up a finger, as if telling him that this was not to be debated.

"This is my son you are talking to right now." My father said, and then the officer instantly shut up, thinking that it might be important to let him have a moment to just talk to me about what was going on here. Then he looked right down at me. "Look I know that it's your birthday, and that you were more excited for something else." My father said and then I looked at him confused, totally forgetting that my birthday was December Twenty First. I was so excited for winter break and being with some friends for once that I did not give a fuck what I was doing today. But the way he was acting went simply beyond birthday stuff, and was getting into a much more serious ordeal.

"Riley has not been seen all day, and police are looking around for her, but there is nothing that they have found so far. I think that perhaps she has gone missing." My father said, and while it was perfectly obvious to me what was going on, even a ten year old, I figured he was deep enough in his grief to where he did not want to deal with me acting like a asshole right now. "Do you know anything about what happened or how she was?"

Even the police officer seemed to be getting more patient with me, as if sort of thinking that I could tell him something. It was the local sheriff, and I was seeing him looking like despite some pity that he had for me, he was needing to just see how he was going to be able to use me to help him out. To sort of find a way to help him out in this impossible context. "Any information that you have for us is going to be really important. Even if you don't think it matters too much, it could be the missing piece that we really need."

I thought about it a bit more, and I shook my head. "I mean, I don't really know. I mean, she always talked about wanting to go back home, and that she was already hating this place. She did not want to be moving here, thinking that it would ruin what she had back home. But I thought that she was getting better at this place. It looked like she was even going out on some dates, and was putting it all behind her a step at a time."

"Who was she going out on dates with? Do you think that we could be able to speak to any of them?" He asked, and I was really not sure on this one, and this was one where I knew that I would not be able to really help them out no matter what. But I felt like maybe I can try to give them something else.

"I don't know about who she could have been seeing, or who she was really starting to get serious about. But she was talking about how much the missing people were starting to worry the fucking shit out of her." I said, and then I knew that under almost any other situation, my parents would be pissed at a kid my age swearing the way that I had done. But considering the situation, I knew that they were going to let it slide this time. "She was talking about how much the grinder seemed to really be giving her fear of living here. Like she feared something else was going on."

The police officer shook his head, and then he looked at my dad and shrugged. I knew that I did not really help them, and this was their way of trying to be nice about it. But the also knew that considering how young I was, maybe it was silly for them to assume that I would have been able to really make much a real difference in the first place.

"Thanks for trying at least. I am sure that if we find your sister, she would be proud of the fact that you are at least holding on strong. That you are at least doing your best." The officer said, and I looked at the name tag on his shirt. It read Garret and I did not really think too much of it at the time, but I was going to realize how much this man was going to really be making a difference in the long run. "I think that the best that you can do in these coming weeks is just simply not do anything too crazy. That doesn't mean never hang out with your friends or anything, but when you do, just maybe stay at their house, and come home at a certain time every time. That way you can be able to have them be sure that you are fine. We do not want two kids going missing so soon after another. Even though boys don't go missing as much. Especially so soon after your birthday."

I nodded, and I felt like I needed to just take this easily. I also felt like I needed to tell Dakota and Ashley what is going on, that way they can be able to be there for me in my first few hours of grief, and that way I could be able to have them help me break the very thing that they told me not to be doing.

When I met them, I decided to tell them right away. "Riley has not been seen. She is reported missing, and now we are here trying to figure out what to do. I hope that maybe you guys can be there for me right now." I said, and then after I had said that, they were both looking like they wanted to find a way to help me out with this.

"That is really bad. I am so sorry that something like this is happening right now. Do you have any plans on what you are going to make sure that she can be able to come back home and stuff?" Ashley asked, and she was just looking like she wanted to see what she can really do. She was looking at Dakota, as if hoping that he was wanting to find a way to help out. But in a way, he was just unsure of what he was really even going to do to make a difference. I did not blame him for feeling this way, but I felt like I just needed anything possible.

"I want to find her. I really do. But I have no idea how something like this is going to even happen. I think that this is just going to be leading me down a path of feeling awful. For not really making any real difference." I said, and then I was looking around. I just felt like nothing else mattered. I felt like everything was my fault somehow, and that I needed to try and find a way to make it so that I actually had a chance to make things right. To make her home, and bring our family to some level of normalcy.

"If you try though, if you work hard to make it work, you might be able to have a chance. You might be able to make something work. Do you think that the effort will be worth it?" Dakota asked, and I looked around, feeling like it would not be worth it. But at the same time, I was sort of finding myself thinking that if for nothing else, if I tried and failed, I can say that I did something. And that this can be able to make me feel like I was not going to be totally lost. So I looked right at Dakota and Ashley, and I was giving them a look of sincere determination.

"I think that I want to try. If I try and I fail, then that is one thing. But I am not going to be going around and not doing anything at all. I need to give it a go, and see how things can perhaps work out." I said, and then with that, this was when I was seeing Dakota and Ashley looking like they had finally started to make some sense out of it all. Almost like they were wanting me to say such a thing such a long time ago.

"Alright, well where do we start then? Do you think that you may have any idea on what she was doing on her own time?" Ashley asked, and she was holding up her hand. I was then thinking long and hard, and I was shaking my head. I could not find something that could bring it together, no matter how hard I tried. But I felt like perhaps I had to at least try to come up with something. Come up with a plan that did not make me feel like I was going to bang my head against a wall.

"I think that we should be trying to find one of her friends houses. You know, maybe that can give us a clue when we talk to them about what they liked to do after school." I said, and I looked at Dakota. He was looking like he was just unsure of what to say. Almost like something at the back of his mind told him he needed to get us out of this plan right now.

"I saw a couple of times a house that she would go to with some other girls around her age. It was a few blocks away from where I lived. I don't know if that will help..." Dakota said, and I was ready to say something about us needing to try at least when Dakota said something else that I was not really wanting him to suggest. Since doing so would have made our blindness to the matter much more known from the start. "I think we really have to give the tree house a try. Really search it up and down. Maybe she went there a couple of times. I would not put it beyond the realm of possibility."

I looked down, and I was angry at him for saying this, because I knew that it was true. It was something that we needed to try, and no matter what the result was going to be, we were finally going to have some form of a fucking answer. So with that, I looked at him, and I was nodding in a defeated form. I was just sincerely hoping that nothing else was going to happen to her up there, because then something could have been done about it from the start. "We have to try at least. And if there is something going on up there, then I am the fucking monster, and I should be punished for not noticing."

"Then we all deserve it. I mean, there is no way that anybody could know. You need to give yourself a break here." Ashley said, and I was unsure if what she was saying was going to make me fully ready to listen to her. But I was willing to just pretend like this was not getting to me all that much.

But before we could debate this any further, we were going right to the forest. Not giving a damn what my parents would be saying. Not caring if they were going to tell us that I needed to not do this. I did not care, and I was wanting to find my fucking sister. That was all that I had wanted to do, and that was all that I was really needing to do. I wanted to find Riley to give me a chance at actually being happy again.

Eventually, we were getting near where the tree house of the forest was. I knew I needed to cry if she was gone, and this was related to it. I would be so mad at myself for everything in my life. But before I could think about it too much more, Dakota was calling out to Ashley and I. Before I even knew what he was wanting to show us, Ashley was going over there, and she was wanting to get me there as well. "This is really important Sheldon." She sounded utterly earnest about it, and I decided that I would not argue with her on it.

Eventually I was where they had wanted me to be, and I was looking at the tree from the back side, which I had never done since we always went to the ladder right away and never really looked into this area too much. We did not ever feel like there was a point to it all. I was looking at the area Dakota and Ashley told me to check, and I was just seeing a bunch of names on the tree. I was just unsure of the point to it all though.

"It seems like a lot of people who had come here, who would visit this tree house, would carve their name on here. To sort of prove that they had been here before. I don't know how else to describe it. But this is the one that you really want to be looking at." Dakota said, and then with that, he was showing me the one name in the world that I wanted nothing to do with this tree house. The one name that I thought was a safe assumption would have nothing to do with the tree house.

'Riley Lee.' I saw, and when I had seen this, and how relatively new the carving looked compared to most other places, no more than a few weeks old, or maybe even more recently, I knew that it had to be her. This made me feel sick to my stomach, and I was really hating the situation that I was now finding myself in. "When would she even come here? I think that there really is no point in doing this when she barely had a social life here." I said, and then Dakota and Ashley both hugged me when I needed it the most ever in my life.

I did not know it at the time, but this was really going to have a rough spot on me in the future. It was going to get in my way a lot more than I was ever thinking that it would have. The whole situation with Riley would for better or for worse determine my entire life from this point forward.

It took a couple of days of just sticking around the house, sort of trying to act like I was understanding what the fucking hell was even going on here for me to act like everything was finally not pissing me off. I mean, Riley and I were never close. We never really got much chance to actually get along with each other. But it was still something that she did not deserve, and it was something that I felt like I had deserved much more than she got. But I did not get much time to think about it when there was a knock on my house door. I figured that I would just get this over with, and see who it was.

I was seeing that it was Dakota and Ashley. "I know that it's been a little while since you got out and did something with us. We were just worried about you, and wanted to check up on how you were doing. If you are wanting to talk with us that is." Ashley said, and she was looking like she was just wanting to see how I would react. I was looking down, uncertain of what I was supposed to be feeling in any way. I was feeling like I just had to find a way to talk with them, and not be getting in their way. That I had to just be nice about what I was doing.

"Yeah, you're right. It has been a while since we talked, and I would want to do that more. I guess that I will just try and do what I can here." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was looking at Dakota. "It is just a lot of stuff to be thinking about. But it is something that I am sort of slowly getting over. It is something that I want to just put behind me a bit more." I said, and then I was just thinking about how rough this whole thing really was. I did not really want to do much of this, but it was something that I was going to just need to do and get get over with.

"What would you want to do if we hung out today?" Dakota asked, and I was looking down, feeling like my answer was going to suck. But it was still a answer that was going to be the truth nonetheless, and it would be the one that would give to them regardless. "I mean, you're the one that needs to find something to keep you going."

"I want to find Riley. I simply just want to find here, before I do anything else. It is that fucking simple. I want to know if I can be able to sort of have the fucking answer solved for me." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I was honestly not giving a single fuck what they were saying. I needed to be honest, and I was giving that to them.

Dakota and Ashley looked at each other, as if thinking that this was going to be a rough road right now. That there was no way in hell that we were going to be able to do this. But then they looked down, as if thinking that they just needed to try. "So Sheldon, do you feel like you can be able to find something that can get you to find her?" Ashley asked me, trying to just be as to the point about it as possible. Thinking that maybe my answer could be able to give us a starting point.

"I don't know. I think that the tree house is the best that we got. Or talking to her friends. I would not mind trying the police." I said, and then I was looking at them, wondering what they were going to think of my ideas. I was desperate, and I was in on this fight alone. I was the only one who really had any stakes on finding her. They were just there to make sure that I did not get myself killed along the fucking way.

With that, we were walking along, and Dakota was looking like he was just trying to find something to say that would not make him sound like a insensitive asshole or anything. "How have you been holding up lately? I mean, you seem like this is really getting to you more than you expected." Dakota asked, and I knew he was not trying to sound rude about it. But he was just genuinely not seeing what was going on here. He was thinking that this was just strange that I went from being someone who did not care much for Riley to suddenly being somebody who took her going missing super fucking hard.

"I don't know. I mean, I thought that I was going to be fine with what was going on. I thought that I could handle it. But in all honesty, I think that I was just too scared to be prepared for something that I had no power over. I have no power over anything going on here, and that is what is getting to me. the fact that the police have not found a answer, and the fact that I am supposed to be relying on them no matter what." I said, and then after I had said that to them, both Dakota and Ashley were trying to think of what it would be like to lose hope.

"I feel awful. I feel like there was something I could have done about it. I mean, I know that I am useless. But I want to feel useful. I want to feel like I am doing something." I said, and then after I had said that to them, neither Dakota or Ashley had something to say to me here. They were looking like they just thought I was insane. That I was going to be saying something that would only be making things much worse for me.

We were eventually getting close to the police station, and as we were heading there, I was seeing that I better just ask them and get it over with. I mean, there was no reason not to at least try and see what I can do with them. "I am glad that you decided to be there for me. Makes me feel like there are people who actually care about what I am going through." I said, and then I was wondering if they were even really going to actually listen or not.

"We just think that it is the least that we can do to make sure you are fine. I think that if we did not do this, then we would just be the ones who were really messing you up." Dakota had said, and after he was saying that, I was seeing him looking like he was just wanting to say more. But at the same time, he was thinking that he had made his point now. He was feeling like there was virtually no more point that he could possibly make.

I was at the door, just sort of feeling like I was going to find a way to pull it all together. I was unsure of what I would even say to people once I was in there. That was the thing that was getting to me. The fact that I was going to be going into a place that in general, I was just going to be sort of lost on. The one thing that I wanted to do, and I was going to have to be going through fucking loops and hoops to have a chance to make it.

"Let's just see what we can do. It is the very least that can be done." Dakota told me, as if trying to find a way to make me feel better. I mean, he was not really doing the most bang up job at it, but could I really blame him for what he was saying right now. I was then just telling myself that I could not, and that he was just trying to find a way to make me feel better. So with that, I was opening up the door, and then I was inside of the police station. Ashley and Dakota were right behind me, as if just trying to act like they were down low.

I was walking around, and the entire time that I had been walking, I was seeing that there was only one room where the officer was not being talked with. "Let's not go in there. I think that they might be fine." I said, and then I was going right inside of that room. Dakota and Ashley were looking like they were just going to stick to the back of the room, and let me do this. I did not blame them, but I did wish that they could have found a way to help me through with this.

Once I was sitting down in front of the officer, he was looking at me, as if almost wanting to just get to the point. Like had a long and rough day and was really not in the mood with me dancing around the point or something. I figured that I would give him just that, since I was just as over this as he might have been. "I was wanting to know how my sister Riley is doing, and if she has been found. I really need to know so that way I can be able to try and have some peace of mind." I said and then after I was telling him that, he was looking right at me, and the look on his face was sort of to indicate that he was thinking it was rough that I was in this stage of mind considering what was going on.

"We are trying to find her. We are really doing our best. But I do not know if something like this can happen. I think that you might be on your own much more than you would really want to be." He was telling me, and then after he had said that, he was just looking like it was sad that he had just admitted that.

"Well, can you be able to tell me what you do know?" I asked, and then I was seeing him looking like he was conflicted on if he should be going around and telling me all of this stuff, and if I was really going to be ready for it. I did not know if I was going to be ready for it, but I was ready for him to throw the punch anyways. I felt like I just needed to know what he was feeling.

"I don't know anything. I have not been on the case that much. It seems like every time there is some information that comes along that we can be able to use, it just goes to a dead end. We really have no clue what is going on. Where-ever she went, she did a really good job hiding herself. Or if its worse, then we have no idea what could be going on." He said, and he was wondering what I was wanting to say to that. If anything could be said at all.

I had felt like he has basically told us that I should just give up, and that there was no point to any of this. It was awful for me to hear this, and that I had been basically told that any hope that I could possibly have might as well just be gone. But then after that, I was sort of thinking of something else to say. Something else that can get him to want to speak. "Can you at least be able to tell me what the last lead you were able to get was? So that way, I can be able to have an idea what is happening here?" I asked, and then he was looking like he might as well let me have that at least.

"Well, I feel like I should not be doing this, on the chances that somebody could interfere with our investigation, but we might as well just tell you since I doubt that anything is going to come out of it. The most recent lead that we have so far is a tree house in the forest. All her friends were telling us about how she was brought there about a week before we went missing, and how she carved her name to the tree in order to symbolize forever that she was a resident of Wayside. I don't know. Maybe a tradition that this town has. I don't know what I can tell you there. But we only checked it out yesterday. We have not actually gone inside of the tree house yet." The officer said, and he was wondering if I had anything to say to that.

"Do you plan on going up there to try and find something else out? Or are you going to just sort of let it slide?" I asked, and then after I had asked them this, they were looking like they had wanted to say more, but at the same time, doing such a thing was going to compromise the investigation. But he was clearly looking as if he thought that did not even matter much anymore.

"We are going to be looking in there soon enough. We just have to make sure that we are on the right track. I think that even you surely must be able to understand that we need to take every single hint very carefully. We can't just go in blindly to that place." He was saying, trying to sound reasonable, but was instead just coming out as somebody worried for himself.

"Do you think that we could be able to go there and see something for ourselves?" I asked, just trying to find a way to make it sound like I was not worried about setting my life in there. But I just needed to know what was going on. I needed to find my sister, and know what fucking happened to her. I wanted the truth. No matter how rough it was.

"You can check there. Legally there is nothing telling you that you can't. But I would highly advise against it. I mean, you don't really know what you will be seeing there, and even if you did, I don't know if you are ready for such a task at hand. I think that you might just be better letting the police do their job." He said, and he was trying to sound reasonable about it, but was hiding a level of fear in his voice that we would do it.

"Thank you very much for your time, and we will do whatever we can to make sure that my sister is found. As long as it is within legal bounds of course." I said, and then after I had told him this, the officer was looking like he was wanting to say more. But at the same time, he was just sort of thinking that there was no way he was going to say something I would want to hear.

"Please, just make sure that your parents do not have another kid to deal with that goes missing. There are a lot of things that come along here. There are many things that we try to do for this place, and having another kid go missing because they simply can't stay down and let the police do their job is something that we do not want to deal with. We would rather just do the job on our own before we let something else happen to you." He was saying, and I did not really know what to be feeling at this point. I was feeling like I was just going to have to find a way to make him feel like I was not going to do this, when I totally was.

"I will do my best to not go too angry at you. But please, don't tell me that I should not be focused on my sister. I think that this is something that I have to deal with if I want to feel any form of peace with myself. Any form of peace with the fact that she went missing, and that I did not." I said, and I was truly meaning what I had been saying, but at the same time, I did not know if they were going to truly understand what I was feeling right now. I went to the door, and opened it, not even wanting to wait for his commentary in all honesty.

"I think that there are enough things to be worried about as it is. You going around, and trying to find your sister is noble. But it is something that we can't stop right now. There is nothing that we can do to make sure that they are fine. I think that surely you must be able to understand this. We are tied to a wall, and we are forced to try and find something else to be doing now." The officer tried to say, as if trying to keep me understanding what I had been feeling.

"Thank you for helping me." I said, and I was done with it after that. I was not really wanting to hear more, so I was not even going to be giving him the chance to say more. I was on my own, and this guy was making it very clear that this was the case. And I did not know if I really wanted that, but at least I had Dakota and Ashley at my side when I was doing all of this now.

As we were walking along, I was seeing both Dakota and Ashley looking like they had been wanting to say more, but were sort of feeling like there was no real reason to try and say more to this. "Sheldon, do you think that maybe there is something going on here?" Ashley asked, and we were getting near that forest. I was holding my hands up, as if a bit annoyed at everything going on now. I was just over every single little thing that was going on around me, and I wanted her to understand that I was on my own.

"Look, there's nothing I can fucking do about it. I think that there is something going on here. Of course I fucking do. But the thing is that I just feel like I have to try and find a way to make this work." I said, just looking down. The entire time that I was having my turn to speak, I was just feeling really insecure. As if me speaking about how I had felt was going to be hurting me. Was going to be a big fucking issue that I would have to try and over come.

"I mean, I hope that the police are telling me the truth about what they are trying to do or not to do. But I also understand that I am supposed to be happy. I am supposed to have a good child hood. And being stuck here, unsure of if I will ever see my sister again, just because nothing is being done, then I feel like I am just too far gone with this." I said, and then after I had said that, I was wondering what they were going to try and say to me. "I want Riley back, even if we never got along much, that way at least she can be able to have a good life."

Dakota and Ashley both looked at each other, starting to think about how they must not have been able to really understand what it was really like, and that maybe this was the thing that was keeping them to sort of try and see where I was coming from. "I'm sorry for being like this. I guess that maybe I just don't fully understand what is happening here. I mean, I want to see it your way, but I have a hard time doing so." After Dakota said that, I nodded and smiled at this, feeling like this was actually good.

"And I hope that you never do. I mean, if you were feeling this way, then that would mean that something happened to you. And I would not want that to happen. But let's not waste time. I need to see what I can learn at the tree house." I said, and then after I was telling them this, I was seeing them looking like this was just what we needed to do to sort of get this all over with.

We were getting near the tree house, and I was wondering what the fucking hell I was even going to be doing now. I felt like this whole situation was just going to be a bit too much to do. I was looking around, and I saw the ladder. Despite me wanting to pretend like this was going to be fine, and that I did not need to worry about what was up there, I was telling myself for that for the sake of finding Riley, I had to go up there and ruin the sweet innocence that this place had offered me back in the day.

With that, I was going up the ladder, as I was seeing Dakota and Ashley waiting for a few seconds, on the first time where I was the one who was leading up. I was telling myself that when they would deal with a missing sibling, they would take the time to go up there themselves. That they would take the time and the world to make sure that nothing else would get in their way.

Eventually I opened up the door, and when I had done that, I was seeing Ashley and Dakota finally getting up. As they were up with me, both of them were just sort of unsure of what they were even supposed to be doing now. "Sheldon, I mean, I know that I should not be trying to get you to stop or anything, but do you have any idea what the heck you are even going to be doing here?" He asked, and he was trying to sound nice about it, but I could hear that there was a mild twinge of annoyance to it.

"I feel like there just has to be something in here that Riley has. Something that she placed here for me. I feel like she would not have just left me alone." I said, and then after I had said that, I was going to a small corner in the area, and I was seeing that there was a small box in there. I was very hard trying to remember the first two times that I had been here. That box was not here the first time now that I thought about it, and it was there, looking relatively fresh, the second time.

Part of me was feeling like this was going to be the start that I would need to have a clue on where to go. I was then placing the box down on the floor, and I was looking at it. "I doubt that this will be the one thing that makes everything make sense, but I am willing to at least give it a try." I said, and then after I was saying that to them, both Ashley and Dakota looked a bit unsure of what to say now.

"And what if it is not the thing that we are supposed to look for? Are you just going to be putting it back?" Ashley asked, and I nodded, as if unsure on why she was even asking me this in the first place. I mean, there was no way that I was going to keep something if I had no claim of attachment to it. I mean, sure people should not have placed items in here that they did not want to be taken, but when it was here, the item sort of was free for all, and I was not a monster for taking it.

"I mean, I need any clues that I can get, no matter what the situation really is. End of fucking story. I mean, I don't want any further days of her being gone." I said, and then both Dakota and Ashley sat down. I was opening up the box, and I was seeing a bunch of different things in here. I did not really know what I was exactly looking at, but I knew that whatever this was, it would be the key to what I really needed.

The box was showing something like a picture book. I opened it up, and I did see Riley in some of them. I smiled at her sight, thinking about how now I would wish to see it many more times with the knowledge of what I knew now. I did not think that I would ever get to miss her face that much. But when this was the situation going on here, I could not ever fucking help it. Anything like this was just going to make me feel good about seeing her again. She was hanging out with some people in the pictures, some around her age, and a couple of them a little bit older, but nothing too extremely. Like maybe eighth grade or freshmen. I figured that maybe she did have a friend group outside of the house at school, and this was how she was able to be around them from time to time.

"Sheldon, what are you finding here?" Dakota asked, just wanting to break the silence, and with that, I showed them the picture book. "I think that I might know some of these places at least. Maybe not the people, but the places at least, and maybe there could be some houses here that I might know very vaguely." Dakota said, and then he was showing Ashley what I had found. With that, she was looking down as well.

As they had been looking at that, I was then looking and seeing something that looked like a giant knife. I was holding it, and I was thinking that maybe it was something Riley bought or stole from our family, placed in here so she could be able to have it as self defense if something were to come up. I showed them this, as if wondering what they would say.

"I guess that maybe she was expecting something to be coming up sooner or later, and that this was her way of being ready for it. But if she was expecting something like this so soon already, then how the hell did she get this anyways?" I asked, just suddenly feeling like when I was getting some answers with that picture book, more questions would pop up. The whole thing was a bit annoying, but I was feeling that maybe if I tried hard enough, I could piece it all together.

"I think that maybe she had heard some of the stories about the grinder, or that folk tale, and after seeing some people going missing in town, perhaps thought that she needed to be safe and make sure that she was not going to be the next one to go as well. I just don't know what to say to it besides that." Ashley had said, and despite what she was saying, I was still feeling like I needed to find some other answers. Something that could make me feel like I understood what I was fucking doing right now.

"I guess that I will never know." I said, and I was starting to look deeper, sort of trying to find something else that can be able to help me out looking for this. I was seeing that there was a letter in there. I picked it up, and when I had looked, I was seeing the letter have my name on it. I was confused as to why she would be leaving me one, and I was feeling like this was something that she certainly must have been prepared for, and that prospect was starting to get to me a bit more as time was passing.

"She left me with something. I guess that I might as well see what it was." I said, and then when I had finished showing Dakota and Ashley the letter that she had left with me, I was starting to open it up. "I don't quite know what I want to see in here. I feel like the fact that she was preparing for something makes me a bit more scared to look into this. I mean, I have a life to live for, and looking into this might give me the same fate as her. I might take the stuff we found here, and give it to the police. And then be done with it. I can't imagine doing any more than this right now." I said, and I did not even care what I was sounding like here. I felt like this was the best that I can do. I mean, despite the situation with Riley, I had a chance to have a life, and this box was the best that I could be doing here.

"I mean, yeah, this whole thing is quite a bit, and I think that you are really getting yourself too deep into this. But you should still read this at least." Dakota said, and then I opened it up, ready to start reading it.

"Sheldon, I don't know if you understand the full weight of what is going on here, or if you are not old enough to care, but there is something going on here. There is so much more to this town than I think anybody could have ever thought. I think that there is actually some truth to that story you were telling me earlier. I mean, I am very sorry for saying you were stupid for making that story, but now that I know the truth, and I see what is going on, I am scared to admit that there could be something happening here. The story about the grinder, about the labyrinth, and the missing people, it is all starting to come together and make some sense that I would never want to wish to admit.

I leave you this box, that way if you ever feel like you are old enough and strong enough to get ready to look for me, you can have something to start you off with. I have a feeling you will be a good guy and eventually start to look for the truth. That is the only reason that I feel like there is some hope to somebody figuring out the truth to this place. This messed up place that I never thought that I would have to settle into.

And if you feel like you will never find this, and somebody else does, then maybe they can look, or if you decide to take this to the police, I hope that for once there is some evidence in here. And I also got a weapon to place in this box for you to be using in case you were to go on and do something. That way you can be able to defend yourself somehow.

I mean, I know that you and I have never really gotten along too well, but I also never thought that you weren't able to be trusted. And that is why I trust you at this time. Even if it is too late to do something for me, I know that you and your friends do a lot of stuff and that you would probably find this and do something about it sooner or later anyways.

Besides, in case nothing happens to me, and I am fine, or at least fine until I turn eighteen and can leave, then you can still hopefully find this eventually and you can be able to know what to do with it then. Maybe once you see this, and you are old enough to understand the gravity of this, then you will be able to find out what to do then. But for both of our sakes, I hope that this can be put off for as long as possible. From Riley." The note said, and then after there was some noise being made, I was getting up, and I was still holding the knife.

"Dakota, keep the picture book, and Ashley take the box, I will be seeing if there is something down there that I need to look at." I said, and I was feeling like I was a badass for saying that, and in a way, I was feeling like this was going to be my first time to be trying to do something right. I was opening up the door to the outside, and I was taking a long and deep breath, feeling like when I would go down, everything would make sense. Everything could be coming together just fine.

I was then going down the ladder, and the further that I was going down, I was seeing that there was somebody with a fully loaded gun waiting for me. Not only that, but there was a silencer on it, as if to be prepared for what they were supposed to be doing to me. I felt like if they were actually going to try and kill me, then I would have no way of being able to defend myself. And then I was thinking about Dakota and Ashley, and not they also would have nothing to support them in case something happened to me as well. I knew that this was going to be a long road ahead, but that I needed to be ready for it.

Dakota and Ashley had gotten down to the ground as well. I was holding the knife as tightly as possible. The man who was looking right at us was almost looking like he had felt bad. For the fact that he was going to have to kill three innocent kids because of the fact that there was a job that had told him to do so. "It really is a shame. I mean, you are so young, and you had a real future ahead of you. But I guess that when push comes to shove, people just do not know when to stay out of other peoples business. They feel like they have to know the big answer to everything going on. I feel a bit like you are just unable to understand the fact that this should have just been left alone." The man said, and then I was shaking my head, pissed at the way he was talking about my fucking sister.

"Listen, when it comes to my family, and I know that something could be done to make sure it does not happen again, you sure as hell can bet that I am not going to just let this stuff go. I am going to try and do what is right for my family." I said, and then the other guy was looking like he was able to almost respect me for such a thing.

"I mean, you are young, and still are a man or morals, and I can respect that a bit more than I thought that I was going to. I will give you that. But you can't disturb our business, because if you do, then we will have to be sent all the way back, and when that happens, we start to lose what we have, and that is never fun." The guy was saying, and then after he had said that to me, I was just sort of trying to keep cool. But this man was making it hard to do that.

"What did you do to my fucking sister?" I asked, ready to snap, and ready to fucking strangle this man. I was not in the mood for people to be playing games with me, and I was not in the mood for him to be pretending like I was a baby who did not know what was considered to be a fucked up situation. I knew a fucked up situation was when you had your family totally thrown away.

I was then seeing the guy shake his head, and then he was thinking about something else that he could be able to say to sort of get me to feel less awful about what was happening. "If it makes you feel better, I had nothing to do with your sister going missing. She was unrelated to me in every regard possible. I fucking have no clue where she is right now. I was just told that you were digging your nose too deep, and that I had to get rid of you too. And your friends. But if for nothing else, and if it makes you feel even more better, you can know that nothing will happen to your parents yet, because they are off doing their own thing, and can't really focus on what is happening with you." He said, and then he was smiling, like this was really fucking funny at least

"Why are you doing this? I'm just a kid. I want my sister back. I want everything to go back to normal. I want to be a normal kid." I said, and then I was starting to feel the tears coming down my face. I was having too much, and this guy was not really able to understand how I had felt.

"I think we all wish that this whole thing never happened. But you can't really change what is going on in life. You are only forced to go and do what you can to make sure that everything will be alright." He said, and then he was looking like he was just kind of tired with this, and wanted to be done debating this stuff with me.

"But now that we have discussed this in depth, I think we both know the way this is going to end. So for all of our sakes, we might as well just get this over with." After he had said that to me, I was seeing him looking like he was truly feeling bad for what he was going to do. "You are the hardest target that I have ever taken down, because of how I don't want to do it."

I was holding the knife, and I was taking it out of my sheathe. Dakota and Ashley ran to behind the trees, because they knew that this was going to be the only way that they had a chance of living. It sucked that this was the case that I was in, but trust me, under the context of the moment, I did get why they were acting like this, and I was not annoyed that they were doing this.

The guy fired a bullet, and it missed me because I ran off in time, and the tree was hit, leaving a hole there, and then I ran to the side, where he punched me right in the chest when I got close to him. Then I was off the ground for a second, and then I fell down to the ground for a moment, groaning in pain, feeling like I was just needing to get a breath of fresh air.

I was in so much pain after he had done that, and I was totally not ready for that. I was thinking that maybe I needed to find a different way through this. I saw the knife on the ground, and I picked it up, and as I grabbed it, I was seeing the guy fire his gun again, lightly grazing my shoe and probably leaving a cut on the side of my foot after this. I dropped the knife again, but not before I head butted him right in the chest and made him stumble back, and he was dropping his gun after that as a result, I grabbed the knife, and then I was holding it.

I then swung the knife with both hands at his body, and it hit the left arm, leaving a large cut right under his shirt where I was seeing some blood coming out. Then he was picking up his gun again, and I squatted down just in time as the bullet flew away several feet in the distance, and was out of my sight before I knew it. Then he punched me right in the face, and did it again when I screamed in pain, and then I was grabbing my face when he was done with that.

I was then getting over it because I knew that I was on the verge of death, and I was losing blood from that side wound on my foot. Then I kicked him right in the balls, which was pushing him down to the ground, and after he fell down to the ground, I stabbed him right on the side of the chest, which I was feeling like was going to possibly kill him soon enough. And that this was going to be what I needed if I wanted to have a chance to win this battle. A moment of him bleeding and getting weaker as a result of what I had done.

As I was getting over it, and I was feeling like this was going to be coming together now, the man was finally looking as if he was ready to finally kill me. That this was something he was going easy on me with. So he picked me up, and then hew literally threw me against the tree, and I was about ready to accept the fact that maybe some parts of my body were going to be broken after that. Which was not going to be fun at all.

I was then standing up, as he was getting towards me, and then he punched me again and again in the chest as I was finally feeling like I was ready to get up. Then I was seeing the gun on the ground, and I knew that this was the only way that I was going to get the chance to live. So when I was finally coming to that conclusion, I was starting to drag my way across the ground, aware that this was what I had to do. I needed to kill this man, and I needed the gun, since even with him stabbed and losing blood, he was still stronger than me.

I was then reaching the gun, feeling like I was finally ready to just kill this man with it, and I eventually lay myself on top of it, to make it look like I was not going towards that. When I eventually got it, and hid it under my shirt, he grabbed my leg and pulled me back several feet, ready to make me hurt again. The man then was pulling the knife out of his body, and he sliced the blade right on my leg, to try and get me in even more pain that he had already been able to accomplish.

I was feeling like I was on the verge of dying, and when looking back I probably was, and that it is a miracle I survived. Well, if Dakota and Ashley weren't there to take care of me afterwards, I almost certainly would have been dead, and that there was nothing that I could have been able to do about it. Then I was seeing him coming closer to me, and this was when I knew that I really had no time and no choice but to just fire the gun, and get it over with. He needed to be dead, and that was all that there was to it.

I fired the gun right at his chest, and when that happened, I saw the bullet hole clean there, and him starting to bleed. Then he fell down to the ground, and despite my anger towards him, I wanted to see how he was doing. So I was coming right towards him, and I was ready to talk with him for a moment, and see if I could possibly be able to bring him back that way.

"What are you guys trying to do?" I asked, and the man was looking up at me. He was holding his body a bit, as if thinking about the fact that the gig was over in a way. He was almost looking sad over the fact. Like he was wanting to do a couple of more jobs, and not die so fucking early. But then he was taking the time to actually answer the question that I had asked him, as if thinking that I did deserve this at the very least.

"I was not trying to do anything. I was just simply taking orders. I mean, I did not even know who you were. I did not even know that you were that girls brother. If I had known at the start, I might have given you some time to escape. I mean, killing kids is something that I never wanted to do, and it is the one thing that I feel really awful for trying to do on some situations. And I think that if the lord does not ever forgive me for it, then I should accept that." He said, and I was feeling like I needed to understand what this man was meaning with the lord.

"How could you claim to believe in god when you talk about this stuff? When you go around and kill children? How is believing in god even a remote possibility for you?" I asked, and the man was looking like I had asked an actually valid question. One he had felt like he needed to be real with me on, since it was so big on his life, and it was the one thing that kept him forward.

"Because I honestly thought that if I worked hard enough, I could be able to make him proud. I had been raised to believe in him my entire life. I thought that he was the only thing that could give me truth. It turns out that the only thing that can give me truth is the death that I face now." The man said, and despite what was going on, and despite my fear of this answer, due to my religious upbringing, I felt like I had to know.

"What do you believe if you think that you do not see him?" I asked him, and he was looking at me, and the way that he looked at me showed that this was the saddest truth he would have ever faced. The one singular truth that he thought he would never have to face, but now that he was dead, and nobody could escape death, it was the truth that he would not only see, but the truth that he could not escape. But I was not wanting to accept whatever he would tell me, since my young brain was saying that he was a special case for what had happened, and that he was deserving of what he had gotten.

"It is that god is not there to be with me. He has either abandoned me, or he is not real. I don't know which one is worse, but both bring me grief. Both make me wonder where did I go wrong, to create this happening." He said, and then after he had said that, he was looking at me, and was shaking his head violently. As if he was refusing to believe what he had just said to me. Almost like this was the one thing that was too much on his mind to handle.

"I don't want to believe that he is not there with us. But I never once thought that I was a terrible person. A person who should have never done what he did, sure, but not a bad one. I was doing what I felt like I needed to my whole life. And when I see empty voids, black, I fear more and more what I have done. I fear more and more what this world will eventually come to. I hope that when you die, you will see a light. You will see something. Because if you do not, then I will feel like the world truly has come to an end." He was telling me, and he was holding his hand to my left arm. I was in pain, and I was also losing myself too, but I was feeling like he needed to have a man at my side here.

"Are you sure that there is nothing? I don't want to believe in something that is not there for me? Tell me, is there something?" I was feeling something coming down on me. I was ten years old, and I was hearing from an adult, even if he was a bad one, that there was nothing to prove the one thing that I had been told since I was just a child that was real. I felt like this was a sick joke, and it was one that I did not want to hear from anybody.

"If I had saw something, anything to give me a answer, to give me peace, and give you some mind, I would have told you the truth. I would have told you it was there. I would have never lied to anyone who truly believed in what he was told as a child. You seem like a good kid, no matter what has happened here, and I do not want you to follow down a path of pain because of what is going on here." He said, and then he was shaking his head at this fact, at the fact he was getting to know me better in death than in life.

"Just try to be a good kid. That is all that I want from you. To sort of give anybody the hope that it will not be getting any worse. To give somebody the hope that there is light at the end of this tunnel. It is what I want from you. It is what I need from you. It is the only thing that gives me hope. Good luck young man." He said, and then he closed his eyes, stopping breathing, and died.

I was looking right at Dakota and Ashley, trying to find the words to say that would make me feel better. Neither one of them seemed to really know what they were supposed to tell me. Almost as if they were scared of what I would say. "We need to get you to the hospital. That is the most important thing." Ashley said, thinking that she could possibly be able to just stick to that, and that as she would get to that point, I would feel like I was going to not be angry at them.

I was getting to the two of them, picking up the knife, and the gun, and put both in the box, and started to head away. With the box, and the picture book, either we would have a start on where to look, or we would give it to the police where we would be able to have something to look forward to now.

"Thanks for being here for me while this is happening." I said, and then after I had said that, both Dakota and Ashley seemed to be at my side. They seemed to totally understand what I was feeling. As we were walking along, I was seeing the snow start to fall. I had almost forgotten that it was Christmas Eve. Only three days after Riley went missing, three days after my birthday, and one day before what was supposed to be the best day of the year. Where my parents said that they would give me presents that day, but since they were providing for my birthday and Christmas, I always got twice the amount anybody should on just one.

But I did not want anything. I wanted to have Riley back. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to have a life that was not fucked up, and a life that was actually going to feel like it would be fine. I was just wanting to have something that could bring me some feeling of comfort.

The closest thing to that would be the two people at my side. "I am going to need a long break after this." I said, trying to sound funny when I was saying this, not truly thinking about the pain that I was in. And as I was thinking that, I was wondering what Dakota and Ashley would do when we came home, and when they would take me to the hospital. What they would do for Christmas. I felt like I needed to know their plans to make me feel like I could pretend to be on the fun at the few moments we had.

It was New Years eve, and things had started to settle down. After ten days of Riley being missing, even I was starting to accept the fact that she was probably just never coming back. Or at least not anytime soon. And as I was growing to accept that fact more and more, I was slowly starting to try and grow on and have a normal life with my friends. I felt like doing this was going to be the only way that I would be bale to pretend like I was ready for what was going on around me.

I was heading on to where Dakota lived, feeling like if I would be there, then everything would be fine. We would be able to talk a bit more, and we would be able to start to put this whole thing to some level of normalcy. But before I was at the house before I even left, I spent one final time looking at the box that Riley placed in there. Every single time that I looked in there, I felt like I needed to at least try and see what I could do to make a difference. I felt like I had to at least try and see if I was going to be able to find out what the hell was going on with my sister. But I knew that in the end, if I were to try and look, the only thing that I would get was even more confusion.

I wanted to bring it to the police, but in all honesty I did not trust them. I felt like they were just going to take what I had in here, and then just throw it away, because they simply would have found a way to consider it to be non conclusive enough. I just knew that they did not really care, and that if I wasted my breath on it, they would not listen.

I mean, I was literally sent to the hospital over this, and I had been forced to pretty much give up a large part of my regular life just to be getting through with this. I felt like when I was here, and I was sitting down, acting like the case was going to be fine, I was feeling like I was just going to be going insane. I did not want to deal with it anymore. But it felt like nobody cared beyond what was going on for their own investment.

I think that was another reason I eventually caved in and decided that I would hang out with Dakota and Ashley more often. I just knew deep down the authorities did not care. Deep down I knew that she was as good as dead, and that I needed to just accept it and get over it. But I still had a chance to try and live a regular life, and it was something that I had to try. Or at least pretend like I was trying.

Eventually, I knocked at the door, and I was seeing Dakota answering it. He had looked at me, and he was seeing that I was still having some trouble walking due to what was going on, but for the most part it was looking like I had been fine. "I got to admit, you recovered much faster than I thought that you would have." After Dakota had told me this, he was looking like he was wanting to find something else to say, but felt like it was fine to leave it at that.

"I want to try and find a way to have some fun. If that is something that can even be done." I said, and Dakota looked like he was not sure if he was ready for such a thing to be said by me. Almost like he was afraid that I was rushing something like this. But I did not really want to hear something like this. I was ready to be doing everything possible. "Do you think that Ashley would be ready to hang out yet? Considering the fact that she is still sort of getting over what is all going on around here." I was trying to sound like a caring friend, but I did not know how well something like this was going to work.

"I think that she would be willing to make time for you. I would never doubt how much she just wants to make sure that you are happy as well." Dakota said, and I was seeing him looking like he had genuinely meant what he had said. I decided that perhaps I was going to have to take what he was saying to heart. I mean, there was no way that something could possibly happen that would truly separate her from me and stuff. At least, I did not believe something like this could be the case.

"Well, I guess that we might as well just go to her house, and see how she is doing. I just hope that her parents are going to be as forgiving as you and her have been on this." I said, and then after I had said that, I was seeing Dakota looking like I was too worried about something that realistically, I could do nothing about. I mean, I could do nothing about Riley going missing, and I needed to not be acting like I had any authority on this.

"I wouldn't be worried about it. I know Ashley long enough to know that she would never really hold too much of a grudge over you for a long period of time." As Dakota said that, I wanted to believe in him, and I was thinking that he would not deliberately lie to me. But at the same time, even at my young age, I was scared, and I was fearing something else could come along and change that. But I did not think of it too much as I was hating on right towards Ashley's place with Dakota at my side.

Once I knocked on at her door and waiting for several seconds, that was when I was seeing Ashley looking right at us. I was seeing that she was just sort of wanting to hug me really tightly. Like seeing me here was one of the best things in the world, but she also did not want to risk hurting me any time soon. "Are you going to be looking into what is happening with Riley again?" She asked, and she was looking like she did not really want to hear much of it. But she was also looking like she was wanting to help in any way she could, if she was forced to do something like this. As I was seeing her looking like she was ready for whatever was to come, I shook my head.

"I don't plan to look for her quite yet. I am thinking that I am going to let things sort of be decided as it goes. I mean, I want her to be back and stuff, but I do not want to rush things that I am clearly not ready for." I said, and I was referring to the fact that I literally almost died from this whole thing, and that I did not have any chance to really fight if worse came to worse.

"What were you wanting to do if you were just not wanting to look for Riley?" Ashley said, almost wanting to believe that what she was telling me was the truth, but at the same time, she was clearly just perplexed at this whole thing. "I mean, I don't want to spoil this for you but the thing is that you don't really seem to be the guy who would socialize normally."

"Well, maybe I should be trying. I mean, there are supposed to be some celebrations going on to celebrate the new year with school and stuff. I don't know, maybe we can try to do something like this. It might be able to help me get into normal social life after that." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I was wondering if they were really going to want to do something like this. If they really wanted to go out and party at the town. Or if they were just going to do it because I was saying we should, for my own sake.

As a few seconds passed, and they were deeper in thought, Dakota looked happier to see me like this. He nodded, and then he was placing his hand on my shoulder. "If you want to go out and try to do something like this, then I will be at your side. I do not want anything to cause you to stop a chance of having some fun here." He said, and after he said that, even Ashley was looking like she was getting more and more used to this here. Like she was growing to like the idea with Dakota at her side.

"Let's see what the school has to offer." I said, and I was looking at the town, finally realizing how much it had to offer to me when I was not so busy looking back with Riley, and looking back in the way that I was just too far gone. To see what I would be able to see if I went out just hard enough, and did not worry about the polices job. I was walking down with my friends, and then I decided that I would continue to ask them questions, and see if they were going to help me with this. "Do you have any idea where anything is even going to be this year?"

"I heard at our school is one. I mean, I know you brought up something with our class, but you did not mention the location." Dakota said, and then I sighed, thinking about how obvious that was, and how I was so stupid not to notice the fact that this would have been the answer. But with that, I decided to just focus on the moment again.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the school, and when we had been there, I was looking around, seeing about thirty or our classmates that I had seen from earlier this year. Some of them were looking like they were here with friends, while some were alone, and others looked like they were being forced here by their parents, and hated the very idea of being here.

"Let's go and meet with them. See what they might be up to." I said, ready to just get right to the fun part of the night. I was walking to one guy who seemed to have regular old black hair, and had seemed to be one of the more popular kids from what I remembered. A person who seemed to be generally liked, but was a bit self centered.

"Hey Harold." Ashley spoke for the first time in several minutes as she was getting closer to him. I was wondering if they had gotten along well or something before, and this was able to create a bond between the two of them that I did not know of. I mean, if that was the case, then I could just leech off of her, and then act like I knew what I was talking about. "This is our friend Sheldon. Recently he has gone through a rough patch, and this is him trying to go out and exercise a way of having some fun again." Ashley made it seem simple enough. Harold held out his hand and awkwardly shook it, as if unsure of if he wanted to or not. I would later learn his full name was Harold Wilson, and he was the closest thing to a person who Nicole would actually like here. Which would make me jealous of him a bit, but I decided not to say anything.

"I am very sorry for what you are dealing with right now. I am assuming it is somebody in your family going missing. That town has stuff like this happen all the time." The man was telling me, and he was looking like he just wanted to see what I could be saying to him right now. If there was anything that I would even feel the motivation to say at that moment. "But it will be fine. The police are just having a lot of cases to take care of. Sooner or later, they will get to yours, and then everything will be good."

The worst part about what he was saying was the fact that looking at him, seeing the way he was speaking to me, I could clearly tell that he was truly believing in what he was telling me. He was thinking that there was no possible way that anybody was going to not be doing their job here. Given the fact that this was happening so much now, they just had to be working harder.

I did not want to respond to his statement, so I was looking down, there was something that I was wanting to try and tell him. "I feel like I just need to be patient. That is what my father has always been telling me. Telling me that I just needed to wait, and the issue would resolve itself." I said, just unsure of what I was wanting to say then. I was thinking that I would just leave it be there. "Anyways, what are you doing here right now? Is there anything going on that is super exciting?" I asked, trying to sound like I was going to be legit, but I was feeling like I was going to fail on that.

"I was told to come here and hang out with some people here. My parents always think that I have spent too much time at my place. I guess that they might be fully be wrong. But it is none of their business what I do with my own time." He was saying, and then he looked at me, as if wondering what I was going to try and say now.

"Do you just not like being in big crowds or something?" I asked, and then he was looking down, as if thinking that there was nothing too interesting to say here. Then he was looking around the room, and I was feeling like maybe this was his way of nicely telling me that he was sort of wanting to end this conversation. I mean, even I was able to kind of pick up on it. But I was just feeling like I wanted to see him a bit longer. See if he was a chill guy after all. "I mean, I never liked going to big crowds before when I was at my first house. But after moving here, I have been getting better at it. I want to try and make a clean slate at this." I said, and then after I had said that, I was deep down aware of how impossible something like this would be, but I just had to try.

"It has been kind of hard to be trying to talk to people, but I have been getting better at it lately because of my parents being able to decide to help me and stuff. In all honesty, it is just something that I never really felt the need to do. I felt like the whole idea was just a bit pointless." He said, and then he was looking like he was just greatly curious what I would say now.

"Well, your parents would be proud to be going on and seeing you do something here right now. They would think that you are finally making them proud." I said, and then even I was starting to feel like I had gone on long enough with this, and that we had sort of proved our points now. And that with this, we just just go along and head home. or head along to doing things that I knew that we would both enjoy much more.

"I guess that you might be right. But am I really so worried about making them proud? I am not so sure anymore. In a way, I almost don't really care all that much. I just think that they are trying too hard to get me to be a perfect kid, when in all honesty, I don't need to be done." Harold said, as if just unsure of what I was going to be thinking of his statements. I did not really believe that what he was saying was all that big of a deal. I just figured that he was rebelling in his own way.

"What would be the worst out of going the extra mile to see that your parents will be proud of you? I mean, I don't really see anything wrong with it. They are just probably wanting to see what you can accomplish in life." As I had said that, I was just not really too sure what he was going to say to this. He would probably reject what I was saying, and act like I was just unable to get it, which in a way, I suppose I was.

"Because I doubt that they really care about anything beyond their own reputation. If they really cared what I had thought, they would not force anything onto me now. I just don't really think this is something that they want to see for my own benefit. They are probably just in it for themselves, and that is the thing that is making me annoyed." After Harold told me that, I was thinking that this was probably all that we needed to discuss. Dakota placed his hands on my shoulders, as if wanting to get my attention again.

"I think that we should be heading along now. You know, not to waste any time here and stuff. I want to see what these places have to offer." Dakota said to me, and I was seeing him looking like this was something that had excited him more and more as time was passing, and that he was clearly just wanting to see if he could make things work. Even Ashley was looking like she was wanting to see what things were going to be now.

As we had been heading along, that was when I was seeing Ashley and Dakota looking around, and seeing that the people that were around us seemed to be having the time of their life. I did not know how they were able to have such a good time here, but I was telling myself that maybe I should be listening to their advances and stuff. Harold was standing back a bit for several seconds, and I was seeing that he was unsure of if he was wanting to come to us, or if I was just truing to be nice, and that he did not really want to take the risk of looking like a dumb ass.

I was feeling like maybe I needed to give it a go, and see what they were going to be like. "You can come along if you would like?" I suggested to him, as he was looking down, almost too scared to do this. But then after a moment of thinking about it, and him seeing that I was not totally full of shit, he was thinking that he might as well just see how something like this could go.

So with that, Harold was coming up right behind us, and the entire time he was doing this, I was seeing him starting to take a lighter tone on this, and he was clearly looking like he was almost not even scared anymore. This was exactly what I had wanted him to feel, and it was the best thing to know that I was able to accomplish something here.

As we had been walking along, I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to find some things to talk about, things that could make him come off as more interesting. Things that were going to make us feel like we did a good choice by bringing him along. We eventually reached a stand, where one of the people behind there was having one of those throw the ring and see if it lands somewhere, and get a prize that way. "Come one, come all. We want to see if you can win our very special game of ring throwing. If you win, you get a very special prize. If you lose, nothing to worry about. It is a very hard game indeed, and you should never be angry with yourself. Coming here and having fun is the main point of this game after all." He was saying, and he was looking like he was tired of reciting this line, but was happy to see some people here. "First throw for everybody is always free. Plus ten cents every other throw after that." It was when he had said that I figured I might as well do one throw, and see how my luck was going to be, to see if this was destined to work for me.

I was looking at Harold, Dakota and Ashley. They all seemed to think the same thing, and that the worst that would come is that they would lose a game that in all honesty was really hard from the very few movies I saw. Trust me, I am not much of a movie guy. I think I only see like two or three a year. But every time one of these showed up, I knew there was no chance of winning.

Ashley decided that she would go first. As she was doing this, she took a long and deep breath. Then after a moment of planning, or at least just taking it easily, she threw the fucking ring. It almost hit one of the lines, but just fell down to the ground. She was looking somewhat annoyed, but figured that as long as we would lose, she would not mind too much.

After she failed, Dakota decided that he would give it a go. He did not feel like it would matter as much, so he was just taking a second to decide which prize he wanted. Then after he had done that, he threw the ring, and then it just did not even come close. At least with Ashley, she seemed to be relatively close. Dakota could not even say that about what he was doing. Then with that, he looked at Harold, who seemed to be the more excited out of the two of us to try.

Then when he was done telling himself how important it was that he could win, he decided that he would give this a go. Then with that, he threw the ring, and the ring hit the line, but then bounced off, and fell down as well. Then with that, I realized that it was my turn. I did not want to do this because I felt like it would suck. But then I figured that the others tried, and I had to try as well. So with that, I figured that I would give it a go.

I grabbed the ring, shook my head, and rolled my eyes. I knew that I was going to lose, so there was no point in even trying. But before I could let myself down on this any further, I threw the ring, and I was seeing the ring slowly land on one of the lines, and I was starting to feel interested now. The ring spun for a second, and then went down and hit the wall. I was shocked to see that I had actually won one of these, and then the man who was behind the counter grabbed the item for me.

"You are our fourth winner this year. I hope that you are proud of yourself." He said, and then he handed me the ring, and he was looking like he was wanting to see what my reaction was going to be. As if the way that I would react was just going to be perfect. I was excited to win the throw, but I did not think for a second, that I was going to. The whole thing just felt very strange, and I was wondering what I was going to say to my friends who had failed.

I grabbed the prize, and I was seeing that it was a small box. I did not know what was going to be in it, but as we were walking along, the other three were urging me to open it. I was feeling like there was no reason to let them down. "Hey Sheldon, I had no idea that you were going to pull it off." Dakota said, and he was actually sounding pretty excited now. Almost like he was thinking that maybe coming here was the right choice after all.

"Yeah, to be honest, I thought that I was just going to be as toast as you were. But I guess that maybe I had some talent for throwing rings." I said, and I was trying to sound funny, but at the same time, I was just trying to figure out what to be feeling here. I opened up the box, and I was seeing that what was inside was something like a snow globe. I did not really know what to think about it, but I flipped it over, to see if there was something in here that I could use for my own right. As I was seeing a small latch at the bottom, I opened it and saw a small note.

"This snow globe will grant you one single wish. All you do is you break the globe after you make a wish, and it will come to you." The snow globe said, and then I showed them the note, and we were all agreeing it was just silly nonsense. So I placed it in my hoodie pocket, and I was just thinking that I would 'use' it later if there was ever a point to.

With that, I had felt like like was going along just fine. We walked along for a bit longer and then Ashley said "Yeah you were really in the right mind set when you told us to come here. I feel bad for thinking that this was a terrible idea." Once she had said that, we spent the next few hours just playing around, and in general having fun. For a few hours, I forgot about Riley. I forgot about how messed up my life was. But that was just going to come to an end soon, as the event was closing down.

As we were heading home, we had gotten close to my house, and for once, i was feeling like a man who actually had some fun around this town. I forgot what it was like have fun with some friends, and maybe even make a new one, only ten days after my sister went missing. It was only when I was back home when everything was coming right back to me. "Hey guys, thanks for listening to my idea of coming here. It means a whole lot to me knowing that you guys were there for me when I needed it the most." I said, and then after I had said that to them, I was wondering what they were even going to want to tell me. If there was any need for real words. "I mean, I never thought that I would enjoy going to a school event. Who knew such a thing was even possible." I laughed at that, wondering what else I would enjoy soon.

"Well, we are glad that you are able to go out and have fun every once in a while. It makes me feel better knowing that you can after that." After Ashley had said this, I was about ready to head inside of the house. As we were about ready to leave, and Harold was realizing how far away from home he was, he was thinking that he really needed to worry about that first.

But before anything can happen, there was a black car who was parking a few feet away from us. As I was seeing this car, I did not know why, but I was feeling utter dread coming to my mind. I had felt like this was going to be the one thing that would get me killed if I was not careful enough about what I was doing.

I opened the door, and I was hoping that perhaps they would take the cue. The man was coming out of his car, and he was wearing a full suit of black. When Dakota and Ashley saw this, they started to get a bit scared too, knowing what was going on, and that was when Harold was looking like he did not quite get what was freaking us out. I mean, how could he, when he had barely known who we even were, and I was thinking that this would ruin any chances of us being friends.

Both Ashley and Dakota were getting to my door, and this was when I was seeing Harold looking like he might as well follow our cue. Not quite getting it, but aware that if we were acting like this over one simple man, then something must be going on here, and that he better listen to us for once in his life.

Once inside of the house, I slammed the door shut, and then I was standing in front of it. I was looking at Harold and I was shaking my head. "Trust me, you do not want to know what we have been going through. I thought that perhaps we would be able to put this behind us." I said, and then Harold was looking like this was a bit much for him to handle, and he was holding his hands out.

"Okay, this is insane. I mean, I was hanging out with you guys one minute, and the the next minute, you guys are acting like you are going to fucking die. Don't you guys see how insane this whole thing must be looking to me right now? I mean, I thought that you guys were just some of my classmates, and that was it." Harold was placing his hands on his face, and I was feeling bad for him, but this was really not the time to be freaking the fuck out right now. The guy was knocking on our door, and I was looking back. I was seeing that he was looking like he just wanted to do this the easy way. How nice of him to want to kill us easily? I was seeing him having his left hand in his pocket.

"I know that you are quite afraid of me and my partners. But we were wishing that perhaps we could be able to talk peacefully for a bit." The man was saying, and I was looking at Dakota for a bit. He was aware of where my home phone was, and figured that both of us could be able to put that to some use. That if this man was really here for that, then we needed to be ready for it.

"I am not interested right now. I have some friends over, and I would rather be hanging out with them instead." I said, trying to make it sound like this was just a regular old business. But as I was saying that, I was walking to my room, feeling like I needed to just get that knife that Riley had given me a week ago, and that I could just use this for my own benefit at the moment. I did not think that it was going to be all that big of a deal if I would leave Harold, Ashley and Dakota alone for a bit. As this was happening, I was hearing Dakota placing in the call.

"Hey, there is somebody at my friends place, and they are trying to break into the house. We are worried that they have a gun with them." Dakota was saying everything that he felt was important. After he had finished saying that to that officer, there was a moment of silence and Dakota was taking a bunch of long and heavy breaths. "Five minutes? You promise to be here in five minutes?" Dakota asked, and then he slowly nodded, as if thinking that this was the best that we could get. "Thank you very much, and we will be holding back until then."

After he had said that, he had hung up the phone as I was grabbing the knife. Then with that, I was walking down to the door, and I was thinking that maybe if he tried to open, then I could just stab him that way, and then make him weak enough for us to be safe for a little while longer for the police to come along and take care of the matter for us.

Eventually, he was opening up the door a little bit at a time. "You really should learn when to lock your door. Not doing that is going to increase your chances of having a break in." The guy said, and then after he was getting inside, I stabbed him right in the chest as fast as I could. It was the only thing that I could do. It was the only way that I felt like I would be able to have any chance in order to not die when I was confronting a guy who was much stronger than me, and was able to fucking make my life miserable forever. I just did not want to take any risks here.

As he was falling back, he was holding his gun forward, and he fired it, but Harold and Ashley had enough time to get out of the way, and then the bullet hit the wall. As he fell down to the ground, and he was looking at me, I was seeing him looking like he was almost impressed. "I have to admit young man, I did not actually expect you to hold up to doing something like this. I thought that you were just going to scream and cry as I would shoot you." After he said that, he nodded his approval, thinking that perhaps this was going to be what I needed to hear now.

As that was happening, I was seeing the police car coming along, and one of the officers came out, and saw the guy bleeding on the front of our house. "Take him. After he gets medical treatment, we have to throw him in prison." One of the officers said simply to the other one, who was grabbing the gun, and putting in a evidence bag. Then he picked up that man and dragged him to the back of the car. Then the man who gave the orders looked at us. "We hope that he will be able to give us what the truth behind his intentions are. Might get a shorter sentence for corporation. As for you, tell me everything that happened?"

As he was telling me this, I nodded, aware of how this stuff was meant to be run. We went right to my room since I said I would like to talk there. Harold, Ashley and Dakota where there as well. "I will drive them home after this. But please, don't leave out any details. That way we can know where to start looking." After he said that, I nodded, knowing there was no point in fighting this right now, since he was the one protecting me.

"Well, as you may know, my sister Riley went missing a little over a week ago. That was something that I was truly just not ready for. I mean, she was too innocent for something like this to happen. But I guess that I am just going off topic. The point is that she went missing several days ago, and I had started to try and find her. I thought that, and please don't get angry at me for saying this, that maybe you guys would not really care enough to go all out on the search. I thought that you would just sort of be doing it just to have us get off your back." I said, and then after I had said that to the officer, I saw him looking kind of mad that I had told him this, but deep down, even he knew that there was some legitimacy to what I was saying here.

"The point is, that I kept looking, and eventually I found this in a tree house that my friends and I hung out at a couple of times. If you want me to show you, I can bring it out." I said, and I was hoping deep down he would say no, but I knew that something like this was just not going to be the case.

"Yes, show me what you had found in there. This is very important for our case right now." The officer said, and he was sounding like he was actually kind of interested to know what I would let him see. But at the same time, I was just unsure of if he was actually meaning it, or if he was just doing it for the job. That idea was always going to get to me, no matter how much I tried to pretend like it was not all that big of a deal.

I went to the box under my bed, and I started to pull it out. As I pulled the box out, I was opening it up. Then I handed it to him. "There was somebody who attacked me, and I was forced to fight him. I barely escaped with my life, and that was about a week ago. I took his gun, and that knife that I used to fight that one guy a moment ago, and put it with this information. I wanted to give you this stuff earlier, but I had simply forgotten it." I said, and then the guy was slowly nodding at me, trying to decide his over all opinion of this whole matter now.

"There was a picture book of places she was at and people she hung out with. I did not look into it much further than that, but if you want to look, be my guest. I won't stop you from getting the information you need for my own sister to be brought back home safely." I said, and I was thinking about how much it would suck if this turned out the way that I feared, but I was just trying my best to be nice with him.

"Thank you for this. We need everything we can get when it comes to finding your sister. I hope that she would understand that sometimes you have to make the hard choice. The choice where you simply can't do things your way." After he was telling me this, I was nodding, thinking that what he was saying made some sense, but I did not want to really admit that quite yet. In the hopes that maybe he would let me look with him.

"I think that the person who attacked me was aware of what I had done earlier. The fact that I fought that guy, and the fact that I have been looking for Riley. I think that maybe he was just trying to take me out, and make it so that I can't find a way to fight him any more. I think that there is something deeper going on here, and I hope that you can be able to be safe." I said, and then I was thinking about what I was doing by giving this information to the cops.

"How badly do you want yous sister to come back home? Would you want it badly enough to put your life at risk?" He asked, and I looked down, and I knew that I was going to hate answering this. But at the same time, I felt like I had to be real with him. I would not lie to him, no matter how much I felt like doing so was going to win me some favors in his eyes.

"I want her back really badly. But now that I have been forced to do this a couple of times, I do not know if I want her back enough to actually want to kill myself over something like this." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing the man looking right at me. He was looking like he appreciated how honest I was with him at least.

"I don't think that anybody would be upset about the fact that you say you wish to have a normal life. I think everybody would be able to understand. I think what you should do is try to live a regular life with your friends here. Let us take care of the search, and we will do our best to make sure that your sister returns safely. We just hope that you will be able to move forward from this tragedy. We really are doing our best to make sure that nothing goes any further than this." The police officer was telling me, and then after he was saying that, I felt like I just needed to know the truth more.

"When do you think that you will be able to look into this information a bit more?" I asked, and I was really needing to know. It was the most important thing for me to know what was going on, that way I could be able to be ready for when I would expect some fucking news and stuff. But the man was just looking down at the box, trying to think of something to say.

"I don't know when I will be able to begin actively searching. That being said, I will look at the evidence tonight, at least see if there is something that I can learn from here. I think that when I get a chance, I will dig deeper, but for the time being, I think that this is the best you are going to be able to ask for." He was saying, and I nodded slowly, as if thinking that I just needed to take it for what it was.

"Thanks for coming by and listening to my story. I hope that maybe we can get more information figured out here." I said, and then after I had said that to him, he was nodding at me, as if thinking that maybe I deserved more than this. But that he was just willing to let me be in denial for a bit longer. Let me in the feeling that nothing possibly can go wrong. Then he placed his hand on my left shoulder, his attempt at trying to reach me. It was a half assed one, but it was better than I was thinking he was going to do.

"I will do whatever I can. Thanks for the information, and I hope that you will take our conversation to heart this time. I really do not want another kid in this family to go missing so soon after what had happened to you guys already. It would really hurt me to see that." With that, he was looking at the other members of the conversation, who remained silent the entire time to let me do the talking. He was looking like he had no idea what to do with them, but was willing to just find something to say.

"Let's go. Your parents are probably wondering where you guys are anyways." The man said, and then he was looking at me, and told me that it would be best for me to stay in touch. Then with that, he was heading out. I was then taking a long and deep breath. I closed my eyes and about fifteen minutes later, my parents had come home, with about an hour left of the year. I was sure as hell hoping that Fifty Seven was going to be a lot less eventful than this. I did not know if I could take this much longer in all honesty.

When they were seeing me, I was seeing my father looking like he was just feeling really bad for me and stuff. "Sorry that we could not be home any sooner. We were having a lot of stuff to take care of. I think you would understand. I hope that you understand." My father said, and after he was saying this, I was seeing him truly looking like he was willing to accept any rejection that I would give him, thinking that he might have deserved something like this.

"I am fine. I get it. I am just not really too sure what to be doing now." I said, and then after I was saying that to him, I was seeing my mother looking like she was just wanting to go back to her room. That once the new year would be celebrated, she would go back inside, and she would just pretty much act like this was something she was not actually having to deal with. "Sorry that I have been making a big scene out of most things the last few days. I know that you guys need to have a break, but it is just hard for me to stay down when I know of what I can do to change things."

I did not think that what I was going to tell them would make them feel any different about what was happening. I just felt like I needed to try and say something to give me a small chance of being able to get through this without them being too angry with me. We were heading outside, and we were looking up towards the sky. As if starting to think about what we were going to have soon. Another fucking chance. This was something that I truly wanted and needed more than anything else.

"I am so sorry that you are forced to deal with this. I can't even imagine what it must be like for you to handle the stuff with Riley. I mean, I have barely talked with you about it. Is there something going on that is bothering you?" He asked, and then I was looking down, as if unsure of how I was supposed to possibly even say something like this. It was too much to be asking if I was bothered by this. I mean, he was my father, and he was asking me one of the most obvious questions on the planet.

"Yeah, it is really getting to me. I want to be home with her again, and I want to just act like this whole thing is not even happening. I want to go back to the normal days. But I guess that something like this might just not be able to happen." I said, and I was trying to find a way to sound like this was not me conceding defeat. It was, but I did not want it to feel that way since deep down I still had some fucking hope here.

"Don't worry about it too much. We will be here for you as much as we can be. I think that in a couple of months, one way or another, this whole thing will be solved. That is the main thing that I can tell myself to be feeling better. That soon enough, the answer will be here." He said, and he was clearly just saying this to feel better. And that he did not a single minute believe in that. But he was wanting to say something in order to make it look like it was not going to be getting to him now.

I was thinking about the new year ahead of us. "Do you have any hopes for the next year?" I asked, just trying to find a way to bring the conversation to something that I felt like he would be able to regularly discourse with me on. It was something that I also felt like we could be able to discuss without constantly going back to Riley, and how messed up that was. As awful as it was for me to admit, I did not want to talk about Riley all that much anymore.

"My hopes for the next year are to get a good promotion. Something that can help this family out. You know, that way we can be able to get something going. I just wish that life would not be so fucked right now. I mean, I just want to get a promotion, and I want to make sure that you guys can live peacefully. That is all that I could be able to ask for. And it is something that seems like will never really be able to fucking happen. As much as I hate to admit it." My father said, and then he was just feeling like what he was saying was going to be getting to him much more than he had wanted to admit.

"I guess that when you are into that type of job, it is the least that you can hope for." I said, and I was just trying to think hard of what it would be like to be a businessman on the level of my father. I did not really know if I wanted to think it, but it was something that I told myself that I just needed to try at least.

"Yeah, you seem to get it. I mean, I just don't want anything to be getting much worse. I feel like when I can focus on my job here, it is the best that I can do. It is the only thing that I can do to make it feel like I can make something work from the madness that is shown here. But I guess that you might not really understand. Not that I would want you to. I think that you should not bother going into my field." After he said that to me, I was shocked to hear him tell me not to pursue his line of work. I thought he would have tried to promote me to do it.

As this was happening, I was seeing the fire works in the distance. This was starting to bring up my mood again. I was seeing them going off one after another, and I was just seeing that my father was looking like this was his one moment of hope. "Happy new year." My mother said, and she was hugging me a bit. I felt like we were a complete family. Well, given the situation. I felt like this was the closest that we would ever get to fully being together, and that I needed to be taking in every moment.

I did not like the situation that I was in at all, but at the same time, I felt like maybe it was a chance to get something together. I felt like it was a chance to have the three of us come together in some way. This was the one thing that I was telling myself to sort of feel better for what was going on. Besides, I was thinking that there was just no way in hell this was going to be getting any fucking worse than it had been.

"I hope that this year is a lot better than last year." I said, and after that, I was feeling like it was time to go back inside, and be trying my best to make sure that I would make this happen. That I would be able to make this the best year of my life. My very short life that did not have many to compare to to be totally fucking fair.

But then I was thinking that as long as I was going to be with Dakota and Ashley, and maybe even get something of a friendship going with Harold, or maybe ask Nicole out, I was feeling like this whole thing would go from fucking impossible down to just very hard to accomplish. But I was feeling like it was something that could work if we worked hard enough on it. I was thinking that school was going to be the one fucking thing that can keep me safe. The one fucking thing that can make me feel like I was not going to fucking snap.

We stayed outside for another two minutes or so before we were all heading different ways. I was heading to bed, getting in one final sleep before I would really consider it to be the new year. My mom was going to her room where I felt like she would continue her grieving over Riley. My father was going to his study where he could continue his work. I did not know it at the time, but this was one of the last times I felt like we were truly a fucking family.

It was a while later, January tenth, and we had been back at school for a few days. I did not ever think for a minute of my life that I would be glad to be back at school. I mean, it was less awful than being stuck at the house, every every hour of every day I was being forced to remember that I did not find Riley, and that I did not do what I was supposed to. I did not find the sister who needed her brother more than anything in the world. I was pissed at this, and I hated myself for it. I straight up fucking hated myself, and there was no way to put it lightly. I felt like a monster, and I felt like I needed to try and find a way to punish myself for what I had done here. But in a way, I was also telling myself that it was also not my fault.

As I was telling myself this, I was almost starting to believe such a story. I was almost starting to think that there was nothing that I could have done about it. I was about to start heading home that friday, just to act like this was not anything that got to me too much, when I was hearing Nicole calling out to me. I turned around to her, and saw her looking genuinely depressed over this.

"Sheldon, I am so sorry for everything that you are dealing with. Would you like to talk about it?" She asked me, and I was looking down. I did not think that there was any way that I could be able to properly talk about it without making it sound like I was being a fucking baby. I was then looking at the fucking distance, thinking about what had just happened. I was thinking that perhaps I needed to have a shoulder to cry on in a metaphorical speaking.

"I don't know if anybody would truly be able to understand how I feel. I should have been there for her. I wanted to be there for her. But then I failed. I failed in every way imaginable. I tried to find her, and I ended up just submitting the information I did have to the police, not even trying to find her anymore. I should have done more for her, and I feel like a fucking coward." I decided to be upfront about the way that I had felt, thinking she could take it.

"You knew that you would not be able to do it, so you gave the information to somebody who you felt like you had a chance to figure it out. In a way, admitting the truth of he situation makes you the most brave man I had ever met." She said, and then I laughed at that. Clearly she did not have very high standards if I was the fucking peak of bravery that she had met.

"I hope that you go on and meet braver men if I am the best that you can be asking for. I mean, when you see me, and I am acting like this, it is a sign that I have a long way to be going before I am even considered in any way brave and stuff." I said, and then after I had said that to her, I was just feeling like I had said all that I needed to here. That I did not need to entertain the idea of me being brave man any more. But at the same time when I was looking at her, I was seeing her actually looking like she had meant it. And that was the thing that was shocking me.

"Wow, you're actually not joking... I thought that you had just said that to make me feel better." I said, and then I was seeing Nicole looking like she was trying to find something to say that would be able to make her sound easier to discuss things with. But at the same time, she was clearly looking like she was just thinking that such a thing might be fucking impossible. But then she was coming closer to me, thinking that her attempts were what mattered the most.

"You have a lot of stuff you are going through. I mean, you're in fourth grade. You should not be forced to deal with missing siblings. If I had missing siblings, then I would be probably taking it much worse than you. Especially since I don't really have many people I can talk with about it. With people not liking me all that much." She said, almost sounding sad over it. I was thinking that I was just needing to try and be a friend to her, and not for lust or power, but because she was just feeling like she needed it.

"If you need a friend to help make you feel better, to make you feel like you actually can be comforted in some way, I always can try and be there for you." I said, and then I was sort of seeing her looking like she was wanting to say more. But at the same time, she was sort of thinking that I had already done enough. And that I was just trying too hard to make her feel better.

"Thanks for reaching out to me, but I think that I am fine. I mean, besides, my father would probably not really think that you are the biggest friend material in the world. He would probably think that I could do better." She said, almost sounding sad over the fact that she had just said that so loud, and I was feeling awful for her saying that. I wished to be there for her more, but I was feeling awful for her flat out telling me that her father would hate me.

"How does your father even know who I am? I think that I would be very interested in knowing that." I said, and then I was just not really wanting to know, but I also felt like I was just needing to know. I felt like it was the most important thing in my current day to know. Nicole was waving her hand, almost like she was not trying to make it sound like that, and I was just unsure of how I was even supposed to feel right now.

"I don't think that my father would even know who you are. I think that I would just make that assumption, from the way that he talks about other people." She says, and despite not wanting to say anything about it, I was feeling like perhaps she was actually telling the truth here. Which was something that I fucking hated. But at the same time, I was telling myself that at least she was telling me the truth. She wasn't fucking around here, and that was something that I could appreciate a bit more.

But despite what I was feeling right now, I was sort of just wanting to find a way to sort of make it sound like I was going to be all fine with what was even fucking happening. "I think that I am just going to have to get used to the fact that my fathers connections would be making people feel that way." I said, and then after I had told her that, she was looking like she had no idea what I was even meaning right now. I was thinking that as long as she was nice about it, I would tell her what was going on, and see what she was going to say here.

"What does you father plan on doing here, if you do not mind me asking?" She was being nice to me, and she was one of the few people that actually seemed to be interested in what I was wanting to say. She was making me feel like I was a fucking person for once. She was making me feel like I was not just somebody who was a man who had his sister go missing. I was really glad that she was treating me with some respect.

"He insists that he wants to fight the problems of this town. After seeing what happened with Riley, he says that he feels like this is the most important thing in the world for him to try and do. And I agree with him. But I feel like something like this might get him killed. And I don't want to lose him." I said, and then Nicole placed her hand on my shoulder, as if thinking that what she would say would be a terrible consolation, but better than none at all.

"As long as you have your friends to be at your side, and you do not lose track of them, you will be able to have people who care about you at your side at all times. Just remember that when you feel in doubt." After she said that, we were seeing Dakota and Ashley coming towards me. "See you later. If you want to talk." After she said that, she left and then I was sighing, feeling totally fucking lost now.

Once they were up to me, I was seeing both Dakota and Ashley looking like they were just wanting to say something, but did not really feel like they knew how to go at it. But I was seeing Dakota taking a deep breath, as if finally feeling like he was conceding defeat on something that he never thought he would. "Sheldon, if you want to be friends with Nicole, and if you feel like you have a connection with her, we will not be trying to get you to stop anymore. In fact, we would try to support you in making it work." He said, and then after he had said that, I was seeing even Ashley looking like she was getting used to saying such a thing.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know what you see in her, and I think she might be a bad choice to be a friend, but you seem to clearly like her, and I can't fight with you on this, even if I wanted to." After she was telling me this, I was seeing her looking like she was even starting to look like she was used to the idea of trying to get along with Nicole. "And who knows, I might be able to give her a chance to see that maybe she is right on something. After all, you did give Harold a chance." That thought seemed to be getting all three of us.

As we were walking along, almost as if on cue, Harold was showing up behind us, as if he had ran up to us to try and force us to talk with him. "Hey Sheldon, how did that conversation with the police go? I had been wanting to ask you that all week." After he had said that, I was seeing him looking like he was a bit afraid of what I would tell him. But I was thinking that I might as well be honest with him. There was literally no reason in the world for me not to be. I mean, I feel like something like that would be annoying. It would make me feel like a asshole.

"Everything went fine. As you know, I gave that information to the officer. And he did not come back after that. In case if you were wondering if he and I talked again, the answer is no. It is like he did not ever talk to me in the first place. I do not know if I would want him to be doing that for me, but in a way, it does make me feel glad to just be sort of thinking about how other people are doing the job for me." I said, finally thinking about how nice it was to do that. "But I wish that I kept that knife, in case I ever need it again." I said, and I was thinking that was the one thing that would make this much better for me.

"I was thinking that maybe you guys can go to my house. I have some things that I think you would like to see. That could be a lot of fun." Harold said, and he was sounding like he was truly just needing a friend, but at the same time, I was thinking that the idea of having a friend was something that could keep us all having some form of connection and I feel like we could be able to actually have some time to have a further connection.

"Yeah, no reason not to." I said, and then I was looking right at Dakota and Ashley, wondering what they were going to be saying on the issue. They looked as if this did not really bother them all that much, and that they were glad that in a way, I was giving up on this pursuit of Nicole. As if me hanging out with this guy was instantly replacing Nicole and her sweetness in my eyes.

With that, we were starting to go to the house that Harold lived at. "I told my father about what we were doing, and he seemed so fucking scared. I mean, he was looking like he was about to fucking shit himself over what I had been telling him. But he said that he would not stop this from seeing you guys. But he wishes that it would be more kept an eye on. Kind of annoying honestly." he said, and I was sort of thinking that it was just the parental worry for his father to be acting like that. "And the fact is that he still took it better than my mother, who looked like she was about to ground me for life for something that was not even my fault."

"So I take that it is going to be taking quite a while for them to really start to actually like me, if they will ever like me at all." I said, and I did not know how to be feeling about that. If it was a challenge worth taking, or if it would retroactively ruin any idea of being friends with this guy.

"I think that they will get over it soon enough. I would not be too worried about it. In a month or two, they will probably be acting like this never happened." He said it with such certainly that I would not be able to not believe him. I mean, he was totally sounding like this was just the way that his parents were. So I decided not to be too worried on the issue here.

We were getting near his house after about fifteen minutes or so of walking, and I was sort of telling myself that I was going to be getting used to the constant shit talking from people. In all honesty, it was kind of annoying, but I was sort of over it at this point. I just hated it when parents were going to do it to me. Like I was wanting to make peoples lives miserable.

As we were on the parking lot, Harold looked at Dakota and Ashley. "They have been here a couple of times before. Not since you had moved here. I thought that they really hated me and stopped wanting to see me or something. But now I know it is just because they are too busy hanging out with you. Too busy having an exciting life." After Harold had said that to us, I was seeing him looking like he was mildly annoyed with the fact that they had just snubbed him the way that they did, but that he was sort of getting over it a little bit at a time.

"I did not know that you were sort of friends with them. They never really talked about you or anybody else." I said, and I was looking at them as if wondering what Dakota and Ashley were wanting to say to me. I was seeing them looking like they were a little ashamed to confront me about it. But that they had sort of gotten over it. "I guess it does not matter much though. I mean, there is not much that we can fucking do about it now." I said, and then after I was done saying that, I was sort of just trying to find a way to get the conversation back on point, but did not really know if something like this was very possible.

"I mean, we did not think it would matter all that much. Besides, he kind of lived far away. So we did not really think you would be very interested in something like this." Ashley defended real quick, and I was thinking that there was a mild form of validity to that, so I was thinking that I might as well just let it go right now. So with that, we were going inside of his house, and things were going to be going back to normal fine enough for what it was.

The house was huge. Like easily twice the size of where I had lived, and I was trying to understand how he was able to live in such a place. "I have powerful parents. You know, people who really help lead the towns events and stuff. You would be living in paradise if you were like me." He said, and he was sort of keeping a mild amount of satisfaction to it, but much less than I thought he would have been doing here. Almost like he did not want to be too smug about it here.

I was thinking that if he had powerful parents, then he must be able to possibly help me when it comes to the issues that are ahead of me. I knew that it was worth fucking trying at least. To try and get him to be on my side. To try and get him to let me get along with his parents more. I knew that it was going to be selfish, but in a way, I was sort of finding myself not giving a fuck. I mean, I was having a chance on getting people to start to go on my side. And that was all that I really needed.

"What did your parents do for a living to get them so powerful, as you describe it?" I asked, and then Harold looked at me, and I was seeing him looking like he was just sort of excited to be seeing me asking questions about his parents, since he was going to be able to be more open about how they were, and it was going to be making him seem like he was in a big group of family members that were going to make the biggest difference.

"Well, they work with the mayor. My father is a businessman who has been responsible for several people who have moved here. In a large extent, he is the one single person who is really driving this town forward." He said, and then after he was saying this to me, I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to see what I was wanting to try and say now. I was looking down, and I was feeling like I might as well just let him open my mind on it better.

"How many families move here on average per year as a result of his business offerings?" I asked, and then I was just seeing Harold actually looking like he needed to think about it. Almost like the thought was going to be making this whole thing worth it. But then he was sort of unsure on what to say now. Almost as if he was scared on giving me the wrong answer for some strange fucking reason. "I mean, I would not hold it against him if he was the one responsible, but I am curious to know if his contributions led directly to my family coming here."

"Well, I think my family says he is able to help get about one family here every two months or so. That is a good six families every year. And he says that his business deals contribute about four million dollars a year, so on his own, he is doing quite a bit help and is clearly showing that he is aware of how he can be able to help out." Harold said, and I was sort of conceding to my mind that maybe he was having a valid point here.

"I guess that he might be pretty valuable to this business. I guess that he is afraid that if anything gets in his deals, then some people might want to get rid of him." I said, and Ashley was looking at the two of us. I almost forgot that she was there. I was seeing her looking like she was wanting to get the discussion onto a point that was a little less boring than what we had been doing. She was looking like she was just not wanting to hear about powerful businessmen or something. Maybe that type of discussion scared her or something. I mean, I would not get it, but I was not going to fight her.

"Guys, do you have any idea on what you are going to do for the end of the term? You know, for our big project?" After Ashley asked us this, I was seeing her looking like she was truly desperate. But at the same time, I did not really fucking know what I was going to tell her. I had felt like she was just going to want to make us want to sound like good students. But that was going to be a sky high order so far.

"Ashley, none of us are caring as much about that stuff as you are. I think that you got to let go of that." After Dakota had said that, he was trying his best to make it sound like he was only playfully annoyed, but I knew that he was just not wanting to hear even one more fucking discussion about our school projects, or else he was going to be going crazy from her bringing up boring school stuff way too much.

"Well, if you don't work on that, then you are going to be failing the class, and you don't want to repeat fourth grade. I mean, that would be a really bad cap off to Sheldon's year, am I right?" She asked, and then I looked down, thinking about that for a moment. I was seeing her truly looking like that was the one thing she did not want me to be falling into. I was looking away, thinking about that for a moment. I was thinking that perhaps she was onto something here. That perhaps I should get into working on that damn paper if it would mean that I did not need to repeat fourth grade. Although it would give me a extra chance of being in a grade with Nicole later on, so I guess it could have been worse.

"I guess that maybe that is valid. I mean, I would not want to deal with these lectures a second time. But if I'm going down, then you guys are going to be going down with me. I am not going through that all on my own a second time." I said, and then I was wanting to make it sound funny, or at least something they would be fine with doing. But even I knew that they did not deserve something like this at all.

"Oh, everything is going to be fine. I would not be too worried about it. I mean, what is the worst that is going to happen? I bet my parents will help me find a way to stay in school for my next grade. But yeah, I guess that maybe I can set aside a night or something to write a paper and then turn it in, and say that at least I did it." I said, and then I was tired, and I was not wanting to talk about this anymore.

But despite what I was feeling, I was thinking that she was just being worried about me, and I did not need to be so annoyed with her since she was just doing her best to be looking like she would do what she could for me. "Well, if you need any help on it, you can always just ask me, and I will see what I can do to help out and stuff." After she had told me that, I was nodding, thinking that it was something that I should keep in mind. But at the same time, I did not really know what the fucking hell I was going to do now. I was needing to focus on not sounding annoyed, but I had no idea what would make me get there.

"Hey, I know this may not be a question you want me to entertain, but do you think that you will be attacked by somebody again? I mean, that was just really scary, and I was a bit worried about what you were going to do there. So I was wondering if you were going to be ready for something like this happening." After Harold asked me, I was shaking my head. I mean, I wanted nothing less in the world than another attack, but I felt like something like this was just bound to happen.

All that I can say is that I really hope that it does not happen. If it were to happen, I would lose all hope that I had in this town. I mean, I think that I deserve a fucking break right now." I said, and I was just thinking about what I would even do if I was attacked again. I mean, I couldn't defend myself. I was ten, and besides, I had nothing to use to fight.

I was sitting down, and Dakota, Ashley and Harold sat down as well. I was thinking about Riley, and I was also thinking about Nicole. It was a strange thing that I was thinking about two different people in two different cases, but I was feeling like I was sort of fucking getting something here, and I just had to see what I could do to make it work.

"Do you think that your parents might be worried about you being out like this? You know, out a fucking strangers house?" Harold asked me, and then I was looking down, feeling like if he was really meaning this, then he was just thinking too deep into this whole thing. "I mean, if you think that everything is going to be fine, then I won't be saying anything about it. I was just curious was all. If you feel like you need to leave, then that might be something that I can help you have." I did not think that it would matter what I was going to say, he was going to probably have some fears going into this, and that there was nothing I could do about it.

"I am not really too worried about what my parents might be thinking right now. They are just going to try and tell me that I can't do anything, because they are scared of what might happen with me and Riley and stuff. I think that people might just think that I might just break down and act like this is too much for me to handle. But I guess that it does not matter all that much." I said, and after I had said that, I did not really know what I was going to be feeling now.

"I don't want to be set behind on my life. No matter what the reasons behind it are, I just want to actually have some sense of having a normal life and stuff." I said, and I was looking at Harold, seeing him just looking like he was willing to let the issue go. For my own issue. Before any of us could say anything else, there was a loud noise coming along that was making us all stop. I was thinking that it was a person coming into the house. I did not think that it was anything too strange, but I was still unsure of how I was supposed to feel.

I stood up, and I was starting to see that Harold was getting less and less worried about what was happening. "It is probably just my parents. I would not make a big issue out of it." He was saying, and I was feeling like he might be telling me the truth, but I just could not take the risk. I just could not get myself to think that nothing was going on, considering the fact that there were people who would threaten my life every single day.

I saw that the door was opening, and when I saw the door open, I was seeing that it was a middle age guy who looked like he had been sent here to do something. I was instantly thinking that it was going to be another contract to kill me. That was something that I just was instantly ready for, knowing that if I did not at least give myself a chance to fight back, then there was no point to even living.

"Is this the Wilson's house?" The man was asking, and he was sounding like he was sort of casual and cordial about what he was doing. But I was still not falling for that shit. I was still convinced that something was going to be fucking happening soon. I was seeing Harold coming down, and he was looking like he was sort of fine with this, and that this was something that he was not totally scared of. "I was just coming here to talk some business with your parents. If they are here, I would very much like to discuss things with them."

"Yes, it is our house. But my parents are not around right now. They are out for a while, and will not be back until night. Then they will be leaving for a few days at the end of next week. Sort of for a deal that they hope that they can catch." Harold said, and I did not realize that his parents were into that type of business. I did not really know what the fucking hell I was going to say. I mean, in a way, I was just thinking that staying silent was going to be for the best. That I would let these two people discuss what was going on now.

"This is very important. Next time you see them, you really need to try and get them to get a time for me. Hopefully we can be able to make things work between all of us." The man was saying, and he was sounding almost excited for what we were doing, and I did not really know what the hell he was even trying to accomplish. I was wanting to know, but this was none of my business.

The man was pulling out a piece of paper, and he was writing his own contact information on it. Harold was looking like this was really a bad set up. That he was going to possibly get his parents mad at him if he were to take the paper. But he did not think that it would actually matter all that much if he was just going to hand them some paper. "Here you go. Show them this as soon as you can. I hope that you will be able to trust me when I say that this is very important." With that, he was starting to head out. That was when Harold was looking right at us, and he was looking like he did not know what he was going to want to say now.

"This is something that I always hate doing about living here. Helping my parents do their job by giving them information that I do not really even care all that much about. But I know that it is none of my business to be complaining about it too much. I mean, as long as they are able to provide a living for this house, I guess that I need to be fine with it." After he had said that to us, I was seeing him looking like he was just sort of wanting to find something to talk about to get his mind off the matter.

"What type of deal are your parents even trying to accomplish right now? And are you sure that you are able to handle yourself and stuff?" I asked, and Harold was looking like something like this was not all that big of a deal. He was just thinking that this was something that he had been used to and stuff.

"I would not be too worried about it. They never tell me anything. I just sort of let them do their own thing, since I know that they are doing whatever they fucking can for this town to be able to manage. But I guess that maybe one day, when I am older, I might go around and ask about it and stuff." After he was saying that to me, I was seeing Harold looking like he was just unsure of what he was even going to want to say now. I just wished that I could be able to treat him with more respect.

"Does that bother you a bit that your parents do not tell you anything? Don't you want to know how the town is functioning and stuff?" I asked, and then after I was asking him that, he was looking like there was not much that he was really wanting to say now. "I mean, if my parents did not ever give me any information at all on how this town was run, I would be a bit bothered by that right now." Harold was sort of just looking at me, sort of wanting to see what he was wanting to say now, but he was just thinking about how different we all really were.

"What do you even know what it was all like with your fucking parents? I mean, I just feel like I need some actual context on this right now." Harold said, and then I was thinking about how I was sort of getting myself to a fucking a corner, but I just had no idea what the fucking hell I was even going to do now. I just wished that I would just get into the vague details a bit and then that would be all that I really needed.

"Well, they are just working at the Devon Corporation Tower. I have not really seen them all that much, and they don't tell me much. But they tell me about how their deals help people coming here, and how they handle the logistics of all the employment of the town. I mean, I don't know much, but I know all that I fucking really cared to get to know now." I said, and I was just feeling like I was sort of looking unvalid. Not like it mattered. Since we hung out for about another two hours or so before we went our own way, and I was going home to just put this behind me.

As we had been heading along, I was getting closer to my house, unsure of what I was going to be telling my parents if they were going to be questioning what I was doing. In all honesty, I did not know if I was going to actually ask any questions, and I was just feeling like it was going to be a bit strange that I was so worried about what they were thinking of me.

Eventually, we were at Ashley's house, and she was looking at both Dakota and I. "Hey guys, thanks for being here for me. Thanks for hanging out with other people. It makes me feel like I am actually going to get something better here with my friends." After she had said that to me, I was sort of unsure of what was even going to happen now. "I just wish that the circumstances behind this were much nicer and stuff. But I guess that it does not really matter all that much at all."

"I would not worry about anything like that at all. I just think that maybe you are too worried about this stuff. But I guess that maybe it is just apart of your personality and stuff. Not that it really matters all that much. I mean, why would I go out of my way to reject going along and being with some people for a few hours when they are seeming to be nice to me and stuff." I said, and then after I had said that, I was just wondering what I was even going to do now. Why I was saying all of this when I should have just been letting her feel good enough now.

"If you say so. I am just unsure about things is all." Ashley said, and then after she had said that to me, and she was looking like she was sort of cool with this, I had seen her sort of looking like she wanted to say more. But in a way, she was feeling like there was no real need to go any further with this. But then she was just holding her arms out, trying to look like she was all fine and cool with the stuff going on. "How about we have a small group hug for the moment?"

Dakota and I looked at each other, and then we decided that we would go along with this. We hugged her a bit, and when we were done, we were looking right at her, as if wondering what she was going to tell me now. "I will make sure he does not fall back on his word. You can trust me." Dakota said, and he was trying to sound playful about it, but then I looked at him in the fuck you sense, but it was me just trying to have some fun at this.

As Ashley was inside of her house, Dakota and I were heading along, and I was looking at him. "You don't need to try and be funny about this and stuff." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing Dakota looking like he was just not wanting to make anything worse out of it and stuff. "I mean, you are probably right now. Maybe I should be trying to find something to make it all fucking work and stuff."

"I would not be too worried about any of this right now. I just wish that you are fine with actually trying to go out there and do something about this whole thing. But I guess that it does not really fucking matter anymore. I mean, you are already more popular than I feared that you would be when you first moved here." Dakota said, and I looked at him, slightly annoyed at the last remark. I mean, I knew I was probably not going to be very popular when I first moved here, but I did not want him stating this.

"I mean, yeah you are right. But I feel like it would not have been so bad to have some hope in me when I first moved here." I said, and then I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to say more. Something that could make me want to get at him less than I was feeling like I should here. "I knew that it was going to be hard for me to get popular here. But trust me, I wanted to try more than you think I should have. I did not want to waste my chances of having a new life here."

"I mean, what was even going on where you used to live that you care so much about being popular in the first place? I mean, this is a clean slate, and you should not be so damn worried about this whole thing." After Dakota asked me that question, which I knew deep down was a valid one, I did not really know what the hell I was wishing to tell him. I did not know if I could be able to find anything to say that would make sense to this. So I was thinking that I would not really be too worried about it all.

"I just was very picked on, and was made fun of over every single fucking thing in the world, and I was simply over it. I did not want to deal with that shit anymore, and I was sort of wanting to do my own thing. I wanted to have a honest chance to make it work. I did not ever think that something like this was so bad." I said, and I was seeing Dakota looking like he was going to be fine with this. We were at his house, and he waved at me to end the hang out for the time being.

I was getting near the house where I had lived at, and as I was getting there, there was a small part of me that was feeling like this whole thing was just a bit rough for me to fully be ready for. I was just thinking that I was going to have to be fighting on my own. I was tired of everybody trying to make me who they wanted me to be and stuff. But I guess that it did not really fucking matter at all. I was feeling like I just had to find my own path, no matter what the hell things were going to be like when I was on my own.

In a way, I was sort of feeling like it was all going to be worth it. But then the closer that we were going, I was just seeing that when I was about half way between Dakota's place and my house, that there was a fucking man standing in the middle of a street. He was looking like in a way, he was sort of just ready for this. I did not know what I was going to need to be ready for, since I had no weapons, and then I was thinking that he might not be trying to go after me at all. But then I thought that maybe if I just avoided his direction, everything would have been alright.

I was just so close to my house, that I was not wanting to deal with anything at all. I was so fucking over everything that was happening around me. But in a way, I did not really think that it would matter what I was even doing. I was just wanting to stay home, and just act like there was nothing that would be putting me in danger at all.

The guy was coming right past me, and then he was looking right at me. As I was trying to get past him, he was calling out to me. "Hey, what are you doing out so late?" The guy asked me, and I was just looking right at him. I was annoyed, but I felt like I just needed to be patient with him, and that I was needing to see what the hell he was even going to want to say in the first place. I was just thinking that I would listen to him for a moment, and then be done with it.

"I was just hanging out with my friends. It is nothing that important. I was heading home now. I will be on my own now." I said, and then I was seeing him looking like he was wanting to say something else. I was totally convinced that there was something going on here, and that he was supposed to be going after me. I did not know how I was to feel, but I did not really know what I was supposed to feel on this.

"You should be more careful when you are going out there and trying to do stuff. You know, not to get into any real form of danger." The man was saying to me, and I was looking away from him, just not sure why the fucking hell he was even telling me any of this in the first place. I was just thinking that perhaps he was going to try and do something to me. And that was something that I was genuinely scared of right now. But I was thinking that maybe I should just listen to him a bit, and let him talk the talk in his own way.

"Don't worry, I would not be stupid enough to be put myself in danger, and not be actually thinking about what I was doing right now." I said, and then I was saying that to him, I was sort of just unsure of what I was even going to try and do now. I was feeling like when I would be at my house, I can just put this whole thing behind me, and then I would just pretend like this never happened at all.

"If you ever feel like you need a hand in helping you out though, then I will see what I can do to help you out." The guy said, and I was just thinking about how my house door was literally just about a hundred yards away, and how I was just needing to get away from him. I was thinking that as long as I was just going to get away from him, then everything was going to be done, and that I did not need to worry all that much about what was going to happen now.

"I doubt that I will be needing anybodys help. Trust me, I would not be setting myself into any situation that would justify even the slightest feeling of something like that." I said, and then after I was saying this, I was thinking about what was about to happen now. If I was going to be able to actually get this guy away from me. He was looking at me as I was getting farther and farther away, and this was really when I was starting to get uncomfortable at what he was doing to me, since I knew that there was clearly something he had planned.

"Thanks though I guess for the offer. I guess that I will remember it if I had to." I said, and then after I had said that, sort of feeling like the sooner that I would get away from him, the sooner that I could pretend like this was just not the flat out strangest thing that I had ever had to deal with. I mean, for fucks sake, this guy just randomly shows up, and starts talking to me like a fucking creep with no real prior context to anything at all.

I was inside of my house, and when I was inside, I was wondering if my parents were really going to actually care about what I was doing at all. I was just thinking that maybe when my parents would see me, they would just tell me that they did not want me to do something like this again, and then they would be sort of leaving the matter alone, and that they would respect my space when I was needing it here.

"Hey Sheldon, how have you been today?" My father asked, and I was seeing him at his chair, looking like he had been deep in thought. Almost like he was trying to calculate the best chance of his current deal working out well. I was seeing him sort of looking like the very thought of this deal failing was just not even an option. "I have been having a hard time here, but I have been doing whatever I can for you guys."

"I have been alright. Just doing whatever I could with my friends. Sorry that I came home later than you guys probably wanted me to. I mean, I was just losing track of time. I hope that this does not hurt your feelings too much." I said, and then after I was saying that to him, the man was looking like he had just been through so much that he could not find himself to care if I had spent a few hours extra with my friends. Almost like the prospect of me doing that was actually nice, considering the fact that he was uncertain of if I was going to do even that in the first place.

"I mean, there are a lot of things that I have been focused on. I mean, I noticed it, but I would not get myself to care too much about it. I mean, I just knew that you would not follow what happened to Riley, since that was too much for everybody to handle. And to be honest, I don't know if you even fucking understand how much it was truly a nightmare to deal with that." He said, and then he was thinking that he needed to give me a break here. "But the thing is that I am just trying to make everything at this town work, and that is all that I can really care about here."

"I have been trying to keep Riley in mind every time that I go out and do something. You know, not to over step my fucking mind and stuff. I just wish that I did not have to deal with these types of problems anyways. It is just awful to be thinking about how much I am going to miss out of because of her being missing, and how much she never did a chance to do so many things that I had wished to do." I said, and then I was going to my room. My father decided that he could get my attention, to make it clear to me what he was feeling now.

"Don't let Riley keep you back in life. I think that you deserve to try and have some fun in life. I think that you should prepare to just accept the fact that you are your own person, and that Riley is going to be fine soon enough. The police do their job, and you will be fine." My father was telling me, and then after he was telling me that, I was unsure of what I was going to try and say now.

"But I think that when she doesn't get to do stuff, and I do, many people will be looking at me as cheating out in life, and that she should have been getting more of a chance and stuff. I think that this whole thing is just a bit much for me to handle." I said, and then I was sort of feeling like my father was going to try and find a way to be making me annoyed. He was going to try and find a way to force me into thinking that I was a decent guy.

"Sheldon, I would never ask you to be looking for her. No matter what, you deserve to be on your life. I think that you do not need to be forced to be thinking about what you had missed out on because of a situation that you could not have prevented and stuff. But I guess that nothing I will be saying will get you to listen to me and stuff." After he had said that to me, I was feeling like he was doing his best considering the situation.

"I will try to think about that. Thanks for saying this to me." I said, and then after I had said that to him, I was seeing my father looking like he was feeling slightly better. As if he was feeling like this was something that he needed to get off his chest a bit, and that when he was done saying what he was feeling here, then he was going to fucking be fine. That he was not going to be trying to say anything else, since he had already made his point.

I was heading to my room, and as I had been doing this to him, I was feeling like he was such a nice guy. I mean, he really seemed to be thinking about what I was needing to discuss, and he was looking like he was always going to be there for me if I had needed such a thing. That was the one fucking thing that I had needed from this day forward when I was going on with my fucking life. I just felt like as I was going onto my bed, that I was going to see Riley again one day, and that I just needed to be patient with the world around me.