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Then suddenly, someone’s shaking me.
“What’s happening? I could hear you from the house,” Tina asks, gripping my arms.
I see her through the sheen of tears.
“I c-can’t find Art. I can’t…” I wheeze. “I can’t find him. Oh my God, I’ve lost him, Tina. I’ve lost him.”
“Okay, calm down. Relax. We’re gonna look for him together. He must be somewhere around here,” Tina says.
I nod. “O-okay.”
Then a long shadow approaches us and my focus shifts.
It’s Zach. He’s striding over, his steps long and determined.
I don’t know what happens to me but I let go of Tina and my legs start moving. I run toward him, like I ran yesterday when he ruined my date.
I almost smash into him but he stops me, steadies me with his hands and stares at me with a frown. “What happened?”
I clutch his wrists. “Doris, one of the maids, s-she has a grandkid, Art. I was supposed to watch him. I-I always watch him. He was playing outside and I was keeping an eye on him but then I forgot because I had to… I had to make cupcakes for his bake sale. And when I went to find him he wasn’t there. I d-don’t know where he went, Zach. I think I lost him. I don’t –”
He squeezes my biceps. “Hey, he’s okay. He’s fine. I’ll find him.”
I look at his face, all focused and harsh. And he’s leaning over me with his entire body. He’s hiding the sun behind his massive shoulders and corded back.
And I know why I ran to him just now.
Zach is big and strong and… and he’s capable. He knows this place. I know he’ll find Art.
I know it.
“He’s a good kid. He’s just so small and tiny and what if he’s hurt? I don’t… He just vanished. How can he vanish, Zach?”
He stiffens at my words, his fingers becoming rigid on my flesh. Before I can ask him what’s going on, he lets me go and takes off running toward the woods.
I follow.
It’s hard to keep up with him. My feet are screaming with pain and his strides are long. But I keep going. I think Tina’s behind me, but I can’t be sure.
We go deep into the woods, deeper than ever, before Zach comes to a stop and kneels on the ground.
Here, the ground is covered with dead, dried leaves and the trees form a canopy up above. There’s very little sunlight and everything is colder.
I don’t like it.
As I get closer to Zach, I realize he’s looking down at something.
It’s a hole in the ground.
I fall on my knees beside him, the leaves crunching beneath my knees. But I don’t care about that because it’s a ten-foot drop and Art is at the bottom of it.
“Art!” I scream, almost toppling in myself.
But Zach pulls me from the edge, with his arms around my waist.
“No, no, no. I have to go get him. It’s my fault. I wasn’t doing my job. I’ve got to –”
He squeezes my waist, kneeling beside me. “No, I’ll go get him.”
