Dust
Come back, Will
"Hope has been restored today with the return of a missing youth. The teenager was recognised by a neighbor - who did not want to be interviewed - as he ran towards his old home. Police have not yet released a statement, but they say they are confident that the eighteen year old will help shed some light on their ongoing investigation into the mysterious disappearances of the homeless young people of Seattle."
I sat in the darkened room, stunned. The only light was coming from the television in front of me. So, someone had returned; that meant there was hope, right?
Seattle had slowly been drained of it's young people for almost a year now and no-one had been found responsible. The police were at a loss; every time they found a lead, it led them to a dead end. It was almost as if kidnapper was purposefully leaving false trails. In the mean time, more and more teenagers and young adults were disappearing off the streets. And they were always off the streets; I guess whoever was doing this felt like they were doing the city a favor - cleaning the streets by taking all the low-life scum away.
I sighed and dragged myself up off the armchair. Who was I kidding? There was no hope. Those poor people were never coming back. That one boy got lucky, or maybe his disappearance wasn't linked at all to the other kidnappings.
My brother watched me from the adjacent couch as I ambled over to the kitchen, flicking the light switch and dimly illuminating my open plan house.
"Don't worry Rhianne," he said in what was meant to be a comforting tone, "that's a good sign."
"Who's worrying?" I asked, filling a glass with water and leaning against the wall, watching him.
My brother gave me a stern but sympathetic glare, then let his gaze fall back to the screen. I watched him for a second, then slipped away up the stairs.
Just like the rest of my house, it was dark in the upstairs hallway. I could barely see a thing as there were no windows up here, but I didn't bother to turn the light on; I knew where I was going, it was my house after all.
However, I did fail to notice the low, rumbling snores coming from just outside by bedroom door. As I shuffled forwards to open my door, my feet came into contact with a huge, squishy mass of fur and I fell face first into the carpet. I cursed, rubbing my nose as something heavy pinned me to the floor, grunting and sticking a long tongue in my ear.
"Nana!" I scolded, pushing the fluffy mountain dog away from me. I stood up before she tried to jump on me again and hurried into my room.
It was lighter in here; the moon was visible through my window, casting a pale light across the square room. Nana rushed over to my unmade bed and curled up by the alder footboard. I rolled my eyes and sighed - I was never going to get her trained.
Bed time must be close now; I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I changed into my pyjamas and quickly scuttled across the wooden floor to my bed, the chill in the air biting at my exposed skin. Shoving Nana to one side, I clambered into bed, covering myself with the bed covers. My dog shuffled further up the bed and placed her huge brown head on my stomach, waiting for me to tickle behind her ears. I did so absentmindedly, thinking of the past.
Seven months ago, my best friend disappeared. He was the twenty-ninth to go. I have watched the news every night since, desperately searching for an answer. I didn't even care if they said he was dead - the worst part was not knowing.
I turned my head towards the window, watching the moon brighten the black night sky. Sighing, I pushed my head further into my pillow and said, just like every other night before I slept, "come back, Will."
I sat in the darkened room, stunned. The only light was coming from the television in front of me. So, someone had returned; that meant there was hope, right?
Seattle had slowly been drained of it's young people for almost a year now and no-one had been found responsible. The police were at a loss; every time they found a lead, it led them to a dead end. It was almost as if kidnapper was purposefully leaving false trails. In the mean time, more and more teenagers and young adults were disappearing off the streets. And they were always off the streets; I guess whoever was doing this felt like they were doing the city a favor - cleaning the streets by taking all the low-life scum away.
I sighed and dragged myself up off the armchair. Who was I kidding? There was no hope. Those poor people were never coming back. That one boy got lucky, or maybe his disappearance wasn't linked at all to the other kidnappings.
My brother watched me from the adjacent couch as I ambled over to the kitchen, flicking the light switch and dimly illuminating my open plan house.
"Don't worry Rhianne," he said in what was meant to be a comforting tone, "that's a good sign."
"Who's worrying?" I asked, filling a glass with water and leaning against the wall, watching him.
My brother gave me a stern but sympathetic glare, then let his gaze fall back to the screen. I watched him for a second, then slipped away up the stairs.
Just like the rest of my house, it was dark in the upstairs hallway. I could barely see a thing as there were no windows up here, but I didn't bother to turn the light on; I knew where I was going, it was my house after all.
However, I did fail to notice the low, rumbling snores coming from just outside by bedroom door. As I shuffled forwards to open my door, my feet came into contact with a huge, squishy mass of fur and I fell face first into the carpet. I cursed, rubbing my nose as something heavy pinned me to the floor, grunting and sticking a long tongue in my ear.
"Nana!" I scolded, pushing the fluffy mountain dog away from me. I stood up before she tried to jump on me again and hurried into my room.
It was lighter in here; the moon was visible through my window, casting a pale light across the square room. Nana rushed over to my unmade bed and curled up by the alder footboard. I rolled my eyes and sighed - I was never going to get her trained.
Bed time must be close now; I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I changed into my pyjamas and quickly scuttled across the wooden floor to my bed, the chill in the air biting at my exposed skin. Shoving Nana to one side, I clambered into bed, covering myself with the bed covers. My dog shuffled further up the bed and placed her huge brown head on my stomach, waiting for me to tickle behind her ears. I did so absentmindedly, thinking of the past.
Seven months ago, my best friend disappeared. He was the twenty-ninth to go. I have watched the news every night since, desperately searching for an answer. I didn't even care if they said he was dead - the worst part was not knowing.
I turned my head towards the window, watching the moon brighten the black night sky. Sighing, I pushed my head further into my pillow and said, just like every other night before I slept, "come back, Will."