The World in Flower

30. The Bears and the Bees

"Would it help to get more people out searching?" Xander asked.

The storm had passed, but Chance, Abe, Xander, Hayden, Blaine, Jonas, Miya and her husband Nathaniel were all soaked to the core. Grayson was still missing.

"I worry we'd lose track of more folks in the chaos," Abe opined.

"Do any of the Narrez folks got that scrying stuff?" Xander suggested.

"Miral does, but obviously she's not doing anything," Chance replied. "We could call Rupp, but it's not actually his Resonance and the best he could do without a key item would be to look for humans nearby, which would work as long as Grayson has wandered far enough away, but if he's just tucked in a wheel well or something..."

"Okay, we're going to have to do an old fashioned area search," Griffith said, "which will be easier if we put all the adults on teams. Each team is responsible for keeping track of their own members as well as searching for our missing kid. Drivers stay in their vehicles with whatever kids are there. We pull out people from one vehicle at a time, double-check he isn't hiding under the seats or something, and assign them an area to search. Would Sami be okay with staying here and coordinating?"

"I expect so."

"Good. Let's get going on this. We're losing valuable time."

***

"You didn't eat very much, my dude. Are you sure you're okay?" Chaz asked, looking at Austin's half-finished lunch.

"I'll wrap it up and have the rest in a couple hours," Austin assured her.

She gave him a doubtful look, but shrugged. "Okay. I'm not your mom. Let's get these boxes loaded and off to the church, everyone!"

As they headed off, Tim overheard Tomas say something in Spanish to Chaz which included the word "anoréxico". Chaz replied with another shrug.

***

Sami looked up as Jonas came running up. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"Off that way," he motioned. "We didn't want to yell, so I came back alone."

"What's going on?"

"We found him. He seems unharmed, but there's a problem."

***

"Hey, can I grab a ride with you guys? Amberly took my truck back to the farm for a bit."

"Sure thing. Scoot over, hon."

Adam moved over so Austin had room to sit. The back seat and bed were full of boxes and bags due for the church for sorting.

Tim started the truck and pulled out behind Chaz. "So, uh, I'm not one to tell you what you should share with the public about your condition, but just so you know, Tomas and Chaz may think you're anorexic, if I understood the Spanish right."

"Anorexic?"

"It was just something Tomas said to Chaz. Folks are worried about you."

"Oh. Okay." Austin sat quietly rubbing his abdomen. "Anorexic is when a person thinks they're fat when they're not, and don't eat enough food to try to lose weight," he said quietly.

Adam gave him a puzzled look. "Um. We know what anorexia is."

"I was talking to the babies. Sorry."

"Are they worried about you not eating?" Tim asked.

"They are now."

"As long as you're getting the calories down, even if it's in a bunch of small meals, that's okay."