Gone (Ianthony)

Eight Hours Before

Anthony:  

I'd walked around the whole town a good four times now. I hadn't slept in at least three days. And I had no idea the last time I'd eaten.

Ian was here. He was, without a doubt, one-hundred percent in that house in the picture. I knew it. I was compeltely certain.

But, the now-ongoing problem: the house was nowhere to be found.

Madison was right. All the houses looked exactly the same. I'd asked probably every citizen of that town twice if they knew where it was, and all had the same response: "must be somewhere around here."

I must have been missing another part of town or something. Must have. Because I couldn't walk around much longer. My legs screamed in pain, the sun had set yet again and the overcast night allowed little moonlight, my stomach begged for food, and my mind swam from limited sleep. 

But I couldn't stop. 

I had never been so motivated in my life; Ian was so close. I knew it. I couldn't stop now. Not even for a second.

|||

The next day was the strangest yet.

The town was so strangely quiet. It was still fairly early in the morning, but for this town, morning didn't exist. The past few days, when I had been up all night wandering the streets with no success, people were out and about with smiling faces before the sun had even began to rise. But this morning, maybe two people were out on the streets, and they both definitely weren't smiling. They avoided eye contact, their eyes cast down, their faces pale. Almost no shops were open, and the few that were seemed entirely empty. It was like a tornado blew through.

I even made an effort to stop by the sandwich shop that always seemed to be open, but even that was dark.

Eventually, I stopped on a bench. I hadn't realized until I'd stopped walking, but it was cold. Really cold. And the sun was nowhere in sight. 

I laid my head in my hands and rubbed at my temples, sighing. This was all too much. I had never been closer to finding Ian, and here I was, stumped again. I just wanted him. It was all I could think of anymore.

"Did you know him?"

I jumped, my hands falling to the sides and my head jerking up. An older man stood in front of me, a long black coat enclosing his small body. He attempted to smile at me, but he looked completely heartbroken. 

"I... Who?"

He watched me with careful brown eyes. I must have looked like such a mess.

Eventually, his face fell even more.

"You... you haven't heard?"

I felt my mouth form a straight line. "Heard what?"

He shook his head bitterly, looking down. "I-I have to go. Nice meeting you."

He began to leave, but then froze when his eyes fell on something next to me.

I followed his gaze. The picture.

"Where did you find that?" he asked slowly.

"Do you know where it is? The house?"

He stared at it for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"I live right across the street."

I stood up as fast as I could, grabbing his arm, hoping I hadn't startled him.

"Where is this house?!"

He only watched me, his eyes wide, cheeks red.

"Please. I'm begging you. I'll pay you. Anything. I need to find this house."

Eventually, he pointed behind me. 

"Follow that street down until Monroe, then take a left. Fourth house on the right."

I could have kissed that old man right then.

"Thank you," I breathed, already running in that direction.