Nemesis

Chapter Two

While Dennis was doing homework in his room, he heard police cars show up at Regan's house. Curiosity got the better of him, and he put on a jacket and went outside.

Regan's parents were talking to one of the officers. His mother was broken down in tears.

"Please find my son!"

"Ma'am, we are doing everything we can."

"Honey, let's get you inside and some hot chocolate, okay?" Her husband/Regan's father said.

She only nodded in response, and they walked back into the house. Dennis was slightly worried about Regan.

Then Dennis immediately thought of Regan's favorite hiding spot at the park. When they were children, Regan would hide there at least one to three times.

____

After a few minutes of walking in the cold, Dennis made his way over. When he got there, no one was in sight.

"Regan?" Dennis called out, unsure if he had hidden nearby. Something small moved in the corner of his eye.

Dennis looked down at where the bug was, but that was no bug he had ever seen. In fact, it looked like a human—a human a lot like Regan. Dennis crouched down to get closer.

"Regan? Is that you?" Dennis reached out his hand toward him. Even though Regan seemed like he was running at full speed, he was hardly making any progress.

Gently, Dennis set his hand in front of Regan, making him fall back. With his other hand, he scooped the tiny and held him close to his face.

Yup, it was Regan.

"Wow, you're tiny. I mean really tiny." Dennis rotated his hand to get a 360 view of him in his hands.

Regan, on the other hand, (pun intended) had other plans. He kept squirming to be facing Dennis. It took a moment, but Dennis realized he was scaring Regan.

"Oh shit, sorry. I'm not going to hurt you." Dennis awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then put me down!" Regan blurted without thinking. Dennis's head quickly faced him, staring down at him. Regan gulped and scooted back.

"You're just going to run away and get yourself killed or something." Dennis expressed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"How do I know you're not going to hurt me?" Regan shot a glare at the seemingly giant holding him.

"I-I..." For some reason, Dennis was at a loss for words. He didn't know how he was going to get Regan to trust him.

"You're just going to have to take my word for it."

Dennis gave Regan a weak smile before looking around his surroundings. There weren't many people around, but he couldn't risk Regan getting seen.

"Don't you dare put me in your pocket!"

"What?"

"I know you were going to put me in your pocket!"

"Well, where else am I going to put you?"

"On your shoulder or something!

"Oh.

"Yeah, 'oh."

Dennis ignored his comment and wrapped his fingers gently around the tiny. Regan yelp in surprise and stared at him with fear in his eyes. A ping of guilt weighed down on Dennis's chest, but he tried his best to ignore it.