A Dream by Noon.

Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17. Tuesday. Oct. 9pm

Jason and Andy sat in Jason's bedroom the entire afternoon, both allowed to skip school while the neighborhood tried to figure out what had happened to Sam. The repetitive music on Mario Bros. the only noise in the house for hours. Jason stared out the window, at his walkie talkie, and at the window adjacent to his, waiting for a resolution that was not coming.

Nothing felt worth saying, and they didn't have any information yet, so both sat in silence, playing the game and waiting, until finally, Jason drew back his controller and whipped it against the wall. The loud noise, breaking the silence, made Andy jump, but then he looked over to Jason and dropped his controller onto his lap, realizing the idiocracy of what they were doing.

Andy stared at Jason for a minute, thinking before speaking. "What do you wanna do?" he asked Jason.

Jason put his head in his lap, frustrated, trying to think. "I don't know. But we can't just keep sitting here." He said, looking at the clock at it turned to 8:55.

"I know. So. Let's go." Andy said.

"Go where?" Jason asked him, still frustrated.

"Anywhere, everywhere, let's just go look." Andy said.

Jason paused for a moment, remembering the warning the officers had given his mom earlier in the day when they stopped by to question them. "We don't want any kids running around forming search parties. Let the police do what we need to do." They warned her. His mom had left soon after the call had come over. Darting next door to be with Mrs. Mourey and had just returned home and went quickly to bed, after checking on the boys.

"Fuck it. Yea, let's go." Jason said, leaving the tv set on they both got up and crept downstairs, for the first time grateful for the orange carpet cushioning the steps. The moon was big and low, but clouds passed by, blocking its glow. The lights down the street made up for it. The usually dark street with only sparse streetlights was lit up tonight by every front porch, every driveway light, being lit. Everyone was on high alert. Jason and Andy hopped on their bikes and pedaled down to the hospital first. The initial cruisers had all met there, and even though they wouldn't answer Jason's questions, he knew they must have had some sort of lead. Jason's eyes darted around the room until he spotted the flashlight, threw it in his backpack along with a small knife and then hesitated, looking at his window. Trying not to think about what he was doing, he grabbed the walkie talkie off the window, making sure it was still turned off, and threw his backpack over his shoulder.

As they approached the hospital on their bikes, both slowed down before the entryway. They looked at each other, acknowledging the need for silence in case some officers remained, or in case anyone else was back here as well.

Andy hopped off his bike and began to walk it, and Jason followed, doing the same. When nothing other than crickets could be heard in the distance, they both started walking their bikes side by side toward the hospital grounds. As they reached the front of the buildings, they were relieved to see no cars in sight. No people. A completely different scene from earlier. At some point during the silent walk, Andy started to rethink their plan, or lack thereof.

"What are we even doing back here?" he whispered.

"What do you think we're doing?" Jason answered.

"I mean, what are we looking for here? Sam wouldn't have gotten lost here. She knows her way around better than any of us. So... what's the point?"

Jason looked over at Andy, and then looked down, shaking his head but then fully taking in what Andy was saying and suddenly he felt a pit in his stomach as they reached the clearing of the main buildings. He stopped walking. "Look, she came back here all the time. Not just when we all did, but by herself, when she was upset. Maybe she slipped on something. What if she slipped on the rocks down by the water, or... I don't know. Who the hell knows! But where else are we gonna start?" he said, growing angry, more at the situation than Andy.