Dimensions

Chapter 7: Message In A Bottle

    It had been almost a week since Dan and Katie had disappeared and Hunter was being driven crazy. Everyone who had last seen them was in the Hansworth's living room being questioned for the second time that week. Hunter paced back and forth as he watched Mr. Hansworth attempt to calm his bawling wife.

    "Mr. Thompson?" A police officer called from the kitchen. Hunter sighed and entered the room. He came face to face with a man he had seen many times in the past few days.

    "Officer Morgan, sir."

    "I know I have already asked you everything, but is there anything that you might have forgotten?"

    "Not that I know of sir."

    "Anything at all will be helpful."

    "There's nothing sir."

    "Alright, If you think of anything, come down to the station."

    "Yes, sir."

    "Ok, you're free to go." Without another word, Hunter exited the room.

    He gave his condolences to the Hansworths before leaving the house. A few moments later he was walking down the sidewalk in no particular direction. A light rain fell on the concrete, reflecting off the distant stars. Why did it always seem to rain when something bad happened? Dark thoughts began filling his head. What if they were kidnapped? Maybe they walked too far and ended up falling off that ravine near the end of the neighborhood? What if-

    He stopped up short and stared at the ground. His eyes narrowed as he got closer to a particular slab of concrete. He bent down close to the ground and examined it closely. Stuck two inches deep in the concrete was a faux leather cuff. Dan's faux leather cuff. Hunter had seen him wearing it the day he'd gone missing.

    Hunter shook his head. No, it couldn't be. He must just be imagining it. He continued down the street, determining that he ought to go home and get some rest. But he didn't. Instead, his feet took him to a little park around the corner. The Knights used to meet here before Cara joined. Before she offered her treehouse as a guard tower, this place was the home to all of their grand battles and adventures.

    Hunter leaned over the edge of a birdbath and stared at his reflection in the water. Sighing, he came to an awful realization. He had never told Katie that he liked her. And now, he might never be able to. Hunter fell to the ground and found himself sitting on the wet grass, but he didn't care. At this moment all he could think about was how stupid he had been. Life's too short to constantly be worrying about whether or not someone will accept you. Katie could have laughed at him if he had admitted his feelings to her, but at least he would have been brave enough to do it.

    He clenched his fists tightly around handfuls of grass. If Katie came back, he would tell her. He wasn't going to waste another second of his life wondering if she reciprocated his feelings, he would find out. Hunter pushed himself off the ground with a newfound determination. He would find her, whatever it takes.

    Hunter turned to leave the park but froze when he saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye. Normally, he would have assumed that it was just a passing car, but this light was different, it was a bright blue, and it had come from the birdbath. Hunter rushed back to what had formerly been empty water. Now, a glass bottle sat bobbing on the surface. A note was placed carefully inside.

    Was it meant for him? No. How could anyone know he'd be there at that exact moment? He pulled the bottle from the water and examined it, searching for any sign of who it could have been meant for. He turned it around in his hand slowly. And then he saw the handwriting. Gasping he dropped the bottle. The handwriting was unmistakably Katie's. Carefully he grabbed the note from the now shattered remains of the bottle.

   He read the letter as quickly as he could. This had to be a joke. Right? Nothing written here could be true, could it? It was crazy... yet somehow believable. Hunter stuffed the note in his pocket. If this was right, then Hunter had just received a letter from another dimension. Hunter turned on his heel and rushed away into the night.