The Wizards of India and the Hunt For the Beast

Chapter 5

Gulls laughed at Justin from high in the sky. They laughed at his failure. The cold ocean water stung at the thorn scratches on his legs, reminding him of how horrible of a person he was. Even the sand beneath his feet eagerly swam away with the ebbing water, not wanting to be tainted by a coward.

He spent the entire week sneaking out of tutorial, leaving during lunch, and ditching soccer practice to search for the strange neighborhood with no luck.

In one final desperate attempt to find the neighborhood, he had woken up before dawn on Saturday. He had snuck out of the house and headed for the Fiscalini Ranch. Even after crawling through brambles again, the neighborhood eluded him. He did find a beach, one he and Simon had visited often together. When his feet hit the sand, he had given up. He knew deep down that he would never find the neighborhood and that he had failed Nitara and Niraj.

Justin stared out at the ocean, frozen to the spot. He thought diving into the water and disappearing might just be better than traveling to the soccer game in Templeton. Well, or at least staying here, with the waves and the sand. But then his mom's tired face blurred his blue escape. He couldn't worry her. He wouldn't be the cause of her tears.

He looked away from the water. The sun stretched its rays through the gaps in the pines, bathing the forest in soft gold light, like a warm blanket Justin could wrap himself in. Walking into the warmth towards home, he hoped he could make it back before anyone noticed he was gone.

His father sat at the kitchen counter as Justin entered the house. He sat in such a nonchalant way that it looked forced. He held his tablet in one hand and his coffee in the other.

Justin sighed. He knew there was no escaping.

"Hi dad," he said as he shuffled up to the counter.

"It's Simon right?" his dad asked casually.

Hearing his dad speak his brother's name out loud sent a jolt of energy down Justin's spine. "What?"

"The reason you sneak out." Setting his tablet down, his dad reached a hand out. "It's because of Simon. The last place you saw him was in that forest."

Justin took a step back and his dad retracted his hand.

Sighing, his dad said, "Look, I know you don't want to go to the soccer game. And I know that has to do with Simon too. But I... I don't know what to do anymore. I think maybe we should bring back Dr. Carol."

"I want to go!" Justin blurted out.

A frown formed on his dad's face. "Really?"

Justin nodded. "I have anxieties about traveling but, the sneaking out this morning was to work through that. It's something Dr. Carol taught me."

"Oh." His dad's posture relaxed as he set the coffee cup down. Justin could see that it was empty.

"Well, that's good."

Justin nodded and attempted his most reassuring smile. His dad smiled back, and Justin shuffled towards the stairs to attempt to prepare himself for the game.

Pushing open the heavy metal door, Justin stepped out of the cold and damp gas station bathroom to find that the school bus along with his entire soccer team and soccer coach had left him.

Shit, he thought.

He really hadn't wanted them to leave him behind. He really had wanted to go... well, he had wanted to go for his parents. But, when he had watched the bus drive past the Leaving Cambria sign, he had panicked. At that moment, his stupid mind decided to tell him that the reason most kids go missing is because of some adult they know. Then he looked at the parents and coach on the bus. How well did he know any of them? He had just needed a moment to work through his thoughts. He told the coach he had to pee, right now. The coach had rolled his eyes, but then told the bus driver to stop at the next gas station.