The Old Flashlight

Chapter 8

When the dismissal bell rang, George wasted no time hauling ass out of the school. He had a plan to find Jackie. He ran home as quickly as he could, grabbing a flashlight, an old newspaper that had photos of previous victims' bodies, and a raincoat. Going back outside, he walked around the entire neighborhood, looking for any signs of kidnapped children. He glanced and glanced at his newspaper, trying to find anything familiar.

George decided he was going to retrace Jackie's steps. He walked to the ice cream shop, walked back to his house after, then walked to the grocery store. He looked at the sidewalk as if it would disappear if he were to look away. He noticed something shiny in the crack of the sidewalk. He bent down to get a better look at it, and he noticed it was a necklace. He saw the silver locket on the end of the chain. It was Jackie's. He felt the tears sting his eyes.

"Excuse me, sir? Is everything alright?" George heard a woman say behind him. He turned around and saw Avery. He got up and walked over to her, grabbing her hand and placing the locket into it, then closing her fingers around it. "I thought you might want that." Avery looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around him and cried. She cried, sobbed, screamed, and wailed. All she wanted was her friend back, and George could see that. He hugged her back, letting a few of his own tears fall. They both stood there holding each other and crying for around thirty minutes, slowly calming down throughout the time. Avery let go of him, smiled, and turned around to leave. George was still upset, but he kept himself together. He went back to where he found the locket, walking from there to the gas station located next to the grocery store. He really wanted chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better. He walked in, seeing the newspapers by the door. They all had Jackie's face on them. Seeing her face on the papers and nowhere else was upsetting. He didn't realize he stopped and started staring at the papers until a worker came by.

"Excuse me, are you okay, sir?" She asked. He looked at her with a blank expression, blinking slowly. He opened his mouth, beginning to respond, but instead of hearing his voice, he heard a sob. Then another. And another. Then he found himself sobbing uncontrollably. He was beyond embarrassed, trying his best to get home as fast as possible. Arriving at the front porch, he threw himself through the door, slamming it behind him. He ran to his bedroom and threw himself on his bed and cried. He cried for about an hour, then realized something.

Fuck. I forgot the chocolate.