The Missing Boy

Chapter One - The Vanishing

Alex stood frozen in the doorway of his bedroom, his eyes fixed on the photograph of Simon resting on his desk. The old picture, taken during middle school, showed two boys grinning under a pale sky. Back then, things had been simpler. Back before everything had fallen apart.

Now, the house felt eerily silent except for the soft hum of the radio, which suddenly crackled with a chilling announcement.

"Local student Simon Caldwell has been missing for 48 hours. Authorities are still searching, but no clues have surfaced at this time..."

Alex's stomach twisted. Simon was missing. Gone for two whole days, and yet no one seemed to care.

He couldn't understand the town's indifference. But then again, Simon had always been invisible. Quiet, withdrawn—he never fit in. The kids at school barely acknowledged him, unless it was to mock his awkwardness. Simon had a hard time connecting with anyone, his struggles hidden behind those weary eyes. The teachers dismissed him as "just another shy kid." The few friends he did have drifted away, and Alex—well, Alex had been one of them.

Guilt hit him hard, the weight of all the times he could have done something—said something—pressing down like a suffocating fog. They hadn't spoken in months. But the memories of the last conversation they had clung to Alex like a bitter aftertaste. Simon had tried to reach out, confide in him about the things that were haunting him. The bullying. The sleepless nights. But Alex had brushed him off, too wrapped up in his own problems to notice how much Simon needed him.

And now... Simon was gone.

Alex wasn't the only one who had failed to notice. The whole town seemed eerily unaffected by the disappearance. At school, when the news broke, some kids snickered, whispering rumors or dismissing it altogether. "Simon? Didn't know he was still around," one of the boys had muttered. Others joked, "Maybe he finally ran off to join the ghosts in the woods." Alex had clenched his fists, their indifference stoking the flames of his anger and guilt. How could they laugh about it? Simon was gone, and none of them seemed to care.

Not even the police seemed too concerned. "He's probably just another runaway," they said. "Teenagers do that sometimes."

But Alex knew better. Simon didn't have anywhere to run. The town's reaction made him sick. He couldn't stand it anymore. That's when his phone buzzed on the desk, snapping him out of his daze. The message was from Ethan Parker, Simon's childhood friend—someone else who knew the real Simon.

Ethan: You heard about Simon, right?

Alex stared at the screen, heart pounding. He hadn't spoken to Ethan in almost a year. Things had gotten messy between them after Alex distanced himself from both Simon and Ethan. But now, none of that mattered. Simon was missing.

Alex: Yeah. We need to find him.

Ethan's reply came quickly.

Ethan: Meet me at the old schoolyard in an hour.

The schoolyard was still, the thick fog rolling over the playground like a ghostly blanket. The place hadn't changed since they were kids—rusted swings swaying lazily in the wind, their creaking chains a reminder of simpler times. But today, everything felt heavier, as if the shadows themselves were watching.

Ethan was already there when Alex arrived. His face was tense, eyes shadowed with something Alex couldn't quite place. There was no small talk, no friendly greeting—just the shared weight of Simon's absence hanging between them.

"Heard anything from the cops?" Alex asked, though he already knew the answer.

Ethan shook his head. "No. They're not doing much. Probably think he's just another kid trying to get attention."

Alex's jaw tightened. "He wouldn't just leave like that."

Ethan glanced at him, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. "You know Simon wasn't... happy, right?"

Of course Alex knew. Everyone knew, even if they chose to ignore it. Simon's struggles weren't a secret—just something no one cared enough to talk about. The bullying had started early, and over time, the constant teasing, the cruel remarks, and the isolation wore him down. At school, Simon became a ghost long before he disappeared. He'd stopped raising his hand in class, stopped sitting with anyone during lunch. It was like he'd been fading out of existence for years, and no one—least of all Alex—had done anything to stop it.

"Yeah, I know," Alex admitted, his voice barely a whisper.

Ethan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I should have been there for him. We both should've."

The two of them began walking the perimeter of the schoolyard, retracing Simon's last known steps. His disappearance wasn't making sense—nothing about it felt right. They needed answers, and the only way to get them was by following whatever trail Simon had left behind. But as they neared the edge of the woods, a chill crept over Alex. This was where Simon had been last seen, wandering off into the fog-shrouded trees.

"You think he came out here to be alone?" Alex asked, his voice unsteady.

Ethan was quiet for a moment. "Maybe. Or maybe he wasn't alone at all."

The words sent a shiver down Alex's spine. Before Simon vanished, he'd been acting strange, saying things that didn't make sense. Something about being followed, watched. Alex had brushed it off at the time, but now, with Simon missing, those warnings felt much more real.

"There's something you need to know," Ethan said, stopping short. "Simon... he told me things. Weird things. Said he felt like something was after him."

Alex turned to him, heart pounding. "After him? Like what?"

Ethan hesitated. "I don't know, but I think we need to find out."

They continued deeper into the woods, the fog thickening with each step. The laughter of the indifferent town, the bullies, the neglect—all of it faded into the distance. All that mattered now was finding Simon and uncovering the truth behind his disappearance. Because whatever had happened, it wasn't just a runaway.

And the town's indifference wasn't going to stop Alex from saving the friend he had failed once before.