Pine Ridge | 18+

4

Burton paced his office, occasionally peeking out into the hallway down at the forensics room. He slipped his hands into his pockets and went back into his office, leaning against a wall. Parker watched him, crossing his arms.

"You've been at that for 25 minutes, sir. When are you going to stop?"

Burton peeled his gaze from the floor and looked at him. "Stop? Parker, I found a girl's shoe, a fucking shoe covered in blood. Why should I stop." He scoffed and shook his head. "I'm nervous. I'm worried. That girl could be... dead, and we weren't able to do anything about it." He pushed off the wall and walked to his desk, sitting down. Parker watched him, walking over and standing beside it. "In this line of work, you can't save everyone."

Burton looked toward him and huffed. "I know, you're right..." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face. "It's just... I feel like we're so close to finding out what happened. We can save them." Parker shook his head and walked off, leaving Burton alone in the office room. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out, opening it and pulling out a small photograph. It was one of him and a girl a few years older than him, dated May 12th, 1989.

"Oh, Lauren... you'd have known what to do." He stared down at the picture before setting it down on his desk and looking back at the ceiling, starting to drift off. He pulled a small tin out of his pocket, opened it, and took a cigarette out, lighting it and taking a long drag.

***

"Lauren, I'm tired! Let's go home!" Burton slung his bag over his shoulder dramatically, following his sister as she stepped around a rock. "Quit being a baby, come on." She looked back at him and huffed. "All you do is complain."

"We've been out here forever, it's exhausting!" He sped up, walking beside her. He leaned over and picked a branch up, swinging it around at some bushes. "What are we even doing out here?"

Lauren pulled a camera out of her bag and flicked a switch, turning it out. She pressed the film door, opened the hatch, and slid a film cassette in. "Because I want to take pictures, dork, now hush..." She aimed her camera into the trees and took a picture, the camera buzzing slightly as it ejected a picture. She took it and put it to the side, looking at Burton. "Y'know, you shouldn't shake Polaroids, it can damage the picture."

Burton looked at her and huffed, adjusting his bag straps. "Yeah, I know Lauren." She snickered and pulled him close. "Don't be a sour puss, Burton. Now smile!" She nudged him and turned the camera towards them, taking a picture of them. Burton wanted to pull away, but he eventually gave in and smiled. "Alright! You got your pictures, let's head back!"

"No, not yet!" She went deeper into the forest, causing Burton to groan loudly and sit on a rock. "Don't take forever!" He called out to her and turned away, taking a Gameboy out of his backpack and turning it on, loading a cartridge into it. He started playing, becoming completely oblivious to everything around him. He hadn't noticed, but a good chunk of time had passed, and Lauren still wasn't back.  His Gameboy eventually turned off because of the low battery, causing Burton to groan and get up.

"Alright Lauren, you done yet?" He turned and looked around, not seeing her anywhere. "Lauren? Where are you?" He got off the rock and started to wander around the area, eventually lapping the same area twice before quickly grabbing his stuff. "I'll be back, Lauren! I'm gonna go get Mom!" He turned and quickly rushed off through the forest, making his way back to the trail that led into his backyard. He lazily trudged through his backyard, walking up the steps to his porch and going inside. "Mom! I can't find Lauren!" 

"You and Lauren playing hide-and-seek?" His mom turned away from the stove and looked at him. He shook his head, setting his bag down. "No, she went to go take some stupid pictures, and she just disappeared into thin air!" He threw his hands up dramatically, but his Mom now looked worried. "Honey, what do you mean disappeared? She's not there?" He shook his head again.