Forgotten

Grey

The disappearance of Lily Thomas became the main topic of conversation for the next  month. Police were investigating, friends were praying. No one could figure out what happened. It was as if she had just disappeared. Only I knew how correct that was.
People asked me questions, whispered behind my back. Even my friends. I ignored them all. I just kept going back to that moment. I should have ran after her. I should have stopped her.
She had disappeared into that blue box.
And I told no one.
Perhaps I should have, but something told me that it would be a bad idea. I never told anyone. I never said anything. I didn't interact, hardly ate and slept a lot. Eventually I just faded into the background. Just the hollow shell of Lily Thomas's best friend. I might as well have disappeared with her.
I didn't do my homework. I lost a lot of weight. I slept so much that I was restless during the day. My parents tried to talk to me. I ignored them for the most part. Friends tried to encourage me. I remained quiet. The police asked me questions. I lied to them.
One day my mother told me I couldn't stay like this. She said I needed to get out. So I did. I walked right out of the house and I ran. I ran down the street. My legs burned, but I kept going. I ran through the neighborhood. My lungs burned, but I kept going.
Finally I made it to the park, and stopped.
Sweat poorer out, I panted like a dog, I thought I tasted blood. And honestly, I felt the best that I had since Lily's disappearance.
So every day I ran. And I didn't stop until it burned. This made me hungry, so I ate more. It energized me so that I didn't need to sleep as much. I was recovering.
But then the day hit. It was one month from the day Lily disappeared. That was when things changed... Again.
I was fully aware that it had been a month, so I really pushed myself. I went farther faster than ever before. By the end I was drenched and guzzling water. My breath stung, but it dulled the sting in my heart. I took a few more breaths and began stretching. It was at this point a man walked up to me.
He had steel grey hair and was wearing a fancy suit. He looked very official, like and agent or cop.
"Eleanor Dean?"
I looked up, suspiciously. "Yes," I admitted.
"I have a few questions for you."
"If they are about Lily Thomas, forget it. I already talked to the cops."
The man looked amused, "I'm not a cop." He pulled out an official looking badge. "Captain Grey, from Torchwood."
"Torchwood?" I asked, getting more suspicious by the moment. "I've never heard of that."
"We try to keep it that way." He replaced his badge. "You were Lily Thomas's best friend. It is said that you were the last to see her."
I didn't reply.
He pulled out a picture and held it up in front of my face. "Does this have anything to do with her disappearance?"
I tried to keep my face neutral as I looked at the picture. I hoped my emotions did not betray me. The picture was blurry, but there could be no doubt. It was the blue box. This man knew something about the blue box. He knew something about Lily's disappearance. But I didn't know him. I had never heard of Torchwood. I didn't want to give anything away yet. So I lied. "No. I've never seen this before. What is it?" I tried.
Captain Grey simply replaced the picture in his inside coat jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. "If you remember anything, contact me."
I took the card and looked at it. It had "Captain Grey, Torchwood Agent" printed on it, along with an address, phone number and email.
"Sure." I replied.
Captain Grey nodded to me and walked briskly away.
I wasn't crazy. The blue box existed. And I wasn't the only one who wanted to find it.