Golden Snow - Bennoda

Chapter Two

Mike tossed himself over to turn off his alarm clock. He groaned as he hit the snooze button, rolling back over to his side. He had almost the whole month off for winter break, as his small school was very lenient, but his friends always wished to hang out as early as possible. None of them had many classes together so they did everything they could to try and be together as much as and for as long as possible.

Mike managed out of bed and yawned, stretching his arms. He sat down on the edge of the mattress, rubbing his eyes. He remembered last night and how terrifying it was. He couldn't get over it. He wondered how the boy knew his name. He thought again about telling the police about the two men who attacked him but he heard a snore from the other room, remembering his father. He rose off the bed again and headed to his wardrobe.

He pulled out a plaid shirt and black pants, slipping on the clothes after exchanging them out of his pajamas. He felt a bit of a chill and knew today was just as cold as it was last night. He recalled how cold the boy seemed to be. He felt a bit better that the boy had gotten his blanket but he still wanted to be sure he wasn't freezing to death in the snow somewhere around the clearing. Mike was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed.

Brad: Coming, Shinoda?

Mike sighed to himself softly. He pulled on his coat and prepared a note for his father, who he was sure would call him right when he woke up but couldn't tell Mike to stay if he was already gone. Mike turned his attention back to his phone and began replying to his friend.

Mike: Yeah. Lincoln's clearing?

Brad: Yup. Bring money. Going to Café Park later

Mike: k

Mike zipped his plain black coat, slipping his phone in one of the pockets. He reached for his wallet on his bedside table and stuffed it into his back pocket. With another sigh and short thought about the boy from last night, he left the apartment.

Mike walked through town, snow gently drifting down. He was glad it wasn't as windy as it had been last night. He let out a small shiver but he'd get used to the temperature soon. As he approached the clearing, he looked where his and the boy's footprints had been but they were all covered by fresh snow. He noticed the usual leaves in the clearing were covered and the trees appeared more frozen than they had been.

"Mike, over here!" A voice called and he turned his head, seeing his group of friends together in their usual spot. Mike headed their way and stood beside Brad, a boy his age with big, curly, brown hair.

"Hi, guys," Mike greeted them warmly and received smiles and grins from everyone in the group, who were all standing close to a tight circle.

"How's it going, Mike?" His other friend, Phoenix, asked.

"Good, ginger, you?" Mike smirked and Phoenix huffed, covering his orange hair with his hand.

"I'm fine, thank you very much," Phoenix stuck his tongue out and Mike chuckled.

"Can we go to Café Park? I'm freezing my ass off!" Joe cried, receiving nods from the rest of the group.

The five guys all began walking back into town and Mike wished he had just met with them at the café. They walked down the main road and Mike noticed something that he hadn't before. He stopped and looked at the 'missing person' poster, hanging off a light pole. He tore it off and the guys paused with him.

"What's that?" Rob asked softly and Mike shrugged.

"A missing person's poster," he replied nervously, eyeing it carefully.

"Missing person? I don't recognize him," Brad said uncertainly. It was rare to have someone missing, especially someone they hadn't seen before. Brad took the poster from Mike to read it. "Chester Bennington. Anyone know 'em?"

"No, seems weird though," Joe murmured, looking at the image it supplied. "Bright bonde hair with brown eyes and pale skin. We don't have anyone like that around here."

"Yeah. Seems odd," Brad agreed and Mike memorized the face on the paper, becoming consumed in his features. He felt his heart racing. He just knew this was the boy he had talked to. The name ran through his head a thousand times, permanently etching itself in Mike's brain. Brad pointed to the number listed at the bottom of the poster. "Why does it say to contact his uncles? I wonder what happened to his parents."

"That's someone else's life, we shouldn't get so involved," Joe sighed but looked back at the paper. "But he's so different."

"Maybe we could help the uncles find him," Phoenix smiled and Mike had a burning feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt the uncles were the two men who attacked him, questioning about Chester. Mike took another glance at the paper before folding it and stuffing it in his pocket. "What are you doing with that, Mike?"

"I'm going to... Uh, show it to my dad. He might have seen him," Mike replied unsurely and the group continued to the coffee shop. They approached a small, brown building that was coated in large winters and two big doors. It seemed incredibly open inside because of how small the building was compared to the windows and doors. They entered, warmth illuminating their bodies.

"Hey, boys," The owner of the shop, Jeff Blue, greeted them warmly. They all replied in their own way before he led them to an open table. They thanked him and placed their orders, most of them getting hot chocolate. Mike wondered if the boy was warm wherever he was now and if he had the urge to have a hot drink. Mike wished he could supply it him.

"Mike? You've been quiet for a while," Rob noticed. He was the most observant of the group and Mike felt he could always tell when something happened. "Did something happen the other day?"

"Um..." Mike trailed off, unsure whether or not he wanted to tell them about the men and the boy he believed was Chester. The group fell silent. "Last night... I had a strange call."

"Who was it from?" Brad asked, becoming dreadfully curious over the situation. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," He decided not to tell about his suicide attempt, feeling it was too private. "It was a boy. He said he was really cold and I figured out he was in the clearing. I packed a blanket and went to search for him when these two men attacked me, asking about him. When they left, the blanket was gone and the boy texted me, thanking me for it and called me by my name."

"Do you think the boy is the one who's missing?" Phoenix asked and Mike caved, nodding. "Maybe the two men were his uncles. Are you okay? Were they violent?"

"They were. They kicked me in the stomach a couple times and tried to hit me but otherwise, I'm okay," Mike admitted. Their drinks arrived and they thanked Jeff, who left afterwards. Mike sipped gingerly on his drink.

"You didn't go to the police?" Joe asked and Mike shook his head with a sigh.

"I didn't want my dad to find out and worry," Mike sighed again and looked out the window. He lifted his drink, taking a deeper gulp before setting it down. He suddenly wasn't in the mood for anymore. He lifted his waist up a bit and grabbed his wallet, taking out some cash. He set it on the table. "I'm gonna get going. Tell them to keep the change."

"Okay... Bye, Mike," Brad said unsurely. He seemed weird but he didn't want to agitate his friend. The other guys said their fair-wells and Mike left.