The Dragon's Tail

Missing

The next morning was much like the last. Cold. The sea air blew over The Tail again. As the sun was rising over the land, Rob awoke. As he slowly stirred from his sleep, the thoughts he'd had the night before started to swirl around in his head again. He lay still for a while, considering his options. He had to get to the bottom of what was happening around here. He had never been a fan of detective novels or the idea of investigating but he couldn't simply go on not knowing what was going on. His hunger for knowledge outweighed his reluctance to investigate.

He quickly dressed and ate then checked the visitors' book again and noted down the names written in it on a piece of paper. He then tucked that and the pen into his coat pocket. His first stop would be the nearby village. There he would check the notice board. He wanted to see the names of the disappearing people as well as the dates. After that...Well he wasn't really sure. He guessed he would ask about. But what about, he didn't yet know. He guessed he could just see where this first line of inquiry led him. As he picked the keys up from the table in the hallway where he'd left them the previous evening, a thought hit him; he decided to take that pendant he'd found last night too. He quickly went to the living room where it still sat on the mantelpiece. It was probably nothing, but he wanted to keep it with him anyway. He picked it up and held it to the light streaming in from the window, examining it for a moment. After that moment, he fitted it into his pocket then headed back to the door and left the house.

It took him half an hour to walk to Rhossili, as it had yesterday. Once there, he headed straight to the village shop. Inside looked identical to the day before; the racks of chocolate bars, the aging milk and the stale cereals. However, the covers of the papers had changed, as one would expect. At the counter sat the elderly shopkeeper, resting as she had been the previous day. Her eyes slowly opened as she heard Rob's footsteps. She slowly broke out into a warm smile upon seeing him.

"Now what can I get you, dearie?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and delicately placing her half-moon glasses on her nose.

"Same as yesterday." Rob said slowly, looking around as he walked towards the places where the papers lived. After a quick flip through the options, he grabbed the same as yesterday. He slowly walked up to the counter. The shopkeeper extended her arm, ready to take the paper off of him.

"Any news around the village recently?" Rob asked cautiously, hoping the old lady wouldn't stop giving him answers as she had the day before. To his relief she simply laughed softly as she took the newspaper from his grasp and typed the price into the register.

"News in this village?" She chuckled again. "We never have anything interesting to talk about. Just the same as always. Sorry to disappoint you. One fifty." She said, hand outstretched once again, waiting for the money.

"No, it's fine. I was just curious. There you go." He said as he handed her the money. "I don't suppose the village has a bookstore or library or something of that sort?" He added, suddenly remembering how he'd finished his book last night. The old shopkeeper shook her head slowly as she deposited the coins he had given her.

"Mmmm, not here, no. But just up the road. If you follow the main road you'll reach Middleton. They have a library there I do believe." She said, handing the newspaper back to him. "It's only a half hour walk if you've got a good pace." She finished, smiling warmly. Rob nodded slowly, tucking the paper under his arm.

"I'll check it out. Thanks for everything then." He said, giving the shopkeeper a friendly smile. She smiled back and nodded.

"You're welcome, dear. I do hope you're enjoying your stay." She gave him a small wave as he turned and walked to the door. Just before he left, he pulled a now crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at the list of names he'd written on it. He looked up to the notices about the missing people. The names were...Well they were the same. Not everyone on the board was on his list but a few were, six of them. He looked and saw they had dates they'd last been seen. He pulled the pen out of his pocket and wrote the dates next to the names. He then looked around quickly and saw that the shopkeeper seemed to have regressed into her sleep like state as she had yesterday. He let out a little sigh then left the shop.