The Toumach Isle

Chapter One: Missing

                   Olivia glanced at the clock. 10:37. It was 10:37 at night, and Kale wasn't home yet. This had never happened before, sure they occasionally ended up on a different subway train, but they'd never been this separated. She'd been home for almost 6 hours. Plus, even if he wasn't on the train, he would have called, but she'd heard nothing. 

                 "No, no, no..." Olivia murmured as she began to pace around her room.  What would she tell her dad if Kale wasn't back by Sunday? What if Kale never came back...was he even ok?                            "This can't be happening. Stuff like this never happens...Kale.."

                  Her phone chimed from across the room. Olivia bolted to her bed, brushing her blonde hair out of her face, grabbing her phone-praying it was Kale.

                   UNKNOWN: check under his bed

                  What? Olivia's face fell, her mind puzzled and in grief. Who was this? She tried to search for a number, a location, anything. But that's all there was. She started crying.

                  Sure it wouldn't do anything, Olivia walked down the hall to Kale's room. Her heart tightened.

                  Kale's walls were a shade of light blue, covered with science posters, fantasies, and equations-not all what you would find in a typical 10 year-old's room. Kale and Olivia were both smart, but Kale was exceptional. Olivia did amazing with her stuff, and loved to teach Kale more, but most of the time he already knew how to do her Sophomore algebra. 

                 His bed sat in the corner, old brown wood with scrawny green sheets on and a navy quilt. Olivia walked over and bend down, looking underneath. Nothing. She waved her hands around, making sure not to miss anything. Nothing. She began to cry harder.

               "You knew it, you knew it," she whimpered. "Did you actually think there was somethi-"

                Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia could see something poking out from under his mattress. She slipped her hand underneath and pulled it up. A paper. No, two papers. No, five... She lifted the mattress.

                Sitting on Kale's bed frame lay dozens of sprawn out papers and journals. Olivia skimmed through his writing. Theories and notes. All seem to be revolving around the word "Toumach." Then, in a journal she saw a map and coordinates. The subway station they always took off of 3rd Avenue. But it was not their train he had circled, but the one that had been closed for years. 

               He went there. She knew it. Stupid Kale and his fantasies. He went to the station. Olivia ran out of his room, and grabbed her coat and scarf, and slid on her boots. Running down her apartment stairs she reached the cold streets of Detroit in the winter.

              "Left, left, right.." Olivia tried to remember the directions to 3rd as she ran down the sidewalk.

              "Hey, watch it!" shouted an old man, Olivia had run into him.

              "I'm sorry, I'm just in a really big hurry. You see, my brother-"

              "I don't give a damn about your brother, I care about you being in my space. So back off."

              Olivia tried to shrug it off, but with tears already running down her face, she didn't thing she pulled it off. 

             "I'm coming Kale. I'm coming."