Please Be Safe.

"Eddy?"
.
.

"Eddy?"
.
.
.

"Bro!"

Eddy flinched, blinking a few times as his train of thoughts was put to a stop. He looked at Brett who was sitting across the table. Though it wasn't obvious from his face, Brett was worried for his best friend.

"You've been spacing out quite a lot of times now... you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Eddy muttered, his voice soft and tired.  He grabbed his cup of coffee with shaking hands, "It's just..." he started, whispering the words which Brett failed to hear.

"Another missing report has been filed to the Brisbane Police Department this morning. The parents of 25-year-old Jennifer Grey has filed a report to the police about their missing daughter. According to them, Jennifer was supposed to be home by Monday morning after a business trip but it's already been 48 hours since Monday yet Jennifer still hasn't come home. The family have lost all contact with Jennifer and none of her friends nor colleagues knew her whereabouts."

"This is the fifth missing report filed to the Brisbane Police Department within this month, the first four including 18-year-old Lauretta May, 26-year-old Teressa Jones, 21-year-old Michael Baird and 24-year-old Louis Sanders. Sadly, none of them has been found yet."

"Oh god..." Brett whispered, his eyes fixed on the TV screen. "Five missing people all in one month? Damn..."

The TV started flashing the names and pictures of all the missing people along with the details their families provided to help for their search.

"Police says the disappearance of these individuals is still a mystery to them as they still have no leads. But, the time gaps between the disappearances make them speculate that there must be someone or something behind all of this."

"In case you have seen anyone of these missing people, kindly reach out to the numbers on your screens."

"It's... terrifying..." Eddy muttered.

"Yep, it is..."

"Whoever's behind all of this... he's everywhere, man." Eddy said. "Who knows, maybe he's in this exact freaking café we are in right now."

"Yeah. What's even scarier is that three of the five missing people live near us."

Eddy shuddered, the cold weather worsening the situation. He rubbed his face with his palms before exhaling deeply.

"Eddy, are you sure you're okay? You really seem like you aren't." Brett said, his eyebrows furrowing in worry.

"I'm just exhausted..."

Brett looked at Eddy, noticing how tired his friend looked. The dark bags under Eddy's gloomy eyes were emphasized by his paleness. Brett knew it wasn't just because of the cold weather.

"Let's go home, then. I gotta clean the house, too."

Brett drank the remaining coffee in his cup. Eddy, however, didn't touch his cup of coffee again though it was still half full.

They stood up from their seats not long after. Eddy tucked his hands inside the pockets of his jacket, bracing for the low temperature outside the café.

Brett opened the door for the both of them, the cold wind rushing to them as soon as they stepped out.

Their house wasn't far away from the café so they decided to just walk home despite the cold weather. They were walking silently for a good couple of minutes until Eddy spoke.