A Journey Through Beltni: Narrow Searches

Ch. 2- Let The Search Begin...

January 6, 2031

As we entered the Chiefs office, the girl was the first thing I saw. She was hunched over the chair that was on the opposite side of the Chiefs desk and when she saw me, that's when I noticed that she had a large bruise on her right cheek and a scratch on her forehead.

I scanned her appearance and she actually looks like somebody you'd bump into on the street. Minus the wounds of course.

"Detective Seiphin, this is Lana Orrin. She'll be filling you in on this case since she's the one who informed us about it. You talk with her while I go sort out some files.."

Chief then left me in his office with the girl and after a small moment of awkward silence, I pull up a chair next to her and sit down.

"So, Ms. Orrin, If I remember correctly, you filed a missing persons report?"

I asked her as I couldn't take my eyes off her wounds. I just didn't like seeing someone who's wounded have absolutely no care whatsoever.

She looked down at the floor and decided to speak.

"Y-yes, I did. It's my sister, Whitney..."

I cocked my eyebrow at her words and got my mind and ears ready for more important details.

"Alright. When was the last time you spoke to or saw your sister?"
I said, crossing my legs.

She looked up at me with sad eyes as she exhaled and began to reminisce about her last interaction with her sister.

"Ummm. It was four days ago. S-she came to my house unbalanced and in a daze. I thought she was just tipsy so I drove her back to her h-house.."

I immediately noticed her eyes beginning to tear up as she rubbed them.

"On the way there, she kept saying things like "Don't let me sleep" and "Please let me stay with you". I thought i-it was just a bunch of drunken rambling...."

At this point, she was full on crying with her tears streaming down her cheeks. In an attempt to comfort her, I scoot my chair a bit closer and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Its alright Ms.Orrin. Just tell me what happened when you got to her house"

She looked at me with her teary eyes and gently removed my hand.

"T-that's the thing. We never did..."

I instantly got confused.

"W-we got into an accident, I blacked out, a-and Whitney w....was....*sniff*.... she was gone..."

My attention was brought back to the wounds on her body.

"This accident, was this the cause of your wounds..?"

"N-no. They're from me. I have a habit of hurting myself sometimes. Usually it's W-Whitney who helps me with it..."

"Hmmm... I see. Um, if you don't mind me asking, by any chance, is it possible that she just walked out of the car after the accident occurred?"

"No. She wouldn't have done that. Even when drunk, she's still my older sister and she'd never just leave me like that."

The story she'd told me sounds like a horrible situation to be in. If I was in a car accident with Terra and she just outright disappeared, I'd spend the remainder of my days trying to find her.

"Now that you've brought it up, Is your sister an alcoholic in any way?"

"N-not exactly. She's not what I would call an alcoholic. She mostly just drinks when she's had a rough day at work.."

"I see.."

Hearing the story from her perspective was one of the things that motivated me to take on this case.

"Well, with this new information, I think it'd be best if you made your way back home. If I need anything else, I'll be sure to inform you.."

In response, she nodded at me and made her way to the door. Before walking out, she looked back at me and said

"Thank you, Mr. Seiphin.."

With that, she walked out and as I heard her footsteps down the hall slowly fade, I hunch my back and press my fingers against my forehead with a deep sigh.

This is the first missing persons case I've had in a damn while. Its almost too exhausting to fully focus on it. But, how could I let down such an innocent person?

I get up out of my chair, walk out the office door and go towards my own office. As I walk in, I make my way to my desk and take out my favorite bottle of Brandy. Normally whenever I'm thinking about something important, I try to challenge my sense of concentration by drinking. You call it alcoholism, I call it an occupational process.

As I pour the Brandy into a shotglass, I stare at a framed and hung up newspaper, reading a panel that stated

ROOKIE POLICE DETECTIVE SAVES NUMEROUS LIVES IN BANK HEIST

And below it, a photo of me in my old cop uniform. God, those days were so much easier. If only it stayed that way.

While reminiscing, I down the entire shotglass at once.