It was a quiet night, with Alex deep in his slumber. As time ticked away, and it passed midnight, the sound of his phone buzzing cut through the silence. Jolted awake, for a moment he lay there disoriented. His mind was still caught in the haze of sleep. But the insistent ringing dragged him back to reality.

As Alex reached for his phone, the heavy blanket of sleep still clung to him, making it hard to focus. His body felt sluggish, and for a moment, he couldn’t make sense of the time on his screen. Maybe gaming so late had not been the right call.

‘It’s the middle of the night.’ He thought, squinting at the unfamiliar number that popped up.

Who would be calling at this hour? Yet despite not being a number he recognised, something in his gut told him he ought to pick it up.

“Hello?” He mumbled, his voice thick with exhaustion.

“Is this Alex? It’s… it’s Aquilo’s mother.” Her voice was tight, trembling even.

“That’s right.”

The sound of her trembling words started to snap him into full alertness. The sleepiness vanished, replaced by a wave of cold anxiety that settled deep in his chest. Simultaneously, a foreboding feeling started to overcome him.

“Aquilo, he’s… he’s gone. We can’t find him. Have you seen him? Did he say anything to you?” She barraged him with questions, her mouth reflecting her inner desperation.

“I-” Before he could speak up, he was cut off.

“We came home, and he’s not here.” Aquilo’s mother continued, her words coming out in a rush. “We thought maybe he was staying at a friend’s, so we called Cortez’s parents, and Austin’s… but they haven’t seen him. And Austin is… he is gone too. We’ve called everyone, even the police, but there’s no news.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, and Alex felt a chill creep up his spine.

“He’d been talking about you recently. I thought - maybe you knew where he was, that you could help us find him.”

Alex’s heart sank as he listened, the dread creeping in slowly. He had no idea where Aquilo or Austin could be, and the thought that they were missing - truly missing - made his stomach twist. But he couldn’t leave them hanging.

“I… I don’t know.” He finally stammered out, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed. “I haven’t seen him since school.”

He hesitated for a moment before adding.

“But I’ll help. I’ll do whatever I can. Where are you right now?”

“Oh…” Her voice was of someone whose last straws of hope were burning away. “I’m at the police station near my home.”

Without an extra word, the call ended.

‘They likely have a system in place in case Aquilo travelled straight to his apartment.’

With that thought, the boy instantly got up, scribbling a quick note for his siblings in case they woke up. Then, while he hurriedly threw on his clothes, his other hand was calling his uncle. After picking up, a voice laden with sleepiness spoke up.

“Is something the matter, Alex?” Sam asked, his voice low.

“Uncle Sam, I need you at my apartment now. Please. It’s my friend, you might have heard of him. Aquilo.” Alex said, barely able to get the words out. “He’s missing… and another friend, Austin, too. We need to go to the police station now.”

As he talked, he was putting on his shoes and then walked out of his apartment, while locking the door behind him.

“Understood. I’m getting ready, I’ll be there soon.” The old man spoke with a reassuring tone.

“Thanks, Uncle Sam.”

As the call faded away, Alex stepped out of the building. But even there, the cold air of the night did nothing to calm his nerves. The few minutes he stood there felt like agony, each second tearing away at his mind.

He hadn’t known Aquilo for that long, but his soul knew. It knew that this was not a person who he could afford to lose. And even if their relationship meant nothing at all, his common human decency would ensure that he would help regardless.

As he contemplated getting a taxi, even if only to speed up the process by mere seconds, he saw his uncle’s replacement van pull up. The door opened, with Uncle Sam sat inside, his eyes heavy with sleep but concern clear on his face.

“Get in.” His voice was tinged with haste.

Alex didn’t need further encouragement, hopping in.

“It’s this address.” He was already sharing the location, as the van’s door automatically closed behind him.

“I got it.” Sam hit the acceleration pedal, not afraid to tip the line of what the expected speed limit was.

He would have used the automatic drive function, after all, it could drive more effectively than he ever could, but it followed the rules' limitations to a fault.

“Helena wanted to come as well, but there’s not enough space.”

“No worries.”

The van sped through the mostly empty streets, the hum of the engine the only sound as Sam pushed the vehicle forward. Alex stared out the window, the familiar roads passing by in a blur. His mind raced, a dozen of the worst-case scenarios flashing through his thoughts.

“We’ll find them.” Sam said, glancing over at Alex.

His voice was steady, but there was an edge of concern that didn’t escape Alex’s notice.

“I’ve dealt with stuff like this before. Missing kids, people running off - it’s almost never as bad as it seems.”

Alex shook his head, still staring out into the night.

“I don’t know, Uncle Sam… this feels different. Aquilo’s not the type to just disappear like that… Who am I to kid you, he absolutely is.”

The boy could simply not deny it. His friend did things on a whim. But Austin? He was normally calm and collected. Maybe their disappearances were not linked? But it was too coincidental. Perhaps Cortez knew something? But they did call him. Everything felt like a dead end.

“Kids do stupid things, especially when they’re together.” Sam replied with a wry smile. “Trust me. I’ve seen it all. You’d be surprised how quickly curiosity can lead them into trouble. But that’s why we’ll find them. Before anything gets out of hand.”

Alex didn’t respond right away. His chest felt tight, and no amount of reassurance could seemingly ease the gnawing anxiety.

“What if something’s already happened?” He muttered quietly, almost to himself. “What if we’re too late?”

Sam took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Alex, you’re young. You don’t see it yet, but things usually aren’t as bad as they seem when you’re in the middle of it. People panic, jump to conclusions, but most times? It’s not as terrible as your mind makes it out to be.”

Alex rubbed his face with his hands, trying to shake off the tension.

“I just keep thinking about all the things that could’ve happened. And how to solve them, but nothing comes up.”

Sam glanced at him, his expression softening.

“I get it. But until we know more, don’t waste your energy on worst-case scenarios. Focus on what we can do. We’ll get to the station, see what’s going on, and then figure out the next step. Don’t drown yourself in ‘what-ifs’ – stay in the present.”

The van’s headlights continued to cut through the darkness. Streetlights flickered as they passed, illuminating mainly empty sidewalks and silent storefronts.

But as they progressed towards the more central sectors, it continued to brighten up, with people showing up here and there. Yet regardless of where they were, the city felt like a different place at night.

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“We’ll get there soon.” Sam said, more to himself than anything, his knuckles tightening on the steering wheel.

***

The pair walked into the building, a hectic atmosphere sweeping over them. The police station was buzzing with low voices and the occasional ring of phones, even in the middle of the night. The cold lights overhead flickered slightly, casting a harsh glow on the tired faces of officers and civilians alike. It made everything feel stark and sterile.

As Alex stepped further inside, a scanner having already done its job of looking for anything illegal, he felt the atmosphere shift rapidly. The tension here hit him all at once - the desperation in the air, the frantic murmurs of people waiting for news. It felt as if the whole room was holding its breath.

Aquilo’s parents were sitting somewhere within the station, their faces pale and gaunt as if they hadn’t slept in days. His mother was pacing back and forth, her hands wringing together anxiously, while his father sat slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the floor.

As Alex approached them, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Their faces reminded him of his own troubles. The emptiness in their eyes, the way their hands shook - it was all too familiar. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Aquilo’s mother looked up from where she sat, her hair dishevelled. She stood up the moment she saw him, clutching her arms around herself as though to stop her hands from trembling.

“Alex.” She whispered, her voice hoarse. Her lips quivered as she tried to speak. “Do you… do you know anything? Anything at all?”

Her desperation hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Alex felt his stomach twist, as his mind kept wandering back to the nightmare. But this wasn’t a dream. This was real. And he had no answers for her.

He had already told the woman, but it wasn’t that easy to be dissuaded when you were at your lowest point.

“I don’t know.” For the second time, he said it.

She gave a heartless nod upon hearing him. Too afraid, or more accurately too inexperienced, to comfort them, Alex just stood a short distance away.

He wasn’t very familiar with Aquilo’s mother and father.

From what he did know, they often spent time away from Aquilo on long business trips, often outside the city. That inevitably created some distance. But from how his friend talked about them, they were clearly loving parents, if a little distant.

Uncle Sam put a comforting hand on his back.

“Do you have any idea where he could have gone?”

The alternative, that he could have been kidnapped, was too terrifying to think about. And it did not make much sense either with Austin gone too. Moreover, it wasn’t outside of Aquilo’s character to do something rashly. For his own sanity, it was best to think along the lines where he could make a difference.

Thus, the boy racked his brain as best as he could, but not a thing seemed to come up. He had not progressed at all from before.

“No, nothing! It’s all blank.” He let out a pained response.

“You are panicking, calm down first. Take deep breaths.”

Alex exhaled and inhaled a few times, hoping to drive out his inner turmoil. And after some time, he finally wrestled back control of his emotions.

“Think back to your last few times together. Does anything stand out?” The older man’s calm and soothing voice worked its wonders, relaxing Alex further.

Alex’s mind swam with half-formed theories. Finally, titbits of information worked their way up into his thoughts.

‘Our lessons together. The call before I went to the forest. Our lunch and the match we played. Going to the park…’

Flashes of distinct scenes flew past. Past conversations replayed in his head. Every word, every look - he tried to repeat them in his head, but nothing seemed important.

But the boy could feel it, he was going in the right direction. A word stood on the tip of his tongue.

‘Jealousy?’

Something Aquilo had said, not directly, but he could feel it.

‘At the park, he felt jealous of something. What was he jealous of?’

Sam stood silently close by, content to let Alex sort out his own memories. Rushing would only be counterproductive. And then it clicked.

‘My football skills? Of course not. Having siblings? Wait, my drive!’

Latching on, he circled that particular thought. His heart raced as he recalled the conversation.

‘My drive to survive? A sense of purpose… He wants that too, so what would give it to him?’

Slowly but surely, a terrifying sequence of ideas wormed their way into the forefront. His mind had jumped towards possibly the worst possible conclusion.

‘Why go to the stars when there is a world down here? His interest in going to Arbor when he called me. No…’

“Did something come up?” Noticing the frown appear on Alex’s face, Sam decided to step in.

But he was ignored, the boy too focused.

“He wouldn’t have gone outside the walls.” Alex whispered to himself, shaking his head. “That was just mild curiosity. He wouldn’t actually do it… right?”

He tried to ignore it, focusing on other avenues of possibilities. Yet, the more Alex thought about it, the more the idea gnawed at him. What if that’s exactly what Aquilo had done? What if he had dragged Austin with him?

Thinking his thought process to be too insane, he decided to stay silent. But the seconds kept flying by, and there was still no news. The air in the police station kept getting thicker, almost claustrophobic. The harsh lighting made everything look washed out, adding to the constant noise of ringing phones, shuffling papers and low conversations.

Every second that passed felt like an eternity, each tick of the clock a reminder that time was slipping away. Aquilo’s parents sat nearby, their eyes fixed on the entrance as if willing the doors to open with any news. They had practically frozen, their lips dry and their eyes bloodshot.

With nothing changing, Alex finally made up his mind. He first bit his lip, glancing nervously at them. Consequently, unable to hold it in anymore, he finally spoke up.

“I think I might have figured something out.” Despite his quiet voice, their ears instantly perked up, heads turning to face him.

“I can’t be sure, it’s just a suggestion. But I think… I think he might’ve gone outside the city.”

Those words gave the couple a small boost of strength, their movements becoming more animated.

“Outside the city? But why—how could he—?” His mother was the first to respond.

“He never mentioned it directly.” Alex said, his voice low. “But there were hints, suggestions. He had expressed interest in the wider world, particularly the Forest Arbor.”

The outside didn’t mean certain death, Inops had trade routes connected to other cities and people traversed major paths after all. However, they were mildly stable at best, only ever moments away from being destroyed.

Thus, for two children, barely into their teens, venturing outside with no awakened or experience… It was best left unsaid the ramifications of such a scenario.

“Do you think it’s possible?” Aquilo’s father asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of hope and fear. “Could they really have gone out there?”

Alex nodded slowly.

“It’s a long shot, but it’s the only thing that makes sense right now. If we don’t check, we might never know.”

The couple looked at each other and nodded. They had nothing else to lose right now after all.

But before another action could be taken, an officer’s voice cut through the noise of the station, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We’ve just received word from the western gate.” He said. “Two boys have been found. They seem to match the description.”

Aquilo’s mother gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. Life once again flickered there. With her other hand, she clutched her husband’s arm, her voice trembling with disbelief.

“They found him? Is it really Aquilo?”

Alex’s hands were clammy as he wiped them against his pants. He felt the tension in his chest ease slightly, but his mind was already racing with questions. Was it them? Were they hurt? What had they been doing out there?

He could barely keep his thoughts in order, but there was only one way to know for sure. He needed to see for himself.

“We need to go.” Alex said, his voice hoarse. “We need to see them.”