The woman at the head of the line, her blonde locks catching the flickering torchlight, openly wept, her voice thick with desperation. "We should've found him by now," she cried, her anguish echoing through the night. "Where is he?"

"Don't worry, love, we'll find him," her husband comforted, his arms wrapping around her trembling form, granting permission to let tears flow freely.

She was my mother, and he was my dad, and all this turmoil stemmed from the disappearance of my little brother, Tonny, who had vanished three days ago on his way home from Mrs Mbiyus bakery.

A local approached the sheriff, claiming to have seen a child resembling Tonny in a brown pickup truck, speeding off into the woods.

With no solid leads, the sheriff mobilized a search party. The community rallied, pouring into the forest in a united effort to find him. As I scanned the darkness with my torch, I prayed for any sign that might lead us closer to Tonny, fearing with each passing moment that we were only straying further from him.

3 hours had passed since we had started out on this trail. It was 11 o'clock in the evening drawing closer to midnight and I could see the groups of people starting to part since they too had to get some shut eye.

" Hansen," Zuri, my best friend called," you okay?" I look at her then back at the trail I was on. Tears plummet from my eyes and onto my cheeks. I quickly draw out my other hand and wipe of the tears and draw it back in my hoodie. Zuri stretches her hands around my waist and leans on my shoulder. I breakdown and rest my head on hers.

"It's alright, we're going to find him," she assures me. I continue sobbing still tied up on her.

"He just wanted a cake," I whimper," this would've never happened if only I ..."

"Don't," she cuts me off," it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for what happened, there was no way you would have predicted it!" " But I could've done something if I was with him."

She breaks away and takes my hand into hers.

"We're going to find him, " she draws closer to my ears," and when we find the person responsible, we're gonna kick them where it hurts." "Thanks for being here now," "Don't say that as if we were doing you a favor. You are my family. And I'm not here alone you know." She looks back at the search party behind us. " We got you."

I give a faint smile but just enough for her to smile back. Zuri always had a way to lighten up my mood. I break off the hold and put my focus back on the woods and wander on ahead of her.

"Crack!"

We're not alone. 

I flash my light towards the direction which the sound came from. Someone was watching me from behind the trees. I could feel it. I spot a finger then call out and immediately I hear footsteps drawing further into the woods.

I turn back to tell Zuri to call the sheriff but on looking they were far off behind, and it looked as though they were trailing in another direction.

I shout for them, but they are too far gone. Heading back to call them would mean losing track of the person in the woods. What to do! What to do?... 

"I can't risk running into the woods all alone at this time by myself," I try to convince myself, " I also can't run back to call my parents and the sheriff, the person might have already made a run for it if at all he has something to do with Tonny's disappearance. "

I might have been rash in making my decision, but you can't blame me, my brother's life is on the line. It was a do or dare kind of situation.

" Screw it!"

I look at the already thinned out party and back to the trees, I take a step forth, then two and  in no time, I'm running in the woods trying to catch up with the steps. " I'm coming Tonny."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I am now walking, running my flashlight to and from, following the loud sound of twigs snapping and leaves crackling a good distance ahead of me. Who was this? What was he doing here at this time of the night? I asked myself.

Was he even connected to Tonny or was he just a random dude running in fear of getting caught for another reason that wasn't this. No. That couldn't be it. Of all days the person had to be here today. He was most certainly connected to this.

The running subsides and eventually dies down. He had stopped. Perhaps he was trying to lose me in the silence. I can't hear him, only the sound of rushing water from the river. I decide to head out on that direction since I pretty much could find my way out from that side.

I walk out of the woods and am at the river shore. I focus my light on the sand, and I almost immediately spot something. It was footprints. Not the adult size that I was expecting to find but tinny ones, just like Tonny's feet. I follow trail seeming as though they were fresh and had been made not that long ago.

I see him. Not Him, but him.

It was Tonny, standing still looking in the direction of the waters.

"Tonny." I say in a low voice unsure of what to do. I run to him. I get on my knees and hug him tightly in my arms. "Thank God you're okay." I sob.

I do a quick but thorough inspection on him. His unusually large ocean blue eyes still shone to the moonlight, but they were understandably dimmer than before. He was all good apart from some scratches on his wrist and cheeks. I rub the dirt off his face then take his tinny little arms into mine. He was still wearing his favorite white short and Ben 10 shirt that he would never get rid of unless forced off by mom. He felt cold. I removed my jacket and put it on him.

"You must've been freezing. What are you doing out here? Who brought you out here?" He looks unblinkingly at me. His gaze was cold and freaking me out. Something was not right. Had he been harassed? I couldn't help but think of that. He didn't seem to be in pain but then what would I know. I had never been through such an act. I decide to first get him out of here then I could figure out what exactly happened.

I lift him up to my chest and start walking, heading to the direction of the main road but all of a sudden, he becomes wild and starts scratching and biting me ruthlessly. I drop him and take a few steps back.

" What the fuck Tonny!" I shout, "Don't you want to get out of here?" I can feel blood trickling down from my neck. I run the back of my hand on it then wipe it off on my pants. 

Bloody nails. Why the heck did mum allow him to grow them? She never let me do anything I requested.

He stares at me as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. I again get down on one knee and slowly place my hand on his shoulders. " What's wrong Tonny? We can't stay here."

A tear plummets from his eyes and falls to the moist sand. I place my palms on his cheeks and with my thumb rub off the tear. He seemed to be in sorrow, in anguish, so much that he couldn't talk. What should I do in such a situation?

"Did the guy in the woods do anything to you? " I plead with him to tell me. I was worried. Not entirely about him but also about the man in the woods. Where was he? If we didn't start to get moving, there was a chance he would catch us even before making it out of here.

" Tonny, we have to go. We have to move now!"

Slowly, he opens up his mouth and stutters. " Heeeelp...He...lppp me!" "Tonny, am right here, no one is getting to you. No one is gonna hurt you. I'll protect you." I promise.

"Find me! Find me!"

His eyes slowly shift away from me and his expression changes into that of a horrified child. A shadow spawns on the ground. He's behind me. He screams looking at the figure behind me.I quickly turn trying to catch the man off guard, but he was already anticipating that. 

He grabs my hand, and, in that moment, I catch a glimpse of him. He was dressed in all black, his face was covered with a black cotton ski mask that made it hard for me to determine his complexion or even race. He throws me aside as though I was nothing. My hand pops on the rough landing. I cry out in pain. It's broken. I try to shift my focus from my pain to Tonny.

The man looks down at me then turns and walks towards Tony whose feet looked frozen up to the ground. No! No! No! I have to get up.The man takes him up and places him on his shoulder. Tonny doesn't resist. He doesn't even flinch. 

Who was this man? How had he made Tonny so scared of him. I try to get back on my feet and for a brief moment, the pain seems to have shrunk down in me. I did not care what would happen to me, I just had to get Tonny back home. That was all I was thinking at that moment.

I get up and start running at them, but I keep on stumbling and falling. The man doesn't even turn to look at me. He just walks on. The pain settles in again. I fall down. I am weak. I can't stand no more.

In desperation I shout at the man ordering him to leave Tonny alone. Threatening that I had seen his face and would come for him. He stops.

Yes, I've got him now. He turns and looks down at me. I could almost see the smile he made from underneath his mask. He pulls up his index finger and places it adjacently on his lips. I was shaken with fear. I froze, for the first time I believe I felt what Tonny must've been feeling. With nothing more to say or show. He turns and continues walking away. I could feel the tears forming up in my eyes. Their image became blurry. They slowly faded and blended in with the night.

I had failed. As a son and brother. 

I was weak.

"No! No! Noooo!" I scream, " come back here! Bring him back! " He was gone and so was Tonny. I sobbed. I sink my face into the sand moaning and crying.

"Give him back! Tonny! Give him back!"