The girl spoke: The thing is, I'm not from around here. I'm only staying with family for a bit then heading home. Every year I meet a friend here and we made plans to meet here again. After that she stopped sending messages. Once I made it here and went to the meeting place she never came. I sent her more messages but didn't get any response.

The more she spoke the more her voice shook. Anyone could tell that she'd been worrying about this for a while.

The girl continued: I went to the meeting place everyday and I checked around town but not one saw her. Most people didn't even know who she was. I went to the orphanage where she lived and asked around but none of the advisors would listen. They said that this happens all the time and that I shouldn't be so worried. I went straight to the police but they said the same thing. I managed to get them to look a little bit but no one found anything so they stopped looking.

I'm supposed to leave soon and no one is taking me seriously. My friend has never liked being away from home for too long and we always look forward to meeting. She wouldn't have just run away randomly. Even if she had a reason to run and couldn't tell me where she went she would have left me a message. That's just the kind of person she is.

The girl was already in tears by this point but she wiped them away and continued anyway: One of the last things we talked about was how she found a puppy and was looking forward to raising it. She knew she couldn't take it to the orphanage so she found a place to keep it safe and feed it until she moved out and found another place to live. At one of the places I looked for her I found him. Now she's gone, and I don't know where she is, and this puppy is all alone, and I can't take him with me.

Taylor listened as she was starting to ramble and said in a comforting tone: It's okay. You don't have to worry about the puppy. I'll find a way to take care of it after you're gone.

He paused to think for a moment then said: About your friend. They aren't wrong, kids like us do go missing sometimes. However since she's your friend I'm trusting your judgement that she isn't that kind of person. I'll continue to look around and find the answer you need. When are you leaving? If it's too soon I'm not confident that I can get proper results in time.

Hearing his relaxed confident tone the girl felt more at ease. She steadied herself and said: Thank you. I'm leaving too soon. I understand that I might never know what happened. But I couldn't just forget about it. I love her too much to give up from just the words of some useless adults. She mentioned you once before so I took a chance to try to find you as a last resort. Just knowing that someone will still keep an eye out after I leave really means a lot. I'll leave it to you but if it turns out that the truth is too dangerous I'd prefer it if you didn't look into it.

Taylor: Thank you for your consideration but I already know that this is a troubling situation. If it turns out darker than hoped I would have been glad to learn ahead of time. I would prefer it if the kids around me didn't go missing suddenly.

The girl nodded in agreement. As she calmed down she felt her head start to clear. She thought: if only all the adults were like this boy maybe she wouldn't have been missing for so long.

The two discussed how to make contact with each other. Taylor suggested that if he doesn't respond in a month she should then go to the authorities again. It was a scary thought but she was the one asked and he had already agreed so they could only toughen their resolve and hope for the best. After sorting a few more details they made to leave.

As they were about to part ways the girl could see the determined look in the boy's eyes.She felt slightly relieved but also a little guilty. After all, there was a chance that they would never see each other again. She would be safe far away but he would be right in the line of fire.

If something really did happen wouldn't it have been her fault?

Who even was he?

Did he have someone that would be heartbroken by his disappearance?

Is she by requesting this, cursing someone else to feel the same heartache that she currently felt?

She thought these things but she couldn't waver. This was her only chance to find out the truth. She didn't have the heart to be kind.

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Taylor looked at her and as if reading her mind said: I have someone at home that I promised to take care of. Forget about me if I let this slide and something were to happen to him because of it I would never forgive myself. At that point no amount of revenge or justice would help. You want to find your person and I wish to protect mine. If something else were to happen because we turned a blind eye now we would be no different than the adults we loathe. I can tell just from talking to you. If you could have known in advance I know you'd have risked your life to protect your friend. What I'm doing is just that.

The girl was speechless by his words. She then repeated them in her heart over and over again. He was right. If she'd been here she never would have let her friend go. She would have risked it all to keep her safe. But still.

The girl smiled faintly: You're right, I missed my chance. Even still I would have preferred that she not be left in the dark. I would hate to imagine her going crazy always wondering why I did what I did.

Taylor thought for a moment. He knew what she was referring to. He found a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote for a minute then paused then wrote again. Once he finished he folded the paper and turned to the girl.

Handing her the paper Taylor said: It would be better if you didn't have to send this.

The girl took the paper and held it like her life depended on it. They had already discussed a few plans of action and most involved keeping the information between themselves. This would be a letter to Taylors person left behind should something happen.

The Girl agreed: I think so too. What is their name?

Taylor tilted his head and gave a slight smile: His name is Joseph. He's a little taller than me but he is younger. He has dark hair and is usually dressed in a uniform like this one.

The girl listened to his description, not daring to miss a single detail. There was an obvious likeness in his tone. Just discussing them was enough to bring a smile to the usual calm face.

Taylor continued: He's like you. He puts all his heart into his relationships. But that also means his pain is greater. I'm confident that he'd also probably do whatever it takes to find me if I disappeared. Right now you're hurt and it'll only get worse before it gets better. If you have to find him you'll be able to recognize that pain just by looking at him.

The girl felt gloomy just thinking about it sighing: Alright. I only hope that we never need to meet.

Taylor: If only it were that easy.

After a few more words the two finally parted ways. The girl was forced to leave town the next day and Taylor got to work. He continued to live as normal with Joseph but whenever he was free he would look into the missing girl. She was right to ask Tyler. With his usual requests he truly was good at finding things. In less than a week he already picked up the missing friends trail. After two more days he had his suspicions on what happened. As he was closing his net he was confronted with a problem. If his goal was to remove the problem then he needed proof.

The request was to find the girl's friend. If he couldn't get the police involved without evidence then he could only get rid of the problem himself. Doing so however would not only be dangerous with a low chance of success but also eliminates any chance of finding the missing girl. He needed the suspect to be questioned. Without the police he could only get the answers himself. He needed to talk one on one.

To let himself get caught would be the most dangerous option. Not only would he be exposed but his chances of survival would have to be so low that the other is willing to talk. Taylor considered all other options. In the end choosing the one with the highest chance of getting the results he wanted. Getting the enemy dealt with and getting the enemy to talk. He mulled over his decision a hundred times. He then accepted his decision and created a plan.

Taylor never told Joseph a word about his plan. He was a lot better than Joseph at keeping secrets. Even with his life and death plan getting closer to completion he never acted the slightest bit off. Only a few days before the planned day did he let his emotions show a little. He thought it would be better to get it out of his system now to give Joseph time to forget about it in case something happened.

Sixth day of May.

Today after finishing their usual jobs Taylor brought Joseph to a small makeshift dog house on the edge of town. Inside was a small white dog with two bowls of food and water.

Joseph was surprised as he asked: Have you been feeding it?

Taylor nodded: That's right. I came across it a while ago and since I can't bring it home I come by to check on it every once in a while.

Joseph helped refill the water bowl he spoke: It's really cute and it's so quiet. Despite living outside it's fur is still white and soft. I hope it continues to grow well.

Taylor smiled: I do too. So make sure to check on it when I'm busy okay?

Joseph nodded and the two spent their afternoon break with the puppy. That night on the way home Taylor figured this was his last chance.

Taylor spoke: Hey Joey. I've been getting busier lately and I hope you know that I'd never forget about you and would never purposely leave you behind.

Joseph stopped walking and laughed: Well that got serious. I know that already you tell me all the time. It's us against the world. You don't need to worry about me so much. You already taught me how to take care of myself. Just because you're gone for a bit doesn't mean I won't survive.

Taylor looked at his goofy smile. He really liked this smile too much: That's true. It's just that I'd be upset if something happened while I wasn't around.

For the first time Joseph felt like something was just slightly different with Taylors expression. But then he blinked and everything was back to normal.

Feeling that something was off Joseph walked over and hugged him: You're so short but your heart is way bigger than mine. Even if I can take care of myself, emotionally I'm better off seeing you every day. So don't get so busy that you can't keep protecting me. Got it?

Taylor hugged him back and said: I'll do my best.

Where Joseph couldn't see Taylors calm expression finally broke. At that moment he thought that if he didn't hate turning a blind eye to others he would have been content with grabbing Joseph's arm and running away as fast as possible. But he knew that running from danger wouldn't work. The world is full of dangers. But he can handle this one dangerous person before he has the chance to hurt Joseph. To succeed in this would mean they get to stay safe and together.

After a long hug Joseph let go but Taylor held on a few more moments. When he finally let go his expression was as still as ever so Joseph assumed he was feeling better and didn't think much of it. They continued home as usual and went to bed. After two days Taylor parted ways with Joseph like normal and made his way towards his prey.