Awoken by the not so subtle nudging of a hyperactive child desperate fresh outta bed and full of energy and life, as my dazed view began to focus.

Sasha stood before holding a black lump in her hands with a huge grin on her face filled with excitement “look what I found under my bed” her whole body hopping up and down on the spot, refusing to sit still for even a second.

“Huh” I responded, not aware of what she was going on about, still half asleep from the late night I got last night. I even ended up sleeping on the floor as my large body couldn’t get comfy on the tiny sofa that was offered up to me.

“Look” Sasha repeated shoving the lump in my face refusing to move it until I acknowledged what she had found.

“A lump of coal?” My eyebrow raised, unsure of the significance of the rock as well as the fact as to how some would manage to find its way under the bed of a six year old child on the first floor of a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Her eyes carried a gleam amongst them as she ran around the house showing off her new found present, a slight chuckle emerging from myself as I find it amusing how simple children are that such a simple thing can provide so much entertainment.

Returning to my blanket stuffing a pillow over my face as I release my groans trying to prolong the need to wake up off the floor I currently reside within as Sapphire and Damian make their way into the room immediately chuckling to themselves at the sight of me laid flat out shirtless wearing only my trousers as I continued to groan into my pillow.

“Do you need anything Rudsek?” Sapphire asked as she made her way towards the bottom of the stairs, greeted by Sasha eager to show her her lump of coal. “That’ll keep us all toasty by the fire tonight” she adds.

“Coffee” I groan, tossing my pillow back onto the sofa next to me forcing myself to get up ready for the tedious day of investigating that lies ahead. “How do you people have this much energy this early in the morning?”

Reaching for my shirt and socks that laid over the arm of the sofa just beside my head, finally making myself get up dragging my feet into the kitchen, desperate for that coffee.

Met promptly by the wave of a freshly cooked breakfast that Damian stood cooking over the hobs as Sapphire handed me a mug full to the brim with coffee, immediately I put some honey into my mug to give a sweetness that helps me wake up in the morning.

“Do you want me to do anything?” I ask the pair of them, feeling bad about them basically doting on me since I ended up at their doorstep in my sorry state, although I already know what the answer will be.

“Your alright, just relax for a bit” Sapphire replied with a smile meant to offer me comfort, but instead started to make me feel a burden, taking advantage of their generosity.

Reaching for my coat and boots sneaking out whilst they are all in the kitchen, doing my best to go unnoticed carrying my boots to avoid any unnecessary noise, slowly opening the front door releasing multiple creaks the wider it opened.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Where are you going this early?” Damian enquired as he catches right as I’m almost outside the door.

“Going to go to the square and check a couple of things out and I’ll meet Warren as well”

“I’ll come with you” he responds almost immediately, cutting me off and not giving me a chance to respond.

“Wait… you have breakfast with your family, I can manage a couple of hours with Warren” doing my best to offer him reassurance that I’ll be ok on my own, trying to convince to stay and have breakfast with his family, he’s been so fixated on me and the missing children through the entirety of yesterday.

“Just don’t punch Warren” he says offering one last bit of advice “… and don’t let him punch you… again”

“If that's what it takes for you to have breakfast with your family, sure” I jest, shooed him away from the door back into his house, encouraging him to spend time with his family and not the stranger he met only yesterday.

Shutting the door behind me allowing to the family to have some time together, fighting with my boots to get them on, thumping on the ground below the porch trying to cram my heel against the boots sole, trying desperately to wiggle my feet in, knowing their the only boots I own that will allow my feet to take the cold.

Making my way through the town a dark atmosphere all around, the air carrying a thickness of tension thick enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge, my eyes darting all around taking in all the sights to be see, scanning all the layouts of the cabins from the outside trying to see if there's anything different between the ones that had their children taken and the once that didn’t, although all the cabins are built exactly the same impossible for me to differentiate them.

Sitting in the square waiting patiently for my escort to arrive to take me to the suffering families as the snow started to fall from the heavens once again, fitting into the schedule that Damian told me about, not enough to obscure my view like a blizzard would, but it is getting harder over time the longer it goes on.

How long does he intend to make me wait?

Tapping my foot in the snow growing impatient at the fact that their still no sign of Warren, finding myself fidgeting with my necklace once more, as if a method I developed to keep myself distracted as when it’s in my grasp, there's a familiarity about it that I can’t quite explain.

“I thought we were meeting at the family's house” Warren asks with his hands in the air clearly displaying his own frustration. “I’ve been waiting for half an hour” he adds yelling at me from down the street.

“How would I know which house is theirs?” I remark back dropping my necklace letting it bounce off of my chest a couple of times before tucking back into my shirt away from onlooking eyes.

“Right?” He responded by clicking his mouth in response, followed by waving his hand towards himself gesturing for me to follow him.

As I get closer to his location I can see him looking me up and down with his judgemental eyes clearly still unsure of my motive for offering to assist. “You couldn’t have changed your clothes?”

“These are my nicest clothes” I scoff back in retaliation at his remark, his face difficult to read, unable to tell if he is being judgemental of my appearance of failing at trying to lighten the atmosphere trying make peace between the two of us.

An awkward moment passes us by continued with a just as awkward walk through the snow towards the last abductee’s cabin, unsure of what to talk about with Warren feeling nothing I can say to him will ever cause him to change his sceptical view of me, the only way I can prove my sincerity at his point is through my actions.