“Elijah, you okay?” He asks, rushing over to me.
I shake my head, trying to catch my breath so I can explain. “I need to know if anyone was inside. Did you find anyone? Tobias?”
His eyebrows pinch. “No, we didn’t. No one was in there.”
A wave of relief washes over me knowing he’s not in there. But just as fast as that relief comes, the fear of his absence comes right in.
He’s not here.
“Elijah, what’s going on?” The chief tries to hold me up, even though my knees threaten to cave in.
He’s not fucking here.
“This is Derrick Voss. He did this.” I mutter out, feeling the tears pour down my face.
I feel the rush of policemen join the crowd around us as they begin to inspect the area. I could care less about the fucking house.
Houses can be re-built. There’s onlyoneTobias.
And he’s gone.
Gwen rushes over to me, taking me from the firefighter. She holds me tightly as my whole body is moments away from collapse. “We’re too fucking late.” I whimper. “Too fucking late.”
My brain is so loud, flipping through the many possibilities. “We can put out an alert or something? People do that, right? Call the news stations. Contact the border patrol or something.” I sniff, trying to brainstorm. “They couldn’t have gotten far. We have time.” I sniff, looking around.
Gwen nods her head, grooming her fingers through my hair. I can tell she’s crying too but trying to remain strong. “Yes, we can do it all. Everything. We won’t stop until we find him.”
“I’ll burn the fucking world down.” I clench my fists so hard I think I may draw blood.
Suddenly, we hear a sharp crack that bursts through the air, startling all of us.
It’s undeniable. That was a gun shot.
My heart drops as soon as I hear it.
“The lake.” I whisper, letting go of Gwen. My feet move before I even realize what I’m doing.
Running towards a gun fire. Probably not the smartest thing to do.
But fuck, of all times to be rational, this isn’t it. Right now, Tobias is in trouble. If he’s that close, I need to be there.
Running out back, I slip on some snow, but quickly pick myself up.
Police follow close behind, as we head to the backyard and down the hill.
My eyes immediately focus on to small figures in the distance on the ice. It’s dark out here so I have to strain my eyes, but I can see it. I see Tobias. And he’s fighting for his life on top of Derrick and what looks like a spiderweb crack in the ice shooting out from under them.
They’re too close to the middle. It’s too thin there!
“Tobias!” I can’t help but shout out. They need to move!
His fist in the air stutters as soon as he hears my voice. I see his head pick up, following the sound. My heart skips as soon as we lock eyes from across the lake. It’s like it’s slow motion.
One second, I feel that precious tug of my heart.
And the next, the ice splits open, and Tobias and Derrick fall through, taking my heart with them.
40
