CHAPTER 1
SEARCHING SHADOWS
DYLAN
The night airhangs heavy with unspoken tension as we search the city for Jax. Every alleyway, every shadowy corner, every seedy dive bar we pass through presses the weight of Lily’s worry and devastation deeper into my chest.
After spending an entire day searching without her, she finally convinced us to let her come along. Now, I’m not sure if that was the right decision—for us or for her. We should’ve insisted she stay on the bus.
This isn’t the first time Jax has disappeared, but this time feels more serious, more final. He’s never been gone this long. We’ve been down this road before, but something about this feels different. Darker. And now, with Lily here, it feels even worse. Her presence adds another layer that hasn’t been there before.
“Where could he be?” Lily’s voice cracks, hoarse from crying. Her swollen, red-rimmed eyes glisten with unshed tears and her desperation cuts through the cold night air, slicing into my heart like a knife.
I glance at Marcus. He’s scanning the street with a determined, but haunted expression. His blond hair is matted and grimy, a casualty of nonstop searching and no rest. I’m hoping that he’ll take the lead on this one. Unfortunately for me, he remains silent, keeping a steady pace as he walks down the road.
Enzo is a few steps ahead, his back rigid with anger and frustration. He’s not going to be any help comforting Lily. I already know that.
Suppressing a sigh, I paste a smile on my face and turn to her. “Maybe he’s just cooling off somewhere,” I say, aiming to keep the strain from my voice. “You know Jax. He’ll probably come back with some ridiculous story about wandering into a street performance or finding inspiration in a dumpster.”
She doesn’t respond, her gaze fixed on the sidewalk. I grimace and slow my steps, capturing her hand in mine. When she finally looks up, her eyes are wet and weary. I pull her into my side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and matching my stride to hers. It’s the only comfort I can offer her right now.
We stop at a familiar rundown bar. Its flickering neon sign casts an eerie glow over its dingy concrete exterior. The alley beside it is strewn with garbage, reeking of stale food and piss. This place is notorious for attracting the city’s lost souls—junkies, drunks, and those who have nowhere else to go. They sell cheap beer and don’t ask questions.
We’ve found Jax here before, slumped over a table, barely conscious with a bottle in hand. I fight the urge to cross my fingers while I hope to find him here again.
Marcus pushes open the door, and the stench of stalebeer and sweat smacks us in the face. The dim lighting and low, steady murmur of conversation do nothing to overcome the worn interior and awful odor. The place feels like a den of despair. My stomach churns as we move through the smoky haze, scanning the faces for any sign of Jax.
Enzo disappears into the back, slipping through a cracked wooden door covered in peeling stickers. I know from last time that it leads to a rather disgusting bathroom.
Less than a minute later, he’s back, shaking his head.
“He’s not here,” Enzo mutters after another quick scan of the bar. His frustration is palpable, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
Lily’s shoulders slump, her hope visibly waning as it has with each failed attempt to locate Jax. “Where else could he be? We’ve checked everywhere.”
I squeeze her tighter into my side, trying to offer some comfort. “We’ll find him, Lily. We just have to keep looking.”
We keep moving, combing through every grimy, forgotten corner of the city we can think of. Bartenders shrug us off. Alleyways yield nothing but shadows. We even approach a few addicts on the street, their hollow faces and glassy eyes a chilling reminder of what Jax might become if we don’t find him soon. Each dead end feels like a punch to the gut, our desperation mirrored in the haunted stares of the people we question.
Just when it feels like we’ve hit our final dead end, Marcus gets a tip—a local dealer who lets his buyers linger as long as they keep paying. The address costs us forty dollars, which we gladly pay.
Our search takes us to one of the worst corners of the city. We follow the map on Marcus’ phone to a crumblingbrick apartment building. The condemned sign on the boarded entrance hangs crookedly, and the wooden board over the front entrance is pried halfway open, a makeshift invitation for the desperate.
Inside, the staircase reeks of mildew and stale urine, every step a fight as our shoes stick to the surface. On the third floor, we enter a cramped, decaying apartment. Addiction clings to the walls like a parasite, feeding off the hopelessness of those trapped within. The acrid stench of burnt chemicals and despair hangs heavy in the air, mingling with the sour tang of unwashed bodies. Mattresses litter the floor, each one occupied by someone barely conscious. Used needles and scraps of foil scatter the spaces between them.
“Jax?” I call out, my voice echoing in the squalid room. “You in here, man?”
No answer. Only vacant stares and the muted groans of people lost in their high.
“Stay here,” Marcus commands, directing the order at Lily. He catches my eye, silently ensuring I’ll keep her at the entrance.
I nod, and he ventures deeper into the apartment, disappearing into another room. Moments stretch like hours as Lily clings to my arm, her nails digging into my skin. I try not to hope. I try not to let my mind race with the possibility that Marcus might return with Jax in tow.
But when Marcus finally reappears alone, his face drawn and expression grim, I feel the disappointment deep in my chest anyway. Another dead end.
He gestures silently toward the door, and I don’t need to be told twice.
Tugging Lily along, I half-carry her down the stairs,eager to escape the suffocating desperation of the building. She’s limp in my arms, her spirit dimming as much as mine, with each failed attempt to find Jax.
