Thirty-Two
Remi
I’m out of my truck as soon as the tires stop moving. I probably broke a dozen laws driving over here from the firehouse. My heart has been thrashing since I got the call from Gentry, a lead weight sitting on my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Lukas is missing.
I pride myself on being great under pressure. I don’t panic, I don’t let my mind go to the worst-case scenario, and I don’t react without thinking. As a firefighter, I have to be that way, or people die. Suddenly, I understand why they say you shouldn’t respond to calls from your own family. It’s impossible not to panic. It’s impossible not to think the worst. My mind is racing, a million different thoughts, each one worse than the last.
What if he wandered too far and a coyote got him?
Or what if he went down by the creek and, god forbid, fell in?
He’s thirteen, and I’m sure he knows how to swim, but we’ve never talked about that before, so I don’t know.Why haven’t we talked about it? This is the type of shit I should’ve asked.
Goddamnit.
If something happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself.
Nobody’s around; they’re spread out all over the property, so I run into the barn and grab the keys for one of the UTVs. Driving to the west edge of the property, I keep my eyes peeled as I scan the area and call out his name. On the drive over here, I tried his cell phone, but it’s turned off, which did nothing but make me worry more.
As I search, I’m cataloging the land in my mind. Land I’ve explored dozens of times. The barbed wire, the fence sagging in spots, the creek, the old equipment shed behind the barn that could swallow a kid whole.
There’re too many places to hide.
Too many ways this could go wrong.
“Lukas!” I shout, panic cracking through my voice despite my best effort. “Lukas, can you hear me, buddy?”
My throat tightens. I force air through my nose and out through my mouth. I can’t fall apart. I don’t get to. I need to be strong and keep searching. He’s here somewhere, and I refuse to believe he’s not okay.
“Lukas!”
The land answers back with wind and rustling grass, and nothing else. Every second stretches. It’s agonizing. Every step away from where Lukasshouldbe feels wrong, like I’m walking farther from him instead of getting closer. All I can think about is how I promised him I wasn’t going anywhere. That I’d keep him safe.
And I can’t find him.
My phone rings in my pocket, and my hands tremble as I pull it out, scanning the screen and hoping to find Lukas’s name. But I don’t. It’s Hollis.
“Did you find him?” I blurt out as soon as I answer.
“Not yet, but I have an idea.”
“Fuck. Okay, what is it?”
“Remember that old treehouse we built when we were kids? Past the creek, near the southeast property line?”
“Yeah…”
How could I forget? We spent every single day for a month gathering supplies and putting it all together.
“Tripp mentioned they walked past there earlier when they were exploring,” Hollis says. “Maybe he’s there.”
My heart palpitates as I look around, trying to figure out where, exactly, I’m at. “It’ll only take me a minute to drive over there,” I murmur, jumping back in the UTV. “I’m on my way.”
“Dad’s on his way too. We’re gonna keep lookin’, but if y’all find him, let me know.”
“Will do.”
