Two Minds

by Thethhron

Interlude

On The Plane Beyond

Sean arrived back to his 4-person apartment late that evening. He had run pretty well at the cross country conference meet earlier that day and was looking forward to watching the newest episode of ponies when he got home, possibly with Boots, if he hadn’t already seen it earlier or wasn’t occupied playing Halo 4. Sean’s roommate had been playing it every chance he got since it had come out earlier in the week. The young man hummed to himself as he walked up the steps to his apartment and let himself inside.

The first thing he noticed was that the gamer chair was missing and Boots’ Xbox was still whirring away, though the TV was off. It had probably been left on, as Boots liked to set games down and pick them up again later without bothering to power down consoles. Still didn’t explain the missing chair. Sean texted Boots asking if he knew what happened to the seat and while there was no immediate response, Sean didn’t worry about it. Boots was probably just busy. The two girls who took up rooms in the apartment asked about it when they came in and Sean told them as much as he knew.

Sleep came easy that first night.

When Sean awoke the next morning at 10 am, he was surprised to have received no message back from Boots, who was generally very quick in responding. Unsurprisingly though, Boots wasn’t home, as he went to church every Sunday, getting up at 8:30 or earlier to do so. Time for more Dwarf Fortress! When Boots’ mom arrived in the afternoon, Sean was doing laundry and was just realizing that Boots car had remained parked the entire morning, meaning that Boots must have walked somewhere. His mother had neither seen nor heard from him all day and decided to come over to see if he had skipped church. Sean passed along that Boots seemed to have dropped out of contact and didn’t know anything about his whereabouts. With growing concern, Boots’ mother called the police to help organize a search, while Sean got in contact with his friends and teammates. Within an hour, over 200 people had been gathered to help.

By Wednesday of that week, he had not been found. The campus and much of Springfield had been covered before Sunday evening and it was too dark out. Every building on the campus had been thoroughly searched Sean and the two other roommates had to find somewhere else to stay for the evening, as their apartment became a crime scene. No one had seen Boots leave or at all, in fact, since his apparent disappearance on the previous Saturday. Forensics were unable to piece together anything from the apartment other than some of their instruments occasionally glitched in the main living area. No unusual hair, no sign of a scuffle, no blood, no chemicals at all that weren’t something immediately found in the apartment. It remained as though everything were the same except the lack of one of it’s occupants, a gamer seat and a wired controller. The police guessed an abduction or a willing disappearance and put up a report for as much.

Far worse than an empty apartment was the effect the disappearance had on the team and Boots’ friends. His roommates found it hard to sleep at night, from fear of being abducted, as well as from concern for Boots' wellbeing. The team felt a hole where once there had been a bustling whirlwind of confusing energy. His classmates grew fearful of their paths home. The college stepped up security looking for suspicious individuals. Many of those friends lost their interest in their favorite pastimes. Grades dropped, though they were forgiven by the college and professors in general.

A few miles away, Boots’ parents held each other tight and his mother cried herself to sleep. Every night. The next few weeks were spent in almost continual search. While his father went to work as usual, his mother spent all of her time sending messages or calling or otherwise looking for her son. It became clear by Christmas, he was not to be found. The depression that followed was devastating. Her scout unit almost fell through the cracks. The church she attended was very supportive and helped her through the trial of grief. Life continued, although in much a sadder way.

Time dragged on.

Author's Note:

Short chapter indead. Much sads.

Comments

[The Serpent Mage]

Short chapter indead

Well, I guess he would be considered dead by now

static.fjcdn.com/large/pictures/73/2f/732f5b_4634768.jpg

[Thethhron]

3722310
Close enough

[Techpriest Eh]

OH GOD RIGHT IN THE FEELS *insert funny feels picture or gif*

[Black--Soul]

There will always be something left begin... Sad but it cant be avoided