Altan:
"You are a stupid little boy!" my father yelled, slapping again and again. My mother sat on the ground, bawling next to my brother’s dead body. It was too late. Nobody could save him now. He was attacked and I couldn’t do anything. I felt worthless and my father yelling at didn’t help either.
"I was trying—trying to co to you," I hiccuped, sadness flooding my chest. It hadn’t been easy to run back to the warriors and lead them to where my brother had been. I cried endlessly after they told my brother had been brutally killed. Half of his limbs had been eaten. He would have survived had it not been for a loser like to delay getting help for him.
"Why did they do that? Why? Why my innocent little son?" my mother let out another cry, and my body trembled. Every ti she cried, I squeezed my shoulders up and sniffled hard. I had a feeling she would hate too now.
"Why did you let him walk out of the border?" my father shouted, grabbing my arm and shaking . "Why didn’t you stop him? And what took you so long to co seek help?"
He was yelling when my mother suddenly snatched away from him, hugging tightly.
"Leave him alone!" she scread at my father.
"He must answer! Why did it take him so long?" he shouted again.
"I was—trying to reach the bushes first— then I realized I couldn’t save him from whatever monster was hiding there—" I whispered through sobs, shaken and mourning my brother’s death.
"Now what? What are we going to do now? How are we going to bring him back to life?" my mother asked, her voice trembling. The question made my father’s face pale.
"Baby, we’re not going to bring him back. It’s not possible. We have to bury him–sowhere close," my father said, his voice cold. His words made my skin crawl.
That’s when Rocky jolted awake by slamming the door shut. I guess I had blacked out again.
"Altan," he said, walking toward . "Are you okay? Where have you been?"
"I was here the whole ti," I replied, watching him fill a glass of water for . He looked at like he didn’t believe .
"I don’t think you were. I’ve been calling for you," he said, handing the glass.
"Forget about that. What is it? Why were you looking for ?" I asked, watching him stare at my face for a little too long before shaking himself back to the crisis at hand.
"Rember how you wanted to invite Helanie and Emt for a stay-over? Guess what—they’ve co. Unannounced." For a mont, I didn’t even understand what he was talking about or why he was upset.
"They showed up and said they’ve decided to stay here for a while. And guess what, they’re acting mad suspicious," Rocky said, as I stood up and walked over to the mirror to fix my hair.
"Altan, she’s not here for you. You know what? Just don’t focus on her. Focus on why they’re really here. After what she did to her rapists, don’t you think she might be planning your downfall for not helping her that night? What if they’re up to sothing?"
He was panicking over nothing, spinning paranoia out of thin air.
"What makes you say that?" I asked, doubtful. Helanie wasn’t the type to strike from behind, she attacked head-on.
"They’ve been asking around about your whereabouts," Rocky inford , and I suddenly began to sweat. That was odd. Why would they be investigating when they were here for a different case?
"Where are they right now?" I asked.
Rocky gestured toward the door. "Literally in the living room."
I nodded and walked with him toward the door. And just like he said, they were there—Helanie and Emt—sitting comfortably with so files in their laps. The mont they saw , they exchanged a look.
"Where have you been, Altan?" Emt asked, his tone making imdiately wary of their intentions.
"What do you an? I’ve been here all along," I replied, trying to calm my nerves.
"Well, then sit down. We have sothing important to speak with you about," Emt continued, while Helanie just stared at like she knew sothing I didn’t.
"What is it that brought you two here?" I asked as I sat on the sofa opposite the table.
"I’ll be upfront with you, Altan," Emt began. "The other day, when I was interviewing everyone, so things ca to my attention. At first, I didn’t pay them much mind, but I remained cautious."
As usual, he had a way of dragging things out, building suspense before finally hitting you with the truth like a bullet.
"I collected dust from the missing child’s bed. That sa dust has been found at every scene of a child abduction," he said, crossing one leg over the other. The way he stared at , unblinking, that made my stomach drop.
"I have no idea what you’re getting at," I said, glancing at Rocky, who looked just as confused. Then at Helanie, who clearly already knew where this was headed.
"The results ca in this morning," Emt continued, leaning forward. "It’s an exact DNA match to you, Altan."
My breath caught in my throat.
It felt like soone had slamd a hamr into my skull. I couldn’t speak. For a mont, everything went silent. The room dimd, the air thickened, and cold shivers rippled through my body. Before I could slip too far into the darkness, Rocky’s voice snapped back.
"That’s not possible," Rocky objected.
"The results say otherwise," Emt replied flatly. "So, we’d like to know– why was your DNA found on a missing child’s bed?"
My heart was pounding violently in my chest.
"Soone’s been coming in," Emt muttered, narrowing his eyes, "giving these kids hope before snatching them away."
He paused, then asked firmly, locking eyes with .
"What’s going on, Altan?"
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