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Authors: Anderson Atlas
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feels his heart rev like a racecar. He sprints to the side of the couch where he’d slept and grabs his cell phone. He uses hot key one to dial Allan.
A moment after the line starts ringing, Rubic hears Allan’s annoying ringtone. It’s in the house. Rubic spins. His eyes search. The ring echoes down the hallway. He speeds back to Allan’s bedroom and sees Allan’s phone shaking and buzzing on the nightstand like a haunted rattle. He snatches it and flicks his thumb over the reject call symbol and unlocks the phone with Allan’s simple password. Laura had tried to call Allan, too, and then texted him. Allan had not seen either.
Worry and fear engulfs Rubic’s body like flames. His strong reaction makes his just-awakened-no-coffee-yet brain dizzy.
“Come on. Get ahold of yourself, man. He’s gone to the Riverwalk. He’s done that a few times. Though he always leaves me a text. I’ll bet he’s clearing his head, watching the sunrise at the bridge or something,” Rubic says out loud to himself. The fact that Rubic, just a year ago, went through the toughest few days of his life when Allan disappeared explains his paranoia. “I’m blowing all this up. Everything is okay.” But the more Rubic tries to talk himself out of panicking, the deeper he falls into its clutches.
Rubic dials Mac’s phone number. Mac answers and doesn’t know where Allan is.
Rubic hops in the van and flies down the drive, tires squealing. He drives the few blocks to the Riverwalk and parks. He jogs to the river and heads down toward the bridge.
No Allan.
He jogs all the way to the end and turns around. The only other place he’s gone by himself is the Target plaza. It had a few restaurants, a movie theater, and a post office. The Cracked Egg restaurant had his favorite morning drink. Maybe he’s gone there. Rubic returns to the van and speeds off.
He stops at the Cracked Egg and runs in. No Allan. Rubic feels anger rise in the back of his brain. “Why don’t you have your phone!” he yells. “What good are these things if you don’t keep them on you!” Sweat trickles down his forehead. “A note, he’s got to have left a note.”
Rubic drives home and runs inside. No note. “Did you really go to the mountain?” He mumbles as he flips out his phone and dials the Handi-Taxi dispatch. Rubic tugs on his beard. “But why wouldn’t he say anything?”
“Handi-Taxi here. Good to hear from you, Mr. Westerfield. What can we do for you today? Does Allan need a pick up?”
“I was calling to see if you already picked him up?”
The dispatch woman paused. “I’m sorry, Charlie did pick him up this morning.”
“Where are they going?” Rubic is shocked Allan would call a taxi and take off without saying a word.
“I’m not sure. Here, let me pull up Charlie’s GPS location.” There’s a short pause. “He’s on the Blue Mountain Road.”
“Damn. So he is going up the mountain.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Call Charlie and have him stop at the food mart at the base of the mountain and wait for me. Keep the meter running if you must.”
“I will contact him now.”
Rubic hung up and ran to the van.
Rubic inspects the topographical map of the mountain hung on the wall by Allan’s desk. It has red pushpins stuck in the locations Allan has explored. Rubic is impressed with Allan’s tenacity, even if he is chasing a ghost. The pegs on the map all cluster below the dam, extending over six miles south and following the river. There is a red circle at the bottom of all the pins. The topographical lines and symbols show a rather flat elevation in this area. Rubic sees the marking where the Boy Scout camp is located. He knows the area. There’s a huge field there. Rubic’s finger jams itself on the circle, and he’s confident Allan went there.
Rubic takes a deep breath. He tells himself to relax and tries to force it by strolling to the kitchen. Allan is okay, he’s rolling around a field of flowers.
A moment after the line starts ringing, Rubic hears Allan’s annoying ringtone. It’s in the house. Rubic spins. His eyes search. The ring echoes down the hallway. He speeds back to Allan’s bedroom and sees Allan’s phone shaking and buzzing on the nightstand like a haunted rattle. He snatches it and flicks his thumb over the reject call symbol and unlocks the phone with Allan’s simple password. Laura had tried to call Allan, too, and then texted him. Allan had not seen either.
Worry and fear engulfs Rubic’s body like flames. His strong reaction makes his just-awakened-no-coffee-yet brain dizzy.
“Come on. Get ahold of yourself, man. He’s gone to the Riverwalk. He’s done that a few times. Though he always leaves me a text. I’ll bet he’s clearing his head, watching the sunrise at the bridge or something,” Rubic says out loud to himself. The fact that Rubic, just a year ago, went through the toughest few days of his life when Allan disappeared explains his paranoia. “I’m blowing all this up. Everything is okay.” But the more Rubic tries to talk himself out of panicking, the deeper he falls into its clutches.
Rubic dials Mac’s phone number. Mac answers and doesn’t know where Allan is.
Rubic hops in the van and flies down the drive, tires squealing. He drives the few blocks to the Riverwalk and parks. He jogs to the river and heads down toward the bridge.
No Allan.
He jogs all the way to the end and turns around. The only other place he’s gone by himself is the Target plaza. It had a few restaurants, a movie theater, and a post office. The Cracked Egg restaurant had his favorite morning drink. Maybe he’s gone there. Rubic returns to the van and speeds off.
He stops at the Cracked Egg and runs in. No Allan. Rubic feels anger rise in the back of his brain. “Why don’t you have your phone!” he yells. “What good are these things if you don’t keep them on you!” Sweat trickles down his forehead. “A note, he’s got to have left a note.”
Rubic drives home and runs inside. No note. “Did you really go to the mountain?” He mumbles as he flips out his phone and dials the Handi-Taxi dispatch. Rubic tugs on his beard. “But why wouldn’t he say anything?”
“Handi-Taxi here. Good to hear from you, Mr. Westerfield. What can we do for you today? Does Allan need a pick up?”
“I was calling to see if you already picked him up?”
The dispatch woman paused. “I’m sorry, Charlie did pick him up this morning.”
“Where are they going?” Rubic is shocked Allan would call a taxi and take off without saying a word.
“I’m not sure. Here, let me pull up Charlie’s GPS location.” There’s a short pause. “He’s on the Blue Mountain Road.”
“Damn. So he is going up the mountain.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Call Charlie and have him stop at the food mart at the base of the mountain and wait for me. Keep the meter running if you must.”
“I will contact him now.”
Rubic hung up and ran to the van.
Rubic inspects the topographical map of the mountain hung on the wall by Allan’s desk. It has red pushpins stuck in the locations Allan has explored. Rubic is impressed with Allan’s tenacity, even if he is chasing a ghost. The pegs on the map all cluster below the dam, extending over six miles south and following the river. There is a red circle at the bottom of all the pins. The topographical lines and symbols show a rather flat elevation in this area. Rubic sees the marking where the Boy Scout camp is located. He knows the area. There’s a huge field there. Rubic’s finger jams itself on the circle, and he’s confident Allan went there.
Rubic takes a deep breath. He tells himself to relax and tries to force it by strolling to the kitchen. Allan is okay, he’s rolling around a field of flowers.
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