Commotion in the Streets

"What's wrong, what happened?" Bob asked in a panic.

"Meh, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to make it dramatic."

'Haah, this kid.' Bob mentally pinched his nose bridge and sighed.

"So, do you know him?"

"Yes, I do. But, we're not that close. Scratch that, we are not close at all. I've seen him get dragged by the bullies a few times. The degree of bullying they do to him can't even be compared to what I get. It's like peas and beans."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"NO!" Sean was weirdly very serious about this.

"Okay… so, who's peas and who's beans?"

"Well, it's kinda obvious since he's green and all. But, I've never seen him show any kind of depressive or sad emotions despite the bullying. I also don't think he's the kind of guy to just disappear on his own like that."

"Yes, I'm aware. His family said the same thing. Anything else? Like... Did you notice anything strange with him before his disappearance?" Bob asked in the hope of another lead.

"No. That's all I got. I told you I won't be of much help to you."

"No, no. That was very helpful. Thank you for your cooperation."

Sean was surprised by Bob's formal speech.

'I guess he really was in business mode.'

"So, can I go now, officer?"

"Of course, do you need me to drive you back?"

"No need for that. I'm pretty sure you have other things to attend to."

"Well, you're right about that..."

After saying his farewells, Sean walked out of the restaurant and retraced the path he remembered. Emphasis on "remembered" because he did not follow the same direction at all and ended up lost in some shady part of the town.

'Shit, I'm lost. Alright, Sean. Stay calm and remember the rules to follow when you get lost.'

Rule number 1. Don't move.

'That's easy.'

Sean didn't have a watch so he couldn't tell the exact time but he was pretty sure that at least an hour had passed already.

'Okay, that was not easy.'

Rule number 2. Look for safe adults and ask for help.

'How in the flying fuck am I supposed to know if they are safe or not? And, I haven't seen anyone, not even a dog. Well, I'll give it another go.'

Hours passed by like flies when they saw fresh "food" dropped straight from the source. It was not a stretch to say that Sean was panicking at this moment. It was also becoming dark outside, further enhancing Sean's panic.

'Stupid idiot. Why did you have to act all cool and reject the ride back home? Fuck me.'

Suddenly, he saw two beams of light coming from the direction he came from. It was dark but, not that dark for Sean to not see the two humanoid figures coming toward him.

'Finally, people!'

"Hey kid, are you lost? What are you doing here?"

One of the two people shouted. They were still quite a distance away from Sean.

Sean opened his mouth with the intention to ask for help but he suddenly remembered his conversation with Bob. If Tetter Green did not disappear by himself, That meant there were-

'Culprits.'

Bingo!

As soon as he realized the situation he was in, Sean quickly faced the other way and followed what the Rule number 3 (revised by Sean) said.

Rule Number 3. RUN!

And run, he did.

Pant! Pant!

Sean was breathing quite heavily, sweat ran down from his face to his toes. He had been running for quite some time. He could no longer hear the footsteps from behind.

However, before he could relax, another obstacle arose. A pebble, a single pebble stood in front of him. He only saw it right before the collision so, there was no way for him to dodge. Sean knew pebbles couldn't talk but he was pretty sure this one said, "Hi. Now, Die."

Thud!

Sean tripped and fell. He rolled on the ground like the pandas from that particular movie. Then, he hit his head on something hard and fainted on the spot.

After a few minutes, the two figures arrived at the scene.

Pant! Pant!

"Damn, this kid sure can run fast."

"Yeah, no shit."

The two figures spoke to each other while panting and wiping their sweat. Seeing that the kid was not moving, they hurried.

"Hey kid, still there?" one of them asked loudly as he shook the kid gently.

"No good, he's out cold. At least, his vitals are okay." another one said after he finished checking the kid's breathing and heartbeat.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before simultaneously nodding and then they looked at the unconscious boy lying on the ground.

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Sean opened his eyes. The glaring bright light made him close his eyes again until he adjusted to it.

'I had a dream.' He did not remember what the dream was about but he vividly remembered the feeling he had.

'It was warm.'

An unfamiliar ceiling and an uncomfortable bed.

'This isn't my house.'

He looked around to figure out where he ended up. He could vaguely recall what happened yesterday. It looked like he was in a hospital or a clinic.

"Phew."

He released a sigh of relief, glad that he did not wake up in an abandoned shack out in the woods or somewhere else equally terrifying.

Swoosh!

The door suddenly opened and a familiar person walked in. It was Bobby Tenners.

"Hey kid, you up?"

"Again, I'm not a kid." Sean rebuked immediately.

"You are definitely up. Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Kinda. I remember running away from some suspicious people and then… a pebble?… Ouch!"

Sean yelped in pain when he accidentally touched the back of his head while recalling his memories. His ankle was also sprained.

'So, I tripped on a pebble, hit my head on something, and fainted.'

"What happened to those people?"

"Oh, they're my colleagues who were just patrolling the area when they found you and took you to the hospital. I only found out about this later. Why did you run anyway?"

"Why did I run, you ask? Of course, I'd run. It was in the middle of nowhere and also dark so I couldn't properly discern them. With the disappearance of Green and everything, there's simply no way I ain't bolting away."

"Disappearance? Green? What are you talking about?"

Bob asked with a genuinely confused look on his face which was outdone by the more confused look on Sean's face.

'I think he hit his head too hard.'

Bob shook his head before saying:

"Take some rest, kid. I'll check up on you later."

He got up and left the room, feeling sorry for the poor kid.

After hearing Bob's inexplicable response, the only word Sean could mutter was

"Huh?" which was promptly followed by "Meh, I'll just sleep."

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Again, a warm sensation enveloped his body during his sleep.

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Sean woke up from his power nap, feeling fully refreshed. He touched the back of his head again. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt anymore. He stood up from the bed only to find out that his sprained ankle had also healed. Having recovered enough, he decided that he was good to go.

Sean looked around for a while searching for Bob and his colleagues. After some time, he gave up and walked up to the reception desk.

He asked the receptionist whether she had seen a tall, brown-haired man with a particular goatee.

"Oh, Are you talking about Bobby? If so, you must be Sean Grey. Unfortunately, Bobby just left a while ago. He told me to contact him when you wake up. Are your injuries okay? Shouldn't you still be lying in the bed?"

"No need to waste hospital beds. I'm all good, see."

Sean jumped up and down a few times to prove his point.

"Anyways, I have something to ask. Do you perhaps know someone with the name of Tetter Green?"

The receptionist replied while still in disbelief at how Sean had just done that jump with a sprained ankle.

"Huh?... Umm... Sorry, I don't think I know anyone with that name. I can search for it if you wan-"

"No, never mind. Sorry for your inconvenience. I'll be off on my way."

Interrupting the receptionist, Sean left the clinic immediately with a puzzled look on his face. After all, Green's disappearance was a big incident that everyone in the town knew of... Unless they were living under a rock, of course. But, Bob and the receptionist just acted as if it never happened...

'What the heck is going on? I thought it was just Bob having some sort of dementia, but the receptionist also doesn't remember anything. Something's fishy… Meh, it's not my problem.' Sean just shrugged it off like it was no big deal and strolled back home nonchalantly.

Although he only talked to two people and made an assumption based on their reactions, he didn't care enough to pursue the matter.

When he got home, he suddenly remembered that he still had the coupon left.

`Ah, I still have that coupon. Sure, the baking game was fun but I still wanna play the other game. Hopefully, it will be restocked today.'

Chling! Chling!

The sound of the door chimes filled the silent game store. It was unnoticeable the other day due to the popping of confetti and the greetings from the staff.

"Welcome, custome- Oh, it's you, Sean. I heard you're the 100,000th customer of the store. Congrats! Did you get Boom?"

"Boom" was the name of the game Sean had been longing for. It was truly a revolutionary shooter game.

The person who just asked Sean was an employee of the store with the name "Suzie" on her name tag. She had blond hair and blue eyes. She looked pretty young for her age. no one would believe that Suzie was in her late 30s.

She was one of the people who helped out Sean during his dark times. Suzie was a very amicable lady and an almost-perfect model citizen except for one little flaw of hers.

"Nope, it was sold out. I got a pretty good baking game, though."

"Do you mean that baking game? Oh yeah, it's pretty good. I also tried it and got addicted to it. By the way, have you tried out that game over there? You should also… blah… blah…blah…"

The flaw being talkative.

'Why did I start the talking machine?'

Sean immediately regretted his actions.

"...Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my trip. Listen, I saw a…"

While nodding in approval, Sean slowly approached the new games shelf. Fortunately, there were still 3 copies of "Boom" left, and no bullies in sight.

After taking one copy, he took a glance at the shelf where the mysterious game had been kept before. There was no sign of it, making him feel a bit disappointed.

'Why am I disappointed? I don't even know what game it is...'

Sean used the coupon and left immediately after purchase to avoid more verbal bombardment of Suzie.

Happy and satisfied that he got what he wanted, Sean strolled back home when he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the alleyway.

"I-I'm sorry. I won't do it again. P-please forgive me. Please..."