Numbers

"February... Did you say February?", asks Paul with a mortified look on his face. The waitress expression changes from suspicion to worry and tells them one more time, "Yes, it's February? Did you boys get lost or something. Or maybe you both came back from the war?"

Both Paul and Fausto look at each other both frightened, Fausto tells the waitress, "Yes... Yes we came back from the War. I think we should go Paul." Paul agrees with him but the waitress tries to stop them, "Please stay, it will be an honor to serve two young hero's"

"Oh thank you but we will take you up on that offer for another time, we have families to get back to. You know, it's been a while since we've seen them", says Paul. "Yeah, Yeah. I want to go see my mother", says Fausto. They both in a hurry stand up and rush out the door.

"What the fuck is going on Paul!", Fausto shouts. Paul doesn't say anything to him, he just looks around him, really trying to take in what is happening. Then something catches his eye at a nearby bus stop. Fausto continues to shout in the background, "Man what the hell are we going to do?! It was December yesterday. Oh man! Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!" Paul slowly walks to the bus stop to take a better look at what's catching his attention. "That son'uva bitch John! It's all his fault, It's all his fault that this happened to us!"

Paul takes a good look at the poster; it's a missing poster for both Fausto and Paul. "Ima beat that bastards ass when I see him! We've been in that forest for two months! Two goddamn months! That doesn't make any freaking sense!" shouts Fausto hysterically. "Fausto shut up", calmly says Paul, he continues, "Take a look at this." Fausto, out of breath from all the shouting, becomes confused by why Paul is so calm. "Faust come here."

"Why are you so calm, Paul?!", Fausto says as he approaches Paul. The poster reads "Missing: Have you seen this person?" and is accompanied by a description of the two men. Paul reads out loud, "Last seen on December 13, 2002 in or around highway 40." Paul takes in a deep inhale and says, "No kidding, we were really missing for 2 months." Fausto says to himself, "Now I am really going to kick John's ass when I see him. "

Both of the men begin to notice something strange about the bus stop. Their missing poster isn't the only one, it is surrounded by other missing posters as well. "Did all these people go missing while we were gone?", asks Fausto. There was at least 30 other posters on the side of theirs: Some men and Women, Children and even infants. A couple of posters looked aged like Paul and Fausto's but there were a few that looked new, like they were just placed a day ago. Fausto notices one of the people on there and tells Paul while he points at it, "Look that's the guy, the homeless. That guy I was telling you about. I wonder who's looking for him, maybe his children."

"So you weren't imagining it..."

"I told you I wasn't, the person was real and that thing was real and those military people were real and this whole damn mess is real!", screams Fausto in frustration. Paul doesn't respond to his act of desperation but a thought begins to form, "If what you saw real and what is happening right now is real? Then you know what that means?" Fausto looks at him thinking and they both shout in unison, "Let's leave!"

"No wait, shouldn't we tell people?", asks Fausto. Blowing a raspberry, Paul says, "Yeah we can tell them, when we get off of this weird ass rock." Fausto takes a good look at his missing poster and realizes. The person they should contact if they know anything, is a familiar number. Paul notices that Fausto is focusing intensely on their poster and ask, "What's wrong?"

"That number, it belongs to my ex", answers Fausto. Paul looks confused," Your ex, doesn't she hate your guts? Why would she be looking for you?" Fausto looks at Paul with disgust and says, "I would like to think she's human unlike you."

"Either way, all jokes aside, let's get the hell out of here", says Paul but Fausto interrupts him and says, " We should at least do something, Paul. What about all the people that live here, think about that old woman at the restaurant". There is a brief pause.

"Fuck that old lady!", says Paul loudly. Fausto is in the first time in shock and doesn't know what to say. Paul says to him, "Realistically, how are we going to help the people by telling them some strange shit is happening and that monsters are real. They're going to laugh at us. You joking me Faust. The best thing to do is leave before it gets worse", Paul added.

"We don't even know what's happening", says Fausto. But Paul says to him, "And you want to find out what's going on?! I'm telling you the best thing we can do is get our shit and leave."

"I'm sorry I can't leave, I have to at least tell the police or someone", says Fausto.

"Don't get me wrong, I will tell people but when I'm far from here", says Paul. Fausto is in complete shock about Paul, this is the first time he's seen him so afraid.