p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"He screamed. An ear splitting, anger filled scream. It shook right through his quivering body and echoed all the way down the through the cave. Screaming felt good but nothing could make it better. The candles he had brought brunt on. Reaching to touch the wax, he flinched with the heat. It burnt but what did that matter now? How could anything matter now? He poked his finger deeper into the candle as pain welled up him side him and it felt good. The pain was a recovery. Half heartedly he pulled his finger back from the flame. It was all over now. Nothing could ever matter at all any longer. All he could hear in his ears were those words. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"'Keir, it's Rick, he's…'/p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"From those words, from that sentence he could never let finish. Who knew it could take so few syllables to ruin a life. He stomped his feet and screamed again, he had to get those words out his head. Of course Rick was fine. He's… coming home, he's… alright. Keiren huddled closer into himself as he realised all this was just lying to himself. Rick's gone. Rick. Has. Gone. Rick. Is. No he couldn't think it. His insides twisted up, as a ball of anger and despair grew in his chest. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"In the corner of his eye something flashed. It was his swiss army knife. Picking it up, he remembered when they had used it to carve their names into the cavern wall. The first tear welled up, it hugged very crevasse on its decent. He felt the shining blade. It made a small prick in his finger. A small scarlet drop of blood came out, its colour soothed something inside. Slowly turning his arm over he could see the rich blue of his veins in his wrist. He touched the main artery; stroked it slowly all the way down with his fingertips, each one in turn. Then finally with the rich red army knife./p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin; min-height: 17.0px;" /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Steve ran through the woods. It was getting darker again; the wind was picking up. He hadn't the coat for this cold. Stumbling over rock and tree roots, he reached the clearing. Ahead was the cave. The authorities has refused to put out a missing persons on Keiren. They said he will probably find his own way back soon, that he was old enough to just leave. This was bullshit. He knew Keiren, he knew what had happened. Keiren must be found before it was too late. No he thought to himself he could never think like that. Heading towards the cave where he had found Keiren and Rick hiding many times before, running away from school. He smiled with the memory of that relief at finding them both. The anger he had shown was all an act because when he found them all he felt was relief. At the mouth of the cave was a patch of reddened grass. Looking up, he saw a red stream coming from within the cave. The flow was no longer running but had stained the caves rocky floor. Steve's mind began to spin. Everything inside him yearned for a different ending. Another story, an alternative life. He couldn't bare to step forward. Each movement required effort he thought he would never have again. Ahead he could see lights. A slumped body on the floor. This was it. An unmatchable wave of despair forced an avalanche of energy upon his trembling body. Running forward he knelt down in the centre of the lights. On his phone he called his wife./p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Then with his last remaining energy he said 'Sue… I've found him…'/p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"The phone fell to the floor. Steve reached for the hand as he keeled over with floods of tears. Turning it over, he saw the rich red knife. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"The blood soaked hand. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Keiren's slit wrists./p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"'Keir, it's Rick, he's…'/p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"From those words, from that sentence he could never let finish. Who knew it could take so few syllables to ruin a life. He stomped his feet and screamed again, he had to get those words out his head. Of course Rick was fine. He's… coming home, he's… alright. Keiren huddled closer into himself as he realised all this was just lying to himself. Rick's gone. Rick. Has. Gone. Rick. Is. No he couldn't think it. His insides twisted up, as a ball of anger and despair grew in his chest. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"In the corner of his eye something flashed. It was his swiss army knife. Picking it up, he remembered when they had used it to carve their names into the cavern wall. The first tear welled up, it hugged very crevasse on its decent. He felt the shining blade. It made a small prick in his finger. A small scarlet drop of blood came out, its colour soothed something inside. Slowly turning his arm over he could see the rich blue of his veins in his wrist. He touched the main artery; stroked it slowly all the way down with his fingertips, each one in turn. Then finally with the rich red army knife./p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin; min-height: 17.0px;" /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Steve ran through the woods. It was getting darker again; the wind was picking up. He hadn't the coat for this cold. Stumbling over rock and tree roots, he reached the clearing. Ahead was the cave. The authorities has refused to put out a missing persons on Keiren. They said he will probably find his own way back soon, that he was old enough to just leave. This was bullshit. He knew Keiren, he knew what had happened. Keiren must be found before it was too late. No he thought to himself he could never think like that. Heading towards the cave where he had found Keiren and Rick hiding many times before, running away from school. He smiled with the memory of that relief at finding them both. The anger he had shown was all an act because when he found them all he felt was relief. At the mouth of the cave was a patch of reddened grass. Looking up, he saw a red stream coming from within the cave. The flow was no longer running but had stained the caves rocky floor. Steve's mind began to spin. Everything inside him yearned for a different ending. Another story, an alternative life. He couldn't bare to step forward. Each movement required effort he thought he would never have again. Ahead he could see lights. A slumped body on the floor. This was it. An unmatchable wave of despair forced an avalanche of energy upon his trembling body. Running forward he knelt down in the centre of the lights. On his phone he called his wife./p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Then with his last remaining energy he said 'Sue… I've found him…'/p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"The phone fell to the floor. Steve reached for the hand as he keeled over with floods of tears. Turning it over, he saw the rich red knife. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"The blood soaked hand. /p
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 18.0px; font: 14.0px Cochin;"Keiren's slit wrists./p