Mike?... Mike!...Mike!... Mike…" The voice echoed over and over as it persisted in the darkness.
He awoke with a start, panting and sweating even though his open window allowed a cold breeze to envelop his room. His confused state eventually vanished as he realized what just happened, and it was no surprise since he had spent many nights interrupted with nightmares and anxieties, the memory of her constantly lingering in his thoughts. Even though he was just starting to get used to these interruptions at night, he wasn't used to her voice haunting him, convincing him to believe she was close. Haunting him in a way that made him feel guilty that he couldn't save her, which made his heart ache because she always seemed to be there. But she wasn't. When she had first disappeared, he really thought she was just around the corner, or hiding in the woods, and that it was really her voice that he heard in those rare moments. But now he was beginning to think that he was going crazy, because there was no way that she was in his room with him at this moment.
Maybe it really was her voice though. His mind began to spin, worry creeping into every fiber of his being. Maybe she's trying to reach him, and she needs his help… His body was ahead of his mind as he got up from his bed and let his muscle memory guide him to his basement. He kept the fort up because it was the only physical object that she left behind, it was proof that she was real and that their short time spent together meant something. He picked up his walkie and plopped down on all the blankets, unable to stop the feeling of hope creeping up on him. She's out there, he knew it, he just didn't know where or how to find her. Trying to reach her through his walkie was the only thing he could think of, but that would mean that she had to be looking for him as well. And who knew if she was in a safe place to concentrate, or if she even wanted to find him…
He turned it on and twisted the dial to a desolate channel he knew his friends wouldn't be listening. He wanted so desperately for her to be out there, "please," he thought. "please be out there."
"Hello? El? It's Mike. Now It's day 94, 12:10 am, I had to try again tonight because something weird happened. I heard your voice tonight. I think it was a dream, but it felt so real. It's as if you were beckoning me to come to your fort, and now I really need to hear your voice. Well I'm here… are you?" he waited in silence, with only the sound of the static channel filling the small enclosure of the fort. He waited for several minutes, but she never answered, and all at once Mike felt like the only person in the world. He was alone and had never felt more helpless than in this moment, an unfortunate cycle that would persist and plague him. A tear fell from his face, but he quickly wiped it away and suddenly decided that he couldn't do this anymore. Night after night he came to this spot, but his hope was never rewarded. All of his friends seemed to move on, so maybe it was time for him to move on as well. He began to stand up, but he immediately felt a force push him back onto the blankets, and for a split second he couldn't move at all.
It was El! It had to be! There's no way he imagined that… he felt it! Something physically forced him down, and it was El. He knew it. His next move was to pick up his walkie and he felt so breathless the words tumbled out of his mouth.
"El! El… I know you're there. I promise I will never give up on you, and I hope you'll never give up on me. I'll come down here every night if I have to… Why won't you talk to me?" He pondered, he had the feeling she wanted him there, but something was preventing her from making contact with him. He waited a few moments longer, and eventually decided to stay in the fort for the rest of the night. He felt as if she was there with him, and he wanted to relish in that feeling for as long as he could.