September 12th, 2008

It was cold.

Brockton Bay was not a warm place. No one would say that. But today the wind bit down into her skin. Sinking deep beneath the sinew, down to the bone.

Her tears left trails on her cheeks. Lines of ice. But she couldn't stop, not since everything, all of it hit her. The praying. The flowers. The Casket.

The Tombstone.

Danial Hebert, beloved Husband, and Father.

1969-2008.

Her daddy called it a suicide, when someone killed themselves. She'd asked him why someone would do that.

He didn't answer her.

There weren't many people here which was… sad. Uncle Danny was nice, always, but the few people here didn't reflect how much a nice man deserved. They looked a little like him. Her daddy said most were his family.

They were one of the few friends that could come here today.

There should be more people here.

The tears stung at her eyes. So much that they hurt, even as she wiped them, feeling the cold seeping through her gloves.

The pastor, the man in the black coat, started talking. About God. About how uncle Danny had risen to be with God now. And all these other things that made her want to cry.

She wanted him to shut up. Just stop talking.

Because everything he said just sounded like a lie.

Her chest hurt. Her eyes stung. And more than anything else she wanted to see. To see her.

She looked. Through the tears and the stinging cold, she looked at the people around her. At their legs, their hands. Hoping, praying, that there was a girl around her size next to them.

But there wasn't.

She was the youngest girl here. She shouldn't be.

She looked to the cemetery. People always seemed to stand back there in movies.

But this wasn't a movie, there's no one out there. Only the cars that passed by, not giving so much as a glance to all of them there.

A tug brought Emma back. Her daddy was pulling her aside, and everyone else was starting to move away.

It was over. Just like that.

Letting go of her father's hand, she walked beside him, but she didn't stop looking. Maybe she just didn't see her, maybe she was out there.

She felt a tight squeeze on her shoulder, her father stopping the two of them as someone walked up. A man that Emma didn't recognize, but her father seemed to.

"Jim," he greeted.

"Alan," the other man greeted.

They stood there, quiet for just a moment.

"It's good to see you here," her daddy said, "I'm sure Danny would've appreciated it."

"Wouldn't miss it," Jim answered, "I owe that man my job."

Her daddy nodded, and Jim shifted.

Finally, her dad spoke again.

"What about the umm... the search?"

Jim winced.

The search? Were they... Were they looking for….

"It's kind of why I-"

"Have you seen Taylor!?" Emma asked.

The second she said it, Emma knew she did something wrong. Everyone around them slowed or stopped where they were at the mention of Emma's friend.

Jim stood there, looking at her.

Before he opened his mouth Emma had her answer, just by the sad, grave look in his eye.

"No."

The lump in her throat grew till Emma could do nothing but look down.

"We've looked everywhere. Hundreds of people, and man-hours," Jim said quickly, "The cops have been on it since you two reported it. I've been getting as many guys at the dock that would listen to me to search on their own time."

"Don't tell me you're calling it off!" her dad gasped, "She's just a-"

"It isn't up to me," Jim answered. "Forty-eight hours. That's our window. After that chances of finding a child younger than twelve alive at all drops by almost seventy percent. It's been ten days, Alan."

"She's nine years old!"

Jim shook his head. "Above my pay grade, and my pull. I can't do nothin else."

Then the man left, then everyone else left. No one looked around. No one did a thing other than look at the ground and get to their car. Emma's daddy did the same.

Emma didn't.

Even as she got in the car. Even when the car started driving back home, she kept looking.

All it did, was let her see a faded piece of paper on the edge of the crosswalk. It's picture barely visible, but the name there for the world to see.

MISSING: TAYLOR HEBERT

(X)

Well, I had this idea going through my head for a while, and for some reason my first solo project is this merger. More will be revealed later, and for reference, this is a bit of a slower burn. It's not nonstop action, but it does take a bit to get going. I'm here to write more of a mystery story than a pure action one.

Either way, I hope you guys enjoy.

The next few chapters will be here rather soon, since I'm copying them over from my man source of SB. Either way, wait a bit, and everything will be here as well.

Once again, enjoy, and I hope you like it.