Dan had had an awkward day so far.

It was nearing on 7PM and he'd decided that he should send Dab to bed very soon, so he had just started trying – once again – to toast some bread in the oven, before he heard his phone ring.

He wasted no time in accepting it, remembering that Phil had said he'd call. Dan was extremely curious to know where his friend had gotten to, seeing as he hadn't actually mentioned the place, and hurriedly answered.

"Phil! Where are you?" He asked, straight off the bat, and heard a surprised stutter from the other end of the line.

"Granite Falls…" Phil replied, quietly, "Looking for Tabitha."

"What? Why?" Dan stammered, "Is she missing?"

"Why else would I be looking for her?"

This was a valid question.

It seemed that Dan's shocked exclamation had alerted Dab, because he soon appeared in his bedroom doorway and peered around the corner of the frame to look to Dan, yet staying out of sight.

"Is Dil OK?" He heard Dan ask, but could only hear a muffled reply from Phil, too stifled to hear.

"Well, as long as he's fine…" Dan continued, "…But are you alright?"

Dab saw him bite his lip as his he heard Phil's answer, and waited for a while, slowly chewing his fingernails as his friend spoke.

His face fell eventually and he dropped his hand to his side,

"Two days?" He swallowed, "And you don't know when you'll be back?"

"I'm hoping it won't be long," Phil sighed, "But I can't promise you anything."

"Well… I…" Dan started, "Ach- just stay safe, alright? Try not to get yourself injured, please."

Dab curiously yet nervously listened still, tilting his head to the side and trying to distinguish Phil's words, but to no avail.

He saw the expression on Dan's face, though, and knew it couldn't be good.

"Be as quick as you can," Dan breathed with a weak smile, "Hope you find her soon… Ok… Yeah; miss you, too… see you soon, pal."

And he ended the call, sliding his phone across the breakfast bar after doing so.

Dab stepped through the doorway then, fiddling with the edging of his brown T-shirt, and timidly chewing the inside of his mouth,

"Was that Phil?" He asked, and Dan quickly turned to him, looking a little bit taken aback.

"Yeah, it was," he replied with a firm nod.

"Where is he?"

"Granite Falls."

"Are mum and dad OK?" Dab whispered, sounding concerned.

"Well… your dad's fine, but… your mum's…" Dan tried to answer, but he didn't quite know how to phrase it.

In the end, he ended up just blurting it out straight.

"Gone missing. In the forest," he said.

Dab's face fell and he started to look as if he was going to cry, so Dan hurried to think of something comforting to say to him.

"But don't worry: Phil and your dad are looking for her," he assured the kid, "And I'm sure that they won't be long, either."

Dab stared up to him in an odd manner,

"I heard you say something about 'two days'," he recalled, "Are they going to be out for tomorrow and Friday, too?"

Dan sighed, heavily and tiredly, before shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know, Dab…" he mumbled, "I just don't know… I'm certain they'll be fine, though – there's nothing to worry about – trust me!" And he smiled again.

Dab still didn't seem sure, but just as Dan was about to continue, all the lights in the house flickered before there was a crackle and they all went out with a pop.

Dan groaned and put his face in his hands,

"I forgot the bills needed paying today!" He grumbled, "Your dad was supposed to pay them when he got back from Granite Falls with Tabitha, but of course, he didn't…"

Dab pulled a tired expression and looked about the slightly now darkened room.

"I don't want to go to bed," he muttered, being too worried about his parents to even feel at all tired.

To his surprise, Dan grinned and thoughtfully rubbed his hands together,

"Tell you what," he began, "Just for tonight, you can stay up until midnight with me."

"Wh- Really?" Dab exclaimed, surprised that Dan would let him stay awake so late.

"Yeah, of course," Dan nodded, "Now go and get your duvet and we'll build a pillow fort!"

Phil returned to the campsite just after the time turned 7PM and the air started to get a bit chillier.

The leaves crinkled under his feet as he stepped further toward the tent, but he ran out of energy before he could get there, and instead plonked himself down on the ground instead.

At least it was dry.

His blue trainers had gained a thin layer of mud over them, which he wasn't ecstatic about, but he supposed it was no pain, no gain, as they say.

He heard Dil emerge from the tent a few seconds later and walked towards him, and so lifted his gaze to make eye contact.

"No sign of her, then?" Dil asked, and Phil shook his head.

"No," he rasped, his voice arid, "Maybe tomorrow, though."

Dil shrugged,

"Hey, why don't you eat something; you looked tired," he offered, "I have some stuff Tabitha and I never ate in the cooler-"
"No, thanks, I'm fine," Phil croaked before yawning.

"Maybe you want to sleep, then?"

"It's only seven."

"And? You've had a busy week, I imagine – you deserve the rest," Dil insisted.

Phil reluctantly agreed to this, because he was absolutely exhausted, and as soon as he was settled down in the warm tent, he fell straight asleep.