(3)-The Coles.
Clare drove up to the Cole residence, the home of Tommy's teeange friend, Bryson. After leaving Jackie's house, Clare had decided to head over to the Cole house-hold and check on Bryson and his parents to see if they were okay...and to break the news to them about Tommy's disappearance.
Clare got out of her car, closed the door, went up to the front door, knocked on it, and waited for someone to answer. When no one did, she knocked again. "Hey, Bryson! Hello?! Bryson?! Judy?! Are you guys home?! It's me, Clare! Clare Dunning! You know, from the hospital?!"
Just then, the door opened, and there stood a fat man with gray hair and brown eyes. "Who are you?"
"Hi, uh...i'm Clare Dunning. I'm a friend of Bryson Cole's. Who are you?" Clare asked.
"Name's Jim Cole. I'm Bryson's step-father and his mother's husband. May i ask why you're here?" Jim asked.
"I just came by to see if Bryson and Judy were alright. Are they home?" Clare said.
"No, uh, they're not. Judy's at the hospital." Jim said.
"The hospital? Why, is she hurt?" Clare asked.
"No. Nothing like that. It's just...with everything that's going on with the disappearances, she decided to check herself in for treatment." Said Jim.
"Treatment? What kind of treatment?" Clare asked.
"Psychiactric treatment." Said Jim.
"You mean she's in a mental hospital?" Clare asked.
"I'm afraid so." Said Jim.
"Gee...i'm really sorry to hear that. What does Bryson think about all of this?" Said Clare.
"Bryson...Bryson isn't here." Jim said.
"Well, where is he?" Clare asked.
"He's nowhere. The other night, during the disappearances, Bryson vanished from his bedroom, leaving his sleep-clothes behind. That's why Judy checked herself into the mental hospital for psychiactric care." Jim answered.
Clare was speechless. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Jim was going through. First his step-son, Bryson, disappeared...then his wife had a break-down and checked herself into a mental hospital. She didn't know how much worse things could get. But she knew that Judy had to be worse off than he was, since she admitted herself into a mental hospital. The least she could do was drop by to see how Judy was.
"Jim...take me to her. Please." Clare said.
...
Chicago Asylum
Later at the mental hospital titled 'Chicago Asylum', a female nurse led Clare and Jim down a hallway.
"These facilities were set up in a hurry. With all the disappearances, we've had a lot of people in need of psychological assistance." Said the nurse while leading Clare and Jim down the hall. "Here it is." She said, stopping at a door and then unlocking it, causing Clare and Jim to stop.
"Why the security?" Clare asked.
"Some of these patients are a danger to themselves. Now, don't be long, Mrs. Cole has been through a lot." Said the nurse.
"Thank you." Said Clare before the nurse left. She opened the door to the room and she and Jim entered inside where they saw Judy looking at the wall.
Judy had short blond hair and brown eyes.
"Judy?" Clare said.
Judy didn't answer.
Clare then walked over to where Judy was and faced her. "Hey."
"Clare. What are you doing here?" Judy asked.
"Oh, i just stopped by for lunch. Heard the food here was wonderful." Clare joked. "Your husband, Jim, is here too. He brought me here to see you."
"Oh, but i'm a mess. I hate for anybody to see me like this." Said Judy.
"Hey...you're as beautiful as always." Said Clare before she looked down at Judy's wrists and saw that they were bandaged up. Indicating she had cut them and had tried to kill herself.
"I wouldn't go that far." Said Judy.
"I heard about Bryson from Jim. I'm so sorry. I know it must be difficult. I miss him too." Said Clare.
"Thank you." Said Judy.
"Tell me what you remember about that night." Said Clare.
Judy sighed. "Well...Bryson turned in for the night a little after 10:00. Shortly after, Jim and i went to bed too. And the next morning, when Jim turned on the TV, we found out that millions of people from around the world had disappeared. Including all children under teenhood and some teenagers. So Jim and i ran upstairs to Bryson's bedroom to check on him, but...he wasn't there. My baby was gone. After that, i...i just left the house...checked myself into this hospital...and never looked back. I didn't believe him...but he was right. Bryson said this could happen." Said Judy.
"What do you mean?" Clare asked.
"He called it the Rapture." Judy answered.
...
Clare and Jim were now walking down the hallway of the hospital. After finishing up their meeting with Judy, they decided to leave.
"It's a good thought, but it can't be that." Said Clare.
"The Rapture?" Jim asked.
"Yeah. It's good theory, but i know for sure that that's not it." Said Clare.
"What is the Rapture anyway?" Jim asked.
"Well, it's a story in the Bible. Jesus is suppose to come back one day and take the Christians out of this world. I use to hear about it all the time at church and from Irene, Jackie and Tommy." Said Clare.
"You're a Christian?" Jim asked.
Clare and Jim exited the asylum through the automatic glass double doors.
"Yeah." Clare stated as she and Jim headed into the parking-lot. "I went to church every Sunday when i was a little girl. I'm a good person. Anyway, people go flying up into the sky or something like that. It's kind of a crazy idea."
"Well, it's an appropriate time for crazy ideas." Said Jim before he and Clare stopped by their cars. "By the way, you wanna come by my place for dinner tonight? I'm making pizza, and...i do remember that's one of your favorites."
"No. Thank you though. I've gotta check New Hope Village Church. Then i'm gonna head over to Tommy's place. If his Dad's not home, i'm gonna sneak in and see if i can find anything linking Tommy's disappearance to these vanishings." Said Clare.
"Good luck." Said Jim.
"Thanks, but given what has happened with these disappearances, something tells me i'm gonna need a whole lot more than luck. I think we all are." Said Clare before she got into her car and left.
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