Left Behind

Chapter 4: Gone

Charlie stopped when he noticed the police wasn't following him but was going after Blake and Dean so he sprung into action. He ran in the direction of the police officer. Here's goes nothing he thought as he 'accidentally' crashed into the man. They both fell into a heap on the ground. Charlie quickly looked up and saw his friend turn the corner and out of sight. Good Luck. He was then roughly pushed aside by the officer trying to get up from the ground.

"I am so sorry officer." Charlie apologized as the officer jumped up.

"Watch it kid." The cop yelled as he took off once again. Charlie smirked and got up, cursing when he saw more police walking up to see what the commotion was all about. Charlie hoped he could sneak away as he tried to blend in and drift away from the scene without being noticed.

Meanwhile, Blake turned the corner around the diner with Dean trying to keep up as they ran. Blake knew the streets fairly well and could navigate them with ease. But the kid was slowing him down so he hastily picked up Dean and tried it that way. No such luck. Dean was only four, but he was only fifteen. He stopped and quickly looked around and spotted a spot for Dean to hide. Blake noticed that a dumpster sat in the corner against a building and he hoped Dean was small enough to squeeze in between. He placed Dean on the ground.

"Dean, you hide here, alright? And you have to be very quite."

Dean looked up scared.

"Hey it's going to be fine." Blake knew he was running out of time. With his heart beating wildly from adrenaline, he helped Dean squeeze in and crouch down.

"You only come out when you hear me, okay?"

He didn't wait for an answer though as he took off down the street and rounded another corner to head into another alley way.

Blake walked down the streets after losing the police man. Blake had taken routes that led him into deserted alleys and buildings and eventually lost the police after running through one of a restaurants back kitchens. He wanted to get back to Dean as quickly as possible, but was on alert should any police make another appearance. He entered the alley where hopefully Dean was still at.

"Dean?" He stealthy approached the hiding place.

"Blake?" A blond head popped out from behind the dumpster.

"Yeah kid, it's me."

Dean darted out and ran into Blake, throwing his arms around Blake's legs. Blake ruffled Dean's hair and hoisted Dean up into his arms as they made their way through the streets of Kansas City, Dean's head resting on Blake's shoulder. The buildings started to get more wore down as they worked their way into the grummier parts of the city. There were many vacancy buildings, and stores abandoned but people still walked the streets. Blake turned down an alleyway and entered a side door to a three story building that used to be a small hotel. It was abandoned now though and the signs pointed out that it was slated to be demolished.

Blake carried Dean up the stairs of the building and only let him down once they reached the top floor. Blake opened the door to the room. Two beds and a couple mattresses sat on one side of the room and a kitchen that needed to be cleaned was in the other. Objects were scattered around the room adding to its muddled space.

Blake looked around quickly and noticed that Charlie hadn't yet made it back to their dwelling. He shut the door and stood for a second, wondering what to do.

"Okay stay here." Blake ushered Dean to a dishevelled bed in the corner of the dimly lit room. Dean sat and took in his surroundings as Blake went into the kitchen and got out a water bottle. He returned and offered it to Dean.

"You thirsty?"

"You have juice?" Dean spoke up.

"Juice? Ummm. No, sorry." Shit he was already screwing up. Blake turned around swiftly, and tensed up when he heard the doorknob turn.

The door opened and Blake stood in front of Dean, relaxing when he heard the voices of his other two friends, Trevor and Desi. Dean still sat in the corner of the bed, watching the two walk in. Trevor stood tall, with black hair and broad shoulders. He had the look of a jock and was seventeen years old. Next walked in Desi, her brown hair pulled back and stood shoulder height to her boyfriend. She was sixteen and in the middle of the group in age as both Blake and Charlie were fifteen. In height, though she was the shortest.

They were sharing an inside joke as they walked in, when it was put to halt as Trevor stopped in mid step and stared.

"Who's this?" The mountain known as Trevor asked, pointing to Dean.

"This is Dean. He's staying with us." Announced Blake and he crossed his arms proving that point.

"The hell he is!"

"Trevor!" Desi scolded at his yell. Trevor toned it down but not his anger.

"How the hell are we going to raise a kid, Blake? You think of that?"

"You know what, I didn't. I just knew I couldn't leave him alone, or trust him to those people at CPS."

"So you just bring him here?"

"I didn't know what else to do. Listen, I'll take care of him. You won't have to do anything."

"I don't like this, Blake."

Desi scoffed. "Maybe not at the circumstances, but you love kids."

Trevor showed utter defiance. "Do not!"

"Hmmm. Remember those toddlers at the home in Topeka?" Trevor mumbled.

"They loved you. You were like a giant teddy bear to them. And were going to help Blake out because that's what friends do. And you know what? I betta you and Dean are going to get along great."

Trevor just rubbed a hand over his face in reply.

Desi shook her head and went across the room to greet Dean. She sat on the bed beside him and noticed the animal Dean clutched to him.

"Hey, what's his name?" Desi gestured to the stuffed animal.

"Peppy." Dean whispered at the new stranger.

"He's adorable." She added, smiling.

"Thank You." She inwardly awed at the polite boy.

"My names Desi."

Dean said nothing.

"Hey," she tilted Deans' head up to look at her. "You don't have to be afraid." She smiled reassuringly. She simply fell in love when Dean laid his head against her shoulder, silently giving his answer.

"Does he say anything?" Desi sent Trevor a glare but it vanished when she looked at Dean.

"We'll just have to break him out of his shell, then won't we?" Desi said and tickled Dean until a laugh escaped him. They stood and watched as Desi and Dean rolled on the bed giggling. Seeing Dean happy didn't overshadow his worries over where Charlie was thought. It still rang through Blake's head, and he hoped that he was alright.

John and Mary piled off the train and weaved their way through the unrelenting crowd, John leading the way, trying to create a path for his pregnant wife. They walked into the building and were whisked away to an office to the back. As they entered, they noticed the police present.

"Hello, I'm Sheriff Carson." A middle aged woman walked towards them and greeted them by shaking John's and Mary's hand.

"Our son, is he here?" John asked voice full of hope. The sheriff shook her head and pointed to the television in the corner of the room, a surveillance video of the platform of the train station. She pulled out a chair for Mary to sit on as John stood behind her.

"This video shows what happened around four hours ago." The sheriff started but was cut off by gasp from the stricken mother as Dean entered the picture. John's heart clenched at the sight of his son walking alone, getting bumped by strangers and finally sitting on a bench. All he wanted to do was reach in there and pull his son out. But it was just wishful thinking. In front of him, his wife started to cry once again. He placed his left hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Carson asked, worry evident for the pregnant mother.

"No." John simply answered, wanting the sheriff to get on with the video. The sheriff cleared her throat and started again.

"As you can see, your son sits on the bench here for three hours," Carson sped up the video and stopped it after a few seconds, "and here we see the suspect."

The video captured a youth sit down beside Dean, and it was clear they were talking. Eventually the youth left as an older man sat down and slowly slid his way along the bench towards the small boy. John's right hand clenched around the back of the chair, only slightly relieved when the youth returned, chasing the man away.

"You get a hold of the man?" John groused out.

"Yes we did. He explained to us he was concerned about a small boy being by himself, so started to talk to him, when Dean's brother made an appearance."

"Dean does not have a brother. Not yet anyways." Mary stroked her stomach.

"We thought so, but when we saw the rest of the video..." Carson directed back the screen. It showed another boy approach and greets the two. Mary gasped in disbelief when Dean took the hand offered to him by the youth as they walked out of the screen. "we were insure."

"My son would never go with a stranger." Mary tried to reassure herself.

"Your son was probably scared and this young man came to him, in all probability very nice to him. Your son is still only four."

"Sheriff!" A policeman entered the room, hunched over panting for breath.

"What is it Jones?"

"We saw the boy." Mary leapt from her chair, heart beating wildly. Would she finally get to hold her son in her arms again?

"Well, where is he?" John spoke out, walking towards the cop.

"He was with the suspect. I ran after them but I lost them."

"You let him get away!" John was livid. He grabbed the man by the collar and shoved him against the wall.

"Enough!" John was pulled away by other police standing nearby. Carson started to call out orders.

"Get a unit out there and search the area they were last seen." The room emptied save for the Sheriff the distraught parents. Carson sighed.

"I suggest you go home, try and get some sleep, and we'll call you if we find anything." Sheriff Carson advised. John nodded as the sheriff turned and walked away. Mary started to protest but was stopped by her husband.

"We can't do much else, Mar. And you need to rest."

"How could I possibly rest? When my baby is out there scared and alone?" She hissed.

"I know how you feel..."

"Do you? You seem all calm and composed." Mary said without thinking and watched as John's face showed his hurt at her words. He leaned in close to her face.

"John, I'm..."

"Believe it or not, I do know how you feel, because you know, he's my son as well. But I have to stay calm for the both of us. "

Mary fell into his arms and whispered a litany of apologizes into John's ear. John was hurt but they were both under immense stress and he closed his arms around her and stroked her hair.

Mary pulled away and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "I don't know why I said that John. I'm just so worried."

"I know." John soothed. "Come on, let's go."

"John I can't leave him." Mary choked out. John had tears pooled in his eyes but did not let them fall. He just silently ushered his wife to the awaiting cab.

The lights flickered on in the semi-dark house as the owners made their way inside. John shut the door, the sound vibrating through the house. Whereas this morning it was filled with laughter and joy, now held heart wrenching sadness and despair. They started up the stairs silently. John walked into the Master Bedroom when he noticed he wasn't joined by his wife. He retraced his steps and saw the door to Dean's room open. His wife was found there, lying on the bed, hugging the pillow to her chest. John came in beside her and held her to him. She turned in his arms to face him and noticed tears held back for too long in John's eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek.

"You don't have to be strong all the time."

And they cried on the bed for their lost son.

Authors Note: Okay the vote was unanimous! So I will post the longer version of the story. I hope you enjoy!