Chapter 2: The Search Begins
Once we were in town, we met up with Belle outside the library.
"I've sectioned off the town and have everyone spread out looking for Henry." Using a small map of the town, she pointed as she spoke, "Regina is checking the woods from east to west with the Merry Men. Emma is using the computer at her place to search for his phone while Rumple is trying magic to locate him from his shop. The dwarves are checking around the town and the mines and Mary Margaret is watching the children.
"Killian, we need you to search the Bay Area and David to patrol the New York exit from town in case they try to leave." Then she turned and faced me, a look of uncertainty on her face but courage in her eyes. "I know you haven't been in town for very long, but we could use all the help we can get. Do you have any powers or abilities you can use to help us find him?"
I appreciated the way she didn't look down on me or fear me for what I was. I guess you have to have some steel in your backbone to marry the Dark One.
"I can fly over the town and try to sense anything out of the ordinary. Then I can venture out further, maybe the west end of the woods. I'll be sure to let someone know if I find anything." Not wanting to waste time lingering any longer, I break from the group and turn down the nearest alleyway. Hidden from onlookers, I turn on the spot and shift into a large bat, flapping wildly to obtain the necessary elevation to travel above the town.
After making two full rounds above the town and finding nothing other than an occasional dwarf, I rested again from the eave of the clock tower, the highest point in the center of town. I knew I had to move soon or the chimes would disorient me with their nightly call. Nearly two o'clock in the morning and still no new news.
Dropping from the tower, I headed towards the Merry Men's camp to scan the woods. On the way there I felt a tugging in the back of my mind. Coming to rest at the edge of the wood, I shifted back into my human self. A strange nagging in the back of my mind, like a whisper coming from nearby. Yet I saw no one around.
Focusing on the whisper, I strained to find it's source. My ears couldn't detect any conversations being held within any nearby buildings or the woods behind me. In an attempt to convince myself I wasn't going crazy and hearing things that weren't there, I mentally reached for the sound until I grasped a tiny thread of a clue: The wishing well.
The image flashed in my mind like a forgotten dream that I only half remembered. I wasn't sure if it was where Henry was, where I was supposed to go to find him, or a trap to stop me from assisting in the search, but with no other leads in our case it seemed I had few other options.
Shifting again, I became a wolf. Knowing the well was quite a ways from where I was, I wasn't about to waste time running on two legs or flapping to get there. And the heightened sense of smell was an added bonus.
§ § §
Thank you for reading. Sorry that I post at such a slow rate. I work night shifts and can't always post while at work. Please leave any and all comments/critics/reviews so that I may become a better writer.
Also, I am revealing as little of my main character as possible so as to build suspense for what source material I am using for his powers, although you may have already guessed it.
And until next time, keep being creative.