*Sorry it's taking so long for the next chapter. It's short but I hope it's worth it*

Chapter 13

After backtracking where he had gone over the last couple days, Toby recognized the coffee shop with no name, no smell and no coffee. The air had become thick and hazy while he returned to where he began. The city continued to be vacant of sounds other than the voices of everyone around him.

Walking along the sidewalk, he glanced from face to face, searching for someone he could recognize. The voices had become loud once again, louder that he thought he could handle.

"STOP!" he yelled covering his ears. He felt like he was slowly losing his sanity. He wondered if this is what it was like to have schizophrenia. So many voices, so many people around him, how could he get rid of it all?

He was exhausted. He couldn't remember when he'd slept last. Had he slept at all? Why wasn't he hungry after all this time? Many questions ran through his head as he continued walking slowly along the sidewalk.

His hopes changed as he noticed the boy sitting on the ground a few businesses down. He sat in the same place as he did when Toby had first seen him. Gently, he sat on the sidewalk next to the boy.

"Can you hear me?" he said softly, hoping for an answer. He waited. There was no response from the boy. Leaning back against the wall he closed his eyes, emotionally exhausted.

Recalling the time he'd spent in his new surroundings, he began to wonder if this was real or a dream. Was he really going crazy? There were questions he had but no one would answer him. He thought about Rachel. She seemed to genuinely want to help him. Was she real? Why did she keep disappearing on him? Sighing deeply he opened his eyes, hoping for new scenery.

The boy was no longer leaning up against the building, he sat cross-legged facing Toby. Tears streaked down his face.

"I can't find Mommy," he said with a soft, scared voice. "Where's my Mommy?" His hollow blue eyes stared at Toby, hoping for an answer.

"I don't know where your mommy is, but maybe I can help you find her," even being surprised that the boy was talking to him, he did not want to scare the boy. "What does she look like?"

"Like my Mommy," it seemed like a silly question. He looked into the crowd of people, scared. "Mommy said to sit down if I couldn't find her."

"Your Mommy's right," Toby reassured him, "that's the best thing to do when we can't find our mommies." Toby could see the boy was confused and lost, that he was stuck in this same world and couldn't find his way out either. "I'm Toby, what's your name?"

"Cody," he said in a whisper.

"Well Cody, we need to figure out where your Mommy is at. When did you see her last?"

"I was playing baseball at Brady's house," Cody said sadly. "I'm not that good. Brady's brother is really good at baseball. Mommy was with Miss Cindy, that's Brady's mommy." Toby listened as the young boy became excited when he was talking about his mother. "Mommy's always talking with other grownups when I play baseball. She's my biggest fan, so I wanna learn how to play better."

"Were you in the backyard playing?" Toby was trying to draw an idea of what the situation was the Cody could remember.

"Yea, Brady's got a big yard. We play back there all the time," Cody stated. "They have a puppy now. Brady says he pees in the house and his daddy yells at the puppy."

"What position do you play?" Toby asked the boy. It was nice to talk with someone, even if it was a little boy and about baseball.

"Third base," he said proudly. "I caught a pop-up once. That wasn't today, I couldn't catch the ball." Cody stopped abruptly. "I want to go home. I don't like it here."

"Me too, Cody. We'll try to find your mommy." Toby was more than ready to go home. To go back to his life as a paramedic. To go back to his apartment.

The pair sat together leaning up against the wall of the building, watching people go past them.