Sergeant Parker walks over to Winnie's desk while the rest of his team remains in the workout room. "Okay, what's this about?" he asks.
"A call came in about a half hour ago, but the caller hung up before we could get a location. I thought we should tag it, in case he calls again," Winnie tells him as she presses 'play'.
"Um...I..think I might need medical assistance..." the first voice said quietly and shaky.
"Sir, can you please explain the nature of your emergency?" the 911 operator asked.
"It's...nothing really. I'll just [muffled sounds]-" the first voice said and the call ended.
"Alright, what can you tell me about the caller?" Greg asks Winnie.
"From what little info we got, I can tell you that the call was made from a cell phone registered to a Zachary Adams, age 17, and that the call came from somewhere rural," Winnie replies. "Sorry, Boss, that's all we have for now."
"And why did the operator think that this was something for us?" Greg asks.
"The phone registered to Adams? It hasn't been in use for the past two days," Winnie informs her boss.
"And the phone's owner?" Greg asks. "Has anyone seen him or heard from him recently?"
"I called his school and they told me that Adams has a steady attendance record and he's been there all week," Winnie replies.
"Okay, let us know if he calls again," Greg says as he joins his team in the gym. He couldn't help himself from thinking about the call that had come in. The caller sounded like a young man, but it was the phone that wasn't in use, not the kid. And if it wasn't Adams who placed the call, who did, and what business did the caller have with that phone?
Half an hour earlier...
Sebastian's gun hand shook as he paced back in forth in the small forest. Is this really what I want? he asked himself over and over again. He remembered the promises that he had made, to Zack, to Kevin, to himself. Seb had tried, really tried, to put the pieces together, to figure out what the hell had happened, what happened that would make him take a gun and leave. It was impulsive, reckless, and straight up stupid to make a move like this, and yet he did. Hell, they already think I'm stupid. I tried to prove them wrong, but look where that's gotten me. Why not shut 'em up and prove 'em right, once and for all? He weighted the pistol in his right hand, transferred it back and forth between his hands and slumped to the ground, his back to an old oak tree. Why am I doing this? Is it better to just walk home and pretend that this never happened? To return the gun to Matt's basement and go back to school tomorrow? He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of breaking twigs, the sound of someone's footsteps running toward him. Sebastian allowed his breaths to become calmer and tried to figure out if there was someone else in the forest with him or if it was his overactive imagination.
"C'mon, please be here, please be here, man," the owner of the footsteps yelled, sounding distraught. Sebastian cringed, he recognized the voice. Oh, crap. Now look what you've done, you little shit. You dropped one too many hints, accidentally sent a text message, you've done something wrong again and now, now he's here, and how the hell am I supposed to explain my way out of this one? He'll find me eventually, then what? What?! Do I-and his thoughts broke off again, this time at the sound of the voice talking to...someone? Who else could be here? Sebastian strained to hear the voice and made out one side of the conversation. He thought he heard the voice asking for medical assistance oh crap. Is he hurt? Is he calling for me? I- and then nothing. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer and closer. The breaths that he had tried to keep under control were becoming more jagged, and Sebastian realized he was almost hyperventilating. The footsteps became louder and louder as Sebastian's heart pounded louder and louder until-
"Seb! Man, it's good to see you!" the voice cried out and embraced him.
"Zack, what the hell," Seb muttered back as he half-fought off his best friend.
"I was worried about you and I thought you might be out here-" Zack began to speak as his eyes caught a glimpse of-"Seb, is that a gun?" Zack asked while trying to keep his voice even. Sebastian pulled himself out of Zack's hug and began to run with the little energy he had left in him. Run, you bitch. You coward. Or don't. See if I care. Sebastian shook his head slightly, tried to get his thoughts in order. You can't even keep your thoughts together, how the hell are you supposed to get your life in order?
"Seb!" Zack called out, "I wanna talk to you, man, that's all."
Why? What could I possibly say to make this whole situation better? All I know is failure-
"Seb! Man, I'm serious. You're stumbling, just slow down, take a break," Zack's voice seemed closer now. Shit, I'm actually stumbling. Can't walk in a straight line. Resting sounds good. It's just a rest, just a chat with Zack. Can't hurt to try. Sebastian stopped his attempt to run and sat on a nearby tree stump.