Jack took in their words, unsure where to turn next, when he picked up the receiver to the rotary telephone in the kitchen. His shaking fingers dialed the number for the Grier Mountain Medical Center emergency room. Jack clicked on the receiver before dialing out again. Jack knew from personal experience that whenever someone went missing that you always check with the local hospitals, just in case. Being that his sister is a registered nurse in the emergency room of Grier Mountain Medical Center, he already had the number memorized. “Nurse Kilpatrick, please! This IS an emergency!” Jack screamed into the phone giving the receptionist on the other end quite a shock. After a moment, Jack spoke again.
“Bridgette, have you heard from Tristan?... No, she wasn’t in her bed this morning… Taken? Why would you think she was taken? … No, I don’t think she ran away either. Okay, please keep an eye out. Wait, coming home? Why?”
On the other end of the phone, Bridgette cursed at Jack’s stupidity, “Because she is my niece and you cannot seem to find her! I am on my way!”
Adam and Liam ran out of the house in the hopes that Tristan was out for an early morning walk. Although Tommy had already checked, they would check again, and scour the grounds for their sister.
"Where the hell can she be?" Liam asked Adam.
"I don't know. It’s not at all like her though. She never goes anywhere alone, especially this early."
"Let's check the barn."
Adam and Liam approached the aging blue barn as the sun rose over the valley. The rusty door was banging loudly against the side of the barn, causing the horses to become agitated. Adam went to secure the door as Liam went inside.
"Someone's been in here,” said Liam with a worried look upon his face.
"Yeah, Tommy was earlier,” Adam replied.
"No!" said Liam as he bent down to pick up a red t-shirt from the ground. "An outsider has been in here."
Liam showed Adam the red t-shirt. Adam took the shirt from his brother and held it up to see if he could recognize it. The filthy shirt was covered in dirt and grime, and across the chest the shirt read “Trafford’s Auto Body.” That is when Adam saw it. Specks of blood covered the front of the shirt, causing Adam’s mind to reel.
"We have to show this to Dad...Trafford’s..."
"Why would any of those guys come up here?"
“He sells these t-shirts. It could be anybody.”
The horses were bucking and neighing in their stalls; something had clearly startled them. Adam began to check on the horses, smoothing their manes in an attempt to soothe them from their agitated state, while Liam climbed into the barn loft. Over the noises of all the horses, a creak could be heard. Adam continued to talk to the horses, in an attempt to calm them down. In the corner of his eye he could see a quick movement, but it didn’t register until it was too late. A thin, bare-chested man in grimy blue jeans and a blue trucker’s hat ran out of the last horse’s stall with a brown satchel and barreled out of the barn towards the valley.
Adam, furious, chased after him. He had only caught a glimpse of his profile, and he swore he recognized him. The intruder was fit, thin and lean with slight muscles and a fast running gait.
"Yo!" Adam called after the running man. "Yo! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"
The man looked back for a moment as he continued to run down the dirt road towards the forest.
"What did you do with my sister?!" Adam called out, all fear erased from his voice.
The man ran even faster then, tearing across the land. Liam joined the chase, his face a ruddy shade of red and his eyes wild with fury. "Is that who I think it is?!" Liam yelled at his brother.
Adam left Liam in his dust, as he accelerated towards his target.
"You got a death wish, man! I'm coming for you! Don’t go the hell to sleep because I’m coming for you! Where is my sister?! Kendricks!" Adam threatened at the top of his lungs.
The man kept running, his speed not waning with distance. Adam was gaining on him, feet pounding against the dirt path towards the forest. It did no good though, as the man escaped into the wilderness of Cavegat Forest. Bent over, heaving from exhaustion, Adam cursed himself for not catching him. As he stared down at his dusty boots, rage exploded from his body. Adam covered his head with his arms as he cursed at the sky in a ferocious scream. From behind him, his younger brother spoke, "Was that him?"
Adam looked at Liam, his eyes full of hatred and anger, “Yes. That was Kendricks.”
*
Back at the house, Frank was in the den rummaging through his gun cabinet, inspecting his Remington and loading his gun with ammunition when Adam and Liam barged in.
"There was somebody in the barn!" shouted Liam with a touch of hysteria in his voice.
"What?!" yelled Frank as he assembled his rifle with brute force.
"And we found this." Liam tossed the blood stained t-shirt to his uncle as he waited for his reaction, but Adam spoke before Frank could speak. Frank gritted his teeth as he listened.
"Kendricks was in the barn, hiding in the last stall without a shirt. When I spotted him, he ran. All the way across the land and into the forest. I lost him at the tree line."