Swing

Dani listens intently, surprised but not finding Dalton's hobby silly in the least. "I'd like to see it sometime," she agrees honestly.

Before she can answer his question, the waitress comes with their food, so it's several minutes before the conversation can start again.

"I... don't have much to do outside of work," she finally admits. "I mean... I have church and that's nice. But then I work at the store and at Mom and Pop's too, so... yeah. I like to take walks... athletic activities but... I don't have many friends. Carson keeps asking me to go running with him but he gets up so early." She giggles. "I just can't get up as early as he does, and he doesn't like stopping when I need a breather."


Trooper whines and walks around Ryder's legs, looking for shelter from the pouring rain. But Ryder's rain jacket is only so big.

"Naw, come on, mate," Ryder prompts as they continue to walk. "We gotta find her."

He looks around, but visibility isn't good through the rain. Conditions were terrible for a search, and he was only going around in circles. She couldn't have gone far on foot... and she didn't have any money for a bus or taxi. She couldn't be far... she couldn't. But what if the Agency had found her? What if they had gotten to her first?

"Thirteen!" Ryder's shout echoes down the dead-end street. Nothing.

Thunder shook the ground and lightning spidered across the sky. This was no kind of weather to be out here on foot. But Ryder didn't have any other choice. Getting others to help him look would do no good. It just didn't matter. This was his doing. This was all his fault.

"Thirteen!"

Another hour. Ryder's legs felt like lead weights. The storm had stalled overhead, covering the land in a steady downpour. A cold front was moving through, bringing a chilly wind. Tomorrow it would be hot and sticky again, but for right now, Ryder could feel the cold through his drenched body.

The park. Trooper's head hung as he trudged beside Ryder, but suddenly his ears perk and he gives a short woof.

Ryder looks around, squinting through the rain. "What is it?"

Trooper whines and pulls on the leash.

Ryder moves forward, finally spotting the bundle huddled on one of the swings. "Oh... Thirteen..."

Sprinting through the rain, Ryder slipps to a halt at he swing, bending to his knees despite the mud. "Thirteen?" He looks up at her, reaching up to put a hand to his face. "Are you okay?"