was, I snapped out it. Everything I need is on this desk, I can do it.

"Bryn, you don't know what you're getting yourself into," Jared whispered, barging inside the room. I simply ignored him, rummaging through the rest of Eliazer's stuff. I didn't care at the moment, I just wanted both of them back.

"Bryn, I'm trying to tell you something!" Jared yelled, harshly knocking stuff off of my hand.

"Look, do you want to find Eliazer or not?!" I yelled back. Jared stayed quiet at my response.

"There's more to him than what you know." He whispered, hands down as he slumped in defeat, eyes cast downwards. "Eliazer has never had a normal life until now."

"Look, either you help me or you don't," I said, his words lingering in my mind. Of course, I didn't know Eliazer completely, but that doesn't stop me from caring for him. Jared sighed, helping me go through things. What makes this job easier is that Eliazer is neat. Or maybe it makes it harder.

"Eliazer's smart, he wouldn't just... Disappear without a clue." I mumbled.

"Well, I just know Eliazer likes to read," Jared stated, running his hands along the bookshelf. "They're organized by author and book size."

"He is quite an organized person, except for this spot," I mumbled. My eyes caught a post-it note on the side of the wall on his little corner. It had nothing, in particular, just numbers.

56

Fifty-six? He's must have it here for a reason. Or is it five and six? I looked around the room. There's nothing in the room that's related to that number. I let out a frustrated sigh, looking around the room. Fifty-six might not even be related to anything! Unless...

"Jared? You said Eliazer likes to read, aye?" I asked, wondering if he could see the glint in my eye.

"Yeah..." He said, squinting his eyes.

"So would you mind telling me what's his favorite book?" I asked once again.

"Wonder...What're you getting to?" Jared said warily.

Shelf level five, book six.

"Wonder it is," I said, plucking the book out of the shelf. I skimmed through the book, stopping when I saw yet, another note. Great, does Eliazer have a thing for numbers?

"Jared, what do these numbers mean to you?" I said, showing them to him.

"Those are..." He said, squinting. "Coordinates, my dad used to be in the army. I know some stuff I guess."

"We're going wherever this takes us," I said.

"Bryn, I'm telling you. You don't know who you're dealing with." Jared pleaded, a desperate look on his face.

"Well, he doesn't know who he's dealing with either," I replied, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the room. "Where are they?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Where's what?" Jared stumbled.

"Jared, from the moment I stepped into this apartment, I knew there were guns somewhere. Where are they?" I asked again. Jared sighed, walking towards the living room. He kneeled on the wooden floor, lifting up the carpet. He then used his fingers to gently lift up a loose wooden tile.

"Shit." He mumbles, sticking his hand in the space.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"A pistol and revolver are gone," Jared said, taking out a more small firearm. Dammit, Eliazer must've taken them with him.

"Let's just take what you have left," I said. "This better be on safety," I mumbled, grabbing hold of a pistol. I was frightened, I've never held a weapon capable of killing someone, and it chilled me to the core just knowing.

"I think that's it," Jared said, getting back up. "There are only two pistols left, that'll have to do."

"Okay, we're walking back to my house. We need a car anyway." I mumbled, running out the door with Jared hot on my trail. We made it back to my house, Nikolai waiting at the front door as usual.

"Jump inside the red convertible," I told Jared before opening the door. I went inside, trying to avoid seeing my dad.

I just need to get the keys.

I looked inside the coffee cup next to the staircase, where we usually keep all of our keys. I just need the keys to Aspen's car, red convertible, that's it.

"Bryn? Is that you?" I heard a voice say.

"Shit shit shit," I mumbled upon hearing the voice of my dad. I quickly found the keys, turning around and dashing out the front door. Jared saw me, already inside the car. I jumped over, sitting in the driver's seat as I hastily tried getting the keys in.

"Bryn! What the fuck are you doing?!" I heard my dad yell by the door.

"Start it! Start it!" Jared whispered, or more so yelled at the same time. The car finally started, and I hit the gas with all my might. I could hear my dad yelling at me as I drove off and beyond the gates. I quickly went on a busy street, trying to lose any trace.

"Look inside the compartment, Aspen usually keeps a map there," I mumbled, keeping my eye on the road. Jared did as I said, taking out the map before looking at the coordinates.

"Fuck." He said.

"What? What is it?" I asked, my chest feeling tight.

"It's a deserted area of here. Probably half an hour away." Jared replied. "If something happens, it'll take police or anyone a while to get there."

"Well, we could give two fucks. This is probably stupid, but that's then, this is now. We'll figure that out later." I mumbled. I wasn't thinking straight, and I felt scared for what I was doing. "All we have to do is wait till we get there."

And I honestly didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't thinking rationally. But I already lost someone I cared about, I wasn't going to lose two more.