7:55AM

Normally Jacob rode the bus to school every morning, but the fact that his father drove him this particular morning only accentuated his realization that what lie ahead for him later this afternoon would be far from “normal.” He tried not to think about it as his dad pulled up to the front of the building, but as he reached for the door latch, Egan gave him the unnecessary reminder.

“Remember, I’m pickin’ you up after school, so meet me right in front by the steps where I can see you when I pull up.” He reached over to give his son a hug, breathing in the scent of his skin and his hair. Jacob hugged him back, holding on for an extra moment when his father let him go. “Our appointment’s at three-thirty, so be ready.”

He nodded and bounded out of the truck, shrugging into the straps of his backpack. Egan looked on as Jacob waved and ran over toward a few of his school mates. Watching all three boys passed through the gate together, he put the truck into gear and pulled onto the road.

Jacob glanced over his shoulder and watched as his dad drove away. He felt his stomach tighten and tried not to hyperventilate as a wave of panic threatened to take over; he didn’t want his friends to call him a baby, but he felt like he was about to cry. The appointment his father had referred to was with a family counselor, and Jacob feared what he knew would be the inevitable outcome.

His father was going to send him away.

“Hey, look at that dog.”  One of the boys called out, pulling Jacob back to the present. “He almost got hit by that car.”

The boys turned and rushed back towards the gate to get a better look. Not much more than a puppy, the mutt’s breed was of undetermined origin with long gangly legs and dirty white fur. It cowered before the car that had nearly hit it. Jacob recognized the dog, having seen it near the school yesterday morning, but one the teachers had chased it away.

The driver of the car got out and walked toward the dog, who cowered even lower as he approached. Jacob watched in horror as the driver gave the dog a kick. The dog yelped in pain.

Without thinking, he went running out the gate to the dog, shouting at the driver. “Hey! You stop that!”

He put himself between the man and the dog, while his friends called after him. “Jacob, be careful!”

The driver, nineteen year old Craig Donager had just dropped his brat kid sister off at the school and he was late for work. He was about to shove Jacob aside and have another go at the dog, but thought better of it.

“Stupid mangy mutt. Next time I’ll run ya over.” He spat at his feet, just missing Jacob. “Fuckin’ A.”

Jacob was terrified that the man was going to make good on his threat against the dog, which was now shaking in his arms. He thought the man might even come after him, but was relieved when he got back into his car instead. He flipped Jacob the bird as he drove away.

“Jacob, come on!”

His friends called out again, and Jacob waved them on. “I’ll only be a minute.”

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. “Don’t be too long. Miss Harper will give you a demerit.” Just three demerits and a student was sent to speak to the Principal, Mr. Leeds.

Jacob knew he’d be late for class, but he wasn’t about to leave the dog alone. Maybe he could ask one of the janitors to look after him; they could keep him in one of the store rooms where it was safe and dry until after school. Or maybe he could hide the dog in the boy’s bathroom?

He looked at the mutt, which looked back at him with thankful eyes. After being kicked and yelled at by humans for his entire short doggy life, it was a relief to have one of the smaller humans show him a measure comfort and kindness.  He licked Jacob’s nose.

The bell rang and Jacob considered his plan of action. He realized that the janitor would only call the dog catcher and have it taken away where it would most likely be put to sleep. If he tried to hide him in the bathroom, one of the other boys would let him out. He was sure that none of them would be able to keep it a secret, anyway. Where was the best place to keep something that no one seemed to want?

He glanced back at the school’s front gate and knew that Mr. Leeds would shortly be making his morning rounds to make sure all the students were in their classrooms where they belonged. Jacob didn’t think that the school principal would be very sympathetic to the dog’s dilemma, and the more Jacob thought about it, the more likely it was that he’d be in big trouble too. Not that it really mattered at this point. Since his dad was most likely going to send him away, what was the point in following the rules?

It was then that Jacob made his decision. The answer was simple. He’d run away and take the puppy with him.  He had his lunch in his backpack and his jacket and mittens were warm. They could both hide in the woods that bordered the north end of the schoolyard; he’d heard the other kids talk about an old abandoned house that was supposedly haunted, but Jacob wasn’t afraid of ghosts. At his young age he’d seen enough bad stuff from the living and figured ghosts spent most of their time visiting the places and people they knew when they were alive. As he stood up and adjusted his backpack, the dog wagged its tail and danced around his feet.

“We’d better hurry before Mr. Leeds sees us.”

The dog pranced, following Jacob as he started his run toward the woods.  Snow shoveled asphalt gave way to soggier clearings of mud and leaves between larger patches of snow. His boots made a funny speeloshing sound each time he stepped down, with the snow getting progressively deeper as they neared their destination. The dog managed to keep with him, not minding the bogginess of the ground, happy to have finally met up with a pleasant companion who didn’t seem intent on hurting him.

Jacob felt a strange sense of freedom, helping to block out the sense of dread he’d felt just minutes before. The dog kept up close, bounding along with the lopsided grace afforded by its long legs and oversized paws. When they reached the tree line the snow became deeper. Jacob’s pants were soaked to just below his knees, but the cold hadn’t fully seeped in yet. He was still running on adrenaline, knowing full well that what he was doing was wrong, but too far into the adventure of the moment to think much about the consequences.

They slowed their pace as the woods became thicker. The sun had been shining that morning, but now the branches of the trees cast long purple early morning shadows across their path. It was only when Jacob realized that he’d lost his sense of direction that the first twinges of panic began to set in. The last few times he looked back the way they came he could still see his school off in the distance between the curtain of trees and he could hear the sounds of traffic from the road. But now everything seemed suddenly quiet. Unusually quiet. Lacking a point of reference, he realized that they were lost.

The dog was having none of it, however. It bounded ahead as if it knew exactly where it was going and Jacob had no choice but to follow. When he fell behind the dog would instinctively slow down, coming back to check on his new best friend before trotting off again. Jacob decided to pretend that he was Superboy, traveling in secret with his super dog, Krypto. Together they were escaping the clutches of the evil Lex Luthor. It helped him forget that his pants were wet and soggy and that his feet were growing colder by the minute.

A little further and the trees began to thin again. Up ahead lay a clearing and Jacob could make out what looked like a roofline and a chimney. Was this the deserted house the kids at school had talked about?

It definitely looked spooky, and Jacob began to have second thoughts about ghosts. Even an adult would have felt a chill pass down their spine as they approached the structure. The outer walls were covered with graffiti, and the building was surrounded by various piles of litter peeking out from their blanket of snow; beer bottles, candy wrappers and empty cigarette packages. Plastic grocery bags and strips of cardboard added to the mix, along with a couple of tires and an old shoe. An old bike frame poked from one pile. Jacob didn’t like the idea of going inside, but then he reconsidered; Superboy wouldn’t have been afraid.

The dog followed close at his heels as they stepped through the doorway, sniffing at the piles of debris and junk that greeted them. The inside walls were also covered with graffiti and the big chunks of plaster had crumbled from the ceiling showing through to the rooms overhead. As they entered further, Jacob saw what was left of an old staircase; several of the boards making up the steps were broken and the railing was missing all together. Walking into another room they found what was left of an old kitchen; a rusty skeleton of a sink sat on the floor beneath what remained of the faucet plumbing. Cupboards lined the wall above all this, their doors either hanging from broken hinges or missing all together.

Suddenly, the dog began to growl and the hair on its back stood on end. Jacob felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized that they weren’t alone in the house.

10:30AM

Somehow, things were going a bit too smoothly at the farmhouse renovation project that morning. Egan felt a sense of nervous energy pulsing just beneath his skin as Lachlan helped him install the recycled cabinets in the large kitchen. They’d been plagued with one mishap after another since the project began, from expensive broken windows to uncooperative water pumps and workers with attitudes; important parts and supplies that had been verified and confirmed only to be shipped elsewhere. But this morning everything was running like clockwork. Jeff Mitchell and Matt Reese were putting the finishing touches on the small dry sauna in the master bedroom after relaying the good news that the radiant heating system was fully operational. Max Skinner had finished painting all the rooms upstairs and was currently helping one of the carpenters install the fireplace mantle in the living room.

All was well with the world, but yet something wasn’t quite right. It bothered him; this feeling like he’d left home and forgot to turn off the coffee pot or something. Maybe it was just nerves; he was anxious about the meeting with the family counselor that afternoon. The woman’s name was Helen Gillespie, and she came highly recommended by Kevin’s wife. Apparently the missus was a force to be reckoned with among the various Stowe social and planning committees, and she assured Egan that this lady counselor was highly regarded in her field. Still he couldn’t help but worry; what if there was something wrong with Jacob? What if there was something wrong with him?

The sound of his cell phone ringing jangled him back to the present but when he saw the readout on the caller ID display he felt his heart skip a beat.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice answered him. “Mr. Walsh? This is Mrs. Waltham at the elementary school. You didn’t call us this morning to let us know Jacob was staying home. You know we require the parents of all our students to call within thirty minutes of starting session.”

There had to be some sort of mistake. “Pardon me, Mrs. Waltham, but I dropped Jacob off at school myself this morning. I watched him walk through the front gate.”

Mrs. Waltham’s voice took on an edge of concern. “Are you sure?”

“Listen, lady, I think I’d know if I dropped my own son off at school or not. Are you sure his teacher didn’t just make a mistake with the morning’s attendance?”

He glanced over at Lachlan who had put down the drill he had been using to listen as he picked up the irritation and panic in his brother’s voice.

“Oh dear. Mr. Walsh, I’m certain that Miss Harper’s information is correct. We take attendance very seriously. You’re sure that you didn’t just forget to phone in?” There were rules and procedures in place for the event that a child from the school went missing, but Mrs. Waltham had never seriously entertained the possibility that they’d ever have to put them into effect.

“Perhaps we’d better call the Sheriff.”

Egan hung up and quickly dialed Ben’s office, his heart beating furiously as a sick feeling of terror overtook him. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.