𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔

Rescue Mission

Alex Jones/Barry Milland - Fluff non-rom
(surprise, surprise another happy ending fic for Barry lmaoo)

You were on your evening walk. You went every day— a bit more apprehensively as of late after the disappearance of those little girls Anna Dover and Joy Birch.

As you neared the corner of your home street, you stopped dead in your tracks. From inside a weathered and appearing abandoned building— strained cries emerged. Your hand lingered over your pocket where your phone resided... you were going to call the police but other yells rang out. "Why won't you tell me!? WHY!?"

You recognized the voice as the one of Keller Dover... which you only connected from hearing him speak on the news. You should've called the cops... it was the right thing to do but you were frozen.

Eventually, the door of the building swung open, and both fathers of the missing girls emerged. You quickly took off to the back of the building, hiding around the brick wall as they got into Keller's truck.

You watched and waited as they left— watching them pull off down the street as the sun was setting. Your morbid curiosity got the best of you— was he yelling at Franklin in there? If he was why did they need to fight in that building?

More morbid thoughts took over your brain... maybe they had the girls in there... maybe they'd misbehaved one day and this was a sick and unusually cruel punishment. But the detective on their case should've known, right? There's no way those fathers were capable of that, right?

Fight or flight kicked in— unfortunately choosing fight and you snuck towards the door... jiggling the door handle before laughing at your own stupidity as you stood and watched them lock it behind themselves as they left. You pressed your ear to the door— not hearing anything.

Maybe it was just the fathers bickering and fighting with each other... but you still felt uneasy. You looked around, spotting a boarded-up window. You chewed on the skin of your lip debating your next move— but ultimately clamored onto the outdoor ac unit, reaching to push in the board.

It didn't budge under your hands— despite your best effort. You huffed as you shifted to your bottom, using your arms for leverage as you pressed your feet flat to the board. You pulled them up and shoved— the board cracking slightly from the pressure. You withdrew your legs— another kick. It split clean in half before clattering to the floor inside.

Your eyes widened as you looked around, making sure there was no one around as you were practically breaking and entering. When the coast was clear, you raised from your bottom, slipping one foot inside.

The floor was further down than you anticipated and you landed rather harshly on your arm with a harsh thud. You winced as you rubbed your elbow— your skin irritated and sore from the impact.

You continued holding your arm as you stood, calling out "H-Hello?" Your voice was barely above a whisper. There was still no answer. The building was dark— especially more so from the sun almost being completely set outside. You choked out another "Hello?!"

Nothing. Adrenaline raced through your system as you bounded the stairs— you ridiculed yourself for exploring further into the building.

A shuffling from a room at the top of the stairs sounded and you could feel all the blood drain from your system. You didn't know what to expect as you neared the top steps. Squatters? The girls? You felt sick to your stomach.