Among Golden Rays (Gay Furry)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Rainstorm

"Michael." Jake instantly spoke after the call ended, his head whipping towards his boyfriend. His voice broke through the yelling, and Michael instantly stopped paying attention to his father. His eyes zeroed in on Jake's worried face, and Michael felt a twinge of embarrassment that he reduced the entire dinner to a yelling match between him and his father

"Ashton's missing. Ian called the police station here, he's put together a search party, he's asking me if I, or we, can go." Jake told him, his voice flat. Even against everything that's happening at that moment, Jake felt he needed to do something. And given everything that happened the days before, with Mr. Thompson...

"Let's go." Michael told him instantly, his voice stern and hard. He ignored his father and grabbed his keys, which were laid on the coffee table. Jake felt his body grow cold, clenching his arm as he glanced at Michael's parents. They were silent, staring at the two. Eilia seemed grateful, but also worried.

John looked irritated, beyond annoyed, that he was suddenly being ignored by his son who he was just arguing with - but he also seemed worried. He had talked over a bit of what Jake had said, and he heard the word missing. His body posture was nervous, even as his eyes flashed with anger.

"Where are you going?" John eventually asked, a hint of worried undertone evident in his rather irritated voice. Michael didn't even spare a glance at his father as he put on a jacket, tightening it over his flannel shirt. He flapped the hood over his head, turning towards the kitchen. He remembered he placed a flashlight there when he first got the home.

Jake didn't answer either, worriedly pressing his fingers together as the rain continued to pour louder. Ashton had gone out to play in the rain, Jake recalled Ian telling him that. The rain was bad, really bad, there was lightning, although it only started after Ashton was let out. Maybe he went to a friend's house. He hoped he went to a friend's house.

"Where are you going? What's happening?!" John called out, exasperated. Michael grabbed Jake's hand, but stopped short of the door. He turned around.

"To go help an actually good father."

And with that sentence the two stepped out into the rain. It was pouring down hard, cold and windy. The sky was black, blocking out any light from the moon. Jake gripped Michaels hand, already slickened with the rain. He grabbed it hard, "Where are we going?" Michael asked.

"Ian's house, the search party is gonna start there. I'll give you directions on the way there. Let's just get going." Jake replied, hurriedly rushing to Michael's car. Michael nodded and ran to the car, nearly slipping in the wet sidewalk leading up to his door. The slickened grass was icy cold.

They hopped into Michael's car, and the wolf-dog nearly slammed his paw onto the gas in an attempt to get going, so much so that Jake needed to remind him to slow down so he wouldn't crash on the way there. They were silent, their worry evident in them not even caring anymore about michael's parents.

The rain was harsh, and yet the wind was harsher. The sky was pure black, and visibility was scarce. Jake hadn't ever experienced the whirlwind of confusion and frustration and worry that he had just experienced these last few hours. As he curled his hands around the grab handles of the car, Jake felt his nerves shoot higher.

They were making good pace but it would still be a minute before getting to Ian's house. Jake felt his heart hammer in his chest, like it was taking a sledgehammer to his ribs from the inside. His eyes turned to glance at Michael, he was just as worried as he was still furious at his father. Jake felt a twinge of guilt for making them leave.

Though it appeared Michael was all too happy to leave.

Soon enough they reached Ian's house, a quaint little thing nearing the middle suburbia of Moonshed. A single-story house, colored a gentle salmon with roses growing against the weather in the front yard. A host of parents appeared in the front, clustered together under umbrellas and what not as they all waited anxiously.