Unstable

Chapter 30

--- Xander's POV ---

I woke up in my bed. Same old bedroom, same old apartment. At first, I looked around, confused.

Was it all a dream?

It couldn't be.

I swung my legs over the side of my bed, noticing I was in a pair of pajamas.

Birds chirped happily outside my window. I decided to check my apartment, remembering Fox had stayed at my place.

But there was nothing.

Next, I went over to Fox's apartment. I pounded on the door, but there was no answer.

I made a plan, and went back to my apartment to change into regular clothes. I went downstairs to check if Fox was even still living here.

Only unreasonable panic fueled my actions. My body hurt everywhere, even in places I didn't know existed. I was exhausted, practically hauling my body through the hallway.

But I didn't have time to stop for coffee.

I need to find Fox.

Reaching the owner of the apartment's office, I asked who lived in the apartment next to me.

The woman who owned the apartment was ancient, and it took forever for her to actually give an answer to my question.

"Who lives in apartment 25? Let me see. First name, Aither, last name-" She said slowly.

"Yes, I know Aither lives there. Does anyone else live there?"

I held my breath.

Slowly, scanning the screen, she clicked on something, then looked at me.

"No, no one else. Why?"

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Honey, are you okay? You're so pale." She eyed my pajamas with unease.

"I'm- I'm fine." I turned around and left the office.

I didn't know what to do next. I had sort of expected that Fox would still be here.

But as I approached my apartment, someone was knocking on my door. Clad in my pajamas like I was earlier.

Hair all over the place, Aither turned, seeing me in the corridor.

"Xander! Is it just me- or- Fox? Have you seen Fox?"

"No." I replied grimly. "And I checked down at the office, she said Fox doesn't live here."

"All their stuff is gone. Everything that was proof he existed is gone. I even called my parents, and they told me they didn't know who Fox was. He's been my best friend since 5th grade, I can't lose him!"

Aither was clearly panicking, so I tried to calm him down.

"We'll find him, there's got to be some trace of him somewhere. And we're not crazy because we both remember him, right?"

But no matter what I said, Aither kept getting more agitated.

"Shit. At this rate he'll have a panic attack." I said to myself.

I managed to convince him to come into my apartment. He was nearly in hysterics, biting his nails and muttering to himself.

Luckily, I had Raiden's number. I called him, hoping he could fix the mess of a boy currently pacing back and forth in my living room.

Raiden had woken up before us, and he came over, arriving in only 5 minutes.

He must've already been on his way.

"Where is he?" He asked, panting.

"There," I pointed at Aither. He looked up at hearing Raiden's voice.

"Babe!" His voice broke as he rushed over to Raiden.

I moved out of the way, not wanting to be in the middle.

"It's okay, calm down. Remember the last time Fox was in trouble? They were okay."

"But this time it would be so much worse. Did you see the way Fox hit the ground? He probably broke so much more than his rib."

"That's true. And what if Fox kept fighting. He might have gotten even more injured."

"Exactly! Raiden, he might even be dead."

I stared at them. How is this supposed to make Aither feel better?..

"But babe, just because we thought of them doesn't mean they actually happened. It's just the possibilities our brains thought up. So be positive, and think of all the good things the could have happened to Fox."

I would started clapping, because that was inspirational, but I didn't want to ruin the moment.

Three cheers for self-control.

After Aither calmed down, I served muffins and coffee. We came up with a plan. Better than the one I had before.

"We need to check if anyone remembers Fox. Maybe they missed someone." Raiden said.

"How did they wipe memories though? Do they have those things from Men In Black or something?" I asked.

"They have magic, obviously. Anything's possible with magic." Aither answered.

Fox would've given that answer...

I knew that's what we were all thinking, but no one said it. The room went silent.

"So is it a school day?" I questioned instead.

None of us knew, jumping between worlds kind of confused our timelines.

"Maybe there's a way we could get to Fox, without magic." I downed my coffee.

"The cabin. The one Fox sent us to in the woods." Raiden frowned.

"You think we can find it again?"

"Maybe, but it's in the forest near the mall. It's pretty big."

"Can we try google earth?"

"How would that help?"

"The cabin was in a clearing, remember? Maybe it's big enough that we can find it with satellite view."

"Worth a shot."

We spent the rest of the day looking at our screens, trying to spot a little brown speck out of all the green.

It took a long time, but we found a cabin. It might not be the cabin, but it's a cabin. Better than nothing.

"Look at this! Come here!" Aither called.

We rushed to see, almost spilling coffee all over my new rug.

"About a mile and a half away, there's a warehouse." He said, pointing it out.

"So?" I pressed. "What about it?"

"Remember the werewolves? They were living in a warehouse. They might still be there."

"That's... Actually a great idea. How far away is it?"

"A couple miles."

"That's too far to walk. Either of you have a car?"

"Don't you have one?"

"Yeah, but I'm not risking my baby."

"Fox is worth it, right?" Aither glared at me.

Of course he is.

I sighed. "Yes, he is."

"Then it's settled. We'll be taking Xander's car to get as close to the warehouse as possible. Then we'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Great. We're going next weekend."

"I can't wait that long." Without noticing, my hands had closed into fists.

"You'll have to. We still need to ask around to see if anyone remembers Fox."

"It's okay, we'll get Fox back." Raiden patted my arm.