Fractured- UnOrdinary (Original)

Chapter 16: Reality

William felt all the color drain from his face. 

"Nobody knows where he is."

To any parent, being told about their child missing classes should just be a minor annoyance, an act of teenage rebellion. One would expect the statement to be followed up with 'your child has been skipping school. We need you to talk to them.' 

No parent would ever expect the following words to be that their child is missing, that their own flesh and blood, who left for school to better their life, had now disappeared into thin air and that no one knew where they were.

For William, he never saw this coming.

Yet it was now the reality he faced.

The man only shook his head, not believing what he just heard. "No...no, that can't be right. He's...he's probably just out sick, right?" He looked at the other teachers, thinking that this was all just some sort of strange joke. But the looks on their faces only said otherwise. William looked back over at the school nurse. "This-...it's just one big joke right?"

William slowly stood up from his chair as everyone in the room remained silent. He slowly felt dread creeping into his chest as he looked back and forth at everyone. There was no one laughing or cracking a smile. There were just tired, downcast expressions.

That dread bloomed into terror when he saw Keene walk over and place a hand on the mans shoulder, the groundskeepers face tired and saddened.

Out of everyone in the room, Keene felt the most guilty.

He cared about these kids. He was supposed to keep the students safe no matter how much trouble they were. He was supposed to keep them out of danger and he had failed.

Now he was having to tell a man that they had lost his son when they were the ones who were supposed to keep the teen safe. 

If he couldn't protect their strongest student, how was anyone supposed to trust him with the other teens in the school?

"William...we're sorry...but this is real. John's missing. We're doing everything we can to find him, but we don't know what happened to him or where he is."

William only shook his head as he backed away, running a hand through his gelled hair. His pulse felt like ice right now.

It felt like the world around the infamous W. H. Doe was slowly crumbling apart. Some part deep within his mind held onto the small shred of hope that this was some sort of elaborate prank. But in his heart, he knew they were telling the truth. 

He just didn't want to believe it.

"This...this has to be a prank...someone tell me that this is a joke." Darren placed a hand on the man's shoulder, already seeing the signs of panic manifesting itself. 

William only shrugged it off as he moved away from everyone slightly, his eyes wide. "Please...! Someone tell me that this is a joke! Someone look me in the eyes and tell me that my son is here!" The man practically pleaded with everyone in the room, wanting this all to be some sort of fever dream.

No one knew what to do. One of the teachers was in tears, watching a fellow parent break down like this. It was gut wrenching to watch this man slowly crack into a thousand pieces at the prospect of his child being gone.

William on the other hand had completely fallen apart now. He was scared-no-terrified of what could've happened to his son. The thought that John could possibly be dead for all he knew sent the man spiraling.

"Just-Just someone tell me...!"

Darren walked over and grabbed the man by his shoulders to calm him down, but William only made a half attempt to break away, struggling against the grip of the school nurse.

"SOMEONE TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"

The man looked around at everyone again, the room going completely silent save for his ragged breathing. 

Everyone was in tears or staring solemnly at the floor, only supporting the fact that what Darren had said was true.

William sank to his knees, tears beginning to spill over. 

"Please! Where is my son...?!" The school nurse knelt down next to him, making an attempt to comfort him. A few of the other teachers did the same, trying to calm the heartbroken man as he let his tears fall, covering his face.

But for William, there was no comfort.

There was nothing that could calm him.

There was nothing that could sooth him from the fact that his son, his only child and his last bit of family left, was missing; gone. 

That John was out there somewhere, most likely in danger and possibly in the hands of someone wanting to hurt or kill him, if he wasn't dead already.

He knew John could protect himself, but even then, he was nowhere close to being invincible. All the current vigilantes dying only established that point.

William couldn't help but feel like he failed as a husband and as a father. 

He was supposed to protect them, yet he still failed. 

He couldn't save the people he loved the most.

He couldn't protect his wife and now, he couldn't protect his son.

.

.

.

Darren shut the door to the infirmary, leaning back against it. William was a wreck, though in fairness, they all were. This situation was the last thing anyone needed. 

While Keene had to temporarily step in as headmaster, Darren had been in charge of keeping the student body together.

He knew the royals would begin to panic once they found out, their past experiences making them only assume that the worst had happened. Half the students didn't care, glad that John wasn't hovering over them like an omen of death. The other half was concerned, knowing that the absence of their king of all people was no laughing matter.

This school was a mess. Students were still getting beat up and now that Vaughn was temporarily out of the picture, the authorities would most likely have control over the place pretty soon.

Right now, there was nothing they could do. They needed the authorities' help right now and they needed it desperately.

Darren looked up at the ceiling, hoping for their questions to be answered soon. As much as he hated the damn ravenette causing him so many issues and hurting so many people, he didn't want the teen dead in a gutter somewhere. 

The man shut his eyes. "Kid, wherever you are out there, please be safe...your dad needs you."

"N̵̗̍̄o̵͍̻̊̈́ ̶̥̽̃ȍ̶̥͠n̶͔̹͗ę̶͕̾ ̸͖̋i̶̡̲͊s̶͉̈͘ ̶̠̞͒̈́s̸̜̗̆a̷̲̥͋͆f̵̩̈́͑ͅe̴̛̜̅.̸̛̗͈̑"

Darren physically jumped when he heard that voice. He looked around, trying to spot the culprit of the voice, but found no one. 'Must be my mind playing tricks on me...' He shook his head out before walking to the break room to grab another cup of coffee.

Unbeknownst to him, a set of scarlet eyes watched his form retreat down the hallway, a cruel smirk lining their tanned face and orange hair tucked safely behind their ear.

"Ť̵̰h̵̜̐̒i̵̲̻̋͂ŝ̸͈ ̷͔̗̀́ȋ̶̡s̴̹̈́ ̷͎̾ő̴̪n̵̨̯͛l̶̬͓̉y̴̭̹͆ ̵̭́t̷͙̯̑h̷͓̗̚e̵̥̿̌ ̷͕̀ḃ̴̜̐ẹ̶̲̋̾g̸̮̟̚i̷̩͝n̵̺̊̃n̵̪̈́͛i̵̛̭̔n̸̦̦̈́͒g̴̣̭͝.̸͍́̚" 

Chapter 16: end.

A/N: ;-; the feels were strong with this chapter...

-KittCat.