The revving of a motorcycle broke sharply through the knight, the sound of the vehicle engine startling woodland creatures as the headlight beam cut through the wooded area around the backroad. Soon the trees parted into a sparse town, apartment buildings, singular bungalows, and a pitiful gas station and McDonalds surrounding the road that split off into several other sections. The motorcycle took off down a narrow road leading to a seemingly empty house, where the vehicle was parked beside the mailbox and the motorcyclist parted from his steed. The rider removed his helmet, tucking it under his arm and shaking his long, wavy, black hair that stuck to his head. He turned and headed up the driveway, running a hand absentmindedly through his locks as he approached the door, which was illuminated by the house's porch light. The gravel beneath his feet crunched loudly in the dusk, and the chorus of crickets was the only other sound in the quiet of the area.
He knocked on the door, and almost immediately, it was answered. He stepped back as the screen door opened out, and before him stood a woman only a few inches shorter than he was, her green eyes narrowing at his appearance. "Took you long enough to get here," she greeted, and the young man let out a short exhale of amusement.
"Good to see you, too, Dashlie," he said. Dashlie glanced over his shoulder and then looked left and right outside before waving him in.
The house was inexplicably plain, and it was eerily quiet, save for the tv in the living room that was left at a low volume. Most of the lights in the house were off, and even though it was just the two of them in the house, the man felt as if he had to whisper. "How long has he been gone?" he asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table and sat his helmet on its surface.
Dashlie answered as she opened the fridge to grab them both waters, "Well, Dick, if you had read my text more carefully, you would know it's been two weeks."
Dick rolled his eyes at that and took the water bottle as she handed it to him and took a seat. When he had received the text, he only took in the words "Don", "missing", and "maybe dead" and he left without another word. "Where was he last?" Richard questioned, eyes distant as he recalled his panic when he first found out.
"I last saw Don, like... leaving the house to go pick something up from the dry cleaners. When he didn't come back, I assumed he maybe went somewhere else and didn't tell me. He is an adult, after all," Dashlie answered, taking a sip from her water bottle. "My next guess was that he was at your place, but obviously not. I went to the dry cleaners earlier today and they said he never showed up."
"Weird," was all Dick could think to say. He then glanced back up at her. "What was he supposed to pick up?"
Dashlie stood up. "I was just getting to that... give me a second..." Dick watched her as she disappeared and then he turned away. He kept trying to rationalize the situation over and over again in his head. Don had just gone off on a spur-of-the-moment vacation, that was all. Even though Don had a habit of bringing either his roommate or Richard along whenever he did go anywhere, now was different — totally. He just needed space. Space from what? Richard wasn't sure. Denial at its finest.
Dashlie soon returned with a shirt draped in plastic hanging from a coat hanger. The woman set it on the table and removed the plastic, and Dick's eyes widened when he realized that wasn't a shirt — it was a coat. His coat, to be specific. He traced the silver stitching along the trim of the coat, the buttons all in one place and the black fabric clean as a whistle. It was as if it had never been ruined. "I don't know what this means," said Dashlie. "I don't know why he'd have a jacket like this — it's not his thing. And besides, it's way too big for him."
"That's because it's my coat," Richard pointed out, surprised Dashlie hadn't connected the dots yet. Dashlie furrowed her eyebrows.
"Why does he have your coat?"
Richard sat back in his seat and sighed, fiddling with his fingerless gloves. "Well— I mean, he wasn't supposed to— he didn't— like, it wasn't like—"
"Dude, bro, I asked you a simple question, stop getting flustered," Dashlie said with an air of amusement. Richard rubbed his eyes and gestured vaguely.
"I mean— he, like— we... like..."
"Dude."
"I don't know how to say it."
"Just say it."
"No— we. It's super cringe."
"My guy is missing, dude. Cops don't help cus he's an elf and they couldn't give two shits about a missing elf. It's up to us, dude. It doesn't matter if it's 'super cringe' — anything helps."
Richard shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "He, like... wanted me to... he wanted a ride on my motorcycle. He was cold and so I gave him that coat since I had it on me and was already wearing my leather jacket. It was raining, we got in an accident, and my jacket was ruined. I let him keep it cus I... was so upset that I just couldn't look at it anymore... I think he wanted to fix it and so... he did."
"Dude, that is cringe," said Dashlie, and Dick scowled at her and made a swipe at her. She avoided it easily. "But that doesn't answer any questions as to where he went — I mean, it does tell us why he had that jacket, but not where he went..."
"You're right... And you haven't asked either Duni or DDawn?" Dashlie laughed harshly at that.
"Of course not! You think I trust them with this information? DDawn especially! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he kidnapped Don— wait."
Dick pointed at Dashlie enthusiastically. "A lead." He took out his phone. "Where is that stupid robot?" Richard pulled up the maps app on his phone and pinpointed DDawn's location.
"What's he doing at the church?" Dashlie inquired, looking over Dick's phone.
"Praying."
"That robot is the devil incarnate — absolutely not." She looked up at Dick, who caught her eye. "We could head there now. If he's not doing anything sus and genuinely doesn't know where Don is either, we cross him off the list and ask Duni."
"I'm game." Dick got up from the table. "Grab a jacket, it's cold out."
"If I mess up my hair, you're paying for my next hair appointment." Richard rolled his eyes.
"Wear my helmet, then. I've got other ways to protect my eyes when driving."
Dashlie nodded and headed off to her room as Richard exited out into the night, looking up at the sky as he approached his motorcycle, helmet in hand and ready to lend it to Dashlie when she returned. He searched for the visor to protect his eyes so the wind wouldn't make his eyes water, and the entire time, his mind was all but occupied by the whereabouts of his best friend. He hoped, deep down in his heart, that the young man was still alive, and that they wouldn't be hauling a body out of a ditch where they find him.
+++
Dashlie and Dick stood before the large gates of the church. They both glanced at each other before Dashlie started toward the doors, Richard following hesitantly behind her. The church was empty, and Dashlie heard her own footsteps echo loudly around her. It was eerie at night, and the woman remained on high alert for any sign of a red robot. By the time she made it to the furthest end of the church, however, she felt her hope dwindle at finding any answers.
"I don't think he's here..." she started, turning around to face Richard only to see him jumping from foot to foot as if he were walking on sand on a hot, summer day. "You good?"
"Ow— it's like — ouch — hot coals— yikes— OW!" Richard winced. "Are we done yet???"
In the midst of the worry for Don's well-being and whereabouts, it had completely escaped Dashlie that Richard wasn't human, and the pain that he was in was most likely from being part-demon on holy land. Dashlie shook her head. "You can go back outside, search the graveyard or perimeter of the land. I'm gonna do a bit more scooping..."
Richard nodded and turned, heading back down the aisle and trying his best not to stay on two feet at once. The woman then turned and headed down one of the hallways. While the church wasn't huge, it still had a few rooms she could scope out. However, no matter how hard she looked, she never found any sign of DDawn. She checked her phone and glanced at where DDawn was, but to her frustration, he was no longer where they were. She was just about to determine the location of where he was and how far they'd have to travel, but just then, she heard the sound of metal clattering loudly to the floor followed by pained screaming.
Dashlie took off and entered back into the main area of the church, and she looked around a second before realizing the scream she had heard, and was still hearing, was Richard. She ran down the aisle and found Richard twitching right beside the exit of the church, a golden bowl turned onto its backside and water dripping and forming a puddle along the floor. Dashlie cursed and picked Richard as he shook in pain, calling him an idiot, and dragging the man outside the doors. He was a lot heavier than she was, so she only made it to the pond just outside the church gates and dumped him in there, unsure if it would make the situation worse or better or if she had just practically killed her friend.
Luckily, Dick climbed back out, now only shaking and freezing from the cold. "WHY??" he only said before collapsing into the fetal position. Dashlie kneeled down beside him.
"What happened???"
"I was just trying to get out and I lost balance and fell and it happened I fell back into a bowl beside the door and the bowl was filled with holy water and I'm allergic to holy water and so it burned and I fell onto the floor which only made everything burn more and every inch of me started burning and it hurt and I wanna cry—"
Dashlie patted his head as Richard face-planted into the grass. "There, there... you aren't full demon so... you didn't die! It could be worse!" Richard mumbled something but Dashlie didn't hear. "What?"
Richard lifted his head. "Why did my mom have to go and fuck an imp???"
"At least you look like your mom," Dashlie said, trying to keep things on the positive side.
"Unlike my brother..." sighed Dick. He shook the pond water out of his hair. "This is not how I thought searching for Don would go. I just wanna find him and hold him and sleep forever with him in my arms and—"
Dashlie laughed. "What?" Dick frowned as his face turned red.
"I'm so tired," he said before planting his face back into the ground. Dashlie patted his head once more.
"Well, I'm not holding onto your soaking wet body, so we're gonna have to check into the motel up the street. Hopefully your motorcycle won't be towed while we're gone." Richard once more mumbled into the grass. "It'll be okay. We'll check where DDawn is and if he's moving around to much, we can just go and find Duni. How does that sound?"
Dick looked back up. "Okay..." he mumbled, and Dashlie nodded.
"Alright. Now, let me help you up... we can go find a burn cure to help you out and then dry off and sleep for the night."
"Okay..." Dick repeated as Dashlie helped him to his feet. The two then set off down the road, and halfway to the motel, Richard cussed. "MY PHONE WAS IN MY POCKET, YOU ASSHOLE!"
"I WAS TRYING TO HELP! DON'T YELL AT ME!"
The duo argued into the night, lifting the mood a little, though the weight of where Don was still weighed heavy on their minds.
***
Idk man I got this idea and now here we are
Lemme know if you'd like to see more