The Wanderer
By Gemsong

***

RING!!!!!

No it couldn’t be.

RING!!!!!

Jack lifted his head blearily from his pillow and looked at the clock. It was 7:00 am. Which means he was able to get about 20 minutes sleep.

RING!!!!!

“Somebody kill me,” he said. Jack snatched irritably at the bedside phone. "Yeah?"

“Good morning, Jack.” It was his neighbor Allen who lived down the block.

“We will agree only that it is morning,” Jack groused.

“Are you missing something?” Allen asked.

“Huh?” Jack replied obviously not at his brightest moment.

“Or rather are you missing someone?”

Jack was silent for a moment trying to think. Then he leaped out of bed and ran to Danny’s room. The bed was empty and a sick feeling squeezed his stomach. “Danny….”

“Yup,” Allen said on the phone. “He’s here.”

Jack’s stomach eased slightly but not by much. “What?”

“I think it has to do with the litter of puppies Fluffy had last week,” Allen said. “Sure you don’t want one?”

Jack refused to reply. “I’ll be right there,” he said instead and hung up the cordless phone. He quickly went back to his room and grabbed his pants and a shirt.

“Kill me now…” he muttered as he hurried down the street.

END