~The Beast~ 

The sleek clock complimented the shade of blue the walls were painted but the manner in which the hands ticked past the roman numerals made Teigan’s stomach turn. Maybe it was because each passing second brought his impending doom closer. 

“You see! This is so much better than the deer head you wanted to hang up there!” Bethany exclaimed. Carina nodded, her curls bouncing with the movement. 

“I’ve always said the dead carcass of an animal has no place in a home.” 

The three of them were standing around the clock and admiring it. More so, Beth and Carina. Teigan was too busy twitching and thinking about how depressing the endless continuation of time was. He wished he had the power to make moments last forever. Why didn’t the witch curse him with that? In a way, his condition did stretch out time but that had been when he was alone in the house. Now that he had Bethany as company, he found time moved too fast for his taste. 

“Ha! I told you, Teigan!” It was only because she had punched his arm that he came back from his daydreaming. It was the first time she willfully touched him or used his name in a sentence. A double whammy to set him off when he was already shaken up. 

“We’re surrounded by woods,” he stated dumbly. “The people buying this house will probably like hunting so can you blame me for thinking a deer head would work?” 

“Gross.” 

He rolled his eyes. City girl. 

“I’m going to finish up dinner. You two better be down stairs within the hour or else you're eating cold pot roast!” Carina hobbled off, leaving them alone, a state Teigan didn’t wish to be in. 

He wasn’t the only one who was feeling worked up. He noticed Beth’s bouncing around and she was more chatty than normal. In the quiet moments, she stared at him expectantly and he knew why. He had avoided it for long enough. He couldn’t go back on his word if he wanted things to stay civil between the two of them. Gosh, how he wished he could go back in time and eat his words. He should have never said he would let her use his laptop to contact someone. It was a stupid idea in more ways than he could count. 

Low and behold, there Bethany was, staring at him expectantly. 

“I’ll set up the laptop.” 

She didn’t need an explanation as she followed him into his room. Her smile was beaming and it made his chest tighten. 

Tegian sat on his bed with a sigh, “Listen carefully to me. You cannot tell this person anything that can indicate where you are or who I am. You have to keep it short and sweet. If you mess this up you’ll only make things worse for yourself. I’m working on letting you go, remember that.” 

“Okay. Whatever you say. I’ll be careful, I promise.” 

She sat on the chair with the wall behind her. Her fingers were moving at lightning speed the moment the device was in her possession. Since there was an abundance of programs downloaded on it to protect it from being traceable, it was slow. Bethany tucked her hair behind her ears repeatedly, her fingers trembling all the while. 

“What program are you using to contact them?” 

“An app for video chatting called Mirror Mirror.” She clicked a few buttons and sat back. “It’s dialing.” 

“Remember what I told you,” he warned. He was pretty sure he had signed his death wish. 

Teigan could tell the exact moment the call went through. Beth burst into tears. They poured out of her eyes like they had been there the whole time. Her chest caved in and her whole strong demeanor crumbled. It deeply disturbed him to see her without her fiery stare or perfect posture. It felt like she had been stripped of a layer, like someone yanked the curtain back without a warning. He felt like he shouldn’t have been watching. He had seen her emotional a few weeks ago when he first took her but with knowing her a little better . . . it felt different. 

“Grayson.” The name was both light as a leaf being carried away by an autumn breeze and as heavy as an anchor being dropped into the ocean. She said the word with so much care, like treasure she would always keep. 

It was familiar. He remembered she had mentioned him at dinner once. He was her friend. Why not call her mother or another relative? Grayson had to be more than a friend.  

“Beth! How . . . ? How is this happening? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

Curiosity getting the best of him, he moved over to the side of the room. He was close enough to see the man on the screen but far enough not to be spotted. Grayson was big - football player big. His hair was bleached an ugly shade of blonde and though he had dark circles under his eyes he was wide awake as he gaped at Bethany. 

“I’m okay.” She sniffled. “I’m perfectly okay so you don’t need to worry about me, alright?” 

“I don’t get it. Are you with the police? Are you coming home?” Grayson was crying as well. He shifted his device and sat up in what appeared to be his bed. “Please tell me you're on your way home.” 

Bethany inhaled and released a shaky breath. “I’m afraid not.” She could barely get the words out. He took a step back, recalling this wasn't a TV show but real life and real pain he was witnessing - pain he created. 

“What? How come?” Grayson placed his phone against something and reached into a pile of laundry. He pulled out a pair of joggers and stepped into them. “Where are you? I’m gonna come get you. I don’t care what the police say.” 

“No, Grayson. There aren’t any police!  Just sit down and talk to me. I don’t have much time!” 

He paused. “What do you mean there aren’t any police? I don't . . .” Teigan’s eyes widened as the young man began to understand. “He still has you?! Oh my . . . Bethany . . .” 

“It’s okay. I’ll be okay -” 

“How are you even talking to me? Have you tried to contact the police?” 

“Please listen to me -” 

“Do you know anything about where you are? Anything about him? You have to know something that will help!” 

Bethany’s body was shaking with sobs. She shook her head as her eyes swelled. Teigan was grateful she never turned her head to look at him. 

“I’ve been working so hard to find you! I’m so close! I have things mapped together. I haven’t stopped searching for a second! You just have to give me something to work with!” He was pleading, just as distraught as she was. 

“You can help me by saying you're doing fine! Tell me your life is going exactly how you want it and that it’s happy and that you found a new best friend to go get froyo with and that Grandma Li and Jason like her! Tell me you’ll always remember me but you won't blame yourself.” 

“No because I’d be lying Beth! There is no happiness without you here.” He ran a hand through his hair and spoke softly. “Is he in the room with you? Is he close by? Is that why you aren’t helping me?” 

Teigan stepped forward. He saw the hands ticking away on the new clock in the hall. “You have to end it,” he said. 

She looked up at him. “Please. Just a little more time! Please!"

He was stiff. Frozen. All he could do was shake his head.

“I've hardly even spoken to him!” 

“Now.” He despised how heartless he sounded - yet really he was sparing her. The longer this dragged on the deeper the wound would be. This video call was only digging up grief. It was a mistake- a dangerous, destructive mistake. 

She turned back to the screen. “I miss you so much.” 

“Bethany, no! Don’t hang up on me, okay?” 

“If I never get to talk to you again . . .” 

“Don’t say that!” 

“I wish you the best in all that you do - you and your family.” 

“Hang up now!” Teigan hissed. 

“Bethany, I love you and I am not going to give up on you.” 

“If things go right, I should be home so -” 

He reached out and slammed the laptop shut. Her fingers went limp as he took it out of her grasp. Her eyes were glued to the spot it had been for a few long seconds. Then she came out of her trance and lunged at him. 

“How could you?!” 

“I was clear on what would happen! You knew it would end this way!” He grasped her shoulders to keep her from trying to hit him and she flicked him away. 

“Don’t touch me! Stay away from me!” She ran for the door, repulsed by his presence yet again. It was as if those few days of understanding never occurred. “I never want to see you again!” 

The room felt spookily quiet. He heard her bedroom door slam shut and after its echo subsided all he heard was the ticking of the new clock, mocking him. He had so desperately wanted time to slow down and he had gotten exactly that. Every second Bethany spent hating him would drag on to last mini eternites and it was all his fault. 

~The Hunter~

Beth's face appeared heavenly displayed on his phone screen. When she moved and addressed him - proving she wasn't a picture or hallucination - he nearly melted. The contrast of his body slacking and his heart thundering in his chest made it incredibly difficult to think straight. 

He had fallen onto his bedroom floor to talk with her and as the conversation progressed he felt a dangerous hope building around him. Even as she warned him their time was going to be cut short, he was still optimistic that the nightmare was going to end. 

That confidence followed him as he sprinted into Pedro and then up Beth's apartment stairs. He didn't stop to wait at the elevator or slow down when his injuries felt like they were undoing all their healing. 

Maris opened the door on the fourth knock. She was the voice of reason to talk him down from the clouds. She took the job of replanting the knife in his heart. 

"From what you told me she didn't tell you any information on where or how to find her. It's purely assurance she's alive . . . and still with the Beast." 

He winced as the knife plunged deeper. "But if we tell the cops that they'll work harder on her case again." 

"Sure but all we have is your word. No proof." She sat down, tapping her painted nails on the table. "Or maybe we do." 

She gestured for Grayson's phone and fiddled with it for about an hour. He sat there staring at his hands all the while. 

This can't be another dead end. It can't. 

"Yes!" Maris held his phone above her head with a huge grin on her face. "I didn't even know I could do that but I did!" 

She brought the phone down and showed him the screen. Beth's face was displayed on it once more but this time in video form. 

"I managed to recover a screen recording." 

He felt a laugh bubbling in his chest, a hysterical one. "I wasn't screen recording though." 

"Shut up and take it to the police!" 

Detective Brendan couldn't deny what he saw in the video chat. He pursed his lips as he watched it, his bushy white eyebrows drawn so low they almost covered his icey eyes. 

Grayson and Maris stood in front of him and waited for his verdict. 

"Huh." 

"Huh?" 

He pressed his lips in a tight line. "Interesting." He grabbed someone passing by the office and handed her the phone. "Take care of this please." 

"Does this mean you are going to change the direction of the case?" Maris's eyes would be shooting lasers at the detective if they could. She seemed to dislike him more than Grayson did. 

"It appears so. We'll further analyze the evidence and get back to you soon. Thanks for your help." 

The older man flicked his blazer and walked away without as much as a handshake. Grayson couldn't be annoyed at that moment though. He had made the biggest contribution to the case yet and it felt awesome. 

To hold on to that feeling, the two went to eat a celebratory dinner at Grandma Li's restaurant. She wasn't there herself but the staff recognized him and gave him pats on the back as he entered. 

"Sorry about Bethany, man." 

"They'll find her." 

"Don't lose hope." 

"I'm here if you need anything." 

It was a chorus of reassurance. 

"Looks like you've got a nice support system here," Maris said as he held out a seat for her. 

"Well, yeah. I used to work here so we're all friendly." 

She picked up the menu and then frowned at something behind him. 

"What?" He turned and saw a picture of Beth displayed on the TV screen mounted on the wall. 

"There have been recent updates in the missing persons case of Brooklyn resident Bethany Rodriguez. Detectives say that they have reason to believe that Bethany is still alive and in the captivity of the Beast." 

"The news has been all over this case- which is probably a good thing. More exposure, more people looking out, I guess." Grayson tried to shrug off the impact these news reports had on him. He hated seeing them, having to hear all over again that his best friend was in danger. 

"Have any reporters been bothering you?" 

He shook his head and shivered. They were seated next to the window causing the cold weather to seep through the glass and onto his skin. 

"It's cold enough to snow. I wish it would." As soon as he said this, he regretted it. He didn't want it to snow without Beth with him. He didn't want anything to happen or change while she was gone. 

"If it's any comfort," Maris said, dragging her finger around the menu, "it's snowing somewhere in the world."