Lukas' POV

"Nothing? There's nothing?" I asked. How is there nothing? Th-There should be a-a number, you could trace it somehow, hack into it, who cares! There should be something!

"I'm sorry, Mr.Porter, but whoever called you was very smart about it. It came from a phone booth. There's no way to tell who it was. I'm very sorry." Charlotte Adams, the police station's hacker, told me. "In fact, the message was obviously a recording, since you said that you're kids were in the call and there's no way they could've been out in public without someone recognizing them."
Everyone was so....I don't even know the word to describe it. Distraught? Yeah, distraught is the word. We were so sure that this was what would bring our kids back. Back home. That we were gonna catch Cain, and punish him for his disgusting crimes. But he's smarter than we thought, so much smarter. That message has haunted my thoughts since we received it an hour ago. I, of course, remember it vividly, recalling every word, even recalling the echo that was made as they cried. But there were three sentences that stuck out the most:

"...I don't know how much longer we'll last down here, how much Analiese will last down here..."

"...He keeps chaining him to the wall!..."

"Hear that, Mr. Porter? They don't have much longer"

One from James, one from Analiese, and one from Cain. Petra pulled Jesse into a tight but comforting hug as everyone realized that our hope of tracking them just went down the drain. We're back where we started...back where we started...

(2 days later)

I sat in my recliner, thinking. Meanwhile, Jesse sat on Analiese's bed, where she's spent most of her time grieving for the past 10 days. Although, I haven't been able to even look at their bedroom doors since they went missing. Too big of a reminder, too many memories, too much guilt, I suppose. But I guess that everything is a reminder nowadays. The picture frames, the toys, the bikes outside, the pool, even the dishes. You can't grab a fork without seeing the brightly colored plastic kids utensils in the drawer, or open the cabinets without noticing Analiese' plastic kids plates. You could walk in any room in the house, and feel the emptiness, the silence. And suddenly, you miss the beautiful chaos that comes with having children. On any normal day, you would come home from a stressful day of work and want nothing but silence. But now...? Now you find yourself willing to do anything for the noise to come back...

I suppose it's true what they say, isn't it? "You never know what you have till you lose it."

Then the phone rang once again...

But this time, I hesitated. What if it's...him? What if it just another recording? The first time we got a call, it was to investigate a place that ultimately had no pay off. The second time, was a horrifying prerecorded message that contained no evidence. So what could it possibly be this time? Nonetheless, I sighed, and grabbed my phone. It was another number that I didn't recognize, causing my hesitation to only amplify. Oh wait, nevermind, the number isn't the same one as last time. Maybe he's calling from a different phone booth? Or it could honestly be a wrong number. I sighed for a second time, and reluctantly answered. "Hello...?" I asked in the most monotone voice you can imagine. I suppose I have discovered a whole new meaning to "phone anxiety". A younger woman answered back, saying--

"Hello? Is this Mr. Porter?" Well, it's not a prerecorded message. That's a relief...

"Yes, ma'am. This is Mr. Porter. Who is this?"

"Oh good! My name's Crystal Wells, I'm the receptionist at the Children's hospital. I'm here to inform you that you're children have been found alive and are currently being treated." She explained. Tears weld up in my eyes as I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They're back...they're okay! But what happened? In what way are they being treated?! Who found them and brought them in? I have so many questions...but now's not the time.

"Thank you...thank you so much...we'll be there as soon as possible!" I said before hanging up the phone and not even giving the receptionist a chance to respond. I made a mad dash to Analiese's bedroom and opened the door, practically knocking it down in the process. I saw Jesse sitting on the bed, looking at me in shock, but I could tell that she's already noticed the tears in my eyes. "They're alive..." I whispered, as tears slowly rolled off my face. Jesse was so shocked and surprised that it was hard for her to comprehend what I had just told her. Tears quickly glossed her eyes as she suddenly realized what I had just said. She shot up off the bed and started bombarding me with questions--

"What...? How do you know that? Where are they? Are they okay?! When did you find out about this?! Who--" Jesse asked, before being cut off by me as I sweetly kissed her. I couldn't help myself. Though shocked at first, she kissed me back for a moment before we both pulled away. "I'll explain everything later. But for now, they're at the Children's hospital. We have to go now." I said, looking into her eyes, and wiping her tears away with my thumb as I gently cupped her face in my hands. She swiftly nodded, and we ran out the door.

When we had gotten in the car, Jesse told me to explain everything. And I told her exactly what happened: I got a call, I was scared that it was Cain again, but it ended up being the receptionist, and she told me that they were at the hospital and are being treated. Now we're here.

"Treated? What do you mean treated? Lukas, what happened to them?" Jesse panicked. Oh....crap....I never actually asked why they were being treated... Lukas, you idiot! How could you forget to ask a question like that!?

"Uhh...She- She didn't tell me..." I stuttered. ...Technically I wasn't lying...

*Time skip*

We had just walked into the hospital, and as soon as we walked in, we could see the reception desk. "Mr and Mrs Porter!" Crystal called out from behind the desk. Looking around, there were all sorts of people there. Family, parents, friends, relatives, siblings. But everyone else was doing one of two things: silently grieving, or crying endlessly. It was so painful watching everyone else feel the same pain we both have for the past 10 days, even if we didn't know them or what their situation was. We rushed over to her and Jesse panicked. "Where are James and Anailese? Are they okay?!" Jesse pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "They're both on the 3rd floor. James is in room 311 on the west side, and Analiese is only a couple rooms down in 307." Crystal informed us.

"Thank you...again." I sincerely thanked her.

Jeez, this one took forever to write! Anyway, are you excited?--I'm excited 😊. See? I don't like being evil all the time! But don't misinterpret what I say 😈.