I was running on fumes. With every step around another corner, my legs burned, my heart pounding louder than my breath. The streets were quieter now, the kind of eerie quiet you only find in places you shouldn't be. It wasn't the pulse of the city that was fading but like the whole world was holding its breath. And I? Chasing shadows.
I tightened my grip over my phone, my eyes scanning across the text messages, each line a slap in the face. Julian and Jasper were out there-preteens-cloaked in a ghostlike fashion. Each lead I pursued had brought forth nothing but empty results. Each face I showed it to looked either away or, worse, feigned ignorance. It was a belief that was beginning to make me wonder if this was just chasing my tail.
Then came the breakthrough, of sorts.
A call. From a number I didn't recognize. At first, I thought it might've been a wrong number, or maybe a scam, but the second I answered, I knew.
