24F – Manhunt

They keep asking me questions. They ask me questions because they’re looking for my dad. That’s why they’ve brought me here. They’re worried about him.

They took me out of school. There was a panic, and lots of angry faces. And I got asked to come along and help them out. I didn’t want to go, but they really, really wanted me to go with them, my teacher, and the principal, and the detective.

Nobody was angry with me, they kept saying, but they didn’t sound happy. They’re just worried that something bad is going to happen. They’re looking for my dad.

Here’s my teacher, Mrs Tanner. She’s asking me about where he is. She’s sitting down in front of me, looking right into my eyes. I don’t want to look at her, so I look down. Which is why I end up looking down her shirt. I don’t mean to, but its just there when I look down. There’s pale skin in there, pale and round.

She asks me again. She sounds angry. Maybe she caught me looking. My head feels hot. I tell her I don’t know where he is. She makes this little sound, a sigh, like she thinks I know something else. But she doesn’t understand. I’m not supposed to tell her anything.

I try to pull my arms back into my jacket, try to shrink. The jacket is too big, and it’s itching me.

This room has a weird ceiling, like tiles, but full of holes, like a hornet’s nest. Over in the corner is a big water container, with a little tap at the bottom, so you can pour yourself a glass of water, if you want. Whenever they stop talking to me, they all go and stand around the water thing, and talk to each other really quietly. But nobody ever drinks the water.

They don’t say it, but I know they think he’s a bad person. I can hear what they say down the corridor, loud words followed by quite ones. But they’re wrong. My dad’s more good than anyone.

Another man appears. I look at him carefully, like I was taught, but I don’t recognise him. He shakes my hand. His hands are sweaty and he hurts my hand a tiny bit when he shakes it. He asks me what my name is. He starts asking me questions, and uses my name a lot.

He says, “Caleb, it’s really important that we find your dad”.

He says, “Caleb, you dad needs help. And we’d like to help him, Caleb. But we can’t help him until we find him. Caleb, can you help us find him?”

I think he’s worried he will forget my name. I tell him he doesn’t need to practice so much. I tell him that I used to forget it myself sometimes, but that I learned how to say it backwards – Belac. That helps me remember it.

He looks at me with a smile, a smile that sort of isn’t one, and then he stands up. He rubs my hair quickly, and then he leaves the room.

I hear an argument outside, in the corridor. I hear “just a kid”. I hear “running out of time”. I hear yelling. I sink into my chair a little bit.

When they come back, they come back in a group, and they’re all really upset. They want to know where my dad is. Did he say where he was going? Even the smallest thing? Did he do anything unusual? What did he say to me today? What was he wearing the last time I saw him?

I won’t cry. My dad doesn’t want me to cry. He told me I was strong. He told me I was a lion. I made a big roaring sound when he told me, and I thought he’d laugh. But he didn’t. He just said, that’s right. He said, you’re my lion.

And that’s why I won’t cry. My eyes are stinging a bit, but I won’t cry.

I kick at the floor with my sneakers. The ones my dad bought for me. I’ve never had ones like these before. They are special. He’d let me buy any ones that I wanted. And it didn’t matter how much they cost. He said he wouldn’t be able to see me for a while, so he wanted to get me the sneakers as a treat. Which made me sad. But the sneakers were awesome. They make you feel like you are walking on cushions.

I kick at the floor, and the floor makes squeaky noises. Like when you’re at the basketball, and the real players jump around, you can hear their shoes.

There’s more talk in the corridor. And then the man from the photo walks in.

He walks up to me and starts talking. He has a different voice from what I expected. He sounds nicer. Whenever he talks, other people around him stop. I guess he’s important. I guess that’s why he was in that photo.

He looks at me, really calm. He asks me about my dad.

My dad knows who he is. 

My dad said people like him are like keystones. That if they go, then everyone else tumbles around them. My dad said some other stuff that I don’t really remember. But I know that this man is important.

My dad said I would find him. That it was my destiny. My reason-something. That’s why he’d shown me the photo. So I would recognise him. That’s why he gave me the special name to learn. That’s why he made me the jacket. That’s why he gave me the button. That’s why he did everything. My dad is really good at planning ahead.

I put my hands in my pockets and feel around for the button. I’m not really sure, so I look up again. It’s definitely the man from the photo.

So I press the button.