No Turning Back [REWRITTEN]

Chapter 6

[234 hours, 48 minutes]

[Blake]

In a particularly more lifted mood, I managed to wake up like normal and actually go outside instead of hiding in my workshop. I guess I just needed to talk to someone about what I was feeling in order to feel better about... well, life in general.

Malachi was the first to greet me as I left my house that morning. Or maybe it was the opposite, where I greeted him. It was more of a collision than anything, as I hadn't quite been looking where I was going and he was a whopping foot and three inches shorter than I was.

"Ah- sorry, Malachi! Didn't see you there," I apologized with a sheepish chuckle.

Malachi shook his head a little to regain his bearings, sighing with a trace of a smile on his face. "I need you to remember to look down as well as forward in case someone without six feet to their name crosses your path, okay, Blake?"

I laughed. "Hey, I said I was sorry."

"Whatever." He was still smiling. "I see you've finally made it out of your hidey hole."

"Yeah."

"You alright, though?" His smile twisted to slight concern, a smile of sympathy more than amusement. "I know it's especially hard for you, with Tyson... gone."

I hesitated before shaking my head to myself. "I'm alright. I just needed... to be alone for a while. I should be good now."

"Hey, Blake!"

Alexis was walking towards us, having seen us from where she had been walking. I gave a smile and waved at her as she strode over to us, adding one more person taller than Malachi to the gathering group (which Malachi pretended to ignore).

"Hey, Alexis," I greeted back. I noticed creases of worry on her face, her smile a painted facade over her very visible concern. "Are you alright?"

Alexis let her smile fall, exhaling. "Have either of you seen Dilla? I thought she was in her studio, but I don't think she came back at all last night, because she's not there or asleep. I've looked all over the place."

Well, last time someone went missing, they really didn't return in one piece, so that's probably not a good sign. "No, I haven't seen her. Sorry."

"I saw her yesterday, if it's of any use," Malachi chimed in. "She was walking around and I asked her about the kids. The rascals took my textbook while I was asleep and I couldn't find it for three hours."

I chuckled a bit at that. He elbowed my side, irritated at my amusement.

Alexis just sighed. "I'll keep looking then. If you see her, tell her to text me or something and tell me if she's alright. With how Tyson died and all, I just... don't want anything bad happening, you know?"

"I get it, yeah. I'll tell her to message you when we see her."

Purposefully I said "when" instead of "if," not wanting to think about the possibility of another death.

"Alright. Thanks."

"See ya," I said, waving as she walked away.

"Gosh, I hope Dilla's alright," Malachi remarked.

"Hey, she can take care of herself," I assured him, sweeping my own doubts under the rug of my memory. "I'm sure she's just hiding in a corner and drawing somewhere."

Malachi thought about that, then nodded. "Yeah. You're probably right."

Still, though, I couldn't help but think about Tyson and how Dilla could very well meet the same fate if she wasn't careful. I didn't doubt her in the slightest - even Lionel, who didn't quite openly fear anything, was afraid of her at times under the right circumstances - but I never doubted Tyson, either. Well, maybe at times I did, but generally he was quite capable.