The entire camp was unsettled. Something had gone horribly wrong and everyone was too panicked to do anything. Delan was trying to calm everyone down. It wasn't working, I sighed and prepared myself to have one of the worst days I had experienced here so far.
The issue was simple. Mr Johan Fixx was missing, no one had seen him for the past 24 hour. Everyone pulled together to try and form a coherent timeline of his disappearance. The general consensus was that he disappeared around 10pm of night 4. The same day I had that little scruffle at the lake.
Ms Rita, the only other teacher to accompany us was doing her best to contact the school and request help. She remembered belatedly that they were equipped with satellite phones and walkie talkies. She could not contact him on either of them.
At first we assumed he went for a little stroll or personal hike. It would be a bit irresponsible but not impossible. But it was unlikely for him to go more than 24 hours without coming back to camp or making contact.
We knew Mr Fixx. He was responsible and diligent, he wasn't the type to vanish without informing anyone. I looked at Tobias, he was worried, he was sweating. Why did this have to happen, we should have left this place tomorrow morning with fond memories and relief.
"Alright everybody. I've gotten in contact with the school. They've already contacted the police. They'll be here in a few hours to begin searching for him." Miss Rita was nervous and withdrawn, clearly unfit to handle the situation.
"I don't think we can wait that long. We've already wasted time standing around. Time we could have used to search for him. I suggest we start the search now, law enforcement can join us later." The female student spoke with a lot of passion and worry. I didn't like the idea of standing around either. If he was truly in trouble any moment wasted could spell disaster.
"I agree, we will lose daylight waiting around. There are a a lot of us here, if we spread out we can cover a lot of groud in less time." Some else spoke up, he was also deeply worried, his eyes reflected a deep fear, almost like he had experienced this before.
Miss Rita was not having it. "I know you are all worried about your teacher but what if something happens to you. We don't know what has happened, we could be endangering ourselves by going in unprepared."
She had a valid point but it did nothing to persuade anyone. "So you want us to stand around. Even if the police make it here they'll waste precious time too. Probably spend an hour establishing protocol and and setting up, I should know my mom's one of them."
Thing were heating up quick. And true to her character Ms Rita pleaded again. "Please listen I don't want any of you to end up hurt. Just wait it out for an hour.. no two. They will be here."
"Pardon our rudeness Ma'am but we are not asking your permission, we are telling you. Whoever's interested in helping out with the search come over. We'll move in groups of three, stay vigilant and keep your ears open. We will start east and move west past the lake." Delan took over, he stepped forward and explained the plan of action thoroughly. The plan was detailed, he sounded experienced. I wondered how someone acquired experience in search and rescue.
We grouped up and began the hike leaving the camp behind, Ms Rita and a few students. I didn't plan to stick with them long, it would only slow me down. Progression could be achieved faster if I split off. I widened my range of perception to the very limit and let all the information slip in. I was flooded by a cascade of structure and form.
I closed my eyes and tuned in to this colourless world, where dimensions and vibration were the only thing that mattered. I felt my other senses dull as I dived deeper and deeper into the veil, sound through my ears was muffled but in exchange I 'heard' the vibrations around me in detail so profound it stunned me.
Since I was the epicenter of the veil, I moved quickly to cover as much distance as possible. The landscape changed gradually and new information reached me. Nothing yet, I picked up my pace. Walking alone did not suffice, bracing myself I paced myself into a jog. I processed information faster than I could cover ground.
The further I got the more a stomach churning crunch of desperation set in. My legs carried me faster, adrenaline set in and then I was running. How far could he have possibly gone, what reason would he have to come this far.
***
Delan led their little trio flinching slightly at any sound he heard. They moved as quickly as they could through the forest making as much noise as they could. Jonathan worked his through to shout out Mr Fixx's name again. Jonathan remembered the panic that ensued this morning when everyone gathered to be assigned their chores.
Normally Mr Fixx and Ms Rita would stand at the back to supervise and make sure that all the students were present and in good health. It was progressing smoothly until a student pointed out that Mr Fixx was not in attendance and he was also absent yesterday. They all assumed he had something to do yesterday or he slept in.
He had to give Ms Rita applause for being so slow to notice considering that she was the one that associated the most with him. A whole day without seeing him before she noticed and started frantically trying to contact him on the radio.
"I hope nothing happened to him." Aaron his other companion was a surprisingly shy and weak willed character. Considering the piercing, dark painted nails and hair colored like the void, he was soft spoken, gentle and had a love for cute things. "I'm sure he'll be fine Aaron. Who knows he probably got carried away on his little side quest, his radio batteries might have died and he's making his way back to camp now." Delan answered kindly hoping to alleviate Aaron's anxiety.
That was a optimistic thought from Delan but I knew better. It was highly unlikely, the teachers were made to carry two devices on them. A short range radio and a satellite phone to use to contact the outside world in case of an emergency. Mr Fixx was far too responsible and level headed to simply get carried away. Something was stopping him from making it back, mostly likely.
If Mr Fixx was truly in some form of trouble then it left a few easily imagined options. It came down to two things, either an issue with his person or an issue with his gadgets. Maybe he got lost or he was gravely injured or he had fallen prey to some wild animal. Worse yet, what if he was dead. It was a bleak thought with some novelty to it.
Mr Fixx was an experienced camper. He was also very compassionate towards his students and showed a lot of care and patience. Everyone that attends his class knew those two things about him. That was why he volunteered each year to come to this excursion. In fact Delan informed me that he called the other camp twice each day to check in on them.
It would be a shame if something happened to him. The man was a well of knowledge and impactful memories. Such a loss would sadden me deeply. "You alright Jonathan, notice anything." Ah yes, my mind wandered off again. I had to concentrate on looking for him or any trace of him. "Ah yes I'm alright Delan. I'm just worried, I hope we find him." He nodded and continued to search earnestly.
The search had grown increasingly quiet as we focused our eyes and ears for even the smallest disturbance.
I felt the familiar touch of his mind first, it brought a smile to my lips. Moments later I heard his fast footsteps before I saw him run past. His eyes were closed, his body taught, fluid and committed to the search. He shudder for just a second under my gaze before he continued.
"Who was that?" Delan watched him wheeze past, listening to the crunch of leaves under his light footfalls. "Oh it's just our amusing classmates, Lukehiem Fitch." I answered sincerely. His face morphed with rage and disgust.
"That boy is an absolute retard. Can't he take anything seriously. He can't even be bothered to search for his teacher, instead he decides it is the right time to run through the woods and interrupt everyone else that's focusing." He muttered some threats under his breath, clearly livid and in disbelief.
I watched him curse and complain about Luke. I didn't bother to tell him that the boy was searching this forest harder and more earnestly than anyone else. I smiled again, the touch of his mind has long since vanished but I remember it, I relished it.