Jodi hustled across the town square, struggling to carry an impressive bundle of brown paper grocery bags in her arms, making a straight diagonal line for the back gate of her yard. The sun was beginning to set already. She had meant to just quickly pick up some ingredients for dinner, but had spent far too long gossiping with Caroline. They had talked about all sorts of things – Abigail's newfound fascination with entomology, JojaMart's recent price hikes, the notion that George might finally be giving in to dementia, and even the new farmer boy, Elijah, and his friendly relations with Emily next door. Jodi stopped in the middle of the plaza and admired the brilliant warm hues of the setting sun for a moment.

"Evening, dear!" Evelyn called out from across the way, offering a little wave as the old woman hobbled home from her little garden.

"Have a good night, Evie!" Jodi shouted back, trying, and failing to wave without dropping anything. Evelyn chuckled good-naturedly and continued her way.

Looking back at the horizon, Jodi basked in the twilight for a little longer. Maybe she should stop gossiping so much – she supposed it was a little mean, and immature to boot. She was supposed to be a mother after all. Then again, being a grownup wasn't exactly fun – she needed something to do. Sighing at her everlasting predicament, she continued home.

The lights were all on, meaning her boys had beaten her home already. After pawing futilely at the doorknob for a moment, she gently kicked the door a few times. After waiting for a minute or two, she repeated the action with a bit more force. Just a few seconds later, the door opened, and Sam appeared. He regarded his mother with confusion before realizing what she was doing.

"Shit, sorry Mom!" He said hastily, moving to relieve her of some of her burden.

"Language." Jodi scolded him firmly, though she was incredibly thankful for the help.

He didn't respond immediately, as if he was distracted by something else entirely. "Uh, sorry." Sam apologized again, his tone uneasy. His blonde spikes bobbed uncertainly as he shifted his weight trying to balance the groceries, crossing the threshold into the house.

Jodi followed him inside, now with just half the load, and wiped her feet on the doormat. She followed her son suspiciously with her gaze as he delivered the bags to the kitchen. What was his problem tonight? Taking off her shoes, she saw the cause. Sitting in his big black armchair, her husband Kent sat hunched over, hands firmly clasped together supporting his head, elbows resting on his knees. His face was ghostly pale, and his blonde hair glistened with sweat; his eyes stared, unblinking, morosely, at the wall across the room, but seemed to look past it entirely at the same time. He was somewhere else.

Sam crossed the room again, not looing directly at his father but instead glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. He took the rest of Jodi's bags. "He's been like this for at least an hour." Sam explained quietly.

Jodi nodded slightly, looking at Kent mournfully. She remembered what the books had said about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – act like everything is normal, be supportive, let them talk when they want to and just listen.

"Hi, honey." She said, trying to keep her tone as normal as possible. Kent didn't respond. "Sorry I'm late – Caroline loves to talk, you know?"

Sam looked between his parents uncertainly. "Uh, so, uh, what's for dinner Mom?"

Jodi smiled as him; he was trying, although she knew it was difficult for him to see his father like this. It had been hard ever since he came home earlier that month. "I was thinking I'd make some fiddlehead risotto." She beamed. It was Kent's favorite – maybe that'd bring him out of it?

"Sounds great!" Sam exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. "Want some help?"

"Sure." Jodi began walking towards the kitchen, Sam in tow. "Where's Vincent?"

"Playing at Jas's, I think." Sam answered.

Jodi grabbed some cans from a bag and began sorting them into the appropriate cabinets. "Actually," She turned back to her son. "would you mind getting your brother, Sammy? It's getting dark."

Sam glanced over his shoulder into the other room. "You sure you don't want some help?"

Jodi shook her head. "No, getting your brother will be the most helpful thing right now."

"Sure thing, then." Sam spun on his heels and beelined towards the front door. "Be back in a bit!" As he was halfway out the door, almost as an afterthought, he called back, "Save some risotto for me, dad!"

Once outside, Sam sighed heavily and shoved his hands into his pockets. It was always so awkward when his dad got like that – he felt so helpless, didn't know how to help. He was glad Vincent was so young – he was too little and stupid to understand. At least it convinced Sam to never join the army, even if they were losing the war – always look at the positive stuff, right?

He loitered on the street for a bit, watching the sunset. To his left, he heard a door open.

"See you tomorrow!" A woman exclaimed.

Sam turned his head. Next door, his neighbor Emily was enthusiastically hugging a man as he left. Her blue hair flailed energetically as he spun her around. The brown jacket and almost Wehrmacht-style brown undercut were instantly recognizable – Elijah, the new farmer that moved into town last year. He bid Emily farewell as her sister screamed at her to close the door before she let another beetle in. With the door closed, Elijah walked to the street and assumed a stance almost identical to Sam's, hands in his jean pockets as he observed the sunset.

Noticing the other man, Elijah looked over at him with a shocked expression, as if he'd been caught doing something bad. He tried to change this into a smile, though Sam was unsure if it was fake or not.

"Evenin', Sam."

"Hey, Eli." Sam replied.

"How, uh, how's it hanging?" Eli awkwardly moved to lean on a nearby lamppost.

"You know, hanging." The two men continued to look at each other for a moment before Sam turned westward. "Well, I gotta go. See you around."

"Hey, I'm going that way too!" Eli suddenly perked up. "Quickest way home."

"Right." Sam wasn't quite annoyed, but he wasn't exactly pleased either.

"So, where're you headed?"

"To Marnie's ranch, to pick up Vince."

"Ah."

The two walked down the road, with no sound between them except for the clopping of their shoes on cobblestone, and soon the crunch of dirt as they left the town behind. Sam couldn't help but notice the more rapid pace of the shorter Eli's steps. The walk was short – only about fifteen minutes – but it felt longer with the awkward silence between them. Sam didn't know why it was awkward, it just was. The older man and him just didn't click well, despite the age difference being only five years at most, and them actually sharing a surprising number of interests.

"So, uh, you see Weirder Stuff Season Two yet?" Sam asked, trying to spark conversation.

"I've been trying to watch an episode every night," Eli responded readily. "but I'm usually so tired I just sleep through it." He chuckled.

"Well, what episode are you on?"

"Three or four, I think."

"Damn."

"Honestly," Eli laughed at himself some more. "the scenes with the blighted crops gave me a little anxiety!"

"Really? Are you that scared of your crops failing?"

"I mean, I grow, what, parsnips and potatoes? Some beans? I'm barely living on that as is – if a blight wiped them out, I don't know what I'd do."

"I suppose." Sam mused. "Different people worry about different stuff."

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the warm orange lights of Marnie's ranch appeared up ahead; the smell of fresh manure and hay wafted towards them. The sun was almost totally gone now.

"Well, nice talking to you man." Eli bid Sam farewell as he split off, heading north towards his own farm.

Sam approached the farmhouse of the ranch, walking alongside the fenced off pasture, smiling at the numerous cows who jostled to moo at him, seemingly begging for head pats as he went by. He knocked sharply on the door three times.

A middle-aged woman opened the door. "Oh, Sam! What can I do for you?" Marnie exclaimed. The lady was always incredibly happy to have visitors, no matter the time of day.

"Hey, Miss Edgar." Sam smiled. "I'm here to get Vincent."

Marnie laughed. "Oh, the little rascal is still out playing with Jas."

"Still?" Sam asked quizzically. "It's dark."

"I told them to come back at seven. They'll probably be along any minute now."

"Did Vince have dinner, at least?"

"Yep, I fed him around 4pm. We all had some hamburgers." As if on cue, a cow bellowed ruefully from the pasture.

Sam thought about his father for a moment; Vince might be little and dumb, but he could still sense that something was wrong whenever Dad got like that. Maybe it'd be better if Vince just didn't come home tonight.

"Hey, would you mind if Vince spent the night here?" Sam asked suddenly.

Caught off guard, Marnie hesitated for a bit. "Uh, no, I suppose not. Lord knows that Jas would be delighted!"

"Thanks." Sam said, relieved.

"Can I ask why?"

Sam studied the woman's face. She probably knew exactly why, but didn't want to be rude or make assumptions. "It's our dad." He explained somberly. "He's not…feeling the best."

Marnie nodded understandingly. "Of course."

"Well, uh, thanks." Sam made to leave.

"Sam?" Marnie reached out towards the young man's shoulder, smiling warmly. "If you guys ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. The whole town's in this together."

Sam smiled back. "Thanks, Miss Edgar."

With that, Sam started home, leaving the cacophony of livestock behind.

Fierce knocking awoke Mayor Lewis Morse around 8:30 in the morning. The old man begrudgingly rolled out of bed and self-consciously patted down his grey walrus mustache as he went to the front door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He groaned, momentarily considering quickly changing out of his pajamas before dismissing it as being too difficult. His old bones couldn't move that quick; besides, he was certain that every villager in town had beheld him in his periwinkle gown at least once already. Opening the door, he found a collection of villagers waiting, all wearing incredibly concerned expressions. Lewis immediately knew something was wrong, changing his demeanor instantly. "What's going on?"

Gus, the portly owner of the Stardrop Saloon, spoke first. Behind him, Kent leaned heavily on the mayor's mailbox, staring at him intently; Marnie's nephew, Shane, looking even more bedraggled than Lewis – and probably hungover to boot – stared off into space. "Jodi can't find her kid, Lew. The little one, Vincent."

Lewis's blood froze. "What?" He couldn't have heard him right.

"Little Vincent's missing, Lew." Gus repeated. The usually jovial barkeep was grimly serious now.

Lewis looked between the other two villagers. Kent's expression was an utter enigma. Shane's usually apathetic expression was replaced with one of stoic shock. The mayor ran his hand through his mustache, thinking.

"Well, what, how-?" He needed to approach this as delicately as possible. "When was the last time anybody saw him?"

"Marnie says he left with Jas to play in the woods outside the ranch around four yesterday afternoon."

"And?"

"Jas says he left around five or six, and she kept on playing by herself. He was supposed to stay at Marnie's that night, but she dozed off before they got home. She only realized he never came back this morning."

Lewis was silent. "He can't have gone far." He said; whether he actually meant it, or was just trying to be reassuring, he wasn't entirely sure himself. "And there isn't anything too dangerous in those woods – he might be a little cold and hungry, but, but…he's probably fine."

Gus studied the mayor coolly for a moment. "Right."

"We looked around the area they were playing in." Shane spoke suddenly. "Went into the woods a little. Not a peep, not a sign."

"We need to put together a search party, Lew." Gus insisted. "There's, what, twenty able-bodied folk in Pelican Town proper? If everybody drops everything and helps look, we can track the little guy down in no time flat. Even faster if we get Robin's folks and Elijah to help."

Lewis nodded slowly. They needed to get a handle on this situation immediately. He studied Gus, Shane, and Kent. "You're right. Alrighty, Gus, I'm deputizing you. We might not have any proper cops around these parts, but you might as well be one for now. Go around and deputize three, four more men, to lead some parties. I'm going to get dressed and go talk to Marnie."

"She's with Jodi, at our house." Kent informed him stiffly.

Lewis nodded. "I'll talk to you all in a bit." Closing the door, he let out a long breath. Everything was going to be alright. It had to be.

Elijah let out a heavy grunt, letting his axe fall onto yet another log. Beside him, his dog Major bounced enthusiastically at a safe distance, pouncing to grab a stick that had broken off from the log.

"You're gonna get mouth splinters, big guy." Eli cautioned the mutt. It really was a big dog – some mix of a golden retriever and something big and mean, although you'd never know it. Major barked happily around the stick, not worried.

Eli looked up, scanning the field around him. It was an utter mess – how stones and logs continued to seemingly spawn from thin air in the winter was unknown to him, but it was sure as hell annoying. Now that the snow was melted, he had to clean it up all over again – the western and southern halves of the single, massive field that made up his little farm were veritable forests, choked with quick-growing trees and dense brush. How his grandfather had managed ever kept this farm pristine when he was younger, Eli would never understand.

The sun was high in the sky and Eli's stomach was beginning to growl. He'd been viciously fighting nature all morning. Major whined in response to the hungry stomach's noises, as if empathizing with it. Lodging the axe into another log for safekeeping, he bent down to pet the dog.

"Hungry, boy?" He asked, to enthusiastic tail wagging. "What'd'ya say we go into town, get a bite at the saloon and see what Em's up to?"

Major barked amicably and began bounding past some modest crops towards the farmhouse. Eli followed suit, noting how filthy and exhausted he was already – he'd definitely have to change before going into town.

"Afternoon, Eli!" Somebody called out.

Eli looked over to the entrance to the property, a stone's throw from the farmhouse. A small pack of villagers had arrived – Gus, the big, tanned barkeep; Kent, Jodi's husband, wearing the jacket from his fatigues; Harvey, the town's bespectacled doctor; and Robin, the ginger carpenter from up in the mountains. All wore startlingly grim expressions as they approached the house. Major ran out to greet them, but quickly retreated to the porch when it was clear they weren't here to play.

"What's going on guys?" Eli asked. "Who died?" He joked. Now that they were near, he noticed that they each wore a silver bottlecap with a little hole punched in it so that it could be pinned to their chest, like a badge. The smile instantly fell off his face when they didn't respond to the joke at all. Was somebody seriously dead?

"Jodi's kid is missing, Eli." Robin stated.

Eli raised an eyebrow, not sure he was hearing her correctly. "Vincent? Missing?"

"That's right." Gus confirmed. "We're going around getting people together to search for him."

Eli looked past them at a detached Kent, distant and unconcerned with him.

"When'd he go missing?" Eli asked. "I saw Sam last night while he was going to pick him up from Marnie's."

"Some time between 5pm and then." Harvey answered, adjusting his glasses and stroking his mustache, which looked woefully malnourished compared to Gus's handlebar mustache.

"Jeez." Eli crossed his arms and shook his head. "Well, I just need to shower, change, and I'll be glad to help any way I can."

Robin nodded. "Make it quick."

"Course."

Once inside, Eli decided to simply wash his hair in the sink, splashing a bit of water under his armpits and spraying himself with some body spray. He grabbed a fresh shirt and pair of jeans and threw on his favorite brown flannel shirt. Outside, Major whined incessantly at the seriousness of the visitors. Storming back outside, Eli announced that he was ready to leave.

Robin was staring off into the overgrown section of the field. "Hey, Eli…" The older woman turned to him. "do you think Vincent could've gotten lost in all that brush?"

Eli furrowed his brow. "I suppose it's possible." He conceded. "He and Jas have wandered up here a few times before…but it's not that overgrown, and actually a pretty small area – I came through from the south around seven last night, and I've been working out there all morning. I definitely would've seen or heard him, I think."

Gus watched Eli carefully as he talked. "Well, keep an eye out after you get back tonight."

"Right. Of course." Eli nodded. "Uh, let's go. Should I bring Major?"

"Dog might be able to sniff him out." Harvey said. "Might as well. At the very least, he'll be good for morale."

"Alrighty." Eli whistled for Major. "We're going into town, boy."

Lewis stared down at the assembly of townspeople in the plaza from his rickety wooden platform – roughly thirty in all. They were a tiny hamlet, but they'd have to make due. The mayor remained steadfast that Vincent would be found before tomorrow morning if they all searched diligently. Jodi sat off to the side on a bench, flanked by her husband and older son, looking morosely at the ground as they both tried to comfort her. The other townsfolk had since given up on trying to console her, although Evelyn and Caroline remained nearby. Everybody was eerily silent, with only the occasional nervous, quiet chatter between them.

"They're back!"

"It's Farmer Eli!"

"Let's get on with it!"

A chorus erupted from the crowd at the four deputies returned from Elijah's farm with the man and his dog in tow, swiftly crossing the plaza. The deputies joined Lewis solemnly on the makeshift platform while Eli quietly, awkwardly merged with the throng, making his way towards Emily.

Lewis cleared his throat as the excitement calmed down. "Alrighty, now that everybody's here, let's begin." He looked down at a small notepad with pertinent details. "I'm sure by now you all know why we've gathered you all here." He braced himself. "Jodi's little boy, Vincent, is missing." Utter silence; even the birds and bugs seemed to fall quiet. "I'd like to establish a clear timeline, so that we're all on the same page. As far as we know, he was last seen yesterday evening, around 5pm. He had been playing with little Jas, and left around then, saying he needed to go home around then. Later, around 7, Sam went to pick him up from Marnie's ranch and asked Marnie to let Vincent stay the night, since we all know how inseparable those little rascals are." Uncomfortable smiles. Little Jas shrunk into herself, burying her face in her Aunt Marnie's leg. "At this time, Jas hadn't seen Vincent for at least an hour or two, and came home shortly after 7 without him. Marnie, asleep after a long day of work, didn't know Vincent hadn't returned." Marnie smiled slightly, appreciating the mayor's attempt to downplay her lapse in responsibility. "This morning, around 7am, Marnie realized that Vincent wasn't there and checked in with Jodi. They searched in the immediate area for a time, but turned up nothing. Now we're all here."

"There's no sign of him?" Pierre, the bespectacled, cleanshaven shopkeeper demanded. "Kids aren't exactly careful – how can there be nothing to go on?!"

Lewis shook his head. "I don't know, Pierre. That doesn't matter right now though. The important thing is that the Cindersap Forest isn't particularly dangerous - you'd be hard pressed to find a dangerous animal even if you tried, and the river is shallow and slow moving. I'd say that there's a good chance that Vincent just got turned around in the woods."

"Now!" Gus stepped forward, holding a blue Stetson hat graciously donated by the museum curator, Gunther. "We're gong to pass Gunther's hat around – take a single slip of paper from it. It should sort everybody pretty evenly into four search parties."

Mild chatter started up again as the hat made its way around. Eli felt relief wash over him as he and Emily both held up two fingers to silently signify the group they were in. Once the hat made its way back to the stage, Robin called for order.

"Alright! Group One is with Gus – you're going to be searching the woods across the river from Marnie's ranch. I have Group Two – we'll be searching the woods around the Pond. Doc Harvey has Group Three, they're going to search the southwest, towards the cliffs. Finally, Group Four is with Kent-" Silence fell over everybody at the mention of Vincent's father. "-and you'll be searching along the beach. As soon as any of you find anything, one of you report back to Lewis and the rest keep searching."

"Any questions?" Lewis asked the crowd, only to be met with silence. "Alrighty – everybody get into your groups. Listen to your leaders. Let's bring Vincent home in time for dinner, eh?"

A chorus of affirmation rose up from the crowd as they went into a flurry trying to organize themselves.

Off to one side, Eli heard Sam's friends – the ragtag collection of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood that seemed oddly common in the village – reassure him, try to pump themselves up, talking about how Sam would get to tease Vincent about this for years. Kent drilled his group like a bunch of new army recruits - everybody was too scared and full of too much pity to complain.

Vincent wasn't back by dinnertime.

The sun was setting again, and nobody had turned up a single sign of him all day. They had scoured every inch of that forest, sometimes multiple times over. The hopeful demeanor of most of the villagers had vanished by this point. He wasn't anywhere to be found – not in the forest, on the beach, in Elijah's field...some had suggested he might have gotten confused and wandered through Elijah's farm into the forest to the north, and that it would be prudent to search there tomorrow.

Everybody was too scared to say what they were truly thinking.

A little boy like that, lost in the woods for more than a day. Chances are, he either got attacked by coyotes or drowned in the river. Elijah wasn't sure he shared these thoughts as some villagers confided them in each other, far away from the earshot of the deputies or Vincent's family. Sure, things weren't looking good, but it was always important to have hope…right? At the very least, Emily was still upbeat and positive, as always.

'Almost sickeningly so.' Eli thought as the two of them walked back towards the farm from town. He felt bad even thinking it, but her positivity almost seemed to be in bad taste in this situation. They held hands awkwardly – it wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but it made Emily happy, so he indulged her. He wasn't even sure if it meant what he thought it did – Emily was just an incredibly…'touchy' person to everybody. Eli glanced at her as they walked, suddenly feeling ashamed for thinking so negatively of her. Suddenly, she did the same and their eyes met. She smiled reassuringly, blue bangs falling into her eyes as she did so. Realizing that Elijah definitely wasn't feeling the same way, she dropped the smile.

"What's wrong?" She asked, suddenly very concerned.

He didn't answer at first, not even wanting to look at her as they reached the farm and started nearing the farmhouse. "What do you think?" He asked sarcastically, immediately regretting how cruel it sounded.

"I think…" She tried to choose her words carefully. "…that you're upset, just like everybody else."

He sat down heavily on the porch. Major, who had been trotting along behind them, sensed the mood and retreated to roll in the dirt further out in the field. Emily joined him on the porch and stared at him intently.

"I'm also upset…that you're not upset." Eli grumbled, realizing how stupid it sounded aloud.

Emily blinked a few times. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not the kind of person to show it."

"It just seems like bad taste, you know?" Eli suddenly had a lot to say. "Everybody else is so solemn and whispering all these awful things, and you're just chugging right along, chipper as ever."

Emily sighed. "You're right, there's lots of negative energy everywhere today. I'm just doing my best to counteract it."

"You come across as either disingenuous or an idiot." Eli insisted, stumbling slightly over the large word.

"What do you mean?"

"It seems like you're either trying too hard to convince people things will be alright, or just don't understand that they probably won't be."

Emily was silent for a long time. "Well, somebody needs to be an optimist."

"Optimism can be annoying sometimes."

"A pessimist is somebody who, when given the choice between two evils, chooses them both."

"…did you write that?"

"No."

"Oh."

Emily slid closer and wrapped an arm around Elijah, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just want everything to be alright. I'll acknowledge it isn't when it isn't."

They sat like that for a time, just enjoying each other's company in the cool night air. Major didn't move closer despite the change in atmosphere, choosing to continue chasing bugs and rolling in odd substances without the two humans. Eli's stomach rumbled loudly, followed very shortly by Emily's. The two giggled in tandem before falling into a fit of laughter.

"You want something to eat?" He asked. "I haven't had anything all day."

"Sure, I'd like that."

The two went into the house after failing to call Major in. After eating some haphazardly built sandwiches, the two fell asleep talking late into the night.

Elijah woke up late the next day, around ten in the morning, feeling sore all over. He found Emily gone, having left a note thanking him for the food and for talking with her. A thank you for every little thing – such was her way. Going about his morning routine despite it being nearly noon, he wondered why nobody had come to get him. Weren't they searching anymore? Maybe Vincent had been found early in the morning – maybe everything was alright after all. He couldn't think of another reason why nobody would come and get him – he knew the land, he was fit, they'd be a lot better off with him than without.

Putting on his jacket, he found another note in its pocket – Emily teasing him about always wearing the same thing, insisting that he should let her design him a new, superior jacket. He smiled fondly – he'd have to talk to her about that later. Leaving the house, Eli looked up at the overcast sky. It'd probably rain later, which meant he could likely get away with not watering the crops today. Major, whining, ran up to him and pushed insistently against the man's legs.

"What is it boy? Mad I left you outside last night?" The dog's tail was not wagging, and it looked up at him with big, sad eyes. "We tried to get you to come inside, but you never came." The dog pushed more, as if trying to herd Eli. "What, is there a search party over there? I told you that you don't need to worry about the people from town." Major took off in that direction, stopping after a hundred feet or so and looking back at Eli expectantly, one paw raised as if pointing to the southwest.

"A retriever and a pointer." Eli quipped, hefting his rucksack onto his back and following.

Major soon led him to the edge of the unkept, wild part of the field. Digging in his pack for a blade to slice at the thick brush with – Eli had learned his lesson after falling into a patch of poison ivy – he found that he had nothing. Alright, he'd be roughing it today.

"What are you leading me towards, doofus?" He pondered as the dog led him further into the brush. A thought entered his mind – what if Vincent actually was somewhere in there? Injured or…worse? He quickened his pace, following Major to the far southwest corner of the farm, vigilantly scanning around for anything that could possibly resemble a little boy.

Finally, Major led him to it.

Wedged between a rock and the shallow cliffside that gave the property its bowl-like shape was…something. Elijah knelt beside the object, studying it. It smelled like…crap – literally. It was some kind of carcass, definitely – maybe a dog? It definitely didn't look human, much to his relief. The thing was torn up, though, and barely identifiable. Upon closer inspection though, it didn't seem like animals did it – the cuts were…uniform, deliberate. Made with a blade, definitely. He was about to get up and leave when he finally noticed the important part.

A large tuft of red, almost magenta hair, exactly like Jodi's.

Elijah's blood froze. He felt his stomach lurch. His ears were filled with ringing and the thundering of blood.

Everything started falling into place as he made out what used to be hands or feet, deducing the shape of what just a day or two ago had been a healthy, happy little boy. He made out a single, milky violet-red eye staring into oblivion.

Vincent had always had his mother's eyes.

Elijah stood shakily and staggered backwards. He placed a hand on one of the newly growing trees for support as he felt the entire contents of his stomach surge up his throat and out of his mouth, spilling onto the ground before him.

"Fuck!" Eli screamed into the air. "What the actual fuck?!" Major let out a long, low noise, bowing his head. "I need to tell somebody. Fuck, I need to get Gus. Or Lewis. Or – fuck, this can't be happening!"

He raced out of the brush, tripping over roots and rocks as he went. Spitting dirt out and hastily wiping it off his face as he ran, cursing, all the way into town without stopping, Major following close behind, barking.

Eli didn't say anything as he ran into the plaza. He stopped short of the crowd gathered there, all their eyes on him, wearing expressions of either shock or disdain. Gus asked him where he had been, why he was such a mess, but Eli didn't hear him. Breathing heavily and scanning the crowd, he made eye contact with Jodi.

Her wailing echoed across the cobble and between the buildings as she instantly gathered what was happening. The deputies and Lewis all looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces.

"I found him." Eli gasped, looking at the ground. He couldn't breathe, he could barely stand up straight – god, his head was spinning. "He was, he-he was…" The man simply looked up at Lewis and slowly shook his head.

Some started sobbing; others simply put a hand to their mouth in shock and dismay; some stoically, defiantly, shook their heads and refused to make eye contact with the others, their suspicions confirmed. Nobody spoke for a long time.

Emily pushed her way out of the throng and approached Elijah cautiously, eyes wide and, for maybe the first time ever, glassy. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself open her mouth.

"Lead us there!" Robin shouted over the cacophony, her own voice hoarse and uncertain, jumping down from the platform.

"Mom-" Her daughter, Maru, reached out, as if to stop her, only to get brushed aside.

"Lead us to the body, Eli."

The entire town began walking along the westward road in a sort of funeral procession; even old George rolled solemnly along in his wheelchair, not saying a word. The deputies bombarded Eli with questions, many of which he simply didn't have answers to.

"Major led me to him not fifteen minutes ago." He repeated. "I found him deep in the brush. He…" Eli glanced at Kent, who marched on, stone-faced. "…it wasn't…pretty."

He led the deputies to the spot, guided by Major. None of them spoke as they looked upon the mutilated little boy. Jodi's haunting wails floated in between the trees. Robin and Gus began cry; Harvey turned away, running his hands through his hair and shaking his head. Lewis simply stared, shocked. It was Kent who walked forward and knelt next to his son. He reached out to touch the one recognizable tuft of red hair, and suddenly clenched his fists, standing, and screaming obscenities into the air; he punched a nearby tree repeatedly until his hands were bloody and bruised. Nobody dared stop him.

Kent turned to face the others, fire burning in his eyes. He looked at Lewis. "My little boy was murdered, mayor."

Lewis simply nodded slowly, silently.

"I demand that whatever sick fuck did this be brought to justice!"

"Of course." Lewis said hoarsely.

Kent turned and pointed at Elijah. "And it's looking like the Good Farmer here is the prime suspect!"