All of Tyler's belongings could fit into one bag. One that sat neatly in the corner of the room untouched. He wasn't here. And didn't stop by to take his things either. If he left on his own he would have taken his stuff.
Joseph sat on the edge of the bed dazed. Something bad happened, didn't it? And Tyler… was he in danger right now? Is searching anymore meaningless? Would waiting be even more pointless? Countless thoughts flooded his mind. This was his fault. He didn't want to lose Tyler.
When Taylor disappeared he didn't immediately go looking for him. Joseph thought that was probably why the trail went cold. He blamed himself.
But this time was different. He had a place of origin and it hasn't been that long. Joseph checked outside to inside of the school. There's wide areas in almost every direction. If Tyler had been on foot Joseph would have seen him. Which meant he could only have been outside for a moment before leaving the area. So he was in a vehicle.
The only vehicles close enough are those in the teachers parking lot. It was around the back with some coverage from a row of trees.
It wouldn't be impossible to get Tyler to their car unnoticed. Especially if he took the side door. As for who it was. Joseph took a breath to relax and think. He grabbed a piece of paper and pencil and wrote down the potential suspects. He already made plenty of these lists before. Half the staff was checked off the list today. There weren't many left; he needed only to check them one by one.
His mind was finally clear. As of now had a set goal to get Tyler back safely. Whatever grudge before had been put on hold. Even if he failed to get revenge he needed to get Tyler back.
Joseph knew he screwed up; he should never have used an innocent person as bait. Resemblance or not Tyler didn't owe him anything. He hadn't done a single thing wrong since they met. He was clouded by hatred and made a terrible mistake because of it.
Tyler didn't deserve this, so even if he had to beg on his knees. Joseph would give up his pride to make the police look into every person on this list. He didn't have the time to do this alone. Nothing was worth Tyler's life.
Joseph resigned to tell them everything. No one would ignore Tyler like they did Taylor. As soon as he completed the list Joseph ran to town and found the police station. Praying in his heart that he wouldn't let Tyler down. Not again.
______
Tyler was in an unfamiliar cabin surrounded by forest. That alone putting far too much distance between it and town. He couldn't run away or call for help if he tried. Even so he wasn't scared in the slightest. He was calm with no change in his usual expression.
Thirty minutes prior to this he was still with Joseph at the school. The end of day bell was about to ring and students were bustling around waiting for the doors to open. Tyler noticed how distracted Joseph was and decisively chose to keep quiet.
He glanced around on his own and saw a man standing at the other end of the hall. A teacher obviously and one they hadn't met today. The look on his face was indescribable but his eyes were definitely on him.
Tyler met his gaze with a soft, kind hearted smile. The kind you would give when recognizing an old friend. This made the teachers face twitch but he quickly fixed to a usual expression as the bell finally rang. Then while giving the students farewells he raised a hand to gesture Tyler over. Just a teacher casually summoning a student.
As the students pooled together Tyler let Joseph be dragged away. Meanwhile he slipped through the crowds purposely keeping out of sight. Then he followed the teacher talking casually until they reached a more secluded area.
He behaved like any of the other older gentleman around. But his words were riddled with tests for him. Which Tyler responded to with a friendly tone. He acted completely relaxed and even let his guard down. The man obviously wanted more answers and Tyler was giving him free reign to ask away.
Eventually the counselor suggested that Tyler followed him to his car. Guess he thought he wouldn't get all the answers if they were at the school. How he said it seemed friendly but the underlying tone was threatening as hell. Less an option more a demand. With nobody else around he couldn't say no, not that he was planning to.
The counselor drove them far out into the forest after which they walked another distance to the cabin. He watched Tyler closely the whole time like he was trying to burn a hole through him. Maybe then he'd get some kind of reaction.
Reaching the cabin, Tyler was tired and sat at a table as soon as he entered. Meanwhile the counselors first move was to go around locking all the exits. Obviously finished playing his teacher role. This place was built like a fortress. Not for keeping others out but keeping people in.
He talked while he did so, digging more into personal questions. He clearly wanted him to slip up somewhere. But Tyler didn't care about matching his own answers to Taylor's. He answered randomly and when the counselor wasn't looking he removed an earring from his pocket and hung it on his ear.
It was a thin black rectangle shape with traces of faded patterns. It was hidden behind his hair unnoticed by the counselor who came back and sat across from him. He previously took his bag and shoes, raising the difficulty of moving through the forest. By this point there was really neither gained anything by pretending.
The counselor knew this and said in a low voice, "You're not Taylor are you?"
His eyes were dangerous like a predator spotting his prey. He finally asked the obvious question but it was more a statement. Because he knew otherwise. What he didn't know was why this lookalike appeared now and approached him so willingly.
This terrifying aura that's usually well hidden was no longer concealed. Any normal person would probably be scared speechless at this scenario but Tyler didn't look frightened in the slightest.
"That's correct." He answered truthfully. "I'm not Taylor. My name is Shields. Tyler Bain Shields to be exact. And I have no idea who you are, only that you're at fault for that boy's disappearance."
"Oh yeah?" The counselor narrowed his eyes. "And may I ask what it is that you're doing here Mr Shields? Didn't think to share your thoughts with the authorities? Certainly seems safer."
Tyler gave a defeated look and sighed, "What you're thinking is right. I don't have proof. I followed you on a whim and I turned out to be correct."
He lifted his empty palms, "I'm completely defenseless and probably going to lose my life here. Since this is it, why don't you help my curiosity and tell me how a smart kid like Taylor met such an end."
The counselor scoffed at his provoking fake reaction, "Funny. You don't exactly look like someone about to die. Is it that you've got an ace up your sleeve or are you simply that fearless?"
"Suspicion is nothing." Tyler retorted. "I can't defend myself or get help. Having done this before you could probably make it like I was never even here." He leaned back against the chair and shrugged. "Maybe I'm fearless or maybe I've accepted it. Either way my question remains the same; how could Taylor lose to you?"
He was provoking him and it worked. The counselor was amused sitting back and laughing he said, "I suppose you're right, you will die here. It's better to just accept it. You're quite strange aren't you." He smacked the table. "Alright. Since I'm in a good mood I'll tell you. Then you'll know who's really smart."
Tyler quit messing around and listened intently. He had previously done his best to put all the pieces together. He knew that Joseph's friend was gone and he was worried. Tyler apparently looks so similar that he could take his place.
Joseph brought him around checking for people's reactions. He suspected one of them knew something about Taylor's disappearance. Unless he was testing them Joseph didn't pay attention to those around them. Tyler however always heard the whispers.
Things like, "Isn't that Taylor? He looks a little different."
"Now that he's back Joseph doesn't have to worry anymore."
"Those two have always been smart. Taylor could definitely take care of himself, he worried for nothing."
"That's right he could always out-talk any adult and his caution around others…A kid like that wouldn't take a risk and disappear so suddenly."
Tyler heard these words everywhere. He understood. To coincidentally meet Joseph at this time… It was obvious why he was driven to do such a thing. If it were anyone else they may have been upset at the truth. To be unknowingly used in such a risky plan. But Tyler didn't care about any of that. In fact it may have even been his own fault.
All he wanted was for Joseph to not have any more regrets. So he tried his best to figure out what kind of person Taylor was. And being tricked by some creepy old dude just didn't match the image he created. He came up with a few guesses and now he wanted to confirm the truth. If he guessed correctly then he was right about Taylor. In which case this all might work out.
_______
First day of May.
About a month ago Taylor had been doing jobs around town with Joseph to save up money. They wanted to buy a few books they found recently.
More often than not the two of them were found together. But every once in a while Taylor would head off to do some side project of his. It wasn't well known to the adults but around the kids their age Taylor was known to take requests.
Whenever someone had a question they could trade with Taylor for the answer. He was smart and good at figuring things out. A little investigation and he could find answers, missing items, a person's whereabouts, etc. He even gave advice on how to proceed in finishing tasks. He'd probably be a great full time employee anywhere if he wanted to.
The request range was basically unlimited. No matter how difficult or easy a situation was, Taylor could probably help one way or another. He was smart but always cautious. He knew when to pass a task off to a professional and never did anything that could result in injury.
Taylor could tell at a glance when someone was sketchy and always kept this in mind when meeting people. Everyone was kept farther than arms length. Everyone except Joseph of course. Who he never took on the more menial time consuming requests. He didn't like the idea of him being roped into anything potentially strange.
It was nice being the tough older brother coming home to the smiling younger brother. No matter how bad the outside world got he could always breathe peacefully with Joseph. He would never be like the adults in his life. He'd always strive to protect this person. To him that also meant eliminating all potential threats in advance.
Perhaps that's why he listened to the problems of others. To contain them. Like the girl before him holding a little white dog quietly folded in her arms. She seemed to need something from him. The distressed look on her face made him think of Joseph. How he wouldn't want Joseph to ever make that face.
The girl walked up to him asking if he was Taylor, the one who did the requests. His first thought was how Joseph would have liked to see such a cute dog.
Then he answered truthfully saying, "That's me. And you?" He wouldn't normally be so upfront but kids his age weren't much of a threat to him. Although she looked a little older.
"Ah. It's Mia…"
She looked hesitant about talking to him but inevitably bit her resolve and asked to request something. Taylor could easily read how important it was to her so he agreed to talk for a bit.
After finding a quiet place to sit and talk the girl spoke up, "To be honest I don't know if you can actually help. I only thought that..if worse comes to worse I would probably want somebody to know…Maybe."
She seemed to be trailing off as she spoke. Rambling slightly from nervousness.
"Even if I can't help, I can still give advice." Taylor responded with a tone of patience. "Just be as clear as possible and I'll answer after considering the problem."
"Thanks for listening at all." Mia gave a genuine smile of relief. "I haven't had much of that."
Taylor nodded and waited patiently for her to put her thoughts together. She then proceeded to tell him her situation.