“Jess… Jess,” a middle-aged man, dressed in a tie and brimmed hat, shouted as he rushed into the kitchen.

“I need a drink to celebrate,”

“Erik…” Jess, his wife, attempted to inteject, but Erik is far too excited to even acknowledge the look of concern on his wife’s face.

“I have made a break through. I did it. The chemist that barely made it through his doctrine has cured the Harrows. I swear.”

Erik opened a bottle of brandy and poured a small amount in two tumblers.

“Well, I didn’t cure it… cure it, but it is a positive step and perfectly safe on humans. I even tried it…”

He paused when he met her sad, dark brown eyes.

He swallowed the shot of sweet blackberry liquor, but the momentum of his thoughts carried him on.

“I tried it on myself, no one else would dare… I know.. I know it’s dumb…”

Jess’s face looked like it had melted.

The skin under Jess’s eyes sagged. A frown dragged down the creases at the sides of her mouth.

“I had this practiced. What I was going to say. I had it down, but… what happened? What am I missing? Do I need another shot?”

“Erik, your daughter is missing.”

“What?” I took his mind moment to unwind and change direction.

“Rebecca is missing.”

“Where is the Vallenwood Uniformed Corp? Did you call them?”

“We are on our own. The VUC isn’t helping.”

“What do you mean they are not helping.” Anger built up, but elements from work began to filter in.

Long simmering suspicions.

“Oh my gawd, they are going to blackmail me.  This is Vallenwood. They took Rebecca.”

“How can they do that!” Erik shouts.

“They are going to abandon us. What do I need to do. Where was the last place you saw her.”

Jess frowned. Took in a long breath.

“Can you check your neuro-divergance for a damn second. Stop, breathe, and think.”

Erik stood for a moment. He took a breath then…

“Tell me what happened,”