NeverSeen

I sat in front of my mirror, combing my hair. Another sleepless night followed by yet another peculiar morning. Dad had somehow managed to sleep past his alarm and missed his shift. And yet, when he called in to ask for a new assignment, the secretary said he wasn’t the only one to do so. In fact, nearly the whole platoon had done the same. He took his meds as normal and left.

Mom had a similar puzzle. She’d been told by the Festival Committee to come very early and help with decorations and confections, but during breakfast, before Dad got up, she received a call saying everything had been handled and her services were no longer required. She seemed to think nothing of it and set off to buy groceries as normal.

Except nothing about it was normal.

There had been news reports all evening and morning about the carriage incident and the seemingly coinciding vendor explosion. No accusations were being made, and no definitive evidence of who the culprit was. None at all.

So why did I feel like I was being Watched?

I glanced up, for what felt like the seven-hundredth time, from my maps and diagrams scattered across the floor. This had to be perfect. I had to get Raven out. That was another thing bothering me. Actually, it was closer to driving me mad. There had been no reports of a kidnapped child at all. Mr. O’Klurn wouldn’t be back until this evening, and Mrs. O’Klurn was working hours so late that I think she just assumed Raven was already in bed when she got home. And of course, Sam didn’t give a darn about anyone or anything anymore.

There had to be something else going on. Nobody just forgets that a person exists.

…Right?

Either way, I was pretty sure I’d find out soon.

As in the coming evening.

After that…

After that was a whole different problem.