Megeara knocked on the door to Dustin's apartment. Silence hung in the hallway as she stood on the second floor.
"Hello? Dustin are you home?"
She knocked again but no one answered. She was really worried. Carefully she looked around the hall, making sure it was empty before reaching down and getting his apartment key from the secret place he put it in.
They had been friends for years, and he trusted her enough to tell her where the key was in case of an emergency and she needed someplace to go. Quietly she unlocked his doer then quickly replaced the key in his hidden spot.
The room smelt stale though the furniture looked clean. The was a small black couch big enough to seat two in the middle of the room as well as a TV.
There were a few pictures on the walls of various animals that had been put their for decoration. The living room lead into a small kitchen and a bedroom.
The kitchen was clean and everything was in its place. It seemed like it had not been used in sometime. She opened the fridge and found it only contained a half opened can of Coca cola and a few slices of cheese. Shutting the door, she turned and walked out of the kitchen to the rest of the apartment.
Her boots made a muffled sound as she walked into the bedroom for any sort of sign or clue as to where Dustin could be. Her eyes scanned the bedroom as she stood in the doorway.
The bed was made, the dark blue comforter neatly covered it and the pillows. The dresser on the far wall was closed though a bit dusty. There was no sign of a fight or trouble anywhere.
Megeara frowned as she began to feel hopeless. It was really beginning to worry her. It wasn't like Dustin to not tell her where he was or what he was doing for more than a day and she had not heard anything from him in almost three.
Something was wrong, very wrong. She didn't know what was going on but she was determined to find out and get her friend back.
Brushing one of her long silver braids out of her eyes, she went back into the kitchen and started searching through the drawers for a pen and paper to write her friend a note just in case he returned. Halfway through the third drawer, she found what she was looking for; and started writing.
Dustin
If you come home please call me. you have my number
I am worried about you.
Love Meg
Megeara thought about adding more but decided she was satisfied. She went over to the fridge and secured it to the front of the freezer door with a magnet.
Since there was nothing else she could do here she turned and walked back to the door. She pulled the hood of her hooded seat shirt over her head ,covering her long silver locks then opened the door, making sure it was locked, and went out.
She stuffed her pale hands into the pockets of her hooded sweat shirt as she walked down the long hall and carefully went down the steps to the ground level of the apartments. Her boots barely made a sound as she walks over the thick carpet. Cold fall air greeted her as she opened the the heavy door leading outside.
She really hoped Dustin comes home and sees the note.
Megeara genuinely cared for him. She thought he was cute although very shy. She had liked his sense of humor and how she felt safe and could tell him anything.
She wasn't used to having to ask the guy out but she didn't mind. He was kind and fun to be around. She could tell he liked her very much by how she caught him looking at her or the way he smiled when she was around or how his face brightened whenever they got to talking about something.
Granted he got quiet whenever she tried to talk about relationships and things but she just figured he was nervous and shy. So she had planned three weeks ago to ask him out to a Halloween party. Of course that was before he had suddenly disappeared, It was only a week until Halloween now.
Megeara deeply frowned. Where could he be? What could have kept him away so long?
At first she had done something but there was nothing really that she could have done to make him act this way. It was not like Dustin at all. They were best of friends and he had never once just vanished before.
Something was keeping him from her she just knew it. Her thoughts kept running over the facts that she knew as she walked down the block and found her car parked where she left it.
The keys jingled as she took them from her pocket and unlocked the driver side door of her black Miata.
Her small body slid in comfortably into the black leather seat as she closed the door, stuck the key in the ignition and listened to the engine purr to life.
The car was one of her few prized possessions she had purchased it when her great uncle passed a year ago and left her a very nice sum of money.
She had bought a nice house, big enough for herself and one other person and saved the rest. The house and car both helped make things easier since her new job behind a mall kiosk selling cell phones did not pay very much. She turned on the radio so she could listen in on the news as she drove.
Her thoughts returned to Dustin as she turned the corner and headed downtown to the police station. Since he had been missing more than a week, there had to be a missing persons report by now she thought. If there wasn't, Megeara would make one.
The voice on the radio was advertising half off on Halloween costumes at the local store as her car went across the familiar steel suspension bridge and entered entered the downtown area. She had picked out a Halloween costume already for the party.
She had wanted it to be awesome for Dustin since she knew he liked things that were a bit different. Besides she needed something to catch the eyes of everyone else and to keep people from staring at her pale skin and silver hair she had had since she was thirteen. Her lower lip quivered and she bit into it nervously at the reminder.
That was another reason she liked Dustin. He never made fun of her.
The costume she picked out was a cyber goth girl outfit complete with gas mask and goggles as well as the outfit. She had even made an appointment to have her long silver hair dyed and made into multicolored dreadlocks just to complete the look. All that planning and purchasing seemed pointless now since he was missing.
The car stopped as a light up ahead turned red at an intersection. The radio host came back on right as the light turned green. She turned left and cruised down to the nearby police station.
It took her a bit longer than she would've liked to find a parking space but she managed to find one behind the precinct.
Megeara turned the car off and opened the door to get out. The evening gloom was just now taking over the sky as she stood up. A sharp, cold wind blew past her and chilled her hands to the bone.
Leaning back into the car, she got her black leather gloves out of the glove compartment and slid them on before closing the car door and heading towards the station.
A officer dressed in dark blue uniform nodded to her as she walked past him towards a pair of automatic sliding doors.
"Evening Ma'am " greeted the officer as he headed in the opposite direction.
Megeara just nodded and gave him a warm smile that she had often given Dustin when he was with her. She caught a hint of blush on the man's face as she walked past and went through the doors and into the building.
