Devasted by the loss of Kyle, Dylan sobbed in silence. He couldn't help but think that it was his fault as images of Kyle's charred, twisted car flashed through his mind. There was plenty of rubber necking as the wreckage was dragged uphill onto the roadside. Everyone likes to stare at a mangled car grateful it wasn't them. Metal scraping as the remains were pulled across the pavement in a one-sided game of tug-of-war had taken on the sound of static snow within Dylan's head. It felt as if the TV had been left on past the broadcast schedule. Dylan wiped his cheek dry as Detective Dermott drove in silence. If it wasn't for their fight Kyle would still be here. Despite all the great things about Kyle when the news report aired that night, he would be described as nothing more than a tragic addition to the statistic of drunk driving. The thought of this made Dylan's stomach turn.
Detective Dermott cleared his throat preparing to speak up, there was something he needed to tell Dylan, but flashing red and blue lights caught Dylan's attention before he could say a word. Dylan looked up and gasped turning to look at Detective Dermott. "What is going on? Why are there police cars at my house?" Detective Dermott was quiet, he knew exactly why. "John, why?" Dylan begged with strain in his voice.
Parking alongside the curb two houses down, Detective Dermott finally answered, "Dylan, stay here. I'll go find out what's going on." He exited the car and poked his head back in. "And stay in the car this time. I mean it." Detective Dermott approached a group of police officers standing on the curb in front of Dylan's home. "What's going on here, Hernandez?"
"Well, there was a break in. The neighbor called. We cleared everything." Officer Hernandez explained.
Detective Dermott raised one eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, everything's good to go. We're just waiting for the word to wrap it up."
Detective Dermott glanced past Hernandez towards Dylan who sat in the car staring straight back at him trying to zero in on some clue, reading lips as if he was an expert.
"What is Marcus trying to do?" Detective Dermott thought as he excused himself. Returning to his car Detective Dermott opened the passenger door, "Hey, we're going to grab clothes and some of your stuff. You're not staying here. Come on, I'll help you."
The detective's words hit a wall falling flat on their back as Dylan followed him to the front door of his house without responding. Along the way Dylan saw his neighbor Catherine speaking to some other officers. He overheard that Nate had gone missing as well. Catherine was answering questions and giving a description of her husband offering up a picture of him from her phone. As Dylan continued walking Catherine's words joined the jumble of everyone else's. Turning his focus back to the detective as he followed him into the house Dylan tried not to panic, but all of this was beginning to overwhelm him. Dylan felt like he was living out an episode of a crime series on TV, it felt different being the star of the show.
As Dylan packed clothes into his luggage, he quietly listened to the detective talking in another room, "Thank God for thin walls". Not only was Nate missing, but Tim was also gone too. Tim was home working when it happened. Dylan listened in; years of gossiping had made him an expert when it came to focusing on a conversation nearby. Nate reported seeing a group of men enter the house and called for help. When the police arrived neither of them were anywhere to be seen. Considering this was not just a simple breaking and entering but abduction, things were being treated much more seriously.
Both Tim and Nate were listed as missing with a search effort being established. Little did any of them know, both Tim and Nate were now hidden deep inside Club Exit. They weren't going to be found any time soon. Dylan was startled from his eavesdropping when Detective Dermott put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, didn't mean to scare you. Are you all packed up? You can stay with me until we can figure out a place for you to go." Detective Dermott grabbed Dylan's carry-on sized luggage and backpack asking Officer Hernandez to put in in his car.
"What do you mean stay with you? For how long?" Dylan understood he couldn't stay there with it being a crime scene, but he was frustrated and scared. His defiant side kicked in as he sat on the edge of his bed. "What is going on? Can you tell me anything? I'm not going anywhere until you tell me something." Dylan stared into Detective Dermott's eyes and looked away quickly. "What the hell is going on? First Kyle, now this? Jesus Christ..."
As Detective Dermott listened to Dylan, he noticed a faint beeping sound. He put his hand up to hush Dylan who was nearly in tears again, "Shhh, what is that sound?" Looking around the room the detective zeroed in on the source of the beeping and crouched down to see a black, box device with a red blinking light underneath the bed. Grabbing Dylan by the hand they bolted out of the room "Bomb!". Everyone who was still inside the house scattered, fleeing through the front and back door taking cover. There was never a blast of fire and destruction, only a flash of light followed by nothing.
As the crowd of police stood, puzzled by the lack of explosion, Detective Dermott locked eyes with Officer Hernandez. "Everything's good to go huh?"
Later that day, after a quick tour of his apartment Detective Dermott made space for Dylan's clothes in his closet and dresser. Dylan was too emotionally exhausted to pay attention to the handsome detective's hospitality. Noticing Dylan's lack of presence, he spoke up. "You can take the bed; I think you could use the privacy."
"Are you sure? I couldn't, you've already done too much."
Dermott cut Dylan off, "Hey it's fine. You've been through a lot and you're my guest. Please, get some rest. Besides, the sofa is pretty comfy." Dylan nodded his head in appreciation and closed the bedroom door. Sitting on the edge of Dermott's bed Dylan scrolled through the contacts in his phone trying to keep intrusive thoughts out of his head. It was a losing battle though, images of a drunken Kyle driving home played like a movie.
Loud music blared from the car stereo as Kyle argued with someone who was not in the car with him, practicing for another argument with Dylan when he got home. "Nothing more than a dirty stripper? Like he's better than me..." Kyle clutched the wheel, "Fuck that. At least I'm doing something. Probably mad cuz you want me and can't have me..." Getting himself worked up Kyle pressed the gas pedal down letting the cool breeze fuel his adrenaline as he accelerated, taking a curve too fast. As he lost control of the car, Kyle slammed the brakes as hard as he could jamming them into the floor of the car. Tires screeched, with burning rubber screaming bloody murder as the weight of the car smashed through the steel guard rail sending sparks flying as the rail twisted and gave way. "Oh fuck, fuck!" After tumbling nearly a hundred feet down to the bottom of the drop off Kyle was trapped in the crunched up mess, suspended upside down in his seat by the safety belt.