By Zephyria 
Dane was fed up with the story suddenly going off on a tangent and cut the child off. When the child shut their mouth, he opened his again with a frown.
“Tell me about your friend again. So, he’s been missing for days?”
“Yes.”
The child nodded and said, “I told the adults, but no one cares. You’re a firefighter, so you’re a hero, right? You’ll listen to me, right? You’ll find my friend, right?”
“…Haa.”
Dane looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.
“So.”
He blinked a couple of times and then lowered his head. His eyes toward the child were clearly different from before.
“Where does your friend live? Lead the way.”
“Yes!”
The excited child ran off. Chasing after them, Dane asked, “What’s your friend’s name? You have to tell me his name!”
The child, still running, looked back. “Santiano! Santiano Domingo!”
“Damn it.”
Running at full speed with his long legs, he caught up with the child in just two strides. Dane didn’t stop, but grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck, lifted them up, tucked them under his arm, and ran.
“So, where is it?”
“To the right!”
Following the child’s directions, Dane immediately changed direction. Before he knew it, dark clouds were gathering in the sky, and it started to rain.
Desire Me if you can
A faint sound could be heard. Santiano, who was lying weakly on the floor, flinched. He was so exhausted because he hadn’t had a drop of water for days. On top of that, he had squeezed out all of his remaining strength to ask for help, but the result was disastrous. He barely thought he could get out, but instead, he jumped right in here.
It was impossible for the child to push the door open with his strength. Grayson had no intention of helping him escape. All that was left was despair.
Grayson, who had been lying next to Santiano holding his hand, opened his eyes. He had heard the sound too. The intermittent, irregular sounds were gradually decreasing. It seemed to be raining.
Strange, it’s raining in California.
Come to think of it, there was a time in winter when there was abnormal weather and it rained heavily for days. As he blankly recalled the memory, he came to the conclusion that it would get cold soon. Anyway, the temperature would drop, so it was a natural result.
“Santiano.”
He called the child’s name and got up.
“Santiano, aren’t you cold?”
The child didn’t respond. Grayson, who gently shook Santiano’s shoulder, who was lying silently, spoke again.
“Santiano, are you okay?”
He paused as if waiting for a response, then opened his mouth.
“Is he dead?”
Desire Me if you can
“It’s here!”
The child, who was hanging on Dane’s side, shouted, stretching out their hand with all their might. Dane quickly scanned the house the child was pointing at. It was just an ordinary house on the outside. Maybe it was just his imagination, but there was a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
“If you go in through that side door, you’ll find it!”
Dane, who had been running towards the side door as the child pointed, stopped for a moment. It would be a bigger problem if he rushed in and got caught for trespassing. And what if the other person had a gun?
It was too risky to rush in just believing the child’s words. It would be the worst if he got shot for trespassing.
“You wait here, don’t move.”
After safely putting the child down, Dane first looked inside the house through the window. The dark and quiet interior didn’t feel like anyone was there at all. Santiano might really be sick and lying in bed. If that’s the case, this is a waste of time…
He was thinking and turned his head. The place where he had put the child down was clearly empty. Dane, flustered, stood there looking around, when suddenly he heard a voice calling him.
“Mister, mister!”
Dane immediately turned around at the hushed shout and froze. The child had already opened the side door and was gesturing with only their head sticking out.
“You little…”
Dane barely managed to stop himself from swearing. The child quickly hid inside, so he couldn’t catch them. Dane had no choice but to rush into the side door where the child had gone.
“I told you clearly not to move…”
He scolded in a low voice, but the child didn’t even pretend to listen. The child, gesturing urgently, pointed to a large cellar door. Dane moved his gaze from the child’s face to the door, and the child shouted.
“It’s here! Santiano is here!”
Dane frowned. He could still turn back. Opening the basement door and checking inside would be crossing the final line. And if there was nothing there, he would ask to go inside the house this time.
“Sandy, answer me! Santiano! I’ve come to save you!”
The child’s desperate voice reached Dane’s ears as he stood there with a serious expression. Just as he was about to tell them to stop, a faint voice caught his ear.
“Ally? …Ally?”
The weak, drawn-out voice was as fragile as if it were squeezing the vocal cords.
“Sandy! It’s me, I’m here!”
“Move aside for a second.”
After picking up the excited child and moving them to the side, Dane grabbed the handle of the cellar door. Hoo, after letting out a short sigh, he made up his mind and lifted it up.
Creak, a heavy and ominous sound echoed. At the same time, the surroundings brightened. A lightning strike brightly illuminated the inside of the basement as if it were daytime. And Dane saw it. A child collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, and Grayson looking up at him.
A loud thunderclap sounded right above his head, and it started to pour rain.
three
Dane was bewildered and just looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything. What is this?
What am I looking at?
Grayson seemed to be thinking the same thing, just blinking.
“What…”
Dane spoke first.
“What are you doing there?”
Dane asked with an uncharacteristically dazed expression at the unexpected situation. He couldn’t understand the situation that much. Was he kidnapped and imprisoned? No, the door wasn’t locked. That guy could have opened the door and come out of the basement whenever he wanted, right? So that means he locked himself in? Why?
But he couldn’t drag it out for long. That’s because Ally screamed and ran inside.
“Sandy, Sandy! Wake up! I’m here!”
He could feel the cold rain hitting his face. The rain was now pouring down in earnest. Dane hurriedly ran down the stairs and picked up the child lying on the floor. He didn’t have time to do anything to Grayson. He could ask him the reason, scold him, or even beat him up later. The first thing to do was to ensure the child’s safety.
“Team leader, this is an emergency. I found a child collapsed. Yes, it seems like abuse. He’s still conscious, but he’s very weak. I’ll take him to the hospital first…”
Ally ran as fast as she could after him as he spoke quickly into the radio and walked as if running. Grayson, left alone, stood there looking up at the wide-open door.
“Ah…”
He muttered to himself as if sighing.
“I’m going to get scolded.”