The Fracture

The town of New Albion lay cloaked in the quiet murmur of the night, its streets illuminated by the soft glow of streetlights. But for Scott's parents, the stillness felt like a mockery. Scott was gone, and with every passing hour, the knot of anxiety in his mother's chest tightened. She paced near the front door, her fingers trembling as she ended another call to one of Scott's friends in the office. The answer was the same: no one had seen him.

"We can't just sit here!" she snapped, throwing her phone onto the coffee table.

Her husband, leaning against the kitchen counter, folded his arms, his face etched with worry and frustration. "We're not sitting, Melissa. I've contacted the security team and alerted a few from the organization. They'll keep an eye out for him."

"That's not enough, Richard!" Melissa shot back, her voice rising. "He's out there, probably angry and confused, and we don't even know where to start looking!"