Noobie took a big bite off a doughnut while he waited. The moon was shining at it’s brightest on that night, and he could see Oakland Point from where he was standing. It looked like it was a tide attracted by the moon, and the trees on edge looked like hairs on a forearm during goosebumps.

While Noobie was thinking, the sound of footsteps broke him out of his daydream. He turned his head towards the direction the noise was coming from, and saw Nerdy walking towards him with a pretty blonde girl next to him. He looked closer and realized it was Patricia Blythe. His last memory of her was when they were in third grade, and she sucker punched him in the nose after school. She then called him a freak and walked away.

Later, after the punch, Noobie had realized that she had punched him because he had gotten the highest grades overall in a history test, and she had come in second. He did not hold anything against her back then, but he did not know how to feel about it now, since he recently found out that she was somehow involved in Freddy’s disappearance.

While Patricia was walking towards Noobie, she noticed him and shrunk in her scarf. When he noticed that, he enjoyed the moment of her embarrassment, and he stood to embrace them. He bumped Nerdy’s fist and shook Patricia’s hand.

“Nerdy, what’s going on?” Noobie asked with a sheepish smile.

“I don’t know, Vic texted me to come here,” Nerdy replied with a shrug.

“No dude, I mean her,” Noobie said, gesturing towards Patricia.

On seeing his friend’s gesture, Nerdy cringed and looked at Patricia for a while, before looking back at Noobie.

“I’m coming along,” Patricia said with her cheeks turning red. “It’s my fault that Freddy is in this predicament, and I want to help you find him.”

“Seriously?” a voice said, coming from behind Nerdy and Patricia, and when everyone turned around to see who it was, they saw that it was Rodney holding a file.

After asking the question, Rodney paced and stood in the middle of them. “We can’t have an outsider join the team, Nerdy, did you tell her everything?” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“No!” Nerdy responded with a folded brow.

“Good!” Rodney said, pushing Patricia. “Go home, Tricia.”

“Oi! Don’t shove me, mate,” Patricia responded, recoiling and pushing Rodney back. “What type of agent are you, harming a citizen?”

“Agent? What are you on about? Just leave, okay?” Rodney said while pointing at the empty, and well lit, uptown-street.

Before responding, Patricia paused and looked at everyone in the eye, one by one. Nerdy was ashamed, and he could not look at her in the eye. Noobie, on the other hand, had already tuned his away and was glaring at the moon, but Rodney was burning up like a hell flame. His rage was screaming a juicy secret, one that got Patricia’s attention.

“What are you hiding, mate?” Patricia asked, taking an assertive step toward Rodney.

“Nothing, now go!” Rodney replied, and his red hair was glowing bright in the moonlight.

“What if I say no? What of it then? What are you going to do about it, mate?” Patricia said, stepping up again.

“Then I’ll slug you so hard …” Rodney replied, but could not finish.

“Do it then,” Patricia said, spreading her arms from her torso, and inviting him to take a free shot. “What are you waiting for, wanker?” She then shoved him. “Do it, Bruv!”

In compliance with Patricia’s request, Rodney took a step back and, with a heavy breath, balled his fist and pulled it past him as hard as he could. While looking at Patricia’s face as it wrinkled, he launched his fist forward and swung at her. But, as the fist was about to connect, a hand held it back. When that happened, Rodney turned his head as quick as he could, and he could not believe his eyes. It was Richie, and he was holding his upper arm back.

“What are you doing?” Richie asked, chiding his friend.

“She was asking for it!” Rodney responded, pulling his arm away.

“We don’t hit girls, man, what’s the matter with you?” Richie asked.

“She’s asking to come along, so tell her she can’t come,” Rodney responded.

Before answering, Richie paused while the memories from the last inter-dimensional trip haunted him. “Tricia, you can’t come,” he finally said without looking at her.

On hearing Richie, Rodney’s mouth morphed into a sinister smile.

“And why’s that?” Patricia asked, holding her waist.

“It’s dangerous,” Richie responded while pressing the buzzer at Victor’s gate.

“Why is it dangerous for me and not for you lot?” Patricia asked, poking hard at her chest.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t dangerous for us,” Richie responded. “It’s just that, we don’t want your death, or you being hurt on our conscience.”

After Richie’s response, the giant black steel gate broke apart, and the other members of the group started walking in, then they stood at the driveway waiting for Richie to get rid of Patricia.

“Richard, please!” Patricia’s voiced cracked, letting out a sound of desperation that was escaping her glottis. “It’s my fault that he’s lost, and I just need this to absolve this guilt I have in my chest.” She then took two steps towards him, and her watery eyes did not break eye contact with him as she did.

“I can keep whatever secrets you guys have,” Patricia continued. “I just need to help save him and bring him back home. If I don’t, then I’ll keep blaming myself for what happened to him.” She let out a sob. “Forever.”

Richie felt weird while listening to Patricia speaking. His stomach started churning, and he realized that he was being affected by her tears, but he wanted to be strong, to fight her off. “Fine!” he finally said, losing his own battle.

***

Tell us: Do you think it’s right for Patricia to blame herself for what happened to Freddy?