The Gummy Bear Case Study, Part 6

An Apple Slice Short Story by Apple | Content Warnings

During one of the many times Cheery and her mom had marathoned her mom’s favorite detective show, Cheery’s mom had gone on a rant about how the whole “wait 24 hours to report a missing person” thing was a myth. Apparently, it could be reported right away. The sooner the better. So, Cheery wasted no time pulling out her comm.

Unfortunately, the operator was wasting her time.

The CMIIIA had kidnapped the doc—Cheery was positive—but the operator didn’t seem to think so. “Are there any signs of forced entry?” he asked.

“Well, no,” Cheery said. “But the place has been cleared out. All the doc’s equipment is gone, and she wouldn’t have left a mess like this.“

“Alright. I’m going to file a missing person’s report for Dr. Somber. Please remain near your comm in case we need to contact you for more information.”

“I… That’s it? You’re not sending anyone out to the apartment? Or to CMIIIA Headquarters?”

“Given the circumstances, the authorities will most likely check Dr. Somber’s bank transactions to see if she made any travel related purchases and work from there.”

“What do you mean given the circumstances? Why would the doc just randomly decide to take a trip?”

The operator sighed. “To be frank,” he said, and the pause he made afterward led Cheery to believe his name probably was Frank and he was holding back a joke, “it sounds like Dr. Somber ran away. The bad press must’ve gotten to her.”

Ran away? The doc? The doc had been ready to drive a hover-truck through CMIIIA Headquarters.

“There’s no way,” Cheery replied. “If the doc wanted to leave, at the very least she would have taken me with…” Cheery’s confidence had fizzled out by the time she reached the end of the sentence. “She would have taken me with her…”

This whole disaster was Cheery’s fault. The doc never would have gone public again if Cheery hadn’t pushed her.

And now the doc was gone.

“Can you at least send someone out to check if she’s there?” Cheery asked softly.

“They wouldn’t be able to go inside without permission, proof, probable cause, or a warrant. You don’t have any of those.”

Cheery’s heart shattered. She could feel it cracking into a million tiny pieces, like one of the doc’s lab flasks she’d accidentally knocked to the floor.

“But your report is being taken seriously,” Frank continued. “Keep trying Dr. Somber’s comm, and someone will be in contact with you soon.”

The call ended, and Cheery swallowed the lump in her throat. She hated crying. She wouldn’t do it.

Two tears slid down her cheek. She swiped them away before they reached her chin.

Curling in on herself, she crouched, her arms coming up to wrap around her knees. She wanted to go sit in her usual spot on top of the desk, but a part of her didn’t want to touch anything. If the doc was taken, there could be fingerprints—evidence of some kind.

If.

If she was taken.

Cheery cradled her comm in her hand and pressed the doc’s name.

It rang and rang, just like it had all morning, and Cheery was so hollowed out the sound felt like it was buzzing in her ears.

Wait.

Cheery’s head popped up. Something was definitely buzzing.

Her eyes landed on the mini fridge the doc had gotten for her snacks. The door to it was open slightly, and through the crack, Cheery could hear something vibrating on the shelf.

Her call went to voicemail. The buzzing stopped. Cheery called again.

More buzzing.

Slowly, Cheery creeped over to the fridge. She used her blazer sleeve to pull back the door.

The doc’s comm rattled on the shelf, flashing with the incoming call.

On the screen, four letters were saved in place of Cheery’s name.

BFFL.

Cheery let out a watery laugh.

There was foil wrapped around a carrot stick, and as Cheery ended the call, she realized it was keeping the doc’s comm unlocked.

She picked it up, feeling the cool plastic through her sleeves.

A holo-memo with today’s date as the title caught her eye, and she pressed it with the carrot stylus.

And then she heard the doc’s voice.

“Run.”