Vanished

Hi, my name is Carter.

JEREMY:  So Adam could be dead?

ME:  That's what I'm hoping for.

JEREMY:  Wouldn't you be semi-responsible if he was?

ME:  By 'semi' you mean...?

Jeremy came to visit me at work with Skyler, who I guess is like his new boyfriend or something?

Skyler went downstairs to get a drink--Jeremy wouldn't let him buy a shot from me because then he'd be 'contributing to my aggressively moral downfall'--whatever that means.

JEREMY:  Carter, can I tell you a secret?

ME:  Is it about why you wear such ugly shoes?

JEREMY:  No.  Uh, what sort of secret could that be?

ME:  A...shoe...secret?

Jeremy got that look that Dorothy gets on The Golden Girls right before she smacks Rose.

JEREMY:  I might have feelings for Ben.

ME:  WHAT?

I almost dropped my tray.

JEREMY:  It started in the elevator.

ME:  When you were trapped?

JEREMY:  No, the elevator in the mall an hour ago.  YES!  When we were trapped, Carter.

Now he was even sounding like Dorothy.

ME:  But you hate each other.

JEREMY:  He doesn't hate me anymore.  Or he might.  It's confusing.

ME:  But you don't hate him?

JEREMY:  I do, but now...there's something else too.

ME:  What do you think it might be?

JEREMY:  Insanity.  It's definitely insanity.

He downed his glass of--

ME:  You don't drink.

JEREMY:  Relax, it's soda.

ME:  You ordered soda at a bar?  Lame.

JEREMY:  Fyi, shotslut, I didn't order it.  The bartender gave it to me.

ME:  For free?

JEREMY:  I guess.

Weird, because Tex was working, and he's straight.

I went downstairs to try and make some more money and when I came back Skyler was there, but no Jeremy.

SKYLER:  Hey, have you seen--

ME:  A little while ago.

VOICE:  You looking for your friend?

The voice was Tex.

ME:  Did you see him?

TEX:  Yeah, he was pretty wasted.

SKYLER:  Wasted?  He doesn't drink.

TEX:  Could have fooled me.  He looked pretty out of it.

ME:  All he had was that soda you gave him.

TEX:  Carter, when do I ever just give somebody soda?  Someone bought it for him.  I just passed it along.

I looked at Skyler.  That's when I realized--

ME:  Fuck.

SKYLER:  What?

ME:  Soda.

SKYLER:  What's wrong with soda?

ME:  I think Jeremy got roofied.

SKYLER:  Huh?

The glass was even still on the bar.  I put it on my tray.  It might be evidence.

ME:  Tex, where did Jeremy go?

TEX:  He left with the guy who bought him the drink.

ME:  Oh no.

TEX:  The guy practically carried him out of here.  Are you sure he--

I didn't listen to the rest of the sentence.  I just ran out of the bar with Skyler calling after me.  This was my fault.  I should have known Tex wouldn't just hand out a drink like that.  The Roofier was still out there, and now he had Jeremy.

It was cold outside and snow had started to fall.

But I couldn't feel it, because all I could see were the tracks in the snow.  Two sets of footprints--one from a pair of very ugly shoes.

Then suddenly one pair disappeared.

Probably because he was being carried off--but where?