He sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at the most recent e-mail in his inbox. One of his former interns had sent it; how they had his new address, he didn't know, but that was the last thing on his mind as he read the single word written:
Sorry.
It wasn't until he opened the attached picture that the meaning of that really sunk in. It was a clipping from the local Desert Bluffs newspaper; Ottnik Mines Collapse Claims Heir was written in large letters across the top. That alone was enough to chill him immediately, hands shaking as he attempted to read through the article proper.
It detailed how an earthquake, mostly unnoticed by the town itself, caused chaos underground, causing several sections of the ore mines to cave in several days ago. Although there were a few casualties, the main focus was on how the son of the mine's owner- one Bryin Ottnik -was caught up in the cave in. After being unable to find his body, he was presumed dead.
Kevin couldn't stomach reading the rest of it. He shoved the laptop away; slammed his fists uselessly against the table before burying his face in his hands, sobbing quietly. Even though they hadn't been working together since Kevin moved away, Bryin had still been someone he cared about tremendously. They'd known each other for years, and if there was anyone still in Desert Bluffs that he felt he could trust, it was Bryin.
But now he was gone. He was gone, and he never even got to say goodbye.
