Chapter 31: Worn and torn

Frederick "You're distracting me," Paul said as Frederick paced. "I'm sorry," Frederick responded, but he didn't stop. "Pacing isn't going to help. It's not going to make him come back faster," Paul said, but Frederick couldn't stop. He paced the length of the small lodge until his legs would have made track marks in the wood. Finally, Paul stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop. It's been nine days," Frederick said through clenched teeth. "Frederick," Paul repeated, "he's not the kind of person to be late. You know him. I know him. We all know him. Avario would never miss a deadline, not even if it killed him. So there's only two options, Paul," Frederick said, stepping up to him. "He's either in trouble or he's dead. Avario is strong, really strong, so I don't believe he would be dead. But I do believe he's in trouble, so I'm going to continue pacing until I can figure out what really happened. There are not many people that could take him on in a fight, and perhap