While the adults are locked in the crypt and Salem is in chaos, Days delivers a silent but devastating blow: Thomas receives terrifying news about Chad.

For adults, a disappearance is an investigation, a deduction, an action.

For children, a disappearance is the world collapsing.

Thomas doesn’t need to see blood to be afraid.

The most painful aspect of this storyline lies in the child’s psychology. Thomas can interpret everything in a very innocent yet cruel way. He might think he did something wrong. He was angry with his dad. He said something hurtful. He wished his dad would disappear when he was sad. And now his dad is gone. Children believe their emotions have power, so when a tragedy occurs, they take the blame themselves. Thomas might be silent, he might cry, he might be irritable, he might be strangely panicked, almost emotionless, because he’s trying to survive an unnameable fear.

Jennifer is the one who has to bear the brunt of this. Jennifer not only has to find Chad, she also has to keep Thomas from breaking down emotionally. And sometimes, the reassurance “everything will be alright” doesn’t work. Jennifer has to say very specific, very real things: that the adults are looking, that Chad loves Thomas, that it’s not Thomas’s fault, that his emotions didn’t cause the disaster. But saying that isn’t enough, because Thomas needs to see action.