Once I reached the top I let my emotions come forth. I didn’t cry loudly, instead I silently wept, tears streaming down my face and my shoulders shaking a bit. I cried for a good six minutes and nineteen seconds.
When I was certain my little -well, kinda big- episode was over I slowly walked back to my old apartment, shaking my head the whole way, as if to clear it of tears.
Yellow police tape went around the whole building. The residents currently staying at a four star hotel. Police swarmed the building like bees. They were side-by-side with Private Investigators. In fact I think I saw an FBI guy, but with the number of security officials I couldn’t be sure.
I sneaked around the building trying to look for a way in. It wasn’t easy. But I finally noticed the giant noble fir. It’s branches were an inch away from my old room. And from the looks of it they hadn’t bothered to search my room. I silently thanked God for the building directors decision to not cut down the great tree.
I placed a foot on a branch, crouched down and used the branch to propel me up a couple of feet. I repeated this technique over and over until I got to the top.
Luckily my window was still about an inch open. I took a couple of junk metal, screws and wires, and started making a robot spring. When I finished a few seconds later, I stretched a hand to place it under the window. It was a tight fit but it worked. After that I let the robot do the work.
It slowly uncoiled itself and it’s arms and pushed up. Slowly the window creaked open. It creaked loudly.
“Did you hear that?” I heard a deep voice say.
“Hear what, Jay?” asked a woman.
“I could’ve sworn I heard something coming from the kids room!”
“Well get off your lazy behind and go check it out!” shouted the furious woman.
“Okay, Okay. Relax Anna!” Jay said.
“GO!” yelled Anna.
“Sheesh!” I heard him mutter. But I couldn’t laugh. Instead I stretched and grabbed the robot, reeling him to safety. I scrambled skywards in the dense canopy leaves.
“It was just a squirrel!” I heard Jay shout to his partner.
“Well, get over here!” Anna replied. “ I think I found some money!”
Jay scrambled over, excited to see the money. I quickly hooked a hand to my old iron bed and pulled myself in.
The iron leg of the bed hit a floor nail and ripped a board out. I hesitated, waiting to see if someone had heard. It was all good. I sneaked silently into the room and inspected the board. I noticed a bit of green sticking out. I pulled it. It was a dollar bill. A hundred dollar bill!
I turned it over in my hand and stared at it in disbelief. I stuck my hand in the hole. I touched a bunch of papery stuff. I pulled my hand out. A bunch of dollars came out.
There were more hundred dollars, some twenties and a couple of tens. I put the hundreds back in their place and tucked the twenties and tens in my pocket. I placed the board over the stash of money and crept out the window.
I crawled down the tree waiting for a break in security. When it came I sprinted all the way to the FTK. I raced up to my room. No one was there.
I took the cash out of my pocket and stuffed it under my mattress. I breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs.
Today was T-night. That meant you had a choice of tortillas or tacos. I always chose beef tacos.
I was sprinkling some cheese on top of my taco when Sanjit came over.
“Urgh!” Sanjit said, turning his nose up at my beef taco.
“What?” I asked.
“Your choice of food...It stinks!” He replied, backing away like Jake does when he sees a French textbook.
I laughed and we headed over to our table. Two other guys, Matt and Jerry, were already tucking in to their tortillas.
“Hey Darryl,” said Matt without looking up from his meal. His long red hair covered his face as he ate.
“Hey Matt.” I replied, “Hey Jerry.”
Jerry brushed back his short black hair and nodded at me. “S’up.”
I could tell they didn’t want to be disturbed, so instead I focused on my meal. I took a large bite. Cheese and beef fell on my plate. Jerry raised his eyebrows, his brown eyes were like, where’s your manners, kid? Embarrassed by my mess, I tucked a handkerchief in my shirt before continuing. Matt’s green eyes looked amused.
I hurriedly finished my meal and rushed upstairs. I opened my Lord of the Rings.
Bill Ferny's price was twelve silver pennies; and that was indeed at least three times the pony's value in those pans. It proved to be a bony, underfed, and dispirited animal; but it did not look like dying just yet. Mr. Butterbur paid for it himself, and offered Merry another eighteen pence as some compensation for the lost animals. He was an honest man, and well-off as things were reckoned in Bree; but thirty silver pennies was a sore blow to him, and being cheated by Bill Ferny made it harder to bea-
“Light’s out!” A voice called. I reluctantly folded the top of my page and closed my book. Guys started entering the dorm.
“Goodnight Sanjit!” I called.
“Night.” He replied.
“Night James.” I said.
“Night.” James called.
“Good night Tom, Good night David, Good night Huntley, Good ni-”
“Darryl?” Sanjit said.
“Yeah?”
“SHUT UP!!”
“Oh. Okay.”
I wriggled into a comfortable position and closed my eyes. My last thoughts were of the money that lay safely beneath me.
I awoke the next morning to the theme song of Spongebob. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I crawled out of bed.
“Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Yello-”
I spotted a tuft of dark brown curls sticking out of the sofa. I walked over. A small kid, about six-years-old, sat in the big chair. He had olive skin and green eyes. A bowl of coco pops sat in his lap. A big white smile was planted on his face. He was obviously the youngest guy here.
I decided to introduce myself. “Hey.”
He looked startled. “Good Morning!” He answered, “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Not at all!” I lied. “What’s your name?”
He smiled and told me.
“Why hello, Carlos! I’m Darryl.”
“Hi Darryl.”
“How old are you?”
“Six!” He responded with a huge grin of accomplishment.
“WOW! Aren’t you a big boy!” I said in a babyish voice.
Carlos’ eyes twinkled and his smile took up most of his face. I grinned at him.
“He’ll be gone by tomorrow.” I turned towards the spiteful voice. It was Sanjit.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“All the cute young ones get picked, the rest of us stay here until we’re legally adults.” Sanjit walked over to the couch. “A face like his...He’ll be adopted upon the morrow.”
I secretly agreed. Carlos’ bright, intelligent green eyes and perfect olive skin...He’d be an easy pick.
“What does he mean, Darryl?” Carlos’ voice shocked me out of my thoughts. I adopted my kind, child-speak voice.
“He means that you’ll be picked to go to a nice family and have lots of candy!” Sanjit rolled his eyes. I frowned at him.
“Will you come too?” Carlos asked.
“Maybe,” I lied.
Carlos seemed happy with my answer and returned to his Spongebob. Sanjit walked back up the stairs. I called after him.
“Sanjit, wait up!” He stopped but didn’t turn. “Why are you so bitter?”
“You know why!” He responded. “Kid just got here and in a day he’ll be whisked away.”
“True,” I said, “But why do you have to be so mean about it?”
“Because,” He said, turning around. “Kids like him, they live a happy life full of adoring parents and they get anything they want. Kids like me stay in places like this until we’re finally kicked out on the street. I
t’s not fair.”
“Wait. I don’t mean to be nosy but...well...how did you land in here?”
Sanjit froze and for awhile I didn’t think he’d respond. Then he said, “My Mom was a scientist. She wanted to help a lot of people. But one of her experiments went wrong and she died in a fire. Dad and I escaped, but she didn’t. My dad’s been bitter ever since.
“He got depressed, started drinking, then he beat me. With a belt. Over and over. Until once he went to far. I phoned the police, but by the time they got there he was gone. They found him a few weeks later in the woods. All torn up and bloody. Bears. I’ve been here ever since.”
“When? How long ago was that?”
“Six years.”
“Wow.” I gasped. A six year old kid dealing with that kind of stuff. I involuntarily shuddered. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Sanjit actually looked amused.
“What?” I asked.
“I was lying.”
“WHAT!?”
“None of that stuff really happened! I was found on the doorstep in a box with Sanjit written on it. None of those things really happened!”
“Grrrr!” Sanjit laughed and skipped away. I swung at him and missed. I was going to try again when I noticed my rumbling stomach. So with one more frustrated growl, I walked down to the kitchen to make myself a bacon sandwich.
Harrison
XXI
“A-CHOOO!” I sneezed. I wiped my nose with a tissue. I was currently surrounded in tissues. My bin was full as was my nose. I had had to stay home from school, so I was watching Total Wipeout! on my laptop. I was now on Season 4 Episode 3. I was watching some celebrities trying to avoid getting hit on the sucker punch. I saw a guy Dad knew getting punched right in between the legs! I had got to mention that next time I saw him! My laughter soon turned into a ginormous cough. I blew my nose on the tissue and added it to my tissue wall.
A knock came on my door. “Harrison?”
“Yeah, mum?”
She opened the door. “I have some chicken soup for you.”
“Thanks!”
She placed a steaming bowl of spicy chicken soup next to me.
I picked up a spoon and blew on the soup. I swallowed the burning soup. The spices reinvigorated me. “Hooot!” I complained, Waving my hand in front of my mouth. My powers made me impervious to actual flames, but heated liquids were beyond them.
“Blow on it.” Mum advised.
“I did!” I protested.
Mum stood up. “Well, call me when you’ve finished!”
“Okay!” I replied, my eyes fixed on the screen. Mum shook her head and exited my room.
I laughed as I watched dad’s friend attempt to succeed in the bouncing balls challenge. Then I went into another coughing fit. I spooned some of the soup into my mouth.
Once again the spices reawoke my senses as it passed down my throat. I continuously spooned the soup in my mouth. The soup was soon gone.
I absentmindedly pushed the bowl of soup away and scooted closer to my laptop. Round 2! Dad’s friend didn’t make it.
I was watching a person attempt to cross over the next challenge, when my phone vibrated. It was a text from Jake:
Jake: Hey. Hows it going?
Me: Bad. my cold is really annoying!
Jake: srry. well u didnt miss much. schools is a boring as ever!
Me: Haha!
Jake: What u doing l8r?
Me: Um. nothing
Jake: cool. if ur feeling bettr meet me at HQ.
Me: k
Jake: cool. c ya ther.
Me: Bye
Jake: bye
I gave my nose a final blow and checked the time: 12:12. I had to be ready to meet Jake in three hours. Starting with a shower.
I dragged myself out of bed and over to the bathroom. When I was done I engulfed myself in flames to evaporate the water and kill any leftover germs. I stepped into some shorts and a T-Shirt. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. I was ready.
The time was: 12:58. I settled back into bed and continued watching Total Wipeout! Two girls and a guy made it to the finals.
It was half past one when the episode finished. I yawned and stretched. The girl with the auburn hair won the round, followed by the blond guy and third was the brunette. I was rooting for the brunette.
I got out of bed to help myself to some cereal. It might be the middle of the day, but you can’t deny the awesome flavour of cereal. Especially Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was practically bursting with sugar. Even milk couldn’t clear it of it’s delicious ‘cinnamon’ -I’m seventy percent sure that it’s just plain sugar!
I had completed three bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and I was well into my fourth, when Mum came down.
“Harrison,” She lectured, “How many times have I told you, don’t stuff your face with that sugar!”
“A few.” I said, between mouthfuls. “It’s just too delicious mum! Try it!”
She shook her head and walked over to the bowl. At first i thought she was actually gonna try it. But no, she confiscated my bowl of sugar.
“I’ll give that to the dogs!” She announced.
I groaned, “But mum! Duke hates cinnamon!” I informed her. “Remember? Last time he threw up!”
“Then I’ll feed it to Yoncé!”
“Urgh!” You see Duke was this huge golden retriever I got when I was five. I named him. But then last year Tessa got this small Swedish Vallhund. True it was cute, but Yoncé? I mean come on! The dog was male! “All right! What time is it?”
She checked her phone. “Two twenty.”
“Can I go to my tree house in an hour?” I asked, innocently.
“Sure.”
“Cool!”
Mum walked off with the bowl of sugar. I sighed unhappily. Then I got a plastic cup, poured some of the cereal in it, got a spoon and ran all the way to my room. I avoided the elevator: it would make me a sitting duck.
I started another episode of Total Wipeout!.
I checked the time. 3:28. I was a little early. School wouldn’t end for another two minutes. I sneezed.
I flew over the wall and inspected my previous handiwork. Everything looked fine. I made a couple fireballs for fun and walked around the perimeter of the wall. There wasn’t anything wrong, so I went into HQ and grabbed a soda. It was 3:30. Jake would be here in about ten seconds.
I was wrong. He got here in six seconds.
“Hi J-” I was interrupted by his slamming into the opposite wall.
Stifling a laugh, I flew over. “Jake? Are you all right?”
Jake looked up at me with blank eyes. “Dark. So dark! Evil! Evil!! Dar-” He looked me over, “Who are you?”
“Oh no.” I whispered. Jake continued his madman ravings.
Dark. Evil. The Shadow. This was bad. No, this was absolutely terrible!
Jake
XXII
Dark. It was so dark! I- I couldn’t see. Nothing! It was dark. So, so dark! And, his evil ways. It cloaked me and snatched at me and wouldn’t let me go. It was evil. So, so evil! Evil and dark! Yes, very dark! And it was cold. It was the opposite of- of-. I forgot who it was. But it was the opposite of that person. Yes, yes, the Dark Cold Evil One, so different from the Light Warm Nice One. So, so different.
Then this boy, this light brown boy with dark hair and eyes came up to me and said: “Jake? Are you alright?” He made no sense. Who was Jake? Was it me? He was looking at me when he said it...So...maybe I was Jake?
My thoughts jumbled but three kept coming back: Dark, Cold, Evil. Those three despicable words. Yet they made the Evil Ones life story. He was cold and dark and evil. No life lay beneath his dark eyes, no mercy, no kindness.
It was horrible.
The boy kept on asking me questions. “Do you know who I am?” He asked.
I shook my head. He had a worried look on his face. I wondered if I did something wrong. “Who are you?” I asked again.
“Harrison,” The boy
responded, “I’m your best friend.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know this boy. He was about to say something when a girl with sun hair and sea eyes came. Next to her stood a boy with gold eyes and black hair. Then the boy- Harrison sneezed. The girl spoke.
“What’s up?” She asked. She too acted as if she knew me.
“Jake...he...he…” Harrison said.
“Well?” Sun Girl asked, “What is it?”
“He...He has amnesia!” The last three words came out in a rush. Amnesia? Wasn’t that forgetting stuff? But...I still remember everything… right?
The gold boy and Sun Girl both gasped. Sun Girl's hands flew to her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief. “Jake?”
I looked around. Maybe their was someone else called Jake. No one else was there. I pointed to myself as if to say, me? She nodded and shook her head at the same time. There were tears in her eyes. A part of me wanted to comfort her but the other part said that I didn’t know her. She could be another Dark One. Except… She didn’t look very dark. And she didn’t have wavy, black tentacles like the other one. My brain fought while Harrison, Sun Girl and gold boy fought.
“What should we do?” asked Sun Girl, with tears in her eyes.
“Maybe we should go to the hospital?” suggested Harrison, thoughtfully.
“Idiot!” shouted gold boy, furiously. “How’d you explain this?” He gestured at me. I laughed. His frustration was amusing.
I guess that was the wrong thing to do, as the others looked weirdly at me. I covered my face and giggled. I expected the others to laugh too, but instead they continued their weird looks. I guessed they were trying to be humorous. So I laughed. They shook their heads.
“Well,” Harrison said, still looking at me funny. He sneezed. “What do you suggest then, oh smart guy?”
Gold boy thought but came up with nothing. “I guess we’ll take him to hospital,” Harrison smiled widely, “But with what excuse?”
“Easy, fighting.” piped in Sun Girl.
The Super 4 : Dark Death Page 10