by Michael Dean
“I’d like to take this time to personally thank you as well, Mr. Cutler. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m glad you did. Now, if Leo doesn’t mind, I know some of you have questions for him.” He looked at me and I nodded in agreement as he turned to fully address the crowd.
A couple of hands went up and the Sheriff called to them. “Mr. Criner.” He pointed to a man who stood up and cleared his throat. He was apparently the father of Scruffy’s friend Meredith.
“My daughter might not be here today if it wasn’t for you and Mark there. Thank you for doing what you did…putting your own lives at risk to rescue her.” The group clapped again as he sat down.
I flashed an insecure smile at him and Scruffy waved confidently. This same series of events unfolded for the next few minutes, with either a father, or a mother, or both, or an entire family standing up to thank us. When they were finished, Sheriff Taylor took over again.
“I’d like to thank Richard and Anne for quickly getting us together today about this evolving situation. I’d like to also thank these four kids and the others seated in their chairs for their bravery in remaining strong through the most difficult time this town has ever seen. Some of you have trusted in me on your behalf to ask our friend Leo here about the details of their captivity.”
I glanced at the Sheriff. He got quiet for a sec and seemed a little embarrassed about what he was going to ask me.
“Leo…some of the kids mentioned something a little…hard to swallow.” He hesitated some more while flashing a nervous smile. “Something about being taken by vampires?”
I played dumb and gave him a look like he was crazy for asking me such a ludicrous question. I laughed just to complete the sell-job. “No…I, ah, I don’t know anything about vampires. All I know is that I got word about where they were being held and took it upon myself to see if that was true. I saw no…vampires.” I laughed some more.
Sheriff Taylor grinned at me.
“How did you find out where they were?” one parent called out to me at random as the Sheriff held out his hand for her to quiet down.
“Why didn’t you tell the authorities?” a man called out.
“Quiet down now. As I told you before the kids arrived, folks, I’ll be handling the more intimate details with our friends here. Leo and I will be talking at length after you leave today about those very things. This is still a wide open investigation. I’d like to keep all private details…private, until we’ve pieced together what happened exactly. If we have no more business today, I’d like to take this time to thank you all for coming here and would ask the Lewis, Spears, and Tipton families to stay around, along with you, Leo. Thank you.”
It felt like the group was still a little suspicious of me at the end. Even after their praises. They mumbled a little amongst themselves and stood, then something surprising happened before they filed out that I didn’t expect. Every last one of them, parents, the kids we freed, approached me personally, and thanked me again by giving me very warm hugs. They followed up those sentiments, nearly all of them anyway, by telling me if I ever needed anything from them to just ask. I was humbled.
When the last of them walked out, Sheriff Taylor marched out to the main entrance doors and locked them before closing both doors to the convention room.
“Okay, now for a little privacy,” he added as he strutted back down the aisle.
“If everyone could sit up front…including you kids, we all need to have a chat about what’s really going on around here.” The Sheriff reached over and snagged a chair and sat down in front of us.
“Now, there are many agencies involved in this…mess, but before I report to them personally about what I know…I need to know what you know first.” He stared in particular at the four of us, who sat in silence.
“I’ve heard a bunch of nonsense about vampires, even demons, from some of you and I’m about sick of it. I need to know what in the hell is going on in my town. I have a feeling there are some things you know that you aren’t telling me. Am I right?”
Again, we remained silent.
“If there’s more to this story, guys, now is the time to speak up,” said Shade’s father.
“Everyone’s parents are here and accounted for, Mr. Cutler, where are yours? It seems as if that’s a constant complaint coming from these concerned parents. They too have never met, nor seen any parental figures on your end. Is there a reason for that, son?”
I didn’t speak a word and kept my eyes on the floor.
“I’ve looked a little deeper into you, young man, and have discovered that there’s no home address on record anywhere, not even at your school for you. How’s that possible? Not only that, there isn’t a person with the last name Cutler anywhere in this town. No records of you coming from somewhere else, nothing. It’s as if you just appeared from out of nowhere. Can you clarify this to me?” He leaned towards me from his chair.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say, sir.”
He leaned back. “I want you to tell me who you are, son. Where you came from? It appears to me that wherever you are, trouble seems to follow. Now if I don’t start getting some answers from you…all of you, today, we’re going to have to start taking drastic steps in order to do so.” His voice turned more forceful.
“I can take you all, especially you, Mr. Cutler, down to headquarters and have my entire force, including the federal authorities, grill you for a couple of days while you sleep behind bars if you like. Or…you can talk right now, possibly go home, and we can continue our newfound relationship until this case is solved. The choice is yours.”
“Leo, you’re a good boy. Cooperate with Sam so we can all move past this sad situation. No one doubts that you’re a hero, but if you had something to do with the disappearances or someone has you frightened enough that you’re afraid to speak—” Anne leaned out to lend a helping hand and I interrupted her.
“I’m not afraid of that, Anne,” I answered, still keeping my head down.
“Then what is it, son?” the Sheriff continued.
“I’m afraid…I’m afraid for you…all of you.” I lifted my head and looked him in the eyes before turning to look at my friends and their parents.
“What does that mean? Is that supposed to be some sort of a threat?” Sheriff Taylor leaned forward in his chair again.
“No…it’s not a threat, at least, not from me.”
Again, he leaned back and folded his arms. I looked briefly to the side and saw the eager eyes of the parents watching me. So were my two friends and girlfriend, but they were looking at me much differently. They were, of course, more informed, and were curious if I was going to spill the beans.
“To whom are you referring to then? Who is this…threat?” the Sheriff probed further.
“Leo, Shade told her father and me an outlandish story about you,” Anne chimed in.
“Mark told us the same story, Leo,” Scruffy’s father joined in.
Sandra’s parents nodded, as if they had heard the same tale. I kept quiet, trying to decide whether or not I should talk. I was afraid that if I did, the Sheriff would send out a bulletin or something then attempt to lock me up. Then everyone would know about me and what I was.
“I’ve heard about enough of this vampire and demon stuff. That is utter and complete garbage. What we have here is a failure to communicate. It’s simple,” Sheriff Taylor scolded the parents for daring to believe such a ridiculous notion. Then he scooted himself directly in front of me. “Either talk here, or talk with me at the police station. I promise you’ll regret not choosing option one. This is your last chance.”
I looked him in the eyes and smirked. “You couldn’t hold me.”
He smirked back. “A tough guy, eh? We have a way to make tough guys talk.”
“Leo…show him,” Shade broke in, seeing I was getting agitated with the Sheriff.
Sam looked over to her and so did I.
“Show me what?” He looked at me, then her.
>
Shade raised her eyebrows at me, urging me to let my secret out of the bag, but this could be the biggest mistake I ever made. I was boxed in a corner. Either way, it looked like I was going to have to complete Diccittidel while navigating around human authorities. Just to add, if I decided to prove to them all that I was a demon, there was no telling what kind of punishment was in store for me, not only from the human powers that be, but from Heaven and Hell…or both.
I looked him straight in the eyes without so much of a blink. “You are meddling with things that you couldn’t possibly comprehend…something so much bigger than you that not even the earth as a whole can contain it. Too much knowledge about me, and what I know, could make you, all of you, disappear. Still want to know?” I warned.
“I think I’ll take my chances…speak,” he ordered.
I remained quiet, hesitating.
“Just do it, bro. This has gotten bigger than you now. You can’t keep this among us anymore. Show them you’re in the right,” Scruffy urged me to press on.
I sat in silence for another few moments before I offered an ultimatum to the Sheriff.
“If I talk, if I decide to allow you to know what I know, it must be under these terms. No one…I mean no one else in this room can utter a single word about what I say and what I show you. You’ll have to take what I tell you and do your best to investigate without giving certain elements about me away while doing so. Shade, Scruffy, and Sandra’s knowledge has already put them in grave danger, as I am about to explain. Very soon, after I talk, your lives will all be at risk as well. Is this something that we can all agree to…do you think you can handle the consequences of possessing such knowledge?” I stared at them all.
“That depends on what you say,” the Sheriff boasted.
I shook my head and scoffed at him. “Hell with it, have it your way.”
I sighed and began opening up about my situation. I left out going back as far as the Darryl Kite incident because I didn’t want heads to start turning again about Shade having something to do with his death; especially since she’s dating a demon. I just started out with what I was, what I was up to, and what had happened. I spoke about the vampires, what and why they did what they did the night of the disappearances, where and why Shade was held, and by whom. I left out nothing about who I was and what was going on.
The more I spoke, the more Sheriff Taylor smiled cynically at me. I knew he wasn’t buying a word I was saying. When I looked at the parents of my friends though, I could see looks that reflected a will to believe in me and what I was saying, but the common sense to know better.
When I finished, Sheriff Taylor arched his back and placed his hands on his thighs.
“That is the most ludicrous, aggravating bag of bullcrap I have ever heard. I didn’t come down with the last drop of rain, Mr. Cutler. All of us in this room are dumber for having heard such nonsense. I was hoping we could do this with as little trouble as possible, but I can see you don’t want to cooperate…”
“It’s not nonsense…it’s the truth. You said you wanted the truth, so I gave it to you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I tell you what, son…” He raised up out of his seat and began walking around in front of us. “If you can prove to me…to us…that you are who you say you are, somehow, I’ll believe your story. Not only that, I’ll honor the terms of your ultimatum and will never speak a word of this to anyone outside of this room about what I know. I’ll investigate this case using the knowledge you’ve just given while keeping your demon issue a secret. I would also ask that the people in this room, right now, respect your terms as well. I won’t even get in your way so you can complete your…quest. Hell, I may even give you a job on my police force. Agreed?” He joked and chuckled as if there was no way for me to prove that I was who I said I was.
“This isn’t a ruse? You’ll respect my wishes? You promise to keep quiet and stay out of my way?” I reconfirmed.
Sheriff Taylor threw out his hands in sarcasm. “Sure…why not.”
I looked at the watchful faces around me. “You all are witnesses to this agreement.” My friends nodded at me confidently while their parents just looked at me in confusion.
“Well, then…I guess that’s that.” I stood up and Sheriff Taylor stepped out of my way.
I walked to the center of the hall, right in front of the podium. I allowed myself enough room to the left and the right of me and turned to face everyone.
Sheriff Taylor just stood with his arms folded.
“Do your thing, bro,” Scruff encouraged me.
I smirked at him, hunched a bit and thrust out my enormous charcoal colored wings.
Sheriff Taylor jumped back. “Oh my God!”
“Far from Him,” I joked.
“Guess we can start talking pay now, eh, Sheriff?”
Chapter 12
PROOF
I looked at the parents, who were all staring at me in amazement, except for Anne. She smiled at me as if she knew it the whole time.
“This isn’t possible.” The Sheriff approached me from behind and looked me over.
“How can this be?” he asked as he ran his hand across the top of my wings where they connected to my back. “This has to be some Hollywood makeup job or something. No way is this real,” he added.
“It is…It just is…and no, it isn’t,” I answered his questions in sequence.
“Mom…Dad…meet my best friend, Leo ‘The Demon’ Cutler.” Scruffy stood up and announced me to his stunned parents like I was entering a boxing contest. They only stared at me, slack-jawed.
While the Sheriff continued to march around me, investigating, I addressed the very worried parents of my friends.
“Look, I know this is hard to digest, but this is who I truly am. I don’t have a home. I don’t have a mother or father, brother or sisters. Up until the past couple years, I never had a friend until I met these three. I don’t know who I once was, or how I became this way. I just am…this. I promise you I have, and will, do everything I can to make sure no harm will ever come to your children. I know that sounds odd coming from something like me, but my intentions are of good will. I mean, I know what happened to Shade, but I’ll do everything in my power to prevent anything like that from happening again. Just please, let me be allowed to keep them as my friends…and girlfriend…please. It’s all I have.”
Richard stood up, never taking his eyes off me. “I think I speak for all of us, Leo. We need…we all need, time to process what we’ve seen and heard here today. While I believe you when you say you mean no harm to us or our children, we still have to do what’s best for them as their guardians. We must take into consideration how much danger they’ve already been in and the potential for more just by being associated with you. Right now, I think the best thing to do is for us to go home, think things through thoroughly, and see where we go from there. I’m sorry, Leo, but at this time, I’d like to ask you to give Shade some space…please.”
All the parents nodded in agreement and got up from their chairs. I agreed to the terms that Mr. Lewis expressed because it was the right thing to do and I really had no other choice. Although I was bummed out about not being able to see my girlfriend and friends, I completely understood. If I was never able to be with them again, at least as much as I had been, it would be something I’d have to deal with, for their greater good. I knew we’d find some ways to hang out, but I’d have to be prepared for it to be without the consent of the parents.
“Now folks…” Sheriff Taylor stopped surveying me and raised his hands in the air. “What I’ve seen today is beyond understanding. While I know that you’re going to do what’s best for your kids, I would ask that you honor the agreement of secrecy made between us and Leo…”
“We have no choice…people will think we’re nuts if we speak about this,” Scruffy’s mother interrupted.
“Granted. All the more reason to keep this between us, there is still an investigation going on here. I’m sti
ll not sure about what I’ve seen and heard here today, all I know is…this appears to be real.” The Sheriff circled around in front of me and stuck out his hand. “I don’t know what to think of you yet, but I’m sorry, son. I didn’t realize…I mean…how could I have known…”
“It’s okay, sir.” I shook his hand and smiled. “This is comic book stuff I know, but I assure you, this is very real…more real than you could ever possibly know.”
He grinned, still unsure, but gave me one last strong shake in understanding.
“Let’s go home, folks. I think we’ve gotten enough of what we’ve needed for the day. Again, just to reiterate, secrecy is of the utmost importance here. Okay?”
All the parents agreed. Scruffy, Sandra, Shade, and Anne, being the only parent to do so, approached me directly, hugged me, and said goodbye. I walked them to the entrance as the Sheriff unlocked the doors. We watched them leave.
Sheriff Taylor and I stood side by side inside the building, staring out as they drove off.
“So…Heaven and Hell…it’s real.”
“Yes…it is.”
“What we do on this earth truly matters.” He continued to stare calmly out the window to the parking lot.
“It does.”
He shook his head. “It’s crazy to believe that one day I could be out there somewhere after I leave this earth, still alive…still looking in on my loved ones. That’s comforting.”
I turned to him and glared. “Or you could end up like me. Make smart choices, sir…while you’re here. Have a good day.” I pushed opened the doors and he stared at me with a look of pity.
I got a few steps out of the door and he followed. “Leo, is Mountainside in further danger? Are you telling me everything I need to know?”
“If I succeed in what I need to do…then no, but if I fail, I guarantee nothing. That’s all I can tell you.”