Starry Night

Author's note: I think this is the longest chapter so far. Please read and review! Reviews are greatly appreciated!

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The blackness faded into the dimly lit basement of which I was sentenced to live in. I could suddenly smell the stench of rotted wood in comparison to the wonderful aroma of foods from the restaurant a moment ago.

I saw through the little window that it was getting light out, which mean that Mrs. Cecelia would be coming soon. I couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.

Then, something accured to me. If I really was going to another world each night then why wasn’t I tired when I came back? I was always awake all night long when over there, yet it was as though I had gotten a good nights sleep. Perhaps it really all was a dream? But did that mean I was going insane and becoming schizophrenic?

No matter what I thought of there was no rational explanation other than that which I could come up with.

Standing, I walked up to the small rectangular window and climbed on an upside down bucket to peek outside.

The window faced the alleyway, so there wasn’t much to see other than a stray dog sniffing around some garbage cans. So I climbed back down and examined my confines a little more closely.

The wall under the window had a few crates stacked up against it. There were also a few sacks of flour leaning against them.

The corner which I had been at had big green globs of mold forming on its walls with ancient spider webs drooping from the ceiling.

The window I had peeked out of was to the left of the stairs which led out. I decided to experiment and see if the door would open. No such luck I unfortunately realized as I pressed against the sturdy structure.

Then I heard the foot steps. Knowing full well who it was I quickly backed up and waited for them to open.

Sure enough the left of the two doors opened and there stood my boss. She stood there for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the darkness down here.

“Alright boy, get out! It’s time for work!” She screeched.

Quickly and obediently I walked up the stairs and stood before her. For a moment she simply gawked at me, but then began to form words from the oval of her disgusting mouth.

“Who, who are you?” She asked.

I didn’t expect that. Confused, I looked down at myself and found that I was still wearing the clothes which Chase and Blake had gotten for me, which meant that the mane which was my hair had to still be cut. That was all the evidence I needed and was positive by now that what ever world I was going to at night wasn’t a dream or illusion at all.

I looked up at Mrs. Cecelia and smiled as an idea came to mind.

“Hello. My name is Shane Singer. If you’re looking for that boy who was down here last night, he’s long gone by now.” I answered.

“What?” Her eyes were unfocused as she squinted at me. “Then who are you? And how did you get down there instead?”

“Well,” I thought quickly about my lie. “You see, my parents had been passing by and stopped for some gas at a gas station a ways down the street, but no one was there so they sent me out to find someone who could give us directions on how to get out of here. While walking down this alleyway I heard some one crying and, well, I had to let them out. He said someone had beaten him and locked him up. So I….,” I stopped and had to think of way to open the lock which wouldn’t involve smashing it since if I said that she would clearly be able to tell I was lying. “I asked someone to pick it for me.” I finally finished. “The boy said he had been getting abused and had to get out of here. But when I offered to call the police to help him he freaked out and locked me down there.”

“He did?” She still seemed a little confused.

I nodded, praying that my lie would stick and that she wouldn’t recognize my face. “I wonder what my parents did when I didn’t come back last night though. Are there any hotels around here, maybe they stayed at one hoping I’d come back?”

I already knew that the only hotel in Cumberton was about ten miles away from this spot and normally never got any customers. But I could at least use this lie to buy me some time and try to get out of the situation I had been cursed with yesterday.

“Wait.” My heart stopped as my boss seemed to become more serious. “Who did you say picked the lock for you?”

“Some homeless guy. He was just wandering through this ally and I asked if he knew any way to open the lock. He seemed really skilled when he picked it.” I quickly lied.

“But if he was around, couldn’t he have stopped Jack from pushing you into my basement?”

“Umm.” She was catching on and I needed a way to deter her. “Well, after he picked the lock he wandered off saying he didn’t want to be found by anyone in this part of the neighborhood. So by the time I got pushed he wasn’t around to see.”

She suddenly kneeled down and glared at me with her dull brown eyes and whispered, “Liar.”

My eyes widened as I realized I had been caught in my lie, and just like always she grabbed me by the hair, only this time she lost her grip. The reason being that my hair was shorter now and there for harder to grip.

“Why you!” She then grabbed me by the collar of my shirt which ripped as she tugged it upwards. “Did you really think a haircut and a change of clothes could disguise you?” She asked, bringing her face extremely close to mine. “Regardless of what you look like, I’ll always recognize that voice of yours you little bastard!”

She then commenced pulling me down the alleyway. “I don’t know how you did it but you must have snuck out sometime last night and stole those clothes from a store somewhere. I bet someone down at the police station will know about it.”

I felt as though I were choking as she continued to drag me down the street by my collar. When we did make it to the station I found that the officers were all staring at me like I were some sort of spectacle. Not as adoringly as the people from the other world but more with curiosity.

“I need an officer now!” Mrs. Cecelia Croaked at them.

A man in a blue officer’s outfit walked out from around the desk. “Yes Mrs. Cecelia? What can I do for you?”

She shoved me onto the floor and pointed at me. “I want to know what store this boy has broken into to get those clothes!”

The officer examined me for a moment before eyeing the woman. “And just who exactly is this boy?”

“Jack! That bastard thief boy! I don’t know how but he some how snuck out last night and got those clothes! Now you and I both know that he doesn’t have the money for that and look! His hair’s been cut! Obviously he’s trying to skip town by disguising himself!”

“Now hold on a min-“

“Don’t you ‘now hold on a minute’ me Carter!” She interrupted the officer.

Carter rubbed his head and examined me as I stood from my spot on the floor. I slowly glanced up at him wondering what the man was thinking.

“Hmmm.” He hummed. We eyed each other for a while. Here in Cumberton anyone who could jog as far as a block was considered capable of becoming an officer simply because that meant they were more physically fit than most people. So naturally, other than Tanner whose bulbous belly could barely fit through a door, a majority of the police were slightly slim, though most had beer bellies.

Carter, as I recall, was one of those cops who sit at a desk and handles reports. Yet strangely enough, even though that was all his job required he was slimmer than most people here. Sure, he wasn’t handsome, but he was fit with short, slicked to the side brown hair. His eyes were a dark brown as well and he stood a bit taller than Mrs. Cecelia, whom of which I reached the shoulders of.

He eyed me suspiciously before returning his attention to Mrs. Cecelia. “And what makes you so sure that this is Jack? He doesn’t even look like him!”

“That’s what I mean! He snuck out last night and when I found him this morning he was dressed like this and pretending to be some boy named, Shane Singer. You should have heard the lies he was telling me!”

“I’ve got a few questions then.” Carter announced. Mrs. Cecelia grinned down at me, but only for a moment as the officer focused on her. “For you, not him.”

“W-What?” She stuttered. “What do you mean you got questions for me? I’m the one who’s in charge of this boy!”

“Then tell me something. I recall that Jack had lived in a shack by the dump, so he could come and go as he pleased after his shift. Now, if I remember correctly, he doesn’t have night shift, so tell me where exactly Jack would be sneaking out from?”

“Well,” The woman took a step back, a slight glint of fear in her eyes. “You see, you know it’s starting to get cold out, what with winter coming in a few months, so I decided to let him sleep in the Diner. And Tanner told me to keep a close eye on him while he was with me so I told him not to go anywhere.”

What a lie! I mentally screamed at her.

“The Diner has bedrooms?” Carter asked her. “But wouldn’t that make it a bed and breakfast?”

“Well, it doesn’t have bedrooms, but it does have a basement. And you know he’s at that age where most kids prefer to sleep in their parent’s basement.”

“Good enough. But then tell me how this could possibly be Jack when that mark on his face isn’t there anymore?”

“Mark?” The woman faced me.

I looked up at her and recalled that she had slammed me into the cement floor of the cell before forcing me to work. If I hadn’t been healed by Fern, than I would have a huge bruise on my face. But how did Carter know about that?

“You know. You and Jack were here yesterday. I saw that mark on his face. Also, I heard that Sheriff Tanner had hit him with a car. If this were Jack, he’d have those injuries on him.”

For some reason, Mrs. Cecelia began smiling. “Well, you see officer, this boy has a knack for hiding his injuries. He has to if he wants to work at my diner. Ask any of you’re fellow police officers, they’ve all had a shot at him and have come to my diner to find him appearing to be in good health.”

One of the other officers began nodding. “I once chased him down for stealing a man’s wallet and whopped him a good one in the head. There was blood everywhere but when I went in Cecelia’s diner he looked as if nothing happened.”

There was a small chorus of “yeahs” going around before Carter raised his hand to silence them.

“Fine, then lets test this.” He announced and approached me.

I had to fight the urge to back away as he kneeled to examine me. “May I?” He asked, holding a hand out to my torso.

I didn’t know what he was going to do, but I had a feeling that if I said no, then that would seal my fate, so I nodded.

The man then grabbed my side and began squeezing it. When I didn’t do or say anything, he began squeezing around the rest of my body. Everyone stared, expecting me to do something. When he was done he stood and grinned at my boss.

“Well, there you have it!” He placed a hand on my head. “If this were Jack, then he would have been in pain while I did that. After all, everyone gets at least a little sore after getting hit by a car, right? So if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking him into custody now.”

“No!” She shrieked. “I’m taking this up with Tanner! That boy IS Jack and I know it! I’ll have you fired for this, just wait!”

“Some one escort her out of here please.” Carter asked the other officers coolly.

They complied and led her out of the office, kicking and screaming.

Carter then looked down at me and smiled. “Now, you look hungry. Would you like some doughnuts while we talk?”