Children of Malakh

The Children of Malakh

By: J.T. Seevers Cover art painted by Holly Geisinger

Copyright © 2012 James T. Seevers All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-1478322948 ISBN-10: 1478322942

My work is dedicated to those kids desperate enough to grab at the hand of anyone kind enough to offer.

Contents Prologue: Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Chapter 12: Epilogue:

1 13 62 90 117 145 181 212 280 312 355 398 451 495

“...and in those days shall the Earth again be flooded, in darkness. Those who were banished as abominations shall again return, as unwilling conquerors. And a Child shall lead them.” The Book of Lahja: The Third Testament

Prologue: Dark Kings Pawn to White Pawn 4 October 1971 There never seems to be any room for you at a party when your six, unless it’s a “kid’s party” of course. The good thing about that is you get to be invisible for a little while, unnoticed and all on your own. When you’re six, those times seem like a little breath of freedom, a glimpse of Heaven. It’s not until much later we begin to realize that being alone is the first step into madness and the ultimate lesson in Hell. Erkki hunched beside the dining room archway peering into the busy living room, scanning for signs of pursuit and listening for any cry of protest which might signal a forthcoming scolding. There was none. The grownups continued with their cackling and talking as if he had been nothing but a passing breeze. There had been a brief heart-stopping moment when Mr. Jackson turned to him and caught a glimpse of what he was hiding under his shirt, but he only winked and broke a tiny smile on the left side of his face before lifting his glass and rejoining the conversation. After the moments pause, Erkki turned his head round to the hopeful boys who stood inside the little dining room watching him with expectant delight. “Well?” Miguel whispered to him looking at the bulge in his shirt. “Did you get it?” the thin Latin boy asked hardly holding back his excitement. Erkki said nothing but glanced again over his small shoulder into the living room. The grown-ups were still engrossed in the stupid slide show that one of momma’s friends had “thoughtfully” brought with him to the dinner

party. In the dim light he had managed an almost perfect heist (except for Mr. Jackson who seemed not to care). He turned back to them and broke a big goofy smile as he stood up strait and lifted the huge glass candy dish from under his white shirt and pulled off the top with a wha’la flare that would have been better suited for Erol Flynn than it was for little Erkki Lahja. Ah, but there it was, just the same. Glittering inside the bowl was enough toffee, licorice, chocolate, and brightly wrapped candies to make the three bored and unsupervised boys thoroughly sick for days, and it was all theirs. After a few minutes of sticky unbridled avarice, the trio settled at the abandoned card table in the dining room, carefully hiding the big bowl on the cushion of the fourth chair closest to the wall. Other than Sam, who was a couple years older, none of them knew how to play any “real” card games. The kind that is which adults play with “decks” and “hands” and cards all laid out in incomprehensible patterns, but a spirited game of hi-lo was in progress among them (a game they all learned to play from watching a daytime game show at the neighborhood sitter, Ms. Hattie’s). Erkki, Miguel, and Sam played through run after run of their simple version of the new big-time T.V. Game show. What else were they to do anyway? The grown-ups had the only T.V. in the living room with them and refused to put it on, the boys weren’t allowed to play outside because it was dark and someone said it was going to rain soon. Eventually Sam sparked the concept of using the illgotten goodies as prizes, or “bets” perhaps, for each turn of the cards and the three boys remained occupied with their new and improved card game while they discussed matters of the highest importance to little boys. Such grand dilemmas as why do real grapes not taste anything like grape candies,

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or grape suckers, or even grape bubble gum? That being so, what flavor exactly is grape bubble gum? Of course there was the continuing debate over which of the Glantry sisters is definitely the grossest of the four. In the other room the grown-ups suddenly roared with laughter at some joke the boys weren’t privy to in their dining room banishment and Mr. Culder nearly lost his drink to the floor as the lively Greg Jackson stepped back into him still chortling from the anecdote. In fact all the grown-ups were acting a little “lively” tonight and Mr. Culder’s was not the first glass of foul smelling liquid to almost get soaked up in the shag. Erkki wasn’t sure, but he suspected their strange condition had aided him somehow in hobbling out of the room with his tasty prize just over an hour ago. Although he managed to keep a grip on the tall glass, most of the stuff inside had been jostled out, and was quickly turning the front of his light blue polyester shirt to a much darker colour as he exclaimed his dissatisfaction to the stumbling Mr. Jackson by referring to him with an adjective the boys themselves were absolutely forbidden to utter (at least when any adults were within earshot). He rudely excused himself as he pulled the shirt around his fat belly out of the careful tuck to keep his pants from getting wet and made his way into the dinning room toward the kitchen where he could assumedly compose himself. Seeing him coming, the boys quickly brushed the foil and plastic wrapped evidence from the table top as they pretended not to notice the grown-up intruder. Of course not one of them had spared a thought for the chocolate stained faces they all wore, but as it turned out, no one ever noticed anyway. Len Culder wobbled his way through the dinning room intent on reaching the kitchen before his pants could get stained. He

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mumbled in his low gravely voice as he drifted by the table paying no attention to the youths. Then he changed. Everything changed. Erkki turned to him as he began to pass by and stared up at him in wonder with his winter blue eyes wide trying to understand what he saw. The dining room was quite well lit, but a sort of darkness clung to Len Culder. A darkness not like a shadow, but a thin black nimbus pulsed around him. Erkki could not only see it, he could actually feel it flowing from the big man like some form of corrupt electricity. It was neither hot nor cold but mildly numbing, as if he were being caressed by the very essence of apathy. Len began to pass by as he caught sight of the pale boy’s wonder filled blue eyes focused squarely on him from beneath his shaggy, almost ebony black, hair. Erkki had a striking combination of features that often turned heads outside his little neighborhood and he could make someone jump with surprise when he turned to behold them, and cause someone to feel very nervous merely by staring too long. He wasn’t an unsightly child, he looked pretty much like any other kid his age, but there seemed to be something ethereal about him and the clashing pale skin, black hair, red lips, oddly tipped ears, and electric blue eyes lent him somewhat of an “otherworldly” presence. Len, however, was quite used to him, but something in the child’s eyes was sounding a little alarm in his mind. The man suddenly felt invaded somehow, as if the little boy were touching him in places no one should ever be able to touch. Secret places... Dark places. “Wha…?” the lumpy man gurgled out as he stopped. “What did you just do?” he hissed out at him in a hoarse and nearly panicked voice. “I…” Erkki mumbled suddenly afraid of the big man.

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Miguel and Sam looked up at Mr. Culder, then over to Erkki, and finally to each other meeting one another's blank and confused stares. “It’s called The Void, Erkki.” A clear but soft male voice unexpectedly chimed in at that moment. “Huh?” Erkki replied to it, afraid to look away from the evil substance lest it reach out and touch him with its dark self. For that first instant, he thought he was hearing the words of the dark thing surrounding Mr. Culder. He realized, however he was not. That thing had no voice. It was… It was just Void. “What is it?” he slowly asked in a whisper, eyes still locked on Len Culder. “What is what!?” Len asked him backing away, his double chinned head jerking this way and that with his hands groping to his sides and around his back. “It’s many things Erkki.” The voice answered him with its clear whisper that came from no particular direction. It was as if the words were a soft cloud and Erkki sat in the center of them. “In this case particular, its vengeance.” “Vengeance.” The child repeated in a loud whisper. Len Culder’s blood shot eyes flew open wide and his mouth clamped shut. A fear gripped him hard and grew tighter still as he realized he didn’t even understand why he was afraid. “No.” the shaken man managed. “I didn’t really mean it, not really! It’s just that… well Jackson pisses me off sometimes, I mean… really pisses me off. I… I just…” Miguel and Sam now gaped openly at Mr. Culder. The Latino boy and his white friend sat frozen in their seats with their mouths wide open in alarmed confusion at the sudden situation.

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Again the voice sounded to him. This time it (he?) seemed somehow soulful and sad, but Erkki heard as it drowned out the senseless words of the babbling man before him. “It doesn’t matter child. We are pleased you can see this thing so soon, but it’s out of context and it’s not important right now. Know that it can’t hurt you, that’s enough. Someone else is coming, and he will hurt you. He doesn’t want to, but he must, and you must suffer. I sorrow for you, son of the daughters of man.” “Erkki, what’s wrong?” Miguel asked him quietly as he gently touched his back. Outside the wind began to blow harder and tiny droplets of moisture started to tink against the window. Distant thunder could be heard through the muffling walls of the house and the stars winked out one by one. Len Culder stood up strait and backed off from the boy finally turning toward the kitchen having decided he simply had had too much to drink and needed a cool towel on his face to calm down. Time seemed to slow down around the boy and he ignored his best friend’s pleas from behind him. He saw the adults in the other room moving slower and slower and as the jovial Greg Jackson lethargically stepped out of the way, he saw his momma for the last time, and she smiled, for the last time. Erkki suddenly knew that a dark and heavy mind was coming. A mind burdened with something awful, and the stars hid their light behind the bleak clouds like innocent children hiding their faces from tragedy as it approached. 'I have to stop it.' Erkki thought to himself. 'I have to make it go away.' His heart told him he could not. 'You must suffer.'

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He heard the words again in his head, this time echoing from his memory. 'I don’t want to suffer.' he thought through the mire of this stretched out moment. He couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t move. It didn’t matter anyway. It was already here, already too late. Knock… The sound of its knuckles hitting the front door was like thunder in his ears. He felt the blood rushing through them as his heart beat grew slower and louder. Knock… It’s hand striking the door and smashing his world apart. He felt the threads of fate snapping all around him, tearing open the fabric, creating huge holes of uncertainty in the once smooth linen of time. Knock… Everything was collapsing now and Erkki found himself finally torn free of the well paved path he was set upon at birth. Torn free and blown with the whirlwind into the wilderness. Greg finished his latest quip without getting a laugh. Everyone was tired and more than a little tipsy. It was pretty much time to call it a night. Mrs. Jackson glanced around the corner into the dining room in time to see Len Culder leaning… no, slumping against the wall talking to the boys, and Erkki… What was wrong with Erkki? The child looked scared half to death, and the other two boys look like they’ve seen a frightsome. 'What on Earth is that man saying to them in there?'

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She had set her mind to go on in and see what this nonsense is all about when a soft knock at the front door in the living room drew her attention. “Oh don’t everyone get up at once now. I’ll get it.” She muttered turning back into the living room. 'Whoever’s out there best be gettin’ on home', she thought. 'I can see out that front window that it’s about to come pouring down on these pour souls.' Hattie Jackson turned the brass knob as a cold chill raced down her back. 'Oh Lord what’s wrong here?' She thought to herself as the flash of dread came, and then went in the blink of an eye. “One second.” She said loudly so whoever was on the outside could hear. Then she let go of the knob, reached up and set the door chain firmly in the rack. Not many people on this street bothered with installing the “peekers” as they were sometimes known, but John Lahja did, and a strong one too. God bless him, she thought. With the chain firmly attached, she reached down again for the knob. Whatever had set her on edge had apparently left her, and she pulled the door open to the three inches which the chain would allow. “Mrs. Lahja?” Came the voice from the darkness without. “No, not me dear. Can I help you with something?” she responded nervously. “Yes ma’am. Is this 2121 Jake’s Avenue? Is Mrs. Lahja home tonight?” asked the man in the dark. “Yes, and yes. What’s this about?” A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the starless night outside and she saw the figure clearly for the first time.

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“Oh my Lord!” she exclaimed quietly as she began to quickly close the door. “What’s wrong angel?” Greg Jackson asked as he stood from his seat. “Who’s out there?” Hattie said nothing as she reached up and pulled back the chain securing the door. Having freed it from its bond she took the knob and pulled the door wide open. The boys took their attention from Erkki to look at the new figure now stepping through the door. His blue and gray uniform topped with a wide brimmed hat was easily recognizable to them. He was a cop. According to the patch he bore on his arm he was “Ohio State Highway Patrol” to be exact, though the kids were a bit too young to read it properly, and he was talking to Erkki’s mom. Erkki saw him come in. He saw everyone come to their feet in anticipation. He watched quietly and out of hearing range as the man with heavy mind took his mother gently by the hand and spoke his dark burden, releasing it forever. He watched his mother, and his whole world, fall apart. For several minutes Erkki stood in silence as Miguel’s, then Sam’s parents stole through the kitchen sweeping them away and out the back door. There were cries of protest from the boys but Erkki took no notice. Sharon Lahja finally allowed herself to be picked up from her kneeling position, where she had begged and pleaded with the officer, and be sat down upon the couch. “I’m sorry ma’am. I…” he kept repeating to her visibly shaken as he was. “I’m… sorry.” Then he was gone. Erkki finally stood and walked slowly and purposefully into the next room where his hysterical mother

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continued to sob and moan. The four remaining party guests, parted to allow the small child through to the weeping woman on the couch. “Momma what’s wrong?” he asked her softly as his big blue eyes widened with fear and confusion. “Momma what’s happened? Please?” he asked again taking her shaking hand in his. The woman did not respond to him. She just squeezed her eyes shut tighter and moaned loudly. Erkki looked to the grim faces around him and began to grow ever more fearful, more confused. “Where’s my Papa?” he asked them as Mrs. Schole finally broke down and began crying uncontrollably into her hands. Erkki was panicked now and he shook his mother’s hand tightly and roughly. “Momma tell me! Where is Papa! Where is my Papa!! What’s wrong Momma?! What’s wrong?!” At last Sharon Lahja opened her eyes and looked upon her pleading child. “You’ve got his eyes.” She hissed at him through her clenched teeth with all the motherly love of a wounded cobra. “His eyes you’ve got there boy, not your papa's.” “Momma what…?” the child began. “I wont let you do this. I wont let you hurt anyone. I’m not gonna live in a world where all I have left is his eyes, and you.” She hissed again at him choking on the last word as if it were soaked in bile. Then before anyone could stop her she brought up her clenched hand and clobbered the child mightily across the face, sending him spinning onto the floor. “Oh God!” Mr. Jackson exclaimed. “Get her upstairs now!”

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Greg and Kent Schole took the moaning and bereaved woman by the arms and began pulling her up the stairs. “Hattie! The boy!” Greg shouted as he struggled with Sharon. “I got it Gregy!” she yelled back to him over the noise of the woman sobbing. Erkki was stunned and confused. He had no idea what had just happened to him. One moment he was looking at his mother and the next moment he was looking at the wall at the opposite end of the room, then suddenly the floor. He sat up dazed and staring as Mrs. Jackson took his hands and touched his face. He had never been hit by a closed fist. Not ever in all six years of his life, much less by an adult. The boy had no idea what even happened. All he felt was confusion, a hurricane of confusion. At least until Hattie Jackson touched his cheek and the flare of pain told him something had just gone horribly wrong. Now there was both confusion and pain, but there was something worse, something far worse still to come. “Erkki? Can you hear me?” She snapped her fingers in his face then held up three. “How many fingers do you see child? How many?” she asked him, her eyes straining with concern. “No.” The boy said quietly as he slowly closed his tiny hand around her's. “Mrs. Jackson… Where’s my Papa?” he asked in a soft pleading voice as he stared into her dark brown eyes with his bruised face. She paused for a moment, gaining strength. “Erkki… Your Papa is dead, child.” She said in a shaking voice struggling to finish the statement before her breath left her.

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The confusion left him like vapor and the pain drained away like murky water. Now there was nothing left but sorrow. Nothing left to hold back the pressure which had been swelling behind his eyes, and as the rain finally broke and began to fall from the dark sky like great sheets of grief, so too did Erkki’s tears rain down that night. Hattie Jackson held him there in her dark brown arms all night, but it was his time to suffer now ...and he would suffer alone.

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This is the farmer sowing his corn, That kept the cock that crowed in the morn, That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tattered and torn, That kissed the maiden all forlorn, That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.

Chapter 1 CARTER, OHIO JULY 8, 1975 The three passengers sat quietly in the Buick as the car made its way down Washington Way. The traffic was rather heavy in that early afternoon and the ride was slow going. All four of them were well dressed, dark full suits despite the afternoon heat. The driver was sweating and continuously wiped his brow with a little rag he kept in his front jacket pocket. The group rolled up to the stop light behind the other cars all puffing and rumbling, impatiently waiting for the green glow that would once again set them on there way. “Ca’mon Damn it how long is this freakin’ light!” Mace, the driver of this little group, yelled out the window uselessly gesturing his open palm at the pitiless traffic signal which stared back at him with an uncaring single red eye. “Jesus, it stinks out here today.” He said wrinkling his fat face as he closed the window with the button under his left

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hand. “It always stinks in this part of downtown. I hate this freakin’ steel smelting, coal burning city.” “Yeah Mace.” Answered the lanky man behind his seat. “You wanna’ tell me again why we’re beatin’ the drag in this spitburg town instead of pulling some real hogo up in the heights?” “Shut up.” was his only reply. “As I grab it,” began the shotgun rider as he adjusted his dark brown shaded glasses, “we got dragged all the way from Pittsburgh to help these guys take out… what was it again Mace? Oh yeah... a kid. One god damned kid.” He scratched his mustache and folded his arms across his lapel with self satisfaction as he leaned back to report this to the two suited men in the back. “I said shut up, and by that I mean, close yer flappin' yaps.” The driver growled to them as he hunched over the wheel hoping to catch sight of Ernesto along the side of the boulevard so he could escape the broiling car and its occupants. Mace was a short, bear-like man, with huge hands that would close up into gargantuan medieval club-like fists, hence the name suggests, and a short temper to match. He had his suits all custom made of course. He had to. He was shaped like the box a washing machine would come in. His teeth were all filed down short from the constant grinding he did with them when he felt like he had to hurt somebody, any “body”, and fast. Anyone who knew Mace had the good sense to stay out of arms reach when he started working his jaws the way he is right now. These three, however, had no idea how close they were to facing a situation like being trapped in a confined space with spazzed out moose. The troop he was currently bringing in were three of the northeast’s choicest up and comers. Each one of them

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had at least three tough kills under his snake skin belt and were all considered more then just competent, they were good… naturals, they called them. Take Long John back there currently crouched just behind the driver and driving his knees into the upholstery of Mace’s car. He would probably be the first throat Mace would soon lunge at, driver or no driver, if he couldn’t get out of this car soon. The ’72 sedan was more than roomy enough for almost any full grown man, but not for Long John. He had legs like a spider and he could leap like an Olympic gymnast if he needed to. He was a runner… a pursuer. Beside Long John sat Flash. Flash was a tightly groomed, primped up, Gucci covered killing machine. He looked like a Wall Street type. Like the early prototype of the yuppie wave still far in the future. A sharp black man with a sharp black face. He was quiet, self-occupied, and cold. Heaven help the fool who scuffed his Italian loafers or spilled coffee on his jacket. Riding shotgun was Jackie. Just Jackie. He didn’t get the stereotypical “wiseguy nickname” thing, and laughed at other Pops who bought into that crap (behind their backs, of course). He was an actual wise-guy. The kind that piss off men like Mace. The uppers put up with his bull because he was useful, and probably the best Popper in the steel belt (Indy, Toledo, Cleveland, and Pitt). Mace, on the other hand had him pegged as his number two victim today, followed quickly by the primping clown who still sat quietly staring at his reflection in the window, just for the hell of it. When Mace began to think he might just have to blow like a pressure cooker left too long on the heat, he saw him. “Thank you Santa Marie.” He mused under his breath as he pulled the dark blue car over to the corner which lurched as he threw the shifter into park.

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“Nice landing jackass.” Muttered Jackie as he picked his big sunglasses out of his lap where they landed after tumbling from his face from the abrupt stop. Mace only stared strait ahead holding the wheel tightly with both hands. After a moments pause he slowly turned his fat head to the passenger and gave him a dark intent look. The kind of look a pitbull might give someone whose poking it with a stick. “Get Out.” Came his grumble. Then he turned back to the door, grabbed the handle and stepped onto the sidewalk. Were it not for a careless dog walker that passed by this street corner fifteen minutes ago, Mace would have at least made a perfect dismount from the vehicle to finish his business. As it turned out, however, the soft squish he felt upon setting his foot to the sidewalk triggered something in his mind that told him that today is just not going to be that easy. “Ah, jeeze. I hope like hell that’s not an omen.” Mace never in his life believed in things like “omens” or any other of that crap. Even as a kid he was just too grounded and practical to buy into fairy tale crap like elves, ghosts, and omens, and never did he allow himself to think that there was such a thing as “luck”, good or bad. Never in his life, that is, until this particular task fell to him. He had even begun wearing a little gold cross on a thin chain around his nearly non existent neck… just for luck. Unfortunately for Mace, it didn’t seem to be working. He was cursed, all of them were it seemed, and the whole damn city somehow was in on keeping it that way. “Better you than me.” Flash commented with a selfsatisfied sneer as he glanced down at Mace’s shoe and strode passed him to meet his contact.

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'I change my mind', Mace thought to himself. 'I’m rippin’ your throat out first pretty boy.' and he knocked his shoe against the curb. Ernesto waited outside the small street corner diner watching the three approach. 'I can’t, god damned believe it’s come to this.' He thought with acrid disgust. 'I just can’t believe a situation like this can blow this crazy far off course to have to deal with dirt bags like this just to get a simple job done.' He had no more liking for these three than did Mace. In fact he was vehemently opposed to this whole idea, but what could he do? After the last five days and what they’ve seen and been through, how could it get any worse. The Big Boys in Pittsburgh didn’t buy into a word of it and were beginning to think his whole operation was going moron down here, and they told him so too. That’s why they pushed these three goons on him, just to make him look bad. Well, make him look worse. He looked pretty bad already. “Holy crap man! What the hell happened to you?” Jackie cracked with a smile. “This kid beat the snot outa you or what?” “That kid must be some kinda terror on the playground eh Jackie?” Long John commented leaning in with a snicker. Ernesto took all this in with smooth calm. He knew this was coming and had mentally prepared himself for it. He did the best he could with Mace and quite frankly was amazed to see this group arrive in one piece. The whole reason he decided to send Mace to the pick up was in secret hopes he would ape-out on these guys and he wouldn’t have to deal with it at all. Nothing else had gone right this week, why would this be any different. He waited still wordlessly outside the door with his good hand resting on the handle so

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he could hold it open for them. His other hand was wrapped in gauze having suffered sever burns after a red hot stove burner, which mysteriously blew off the top of the lunch wagon he was kneeling beside, landed on it while reaching for his dropped gun. He dropped his gun after a hub cap, which flew from a speeding Cadillac, smashed his elbow just before he could get a shot off at one of the two little bastards that were hanging out with the kid on the street lately. Of course the cap would have missed him completely if he hadn’t been on the ground following an unlikely incident which started when some goober backed his pick-up into a Cutlass, knocking it out of gear into neutral causing it to back into a parking meter, which broke off and landed directly in front of Ernesto, suddenly turning his sprint into a forward somersault onto the pavement. This also accounted for the cast on his left leg and the big bandage that kept his right knee cap from falling out. What was all that, you figure, maybe a million to one chance? Times three? Awful damn unlikely is what it is. Possible sure, but not something you would ever expect to happen again. Except in this case... it did. “Christ E, you look terrible.” Jackie paused removing his glasses. “So what’s the story here? This kid got yakuza bodyguards or what?” “Just go on in gentlemen. We’ll lay it all out for you inside.” Ernesto grimaced as he pulled the door open causing his elbow to protest with a fresh flash of pain. “We?” Flash paused and said as he climbed the stairs to the door. “You have people already on this trail Ernesto? So what the hell are we doing here?” “Yeah, I do… sort of. But let’s just say my groups’ a little, indisposed right now.”

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“Indisposed?!” Jackie let out with a laugh upon stepping into the diner. “It’s like a freakin’ intensive care unit in here, what the hell?!” The diner did resemble a hospital waiting room that day with three tables full of banged up, busted up, patched and mangled men. There were plaster casts, crutches, and splints from one end of the tiny eatery to the other, and maybe a mile of gauze wrap. “What's goin’ on down here? You fellas having a gang war with the zipperheads or what?” Long John asked with wonder as he ducked under the top of the doorway. “Just sit down, and get something to eat if you want. We’ll fill you in.” Ernesto sighed as he stepped in behind Flash and locked the door from the inside. When they were all sat down, Ernesto began recounting the long and improbable list of million to one chance events, one broken man at a time. ********** “OK, who’s going to round him up?” sighed Ben. It was a bad year to be one of Ohio Child Services finest, truly it was. Everything was falling apart around here and the kids were getting it worst of all. “Not me.” barked the sweater vested and bearded man directly across the desk from Ben. “I did two of these already this week. I just can’t handle another one today.” “Jerry?” Ben suggested turning his head to the thin and shaky man with the coffee cup standing by the door. “Oh man, not me Ben. I got no groove for this today, please dude.” He muttered through his caffeine induced shivers.

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“Alright then, Vince you’re up to bat. I think it’s your turn anyway.” Ben stated firmly as he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. “Yeah, alright.” Vince resigned. “What happened to this kid’s caseworker anyway? What was the guy’s name from Marigold?” “Wasn’t that the guy who got fired for being a bit too involved with his younger clients after he…” Jerry began still staring into his mug. “He’s off the case.” Ben cut him off with a start. “Anyway the Marigold office washed their hands of this kid. He’s been living here now so they say he our problem. He’s a two time school strikeout case and the only other school over there for kids his age refused to accept him. He’s been staying at his friend’s house here in the metro housing project for the last week or so following the incident at home.” “Is that what they called it now? An incident?” asked Bobby, the bearded man seated across from Ben. “Jesus Ben we all heard about that. The woman beaned him with a rock, locked him up in a chest for four days and threatened to set it on fire when the police arrived to look for him.” “Yeah, well, she’s not going to be a problem anymore. The state has officially terminated her custody of the child and handed it to us this morning. He’s one of our babies now and I want him brought home, so go to it Vince.” “Ok, I’m gone.” Vince said turning toward the door. “Oh, and Vince, one more thing…” Ben yelled after him. “He’s a biter and a runner.” He stated displaying the scar on the back of his hand. “So watch your ass and don’t take your eyes off of him for an instant.” The afternoon sun beat down on Vince’s little Honda as he pulled away from the green light. The heat made

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people crazy in traffic. Take for instance the maniac in the deep blue sedan beside him yelling at the light for it to change, what was his problem? At least he rolled up his window and stopped making noise. A biter and a runner, Ben said. It didn’t say that in the file. Ol’ Ben must have never reported it. He could understand the kid to some degree. Vince spent his teen years being told never to trust anyone over thirty. This boy’s philosophy was just never to trust anyone over twelve. The case file was sketchy and quite unspecific on most points, the trademark paperwork of mindless human bureaucracy. On the outside it read like any other low income, single parent, behavioral problem ticket, but there were just too many holes in it. Here’s a kid that could competently read the newspaper and do basic math well before he started first grade, and yet time and time again he’s been rejected from school for causing problems, and failing marks. He’s only been disciplined for fighting once, doesn’t play any kind of sports, and spends most of his time at home, but there are pages and pages of documented instances of showing up at school with injuries here. Burns, cuts, and serious bruising all of which the boy explained as various “accidents”. For someone as good at ducking and escaping a pro like Ben as this kid is, he comes off as awful damn clumsy on paper. Then there was page twenty four. He had read page twenty four six times before he left the office and still wasn’t sure what to make of it. It seams the boy was observed stopping behind a school bus to tie his shoe when the bus driver started to back away from the curb. The witness said she yelled at the boy to move but he just stopped and looked at her. At the same time Mr. Zucker, a teacher at the school, had been waiting for the bus to move so he could back out

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when he claims a strange coin from who knows where jammed up the throttle linkage under the hood of his car causing his accelerator pedal to suddenly stick to the floor, sending the car backward and into the bus’s rear wheel bringing them both to a stop against the curb. As this happened, the first witness swore she saw a young man with long dark hair yank the child back out of the way, just clear of the clashing vehicles. When the police arrived, however, there was no other witness to be found, and no one else, including the boy, saw any young man involved with the accident. So did he lie about that? Why would he? He wasn’t known to be a liar, in fact back on page three his first caseworker described him as being brutally honest, perhaps honest to a point of fault. If you asked him what he thought of someone, she wrote, he would give you an almost chilling report of their innermost feelings and fears, stuff he shouldn't know, couldn't possibly know, but all truth. She went on to report you had no choice but to be honest with him. If you spoke even the most innocent of fibs he would know. He would turn to look right at you with those crystal blue eyes, she went on to say, as if you had just said something awful and startled him. He knew, he always knew. But then there was the mother. It was so obvious what was going on there, and yet on this subject he did lie. He lied over and over again, denying to everyone what was clear, covering one ridiculous fib with another as if… As if making his lies as preposterous as possible was the only way he had to make people see the truth behind them without actually saying it? Who the hell knows, it didn’t matter anyway. She was out of the picture for good. Hospitalized down in the State Mental, probably for life, and here I come to bring the news, lucky me.

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Vince knew what it was like to be a kid in this kind of trouble. His mother was crushed in an accident at a canning plant leaving just him and his old man against the world. His pop was a drunk, though, and not much good at anything but fighting. That is when he wasn’t beating up his own kid. He grew up with the same mistrustful attitude about adults these kids have and he knew what it was like to have to lie to protect the small shred of family you have left, even if it gets you beaten half to death… or knocked out, thrown in a trunk and nearly burned alive. He managed to survive his old man and even make peace with him. He always loved school because it got him away from home and his grades were good enough to get him a small scholarship which he used to make himself into someone he believed would be able to get other kids out of these situations. It didn’t take long, however, for him to see that it just is not that easy. He envisioned himself a little like Superman, flying in to a kid’s life and sweeping him away from the bad people who promptly went off to jail. What he was finally beginning to learn is that these kids really don’t want him “flying in” to their lives and dragging them off away from their friends and comfortable places to some unfamiliar office, and the “bad guys” were more often than not their own families and it hurt them worse than any fist to see them dragged off. It was Vince who became the “bad guy”, the villain, of the tale. Sometimes the situation was quite different, and the kid really wanted to go. To get away somewhere to heal inside, but Vince couldn’t take them. They would beg and cry for him to take them home with him but the court’s reluctance to break up the family forced him to drop the child right back into the jaws of the beast. No matter what he did, no matter what way it went, it always seemed to go wrong. There just was no good conclusion to

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these things. No Superman, hell, no kind of hero at all. None of the answers were the right ones and all roads from here lead to pain. John Denver was singing “Sunshine on my shoulders” on the radio and Vince let it cheer his heart enough to try and formulate what he was going to say when he saw his new little client. “God, please just don’t let him run off on me.” He prayed aloud. ********** “Where’s Vierco?” The pug faced man asked as he looked out the second story window of the old empty warehouse. Through the old faded blinds and dirty windows he could see the empty street below stretching off east to west and the row of old brick buildings, mostly defunct foundries and offices, along it. “He’ll be here.” Said the deeply tanned Latino behind the dirty and broken desk. “He better be.” Pug face said in his deep and gravely voice. “I don’t like this freakin’ place and I got to get back and finish a mountain of paperwork before I can go home.” Pug face, also known as Sheriff Cord Browning, let the drape fall back against the cracked glass as he clogged his way back across the room. He left his uniform in the trunk of the Plymouth and so did his deputy, Lenny Druke who sat in an old rotting office chair in the corner. The two cops in plain clothes and the nervous man stared uneasily at each other as the silent moments passed. “You better not be screwing with me Evin, or I swear by God I’ll…” Cord began, his face swelling red with the thought of being put on here.

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“I ain't screwin' with you hombre. It’s going to go down just the way you wanted, and I’m sorry you don’t like it here but it’s you who picked this spot and it’s you, who called me, and said you wanted to get here early to search it for wires. Did you find any wires hombre?” Evin rasped at him as he leaned back and folded his arms. “You know I didn’t Evin. If I would have I’d have shot your ass cold, and stop calling me hombre, I ain't your god damned friend.” Cord Browning was an ugly man, no doubt, and in more ways than one. He knew it to, and didn’t care. In fact he used it to his advantage to intimidate everyone around him. One look from his hard, cold, and beady black eyes would cause others to shiver with fear and his pitted and scarred pug dog face was certainly unforgettable. If he ever was anything but a dirty cop he had forgotten it during his ruthless and blood thirsty march through the ranks of the Marigold police department to the top. He had business here in the rundown failing industrial slum of Carter today and wanted to be through with it in time to watch the ballgame tonight. “Why the hell did you have to use this kid anyway Evin? That wasn’t part of the deal and I don’t like it when plans change at the last moment.” “As I said homb... Mr. Browning, my wife is into everything. No matter where I hid it she would be sure to find it. She's sleeping with that bastard Ernesto and she would hand it over the moment she got it. Somebody had to hold onto it till you and I got our groove strait with each other and I don't trust anybody else. They don’t know about the kid, about Vierco. If they did, they would have capped him by now, or at least beat him shitless, but they don’t. Him

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and his hombres seem to be able to walk right through them, untouched.” “Hombres?” Cord said with a sharp tone as he glanced over at Lenny. “What hombres? You didn’t say nothin’ about any hombres. What kind of bull are you trying to pull here?” he asked as the thick hair on his back began to rise. Unconsciously he reached down and began feeling for his pistol. “Calm down Mr. Browning.” Evin told him without batting an eye at his reaction. “Remember they're just kids, and kids don’t walk around alone in the city. Especially out here with all the junkies and dirtbags. Besides, they’re younger boys then Vierco, and they don’t know anything about what he’s got. Vierco doesn’t even know what it is and he’s not about to ask, he knows better. I looked into them and they’re nothing to think about, just his little brother and some little white niño from Marigold that’s been living with him.” “You got some kind of hood apprentice program goin’ on here?” asked Lenny as he took the cigarette butt from his mouth and reached to his shirt pocket for a fresh stick. “No Mr. Druke, I don’t.” Evin quickly returned at him, not getting the joke. “I don’t believe in that kind of mierda and I’d have no part of it. On the other hand, boys will be boys, and if they start following me or my people I make use of them.” “Until you get them killed.” Lenny remarked, no longer joking. “We all walk our own path Mr. Druke. Some paths are very short indeed.” “Uhhuh.” Lenny answered finally getting a fresh cigarette lit. “Whatever you say man.”

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********** “Bullshit.” Jackie mused with a big grin on his face. “Pure, grade ‘A’, prime bullshit.” “Are you callin’ me a liar you son of a bitch?” Ernesto said startled. “Cuz if your calling me a liar, we got a real problem here.” “Yeah? What are you gonna’ do? Beat me with your cane?” Jackie pushed. “No but I’ll shoot you with my gun you asshole!” Ernesto threatened as he rose from the table. “Gentlemen please.” interrupted Flash. “We all have guns and nobody’s going to be happy if we all kill each other here and now. If you’ll give me a chance I think I can explain exactly what’s going on here.” “You got the floor.” Ernesto told him returning to his seat still eyeballing Jackie. “Fine. Now what I see here is nothing more than a textbook example of mass-autosuggestion.” “What the hell are you talking about? Nobody hypnotized me!” yelled out one of Ernesto’s wounded goons. “I didn’t say hypnotism man, I said autosuggestion. Look it works like this: I knew a dude that went to New Orleans on a job. He was just supposed to shake down a couple of store owners for late protection payments, dig? Well, one dude gets lippy so this guy busts him up a little. Next thing you know his old lady lays the whammy on him. She throws some trash she says is powdered bones or something on him and tells him he’s cursed. Now this guy isn’t the superstitious type but he doesn’t like getting powdered bones thrown in his face, so he busts her up too, and it should have ended there, but it didn’t.

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On the way back to the parking lot he trips and cracks his ankle. Unfortunate, but not unlikely. He manages to get into his car, but then he runs over a nail or something and blows a tire. Again, it’s just things that happen, but this guy starts thinking maybe the bitch did put the whammy on him. Now he’s screwed because he let that bull into his mind. He starts thinking he’s cursed and the next thing you know, this guy, who used to have a career, becomes the unluckiest bastard on Earth. He so damned afraid of this curse that he can’t go two feet without knocking something over. He starts bustin’ himself up every which way. Now he’s in a rubber room over in Toledo.” “So what the hell are you tryin’ to say, that I did this to myself?!” grumped the goon with the broken ribs seated beside Ernesto. “Sort of yes. Look, the first guy goes out and has a really wild accident. Then another guy goes out and he has one too. The universe can produce two accidents in a row. Next thing you know you all start thinking your cursed and everything you do turns to failure! It’s all in your heads man!” “Yeah? Well I’ll tell you what’s gonna’ be in your head wise guy.” a man in a wheelchair with both feet in plaster casts said. “My bullet, that’s what.” His remark raised a mild roar of approval from the room and Ernesto began to feel a little nervous that someone just might get crazy enough to take a shot at these three. “Its bullshit is what it is.” Jackie reprised his opinion. “No it’s a set-up, is what it is.” Long John put in suddenly from behind the group. He had been standing at the window looking out thoughtfully while listening to the conversation.

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“What do you mean by that?” Ernesto asked deeply intrigued, but maintaining his hairy eyeball look to Jackie. “Come on are you guys blind? Someone else is workin’ this city. They’re working this city, this kid, and they’re working you. For some reason we don’t know, somebody wants to make damn sure you don’t get that envelope.” Long John continued still starring out the dark tinted window. “Go on.” Ernesto told him, much relieved to hear the silence in the room. “Accidents… Who do you know that specializes in accidents?” he asked the room as he turned from the glass and dropped his cigarette onto the floor, crushing it with his boot. The room was still silent and all eyes were on the tall, gaunt man in black. “Christ you guys ain't cursed. You’re under contract!” he finished waving at the window to the city street. For a long moment the room was silent. All eleven of Ernesto’s men exchanged glances with each other as they processed this new possibility. “Wait a minute.” The stubby man with the huge neck brace holding his head frozen in a forward position with metal screws and pins began, interjecting into the silence. “Who?” he asked with his eyes squeezed down to slits. “I don’t know. A lot of guys could be in on this.” Long John answered in a matter of fact tone. “Yeah,” the injured man pressed him speaking slowly. “but who do you know that could have set up voodoo like this? Your telling me when that car backfired and scared that freakin’ mutt into running off, dragging it’s leash under that jogging dimwit’s feet which sent him crashing into the scaffolding on the front of the shoe store, knocking loose the toolbox what came down and did this to

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my head…” he continued wincing with pain at the memory. “…when dat happened, it happened because somebody set that up? What kind of twisted mind would even think up somethin' like that? Much less actually pull it off!” The men in the room began to murmur to each other in agreement and Ernesto put his elbow on the table, rested his head in his hand while he pressed Long John for answers. “Listen, it almost sounds like you got something there, but I gotta’ agree with Fred on this one. Do you realize the kind of timing, positioning, and planning it would take to pull that off? That’s just not the way the job is done and you know it. Hell man, the best in the business could try that a thousand times before it actually worked, and how could he know exactly where Fred was gonna’ be at that moment?” He asked opening his palm and laying it onto the table. Long John thought for a moment and looked back out the window speaking slowly. “Nah, it wouldn’t take any of that man. It’s dancing girls and flash pops.” Again the room grew silent. “What the hell are you talking about?” Ernesto asked as he closed and withdrew his hand. “When you watch the guy do magic tricks on a stage he does all kinds of impossible stunts. Stuff appears and disappears and all that jazz, but you never see what you ain’t supposed to see because he distracts you with a dancing bunny girl and bright flash pops in his waving right hand or whatever. Meanwhile he’s pulling the cards out of his sleeve with his left. Or take the humble pickpocket will ya? What’s he do, eh? He bumps into you and makes a big show about dusting off your vest and uses his shirt to help dry the coffee

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he just made you spill on your tie. He’s acting all clumsy and stupid but at the same time he's robbing you blind.” “Get to the point.” Ernesto warned sitting back in the chair. “OK, here’s the point. You saw all that wild magic go down with Fred right? From across the street?” Ernesto nodded. “What happened to the jogger? Did anybody think to shake down the freakin’ jogger that happened to be running down forty-first that day? The street with no sidewalk to jog down in the first place? The same street you, and anyone else that watched the kid for at least one day knew, he was coming down any minute on his way to school? The street with absolutely no other cover to jump out from except the archway over a certain shoe store?” Ernesto’s eyes were beginning to widen with understanding as he listened to the words Long John spoke. “Son of a bitch.” He mouthed in near silence to himself. “Get it? The backfire… the dog… it was nothing but smoke and flash pops. Anybody could have pulled it off! A firecracker in the tail pipe, a half-ass trained dog, and a mysterious jogger that trips on the leash and falls into a scaffold that happened to have a toolbox set on the edge over a certain archway. He’s a smart bastard, I’ll give him that gentlemen, but he ain't no curse weaver, he’s a magician is what he is, and soon enough, he’s gonna’ die.” Long John put his foot back up on the low sill of the tinted front picture window as he lit another cigarette with a match which he seemed to simply produce from the air. The room was quiet except for the sounds of glass dishes being washed in the back room. Jackie picked his large brown sunglasses back up from the table where they lay. He soaked each lens with a

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hot breath and wiped them carefully with a linen napkin before returning them to his face. “I still say its bullshit.” ********** Vince sat in his car and listened to the engine. The radio was too distracting and he needed to think. He was parked in the driveway of his destination chewing on his pen and holding the shifter knob. What’s the right choice? The boys weren’t home. They were down at the sleds riding skateboards, so he was told. The sleds were a thick tangle of sidewalk ramps that plunged down and around the bridge viaduct just off downtown. A paradise for young riders, and for predators. How many kids have vanished down there already, a dozen? More? Still they go, and the parents let them. Ah man, how could he blame them? After all he spent many a lost summer day there himself at their age. But here’s the question: Should he drive down there after him, or should he wait here for them to get back? If he goes after him he might miss him here, and once he finds out C.S. was here for him, he might pull another vanishing act. On the other hand they could be gone for hours… He glanced down again at the brown file traveler on the passenger seat. “What way is it going to be kiddo, the easy way, or the hard way?” He already knew the answer to that. It would be the hard way. It was always the hard way. He picked up the papers and thumbed through them again. Unteachable, hardheaded, hyper-reactive, uncooperative… The list of negative adjectives went on, he had it all. Well, almost all. Under the violence category it has “only when feels threatened” checked. Farther down the

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page under the social interaction column is checked, “mild but guarded”. “Reasonable.” He said to himself. That’s what this bureaucrat generated grid was telling him. The boy was ornery, angry and mousy, but reasonable. Good, he could definitely use that if he had to. Then he thought about ol’ Ben’s hand and began to reconsider. He wished he would have asked him to elaborate more on that moment. Ben was a pretty mild guy himself and Vince knew for certain he would never “threaten” some kid, at least not on purpose. What did he do then? Did he grab him when he tried to run? Did he startle him with a hand on the shoulder from behind? Did he reach out to shake his hand hello? 'I guess,' thought Vince as he studied the documents, 'what I really need to know is what this boy might consider a threat'. He had no desire to be bitten today, nor did he want to chase this one all over the city. “hmmm.” He mumbled. The basic measurements of this boy had him pegged firmly as an average, healthy sixyear-old. Sadly he was ten. His face showed a rather odd combination of features, and in the decent/nationality section it had Scandinavian and Latin marked. 'Norse and Mexican,' he silently repeated with amusement. 'That certainly explains that.' he thought smiling. Then something else caught his eye at the edge of the sheet and he brought the paper closer to his face. Something was written there in that section, assumedly in pencil by someone, and then later erased. At the end of the row of race check boxes, squeezed in just after “Eskimo” (the most unlikely indeed) was the word “unknown”, and a soft little mark that could have once been a check. “Unknown…” he breathed feeling the word slowly drift from his mouth. Why would someone pencil that in?

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Was it an offhand joke or was somebody along the line of caseworkers making a statement here? And who, indeed, erased it? He filed the question away in his mind for later. Maybe Ben knows something about that. The family section was next and, boy howdy, was it full. No less than five half-brothers, and five half-sisters. The boys on the mother’s side and the girls on the father’s, all from previous marriages (all adults), and one… He paused squinting at the type as ran his fingers along the letters. How did he miss this? He thought he read through carefully enough before and yet this critical scrap of information escaped him until now. “Ah no.” he breathed looking up at the drooping sun. “What the hell’s going on here?” ********** George “Mace” Gregoli stood outside the “Taste of Eden” diner shifting from one foot to the other. “Damn, what’s going on in there?” he croaked finally unable to stay quiet. The boss and the rest of the pain train had been in there for over an hour now with the three bozos he brought into town. He wanted to take Ernesto and his brother Fred home to their wives so he could return to his apartment, watch the ballgame, and sleep. He hated to admit it but that trip to Pittsburgh and back with those guys really took a lot out of him. “I’m gettin’ too old for this.” He muttered. A young guy with a face full of acne wearing ripped bell bottoms and an old army jacket looked up as he passed by the door hearing the sound of Mace’s voice. “What are you lookin’ at cheese weasel?” he uttered with a broad grimace as he locked eyes with the street punk.

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The man, maybe twenty-ish, paused for the briefest moment and opened his mouth as if to reply, then his better judgment finally caught up to him and he resealed it, put his head down, and kept walking. “Nah…” Mace began softly with a big, crooked smile. “I still got it.” From inside the door he heard the sound of shuffling footsteps approaching. He turned and grabbed the handle of the door pulling it open. “Well, if it ain't our humble driver. Good to see ya again buddy!” Jackie teased as he swept through the door. “I got your buddy right here.” Mace grinned and squeezed his crotch twice. “Aw come on man! After all you’re the guy we picked to make our trio into a quartet!” Mace’s grin drooped into a glower. “You what?” Mace looked over Jackie’s shoulder to Ernesto with a look of disgust. “Boss, what the hell?” he exclaimed turning his right palm upward. “Sorry big fella, but you’re the man for the job.” Ernesto patted his shoulder as he passed him. “But boss how you gonna’ get home?” he asked with mock concern as the others began shuffling out the door. “We got cabs in this city Mace. I’ll use one.” He answered with his back to him. “A cab?! Come on boss you don’t want to get in no filthy cab!” He yelled out to Ernesto as he headed down the sidewalk. Ernesto stopped and turned to him. “You tellin’ me what I want now? Is that what your doing here?” he asked with a stony face. “No boss!” Mace snapped with wide eyes. “No, I just… It’s just that…”

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“Yeah? It’s just that what?” Fred pried as he caught up with his brother. “Well… I mean to say… Whose gonna’ guard the door here boss? Whose gonna’, you know, do the stuff that needs doin’ when I, well, can’t?” He pleaded. “Jesus-Mary-and-Joseph Mace, don’t tell me this kids really got you scared!?” Fred said and smiled even though it hurt to do so in his condition. “No boss! I mean… Hell no! It’s just a kid, but…” “Good.” Ernesto said with satisfaction. He took his brother by the arm and guided him down the street. “Go to it.” He said with a note of finality that Mace could not ignore. “Don’t worry man.” Long John said heading for the car. “The curse is broken and we wouldn’t work with anyone else but you.” “Yeah but…” Mace stuttered out. Finally Flash passed him by swinging the door shut behind him. “Don’t feel too proud. If you hadn’t noticed, you’re the only one of these guys who isn’t dragging a limb behind him. Let’s go.” He headed for the car. Mace didn’t feel proud at all, and he didn’t lie to the bosses when he said he wasn’t scared. He wasn’t scared, no, he was terrified. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as he thought about what was going to happen to him. Being shot down with an assassin’s bullet or run down by a freakin’ car protecting his boss, that was how he was supposed to go, that’s how he wanted to check out. That put you in the goodfellas hall of fame! Not like this! Being crushed under a god damned falling anvil, or some cartoon shit like that, while trying to put a silenced bullet into some ignorant kid? That got you a page in a cheap comic book! No. This can’t be happening.

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“Let’s go man! Were burning sunshine here.” Sounded Jackie’s voice from the open passenger door. Mace dropped his chin to his chest still looking away from the car. He reached up and drew a crucifix across his chest before he turned. 'Yeah Mace,' he thought soulfully to himself. 'You definitely stepped in it today.' ********** “Ben, why didn’t you tell me there’s a sister?” Vince demanded. He stood inside a phone box outside the grocery across the street from where his car still sat idling in the driveway. “What are you talking about? He’s got five of them Vince.” Answered Ben’s voice through the sharp speaker. “Not the estranged ones, Ben. I mean Gloria, his full blooded sister. It says here she’s a little over a year older than him and …” “She’s dead Vince.” Ben cut him off. “Checked out at six months old. That information must never have been appended to the file. A case of S.I.D.S. back in ’64, not important.” “Not important?” Vince returned agitated. “Ben you know what this woman’s been doing to him for the past four years. Don’t you think that’s just cause to suspect something might have been wrong about that diagnosis?” “Maybe, maybe not, but like I said it’s not important now, that case is closed and it’s closed hard.” “Who closed it?” Vince asked bewildered. “I don’t know. I’m sorry Vince, I knew about that kid and I promise you I did look into that. In fact it was just a week ago.” “So…? What’s the story.”

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“There is no story Vince. Like I said, the case is closed. Not only closed but nailed shut. All court documents and doctor’s memos are sealed. I didn’t add it to the folder because I knew what you would want to do if you noticed it.” Ben told him apologetically. “Your damn right I want to do something! This needs to be taken up with the…” “Vince, no one can take it up with anybody. It’s closed, understand? Look man, I get what’s going on in your head now and I would love to do the same thing, but we can’t. It’s a sealed case. If you mess around with it, you’ll go to jail.” His words angered Vince to the point of eminent explosion. He was just about to tell Ben what he could do with his sealed file nonsense when Ben’s voice softened and continued. “Vince man, you can’t help her. You don’t know what happened and I don’t know what happened, but what we do know is she’s got a little brother out there, a little brother you can help, and that’s why it doesn’t matter. You can’t do anything for either of them from prison. Go get that kid Vince.” Vince paused holding the phone to his chest for a moment letting his anger subside. “Just tell me this Ben, and I swear I’ll let up. Who sealed the case?” “Just a minute Vince.” Ben sighed and pulled back from the receiver. Vince pulled out a little rag and wiped the sweat from his brow. The booth was hot with the sun blazing hard into its interior. He began to roll up the rag and return it to his back pocket when a glimpse of crimson caught his attention.

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Bringing the white kerchief out before him and rolling it back open reveled a dark and wet stain of blood across the rag. "What the...?!" Vince gasped as he dropped the phone receiver and felt madly about his head and neck for an open wound. He found no injury, but woman outside the booth waiting on the bus gaped at him as if she just saw a man utterly lose his mind. Perhaps she did, he thought, for the linen in his left hand he would have sworn was soaked in blood, was indeed clean (apart from the sweat stain) and the swinging receiver echoed with Ben's voice. "...there? Hello?" Vince grabbed the receiver and nervously replied to his colleague. "Yeah man, I'm here. Sorry my hands are slick, I guess I dropped the phone." he lied as he continued to poke at himself looking for hidden injury. “OK, that would be one, Sheriff Cord Browning of the Greater Marigold PD and a Judge Glen Stroop, Municipal court of Marigold. Now get the boy Vince, and drop this other nonsense.” “Alright man, whatever.” Vince let out in a long breath. He had no intention of letting this melt away back into the bureaucratic nothing, of course, but Ben was right about one thing after all. His current obligation was with a living breathing boy, and that really was top priority. “Is that it Vince? You need anything else?” Ben asked impatiently. After a short pause he remembered the odd description add-in. The one that was penciled in, and then erased both by unnamed hands. “Yeah, maybe.” He stopped and tried to think of how to phrase the question without it sounding trivial. Was it

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really important? “Nah, never mind. I’ll bring it up with you latter. It’s probably nothing.” “Fine. Now split man.” Ben urged. “I’m on it.” He said, and hung up the receiver. 'Sealed my ass.' he thought. 'We’ll see what’s sealed and what’s not. I wonder if the boy knows anything? The boy… That’s what it’s about right now Vince. Don’t let yourself forget that.' He opened the sliding door of the phone booth and stepped out onto the curb. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the “Don’t Walk” red change to the inviting “Walk” white, and he started out into the street. He got about a step and half when a dark blue Buick sedan flew around the corner and blew through the red light very nearly crushing him flat. “Whoa! What the…! Hey dude what’s wrong with you!” Vince yelled as he fell backward onto the curb with a thud. “Frickin’ Hippie. Get outta the street.” Mace grumbled under his breath. The quartet flew down the eastern end of Euclid avenue toward the park where the informant would be able to tell them which direction the kid went. This was their last chance. The envelope gets delivered this evening and if Browning got that package… well, it just ain't going to happen. “Hey man, slow the hell down.” Muttered Jackie. “How are we gonna do this thing if you get us arrested for running over some peezol like that?” Mace knew he was right. He was nervous and when he got nervous he developed a lead foot. Without a word he dropped back to the speed of the surrounding traffic.

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“So how are we doing this thing?” asked Flash from the back seat looking intently out the window at the sidewalk traffic. “Bosses said they want that envelope.” Jackie returned without looking up. “Bump off the kid and anybody that’s with him that might know what’s in it.” There was a long silence broken only by the protesting of the Buick’s engine to Mace’s nervous throttling. “I don’t like killing kids man.” Flash continued. “Ignorant, dumb kids that don’t even know what there dying for.” “What if the envelopes still sealed?” Long John proposed. “If the kid doesn’t know what’s in it then…” “He still goes down.” Mace finished the sentence. “I don’t like it either, but boss said so.” “He might know what’s in it anyway.” Jackie went on. “That’s why he’s marked.” “Whatever man.” Flash resigned. A few moments later the car came to a stop along the side of a public basketball court. Mace hauled himself out and slogged toward a teenage boy on the sidelines of the second court. After short discussion the boy pointed down toward the viaducts on the other side of the river. “Who the hell is that?” Flash growled as his eyes narrowed. “It’s a rat who do you think it is? So what?” Jackie dismissed. “Not him, white bread! That guy.” Flash said with annoyance as he pointed off to the left of Mace and his fink. Standing there silently, the figure watched the exchange between Mace and the informant with casual interest. He wore sandals, jeans, a dull white jersey and looked to be around thirty years old. Only the long and somewhat wispy white hair marked him as someone who was

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probably much older than he appeared. The other two caught sight of him and tried to get a better look. He stood in the open, but oddly enough he was very difficult to focus on. It was as if their vision would slide around the figure every time they attempted to look directly at him. As if he were moving incredibility fast yet standing still, and their eyes swam all around him in a nauseating blur. “What the frick?” Jackie said removing his glasses and shaking his head. “Are you guys not seeing what I’m not seeing?” He was answered only by silence. Mace slipped the young man a twenty dollar bill and turned back toward the Buick. The three silently watched him get in and restart the engine. “We gotta move it.” Mace began, the sweat starting to break out on his brow. “There on the way to the drop off now.” “They?” Long John probed. “Three of them, just like the last three days. They always travel together and our boy still has the envelope, just like before. Except this time they're waiting for him.” “Who was that guy watching you on the court over there?” Jackie asked starring at him with his dark eyes. “What guy?” Mace asked as his own eyes widened. “I said what…guy!” Mace railed at him craning his big head at the window searching the courts with a note of panic and anger as he felt for his pistol. “Dude he was standing right there lookin’ at you how could you miss him!? He had long white hair and a white shirt not four feet away from you out there!” Jackie railed back. “WHO!?” Mace yelled at him as he turned his red face to Jackie. “What guy!? There’s nobody out there with

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no white shirt, and there ain't no old hippies nether, just binks!” Jackie scanned the lot over and over for the man they all saw moments ago, but of him, there was not a trace. “He wasn’t old, at least I don’t think so. Did anybody see him make a run for it?” “You just said the guy had white hair!” Mace stated as he glared up at the rear view mirror. “You tellin’ me a guy old enough to have long white hair can move out that quick?” “It’s our magician friend.” Long John settled against the back rest and checked the clip into his hand gun. “I don’t know how he pulled it off this time but now he knows were coming, just like he did with you guys the last three days.” Mace peeled off around the corner leaving a trail of oily smoke behind him. The words “Just like the last three days…” rolled over and over in his head like the sound of a fast approaching train. ********** "Yo Cord, I got your boys here." came the squelchy voice over the CB of Sheriff Browning's Plymouth. "What do you want me to do?" the voice asked. “Nothing." Cord replied flatly. "Don’t do a damn thing. Just back off and try to keep them in sight." After a short pause he brought the mic back up to his face. "What way are they headed?" "Your way Cord. They're going under the viaduct toward the tracks, looks like they're headed to cherry bridge." said the rusty voice on the radio. "Perfect." Cord assured himself, then clicked the mic again. "Do they have it?" he asked the man on the radio as he

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stared intently up at the little window on the third floor of the abandoned office building where his deputy and Evin waited for his return. "I don't know. I can't see it." came the reply. Cord leaned back in his car, closed his eyes, and wished again he had come up with a better way to do this. He didn't like trusting outsiders, not for something this important. In less than an hour he would have everything he needed to get rid of Ernesto and Federico for good, and with that bunch out of his way he could finally control everything in the county. The protection racket, the prostitution traffic, the drug trade would all pass through him when the new family moved in. "Wait a sec." The radio voice cracked up again. "I think I see it. The oldest kid has it rolled up in his back pocket. Yeah, that’s got to be it. I think he's..." the voice stopped abruptly. After a moment Cord's eyes popped back open and he rolled his fat head back down to look at the CB radio. "Come again? I didn't catch that." He spoke into the mic raising an eyebrow. "It's... It's nothing Sheriff. For a moment there I thought someone was watching me. It's cool." spoke the nervous croaking voice. Cord leaned forward in his seat and turned up the volume on the radio. "What do you mean? Who was watching you?" he asked narrowing his eyes on the radio. "No one Sheriff. There's nobody there. I thought I caught a reflection of someone in the window but it was just a flash or something, it's cool." the voice assured him. "Christ." Cord moaned as he relaxed once again. 'We gotta get this shit done before I lose my...'

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The vein in his head throbbed as he caught sight of the stranger with the long black hair and bare chest in the rear view mirror. The figure was moving quickly behind his car and seemed somehow obscured. Cord brought up his arm to quickly wipe the sweat from his eyes to unblur his vision. He realized then, of course, he wasn’t sweating. ********** "Alright, it's goin' down like this." Flash said as they all watched the street corner from inside Mace's car. "The laddies will turn down this road to pass under the highway. Just get close to them and show 'em the gun. March our boys back to the car, we'll unburden them of that envelope they got, then drive back up the highway a couple miles to unload the bodies, dig?" "Let’s just get it over with man, I got a date with a damn fine woman tonight and I wanna go in fresh, know what I'm sayin'?" Jackie said with a smirk. Long John snickered from the back seat. "You mean that fat hooker you been seein' on Wednesdays? I doubt her books full up man." "Hey, choke on this!" Jackie roared back at him as he turned and raised his middle finger. "Cheres ain't no damned hooker!" Long John began to laugh as Mace broke in. "Shut up the both a' yous! Here they come." The trio rounded the corner and headed down Driftly Road toward the highway underpass viaduct canals. The group was lead by a tall bony 16 year old Hispanic boy named Vierco Sanchez. He wore tight jeans with several patches sewn in mainly for looks, as is the style currently, and a red t-shirt stained with tobacco from his not quite successful attempt at chewing the substance. To his right was another, much younger Latino boy named Miguel

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Sanchez, his brother. His long curly black hair hung over his shoulders and drifted into his freckled face occasionally as he pushed it aside. He wore a light poncho shirt and kneeless bellbottom pants. One the left side and bringing up the rear was another youngster that plodded along in his Chucky Taylor shoes (one tied, the other with laces dragging behind him), his ill fitting blue jeans dipping behind his heals, and a white V-neck undershirt over his chest. A somewhat odd looking white boy with short, thick and wild black hair and burning blue eyes carrying a big radio that seemed maybe a bit much for him to handle. Erkki was this one's name. Erkki Lahja. The radio was tuned to a pop music station broadcasting from Cleveland and the two ten year olds took turns half carrying, half dragging the radio along with them as they traveled across town. "Hey babies and gentlemen I got what you want right here!" Exclaimed the DJ on the blaring boom box Erkki lugged along with them. "Angels do work in mysterious ways, so lay your ears down and raise your hands up for the fabulous mister Stevie Wonder!" he announced to most of the block via the boys over grown radio as he began to spin "Superstitious" onto the airwaves of the quickly descending late afternoon summer day as the boys danced their way down the street toward the tracks and to Cherry road Bridge. “Alright, let’s do this.” Jackie said as he slid on his huge sunglasses and pushed open the door. The four men stepped out onto the street and started across toward the boys pausing only a moment to wait for the public transportation bus that was fast approaching to pass by. What they didn’t notice was Quincy. Of course why would they? Not even the other people in the vehicle that

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day noticed Quincy sitting quietly in the back of the bus. He was a rather unremarkable and humble man of shabby cloths and unkempt hair. He smelled a little odd, but not enough to really bother the passenger seated next to him, a man slowly sipping his hot coffee and reading the want ads. Quincy just spent his last dime in the cigarette machine about an hour ago and all he could think about was getting another smoke… but how? Quincy stared down at his old shoes and started to nod off when suddenly his eyes shot back to full open. There on the floor was a shiny quarter! At least it looked like a quarter. It had just came sliding back from under the seat in front of him! He glanced up to see if the person there was feeling around for it. Oddly, there was no one there. He then glanced over to see if Mr. Coffee next to him saw it. He didn’t. He was still engrossed in his newspaper. A broad smile slid over Quincy’s face as he quickly leaned forward to snatch up the treasure. Doing so, however caused him to inadvertently bump Mr. Coffee’s arm sending half the hot beverage spilling into the man’s lap who then shot up out of his seat with a yelp of pain. The poor old lady across from him who was keeping herself calm by working her crochet needles across the edge of the baby blanket she knitted was suddenly startled by the noise causing her to, quite by accident, poke the poor man who was standing in the aisle facing away from her and reaching up into the stowage compartment for his lunch. The jabbed man also yelped out in pain as he dropped his little bag of food into the aisle sending a small orange rolling wildly down the center of the bus. The fruit went entirely unnoticed by the passenger at the front of the bus who was standing up at that moment in anticipation of his approaching stop, that is until it rolled directly under his foot. Suddenly finding himself tumbling forward, the offset man grabbed at something to break his

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fall… the gear shift stick of the bus. The vehicle suddenly jumped back a gear causing it to lurch violently for just a moment until the shaken man regained his balance and the angry driver regained control. What none of them noticed until much later (much to the chagrin of the object’s owner) was that the bicycle hung on the front of the bus with great care by a passenger, had been shaken loose causing it to droop over in front of, and under, the bus’ front bumper where it then caught on the front suspension and dragged along the road with them. None of this would have mattered at all to the four men who only stood paused for a brief moment for the bus to pass except for the fact that the bike had caught it’s left side on a sway bar bolt and was therefore dragging it’s kickstand along the road beneath the bus like a big hook. A hook which just happened to snatch the notch in the man-hole cover directly in front of them as the bus passed by. Flash, eyes focused on his prey across the road, failed to notice the gaping hole which now lay before him, and before he could even take a breath to scream, plunged downward into the stinky darkness of the city sewer system with a squishy thud. “Ah Christ.” Mace swore with a deep dread in his voice. “Here we go…” The three men stood over the hole and squinted downward into the depths calling Flash’s name. After a few tense moments a moan from somewhere below told them their colleague was indeed alive. Mace bent to one knee and put his head close to the hole to try to see the anguished Flash but winced at the awful stench wafting up from below as he pulled back and fanned the air before him. “Whew, damn!” he expressed with a sour face, then thought back to an earlier conversation he had with the

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annoying man. “Hey Flash,” he yelled down with an evil grin spreading across his face. “Better you than me, eh?” he proudly expressed with a self-satisfied laugh which was quickly cut short by the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the rim of the hole. “Sit tight my man.” Long John yelled down from a comfortable distance. “We’ll be back as soon as we grab the kids, dig?” “Hurry up man.” Flash weakly replied from somewhere below. “I think I broke both my legs.” Mace looked at Jackie and Long John with an upturned brow and raised his hands as if to say ‘Well? We told you so.’ Jackie looked at Long John, then back to Mace as he stood up and put his big glasses back on again and crossed the street. “Bullshit.” Was his only reply. The boys continued down the street in their halfwalking half-dancing gate as the song “Superstitious” continued to play from the big radio Erkki carried along with them. He felt pretty good today. In fact he actually smiled and bopped along with the other two boys as they headed down toward the tracks under the bridge. It was the first time in over a week he had smiled at all, not since… well… not since the police man smashed the lock off the trunk he had been placed in for… whatever it was he did wrong. He couldn’t remember what it was, but he was sure mother would tell him when he went back home. Back home… Erkki dreaded going back home, but he knew he would have to soon. He liked staying with Miguel’s family, even though there really wasn’t much room for him, but he knew his mother needed him. Needed him to take care of her, and the apartment, and the food, and the rent, and the chores, and the… pills. He had to make sure she took the pills, everyday,

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no matter what he had to do to make it so. Even if he had to wait till she fell deep asleep from the alcohol and massage it down her throat. His mother would get really angry at him when he couldn’t get her to take the pills the doctors gave her. She would get creepy mad and sometimes say awful things to him, things he didn’t let himself remember after they were said. That must be what he did wrong that day. He tried to sneak the medication into her food when she refused to take the pills despite his panicked urging, but she must not have eaten it, or eaten enough of it. It was all his fault, how could he let this happen… again? For the moment, however, he left all that behind him. He was just another blissful ten year old boy dancing down the street with his best friend hoping to get in some skating before the sun went down. Another kid with a song on the radio and a smile on his face completely unaware of the fact that he was dancing through the shadow of the Valley of Death. “So which way?” Long John contemplated as the three remaining men stared into the maze of alleys between the brick buildings that lined the viaduct area, mostly tenements and small corner stores. “I don’t know.” Jackie sighed. “Damn it. Here take the walkie talkies and circle around. LJ go Eastside, Mace goes Westside, and I’ll cut through. Whoever catches up to them first just let the other two know and we’ll head back.” The other two men nodded in agreement and the three split up. This would have been easier for them if they knew exactly where Cord Browning and Evin were waiting for them, easier to just cut them off at the pass, so to speak, no one was sure, however, where they were going except Cord, Evin, and of course Vierco.

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Long John covered ground fast through the cramped spaces between the buildings and soon spotted the kids through a chain link fence. “I see them.” He reported into his radio. “Just give me a couple minutes to go around.” Long John backed away from the dead end ally and trotted like a horse down the block to the next intersection, the whole time he kept his eyes darting around looking for any sign of a set-up or a trap set by the mysterious accident artist. Mrs. Howard was proud of her azaleas that she kept out on the rail of her balcony on forty-first street. The afternoon sun crept through the alley just right to illuminate the posies as they sat in their clay pots soaking in the warm light. Mrs. Howard would be very angry later that evening when she came out to check the inner city garden only to find that right about this time a small shiny object, right about the size of a coin, had come tumbling off the roof of the building and managed to strike the flower pot on the edge of its rim, cracking the clay pot open like an egg and sending the soaking wet soil over the side of the rail and dumping it directly onto the head of poor sleeping Rosey, the cat who was snoozing quietly in the warm afternoon glow on the railing of the balcony below Mrs. Howard’s garden. Rosey, having been simultaneously rudely awakened and thoroughly wetted both of which things she didn’t exactly enjoy, leaped up claws grasping onto the bare chest of Mr. Lurnger who was, at least until just now, fast asleep in his lounge chair he kept on his balcony in the gentle and shady breeze. The anguished man yelped in surprise as he pushed back in his chair causing the footrest to come flying up and smack into the side of his little plastic table sending his ice tea rocketing upward and outward toward the building across the alley. Of

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course, it didn’t quite make it that far. A single ice cube, however, managed to be flung just far enough from the spinning glass as it fell toward the pavement to hit poor Mr. Toppers, who was up on a ladder just across the tight little alley fixing the downspout of the building next door. Mr. Toppers was on the unshaded side of the alley and was grunting and sweating as he worked to repair the rusty pipe. His response to the cube of ice as it struck him on the back of the neck and slid down his tucked in shirt was just instinctual as he jerked back suddenly sending the huge ladder off balance. Mr. Toppers panicked as the ladder came away from the wall and rocked back and forth on its heels. A moment later the severely top heavy ladder lifted up on its right heel, spun ninety degrees to the left and began to fall back into the alley. Poor Mr. Toppers seeing the pavement rushing up at him, pushed off the ladder and just managed to land in a nearby dumpster containing, quite luckily for him, several dozen huge bags of fruit that had been recently tossed out by the corner grocery behind which the dumpster sat. The trio of boys were passing by the south end of the alley and took no notice of the rather unlikely series of events that were taking place just a few yards away from them. They didn’t even bother to look as they walked by listening to Stevie Wonder still singing his latest on the radio, nor did they hear the scream of the cat, the curse from Mr. Lurnger, or the squish as Mr. Toppers landed in the fall breaking, although disgusting, dumpster of rotting foods. Long John also took no notice as he appeared at the north end of the alley barely a moment before Mr. Toppers hit the dumpster. He caught a glimpse of Erkki as he shifted to a full running stride down the alley. He of course failed to see that Mr. Toppers’ ladder, having landed upon the metal clothesline stretched across the alley and given further velocity by Mr.

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Toppers pushing off from it, was now spinning end over end like a huge pinwheel. He failed to see it at least until it swung down and met him coming the opposite direction at just about head height to a tall man... “Hey ya putz! What’s goin’ on with you?” Mace yelled into his walkie talkie as he stood by the road with one finger in his ear to block the traffic noise. There was no sign of the kids here where the tenements ended and the freeway closed in. He stood by the tracks that ran along parallel to the road separated from the old brick buildings by a rusty and broken chain link fence. It had been over 2 minutes since Long Johns voice had come over the radio and he answered neither Mace’s nor Jackie’s demands for information. Clearly something was wrong and Mace stood eyes wide searching for disaster all around him as he spoke into the radio. “Somebody dropped a piano on his head man, you know that don’t you?” Mace said soberly addressing Jackie. “Bullshit.” Came the reply. “Damn cheep radios probably broke that’s all. Don’t you freak out on me man. If they’re not at that end, try going around to…” the abrupt sound of static cut him off as Maces eyes opened even wider. “Yo!?” Mace yelled “What’s goin’ on? Hello? You still there?!” “Shut up man!” Came Jackie’s annoyed reply. “I see them. They’re up there where all the binks do skateboards and crap, at the run off canals by the bridge.” “What about Long John?” Mace asked. “I don’t know… I don’t see him.” “Alright.” Mace said with a sigh. “I’ll go get the car, you get the kids.” Mace lowered the radio and wiped his brow. He never did a kid before and with all this going on he wondered

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again if he wasn’t getting to old. Things weren’t the way they were when he started in this business anyway and maybe, just maybe, something was telling him it was time to get out. He started toward the fence when he spied a coin shining in the fading sunlight lying on the tracks. Some stupid bink that still doesn’t know the value of money probably left it there to get squished by the train. He walked over to it and grunted as he slowly bent to one knee to retrieve it from the track. All he heard was the roar of the freeway traffic to his right as he reached for the coin which then started to vibrate and shake. It only took him a moment to realize what was about to happen and he shifted his bulk as fast as he could. Erkki and Miguel had been friends as long as they could remember. Their families used to live across the street from each other in Marigold, the smaller city just next door. Miguel’s father lost his job, and his house, they had to move intermetro and take whatever work they could find. Erkki Lahja and his mother had also lost their home when his father died in an accident on the freeway four years ago. John Lahja was a truck driver and was forced off the road to try to avoid plowing into the side of a pickup truck full of drunk teens who had run a stop sign from a back road and thought they could make it across the highway without stopping for the massive eighteen-wheeler loaded with steel girders. They were wrong, and everyone died. Soon after, John's first wife sued for possession of their house, their car, and well… everything. His mother was in no condition to resist them so she did nothing. He stood and watched as the men came and took everything they owned, even Erkki’s clothes and toys and sent it all to be auctioned off at the courthouse. Erkki would never forget how Miguel found out and made his

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father drive him back the very next day to share half his clothes and meager selection of toys with his befallen friend. “Friend” was not nearly a strong enough word to express the relationship between these two boys, indeed not even “best friend” would do. They loved and looked out for each other like close brothers, yet still there were some things going on in his strange life he would not even tell Miguel. Sometimes he saw things other people, apparently, didn’t see. Sometimes he just knew things which he, apparently, wasn’t supposed to know. Sometimes he did things which he, apparently, shouldn’t be able to do. He didn’t trust Vierco and he came along on this trip just to keep an eye on Miguel. Erkki only wished someone was there to keep an eye out for him… “Mace?! Damn it somebody answer me!” Jackie demanded. “LJ? Mace? What the hell?! Where are you guys?” he asked the silent device from his position crouched around the corner from the makeshift skate park. All he heard was the maddening sound of an ice cream truck coming from somewhere over the hill. “Damn it!” he swore again as he tossed away the radio. “Alright you little bastards, playtime's over.” Jackie said as he reached into his jacket pocket and produced the silencer. He looked around again and snapped the device onto his gun, tucked it into his shoulder harness and made his way with grim determination along the sidewalk and up the hill toward the three boys standing over the concrete rail at the lip of the dry canal. Bobby was quite board with the baseball game, and when he heard the ring of the ice cream truck he desperately searched his pockets for change, but found only a nickel, not nearly enough for even a Popsicle. His attention had been

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waning for quite some time as none of these kids could hit the ball anyway, much less make it to his rather lonely position in right field. The sound of the ice cream truck music grew closer as he wished he had bummed a quarter off his old man before he left home. Bobby sat on his haunches and sighed lowering his head as yet another kid stepped up and struck out. Then it happened… If he wasn’t so hot and hungry for refreshment, he may have at least lingered for a moment or two in order to seek out the source of the mysterious shiny new quarter that just came rolling up and bounced to a stop at his shoe. Not wanting to question his luck, however, he simply dropped his glove, grabbed the coin, and ran in the direction of the ice cream siren song that played over and over in the neighborhood behind the park and across the dry overflow canal where the kids skate. No one expected Tommy Reice to actually hit the ball, much less line drive it into the outfield. What the other kids expected even less was to look over and find the right fielder had at some point deserted his post, and the little white ball screamed up the base line, unhindered, and out onto the sidewalk where it bounced hard off the back wheel of a push scooter. The scooter bumped forward and began to roll downhill, picking up speed as it traveled. Jackie began to close in on the kids as he fast walked up the hill. He took nothing for granted as he searched everywhere around him for trip wires or anything else that might be a trap. He stopped for a brief moment as he saw some kid come running across the sidewalk just ahead of him with something clutched in his hand. It turned out to be nothing though as the kid continued on toward the ice cream truck across the canal. ‘It’s just a kid you peezol!’ he thought. ‘Get a grip!’ He urged himself as he neared the

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three boys. He was almost upon them as they stood there with their backs to him just over the three foot high concrete wall. No one close by except the kids busy with a ballgame up the hill to his right and a bunch of kids on the side of the canal riding skate boards down the concrete sides into the dry river overflow area below. He reached into his shoulder harness and quietly drew his weapon. The boys all laughed as Ricardo stumbled off his board halfway down the side of the concrete hill unable to keep his balance as he rolled the rest of the way down. The boy just dusted himself off, inspected the new rip in his jeans and made his way back up the hill with his board. It was quite a long way down, maybe thirty yards or so, and very steep. He could make it down at least nine times out of ten without spilling off onto his head, but not this time. He faked a smile and limped back up the hill setting down his board as he reached into his pack for a bandage for his knee. “Are you really gonna try and roller skate down that?” he asked his fifteen year old friend as the boy laced up the right skate. “Hell yeah!” the boy exclaimed as he picked up the left skate. “Your gonna bust your ass, bro!” Ricardo said with a smile. “We’ll see. I’m gonna dominate this ramp man. I’m… Hey! My bike!” the youth yelled in horror as someone's push scooter suddenly collided with the row of bicycles set up by all the kids who were playing in the canal that afternoon. They began to topple over onto one another and several, including Ricardo's and his stunt performing friend’s, slid off down the hill bouncing end over end onto the concrete below. The youth lept up dropping the skate and

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ran after his bike as Ricardo followed after him. The single roller skate gently rolled downhill just nudging Ricardo’s skateboard before it drifted to a stop in the grass. The skateboard, however, continued rolling down the sidewalk. Vierco and his two young friends had stopped to watch the kids on their bikes and boards as they performed all manner of “neck-breaking” stunts in the “U” shaped concrete canal. Most kids walked at least halfway down before boarding up rather than risk a massive face dive at the bottom, but not every kid had that much sense. “We gotta go man, common.” Vierco said as he shielded his eyes against the light of the quickly lowering sun. “Huh? Why?” Erkki asked disappointed. “I thought we were gonna ride.” “We were, but there’s no time. I gotta do something and it’s real important, Ok?” Vierco told him looking over toward Cherry Road Bridge. “Like what?” Erkki asked still upset about not getting to ride boards as he was promised. “Just shut up freak boy, and follow me. I need you two as lookouts.” “Why us?” Miguel asked equally disappointed as he fingered the two skateboards he carried tied to a belt and slung over his back. “Because I couldn’t trust the other guys to keep their mouths shut about this, but you two I don’t have to trust, cause if you say anything to anyone about where we’re going tonight, I’ll beat your brains in with those boards, got it?” Vierco told them with a menacing glare as the two boys quickly nodded in agreement. “Good. Hey don’t worry

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about it guys.” He said softening his glare to a smile. “If you do good there’s five bucks in it for ya.” “Really?” the two boys said together almost on queue as they began to smile. “Yeah. All you gotta do is… What the Hell is going on over there?” Vierco asked as he squinted. For some reason several boys were chasing several riderless bicycles down the hill just up the sidewalk from them. The three boys walked away from the stubby concrete wall and trotted down the hill to see what was happening. Jackie paused for just a moment as he approached the low wall before him. They hadn’t seen him approaching as they talked among themselves. He looked all along the wall and to the left and right for anything that might cause him injury and saw nothing. ‘Your paranoid’ he thought to himself. ‘These bastards have made you paranoid. Just get the kids and head back. Mace and LJ are probably waiting by the car. We need to get these punks and fish Flash out of the hole so we can get out of here.’ He reholstered his gun, stood up strait, and ran for the low concrete wall. His plan was to grab up the little one with the white t-shirt then force the other two back down the hill at gun point toward the car. Suddenly they moved off. Had they seen him? No, they were still facing away looking at something over the hill. It didn’t matter now anyway, he had them. He put both hands on the top of the concrete rail and swung his body over the top a few yards behind them. He began to smile as he hit the ground, that is until he quickly realized he had landed on something far less stable than solid ground. His body froze in terror as he instantly found himself flying backward down the sidewalk on the errant skateboard which had come to rest

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just under the wall where he jumped. He then hit the curb sending him up and spinning him around with a horrified scream, out over the side of the canal. All the kids on the other side of the concrete structure turned to watch the incredible event as a full grown man in a suit suddenly burst out of nowhere yelling wildly and zipped down the steep stone grade at an unbelievable speed! “Holy crap! He’s gonna make it back up this side!” One boy yelled in amazement. “Oh no he’s not.” Another youth said as he looked at the huge storm grate in Jacky’s path at the bottom of the hill and began to cringe. Jackie screamed all the way down the huge concrete hill far too blinded by fear to see the three foot by three foot depression below, that is until the front of the board slammed down into it sending him rocketing off and across the bottom sliding on his face while the board itself flew out from under his feet and up into the air. Amazingly he was still conscious as he finally came to a bloody stop. “Hey mister!” cried one of the boys from atop the hill. “Nice landing Jackass!” he yelled as all the kids began to laugh themselves to tears. Angered beyond good sense, his body broken, and fully realizing what would happen to him when the “Fellas” up north realized he failed such a simple task, Jackie rolled over onto his side and pulled out his gun. He aimed at the only one of the three kids he could still see as they disappeared over the hill, the little white one in the white tshirt, and closed one eye as he began to squeeze the trigger. Jackie was an amazing shot. Even in his condition he would have likely landed the hit right between the boy’s ears, were it not, that is, for the blow on the back of his head dealt by

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the skateboard as it finally, and quite on queue, landed with a sickening thud.

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Dark King's Knight to White Pawn 6

Chapter 2

The sun was beginning to hang rather low and Erkki wasn’t exactly pleased to be in this part of town right now. Only junkies, winos, and other desperate people clung to this end of the city during the day. At night, well… he didn’t want to know. “What are you supposed to give them?” Erkki asked as he glanced nervously into the open doorway of the abandoned building they were passing by. “This.” Vierco said proudly as he produced the rolled up nine by twelve manila envelope from his back pocket. “What is it?” Miguel asked squinting as if he could see through the brown paper. “I don’t know.” Vierco replied frowning. “But whatever it is it’s real important, you dig? I gotta deliver it to this address on time or I…” he trailed off as he licked his lips and wiped his face. “…or I can’t go home... Ever.” He finished as he looked off into the distance. “Wow man, that’s rough.” Miguel whispered quietly. “Yeah well, you two dweebs just do your job and keep your eyes open... or nobody’s going home, you got me?” It didn’t take them long to find the old office building at the address indicated by Vierco’s instructions. There was a ’70 Plymouth Fury parked just in front with the driver's door hanging open and the glow of a light source could just

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barely be seen emitting from somewhere within. Vierco stepped up to knock at the door just as it flew open and a large man emerged and grabbed the boy by his collar. “Where’s the guy with the long hair?!” The huge ugly man yelled as he tugged on Vierco’s shirt. “Wh… Wha..?” Vierco stuttered. “Don’t screw around here boy.” Is he with you? Did he follow you? What do you know?” the man demanded. “I… There’s no one else here but us sir! I swear! I got two lookouts here to make sure no one followed us, just like Evin said!” the boy cried desperately pointing to Erkki and Miguel. The puggy faced man slowly craned his face toward the two boys as they stood somewhat shocked looking at him with their mouths half open. Then he looked back to Vierco and pressed his face in even closer. “These are your lookouts?” he asked in a low growling voice. “These two little punks? You gotta be kidding me. You better be kidding me.” He threatened. “Yes sir! I mean… No sir! I mean… There good sir! They really are! A lot of people use them! They know their stuff sir! They’re experienced lookouts, I swear! Best of all you can trust them to keep their mouths shut!” Vierco blurted out. If Erkki wasn't so scared right then he would have been downright proud of the words Vierco spoke. At the moment however both he and Miguel were quivering in their shoes. The big man released Vierco and stepped toward the boys who both took a step back from him prepared to sprint, five bucks or no five bucks. “Your going to tell me something I want to know. You binks got that?” he gestured to them with one fat finger as he hunched over toward them. The two boys quickly

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nodded an affirmative. “Did you, or did you not, at any point, see some guy running around here with no shirt and long black hair?” Erkki opened his mouth and choked a little before he finally managed to speak. “No Mister.” “And you?” he asked looking over to Miguel. “No Mister. No guy without a shirt. Nobody at all. We swear.” He answered bravely. “I told ya you were loosing it Cord.” Said a voice from within the shadowy building. Cord didn’t respond to him, he merely stood up strait and looked back to Vierco laying out his open palm. “The package.” Vierco reached back and pulled out the big rolled up envelope handing it with slightly shaking hands over to Cord Browning. Cord inspected it carefully, checking every fold of the paper for signs of tampering. Finally satisfied he pushed it into his own back pocket. “You did good kid.” He said without changing his expression. “Now get out of here.” “On my way sir.” Vierco said with tremendous relief as if he had just unclenched his bowels. The teen turned and quickly walked back the way he had come without another word as the boys turned to follow. Erkki felt a sudden pain as he was jerked backward by his ear. Cord had reached out and snatched him as he tried to turn away and he bent down and pulled the boy close to his sweaty face. “You saw nothing here tonight punks, got that? You weren’t even here.” He growled as he pulled him in even closer touching the child nose to nose as Erkki's eyes grew wide. “If I ever even suspect that you told anyone about…” Cord stopped short as he focused on the boy’s ear he had a

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hold of. He didn’t notice it under all that hair but now he could clearly see the child had tipped ears. He roughly brushed back Erkki’s dark bangs to look into his big blue teary eyes and pale face. He had only ever known of one other person with features like that. “Who are you?” he asked slowly glaring at him through his narrowed eyes, still clutching the boy’s ear. “Erk… Erkki sir!” he barely managed to cry out. “Erkki who?” Cord pressed. “Erkki Lahja!” He said through the pain on the verge of screaming. Cord’s eyes widened as he finally let go of the youth and stood up strait backing away from him. “Get out of here. MOVE!” he yelled so loudly he nearly knocked over the kids with his voice. The three kids energetically complied and ran off. “You know that kid Cord?” Lenny asked around his ever present cigarette. “No.” Cord answered flatly as he watched the boys run off around the corner. For a moment he just stood staring at the empty intersection as if lost in thought. “Let's get the hell outta here. I like this place about ninty percent less than I did five minuets ago.” “What was that all about Erkki?” Miguel asked him as they finally got clear of the flats. “It almost looked like he was a little bit afraid of you.” “Who knows?” the flushed boy replied still rubbing his sore ear. “He was crazy anyway. Where's our money Vierco? We gotta go it's getting really dark.” “Yeah yeah” Vierco replied annoyed. “Here, and like I said, nothing happened tonight, dig?” he insisted as he pushed the five dollar bill into Erkki's hand.

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“Where's mine?!” Miguel protested as the older boy began to walk off. “I said five bucks, not five bucks each, turd for brains. Deal with it.” Vierco said as he began to dodge his way across traffic. “Damn it! Hey man!” Miguel yelled defiantly. “Go to hell Vierco!” Vierco just flipped him the bird as he stepped onto the evening metro transit bus and rode away. “Forget it Miguel, lets just go. It's really dark and I don't like this part of town.” Erkki urged as he pocketed the cash to split up later. “So are we still on for tomorrow morning?” “You bet.” Miguel smiled as he looked back over to Erkki. “That jerk thinks he can cheat us? Just wait till he finds out we know about him and his friends wanting to clear out old lady Hennison's house. When they get in there and find all the good stuff already gone they're gonna be sooo pissed off!” “So... you still think we should?” Erkki asked hesitantly. “Hell yeah man, we already been over this. The woman died, she don't need her stuff anymore, and if we don't get there first, Vierco and his band of merry losers are gonna come and take it all anyway. Come on man, it's not like we get inside info everyday. No one will ever know.” Miguel assured him as the two boys made there way back home. The next morning found Erkki and Miguel up and out of the house well before dawn. The two kids got dressed, grabbed their “equipment”, and quietly snuck out through the kitchen door. Mrs. Hennison was an elderly lady who lived

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just down the block from Miguel's parents. Just two days ago she succumbed to heart failure in the hospital and never came back home. Now it was always rumored that Mrs. Hennison was secretly rich and kept all her money hidden in her house because she couldn't bring herself to trust the banks. Erkki and Miguel overheard Vierco planning with his teenage goon squad to break in and find it before the city came in and cleared out the house. The boys however were intent on finding it first. Vierco would just spend it on stupid stuff like pot and clothes anyways, while Erkki and Miguel had other plans for the possible horde. Flashlights in hand, the two kids made their way down the street and around the back of the creepy old Hennison house. As they crept quietly up to the back window they popped on their lights and searched through the glass for any sign of movement. As they suspected, the house was indeed still full of Mrs. Hennison's old things, untouched. The two looked at each other and smiled slyly as Miguel pushed the crowbar into the door jam and loosed the back door latch from the slot. With a soft groan the door opened revealing the way into the dark hall before them. Erkki moved nervously across the kitchen floor trying to decide were to begin the treasure hunt, when his foot struck something near the kitchen table. Before he could even look down, the creature leaped up with a startled yowl and clawed at his leg. Erkki dropped his flashlight and fell back on his hind end against the cupboard as he opened his mouth to scream. Barely a note escaped, however, as Miguel quickly slapped his hand around Erkki's mouth and shined his light on widow Hennison's angry cat which Erkki had awakened in the dark. After a moment Erkki began to breath again and giggled at Miguel as the other boy shook his head and giggled back at him.

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“You take upstairs, I'll take downstairs.” Miguel whispered as Erkki got to his feet. “...and watch out for the damn cats.” The boys split up and Erkki made his way up the creaky stairway. Old Mrs. Hennison never really talked to anyone. She stayed pretty much alone in her house and had groceries delivered every two weeks. Vierco was the delivery boy and probably the only person to ever see the inside of the old lady's house. She apparently told Vierco about her mistrust in the banking system and he saw the odd widow produce rolls of cash from somewhere within the house. He wasn't sure where though as she never let him leave the kitchen. Erkki carefully sifted through the drawers and dressers of the upstairs bedrooms without much luck. No money, nothing interesting at all really, just old dusty clothes and papers. After fifteen minutes of searching Erkki had decided to head down stairs to see if Miguel had found anything. He paused to open the last door at the back of the hallway first and peaked his flashlight inside. What he saw both confused and frightened him and he let the door creak open all the way as he passed through. The room was, until recently, a sewing room and all the unfinished afghans and sweaters lie pushed into a pile in the corner. There was an old table here now with pans of foul smelling chemicals and very old camera equipment, obviously cleaned up and recently used, lying strewn across the table. Above him and just within reach were clotheslines stretched across the length of the room with photographs dangling on plastic clips, about twenty in all, and each and every one of them were pictures of Erkki. He pulled them down one by one as he studied them under his flashlight. It would seem that every time he walked, ran, or skated past old Mrs. Hennison's house, she

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photographed him through one of her windows, but why? He pulled back his sleeve and dipped his hand into the fluid in the pan on the table to collect the twenty-first, and apparently last, of the series of pictures. He furrowed his brow in confusion attempting to make sense of the strange behavior as he began to carefully reinspect the photographs in the weak light. Miguel made his way back down the hall after finding nothing in the living room or dining room of the creepy old house. He wished he could just turn on the lights but he knew if someone saw that from outside, the jig would be up. There was no way he was going to let Vierco and his friends find that old lady's stash and piss it away. He and Erkki were going to find that money and Miguel's father would use it to put a down payment on a nice big house where Erkki and his mother could live with them so he could protect his friend forever. He was thinking of heading upstairs to check on Erkki's progress when a small glimmer caught his eye. He shone the flashlight up at the hall ceiling and the curious round object fastened to it. It was about a foot in diameter and maybe an inch deep, gray in color, and a small shinny trinket hung down from it's outer edge. Overcome with curiosity, the small boy quietly pulled a chair from the dining room and placed it under the strange object. He still had to stand up on his toes to reach the dangling metal scrap which hung there provocatively in the dim light. Erkki suddenly felt quite creeped out in the strange old lady's house and the nervousness he felt upon entering the home had just been heightened to an uncomfortable level. He quickly gathered up the pictures and shoved them in his pocket, he had no desire to leave anything behind that may connect him to Mrs. Hennison. He reentered the hallway and

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quietly pulled the door shut behind him with a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes for a moment to relax himself when suddenly his whole body tensed up with dread and he nearly dropped his flashlight as the sound of a horrifically loud alarm suddenly began to clang out from downstairs. “Miguel!” he cried to himself as he sprinted for the staircase. Erkki flew downstairs touching maybe three steps along the way and swung around the banister at the bottom where he caught sight of his friend standing on a chair in the hallway clutching something and staring upwards, still shocked, at a round plate-like object that was fixed to the ceiling and emitting the loudest and most horrible noise either boy had ever heard. “What did you do?!” Erkki yelled over the clang. “I just pulled out this thing!” Miguel yelled back helplessly eyes wide with terror. “Well... Put it back in!” Erkki screamed. Miguel nodded and stretched his chest and arms as far as he could to reach the hellish disk above them. He tried desperately to shove the small metal fob back into the clanging object which refused to accept it. “It wont go back in!” Miguel yelled with tears beginning to well in his eyes. “What?!” Erkki yelled back unable to understand his friend over the racket. “It.. Wont... Go... Back... In!” Miguel screamed again. “Well... turn it off!” Erkki screamed desperately. “How?!” Miguel screamed back struggling not to panic. “Push the button!” Erkki yelled cupping his hands around his mouth.

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Miguel studied the alien object for a moment desperately scanning for any sign of a switch, there was nothing. “There IS no button esse!” Erkki's mind flew into overdrive being as he was on the edge of panic. An instant later he had another idea. “Pull it down!” he yelled. “Pull the wires out of the ceiling!” Miguel nodded and stretched up again struggling to get a grip on the edge of the disk which was almost flush with the plaster. After a moment he found two spots where he could grab the evil thing. The lithe boy heaved and pulled to no avail, the object refused to give way to him. Finally he jumped off the chair, still grabbing the clanging disk, only to find whatever anchored it easily supported his weight as well. He hung there as he looked desperately to Erkki hoping for another idea. “Hold on tight!” Erkki yelled as he jumped up and grabbed his friend around the waste and began jerking as hard as he could. “Esse I can't hold on!” Miguel yelled straining not to lose his grip. “Esse! I can't...!” he began to shout just as the anchor finally broke free spilling both boys onto the floor with a loud crash. The disk hit the floor and bounced out of Miguel's hands. As it skipped across the room it let out several short clangs and knocks, finally smashing against the wall causing it to belt out one last off-key clang before it was at last silenced. Erkki and Miguel sat up and stared at it for a moment in shock, eyes wide and lungs burning as their chests heaved and the sound of clanging bells still rung in their ears. Miguel looked over at his friend as if he were just about to crack a smile when suddenly the mad object knocked and banged then resumed clanging. Apparently, it wasn't running

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off the electricity and now that it was free from mildly muffling plaster of the ceiling of old lady Hennison's house, it emitted a clamor that was twice as loud as before! The boy's eyes flew open wide and they gaped in horror as they watched the unholy thing jump about. Two seconds later the glare of flashlights appeared in the front windows and the flash of blue and red lights swirled about the room. The kids turned to look at each other in complete panic and screamed as they dropped their own lights on the floor and bolted heedlessly through the dark house, into the kitchen, and out the back door.

"You ignorant retarded boneheads!" Vierco blasted at the boys as they sat on the couch side by side with their arms crossed watching him. "You morons! You dimple dick, lugfor-brains, scramble minded..." "OK! We get it Vierco! Damn!" Miguel blasted back at him. "We messed up, OK? Now just let it go!" "Let it go?" Vierco returned. "Let it go?! You think it's that easy? Do you know what they'll do to you, to me, if they find out if was my idiot little brother and his freaky friend who got the Hennison house put under watch? I'll tell you how it'll go. They'll kick me out and beat us both half to death. Then they'll pass him around like a joint till they get tired of him and cut his little throat!" the angry teen yelled pointing to Erkki. "Nobody knows who it was Vierco." Miguel stated calmly, "Now just relax and quit scaring Erkki." "Damn it Migueles, I really wanted in on that job. There was a lot of money in that house." "We didn't find any money." Miguel argued.

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"No you didn't happen to find the stash, but you sure as hell found that old wind up heat detector didn't you?! You still haven't told me why in the hell you climbed up and pulled the pin out of the fire alarm!" "Man, we didn't know what it was! I never seen no fire bell that looked like that! I thought she might have put the money in it so... I pulled out this thing... You know, to see if it opened it." Miguel said with an embarrassed grin has he held up the tiny metal pin with the shiny bit dangling off of it. "Oh it opened it alright." Vierco frowned. "The whole neighborhood heard the son-of-a-bitch open up! You punks are just lucky the street light behind that house is busted, otherwise you two would have been for sure." "I gotta go to the bathroom. You can bitch more when I get back." Erkki mumbled angrily as he climbed off the couch. "Yeah fine." Vierco muttered back at him. "Oh, and while your in there clean your self up. The guy from Child Services was here yesterday to pick your worthless, skinny white butt up, but you were with me and he couldn't find you, so he's coming today." "What?!" Erkki spun back toward Vierco. "Why?! Where's my mom?" "I don't know, and honestly I don't care. You freak me out and I've had enough of you anyway." "That's enough Vierco! You yell at him again and I'll punch you in the mouth." Miguel said to his brother's face as he stood up on the couch meeting the much larger boy eye to eye. "I'm going to wait a few years for your balls drop to respond to that one little brother, but you can count on it I

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will." Vierco stated in a flat voice as he walked off to rummage for breakfast. Erkki was stunned. Why is CS after him again? The man who took his mother off in the car said she would be alright and everything would get straitened out. 'I'm not going back there.' He told himself. 'I'm never going back to that horrible group home with those people. No, I wont. No.' Erkki ran toward the bathroom and slammed the door behind him, bolting it shut. Without bothering with his trousers, he walked over to the commode, sat down, and began to cry. "Why?" he said softly to himself over and over trying to make sense of his life. "Why can't they just leave me alone? Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't I just go home like every other kid? Why am I not allowed to be happy, ever? Why does....?" "Because your not like every other kid Erkki." said a strange man's voice in an unfamiliar thick Jersey accent. "Huh?" Erkki gasped as he picked his head up out of his lap and saw a strange man in a deep blue suit trimmed with dark purple leaning on the edge of the sink watching him. He didn't hear anyone come in, and as his eyes shot over to the door he could see it was still locked from the inside. "Are you CS?" Erkki asked as he wiped the tears from his blushed face with the back of his hand and slowly began to inch his way over to the window. "I'm not going back there mister. I won't go back there." he told the stranger as he thrust out his little jaw in a gesture of defiance. "Relax kid." The stranger soothed as he pulled a cigarette out of the black box he carried in his velvet coat and lit it with a shiny new zippo he produced from his vest

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pocket. "I ain't from no child services. I ain't gonna take yous away nowhere you don't wanna go. I just wanna talk to you for a minute. You got a minute? You look like you got a minute. Sit down, lets talk." "I think I'd rather stand mister." Erkki said nervously studying the man carefully. There was definitely something wrong with him. Aside from the fact that he somehow just walked in to a locked room, he gave Erkki the impression of being "hollow". Erkki couldn't tell he was really there. He could see him and hear him, but something was missing from this man, that something that only Erkki could feel in other people. Hopes, dreams, fears, desires, whatever they have going on in their lives all bundled up into what Erkki could only call a "presence". Erkki could feel other people's presence. To him it had weight and depth, and sometimes even color. It's a part of who people are, and it's what Erkki uses to guide himself through his confusing life, but this man... He was just... hollow. "Who are you?" Erkki asked sniffling away the last of his tears. The man looked to be about fiftyish maybe, with graying and thinning short hair tightly combed back against his scalp. He leaned casually against the sink with his legs crossed and his dark purple loafers braced against the bathtub. His French cuffs were visible as he held his cigarette up to his thin lips and Erkki could see they were attached with jeweled links. The man smiled at Erkki as he exhaled and shifted his weight to his other foot. "I represent a certain group of individuals who want to be in the business of making you happy. That's what you want isn't it? To be happy? Yeah?" Erkki just nodded affirmatively at the man as he had no idea what to say.

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"Good.", he stated apparently satisfied. "Erkki, it's within our ability to make the bad people go away, get me?" he asked as Erkki again nodded at him. "Good. We can, in fact, make it so you and your little friend out there, and your lovely mother of course, can all just settle down together and not have to worry about another thing." "How?" Erkki asked cautiously. "All you have to do, kiddo, is put yourself in our hands. Just allow us to handle it.", the stranger responded spreading his arms out in an it's just that easy gesture. "But... Why?" Erkki pressed still quite weary of the "Hollow" man. "You said I'm not like other kids. So what's so special about me?" "Well uh...", the man hesitated licking his lips and crossing his arms in a thoughtful gesture. "Ya see, the thing is I can't really tell yous that, per-say. It's kinda against da rules, see? Besides that, it would really tick off my boss, get me? I mean, you gotta understand, my boss ain't exactly a pitcher o' sweet pink lemonade even on a good day, know what I mean? Heh!", he laughed and gestured to the boy with his cigarette. Erkki only stared at him blankly and shook his head no. "Eh, yeah, of course you don't know nuttin, heh, but that's OK. It ain't important. Here's what you need to know boy-o, so listen up good. If you think you have it bad now you don't know what bad is, you dig? See, I'm like a genie who can see into the future, your future, and let me tell you somethin', it ain't good. You like to suffer kid?" he asked with a serious look as he took a draw from his half finished cigarette. Erkki shook his head no and backed away from the stranger a little more.

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"Of course not. Nobody likes dat. When I look at you kid, at your future, know what I see? Suffering, that's what I see. A truck load of it. Ah... If only there was a way to change that. If only there was a way to turn things around and have a happy future. If only... Oh wait!" the man raised his hands in mock surprise. "I just happen to know some people who can do dat very thing! So what do ya say kid? Are we in business?" the stranger asked as he thrust out his hand expectantly toward Erkki. Erkki looked at the man's hand. He wanted nothing more in his life right now but to be able to believe this hollow man could help him, to believe he could just magically fix all of Erkki's problems and make the bad things just "go away", but Erkki's deeper vision had reveled to him the "hollowness" of this man and he feared that. Also Erkki had learned the hard way that adults lie, they all lie, and even though the emptiness of this man's heart meant he couldn't see the lie here, he knew it was there... it must be. The stranger looked genuinely disappointed as Erkki shook his head in refusal and backed away against the rear wall of the bathroom. He gave a sigh as he puffed away on the last half inch of his cigarette "Look, you don't have to make any brash decisions right now, OK?" he began smiling again. "Take your time. Think it over. Listen to me kiddo... No matter what they say to you, you do not have to suffer." he told him as he stepped away from the sink and reached into his jacket pocket. "Look, tell ya what. I like you kid, and I got a present for ya, from me to you, no commitment and no strings attached, get me? Take this and do whatever you want with it." The man told him as he produced a crisp, new, neatly folded one hundred dollar bill and held it out to Erkki between his forefingers. Erkki stared at the money in astonishment. He had never seen a bill that large and slowly

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he began to reach for it. He stopped short of grasping it, however, as he suddenly feared the man might try to grab him. "Ha!" the man laughed out in amusement as if he could read Erkki's mind. "How 'bout if just set it down right here, eh?" he suggested as he reached over and placed the bill on the toilet lid. As the man moved away, Erkki stepped over and picked up the cash gently unfolding it hardly believing it was real. Wrapped in the bill was a small paper business card, which bore the picture of the man before him in a smiling portfolio pose. Under that was the name "Sam Yaza" and the title "Executive Board Representative" "Have fun kid, like I said no strings. That's my card there, make sure you keep that close to yous, and if you should think it over and decide to change your mind all you gotta do is give me a call, OK?", he said as he finished his cigarette at last, dropping it to the bathroom floor and crushing it with his loafer. Erkki looked at the card closely then turned it over to see the back was blank. "There's no phone number." he said still studying the card. A cold, deep grinding voice whispered softly to him from what sounded like nowhere, “You won't need a phone.” "Huh?" Erkki asked in confusion as he looked up to discover he was alone. "Erkki! Open the door!" yelled a voice from the other room. It was Miguel's Papa, Jack. The boy shook his head to clear his thoughts. Had it been a dream? Did he fall asleep in here? The fact that he still held the Hollow Man's card in one hand and the cash in the other told him no, definitely not a dream. He quickly shoved both items into his pockets and unbolted the door.

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"Erkki what the Hell?" Jack demanded as the door swung open. "What? What's wrong?" he asked innocently raising his eyebrows and looking around for the problem. "What's wrong?!" Vierco gaped at him in disbelief. "Dude you were in there for hours chattering on and on in some crazy language. We thought you swallowed pills or something." "What?" Erkki said scratching his head. "I was only in there for less than five minutes. Your all nuts." "We're nuts?!" Vierco said astonished. "Dude you seriously need help man." "Just move OK? I need to go outside and talk to Miguel.", he said pushing his way out of the bathroom. He was starting to feel afraid now. Were they right? Was he really in there that long? No. He couldn't have been. They must be going crazy. Erkki remembered every moment in there. He remembered the whole discussion with the... with the man who wasn't there. As he headed out the front door, he paused a moment to look at the clock. It was noon. How is that possible? He and Miguel left at 4:AM to attend their failed heist. By six-o'clock Vierco had woken up and figured out what had happened then spent an hour yelling at them. At seven sharp, only a few minutes ago, Erkki went into the bathroom to cry. "Oh my God. Maybe I am going crazy." he said softly to himself as he exited the house. "Erkki!" Miguel yelled with a big smile as he came running up to hug his friend. "Thank God your OK! Man, I didn't know what to do when you locked yourself in there and flipped out. After a while I just couldn't listen to it anymore. I had to get away and... Erkki? You are OK aren't you?", the boy asked, eyes bursting with genuine concern.

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Erkki broke a wide toothy smile as he reached into his pocket and produced the fresh one hundred dollar bill the Hollow Man had given him as a gift. "Does this answer your question?" ********** The characteristic knock at the door told Cord Browning the information he was waiting for had just arrived. "Common in Lenny." he said looking up from the pile of daily reports. The door slipped open and in stepped the deputy. He looked around briefly before he closed the door to the Sheriffs office, then he closed the blinds and lit up a cigarette. "Well?" asked Cord as he leaned back in his chair. "It's all taken care of. Ernesto and Fred are out of business. They left town this morning when our man gave them the news that we have the tape and that retirement is their only acceptable option." "mhmm." he muttered chewing on his pencil. "...and George Redman?" "Going down for murder one for certain at 7:PM tonight. They have way more evidence than they need." Lenny responded with a smokey sigh. "That's a shame.", Cord said matter of factly. "Hate to see a good man like that go down in flames. I wish it was some other dirt bag taking the rap." "Yeah well..." Lenny started as he trailed off. "When's the hand off?", Cord pressed trying to change the subject. "7:15 right after they see the trial." "Of course.", Cord said then thought for a long moment. "Same place as always?"

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Lenny pulled out his cigarette and looked over the desk at sheriff Browning. "Unless you have a reason to go somewhere else with it.", he said giving Cord a curious look. "Nah." he began as he scratched his pock marked cheek. "Just got a nag in my gut about that place." "They don't like sudden changes of plans Cord." Lenny warned still staring at the Sheriff. "Yeah... I know. Never mind it. I'll pull it out of the safe and meet you guys out there around seven. Thank God this business is almost over with. Once the new Boys move in we can just sit back and get paid." Cord said pouring two shots of whiskey from his flask into the glasses on his desk. "I hear that. Cheers?" Lenny urged raising his glass. "Heh, cheers." Cord returned as the two men clinked the shot glasses. Cord Browning sat alone at his desk just staring at his empty glass for several minutes after his deputy left. He lifted his flask and began to tip it toward his glass but stopped, again lost in thought. After a moments more pause, he sat the flask down and looked across his desk at the filing cabinets on the other side of the room. With a low sigh, he pushed himself out of the chair and walked across the creaky floor. Pulling open one of the long drawers stuffed with manila folders and various papers, his fingers worked and sorted across the tops until a particular folder caught his eye. Lifting the binder free of the mass of paper in the cabinet, he turned it over and read the tab to himself. “Lahja.” The large man walked around to his seat dropping the folder onto the desktop. He sighed again as he sat back down and heard the cry of protest from the old chair. He sat staring at the aging paper folder for a long moment before he picked it up and unfolded the cover.

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'Why did I do it?' he asked thoughtfully of himself. 'What was it about that bastard that made me do this?' Thumbing gently through the papers he lifted out an old newspaper article dated April 1963 “Local Tragedy as Family Suffers Loss Due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome”. Cord slowly read over the article till he reached the line which read “Local Investigator and Judge consider the case closed.” He stopped there and looked at the old faded and blurry black and white photo of the family, focusing especially on the man in the back. Even in this colorless and dull picture he could still see those unblinking ice cold blue eyes staring back at him. “Well...” he said to himself as he reached for his flask not taking his eyes off the photo. “Looks like you got what you wanted after all, didn't you old man?” he spoke addressing the image before him as he tilted the container into his glass. Setting the bottle down, he slid his hand across the desk till be bumped his cup and blindly picked it up bringing it to his lips. He began to gag as the strange taste violently caught his attention away from the article. Making a sour face he spit out the liquid onto the floor and his beady eyes narrowed as he saw the blood splatter before him. He turned his head around to spy the shot glass was half full of the thick red substance and he became sick as he continued to spit and gag. Vince pulled away from the curb in front of the Sanchez house. The boys were gone again. He was really left with little choice now but to track him down and pick him up off the street. Erkki was afraid to be picked up and wouldn't wait around to go quietly. Mr. Sanchez told him Erkki had some sort of “episode” in the bathroom when he

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found out Vince was coming where he locked himself in and started speaking in gibberish. That's really not a good sign. Last he was in the system he was considered level headed at least. Now it appears the psychological damage is starting to show through. He made a note to himself to set up an evaluation once the boy was settled in at the group home. There was no word left at home where the boys were going, or for how long. Just that they left in a big hurry on their bikes toward downtown. Nothing much he could do but drive around and show the picture to other kids till he got a lead. First thing he had to do, however much he hated to, was stop in at the police station and put the kid on watch notice. If the cops spotted him by his description they would hold him till Vince got there. Not a great way to get the job done, but he had to do it. He parked behind the municipal building and made his way in to the the reception desk. “Can I help you sir?” the officer asked him barely looking up from his desk. “Yeah, I'm Vince from Child Services, I called earlier. I need to file notice for an Apprehend and Hold Order for a CS case.” “Name?” the man asked absentmindedly shuffling papers. “Vincent Behar” he responded The cop at the desk stopped shuffling papers and looked up giving Vince an irritated look. “Not your name sir, the kid's name...” “Ah, Oh Uhm, heh, Lahja. Erkki Lahja.” he stuttered out embarrassed. “What is the nature of...” the pencil pusher behind the clerks desk began as he was suddenly cut off by the voice of Cord Browning.

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“I'll uh, take it from here Eric. Why don't you take five and let me and... Vincent is it? Vincent, write this one up.” “Whatever.” was Eric's response as he grabbed his mug and headed toward the coffee machine. “Common back to my office so we can sit down and fill this out.” Cord offered as he opened the bullet proof glass door leading into the police station's interior. “That's very nice of you Sheriff, but I really just need to drop this off and get back on the street. You see, I need to...” he began to explain as Cord cut him off. “I really think you should come in and talk to me Mr. Behar. Let's go.” the big man insisted nodding his head toward his office. “Fine.” Vince answered with a sigh. 'What's with this guy?' He asked himself. 'What's with the attitude in this place today?' he wondered as he walked into the Sheriff's office and sat down across the desk from the officer's chair. Cord slowly began to close the door only taking his eyes off the social worker for a moment to glance around and see if anyone outside the office was watching. He rolled shut the blinds on the two windows of the office before slowly crossing the floor toward his chair while stroking the back of his neck. “So... what's this about exactly?” he asked as he sat down and relaxed back in his chair folding his fingers across his fat belly. “As I was telling the guy out front, I need to file an Apprehend and Hold Order on this boy.” he told Cord handing him a three by five portrait photo of Erkki. “His name is Erkki Lahja and he's supposed to be in the custody of the Office of Child Services.”

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“What for?” Browning asked staring at the photograph. “I'm sorry officer, but I really don't think that's any of your business. He's supposed to be in my custody on route to St. Josephs Home for Boys, but he won't wait for me and standard procedure with your department is to file this order so your men can keep an eye out for him.” “mhmm.” was Cord's only response. “Here's your copy of the paperwork.” Vince said handing the sheet to Browning who still remained intently staring at the photo. “So are we done here?” “Uh... yeah. Yeah we're done here Mr. Behar. Get someone to let you out up front OK?” Cord told him while lost in his own train of thought. There they were. Those same unblinking ice cold blue eyes that stared back at him from the image. “Can I have my picture back, sir?” Vince insisted as he held out his hand. “Yeah, sure. Here ya go.” he said handing the print over to Vince still staring at the spot where the image was a moment ago. “Uh... thanks. I'll just be... on my way then.” he said as he stood up giving Cord a sideways look. With one last look back at the still frozen and obviously disturbed man at the desk, he left the office and closed the door behind him. Cord sat still a few minutes longer after the door went closed. With a shrug and a shutter he picked up the report Vince left on his desk and looked it over. The next moment he unceremoniously balled it up and dropped it in the trash can beside his desk.

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The little bell rung as the two boys opened the door of the diner and slothed outside holding their bellies. They groaned as they slowly climbed down the short staircase holding on to the railing as if they might topple over. “Oh my god Erkki.” Miguel whined as he stepped onto the sidewalk. “One more french fry, and I'm gonna pop!” he said in mock-agony. “mmm...” Erkki moaned in agreement, then he stopped and looked over at his friend with a huge smile. “Ice-cream?” Miguel giggled still holding his gut. “Ice-cream.” Summertime by Mungo Jerry was playing on the speakers of the big ice cream truck by the park as Erkki and Miguel walked away bearing armloads of Popsicles, Pushups and Drumsticks. More than either boy could possibly hope to eat, but in the sparkling early afternoon sunshine of that hot, beautiful 1975 summer day they were determined to try. Leaving only the wrappers behind as proof of their deeds, the two friends chased down the soda vendor as he pushed his cart along the downtown sidewalk. The boys emptied their cold drinks quickly which began a heated belching competition. As always, the goal was to recite as much of the alphabet as you could with one long unbroken belch. Normally you only get a couple good tries before the soda-pop is gone, but not today. No, today they were free to try for as long as their tiny bloated stomachs could stand it. “Two more Bobby!” Erkki ordered from the mildly amused cart vendor. “No more grape though. I can't take any more grape man.” Miguel laughed “Ever again.” “Strawberries Bobby!” Erkki demanded.

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“Whatever you say Rockefeller.” the vendor smirked as he handed over the glass bottles to the boys sitting on the curb in front of the cart. Erkki made it to the letter “K” in the alphabet and it looked like he might go all the way, until suddenly his eyes bulged and he put his hands over his mouth. He jumped up and leaned over the guard rail as he vomited most of the soda out onto the walkway below with a sickening splash. Miguel laid back on the sidewalk and rolled with laughter. “I guess I win Erkki! I told you you were drinkin' it too fast man! You gotta...” he said as his own eyes also began to bulge and he jumped up and ran for the rail to puke as Erkki wiped his mouth and laughed at him holding his belly trying not to get sick again. “Hey! What the Frick?! You little bastards! Just wait til I get my hands on you!” came the cry of protest from the business man who had the severe misfortune of clearing the edge of the bridge on the lower walkway at just the wrong moment. The two kids looked at each other and screamed just before they turned and ran across the street and down the ally. After a few blocks Miguel began to fall back holding his stomach. “Erkki...” he struggled to say as he huffed and puffed. “Erkki wait... I... I can't run no more man!” he told the boy as he laughed and gasped for breath. “We're OK here man. He's not going to find us now.” Miguel plopped down beside the dumpster and leaned against the wall puffing and giggling as Erkki joined him. The kids relaxed and began to cool down in the shade of the tall buildings. A moment later both Erkki and Miguel grew very uncomfortable looks across their faces and looked up knowing what had to be done, and fast.

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As they stood there on either side of the dumpster with their pants unfastened facing the wall, a feeling of relief finally drew over them and both kids began to feel much better. “How much money is left Erkki?” the boy asked still relieving himself against the wall. “Um...” Erkki responded still holding himself with one hand and scrounging in his back pocket with the other. He pulled out the roll of money and looked over it carefully. “Eighty Seven Dollars.” Miguel rolled back his head and groaned. “Man... This is hard.” “Yeah.” Erkki agreed. “I didn't think it would be so hard to spend a hundred bucks. Are you sure we should do this?” he asked looking over the dumpster lid to Miguel who stood on the other side finally fastening his zipper. “It's not enough to buy a house, and you know what will happen if my brother finds out we have money. All we can do is spend it, and we can't buy anything cool, cuz Vierco will just take it.” “Yeah.” Erkki answered as he shook out the last of the stream and rebuckled his pants. “Well, I guess we should get busy!” he said with his characteristic big grin. “Back to work!” Miguel laughed. The loud droning buzz echoed down the street as Erkki and Miguel peddled as fast as they could on their bikes. They wouldn't dare buy new ones but the ripped up and duck tape patched seats had been replaced with brand new bright yellow bananas, while the handle grips flickered with fresh plastic streamers. The noise came from the new baseball cards pined to the spokes which made the bikes purr along down the street as the boys dragged their new kites along behind them.

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Later the boys relaxed in the sun at the pond in the city park. They had their same old bamboo poles, but they attached fresh, expensive, store bought bait to the hooks and had the best fishing either of them had ever had in their lives, at least for as long as they could sit still and enjoy it. It was a bit past four o'clock and the two boys walked along the lane shoving cotton candy into their faces as Miguel spotted something across the lane. He grabbed Erkki's shoulder and turned him around as he pointed with excitement toward the people by the fountains. The kids looked at each other with big smiles and dropped the fluffy pink sugar behind them as they ran. “How much you two want?” asked the shaggy man in old clothes by the fountain. “I got it all man. Pot, LSD, acid... Just tell me what you need and if I don't have it, I can get it in less than an hour.” “Excuse me, can we get through here please.” Miguel said as he pushed between the shaggy man and the two guys he was talking to, in order to reach the balloon man who was just behind them busily filling the colorful latex with helium. Moments later they were walking away with over two dozen huge floating balloons, three of every color the man had. Off they went then, back out into the sunshine. Happier than either boy could ever remember, or ever would be again.

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White Pawn to Dark King's Rook 2

Chapter 3 Erkki and Miguel made their way down the street toward the abandoned shop the local kids used as a hang out. The two of them decided Erkki could just stay there until they could determine where Erkki's mother was and get him back to her. It wasn't that he wanted to leave Miguel's house and go back home, but CS was hunting him now, and Jack would turn him over for his own good as he would say. Erkki was tired of people doing things for his own good. Every time something was for his own good, it wound up hurting him. As they walked along Erkki reached into his left back pocket and pulled out the pile of photos he had snatched from the Hennison house. He actually wanted to count how much money was left (which was in his right back pocket) and realized he had completely forgotten he was carrying the pictures. “What's that?” Miguel asked looking over at the bundle. “Oh, I don't know. I found these upstairs in the old house just before you... you know, woke up half the neighborhood.” “Yeah, Yeah.” Miguel looked away frowning for a moment. “Let me see.” he asked as Erkki handed him the pictures. “Weird huh?” Erkki asked “Why would she take all these pictures of me?”

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“I think the question is if she was gunna take pictures, why didn't she take pictures of the cute one of us.” Miguel responded smiling as Erkki laughed and pushed him. “Hmm...” Miguel said as he stopped suddenly and held a photo up at an angle to the light. “What is that?” “Huh? What is what?” Erkki asked turning the paper so he could see it. “That.” Miguel said pointing to a white translucent blob that appeared to be following along just behind him in the photo. “I don't know, glare? It's was really old looking equipment she took these with. The paper is probably older than we are and didn't develop right.” Erkki said shrugging. “Wait a minute man... They're in all these pictures.” Miguel reported as he knelt down and placed the photographs out on the ground in a grid. Sure enough they were. Just a glance at each one could easily miss the oddity, but when they were laid out and carefully inspected they could see every image of Erkki showed him with one or two, and in one picture three, ghostly forms trailing behind him. The two boys looked at one another and suddenly felt a little cold. “What does it mean?” Erkki asked. “I don't really know. I mean... what could it mean anyway?” There was no answer. For the time being, Erkki gathered up the pictures and replaced them into his hip pocket. The clubhouse was just ahead and the boys decided they were too tired to spend anymore money today. More than half the wad still remained and they talked over plans of what to do tomorrow as they approached the back door with the broken lock. They heard sounds of sobbing from inside

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and saw several boys sitting around on the broken furniture as they opened up the door. Most of the gang was well known to them, at least to Miguel who had lived in this area for a while now. These were the kids he hung out with when Erkki was back home in Marigold. The sobbing boy was named Chris, Chris Redman. Miguel heard his papa had been arrested over a month ago but he didn't know why. The other kids were trying their best to comfort the child, but he was quite upset. “Why my dad?” he cried out. “My dad didn't kill anyone! My dad never hurt anybody!” “What's up?” Miguel nodded to Sam Iller, his school chum and block neighbor. “The judge is putting his papa away tonight for killing a guy. Hard time. It's crap and everybody knows it. Chris' papa is a really nice guy, I don't care what they have on him. It's just... It's just all wrong man.” Sam told him scratching his chin. “Grown-ups are so damn stupid.” Erkki said moving up behind Sam's other shoulder. Sam Iller was bigger than the other boys, mainly because he had started school late and was left back in third grade and had to repeat it. He was no dummy, by any definition. In fact he was a bit of a boy engineer. Sam could turn junk that no one wanted into the most amazing (albeit often useless) contraptions anyone had ever seen. His passion was his downfall though, as he was far more interested in disassembling and building machines than he was in memorizing obvious facts and obscure dates then spitting them back out to the teachers. That seemed to be all that really mattered to grown-ups. Sam was the brightest kid Erkki ever knew. He could create things that would confound and leave you scratching your head about how they

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could possibly work, but in this world adults measured you up solely on the basis of what was essentially trivia. “They just won't listen to anybody.” piped Harry Oslo “They made up their minds the day they dragged him off and their not about to hear anything they don't want to hear.” Harry “coke bottles” Oslo, or sometimes called Harry “O-soslow” was a chubby kid with ridiculously poor eyesight. He wore glasses so thick that they made his eyes appear to bulge out at you. The wondrous thing about Harry though, was that he was indisputably the best, most dead-eye shot in the neighborhood with a BB, pellet, or dart gun. Even though Harry was known to quite literally walk into the side of a barn, he could bag a moving pigeon from fifty yards without even aiming. To either side of Chris Redman patting his shoulders in an attempt to comfort their friend sat Rob and Bob Folger. Rob and Bob, or Robob as they were known, were blond, green eyed, fair skinned identical twins. They were the stereotypical “spooky” twins, who rarely played with anyone but each other, spoke their own odd language and wrote in private code. It was said one twin knew what the other was about to think before he even thought it up. They moved like a flock of birds, always turning the same direction at the same instant, and often spoke the same sentence over top of one another. They were only separated once, when some grown-up head doctor decided for himself it would be best to send Robob to different schools for there own good... Of course the poor boys almost suffered a simultaneous nervous breakdown from the separation and eventually it was decided to let them stay together. The rest of the group, Jay Greer, Kik Jackson, Larry Mitchel, and Hube Turner all sat on the floor around Chris and waved to Erkki and Miguel as they moved into the room.

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“I mean...” Chris continued through his sobbing “My da didn't even know Mr. Stricoli! He just happened to work in the next office over!” Miguel froze in his tracks leaving Erkki to walk on ahead of him. The boy blinked several times looking off into space then bit his bottom lip as if trying to stop himself from talking. After another moments pause Miguel spoke. “Did you say... Stricoli?” He asked nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other and back again. “Yeah.” the child sniffled. “Why?” “Oh man. Erkki can I see you for a second.” Miguel asked him clearly burdened with something. The two boys moved off to a corner of the room and Erkki narrowed his eyes at Miguel aware that the boy had become very uncertain and a bit afraid. As he spoke he brought his lips close to Erkki's tipped ear while still looking at the gang of boys in the center of the room. “Erkki man, I think we messed up.” he said with words thick with regret and fear. “What? Why?” the boy answered softly. “OK like... I don't talk about it but Vierco talks in his sleep. You can't hear it out on the sofa, but I hear it cuz we sleep in the same room. That envelope from yesterday, it had a tape in it. Vierco couldn't help himself, he steamed open the package and listened to it. It was some mob guy named Ernesto ordering a hit on some other guy named Stricoli!” he told him nervously. “What?! Why didn't you tell me?” Erkki asked a little hurt his friend had withheld this information. “Cuz I... Well... I was afraid if you knew you would try to, you know... get all involved.” “Involved!” Erkki pressed with surprise. “Miguel you have to tell him!” he said pointing to Chris.

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“Wait! There's more.” Miguel said still trying to bite his bottom lip. “That man we gave the tape to... he was a cop Erkki. A bad cop. And he's supposed to hand it off to some other guys tonight.” “Miguel! We have to tell. We can prove his papa was framed!” Erkki said in a hoarse whisper. “No Erkki! Please. I'm only telling you cuz... well... even if I don't you'll know I'm hiding it. You always know when people try to hide stuff, but I... I'm afraid Erkki. What if we get in trouble.” he said as his soft voice tightened. “It's gonna be OK Miguel, I promise.” Erkki told him gently laying his hand on Miguel's chest. There was something about that gesture that suddenly calmed Miguel. He was still afraid, but no longer uncertain. It was as if the other boy had flushed his soul with strength. No one had ever done that before. With one small motion Erkki cleared his mind and filled his heart with new courage. He reached up and touched Erkki's hand which felt warm and hummed with an odd vibration as if it were charged with electricity. He looked into Erkki's supernaturally deep and bright blue eyes and he knew what he had to do. ********** “Where's the boy Vince?” asked Ben's voice on the other end of the receiver at the street corner booth. “I'm working on it man. They left out like a minute before I pulled up and I've been all over the city.” the exasperated Vincent told him. “Did you file an A&H Order?” Ben pressed. “Yeah I did. Some big ugly guy with beady eyes took it. Looked like someone attacked his face with sandpaper.” Vince recalled. “Weird guy. I thought he was gonna take the photo with him into the bathroom or something.”

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“You mean Browning?” Ben asked sounding surprised. “Browning?” Vince looked up suddenly shocked. “That was Cord Browning? The guy from the SIDS bullshit story?! Son-of-a-bitch!” “Relax man. I told you to let that go. So I take it you didn't make a jackass of yourself in there?” “No. I didn't, but now that I know who the guy is you can bet I will next time I see him.” “Just get the kid Vince, OK? We'll discuss this after you drop him off.” “Yeah, fine.” Vince responded feeling unsatisfied. “By the way Ben, why did he bite you?” “To get away from me.” Ben answered. “OK, so why did he suddenly decide he had to get away? What did you do to deserve that?” Vince pressed “I lied to him Vincent. I told him one thing and planned to do another, and he knew.” Ben said slightly flustered. “What do you mean he knew?” Vince continued still confused. “I mean he knew, man. The moment I said it he knew I lied to him, and what's more I knew that he knew.” Ben told him trying to speak softly. “What the Hell are you talking about Ben?” Vince asked more confused then ever. “Look man, just be honest with this one. Don't try to bullshit him. Don't even try to lie or trick him, just lay it out the way it is, OK?” “That's how I treat all my clients Ben, you know that.” Vince answered flatly. “Yeah man, I know. That's why your out there tracking this one down. That's why it's your case.”

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“That's why you put me on as this kid's case worker? Because you knew it was going to be a pain in the ass?” Vince demanded. “No Vince. I put you on his case because your the only guy left here that gives a damn anymore. Your the only guy I know who won't just try to tell him what he wants to hear to get him to play along because that won't work with Erkki. You gotta be tough with this kid Vince. Tough and honest. If you are, he'll respect you. If you aren't, well... he wont. Not a bit.” Vince felt much better now and thought for a long moment before answering Ben. “Thanks man.” “Yep.” was Ben's only response “Sounds like you know Erkki pretty well Ben. How long did you work with him?” “Well I uh... I really only saw him a couple times, but a kid like that can really leave an impression on you.” “What do you mean by that?” Vince asked him dying for more information. “You'll find out soon enough Vince, just remember what I said. Erkki's a really great kid in a really bad place in life and you might be the only guy who can help him now, so go get him Vince.” “I'm on it.” he said hanging up the receiver. 'I knew that he knew' Vince thought to himself. What did that mean? Ben sounded really weirded out when he said it too. He would know soon enough he supposed as he left the hot phone booth and climbed back in his car. ********** “You guys did what?!” Chris demanded jumping to his feet.

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“We didn't know what it was then!” Erkki defended. “Miguel didn't know about your papa! We were just along as lookouts!” “You assholes!” the crazed boy yelled as he swung at Erkki in frustration and anger. Erkki went down hard and moved away from the child as his friends jumped in to hold him back. “Erkki!” yelled out Miguel in horror as he saw his friend get clobbered. In blind anger he lunged for Chris Redman intending to beat him senseless as the rest of the group grabbed him and pulled the two boys apart. Erkki crawled over to the wall and put his hand on the windowsill to brace himself as he stood. He wasn't angry at all about being punched in the face. It wasn't like it was the first time or anything. All he wanted was for the boys to listen to him. “Look, just everybody SHUT UP!” Erkki yelled with a strong voice that almost seemed to reverberate for a moment as he stared out the window bringing the chaotic room to a sudden stop. His brain raced into overdrive again as he groped around in his young mind for the answers. After a moment's more pause in the tense silence he rubbed his face and spoke with conviction. “We made a mistake. Even though we didn't know what we were doing, we did something really wrong this time, but we're gunna fix it. We're gunna get that tape back.” he told them. “How?” asked Sam still holding Chris around the waste. Erkki turned away from the window and addressed the kids with complete confidence. “I have a plan.”

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Erkki walked around the old table which had been cleared off and set up with various objects and bits to represent buildings and people. Miguel and the nine other boys all stood around it taking in the information as Erkki dictated his stratagem point by point. There was calmness about them now and they intently listened to Erkki's idea with interest. “You're sure they'll do it here, right?” Erkki asked Kik for the third time. “Positive man. That's where they do all their funny business, right there in the old drive-in. Every since the place closed down they've been using it to sleep on duty, take bribes, smoke dope, and screw hookers. My brother and I hunt for rabbits back there in the woods behind it. We've seen it all dude.” “Fine. We all know what we need to do here then. Are you in or out?” Erkki asked the boys hopefully. “I'm in.” declared Chris Redman without a moment of hesitation as he stepped forward and stood by Erkki's side. He looked down at the much smaller boy as Erkki smiled up at him. “...and I'm... sorry, about... you know.” he mumbled with discomfort. Erkki gave the boy a mock punch in the arm as he grinned. “Now we're even.” he said. “I'm in too.” Miguel said and stood at Erkki's other side. “Come on Sam. We can do this!” he begged as looked upon the tallest child. “We're in if Sam's in.” declared one of the Robobs, and the rest of the boys all chattered in agreement. “What do you say man?” Erkki urged. “There's not much time and we can't do this without you guys.”

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Sam gave Erkki a long hard measuring up look then back down to the table all set up with cardboard boxes and little army men. “I don't know man. It really sounds kinda crazy, I mean... we're just kids man. I don't know how we can really pull this off. I mean, where would we even get the money to buy all this stuff?” Sam asked Erkki nervously looking at the table. Erkki looked over and gave Miguel a raised eyebrow look. Miguel looked back at him blankly for a moment, then returned his look with one of realization, which quickly melted into one of begging and denial. Erkki countered his look by dropping his brows into an expression of firm insistence, to which Miguel answered with a sad expression of surrender. “Awwww man...” Miguel moaned with disappointment as he sighed. “We have the money.” “So what do you say dude.” Erkki pestered. “It's now or never, we don't any time left to wait.” Sam looked back down at the table trying to come up with a reason not to do this. 'I mean, it's crazy' He thought to himself. 'There's so much that can go wrong here, but...', but for some reason he couldn't really understand, he believed in Erkki anyway. “Your nuts, you know that kid?” Sam said as he looked up and smiled at the younger boy. Erkki returned his smile with a huge grin from ear to ear. ********** “Yo here comes Cord.” Lenny Bruke said as he nudged his napping partner in the police car. The four men and two cars sat in the parking lot of the old abandon drive in

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as they watched Cord Browning pull up in his unmarked Plymouth. As he stopped, he shifted the car into park and shut down the noisy engine. The four cops all got out and walked to the makeshift table created with the giant wooden spool around which was once wrapped some great cable. Cord popped open his door and waved away the dust as he stepped out. He had already changed out of his uniform for the day and his new corduroy trousers zipped softly as his fat legs brushed against each other. “Well now.” Lenny said with a smile as he leaned back against the table and folded his arms. “Aren't we spiffy today?” “Can it Len.” he responded hardly looking at the man as he pulled his rusty brown leisure suit jacket on over his burnt orange sweater. “I got to take care of something after this and I don't want to look like a slob, OK?” “Whatever you say Cord. So, ah... what's her name?” the officer pressed with an even bigger smile. “Just never you mind all that Lenny.” Cord warned giving the man a hard look and pointing his finger at him. The men shared a laugh at Cord's expense as he finished dressing himself and shut the door of his car. “How long?” he asked. “A few minutes I spose. Time for a drink or two.” Lenny said as he picked up the whiskey bottle and poured shots into the glasses for everyone. “Cord?” he said reaching out at the large man offering him the drink. Cord looked at the glass and grimaced like he was going to be sick. “Get that away from me.” he said as he pushed Lenny's arm aside and looked around the lot. “What was that?” Cord demanded as his ears picked up a feint pop in the brush off to his left.

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“I didn't hear nuthin'.” Oliver Gordon, one of Cords loyal troop of dirty cops here that evening said. “Yeah, you been drinking too.” Cord remarked as he slowly made his way over to the thick bundle of brush under the old tree at the edge of the lot. He approached with caution as his eyes darted around, and as he came near he pulled his gun out of the shoulder holster and clicked back the hammer. He looked at the bushes with great suspicion as he came near enough to kick the chest high vegetation. “More scary hippie ghosts Cord?” Lenny called after him giggling to himself. Browning didn't bother to answer him. He fixed his gaze at the small opening which lead behind the brush pile and with a quick side step he poked through and brought his gun to bare before him. There was nothing there, just a patch of dead grass. Cord relaxed and shook his head. With a satisfied sigh he replaced the gun in it's holster and wiped his brow with his sleeve as he exited the bushes and walked back toward the table. Just above him, only a few feet away clinging to the thick branch of the tree sat the terrified form of Hube Turner, completely paralyzed in fear. He had to be positioned much closer to the cars then Coke-bottles as the chances he might miss when the time had come was much higher. As Cord moved off and rejoined his men, Hube slowly unfroze and began to breath again. His heart thumped so loud he feared the men might actually be able to hear it as it pounded in his chest. Quietly he reached up and spit the bubble gum out into his hand and stuck it to the bottom of the branch. “You guys see it yet?” Whispered Coke-bottles into the walkie-talkie as he lay flat on his stomach in the field off

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to the right of the officers. In his other hand he held the air powered pellet gun. One of two Sam had expertly modified to shoot small darts made of fishing lures and nails. “No.” Came the low muttered response. In front of the cars just out of earshot, down in the ditch where the weeds grew thick knelt the small form of Erkki Lahja pulled up into the tightest little ball he could manage while still breathing. He held the radio close to his mouth with the volume as far down as he could get it and still hear. “I can't tell where it is.” Erkki reported quietly. “Maybe he left it in the... wait. I see it!” “No celebration drink Sheriff?” Lenny pressed. “Come on man you started this tradition.” “I'm uh... off the stuff for a little while. I got a stomach thing right now.” Cord lied. “Anybody got a line of the trial uptown?” Terry, another of Cords goon squad, asked. “Finishing up right now.” Cord told him. “Not much left to do but bang the gavel.” “Fantastic.” Lenny remarked. “So where's our meal ticket.” “Right here.” Cord told him as he pulled the tape cartridge from his jacket pocket. “All we gotta do is put this in the new guy's hands for safe keeping and we wont have to worry about dealing with Ernesto and Fred ever ag... What the hell?!” Sheriff Browning yelled as the tires on his car, and the two squad cars suddenly popped and began to hiss loudly. As he turned to look off into the field, he had absolutely no warning as the boy sprung suddenly from the

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cover in front of the cars and snatched the small tape reel right out of his fat fingers. Cord Browning gasped as he watched Erkki sprint southward toward town clutching his precious tape and yelled. “STOP THAT DAMN KID!!” The closest man, Officer Oliver Gordon, drew his gun and brought it up focusing squarely on Erkki's fleeing form. Were it not for Cord nearly bulldozing him over making him drop his weapon he would have hit the child for certain. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Cord demanded, eyes bulging with anger. “You gonna shoot a little kid in the back?! How the hell are we gonna explain that? Run his ass down! GO!” Erkki's heart slammed against his chest as he blew across the field pumping his arms and pushing his legs harder that he ever had in his life. He was amazingly quick for a boy his size, but the long legs and broad strides of the adult officers were bringing them ever closer. Only the flow of adrenalin as it permeated every cell in his body allowed him to keep any distance from his pursuers. 'Where are they?!' he thought. He had himself so psyched up as he leaped out of the trench that he inadvertently left his radio behind. Everyone would have to time themselves just right now as Erkki could no longer give directions as to where he was. He glanced behind him and saw the men drawing nearer. It wouldn't take long for them to bring themselves within arms reach and everything would be ruined. They would catch him and find all the kids and who knows what

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they would do then. There was no sign of Rob and Bob and Erkki began to breath heavier as he felt himself start to cry. 'I'm sorry Miguel!' he yelled to himself. 'Oh my God I'm so sorry!' he said silently as he clenched his teeth and pressed his eyes shut. Expecting to be tackled at any moment, he peeked out with one eye... and there they were. Rob and Bob. The two blond boys peddled furiously across the shattered pavement toward him. One to his left, one to his right. Each had one hand on the handle bars and the other hand firmly grasping the long rope they held loosely dragging across the ground between them. As Erkki drew near they moved off slightly bringing the rope around six inches off the ground. 'Don't screw this up Erkki.' he told himself as the twins drew near and he focused on the knot in the very center of the rope. 'three...' 'two...' 'one...' 'NOW!!' he yelled inside as he leaped up off the ground, neatly hurtling the rope as the two boys flew past him, their long blond hair spreading out behind them in the breeze. The group of men pursuing the black haired boy across the overgrown lot paid little attention to Rob and Bob as they approached to either side of them going the other way. They were closing in on there prey now and nearly had him when suddenly the front three men went completely horizontal in mid-stride. Flying forward “superman” style, they threw there arms up before them as they crashed into the mud. The next three tumbled end over end right on top of

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them followed by Cord Browning who slid to a squishy stop, head first, and face down. The Robobs let go of the rope and split off in opposite directions so they could circle around and meet up at the next point. Cord Browning slowly lifted his muck covered head out of the filth and spit out a ball of mud. “Sheriff are you alright?”, Lenny asked as he regained his feet and started to lift the fat man up out of the dirt aided by two of the other filthy officers. “MURGLUM FRACKETER!” Cord struggled to yell still trying to clear the mud from his throat. “What?!” Lenny yelled back as he tried pointlessly to brush the mud off Cord's suit. “Pleah!” Cord blurted loosing the last of the foul substance. “Get off me and get that god damned KID!!” Erkki had a strong lead now as he ran full stride across the supermarket parking lot toward the courthouse. He had to make it to the next choke point before the men got close to him again. He had his second wind now and he ran out into the street heedless of the traffic. A small Honda screeched to a stop narrowly averting hitting the boy as the driver rolled down the window and yelled. “Erkki! Erkki Lahja!” Vince called to him from the driver's side window of the car. “Hiyanotimetotalkrightnowmistergottagobye!” Erkki blurted at him as he slid across the social workers hood and continued running in the direction of uptown. “What? Wait! What?!” Vince called behind him as he stepped out of the car getting no response from the child. “Outta the way mister.” The policeman yelled at Vince as they overtook him, knocking him around like a

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teetering, spinning top in the middle of the road leaving him lying on his back across his own hood. Vincent was really getting tired of being plowed over this week and he jumped back into his car and tore off in the general direction of where the boy and his ever present trail of chaos had gone. “Where is he? Damn it!” cursed Miguel as he stood atop the roof of the abandoned garage. “Erkki! Erkki answer me!” he yelled for the hundredth time into his radio. “Forget it man.” Sam told him from across the roof. “He must have dropped his radio somewhere. He can't hear you.” “Where are you Erkki?” the boy asked softly to no one in particular. “God please let him be OK.” Miguel said as his heart began to ache. “Look!” Sam yelled shading his eyes from the afternoon sun and pointing south. “It's Robob! And they're giving the signal! Everybody get ready! They're coming!” he screamed as the two of them made for the small courtyard behind the building. The sound of footsteps racing across the ceiling echoed within the old garage. Other than the boys on the roof and those back in the courtyard, only one other entity walked within the crumbling structure. He wore a midnight blue, fully breasted suit, trimmed in dark violet. His dark purple loafers echoed softly through the room as he walked toward the wide open door in the front of the building. He pulled off his fedora and put his hand on the back of his neck. “Is dat a draft I feel?” he asked himself out loud in his odd South Jersey accent. “Why, I do believe it is. I suppose

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I had better close up dis here door before I or, God forbid, one of these fine young lads, catches their death.” He remarked as he reached over to the handle of the big swinging metal door and pushed it shut. “Ah. Dat's better.” he said with self-satisfaction as he rested his back on the huge lead pipe which stood leaning against the wall beside the door, knocking it over. The object slid down across the doorway coming to rest against the old welded metal shelves on the other side of the entrance completely blocking the inward swinging door. “Oops!” the man said with mock surprise “I really must learn not to be such a clumsy ox.” he pretended to scold himself as he lit up his cigarette and walked off. Erkki huffed as he ran toward the garage. If he could make it through there, he would be home free! Who the hell was that guy back on third street? He knew Erkki's name, but the boy was pretty sure he didn't know him. Oh well, it really didn't matter at the moment. Right now all he need to do was race through... what the...? The door was shut. Why is the door shut? Were they trying to tell him something? Erkki ran up and slammed into the door knocking himself backwards. It was locked! 'What the hell?!' Erkki questioned as he began to panic again. There was no time to go around, they were on him. He stood gasping for air with his back against the door. There were windows, but they were boarded up solid. There was no other way inside! 'Oh God! What do I do now?' he wondered as the rouge policemen trotted up to a panting stop just a few yards away. He was helpless.

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Cord Browning arrived only a moment later then the rest of them and saw that the foolish boy had managed to trap himself here. Cord was sweating profusely and gasping for air like a drowning fish. 'Thank the lord that's over.' he thought to himself. He couldn't take much more running. He hadn't run that far and that hard since police academy days. He pushed Lenny and Oliver aside as he stumbled forward. “Gimme your gun.” he managed to say to Oliver through his labored breath. “I thought you didn't want to shoot him?” Oliver said confused and panting as he unholstered his .32 and passed it to Cord. “Moron!” Cord yelled at him pulling back his arm as if to strike the man. “I'm not gonna shoot him.” he said unlocking the safety. “I'm just gonna scare the hell out of him so he doesn't try to run again.” he told him stepping forward and drawing a breath. “Drop it boy!” Cord yelled to Erkki as he pointed his weapon and took a step forward. “Drop the tape and get down on your knees.” he panted as he spoke still sweating a gallon a minute. “Hands behind your god damn head. Now!” he ordered him as he fired a warning shot into the air above the boys head. Or at least... that all it was meant to be. Just a warning shot. No more or less, and of course that's all it would have been, were it not a curious bit of very odd luck. As it happened, Cord's bullet traveled pretty fast, but it didn't really go very far. It apparently ricocheted through a small, round metal object dropped by an unseen hand from the roof into the ally at just that moment. None of those involved saw it, however the homeless man that found it later that night

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discovered a coin with a hole struck through it's very center still works quite well in a vending machine! After changing course, the slug traveled up at a peculiar angle striking the steel roof sheeting overhanging the building, thereby causing it to bounce inward at a thirty degree angle sending it into the building and downward onto the pile of scrap metal in the corner. An unlikely place for it to go indeed, but it didn't stop there. It further ricocheted from the steel bars to the steel shelves, where one last fateful bounce sent it zipping across the room where it miraculously managed to shear through the thin metal cable holding the heavy wooden beam, which hung by a chain connected to the center of the room, pulled tight against this wall. As the cable snapped, the huge beam which hung horizontal to the floor, swung down and across the room with tremendous force like a giant pendulum. It slammed through the boarded up glass window beside the blocked front door like an explosion, sending shards of wood, glass, and concrete out into the alley causing the officers to duck for cover as the debris filled the air. Erkki stood shocked as he watched the big log-like object retreat back into the building with no explanation of what it was or from where it had come, but as he saw the bad men start to get to their feet, he decided to take his chances inside. He jumped up and grabbed the sill, kicked his feet a few times, then managed to pull himself up and through the new opening. Miguel and Kik waited and watched from the outside of the small opening of the little courtyard area behind the garage. It was a concrete block wall that completely surrounded the overgrown space and had likely been meant

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as an addition to the structure which was never completed. It was just over eight feet high and a still smooth and unbroken concrete floor lie at it's base. There were only three ways out. You could go all the way back through the building and around the block (as there were no spaces between the structures here), you could scale the wall (which wasn't normally very difficult), or you could go through the little hole in the middle (which was only possible if you were a very small person). Moments passed like minutes for Miguel and the others as they waited intently for Erkki to rush through the back door into the courtyard. 'Too long!' Miguel thought. 'It's taking too long, somethings wrong!' He looked up at Sam who was looking back at him clearly thinking the same thing. Then both of them froze with fear as what was clearly the sound of a gun shot rang out from the other side of the building. “ERKKI!” Miguel screamed as he struggled to crawl back through the hole into the courtyard while Kik and Larry held him back refusing to let him go. A few seconds later, some kind of explosion rocked the building sending a cloud of dust out into the roofless area where the boys waited. “Jesus! What was that a bomb?!” Sam yelled trying to see through the gray fog. “What the hell is happening in there?!” Summoning all his courage, Sam began to climb over the edge of the wall where they waited and was less than a second away from dropping down into the courtyard where he himself would be trapped so he could try to find Erkki, but just before he pushed himself over, the raven haired, blueeyed boy burst through the cloud racing desperately at full speed for the hole in the wall.

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He leaped through head first, heedless of the jagged broken blocks surrounding the opening, as just behind him burst through the several uniformed police who had been pursuing the child. They slid to a stop knocking into one another as they immediately realized none of them was going to fit through the tiny hole, and they started looking around for another way out. It was at that moment Sam's head popped over the top of the wall wearing a lone ranger mask as he placed his forefingers into his mouth and whistled loudly for their attention. All four officers stopped and looked up just as Sam released the spring loaded arm on his machine sending a rain of small balloons down on their heads. The balloons contained huge viscous globs of rancid lard and animal grease mixed with bright blue lead paint. He reloaded the arm again and again as the gang of boys, all wearing lone ranger masks, popped up all around the top of the wall and started heaving wave after wave of balloons all filled with the same disgusting goo down into the courtyard onto the cops who were completely helpless to stop the barrage, or even move away from it as the smooth stone floor was now as slick as wet ice. Any attempt they made to regain footing only sent them crashing back down into the fast spreading, and quite inescapable, pool of blue slime. Erkki paused for only a moment to regain a little breath and to let Miguel hug him. He wasn't really sure why the boy seemed so upset and it was clear he had been crying for some reason, but he was OK. Everyone was OK, at least for the moment. As he gulped air he turned and saw the courthouse. It was right there at the bottom of the hill! They

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could do this! He knew they could do this! Just a little farther. He heard Sam whistle and saw him loose the mechanical arm atop the huge spring that was braced into the makeshift scaffolding atop the wall. Erkki shook himself off as he stood while Miguel and the other boys ruthlessly unleashed their devastation upon the imprisoned men on the other side of the wall. Erkki sorrowed for a moment that he himself couldn't see what was happening in there, but he smiled at the image in his imagination as he started to run again toward his destination. Erkki lost sight of the buildings up on the hill as he ran down through the municipal park praying he would get to the courthouse in time to stop the judge. This was it. They actually pulled it off! It was literally all down hill from here and nothing stood in his way of... Erkki fell backwards as he dug his heels into the soil trying to stop himself. There before him, between he and the courthouse doors, stood Sheriff Cord “pug face” Browning. The man was waiting for him half way down the hill standing there in his ruined, muddy, ugly suit with his arms folded across his chest and a look of great self-satisfaction across his face. “Not a bad try boy.” he said speaking calmly to him. “Not a bad try at all. In fact, if you weren't who you are, I might even be tempted to let this slide and guide you under my wing. You could teach my boys a thing or two, I tell ya. In fact...” he paused to let out a hoarse low laugh. “I think you already did. They won't forget this anytime soon, that's for damn sure. Now… gimme the damn tape, or I swear to all that resides in heaven and hell, I will cut you open, pull out your entrails, and hang your little ass from that tree with them.”

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Erkki stood up and looked around. His intention was to bolt. There was no way this fat, tired, old man could catch him, and Erkki knew it. Unfortunately for him, Cord knew it too. “Huh-uh boy, no way. Not this time. There's no witnesses out here, and now that I got a look at you, I know exactly who you are. Your Erkki Lahja. A nobody runaway with no daddy and no momma. If you vanished right now, not one person on earth would come looking for you, understand?” He said as he unfolded his arms and showed Erkki his pistol which he held now pointed firmly at him. Erkki was scared half to death. Scared and hurt as the truth of the man's words sunk in and his heart sank. What could he do? Cord was right. He was a nobody, from nowhere, going nowhere. He was all alone in the world and no one could help him now. A tear fell from his eye as he looked down at the cassette in his hands and he began to feel tired. “Awww, ain't that sweet.” Cord mocked him. “Now gimme the tape.” Erkki took a step forward and began to reach out to Cord with the tape, when a gentile voice lit up in his ear. “Grown-ups lie.” it said softly. “What?” Erkki asked looking to his left and right. “Is that not what you have learned Erkki? Are these not words from your very own lips?” the voice reminded him as it softly faded away. “Yeah.” Erkki said. “They are.” Cord raised one eyebrow and looked deeply at the boy. “Don't you freak out on me you little piss-ant. Now hand it over.” Erkki wiped away his tear and looked up at Cord Browning. There was something... Of course! How did he

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miss that? Erkki was so afraid of the man and so hurt by his words that he failed to realize... “Your afraid of me!” “Hah!” Cord chortled out a laugh. “Afraid of you? Now why in the hell would I be afraid of you?” he sputtered at him. Erkki didn't know why the huge man was afraid of him, but he knew it was truth. He could see it in the way Cord looked off a little when he stared into his eyes. He could see it in the little twitch in his lip. Most of all he could see it in the man's soul, for in there nothing could be hidden from Erkki. “No.” Erkki told him as he pulled back his hand. “Your a liar. A frady-baby liar, and you get nothing.” Erkki teased as he pushed out his bottom jaw in solid defiance. For a short moment, Cord Browning was speechless. No one talked to him like that, no one... ever. Then he steeled himself and curled up his wormy lip. “I told you what I would do if you didn't give me that tape.” Cord told him stepping forward. “You think anyone cares if I shoot you in cold blood right here and now? You think anyone cares If I cut your throat and bury you in the woods? Do you think for one moment anyone will give a shit if I ring your little neck till your eyes pop out of your head?” he yelled stepping toward Erkki who refused to move, until the sound of a hard thud made him stop suddenly in his tracks. Cord's mouth opened as if to scream, but all that came out were gaging-gurgling sounds and his eyes bulged almost out of his head. Slowly he looked down and saw the business end of the aluminum baseball bat planted firmly in his crotch as he slid forward onto his knees, falling slowly onto his face trying to inhale and scream at the same time.

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Erkki looked up from him to see Miguel standing proudly behind the man as he swung the the bat over his shoulder and blew a big bubble gum balloon ending in a pop. “I give a shit, asshole.” Miguel said, turning his bright orange baseball cap with the red lightning bolt around backwards. “And nobody talks to my brother like that, get me?” Erkki smiled wide at the boy. He didn't think it was possible to love Miguel any more than he always had. He was wrong. The two kids ran down the hill hand in hand. It was almost too late, but they made it. More importantly, they made it together.

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Dark Kings Knight to White Rook 4

Chapter 4

Erkki loved the circus. He walked along the path between the caramel apple stand, fried dough vendor, and the waffle fry guy taking in the luscious mix of scents. There was so much to eat, so much to see, so much to ride. His mind boggled at the array of possibilities around him. He just wanted to run wildly from thing to thing and be a part of this place. “Erkki! Come on baby! It's almost time for the show!” his mother cried out to him from just ahead down the path. “OK momma!” he yelled back in excitement. Oh boy! The big show was about to start! The acrobats, the clowns, the performing animals, everything! He was kinda hungry and had to pee a little, but he decided those could both wait as he ran forward to take his mother's hand. Miguel and his parents were here too, and the little boy waved ecstatically to Erkki as he came running. The boys were only five years old, but they had known each other for as long as they had memories to recall. “Come on Erkki!” little Miguel cried out. “You only get one chance to see the show, then it goes away forever!” Erkki ran toward his mother and father as they stood there squatting down on their heels with their arms stretched out waiting to embrace him. He was so excited he could barely contain himself as he closed his eyes and laughed gleefully as he ran.

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The next moment he felt a thump as he stopped suddenly and dropped back onto his rear end. He opened his eyes and realized he had bumped into something. Several men were moving carnival ride parts across the lane where he was running and he sat there blinking up at the man who's leg he had bopped into. The man stopped to look at him as he reached up and took the smelly cigar out of his mouth to speak. “Watch it punk. Some of us got work to do here. This place don't run itself you know.” he said cheerlessly as he glowered at Erkki. “Sorry mister.” Erkki said as he stood up and dusted off the back of his pants. “Yeah well, sometimes sorry ain't enough.” he told him as he continued across the lane with the other men, marching dourly across the park with the machinery. Erkki waited patiently for all of them to move across his path, then he opened up his big bright smile as he began to run forward again... but they were gone. His momma and papa and Miguel weren't there waiting for him anymore. His smile melted away and he stopped after a few steps. Where had they gone? Why would they just leave him? After all he only took his eyes off them for a moment, he had to. Stuff was in the way. He stood there scratching his head and looking around feeling suddenly very small, very alone, and very vulnerable. “Excuse me ma'am!” he begged the lady as she passed by, but she paid absolutely no attention to him. “Hey mister? Um do you know where my papa is? He's real tall, has a brown shirt, and...” he stopped as he realized the passing adults were completely ignoring him.

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“Hey! Listen to me!” he moaned in frustration, but everyone seemed to refuse to even acknowledge his presence. The boy began to wander aimlessly through the crowd calling out occasionally for his mother or father, but no one answered and no one would talk to him. It didn't take long for his frustration to overtake him and tears began to run down his face as he desperately searched. “Awwww... baby gonna cry?” said the youth in his condescending tone. Erkki turned and saw the thirteen year old leaning against the pole behind him. It was Paul Grover. Erkki couldn't remember how he knew him, but he did remember he was bad. “Well if baby wants to cry, maybe I should give baby somethin' to cry about.” he said as he stood up strait and walked toward five year old Erkki cracking his knuckles. Erkki stepped away and tugged hard on a woman's dress as she passed by. “Ma'am? Excuse me, I need help!” he pleaded, but the lady acted as if he wasn't even there. Erkki couldn't even see her face as she seemed to purposefully look away from him. “Mister?” he asked continuing on to the next person as Paul drew closer. “Mister help me! Please!” he begged as the grown-up walked on with his hat pulled down over his face. “No ones gonna help you shrimp, cuz no one cares.” Paul Grover said with a cruel smile as he reached for the young boy. “If you think we busted you up bad the last time you were in the group home, your about to learn what pain really feels like.”

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“NO!” Erkki yelled. “I wont go back there!” he insisted as he jumped back away from the boy knocking over the woman behind him. Erkki turned to the figure as it sat up slightly dazed and he began again to cry for help... but found himself speechless. The woman had no face. No features at all. No eyes, no mouth, not even a nose. In fact as she leaned forward to pick up her purse Erkki could tell that she didn't even have ears. “Blind, deaf, and dumb, like all grown-ups.” Paul told him as Erkki's head swung round to find himself nose to nose with the big kid. “Every stinkin' one of them. Now take your clothes off. I want you to be naked when I kick your butt.” “Noooo!” Erkki screamed as he scrambled over top of the identity-less woman and ran. The small child bolted heedlessly across the thoroughfare completely terrified. Faceless men and women lumbered around like robots on some preset program from which they were unable to deviate, not even noticing the frightened boy. He ran until he saw an open tent just ahead and decided to duck inside to hide. Erkki dove in and put his back to the wall, breathing heavily as he peeked out the exit searching for signs of his pursuer. He didn't see Paul around, but he started to become aware of a strange feeling creeping up inside him. He wasn't certain what it was, but it was powerful and growing stronger. The cold blue light in his peripheral vision finally got his attention and he turned to behold the entity which stood with him in the dark tent. It was himself. It was Erkki, or at least it looked like Erkki, but this boy wasn't... he wasn't human. Erkki slunk down onto his knees completely overpowered by the strange emotion that boiled up inside him. The Erkki-thing stared down at him through it's frigidly cold blue eyes which never

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blinked. He was even more pale then himself, and not a single freckle broke the surface of his skin, as if the other child had never seen the sun. His hair was black, just like his own, but it was much longer and it gleamed with a brilliant luster as if it were filled with stars. A strange emanation glowed from behind him. Two streams of silver light rose up from behind his delicate little shoulders spreading upward and outward as a dim white phosphorescence draped down from them. He wore no clothing and didn't seem to care. Erkki turned away from the glittering eyes and as he looked over the wondrous Erkki-thing, and he noticed it didn't touch the dirt. He was just hovering there somehow, about an inch off the ground staring at him. He met the other boy's gaze again, but it was hard. The stronger this new emotion grew within himself, the harder it was to look the boy in the eyes. He felt himself laid bare before this child. Everything he had ever said or did in his life felt like it was just hanging out. To say that he felt naked was not sufficient to describe the vulnerability Erkki helplessly displayed. As he dropped his eyes to the floor and bowed his head, no longer able to look upon the other boy, he identified the feeling that steamrolled him from within. It was shame. Overwhelming and paralyzing shame. The Erkki-thing looked down at itself with pitiless eyes of flawless blue and spoke with words which, although harsh and nearly emotionless, still sounded like pure morning rain. “No. Not like this. Help me understand.” “How?” Erkki sobbed, almost too overcome to speak. “We must suffer.” “But... I... I don't want to suffer.” he cried out. “We must suffer.” “I don't understand!” Erkki balled through his tears.

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“That is why we must suffer.” “What?!” Erkki cried as he lifted his head. The entity was gone. The tent he knelt within was empty save an abandon card table and four chairs one of which was overturned. He looked outside to discover the circus was empty. No smooth-headed monstrosities stomped around and there was no sign of Paul Grover. “Erkki!” cried out Miguel's voice from somewhere across the way. “Erkki where are you?” “Miguel!” Erkki yelled back. “I'm here! I'm coming!” he told him as he left the spooky old tent and ran in the direction of Miguel's voice. “Erkki, please hurry!” He ran till he saw the big top tent at the center of the park and smiled. That must be where momma and papa are! He assured himself as he picked up speed and skipped with joy. As he approached the flap of the tent he reached out with his tiny hand to pull it aside when suddenly a man seated on a stool beside the door snatched his arm. “You got a ticket kid?” he asked the boy in an odd South Jersey accent. Erkki searched franticly in the pockets of his shorts and the flap of his white sweater, but was unable to produce what the man wanted. “Sorry kid.” he said as he crossed his legs and brushed the dust off his violet loafers. “No ticket, no show.” “But... My mom and papa are in there!” he pleaded as his heart crept up into his throat. “Den it looks like your gonna have to get your own ticket, huh?” he informed him compassionlessly. “But I don't have any money mister! I'm just a kid!”

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“Oh! I'm just a kid! Poor me! Wha-Wha-Wha! Wipe my nose! Kiss my boo boo!” the man taunted at him. “Get a freakin' job.” “But...! But...! But...!” Erkki struggled as his bottom lip quivered. “Erkki?” came the familiar voice of five year old Miguel Sanchez. “Erkki, where have you been?” he asked as he approached from the path. “Miguel!” he cried hugging the boy. “I got lost and nobody would help me! Now this man won't let me in cuz I lost my ticket!” he told him starting to weep. “It's OK Erkki. I have two.” he said as he smiled and pulled out the little cardboard slips. Erkki wiped his button nose on his white sleeve still crying a little as he giggled. “We can go in?” Erkki asked the man as he carefully studied the tickets Miguel had given him. “Yeah, Yeah whatever.” he said as he waved dismissively at them. Erkki beamed with joy as he rushed inside eager to climb up onto his papa's lap and see the spectacle! Alas... The tent was deserted. Almost so anyway. No cheering crowed. No acrobats on high wires, no performing animals, and worst of all... no momma or papa. Only a single fat clown balanced on a unicycle in the center ring with a bowling pin precariously perched on his nose. Miguel walked in behind him and sat down on the bench in the front row of empty seats as he looked out sadly into the area lit by the single and lonely dim spotlight. He was no longer five years old, and neither was Erkki. They were both ten again and Erkki slowly sat down on the bench beside him.

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“What... Happened?” he asked as the disappointment filled his heart like lead. “Where is everybody? Where's the show? Is this it?” “What'ja expect kid?” the clown said as his voice echoed across the empty hall. “When you show up this late your lucky you get anything at all.” “I waited outside for you Erkki.” Miguel said sadly as he sat with his chin in his hand watching the solitary clown. “I wanted us to see the big show together, but... you were so late.” Erkki's heart felt as if it would burst. '...sometimes sorry ain't enough...' “Well...” he began hopefully. “Maybe we can just be early for the next show!” “There is no next show kid.” the clown said as he reached up and took the pin from his nose. “Didn't you read the poster? One show, then it's gone forever.” He told him as he hopped off his bike. “Tadda!” the clown said as he bowed. “Thank you and good night.” “Wait!” Erkki cried as he stood. “That's not fair! We wanna see the circus too! We...! I...!” Erkki protested as his knees became weak and he couldn't stop himself from crying anymore. He was sad that he would never see the Grand Spectacle of the Ages as the posters called it, but the fact that it was his fault his best friend would also be denied forever was too much for him to bear. “Miguel... I'm... so... soorrrryyy...!” he cried out weeping uncontrollably in to his hands as he sat down. “I'm soooo sorry!” “Erkki!” Miguel urged as he shook his sleeping friend. “Erkki wake up man!”

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“I'm sorry Miguel! I'm sorry!” the sleeping boy cried over and over with tears flowing from his closed eyes. “I forgive you, damn! Now wake up!” Miguel said lightly slapping Erkki's cheeks. “Where are we?” Erkki demanded in confusion as he sat up. He was sweating and crying and his face was as pale as a ghost. “The clubhouse remember? You have to stay here because of...” “C.S.” Erkki finished the sentence. “Yeah. You OK man? You look awful, I mean, you look sick.” “I'm OK.” Erkki said as he climbed out of the sleeping bag and poured himself a glass of warm kool-aid from the cooler spigot on the old dirty table. Miguel stayed with him last night as the boys were afraid if he went home his father would make him tell where Erkki was or punish him. It was morning now and the kids would have to decide what they were going to do for food as the money Erkki took from the Hollow Man was gone. “What the hell were you dreaming about?” Miguel asked smiling as he rolled over onto his elbow. “I don't remember.” Erkki lied as he pulled out a chair to sit at the old table. He leaned back and crossed his heals, folding his hands in front of him and staring strait ahead into space. “I woke up and heard you yelling and I was like... damn man! What's going on with...” Miguel began as Erkki cut him off. “I have to go.” he said not looking at his friend. “What? Go where?” Miguel asked confused. “I have to go away and I don't think I should come back.” he said sadly.

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“Where?” Miguel pressed sitting up strait and giving his friend a serious look. “I... I can't tell you.” Erkki said slowly. “You can't tell me?!” Miguel asked him clearly hurt. “Why can't you tell me?” Erkki gave his best friend a long sad look “I just can't. I'm sorry.” “I don't understand!” Miguel said as he stood up out of his sleeping bag watching Erkki with a look of pure dejection on his face. “Me neither.” Erkki answered looking away from him again. “That's why I have to suffer. Me. Not you, not us, just me.” He said in a voice of profound sadness. “Erkki no.” Miguel said stepping toward him. “Please don't do this man. Your my brother remember?” he told him as he laid his hand on Erkki's shoulder. “No.” Erkki said as he reached up and pushed away Miguel's hand still refusing to meet his gaze. “I'm not your brother. Your brothers at home with your papa probably wondering where you are so get outta here kid I don't need you around.” he said as he stood up and walked over to the window. Miguel's long face was overtaken with anger as the rejection stung his soul. “FINE!” he yelled roughly gathering up his sleeping bag. “FINE!” Erkki yelled back as he pushed an old box out of his way. “FINE!” Miguel returned as he slipped his bare feet into his sneakers. “FI... CRAP!” Erkki yelled as he looked out the window.

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“Who are you calling crap?!” Miguel said standing up. “No, not you! Cops outside, run!” The two kids dropped what they were holding and ran for the back door. As they came near it suddenly swung open and uniformed men poured inside. Erkki and Miguel reversed direction and ran for the front door only to see it swing open and the police rush in. As they turned again, they were grabbed by the officers who easily pushed them to the floor and handcuffed the boys. “Erkki Niklas Lahja and Miguel Raul Francisco Antonio Sanchez, you are under arrest for four counts of felonious assault against an officer of the law. You have the right to remain silent. You have...” the officer continued as Erkki managed to turn his head around on the hard, dirty wood floor to look at his friend. '...sometimes sorry ain't enough...'

“...police are still seeking information and a full investigation is underway on the suspicious deaths of Ernesto and Frederico Florez who were about to be indicted for ordering the death of Antonio Sticoli as evidenced by a recording that surfaced during a murder trial in which a local man was found innocent. Well bring you more on this as details emerge.” 'As details emerge...' thought Cord Browning as he clicked off the T.V. In his office. 'The very thing we all wanted to avoid.'

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He spent all morning in there alone, refusing to talk to anybody and forwarding his calls. His new “Bosses” weren't very happy with him right now as he didn't want to give them the details about how exactly he lost the evidence they were holding back to make Ernesto and Fred leave town peacefully so they could take over. Once that was out they had no choice but to put them both down. Who knows what they might say under legal pressure? It was a messy way to handle things which left a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of people sniffing around for those answers, but it was done. Cord reached out across the desk for his pen and stopped suddenly as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth in agony. He slowly pulled back his arm and breathed a sigh of relief as he adjusted the bag of ice he kept between his legs. “Little bastards.” he said looking up at the ceiling. What was he going to do with those two? He had them picked up and booked early this morning after Lenny ran down and scared the information out of one of their little friends. Now they were down in the Kicklighter Juvenile Facility waiting to be arraigned for assault. Those kids knew too much, but it's not like they can prove it. If they tell anyone they were the ones who found the tape and that they stole it from Cord, he would just declare it bullshit anyway. Who the hell would believe those two punks in the first place? No, they were no threat to him now. This is just personal. He would see to it that those two punks suffered dearly for what... No threat. Or was he? 'How much did that boy know?' he wondered to himself. Cord was still a little shook up about the boy seeing the fear inside him. Of course it wasn't Erkki he had fear for,

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at least not Erkki junior. It was just those eyes... They were the old man's eyes. It was those very same weird blue eyes that filled him with dread that day back in '63. The day he took his first step on the road to being a dirty cop. He had that old man dead to right, air tight and no doubt about it. Then came the day he walked in and told Cord how it was going to be. Why did he listen? Why was he so afraid of that crazy coot? I mean, did Cord really believe he was a... No. That's just crazy. He didn't know why he did what he did that day, but it was a long time ago, and that old man was long dead, at least he must be, though his blood was alive and kickin' just down the road from him. He always hated that man for changing his life the way he did. It might make Cord feel better to get a little revenge on a little piece of what's left of him. Cord smiled a little and started to laugh before he grimaced with pain and touched his lap. Erkki wasn't the only mini-punk he would see suffer. “That's it! Yeah! Clean that dirty ass up boy!” The officer yelled as he and the other men mercilessly sprayed Erkki and Miguel's naked bodies with the full pressure of the ice cold hoses. They could barely breath and their skin was numb with the pounding water and hypothermia, but the horrifying treatment continued on for several minutes anyway. “See if that don't take some of the fight out of ya, you little bastards.” The man said as he finally shut down the water leaving the boys shivering on the tile. “You already search these two Howard?” He asked the corrections officer beside him.

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“Yep.” he answered watching the boys struggle to get to their feet. “You search 'em good?” “Oh yeah. Twice.” he told the man as he broke a smile. “Well alright then. Now that they're cleaned up, get 'em some fancy new duds and see that they get settled in upstairs with the rest of the animals.” the man who seemed to be in charge told them as he walked off through the door and down the hallway. “Come on girls you heard the man lets move it! You better march your sweet little asses into the other room fast or I'm taking you upstairs naked! Some of those boys up there would really enjoy seeing a preview of what they'll be passing around later anyway!” Erkki and Miguel walked somberly down the row of cells dressed in the orange jumpsuits and carrying their pillows and issued supplies. Midway down the row, their escort stopped and inserted a key into the lock of one of the doors. He pulled open the metal door and motioned for the kids to move inside. They turned and watched as the heavy portal clanked shut, sealing them inside the tiny dark concrete room. The boys moved over to the metal bunk and sat down, still recovering from the shock of the past few hours. Erkki looked at his lap and dropped his head into his hands not saying a word. “This is why you wanted to go away and not say where isn't it.” Miguel asked as he looked down at the floor. “You wanted to try and run away and take all of this with you so I wouldn't be involved.” “No, I just...”

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“Stop it Erkki!” Miguel scolded. “I can't see the stuff you see. People don't hold up an invisible sign for me that says 'I just lied' like they do for you, but I know bullcrap when I hear it. More than that, I know you Erkki, and that's exactly the kind of thing you would pull.” “I'm so sorry Miguel.” Erkki repeated again to his friend, this time in the waking world. “No man!” Miguel said lying his hand on Erkki's still shivering back. “We're in trouble. Us. You and me, brothers. You didn't bring this on me, I did man! I made the decision to take part in what went on. It's not your fault man. We did... what had to be done, and you know it.” “I'm sorry Miguel.” Erkki repeated lifting his heavy head to look at his best friend. “Are we back to this again?! Man I just told you...” “No! Not about that!” Erkki said smiling just a little. “About saying you weren't my brother. Your the bestest brother ever.” The boys began to eat their dinner in silence after the trays were passed through the slot in the door later that evening. Bland hamburgers and starchy french fries with a little box of milk. Miguel made a sour face as he tasted the milk, pulling it away from him and looking at the box. “Soy milk? What the hell is soy milk?” he said in disgust as he stood up, walked over to the door and pushed open the little flap. “Hey!” he yelled out. “I don't want no milk from no soy! What the hell is a soy?” “Miguel stop!” Erkki said as he nearly dropped his burger in surprise.

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“Hey! I need cow milk! That's all I want, OK? C...O...W... it goes mooo not... whatever the hell a soy sounds like! “Yo! Shut up down there!” came the response from the hallway monitor. “Miguel!” Erkki urged setting his tray aside and standing up. “I'll shut up when I get some real milk, OK?!” “Miguel please! Please!” Erkki begged him as he tugged on his arm. “I'll give you my milk! Just please sit down!” he said in a panicky whisper. “But I don't want soy milk Erkki!” the boy said clearly upset. “I just want normal milk, from a normal animal! Don't you understand? Why is that so hard?” he told him starting to cry. “Yeah yeah! I get it man! Cow milk! Now come on just sit down OK? Please!” Erkki gently pulled him away from the door and sat him down. “What's wrong with them Erkki? All I wanted was a little frickin' cow milk! Why is that so hard?” “I don't know Miguel, but I promise I'll get you some milk as soon as we get out of here!” Erkki soothed, frantically trying to calm him. “Why are they always like this Erkki? Why? You can't do this! You cant go there! Why? Because it's fun! And fun is bad to them! It's like they don't feel anything anymore you know? I don't want to stop feeling things Erkki! All they want to do is drink and smoke and sit on their giant fat asses and watch T.V.! I don't want a giant fat ass Erkki! Look at them out there! Nothing but mean, cruel, empty, joyless assholes who just want to yell at their wives and push their little brothers around and steal their things, and put kids in jail! I don't want to turn into that Erkki! I would rather

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die that turn into one of them! Is that what we're going to be like man? When we grow up? Are we going to spray naked kids with cold water and laugh at them Erkki!? Are we?” “No! No way man! We don't have to become like them! There's nice grown-ups out there too! Grown-ups that have real fun, and... and junk! Grown-ups that don't hurt kids!” Erkki told him desperately trying to calm Miguel down before someone did decide to come in and hurt him. “How do you know Erkki? Can you name one grownup that didn't try to lie to you, or cheat you, or use you, or hit you, or have sex with you? Why? It doesn't have to be like this man! It doesn't have to be this hard! You can't listen to the music cuz your too young, you can't go inside cuz your too mexican, you cant live there cuz your too poor, you get punished when you do something bad, you go to jail when you do something good, and you can't even have any milk from a cow! Why...do...they...have... to make everything...so...haaaaarrrd?!” Miguel cried collapsing at last into Erkki's arms who tried to muffle the sound of his sobbing for fear someone would come along and try to take advantage of Miguel's condition to torment him. No one did. The boys were left alone there comforting each other as best they could on the hard mat of the bottom cot in the cold cell. As the lights went out, they were left in near complete darkness, but they still had one thing left to thank God for as they both prayed silently to themselves before drifting off to a fitful sleep... They still had each other. As the hours passed, Erkki's fitful sleep was disturbed by a strange foul odor within the tiny dark room. His eyes opened slowly and he lifted his head away from Miguel's shoulder.

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'What's that smell?' he thought as he rubbed his face and sat up strait. 'Is that... smoke?' he wondered as he gazed around in the darkness. “Well hello there sunshine!” said the strange voice making Erkki jump. “So have you given our arrangement a little more thought?” asked the Hollow Man from the previously empty top bunk. “How... how did you get in here?” Erkki asked as he stood up and backed away from the beds. “I go where I please.” he answered drawing on his cigarette. “You could too boy-o. You could just walk out o' here free as a bird.” “How?” Erkki asked as he secretly pinched himself to test for dreaming. “Why, right through the front door of course!” he said as he snapped his fingers. Just then the lock on the chamber door made a mechanical sound as it popped open about three inches. Erkki stared over at the exit, at the beam of light which wrapped around it and illuminated Miguel's still sleeping face. He moved back toward the bunks and brought up his hand intending to shake Miguel. “Ah Ah Ah...” said the Hollow Man making Erkki stop in his tracks. “Not him. Just you. Somebody's gotta do the time here boy-o, and your just too valuable to rot in this place.” “What?! No!” Erkki protested as his face filled with stress. “Don't worry kid! I'll make sure you never have to look him in the face again. Now get yer patoot outta here. Your free.”

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“No way.” Erkki stated flatly as he crossed his arms and stood looking at the dark suited man. “Look kid, I didn't want ta tell yous dis but you leave me little recourse. There's people on their way here, right this very moment, who intend to make you suffer, get me? Bad men Erkki. Men who really don't give a damn about you or your little buddy there. Men who uh... for want of a better choice of words, get off, on hurting cute little boys like you. It doesn't have to happen Erkki. All you have to do is walk out the door.” he told him while raising his hands in his It's just that easy gesture. Erkki looked at the Hollow Man, then down at the sleeping form of Miguel Sanchez as he fussed in dreams still leaning against the hard cold wall with the thin blanket draped over his shoulders mumbling something about “liver”. He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard as he turned to walk toward the open door. “Ata boy!” The Hollow Man urged. “The sooner we put this behind us, the sooner we can...” he stopped short as Erkki put his hand on the heavy metal door and slammed it shut, locking them all in again. The Hollow Man sighed as he unfolded his legs and jumped to the floor. “That's a shame kid.” He said putting his hand on Erkki shoulder. “I really hate to see things like this, happen to fine young men like you. Know what I mean?” he said with mock concern as he patted him on the head, dropped his cigarette on the floor, and stepped behind him. “You still got my card kid, if you should, you know, get yer head strait.” “I...” Erkki began as he turned to find no trace of the strange man. Was it all a dream? Slowly he looked down at his feet. There before him was the smoldering remains of a

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cigarette, it's cherry still fading away in the darkness of the room. Slowly he bent down and picked up the object studying it carefully. He wasn't familiar with the brand and it smelled more like sulfur than tobacco. “Eww.” Erkki said cringing as he pulled his hand away from his nose. Then he froze as a loud mechanical snap echoed within the room followed by blinding light. “Wha...!?” Miguel said startled as he awakened and raised his hand to shield his eyes. “Well now!” said the guard as he entered the room with the bright spotlight. “It seems we have an inmate with a bit of contraband here!” Erkki still stood frozen in the middle of the room, his eyes wide with horror and his pupils down to pinpoints. In his right hand he held aloft what remained of the Hollow Man's cigarette, his left hand was madly grabbing at the skin on his thigh. Pinching and releasing as he still clung to the fading hope that this was all a dream... “Miguel?” the small child's voice asked gently, awakening him from his sleep. “Miguel? Are you in there?” it asked again from outside the cell door which was hanging open a just a crack allowing the soft light inside illuminating the corner of the little room. “Huh? Who's there?” he asked pulling the blanket up around his neck. Looking around he realized Erkki was gone. “Erkki? Is that you?” Tiny fingers wrapped around the big metal doors edge just under the handle and the figure of a little boy, maybe five or six years old, was revealed in the light as the door slowly swung open.

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“Vierco?” Miguel said in wonder as he rubbed his eyes which still struggled in the dark. “Come on Migueles! Lets go play!” the smiling child urged reaching out his hand. “It's all sunny and stuff, and papa just cut the grass so it smells real good!” he told him filled with excitement. “Vierco, how did you get in here? Where's Erkki?” he questioned as he rose from the metal cot dropping the sheet as he took the child's hand. “Come on!” Vierco urged as he pulled Miguel from the room. The two of them jogged down the long hallway of locked doors toward the open door at the end. Miguel could see it was a big white room with an open window leading outside into the bright sunny morning and he could actually smell the fresh cut grass wafting in on the breeze. “Here Miguel! You can have this!” Vierco said handing him his teddy bear as the ran. “Um, thanks Vierco.” he answered as he accepted the little boys gift. “Skip with me!” Vierco insisted as he began rhythmically hopping from one foot to the other as he ran. “Ha ha! OK.” Miguel agreed as he skipped along with him. He couldn't wait to get outside and away from this place. “Stop That Clogging! You Make Noise! Me No Like Noise!” said a deep guttural voice from somewhere. “What? Who's that?” Miguel wondered aloud as he slowed. As they approached the open portal at the end of the hall, one of the cell doors swung open in front of them and the ugliest man he had ever seen stepped out.

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He had to be nearly seven feet tall and he had to stoop to get under the six foot door jam of the room. He was grotesquely fat and wore a tight, very uncomfortable looking, business suit. The top of his somewhat cone shaped head was completely bald, but patches of oily dark hair grew in random places around the sides. His ears were tiny and round, and long dirty bristles of hair grew out of them. The man-thing had bulbous and clown like facial features with none of the comic effect that would normally have. “Where You Go? Why You Late?” it asked in it's Frankenstein's Monster like voice as he looked at his huge watch which was strapped so tightly around his thick arm it seemed to cut off all circulation to his hand. “Late for what?” Miguel asked as he stopped. “We're going out to play.” “Play Bad! Outside Bad!” it declared waving it's monstrous meaty fists in the air. “Play not bad!” Miguel insisted to it. “Play Bad! Play Bad!” the creature screamed slamming it's fists against the wall. “Whatever man, what do you want me to do?” Miguel asked stepping back from the furious thing. “Homework!” The monster yelled. “But it's summer!” Miguel whined. “No! No Summer! Summer Bad! You Sit!” he told him pushing him back into the chair. It was hard and uncomfortable and Miguel looked longingly at the open window in the next room. “What do you want from me?” Miguel asked as he looked down and noticed he was now shackled to the chair. The monster picked up a school desk from out of his cell and slammed it down roughly in front of Miguel. “Book!” it yelled “Me Want You Read Book!”

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“What book?” Miguel pondered “This Book!” Frankenstein man said as he plopped down a gigantic volume before Miguel. It was absolutely huge and nearly covered the whole desk top. The massive tome had to be eight inches thick and the pages looked to be onion skin thin. “You gotta be kidding me.” he said giving the hideous man a sideways look. “You Read Book! Then You Tell Mungo What Book Say!” “Why don't you read the damn book then!?” Miguel argued glaring at him. “Mungo Already Read Book!” “Then why the hell do you want me to read it to you?!” Miguel asked in frustration. “BWA! BWA!” the creature raged, shaking his fists in the air. “Fine! Fine! I'll read the book, damn!” Miguel agreed as he cracked open the huge cover with both hands. He looked at the words on the giant page and dropped his brow in confusion. They made absolutely no sense. They appeared to be random letters, odd scribbles, and arcane mathematical formulas all jumbled up into incomprehensible nonsense, and it just continued on as such for page after page. “What is this shit?” Miguel asked befuddled. “Not Shit! Important Book! Important Book!” the monster insisted. “Mungo Expect Report On Book In One Hour! Now Mungo Eat!” it said yelled as another, possibly female, version of Mungo Man entered from another cell with a big tray of cooked wilted spinach, mounds of hot brussel sprouts, and a pile of boiled liver. The buffet looked frightening, but the smell... It was just unbearable. Miguel

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held his nose and turned his head trying to escape the disgusting odor which filled the hall. The two Mungo Men began crudely gorging themselves on the nightmarish food. They dropped their heads onto the tray and lapped up the awful substances with glee. After a brief tug-o-war with a disgusting looking slab of liver, they started shoving food into their nearly toothless maws with their big grubby and hairy hands, careless of the bits and splatters that ran down their cheeks and necks. “Mmmm.” Mungo Man said wiping his mouth on his fat harry arm. “Mungo Full Now! Now Mungo Feel... Horney...” it said smiling at Miguel. “Well Mungo better go find find Mrs. Mungo then and stop lookin' at me!” Miguel told it pushing back in his seat eying the creature with a warning look. “Vierco I think we should go now man, I don't...” he began as he looked over at his suddenly grown up brother. “Vierco No Want Go Outside Anymore! Vierco Want Stomp Little Brother Now!” Vierco said waving his fists in the air. “Gimme!” he yelled grabbing the teddy bear back from Miguel. He brought the small stuffed animal to his face as if to smell it, then suddenly shoved it in his mouth and bit off it's head. “Vierco Mufflfuffun Kozofoo!” he said with a mouthful of cotton. Miguel stood up and grabbed the chair dragging it with him as he ran for the white room at the end of the hall. “Hey!” Mungo Man bellowed. “Where Mungo Report?!” Miguel ignored him as he ran into the room and slammed the door placing his back up against it as he saw... “Papa!” he said as he smiled.

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There was Jack Sanchez, and Miguel's two uncles and his grandparents too! They all stood up and yelled “Surprise!” as he entered the room. The area was decorated for a party. There was colored balloons everywhere and confetti filled the air as the occupants of the room blew on the cardboard horns and shook the plastic noisemakers. “Here you go champ.” his father said as he put the pointed hat on his head and snapped the rubber band under his chin. There was a big cake on the table before him and everyone clapped their hands and urged Miguel toward it as his father handed him a knife. “I guess you can cut your own birthday cake this year buddy.” he said as he looked down at Miguel who smiled from ear to ear. “It... It's my birthday?” he asked confused as he stood before the cake, eying the pink and white frosting hungrily. “Yesser!” his grandfather said smiling at him. “Just cut yourself a piece of cake so we can open your present!” he said as he pushed the shoe-box sized brightly wrapped package toward him on the table. “OK!” Miguel agreed with joy as he reached out and sliced through the frosting and pulled out a big hunk of cake. As he dropped it onto the plastic plate he sat down the knife and looked around. “Eat up sport.” His father said as he held up the white plastic fork to his face. “Thanks papa.” he said with a smile as he took the implement and raised the plate to his face when he suddenly stopped and looked closely at the pastry in his hand. It wasn't cake at all. It was... It was liver! Chopped, stinky, slimy, disgusting liver. The “cake” appeared to be just a pile of organ meat with mashed potatoes for frosting. “Eww, what...?” he started to say.

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“Something wrong?” his father asked concerned. “I don't want this.” Miguel told him as he dropped the plate onto the table, thoroughly disappointed. “Hmm... Ok. Well then lets open that present!” Jack Sanchez said with a big grin. “OK!” Miguel agreed smiling again. He lifted the box and shook it hearing the rattling from within. It sounded like more than one item and his mind alit with the possibilities of what they could be. Without another moments hesitation he tore through the bright paper and ripped off the ribbon. Pulling the lid aside he reached in and pulled forth what looked like a martini glass. He raised his brows in confusion as he looked at his father through the empty glass. “Well? What do you think?” Jack asked him in warm expectation. “It's uh... great papa, but...” “Look inside! Theres more!” the man urged. Miguel reached into the box and pulled out a fresh unopened pack of cigarettes as he glanced around totally confused. “You... got me cigarettes? ...and an empty glass for my birthday? I don't...” he said slowly trying to see the joke. “Well it doesn't need to stay empty for long now does it?” his papa said as he reached up and emptied the contents of the cocktail shaker into the boy's glass. “Take a load off champ and watch the opera!” he told him as he pushed the boy back into the lounge chair. Miguel sat there in utter bewilderment with the drink in one hand and the cigarettes in the other as he looked at the awful show on the T.V. before him. “What's happening?” he asked them.

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Suddenly he felt tired and kinda comfortable in the overstuffed chair as he leaned back. He sat the drink down on the armrest and pulled a cigarette from the pack lighting it up with a match he couldn't quite remember from where he had gotten. “What else is on?” he asked staring at the screen lethargically. “Never mind I'll look.” he said as he tried to push himself up from the chair. He started to move, but he felt strangely heavy and off balance. Trying to see what was holding him back, he leaned to his side and pulled up his leg. His breath became quick and labored and he felt anger, fear, and disgust boiling up inside him as he saw his huge fat butt which held him fast to the chair. “NOOOOOOOooooooooooo!” Miguel awoke with a jump as he heard the lock on the door snap and the intense bright light blinded him momentarily. “Wha...!?” he cried out as he shielded his eyes. “Well now!” said the guard as he entered the room with the bright spotlight. “It seems we have an inmate with a bit of contraband here!” “Huh?!” he grunted in fear as his eyes slowly began to adjust. Erkki was there, and standing in the middle of the room for some reason with his back to him. One hand was busy doing something to his pants while in the other was... Was that a cigarette? Why did he have a cigarette? Where did he even get a cigarette? “Well I guess you just volunteered for the evening's entertainment didn't you boy?” the man said as he walked in. “Take off the jumpsuit.” he said as he crossed his arms while the two men behind him snickered to each other. “What?” Erkki asked in a tight voice.

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“You heard me boy! Take it off now!” Erkki complied with the order as Miguel sat on the cot behind him pulled up into a tight little ball watching them helplessly. “Nice.” the man commented as he stared at Erkki's bony naked little body. “You can leave the outfit here, you won't be needing it for a while.” he said as he reached out and grabbed the boy by the arm and roughly shoved him into the arms of the two guards outside the room. “Erkki!” yelled Miguel as he hopped up and ran toward him. He stopped suddenly and doubled over onto the floor as the man pulled his nightstick out of his gut. “You just keep still here boy before I decide to make it a two-for.” he told him as he walked out of the room and sealed the door. “Erk...!” Miguel struggled to scream and breath as he crawled across the dark floor. “Erkki!” he managed as he pulled himself to the slot in the door. “Erkki! Erkki!” he yelled reaching his arm through the little slot as hard and as far as he could. “Erkki!” he cried as the tears poured down his cheeks as they pressed against the cold metal of the door. “No!” Erkki yelled from somewhere down the hall “Erkkiiii!” Screamed Miguel in desperation. “No! Nooooooooooo....!” Erkki screamed in terror. “ERRRKIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!” Miguel screamed with all his remaining breath, clutching wildly with his hand as it groped madly in the dark empty hall on the other side of the door.

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White Queen's Knight to Dark Bishop 2

Chapter 5 Vince walked quickly across the parking lot of the Kirklighter building that morning with his bundle of papers tucked under him arm and a determined look in his eye. He strolled confidently into the administration office and rang the little bell on the front desk. "Can I help you?" the officer asked dully as he leaned back in his chair to look at Vince through the doorway of the next office. “I'm here to get Erkki Lahja.” he stated plainly. “Uh huh.” the man said sucking on his teeth. “...and you are?” “Vincent Behar. I'm a social worker with Ohio Child Services and Erkki is my client. I have all the necessary paperwork here to...” “Yeah Mr. Behar I'm sure you got all kinds of documents there in your little pouch, but until I get word from the man in charge of that case, he ain't leavin' here.” the man told him as he picked up his magazine clearly preparing to ignore Vince. “And who would that be?” Vince insisted. “That would be Browning.” he told him as he took a sip of coffee. “Cord Browning?” Vince said narrowing his eyes. 'What the blazes is going on here?' “That be the man.” the officer said adjusting his glasses still not looking at him.

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“Let me talk to him now.” Vince demanded as he stepped around the front desk and entered the office. “Whoa there. You can't just walk in here and...” the officer said dropping his magazine and standing up to face him. “I want to talk to Sheriff Cord Browning now or I will be back here with a court order to investigate this entire incident.” Vince demanded meeting the officer's gaze nose to nose. The uniformed man looked back at him measuring him up as he noisily sucked his teeth. Finally he sighed and sat down at the desk as he picked up the phone and dialed. “Heya Lenny.” he spoke into the receiver. “Put Cord on for a minute would you?” He paused waiting as he looked back up at Vince and the stack of paper he was lugging. “Morning Sheriff.” he said as he spoke again. “I uh... I got a fella here, says he's from O.C.S. and wants me to transfer custody of number 481777 to him.” he said staring at Vince. “Uh huh. Yeah I told him that, but... OK. You got it.” the man agreed as he put the phone aside onto his shoulder. “Sheriff says the kid's here on a felony charge and you got no authority in that case to walk out of here with him.” “Let me talk to him.” Vince insisted as he held out his hand. The cop looked at him for a long moment clearly hesitant to hand over the phone, but with one last disgusting tooth suck motion he handed the receiver over to Vince. “Office Browning?” Vince began. “I intend to take Erkki Lahja out of this facility right now today and assume temporary custody under Ohio State Law, Child Services Act number...

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What?” he stopped as he listened to the buzzing voice on the other end. “Don't hand me that load of road apples man.” he told him as his face reddened. “You had those two little boys arrested and dragged in here in chains under the charge of felonious assault with, what is this I read here? A water balloon?! Are you kidding me?” Vince told him almost spitting with anger. “Uh-huh.” he nodded listing to the garbled drone from the other end. “Letter of the Law huh? Speaking of letters Officer Browning, how exactly would you like the headline on the front page of the paper to read when I go down there and explain to those story hungry, antiauthoritarian newspaper columnists all about how these kids made huge fools out of your finest men and the methods by which you've personally chosen to deal with that?” There was only silence from the other end for a long moment. “Hello? Did you hear what I said Sheriff? If you think I'm kidding here, you've got another thing...” he paused as he listened to the buzz from the receiver. A moment later he pulled the phone away from his head and handed it back to the officer who sat watching him from his chair. “Uh-huh... OK...” the guard nodded as he looked at Vince. “Whatever you say Cord.” he said as the soft click sounded. The guard then reached up and pushed down the receiver nubs as he dialed again. “Rick? It's Bobby here. I got a guy here that's taking number 481777 out of custody.” he said pausing. “Yep, sure did, personally. OK...” he continued glaring at Vince. “OK, I'll tell him.” he said as he hung up the line. “He'll be out here in ten minutes.” he said adjusting his glasses and looking back at his magazine.

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“Thank you.” Vince said calmly. Cord slowly pulled the phone away from his face and hung up the line as he looked at Lenny who sat there on he other side of his desk staring at him. “Well what else was I gonna do?” he croaked in disgust. “We don't need anymore attention focused on this department right now. We got more important things to deal with, you and me. Gonna have to let this one go... for now.” “The ring?” Lenny inquired raising his brow. “Yeah, that too.” he said as he pulled his flask out of his drawer and began to fill the little glasses. “You drinkin' again Cord?” Lenny asked raising the other brow. “I never quit Len, I just had a... a thing goin' on for a bit, that's all. Anyway I'm over it.” Cord said raising his glass. “Good for you.” Lenny remarked smiling. “Yeah... good for me.” Cord grumbled as he swallowed the liquid. Vince waited impatiently in the little room outside the discharge area as he paced and rubbed his head. He wanted to get Erkki settled in safe and sound at St. Joesph's Hall as soon as possible so he could get him evaluated and figure out how to get him out of this mess. 'Why, in God's name, would they attack the police with balloon bombs?' he pondered to himself trying to pull logic from the chaos. '...and why would Browning react this way? I mean, I could understand arresting them and scaring them, and maybe leveling a big fine on Miguel's parent but Felonious Assault? Really?'

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There was clearly more to this story, he thought to himself as he remembered back to yesterday when he saw Erkki leap across his hood being pursued by police with dirty uniforms. Dirty uniforms, not men covered in grease and blue paint as was described in the report which insisted the boys jumped out and pelted them with balloons then ran off. That was a complete fabricated lie and Vince new it. The balloon incident must have come later, after he saw Erkki running across the street. So what did Erkki really do to get those men to chase him? Even more disturbing was the fact that Cord Browning wasn't even in the report as having been on the scene, when Vince knew he saw the big man lumbering after him on the street behind the four other men. His train of thought was interrupted by the door as it swung open and Erkki Lahja, followed closely by two guards, stepped through. The boy was dressed in his street cloths again and he carried a small brown paper sack containing his personal things before him with both hands which were still connected together with wrist locks. He looked soulfully up at Vince as he stopped and blinked his eyes. “I think you can safely unlock him now fellas.” Vince told the men as he pulled his lips to the side and squinted his right eye. “I believe the Marigold Police Department is under no more threat from any drive by balloonings.” The guard reached in front of Erkki and unfastened the cuffs. The boy completely avoided eye contact with the men as the shackles were pulled away from his small bony wrists and they walked off behind him closing the door. “Well Erkki Lahja...” Vince began looking the boy over. “It seems we meet at last. You and I have a lot to discuss and I need a few answers from you before I can get you some help.”

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“Where's Miguel?” Erkki inquired looking not at Vince but through him. “Miguel is at home Erkki. His father took custody of him early this morning.” “I want to see him.” Erkki demanded flatly. “I'm sorry Erkki, but that's not possible right now. You and he are still in a lot of trouble, and you need to come with me so I can set you up with a place to live.” Vince told him matching his flat tone. Then he softened a little and squatted down face to face with the boy. “Look uh... are you hungry? I know prison food isn't exactly fine cuisine. Lets go grab a couple hot dogs OK?” Vince invited with a smile as he reached over to place his hand on the child's shoulder. Suddenly startled, Erkki dropped his pack as he flinched back from Vince. A look of shear panic momentarily flashed across boy's face as he raised his hands in defense and began to take shallow breaths. “Whoa! Whoa!” Vince said calmly as he pulled back his hands. “Relax Erkki, I'm not gonna touch you, OK?” 'What the hell is wrong with him?' Vince asked himself. Why had his simple gesture of friendship suddenly sent the kid into fight or flight mode? Perhaps he was becoming delusional now from the stress of being arrested. Vince wasn't sure what to make of it yet, but he would certainly have to be more careful from now on. Vince sat watching Erkki as he sipped on his soda. He never saw a boy eat so fast and so much, and he wondered where he could possibly be putting it all. “So uh... You like hot dogs I guess eh?” “mhmm.” Erkki answered still stuffing his face.

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“Good. Good.” he acknowledged as he rested his chin on his hand. “Erkki...” he hesitated, not knowing where to begin. “Erkki, can we talk about your mother for just a moment? Erkki stopped eating and sat down his hot dog as he wiped the ketchup from his face with a napkin. “What about her?” he asked suspiciously. “Is she nice to you Erkki? I mean, does she hug and kiss you, and tie up your shoes before you run off, or pat you on the head when you bring home good grades?” “Look Mama!” Erkki beamed as he ran into the house delighted with his discovery. “I looked and looked all day and I... I kinda got a little hurt, but I'm OK! Look what I found!” he said huffing with excitement as he held aloft his prize. They were Tulips. Two perfect red tulips, and he held them up to his mother who sat in the lazy-boy chair watching the television with a distant and vacant look. “They're your favorite right? Mine too!” Erkki asked he as he proudly displayed the flowers before her. The woman didn't respond to him at all, however, as her gaze remained fixed at the screen. “I'll get a glass of water to put them in so they stay bright and red for you!” he told her as his bright blue eyes sparkled with love and joy. A few moments later the boy returned balancing a tray with a large glass filled three quarters of the way with water containing the posies which he carefully sat down on the table beside her. As he bent over and positioned the tray, a flash of stress and pain occurred to him and he reached down to touch his leg causing him to wince slightly.

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“I'll be right back momma. I gotta pee!” he told her as he skipped off happily but with a slight limp. Erkki walked into the bathroom and put his foot up on the toilet seat lifting his pant leg. His leg was sliced wide open when he bushed against a nail sticking out of an old board in the trash filled pond where he had spotted two of the exact flowers he was seeking all that day in the hot sun. Erkki knew what to do though. He had little choice but to learn how to deal with things like this. He grimaced as he wiped the wound clean with antibacterial soap and his eyes began to tear up just slightly as he sprayed the gash with antiseptic. Moments later, he had the injury packed with cotton and wrapped lightly with gauze as he trotted happily back out into the other room as if nothing was wrong. Sharon Lahja slowly looked over at the glass beside her. Without a word, she reached over and lifted it up from the tray, upending the tumbler and dumping it's contents onto the floor behind the chair. She then set it back down and refilled it halfway up with brown liquor before she again lifted the glass and started sipping from it. Erkki stood there quietly behind her looking mournfully down at the perfect little flower she had carelessly left to rot on the floor. “She's OK I guess.” Erkki answered with a distant look in his eyes. “Uh-huh, so... she doesn't hit you or yell at you or do anything strange to you?” Vince asked as he watched the boy closely. “No mister. She doesn't.” Erkki answered looking him strait in the eye this time. “How did you get the scars on your back and stomach Erkki?” Vince asked without blinking.

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“I... I have bad dreams sometimes.” Erkki told him as he narrowed his gaze. “Yeah, the black paper people.” Vince said as he pointed to a paragraph on the report before him. “They sound pretty scary Erkki. They sound like very frightening things to be wandering around in a little boys dreams, but...” he paused as he sat his cup down and folded his hands before him. “...but they can't physically hurt you Erkki. Dream monsters don't leave real life scars. It doesn't work like that.” “These ones do.” Erkki insisted meeting his gaze steadily. Vince frowned slightly and shrugged as he decided it was best to move on to the next thing. “Mister Sanchez tells me you had a little problem in the bathroom the other day. Do you remember that Erkki?” "All you have to do, kiddo, is put yourself in our hands.” “Yeah, I remember.” Erkki said looking down at his shoes. “So what happened Erkki? What were you doing in there for so long and who were you talking to in your made up language?” “Listen to me kiddo... No matter what they say to you, you do not have to suffer.” “I don't know.” Erkki answered truthfully. “Uh-huh.” Vince remarked as he watched him. “You really don't strike me as a thief Erkki. According to everything I've read or heard about you you've never stolen a

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thing. so...” he paused as Erkki gave him a confused look. “So why did you steal the money from Mr. Sanchez?” “What?!” Erkki asked shocked as he stood up strait. “What money?” “So was it Miguel who took the money that day Erkki?” Vince pressed. “What money?!” Erkki pressed back feeling a little angry now. “Mr. Sanchez said there was a one hundred dollar bill missing from his wallet which was supposed to go to the gas company to keep them from getting the service cut off, do you remember that Erkki?” “No! I mean Yes! I mean...!” Erkki groped in frustration for an answer. “Clam down Erkki. I understand boys sometimes do things they know they shouldn't when faced with temptation. After all there's lots of toys out there to buy with...” “But we didn't steal the money! The Hollow Man did! He gave it to me, but I didn't know he took it from Jack I swear!” Erkki cried out on the verge of tears. “The Hollow Man?” Vince questioned as he scanned over his papers flipping back a few sheets. “Yeah! The Hollow Man must have taken it!” Erkki insisted with a helpless look. “Hmmm...” Vince remarked as he pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and began taking notes. “Tell me all about the Hollow Man Erkki.” Erkki related the story of the mysterious man in the blue suit who somehow wandered into the locked bathroom and offered him a deal he didn't understand and how Erkki didn't trust him. He told Vince everything he could remember about the conversation and how the stranger had given him the money as a “gift”.

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“So... where did the man go after he handed you the money Erkki?” he asked the child curiously as he chewed on his pen. “He... He...” Erkki hesitated not sure what to say. “I don't know.” he finally answered, quite honestly. “Uh-huh.” Vince remarked thoughtfully as he mulled over the boy's peculiar story. “Have you seen the Hollow Man again at all since then?” Erkki started to answer, but his mouth clamped shut. It was just to painful for him to recall anything about last night and as the dark memories started to creep in, he forced them back into the small black hole in his mind where such dread things lurked. “I don't remember.” he answered honestly. “Uh-huh.” Vince said chewing his pen cap again. “There's just one more thing here Erkki I don't understand.” he said licking his lips. “Why do you call him The Hollow Man?” Erkki's mind boggled. How could he possibly explain his deeper vision and hypernatural perceptions to this man? As long and as well as he had known his best friend Miguel, he still failed to find any vocabulary to express to him what he saw in the people around him, even in concept. What could he say that would have any comprehensible meaning to this grown-up? “I don't know.” He answered honestly. “Do you hear any other imaginary voices in your head Erkki? Do they tell you to do bad things or to harm yourself?” “That's just stupid.” Erkki said getting frustrated again.

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“Calm down Erkki. I need to know what the imaginary people tell you to do. What they say to you when your all alone. What they...” “He's NOT imaginary!” Erkki yelled angrily as he banged his fist on the table. “Erkki...” Vince began. “Wait!” Erkki said suddenly with eyes wide as realization overcame him. He jumped up and quickly began rifling through his pockets. After a brief search, he pulled out a little white card and thrust it triumphantly at Vince who took it gently from his hand. “There! You see!” Erkki said smiling with excitement. “That's the Hollow Man right there! I didn't steal any money he did!” “Erkki...” Vince said looking closely at the card. “He's real you see!” “Erkki...” Vince started to speak again as Erkki interrupted. “That's his real picture right there!” “Erkki!” Vince hushed him by putting up his other hand making a stop gesture. “Erkki this card...” he said with a look of grave concern. “It's blank.” “What?!” Erkki answered dropping his smile. “No! It can't be!” “Look at it Erkki.” he said handing it gently back to the boy. “No! It can't be blank!” Erkki said starting to cry. “It can't be! It just can't be!” he repeated to himself as he fingered the plain white, empty card turning it over and over in his hands. “It can't be!”

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Erkki sat silently in the passenger seat of Vince's car. He hadn't spoken a word since they left the diner and Vince looked over at him wondering what kind of battle was raging on in that tiny little head. Furthermore he wondered who was winning, Erkki or his demons. “Did um... Did you really soak those somebitchs with grease balloons?” he asked him with a grin. “Yeah.” Erkki answered breaking just a hint of a smile as Vince laughed. “Not that they didn't deserve it, I'm sure, but... what on earth possessed you boys to follow through on a stunt like that?” “It's kinda complicated mister.” Erkki told him as he looked out the window. “Call me Vince, OK?” he said glancing at him. “OK mister... I mean... Mister Vince.” Vincent laughed out loud and raised his hand to pat the boy on the head, but as he saw Erkki tense up and shy away he lowered his hand and slapped his own knee instead. “You really don't trust grown-ups at all do you Erkki?” He asked glancing between the boy and the road. Erkki just sat silently and continued to stare out the window. “Sooner or later your going to have to let somebody into your world to help you. Other kids don't have the training or the experience to lead you through the problems you need to work out Erkki so it's going to have to be an adult. When the time comes for you to decide to open the door and allow yourself to be helped, you can talk to me at any time, day or night, no matter where you are, OK?” “ok.” Erkki answered quietly still looking away. Vince debated with himself in the car for a long time whether to bring up the subject. On the one hand it really

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didn't directly pertain to Erkki and his predicaments, and might even be a bit upsetting to him, assuming of course he knew anything at all, on the other hand well... it was important. “Erkki...” Vince began, speaking slowly and cautiously. “...do you know anything at all about your sister Gloria?” Erkki blinked his eyes and looked over at Vince. “She's dead.” he said plainly “Yeah I know that Erkki, but... did anyone every talk to you about her?” “I’m not gonna live in a world where all I have left is his eyes, and you.” “Kinda.” the boy responded gazing at his feet. “Well... what do they say about her? Did anyone ever talk to you about how she... you know... died?” “Um...” Erkki said scratching his head. “Take your time, it's not a quiz. There's no wrong answers here.” Vince assured him. “Momma said she was born a girl and wasn't 'sposed to be.” Erkki said as he played nervous footsies with himself. “Wasn't 'sposed to be? What does that mean Erkki? What was she 'sposed to be?” Vince questioned him cocking his head and listening intently to the child's quiet words. Erkki spoke in a near whisper as if he feared someone else might hear him in the car. “A boy.” Vince sat speechless. Had she really murdered her own baby just because it came out the wrong sex? Did she clothe and feed and clean and care for this child for six months then suddenly decide she would rather have a boy?

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“Erkki what month were you born?” Vince asked him as he thumbed through his note book. “December.” “What day?” he inquired as he began to count on his fingers. “Twenty-ninth.” he said proudly. “Oh shit...” he said out loud as he thought to himself 'Gloria was declared dead on April second. That's nine months almost to the day! Rational people don't just jump in bed and start going at it full tilt the moment their kid dies! My God, both of this kid's parents must have been in on it. What's wrong with these people? And why, after killing her own baby because she wanted a boy so badly, would she then abuse and mistreat that boy so profoundly?! What's wrong with these people? “What's wrong Mister Vince?” Erkki asked looking at him innocently. “Nothings wrong Erkki. Everything is going to be OK now. We're going to see to it that the house of Lahja is put in order and that the children sleep peacefully.” '...both of them.' “I want to thank everyone in attendance here today for their support and generosity in this our time of need.” the reverend said raising his hands to the gathered congregation. “As you know, our projects within the community have been quite taxing on the church's funds, though we are most joyed to offer a hand to our fellow man and will continue to do so despite any hardship. Our structure of worship, however, has entered a period of physical decline and though our hearts burst with joy and our souls are charged with the spirit of Christ, our plumbing has burst

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under pressure and our generator wont really charge at all.” the Father said smiling. “That is why I'm so happy to see you all here at this fund raiser and I offer my special thanks to Father Lagochi for arranging this event.” he said motioning to the man on his right. “Thanks to Father Lagochi's connections within the church hierarchy, we are privileged to be designated as the last stop for this wondrous holy relic before me.” he said motioning to the large carved platform before him upon which sat a round object under a white silk cloth bearing the Christian cross. “I would also like to offer my personal special thanks to the man on my left who, despite his very busy schedule and numerous responsibilities to the community, has decided to join us here today and has agreed to personally deliver this sacred relic safely into the arms of the courier of the Holy See when they arrive at the airport in three days. Let's have a big hand of thanks for Patron Sheriff Cord Browning everyone!” the preacher said motioning to the man on his left. Cord sat there looking rather uncomfortable in his Sunday suit with his course dark hair thick with mousse and combed down strait over his eyes. He looked up and waved to the applauding crowd with his right hand as he sat down his soda which he had secretly spiked with whiskey. “Now Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congregation of St. Mary's Church and their distinguished guests, I present to you the very ring of Saint Abban the Hermit.” he said as he reached forward and pulled the cloth aside revealing a glass dome the size of a basketball which contained a tiny glass platform upon which sat a large silver ring bearing a dark red stone.

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“I don't like it here Mister Vince. I hate this place. Why can't I go home with mom?” Erkki pleaded looking at the door of St. Joesph's Hall. “I know Erkki, I'm sorry.” Vince said as he crouched to bring himself level with the boy. “Your mother can't take care of you right now Erkki, she very... sick, and she's with people who can help her try to get better.” “Why can't I stay with Miguel then?” Erkki asked looking at the large, lime-green double doors before him, the stress clear in his eyes. “Because of recent events, it's been decided you and Miguel need some time apart from each other for your own good.” he told him. '...for your own good.' Erkki thought to himself. “Then why can't I just stay with you, Mister Vince?” Erkki begged as he looked into Vince's brown eyes with his own gleaming azure orbs. 'Oh God, don't do this to me kid.' he thought to himself as his heart leaped into his throat. “Because it doesn't work that way Erkki. I can't take you home with me. I'm not allowed to do that.” “It doesn't work the way it should, does it Mister Vince?” Erkki said sadly. “Nothing works the way it was supposed to, and no one knows how to fix it. Why do they have to make everything so hard?” “I... I don't really know Erkki.” Vince answered, not at all certain what the boy was talking about. “...but I promise you I won't just abandon you here, like the other people did. I have something very important to do right now, but I will be back, and I will do everything in my power to help you through this and get you out of here and into a real

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home, with people who actually deserve to love a great kid like you. OK?” Erkki scanned deeply into Vince's eyes. The man felt suddenly uncomfortable, the kind of feeling you get when you notice your fly is open and you wonder how long it's been so. For a moment Vince thought he saw the child's eyes go from bright azure to cold metallic blue. He blinked away the strange illusion and stood up. “Is it a deal Erkki?” “OK Mister Vince, I believe you.” “Can I get you another drink Sheriff? Or perhaps a sandwich?” Father Dolsey offered with a smile as he approached the large man there outside the church. The guests of the opening benefit had moved out into the churchyard where food and drinks were being served. Cord stood off to the side away from the crowd with Deputy Lenny Druke as the old priest approached them. “No thank you padre, we're fine over here.” he said with a crooked smile. “Just enjoying this fine summer afternoon God has seen fit to bless this unworthy soul with today.” “Indeed he has gentlemen, indeed he has!” the elderly man agreed. “Well, heh, it seems someone has decided to help themselves to the cake a bit ahead of schedule.” he noted with a chuckle as he pointed over to the table in the very back of the churchyard. Upon it was a huge professionally baked cake consisting of multiple levels of heavily frosted angel food. From his new vantage toward the back of the yard, Father Dolsey could see someone had managed to sneak up from behind the table and cut themselves a large slab of the pastry.

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“Kids!” the joyous old man declared laughing as he walked off. “Gotta love 'em.” “Yeah.” Cord agreed cheerlessly. “You sure do.” As the old man walked off, Cord waved and smiled at the other guests speaking quietly to Lenny. “The old man has the key.” “I figured.” Lenny answered looking around. “So can't you just jimmy it open and make the switch?” “Yep. I could do that, no point though.” Cord said as he waved at Old Mrs. Greer who was waving at him. “It comes out in three days to go in the travel case anyway, I'll be the one with the key to that, and all the time in the world to make the switch with the fake one.” “Where's the fake one?” Lenny asked sipping his drink. “Back at the house in the hands of the only guy I can trust to watch it.” Cord answered. “Filbert?” “Filbert.” he acknowledged. “Nice. So are they still giving us what was discussed to do this thing? After... you know, the other thing, I've been kinda wondering if maybe...” “That's all over with. They don't care about that anymore, it's been taken care of now. I got the ring from their man in Cleveland and it's a perfect copy.” Cord assured him. “Uh-huh... and your sure these churchies and their people across the ocean aren't going to notice the switch?” “Hell no.” Cord answered wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “The damn ring is so Holy to them, that there's a taboo about even touching the stupid thing. Besides even if they did find out, it would be too late. Once that little bauble is in the hands of their private collector, whoever the hell that

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is, we get paid in cash and it's grass skirt time for you and me.” he said with a satisfied smile. “Still set on Tahiti Cord?” Lenny asked as he munched on a handful of church mints. “Yeah maybe... or maybe coastal Mexico I don't know. It really doesn't matter as long as I get the hell out of this dirty city for good.” “I hear that. Cheers?” Lenny offered raising his glass. “Cheers.” Cord accepted clinking his glass as the two men walked off back toward the party. Just over the hedge, directly behind where the two men had been standing a moment ago, sat the crouching form of young Jay Greer. The boy was sitting as quietly as he could there in the shadow of the shrubbery, still holding onto what was left of the big piece of cake he had managed to sneak in and slip away with. Under the layers of frosting and pastry crumbs, Jay's face was lit with realization. Erkki sat his suitcase down on the footlocker at the edge of the bed and clicked it open. He frowned in disappointment at the selection of nerdy shirts and pants which had been gathered up for him from his closet at home. He pushed the clothes around seeking something acceptable to wear, but finding nothing particular to his liking, he decided to hold out in his loose, over-lengthened jeans and white t-shirt for another day. “Seriously?” he remarked to himself as he saw the little brown teddy bear strapped to the inside of the luggage lid. 'Grown-ups are so stupid.' he thought to himself as he shut the lid in disgust.

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“Hey weasel-boy.” called the tall youth as he walked into the dorm room. “That's my bed.” “The man said I could have bed number fifteen.” Erkki said defensively. “Yeah? Well that's number fifteen 'A' and it's mine.” “Fine.” Erkki told him not wanting a confrontation right now as he picked up his things and tossed them onto the top bunk. “No.” the older and much bigger boy said as he reached up and scooped Erkki's things down onto the floor with a clatter. “That's fifteen 'B' and it's mine too.” “Then where am I supposed to sleep!” Erkki challenged getting angry. “How should I know, more importantly, why should I care?” he said walking away laughing as he closed the door behind him. Paul Grover. Of course that wasn't this particular boy's name. His name was George Portski, but it hardly mattered. Anyplace where kids have to be, that they don't want to be in the first place, there's always a “Paul Grover”. He's usually the biggest boy physically, though not always, and seems to have made it his personal mission in life to make absolutely sure everyone else is at least a little more miserable than he is. Worse still, Erkki seemed to act as an irresistible magnet to “Paul Grovers” everywhere and in every case he wound up being the kid who was locked under the target reticule of the bully gun. Erkki sighed as he regathered his clothes and stuffed them into the trunk with his name on it. He dropped the teddy bear in last as he shook his head and slammed the lid in anger.

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“Nice kid.” Said the Hollow Man as he rested on another trunk across the room. “You want I should teach him some manners?” he asked drawing on his cigarette. “YOU!” Erkki cried filling with rage. “You got me in a lot of trouble mister!” “Moi?” the Hollow Man said innocently as he gestured to himself. “How so? Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't think I am, I merely offered you a way out of trouble, am I right?” “Well...!”Erkki stuttered trying to find the words in his head to defend his own view of the situation, but for some reason he couldn't quite. “Well, yeah, but...! but...!” “...buuut, you decided not to listen to me, am I right?” he countered easily. “Yeah, but...!” “...aaand now wonderboy is in trouble again. Imagine that...” he said as he lifted his fedora from his head and started fiddling with the brim. “I'm worried about you boy-o, really I am. It hurts me to see you suffer so, really it does.” he said almost absentmindedly. “You stole from my best friend's papa.” Erkki accused him narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists. “Did I? Did I steal da money? Are you sure about that? Maybe he lost the hundred bucks. Is there proof of said deed? Of course not. Now Erkki, if you would just give me a chance to help you I...” “I didn't say anything about stealing any money.” Erkki stated without flinching, never once blinking at the man.

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The Hollow Man stopped fiddling with his hat and froze. Somewhere in the distance, from a direction Erkki couldn't pinpoint, he heard a feint but monstrous angry bellow. “Fine.” the Hollow Man said as he tipped his hat back onto his head and stood. “If that's the way you want it, so be it.” he said straitening his vest. “...but let me leave you with one word of advice, if I may. These people will never understand or accept you Erkki Lahja, and you will never understand or accept them. There's nothing redeeming here boy-o, just a bunch of souls who don't deserve to have it as good as they have it. There's them, there's pain, there's suffering, then there's death, and if you think it stops there, ho ho! Oh no, boy-o, that's when the real suffering starts, at least for you. You know what's waiting for you on the other side Erkki? Do ya? Nothin', dats what. Not your average, standard ,zero quantity nothin', no no. I mean absolute nothin'. Utter absence of existence. You just float around all day in the nothin' with the rest of the people like yous, and try not to go completely insane. Sound like fun?” “I want you to go away.” Erkki insisted as he squeezed his eyes shut. “I'm gone kid, but just remember, it doesn't have to end like that, there is another option.” “I don't care! I want you to go away!” “But I just got here!” said the chubby little boy as he stood halfway through the door. “...and I need my box. I forgot my crayons!” Erkki shook his head several times to clear his thoughts. The Hollow Man was gone, hopefully for good, though his words still raced through the boy's mind. 'Utter absence of existence.' how could that be?

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' ...the rest of the people like yous...' whom did he mean? “So... can I come in?” the child asked sheepishly. He looked to be close to Erkki's age, perhaps just a bit younger, maybe and inch taller, and quite a bit more doughy. He wore short pants with sandals and a bright blue t-shirt emblazoned with a large “Superman” 'S'. His hair was sandy blond and hung down just below his shoulders. “Yeah, sorry, I wasn't talking to you, I was... just...” Erkki said embarrassed. “Funny-talk!” the boy said smiling as he continued on his way to the locker at the foot of his bunk. “What?” Erkki asked him confused. “You were doing Funny-talk! It's OK, I do it too sometimes see!” the boy told him as he began rambling off meaningless strings of random consonants and vowels. “Your much better at it than I am though Sir!” the boy said as he retrieved his little box of marking wax. “I wasn't making any funny-talk, I was just...” Erkki stopped as he caught the small detail. “Did you just call me Sir?” “Yes Sir, I'm sorry.” the boy said casting his eyes down. “No, it's OK. It's just that no one has ever called me Sir before.” Indeed not, and Erkki couldn't recall himself ever calling anyone Sir before either. “Oh... I'm sorry.” the boy repeated sorrowfully making Erkki laugh out loud. The chubby child looked up at the snickering boy and gave him a hurt look. Erkki covered his mouth to try to stop himself from laughing at the boy whom he suddenly felt so bad for, but yet found so comical.

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“I'm sorry!” Erkki giggled. “I'm not laughing at you to be mean, I swear! I just think your funny!” he told him grinning ear to ear. “Really?” the boy asked as he instantly brightened and smiled back at him. “Yeah! I'm Erkki what's your name?” he said wiping the tear of laughter from his eye. “That's a funny name!” the boy said as he counted his crayons. “Yeah.” Erkki shrugged “I guess it is. So what's your name?” “I'm Eddy, Eddy Nussbaum and...” he began as a flash of stress crossed his face. “...and I lost one somewhere.” “Lost what?” Erkki asked as he watched the dumpy boy slowly scan the area. “My blue.” he said holding the large box of carefully arranged crayons before him. It was the big box, the one with seventy-two colors. “I've lost my sky blue.” he said clearly worried. “Is this it?” Erkki asked as he bent down and picked up the little half-crayon which he spied under the edge of his bed. “Yes!” Eddy said joyfully as Erkki handed him the item. “Thank you Sir!” Erkki began to giggle again as he shook his head at Eddy. “You need to work on that Sir thing Eddy.” he said as he put his arm around the boy's shoulder and began to walk out the door with him. “Yes Sir.” Eddy said Sheepishly making Erkki start to laugh all over again. **********

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Vince sat there at the microfiche terminal pouring over records and old newspaper archives. He hoped the answers he wanted were in here somewhere. He located the birth and death records of Gloria Lahja, and they confirmed the story that the child's passing was attributed to crib death. He also found what was left of the public records of the brief investigation of the incident, but found them to be heavily censored and not much help. It seemed as if the investigator, which was indeed Cord Browning as Ben indicated, was starting to make some kind of breakthrough on the case, but suddenly stopped and decided to declare crib death, shutting the whole operation down. It was senseless. He found the newspaper article from that April day, but it was also quite free of details, though it did contain a black and white photo of the family which Vince started to pass over, moving his way to the next record, when he suddenly stopped short. He slowly wheeled the machine back into position over the photograph inspecting it carefully. There was his mother and father, Sharon and John Lahja seated together, but who was the man in back? The photograph caption didn't name him but there was something very odd about him just the same. For one thing, even though the picture was quite poor quality and the microfiche card had seen better days, his face was crystal clear, and his eyes... They seemed almost to reach out from the image in the glass. They were cold and blue. Vince had no idea how he knew they were blue, but he knew just the same. Those were Erkki's eyes, but older, and utterly devoid of compassion. Vince shivered as he noted the reference number. On his way out he would have a hard copy made of the photo.

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Perhaps someone knew who this stranger was, and what he had to do with Erkki. ********** “Hey you wanna play ball?” Erkki invited as he and Eddy walked along the fenced in area behind the school. Several children were busy playing baseball and it looked to him like they were short a couple guys. “Nah.” Eddy answered rubbing his head. “I'm not very good.” “It's OK, you don't have to be Joe Morgan, it's just field ball.” Erkki urged with a smile. “Well...” Eddy said obviously afraid. “OK forget those guys lets play tetherball, just you and me.” he invited again. Erkki was desperate for something to take his mind off his troubles. He was worried about his mother, worried about Miguel, worried about his future, and most of all, worried about his own sanity. “Well...ok.” Eddy agreed hesitantly. The two kids stopped at the tetherball pole, one on each side. Now, normally there's no such thing as a friendly game of tetherball. Clearly a past time invented by a vicious mind, the object of tetherball is to whack a hard leather weight, attached to the top of a pole by a short metal chain, around said pole clockwise until it was fully wound and no longer whackable. The child on the other side, would attempt to counter your whacks with his own counterclockwise whacks and wind the weight around his perspective direction to a stop. Of course this all wouldn't be as brutal as it sounds if the ball was perhaps made of sponge, or at least something a bit more forgiving than a five pound solid leather bag, but it's not. It would also help if, instead of a steel linked chain, there were something less prone to limb

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trapping such as a rubber cord, but it's not. Add just a little drop of adrenalin and a dash of testosterone and you have the arm slicingest, finger twistingest, eyeglass smashingest, neck jammingest, and nose bleed inducingest playground game ever invented. Erkki served the ball rather gently to Eddy who, instead of counter striking it, knocked it on round in the direction he received it. Erkki batted the ball a little faster continuing it moving around the pole in his direction as the chain shortened. Eddy again sent it clockwise in Erkki's favor and moments later the ball struck the poll, the chain completely wound. “Yea! We win!” Eddy announced triumphantly. “Uh... Yeah Eddy. That's great.” Erkki said somewhat disappointed. “Lets try it differently this time, OK? I'll hit the ball around this way...” Erkki demonstrated as he pushed the weight around the pole clockwise. “...and you hit the ball around this way.” he said, again demonstrating in the opposite direction. “Got it?” “Well... OK Sir, if you say so.” Eddy agreed “Here you can serve this time. Just toss it up and smack it with your hand.” Erkki explained as he swung the ball over to Eddy. Eddy held the object for a long moment in his right hand. He pulled back his left several times as if to strike it, but seemed to have trouble coordinating the toss with the swing. Finally he dropped the ball with his right and smacked it hard with his left sending it careening into the center pole where it bounced back and hit poor unsuspecting Eddy directly in the face. “Eddy! Are you OK!” Erkki cried as he rushed over to help the child who had dropped to his knees with his head back holding his nose.

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“Um...” came the nasally voiced response. “I think so. Did I win?” “Yeah man you won alright.” Erkki said with a smile as he pulled back the boy's hair from his face. “...and you were right Eddy. You really do stink at this.” “I told you so Sir.” “So, they don't know you come out here?” Erkki asked as he squeezed through the gap in the chain fence. “Oh, they know.” Eddy said waiting for him to pass trough. “But they don't really care as long as I don't try to run away or anything. Come on it's just through here!” The two boys moved down the path in the small wooded area behind the social yard of St. Joesph's Hall. Eddy was quite excited to show his new friend his (sorta) private hideout and he held back the branches of the trees motioning for Erkki to hurry. As they traveled along, Erkki surveyed the land for other paths and hiding places 'just in case' he thought to himself. “You ever think about doing it?” Erkki asked while deftly ducking the branch that came flying back from Eddy. “Doing what?” “You know, running away.” “Nah...” Eddy said as he climbed over the fallen tree. “Where would I go? You may not know Erkki, but it's not very nice out there. I mean, it's not very nice here neither but, it's really not very nice out there. It used to be nice, I guess, before my Da and Ma went away, but... well, it's just not very nice anymore. Some of the kids here are mean, like George. He's really mean to me, but he's mean to everyone.” “What's his problem anyway?” Erkki asked still a little angry over him attempting to steal his bed. “He hurts inside, that's all, and it makes him mean.”

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“He does?” Erkki asked puzzled. The boy he saw didn't look to be in much pain. “Yeah. He sleeps in our dorm room and I've heard him cry at night sometimes after lights out, after he thinks everyone has gone to sleep.” “Hmmm...” Erkki remarked to himself. “But not everyone is mean! Some of the other kids are nice to me, and the moderators and teachers are kinda OK. Even though they... well, they don't like my pictures very much. They say I'm just wasting my time drawing instead of doing good in math and junk.” 'Grown-ups are so stupid...' Erkki griped to himself. “Oh! And your nice Sir!” “Thanks Eddy.” Erkki said slightly uncomfortable. “But could you maybe, you know, not call me Sir all the time? It's kinda...” “Here we are!” Eddy announced, not listening to him. At the end of the short trail sat a small wooden shack. At one time it may have been a temporary office hastily tossed together at a local construction site only to be dumped into, and abandoned in, these woods behind the group home. Whatever it once was, it was now little Eddy Nussbaum's port in the storm that had become his young life. As Eddy opened up the door and lead Erkki inside he gasped in wonder as his eyes attempted to take it all in. The single room shack wasn't very big, it was perhaps the size of a tight, one car garage. On the outside, indifference and neglect had rendered it into an unassuming, almost unnoticeable shambling structure, but on the inside... “It's...” Erkki said staring around the room with his mouth hung open. “It's...” “Do you like it Sir?” Eddy asked seriously as he tried to gauge Erkki's reaction.

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“It's... awesome!” he said at last as Eddy's smile returned bigger than ever before. Every inch of wall inside the dilapidated hut was covered and covered over again with crayon drawings. From large poster size sheets upon which was rendered vast landscapes to little index cards bearing sketches of random single objects, and every size and shape of paper in between. The place was an explosion of color and chaotic design. There was so much to see within the area, that it gave forth the illusion of being much larger on the inside than the outside and Erkki began to actually feel dizzy as his eyes swam around the magnificent space. “Do you really think it's nice Sir?” “Oh Eddy... this is waaay better than nice, this is... awesome!” Erkki told him sitting down cross-legged on the floor to keep from feeling vertigo. “See... there's Mrs. Hershburger, there's Mr. Wagner, and there's Mr. Johnson my case worker.” he explained as he conducted his tour around the room. “Here's St. Josephs, here's some cowboys in Montana, these are aliens on the moon, this is my favorite banana picture...” “Slow down Eddy.” Erkki said still trying to take it all in. “Let me just look around a little.” “OK sir, I'm sorry.” the child said looking down at his shoes. “Eddy damn, stop being sorry.” Erkki laughed. “I just need a minute to get used to this that's all. Erkki stood and slowly walked along scanning the walls. Some of the artwork was pure expression in bold solid colors and wide sweeping strokes, while other pictures were carefully drawn and so realistically detailed Erkki felt as if he could reach into them like a window into another world, and

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it was all crayon. He felt humbled by the other boy's obvious genius as he took in the room's majesty. “Those are my Ma and Da.” Eddy told him as he stopped to look at a large double portrait of a man and woman. “Where are they?” Erkki asked lightly touching the paper. “There dead now.” Eddy answered matter-of-factly. “Oh, sorry Eddy.” “It's OK Sir. They were sick for a long time and God took them up to heaven so they could be happy and not be sick anymore!” '...that's when the real suffering starts, at least for you.' “Sir? Are you OK?” the boy asked concerned as he saw Erkki's knees wobble. “Yeah Eddy, I'm OK. I just... Hey is that George?” he said changing the subject as he pointed to a piece of notebook paper with the awful boy's image in crayon. “Yeah that's him. Don't let him see it though. I don't think he would like it.” Erkki gently took the push pin from the wall and brought the image up closer to his face. It was George Portski alright. There he stood from the waste up with his arms folded high over his chest and a nasty snarl on his face. Eddy had managed to capture the boy's “What are you looking at?” expression brilliantly in pure crayon wax. The aspect which most drew Erkki's attention was however, was the ghostly image of the little boy Eddy had drawn inside the tough kid's chest. The tiny crayon child sat there on a box

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with his head in his hands obviously crying, and his shirtless body was covered in cuts and bruises. “Yeah Eddy, I don't think he would like it either, but I think it's pretty cool.” “Thanks Sir.” It was rather hard to notice with all the optical noise going on in Eddy's room, but most of his “people pictures” had smaller images embedded within the smiling or brooding faces that took up most of the paper canvas. Take Mrs. Hershburger's stern countenance for instance. Deep within the olive gray, tight collar covered elderly woman's chest was a barely noticeable image of a little dancing girl, all dressed for the ballet. Or perhaps the picture of Eddy's favorite teacher Mr. Wagner which contained a smaller image of him as a clown handing out balloons. It seemed no matter who they really were, Eddy had the amazing gift of being able to see the good in them. A power which stood in complete contrast to Erkki's. In his case, no matter how good someone appeared to be, he could not block out the awful darkness inside of them. “Why aren't there any pictures of you here?” Erkki asked looking around. “It's hard to draw yourself, besides well... I'm not very interesting Sir.” “Eddy, you may just be the most interesting person I've ever met!” ********** “Judge Stroop? Judge Stroop are you in here?” Vince called as he entered the greenhouse. The bright late afternoon sun shone down into the building through the glass roof making it uncomfortably

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warm and damp inside as he wiped his brow with his kerchief. “Hello? Judge Stroop?” “What can I do you for you young man?” said the elderly occupant as he appeared from behind the row of hanging tomatoes. He was seated in a wheelchair which he rolled out into the center aisle as he sat the small garden hose aside on the table. “Good evening Judge Stroop. My name is Vincent Behar and I'm here on behalf of a young client of mine. “You a lawyer Mr. Behar? Funny you don't look much like a lawyer. Of course things have changed, I suppose since...” “I'm not a lawyer Judge Stroop. I'm just here to discuss an old case with you, if I may.” Vince told him as he pulled out his pen and notebook. “Oh... well, OK. Are you thirsty Mr. Behar? My wife makes the best lemon-lime aid, I tell ya, and I'm sure there's a pitcher ready in the fridge.” he said wheeling past Vince and smiling warmly to him. “No thank you Judge Stroop. I'm actually here to discuss Gloria Lahja with you.” The old man stopped in his tracks as he pulled up the break on his chair. The smile vanished from his face and he cast his eye's forward looking off into the distance. “I think you should go now Mr. Behar.” “Sir, I think it's important we discuss the details of this case. The public report was censored and...” “Why?” the old man interrupted still looking off into nowhere. “Excuse me Sir?” “Why is it important to drag up that poor family's tragedy after ten years?”

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“Because of Erkki Lahja, Judge Stroop.” Vince told him looking at the back of his head. The man's faded gray eyes opened wide with recognition as he began to turn around to face Vince. “Erkki Lahja.” the old man repeated. “There's a name I haven't heard in a long time son. I actually thought I might be able to go peacefully into my grave without ever hearing that big evil viking man's name again. By the way, I ain't a Judge no more boy... it's just Mister Stroop now.” 'Big evil viking man?' Vince pondered. 'What the hell is he... wait.' Vince reached into his pocket and unfolded the photocopy of the picture from the old article he had gotten at the library and handed it to Judge Stroop. “Is this the man your talking about?” he asked pointing the the mysterious spooky-eyed man in the back. “God help us. Yeah, that's him. That's Erkki Lahja.” the old man said as he fingered the paper with an obviously fearful look in his eyes. “Look son, I don't know who sent you here or what kind of client your working for, but you need to let this go. You need to allow poor Gloria to rest in peace and let that be that. This man he...” Judge Stroop said as he wiped his brow which had begun to sweat profusely. “...he ain't a man, at least not entirely. He's... well, I don't honestly know for sure, but he's gone now, God willing, and his son is gone too. So also, Mr. Behar, is little Gloria, so I think you should get gone as well and forget this nonsense.” he told him as he turned his chair away from Vince and rolled toward the door. “It's important for my client's well being to understand what happened here, Mr. Stroop. There could be even more problems with...”

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“Just who is your client Vincent Behar, to whom all this seems to be so damn important?” the old man asked turning toward him again. “My client is Erkki Lahja, Mr. Stroop, Erkki Lahja Jr, I guess” “Junior?!” the old man repeated at him exasperated. “There's an Erkki Lahja Junior?!” “Yes sir, here's his picture.” Vince told him as he held up the boy's file photo. “As I said, we really need to understand...” “Oh God in heaven save us! Merciful Lord grant us salvation!” the strange old man blurted as he wheeled himself out of the greenhouse as quickly as he could and headed back toward the little farmhouse where Vince heard him lock himself inside. He stood there feeling frustrated as he thought to himself. 'What's wrong with these people?'

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Dark King to White Bishop 3

Chapter 6 “You know, you are without a doubt, the goofiest looking kid I have ever had the pleasure of beating senseless!” George said as he shoved Erkki against the wall of the boy's bathroom. “Leave me alone!” Erkki yelled at him as he recovered his balance. “Why what are you gonna do? Tell on me? Are you gonna run off crying to Mrs. Hershburger? Waa waa waa Georgie made me feel bad, Georgie's mean waa waa! Is that what your gonna do you little pixie elf lookin' freak?” “No!” Erkki answered in frustration. “Then what are you gonna do, huh? I'll tell you what your gonna do weasel-boy, your gonna stand there and take it, and when I feel like handing it out again, your gonna stand there and take it some more!” he said as he landed a hard left uppercut into Erkki's breadbox. Erkki doubled over breathless as he struggled not to fall to his knees. He was in pain but he refused to prostrate himself before the bully. “Yeah, that's right. You got nuthin'.” George said as he walked over to the sink and quickly washed his hands. Without another word he reached up and pulled a paper towel out of the dispenser and dried off. As he left the room he threw the wet balled up rag at Erkki. 'Another fine day in the life of Erkki Lahja.' he thought to himself as he slowly regained his composure.

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The Thursday morning sun lit up the bathroom through the large window in the east wall and he decided he should try to finish what he came in here for before breakfast. He was still quite tired and he rubbed his sleepy eyes as he stood there before the urinal trying to wake up. His bed was the one directly over George Portski, who had actually tried to make him sleep on the floor last night as he declared the top bunk was off limits. Only the monitor who insisted Erkki get into his cot as he checked on the dorm room saved him from the hard ground. Even so, the cruel teen spent the next several hours randomly kicking the underside of the bunk not allowing Erkki to fall asleep. Just under the surface, Erkki's mind was seething with worry and stress. He had no intention of spending the next several years hiding from George Portski, or being tormented by him, and he needed to be sure Miguel was really OK as the two boys hadn't seen each other since the bad men took Erkki away that night in the lockup and... and... 'Oh God, why did they do that to me?' Erkki pondered as he closed his eyes tightly and pushed the black tentacles of the beastly memories back into the dark void from which they had tried again to escape. 'You better get me out of here fast Mister Vince.' he said to himself, and decided he should start making other plans, just in case. Erkki hurried down to the cafeteria and waited for the lady behind the counter to fill up his tray. He looked at the somewhat unappetizing heap of off-colored scrambled eggs and undercooked hashbrowns with damp toast that the woman handed him with a dull smile. Without a word he took the tray and smiled back at her as he searched the room full of children for Eddy.

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The boy was easy to find as he was sitting there by himself waving joyfully at Erkki who waved back at him with a slightly embraced low profile greeting. He sat his tray down on the long table before the seat next to Eddy as he glanced around. “How come you don't sit with the other kids?” Erkki asked feeling a bit segregated. “Well... they always talk about base-hoops and pooping and junk. Whenever I try to say something they kinda laugh at me.” “Base-hoops?” Erkki inquired with a laugh. “You mean Baseball?” “Yeah that stuff. I don't know a lot about hoop-ball Sir, I'm not very good at it.” “Yeah, I saw that!” he told Eddy laughing a little more as he recalled the image of the awkward boy holding his nose. “You poop though don't you? Or aren't you any good at that either?” Erkki asked cocking his head to the side and smiling. “No I'm pretty good at that Sir.” Eddy said returning his smile as the two kids shared a laugh. “Well look who we have here!” said George Portski as he dropped his hands down hard on Erkki and Eddy's shoulders. “Look at the cute little lover boys sitting here all alone in their little love nest.” he said loudly. “Well why don't you two newlyweds just spoon feed each other while we watch, huh?” “What?” Erkki said getting angry again. “Hell no. Just go away jerk.” “Jerk? Oh I'm a jerk am I? Well you better do what the jerk says weasel-boy and chunky-butt, or I'm gonna pound both of you little fags!”

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“Better just do as he says Sir.” Eddy said sorrowfully. “It'll be over with quicker that way.” he said raising a spoonful of powdered scrambled eggs to Erkki's lips. “Hell no!” Erkki rebuked as he pushed away the utensil. “Well now it's looks like I got one with a little bit of spine and attitude here.” George said as he bent down closer and spoke softer. “It's just a shame I'm gonna have to break that spine and stomp that attitude into the ground though, isn't it punk?” “Go away George.” Erkki said with a stern look of warning. George Portski locked gazes with him for a moment as the psychological showdown raged. Moments later he lifted his hands from the boy's shoulders, placing them on the back of their heads, and shoved their faces into the trays. George laughed as he walked off leaving Erkki and Eddy to pull their heads up out of the food while the other kids giggled and snickered at them. Several children didn't laugh, however, as they watched the scene knowing full well how the two kids felt. “Eddy? Are you in there?” Erkki called out as he approached the old shack in the woods. After breakfast, all the boys in his age group were treated to a long dull speech about respecting feelings and hygiene as well as a full dissertation on the fine points of playground safety. It was grueling and Erkki was honored with a reprimand slip for falling asleep twice. He was told he had to see a doctor later today who was coming here to evaluate him, whatever that meant, but for now he intended to spend the rest of the morning dozing in the chair in the common room watching Fat Albert (his

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favorite cartoon) and whatever else came on after. Eddy though it seemed, had other plans for him. He looked down again at the note he found on his chest while he was in between dreams after the assembly in the common room chair. 'Hi Sir. Meet me out at the place when you wake up. I have something to show you!' it read in bright blue crayon. It seemed safe to assume this was “the place” as Eddy never seemed to go anywhere else, and he called to him again as he knocked on the door. “Eddy?” “Come on in Sir! I'm just finishing up right now!” said the somewhat garbled voice from inside the building. Erkki slowly opened the door again overtaken by the tsunami of color which washed out over him as he stepped inside. There stood Eddy before a large easel which faced away from the door. His mouth full of various color crayons of varying length and his hands going full pace on the drawing. He looked up at Erkki and smiled as best he could with the wax sticks poking from his lips as he rubbed the fresh crayon lines with his thumb, blending their colors. “Durm glept ulibble.” Eddy said looking at him. “Huh? I can't understand you with the...” he told him as he drew a circle around his mouth with his finger. “O.” Eddy said as reached up and pulled most of the tools from his cheeks. “Turn left a little.” “Is that a picture of me?” Erkki asked excited as he started to step behind the wooden board. “No! Not yet!” Eddy insisted holding his multicolored wax covered hand out to stop him. “It's not done yet. I just need a few more minutes, so could you...” he said nodding his head to the left.

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“Yeah OK.” he agreed as he posed slightly left for him. “So how come you keep all your pictures out here Eddy? Why don't you hang them up so everybody can see them? At least the ones that aren't of real people.” “I used to Sir, but it kinda got uhkky.” he said as he switched colors. “Uhkky? What does that mean?” “Well... They would put one up for a while, then it would get ripped and thrown away, or some kid would draw on it, or it would just vanish. Then people started analyzing them, you know what I mean? If I drew anything with too much color, or too much fantasy, or too much whatever, they would make me go to sessions or take stupid pills that made me feel all weird.” 'Grown-ups are sooooo stupid!' Erkki thought with great irritation. “It's just better this way. Only people who matter can see my stuff now.” he told Erkki as he smiled across the easel to him. “OK! It's done! I hope you like it Sir.” the boy said stepping back and holding his fists up to his chin. “I'm sure it's awesome Eddy.” Erkki told him as he quickly walked around to see his newest work. “After all, your the best artist I've ever seen and... whoa.” he said as he stared in nervous wonder at the image before him. The boy in the picture stared back at him through wide metallic blue eyes drawn by rubbing sky blue into silver. His long black hair was flecked with glints of yellow gold and hung around his bare shoulders almost to his waste, where the picture stopped. His skin was light peach, but it had a strange platinum effect which he had no idea how Eddy had managed. Behind the figure stretched forth a series of silvery-white lines and very light blue misty things which

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seemed to cradle the boy within them who peered out upon Erkki with a look of almost infinite compassion. “Eddy...” he said breathlessly as he locked eyes again with the boy from his very own dream. This was him. This was exactly the way Erkki remembered with the important exception of the expression on this ones face. The Erkkithing in his dream was cold and exuded an aura of overwhelming and terrible judgment, while this version... it's gaze reflected only understanding and forgiveness. “You think it's OK sir? I mean, I hope you don't mind that I drew you without a shirt or anything, but it didn't feel right for you to have anything on, and the eyes aren't quite right really. Maybe if I just redid the outline here...” he said as he approached the large sheet of paper with a fresh crayon. “No!” Erkki cried as he reached out and grabbed Eddy's arm. “It's perfect Eddy. He's absolutely flawless!” '...but it's not me.' he thought silently. ********** Vince drove up to the gate and handed his ID to the guard who had stepped out of his little box to greet him. He wasn't sure if the man would let him in as he didn't really have any kind of appointment. He explained who he was and told the man he had come to take care of some business for his client Erkki. The man accepted the information and told Vince to sit tight as he ducked back inside his box and picked up the phone. Jesus Children of America by Stevie Wonder played over the car radio as he sat there waiting to see if he would be allowed in. It was kind of a long shot, but hell it was worth a try. “Jesus died on,

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cross for you, Mary is just, looking at you, yeah... Mother Mary feels so much pain, looking at him.” the Great Mr. Wonder sang. “So you better tell... tell your story fast, and if you lie, it will come to pass...” Vince hummed along as he relaxed back into his seat. By the end of the today the folks at the group home should have Erkki examined, medically and psychologically, and he would know exactly how to proceed. For now, he intended to pursue this subject to it's conclusion, whatever that was. “Doc says you can go on in Mr. Behar. He also says one hour, no more.” the guard told him from inside the booth as he raised the gate. 'Wow really? Well what do ya know?' he pondered as he drove onto the long lane leading back to the main building. Behind him the large metal gates of the Marigold State Mental Institution clanged shut. “So she doesn't get many visitors then, I take it?” Vince asked the doctor as he led him down the brightly lit hall toward the day room. “Nope. Your the first, other than the police and the public attorney.” “Her family doesn't have anything to do with her at all?” he asked looking over his list of possible contacts. “Nope. Her sons and grand kids knows she's here, they just don't really care. From what I gather, they haven't had anything to do with their mother every since their father died and she jumped strait into marriage with another man that very week.”

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“Do they suspect she had anything to do with that death?” Vince asked as he made more notes in his book. “A lot of suspicious stuff has gone on around her Mr. Behar. It's really not my place to speculate on any of it though. She's here for a specific reason, the same reason your here I suppose. I have to tell you though Mr. Behar she's not very forthcoming on any details concerning her actions. What little she does say makes very little sense as she's become quite delusional recently. She's struggling with alcohol and substance abuse.” the doctor in the white coat told him as he paused in the hallway. “Tell me doctor, does she feel anything at all? Is there any regret in her for what she put that poor little boy through?” Vince asked as he put his little notebook down. “I think so, but if she does, it's buried under so much anger, sorrow, alcohol, and madness that she may never feel it. Right this way Sir.” The doctor lead him into a shady, empty dayroom. The sole occupant was a lonely looking woman who appeared to be in her late fifties, but was likely much younger. She sat there on an old wing chair which was covered by an afghan. Beside her was a pitcher half filled with water and an empty glass turned upside-down. She sat there silently watching some sort of religious show on the television and made no gesture to imply she knew Vince was there. “One hour, try to make it less though, OK?” the doctor said as he watched Vince enter the room. “Yeah, sure man. I understand.” he told him as the doctor walked off. Vincent looked around and found a small plastic chair in the corner of the room and slowly approached the woman bringing it behind him.

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“Mrs. Lahja? Sharon Lahja?” the woman didn't respond as Vince sat beside her calling her name. “Sharon my name is Vincent Behar, I'm your son Erkki's caseworker, can we talk for just a little bit?” again no response. “Before we begin I think it's important for you to know Erkki misses his mother very much. He seems to have a really big heart and just wants you to be OK, you understand that Sharon? I don't know what's been happening there at home, though I have to say I have a pretty good idea. I do know that Erkki is a strong boy Sharon, and he'll come away from all this loving you, no doubt... but I really need to know why Mrs. Lahja. Why did you hide him away in that box and try to kill him when police showed up to look for him?” The woman still sat blankly watching her preacher show unresponsive to Vince's questions. “Ma'am I'm not here to judge you or gather information for any legal documents. I'm not a doctor or a lawyer or a man of God... I'm just a man. A man who has been given the responsibility of making things right for Erkki Lahja, and that means providing for him some answers to some very tough questions which, he may not want to ask now, but rest assured he will want to ask in the future, do you understand Mrs. Lahja?” “I knew he would come for him.” she said at last after a long pause. “Who Sharon? The police?” “No.” she said sadly. “His father.” “His father is dead Mrs. Lahja. “Not completely.” she said looking up at him. “He past into the darkness, but the devil pushed him right back out, just like he planed.”

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“Why would he do that Sharon? John was a good man from what I understand.” he asked looking back at her intently. “John was a good man.” she answered distantly. “So... he is what you were hiding Erkki from? In the box?”, Vince asked intrigued. “You just don't understand Vincent. He's all that's left. He's the last. After ten thousand others have come and gone, he's ten thousand and one, the last. John knew, and he told me everything Mr. Behar! All of them are waiting, just waiting for Erkki to condemn us. When he does, he will have passed judgment, and all their innocent souls will be damned, even my John.” she said as she closed her eyes and trailed off. “Mrs. Lahja I'm having a hard time getting a grip on what your trying to tell me, but I hear one thing that I think warrants special attention.” Vince said gently taking Sharon's thin trembling hand. “Why do you believe Erkki would condemn us? He's just a little boy Mrs. Lahja. A little boy who's a bit sad, scarred, and confused right now, but hardly of a mind set to condemn or judge anyone. I believe you, Sharon, have done more harm to him then anyone else that I know of, and yet he doesn't, and would never, condemn you.” A single tear dropped from her eye as she squeezed Vince's hand and spoke. “He will corrupt him. He'll push him, and push him, and push him until he just cant handle anymore and then he'll claim him. When he does, Satan will control all the Malakhadam souls and he will use them to claim the Earth, and a child shall lead them... My child.” “Control all the what?” Vince questioned her with confusion in his eyes. “What is a Malakhadam Mrs. Lahja?”

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“A dead race.” she answered flatly. After a short pause she added, “Almost dead.” “OK.” Vince said tapping his lips with the pen. “So why murder him Sharon? Don't you think that might make him even more apt to condemn people?” “He must suffer. If he dies without suffering at all, then he wont understand, and he won't have the free will or the opportunity to judge us. It's the only way to stop him don't you see? They will remain in limbo forever! You have to kill him Vincent Behar. You must! You must!” she begged as she wept. “I'm sorry Mrs. Lahja, but I'm not in the habit of murdering innocent little boys in cold blood. I'm sure his father would agree if he were here to...” “Of course his father would agree!” she said as she stopped crying and suddenly began to squeeze his hand with a force beyond that of which such a small hand should be capable, the force of the enraged insane. “Mrs. Lahja please! My hand, your crushing it!” “His father would be the first to agree with you there Vincent Behar. Pray you, that you never meet the man, for then you would know his hatred of us, his jealousy!” “Mrs. Lahja!” A whistle tooted from somewhere behind them. Moments later three large men burst into the room and lifted the woman as the doctor grabbed Vince around the shoulders pulling him back from her and releasing her powerful grip. Seconds later Sharon and her escorts vanished around the corner. “Thanks Doc.” Vince said gratefully as he rubbed and flexed his hand. “Like you said, completely delusional.” “Looks like your time is up son, I guess you better go.”

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********** Miguel sat in the abandoned shop with his friends waiting for Jay and Larry to show up with whatever “big news” it was that they had. Everyone received word to meet up here today to have a talk about something Jay had gotten wind of and the boys waited impatiently inside. Miguel sat across from Sam Iller at the old table with his head resting on his fist and a cold ginger ale in his other hand. He had felt sick every since Erkki was dragged off in Kirklighters and even though the charges had been dropped, the price he knew Erkki paid that night still weighed him down like cold iron. “You sure your OK Miguel? You seriously look like hell.” Sam told him as he looked him over. “Thanks.” was the only snap back he could come up with in his condition. His stomach roiled with emptiness and his head thumped, but he just couldn't bring himself to eat more than a few bites. He was pale and his normally shiny brown eyes were dull and pulled down with dark circles from sleeplessness. “So how's Erkki doing?” Sam asked him. Sam knew the two of them were arrested and let go the next day, as did the other neighborhood kids, but none of them had any concept of what Erkki and Miguel had been forced to experience. “He's at St. Joe's” Miguel informed him. “Oh wow man...” Hube commented. “I heard that's like, the last place they dump kids before they just disappear forever.”

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“Erkki's not going to disappear you prick!” Miguel defended angrily as he lifted his head and dropped his fist to the table. “Hey! Don't call me a prick! It's not my fault!” Hube returned. “It's nobody's fault so just shut up guys OK.” Sam stepped in. “But he...!” the boy began again. “Hube! Just drop it man.” Sam insisted with a stern glance. The atmosphere was rather heavy that late morning in the clubhouse, even with the tremendous victory they received over Cord and his little army of evil grown-ups. Before Erkki and Miguel were caught they all felt almost high on what they had managed to accomplish, but now it kinda felt like the score was even again, or worse with Erkki gone. None of them really knew Erkki very well as he lived in the smaller town to the west, but the times Miguel brought his best friend to meet them he seemed to be a really great guy. After he managed to plan and execute such a brilliant scheme against the bad adults, he had become forever enshrined as a sort of “Boy-Hero” to them. “Hey, here comes Jay.” Kik said as he sat looking out the crack between the boards in the window. “'bout damn time.” Miguel said, still in a foul mood. Without another word, Kik lifted the wood board from the make-shift lock on the door and pulled it open as Jay strolled in with that I-know-a-secret look on his face, and Larry followed after with a look that suggested he would rather be somewhere else at the moment. “Dudes...” Jay began as he approached the table and the boys gathered around. “I couldn't tell you this stuff yesterday 'cause my mom wouldn't let me out of the house,

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but I was at church yesterday with my grandmother, OK?” he paused. “Thats what you called everyone down here to tell us!” Miguel said as his feverish temper began to heat up again “No! No!” Jay defended “Listen! I overheard some really heavy stuff guys, and I don't know what I should do.” Jay Greer began to relate to the other kids the tale of how he had managed to squirrel away with the ill gotten cake and where he had hunkered down to enjoy it. Then he told them the information exchange he witnessed. He remembered most of it word for word and laid out for them the details of Cord's plot to steal the ring from the church. “So... what do you think we should do?” Jay asked looking at the faces around him. “Why should we do anything?” Kik asked . “It's not our problem.” to that several of them nodded in agreement. “Why don't you tell the police?” Rob asked. “Or the church?” chimed in Bob. “Or your mom?” Rob concluded the question. “They are the police, they wont believe me, I'll get in trouble.” Jay answered them. “Yeah, I don't know guys...” Sam said. “This doesn't sound like something we should get involved with.” “...but we will.” Said Miguel at last as he stared out the window listening to them. “Will we? Why?” Sam asked nervously. “Yes. We couldn't get that son of a bitch in trouble over the tape 'cause no one believed us, but if we got the ring away from him, he would go down for sure!” Miguel said as his blood began to warm slightly and he seemed less pale. “But... if we steal the ring somehow, wouldn't we be the ones in trouble?” Hube asked.

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“We're not gonna steal the real ring, stupid! We're gonna get the fake one, before he switches them. If we go to the real police with that and tell them what Jay said they have to believe us. There's no way a bunch of kids could have made that copy.” he said as he began to feel a little hungry and his head started to clear. “I uh... I don't know Miguel. It sounds like that might be more dangerous than the last time we did this kind of thing.” Sam said as he began to lose his appetite. Miguel didn't care about danger, or risk. No, not right now. All he cared about was the fact that he had suddenly been given an opportunity to pay back Cord Browning for what he put them through. A chance to express at last the blind rage that sickened him from inside because of what they did to his best friend. A chance to avenge Erkki, and that's all that mattered to him. “How are we going to get in and get the ring away from Filbert anyway?” Chris asked. “Don't worry about that.” Miguel said as he turned away from the window and addressed the kids with complete confidence. “I have a plan.” “Oh man, not again...” Sam sighed. ********** Erkki exited the small room as he slipped his shirt back over his chest and stood waiting to be told what he was to do next. “Thank you young Mr. Lahja, now if you would just have a seat right over there by that big pile of comic books, Mr. Penner and I just need to trade a little paperwork so he can take over and finish up, OK?”

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“OK.” Erkki answered as he walked over and sat down. The small nurses office and sitting room in the group home was serving as an examination area so long as Doctor Reahger was there on his house calls.The two men slipped into the other room and softly closed the door. “So, whats your professional opinion of the marks on his body Henry?” Manny Penner asked him. The gray haired man walked over to the dispenser and pulled out a towel to clean his glasses. “Sad. Just, so sad.” he said. “So it's child abuse scars then?” “Oh yes, very much so. I have no doubt of that.” he told him as he huffed on his spectacles. “The wounds themselves seemed a little odd to me though.” “Odd?” “Yeah. It was tough to explore them much because he wouldn't let me touch him, but honestly I'm not quite certain exactly what kind of instrument made those wounds Manny.” Henry said replacing his glasses “Well, she either cut him with a knife or lashed the poor kid with something I would assume.” Many sad uncomfortably scratching his head. “Yeah... but I'm not seeing that. The cut lines and the scar tissue shape and thickness suggest two different things here. The size, angle, and depth of the cut tell me he was lashed, probably with something thin and metal, like a wire. The scar tissue surrounding the cuts, however, tell me the damage somehow affected the dermis around the initial slice, like it was burned.” he said looking at him thoughtfully. “You mean she beat him with a hot wire?” Manny asked both confused and disgusted. “Nah. I don't think so. I don't see how even a red hot wire would be in contact with the skin long enough to do

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that, if he was being lashed with it. I don't think we're going to know exactly unless he decides to tell us.” “Yeah, not much luck so far there. He still insists she didn't do it.” Manny said looking back at the door to the room where Erkki waited. “The black paper people?” Henry asked. “He told you about that?” “Yep. Awful sounding things. The Spooky thing is Manny, those lesions are actually diagnostically analogous with paper cuts, very nasty paper cuts.” “Yeah well, I think we can rule out monsters here as a litigant.” Manny stated as he turned back to Henry. “Is there a possibility he did this to himself Henry?” “Well...” The doctor thought pondering to himself for a long moment before answering. “The wounds aren't located in regions of his body that he couldn't reach himself, but...” “but...” Many pressed. “...but, I just can't for the life of me figure what he would have used to inflict scaring like that Manny. The pain that would cause should be beyond any little boys desire to hurt himself.” “So your going to say it's inconclusive then?” “I'm sorry Manny. I can't quite wrap my head around this one.” Henry told him sadly. “Unless he tells us what happened we're not going to know for sure.” “OK. Anything else I need to know.” “Well, we still have to run the blood tests downtown, but as far as I'm concerned he's a strong, solid, healthy, young man.” “Thanks Henry. You gonna be here for a while?” “Yep. I have twelve check ups to do today. A lot of suckers to hand out.” he laughed.

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“OK. I'll try to get back with you.” Manny Penner said as he opened up the door to the waiting room. Erkki looked up from his Tom and Jerry comic as Manny walked in and held out his hand. “OK Erkki, I'm all yours now. Lets go back to my office where we can jive a bit and get to know each other better, OK?” Erkki stood up and looked nervously at Manny's hand as he sat down his book and took two steps back. He had learned to be afraid of the hands of men recently. 'NO!' Erkki snapped at the dark shadows as they tried to creep out of the bleak corners of his mind. “Not a handshake kinda guy eh? Thats OK, Doctor Reahger tells me your a tough kid and you'd probably crush my hand anyway.” he said smiling. Erkki looked him strait in the eyes and stared for a moment. Manny felt something very strange wash over him, like the feeling a man would get if a breeze suddenly lifted his toupee for all the world to see. Then it was gone, and Erkki smiled a little. “OK.” he said as he stepped forward again. “Great! Let's go!” Manny sat in the plastic chair in front of the large desk with his notebook and folders, while he allowed Erkki to sit in the big chair behind it, as was his custom when interviewing the new kids. It made them feel somewhat less intimidated and gave them a sense of control over the discussion. The two of them talked about the home and his dorm. They discussed whether Erkki was able to make any friends there yet and if he wanted to join the baseball or soccer team. He wanted to know Erkki's favorite food and his favorite

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color and what cartoons he liked to watch on television. Eventually the subject turned to school, and Mr. Penner commented on the fact that Erkki's IQ was actually astoundingly high despite his continuously low grades. He also commended him on his amazing athletic prowess as witnessed by his PE teachers back at home despite his rather smallish stature, and tried to get him to explain why he refused to join any school sports. Unlike most grown-ups Erkki knew, this man actually seemed to want him to feel good about himself and didn't blame him for all the crap people normally threw at him. Erkki was savvy enough to know Manny was trying to get him to relax and open up, but he was, for the most part, genuine and that comforted him slightly. “So tell me about the paper people Erkki. They're from your dreams, right.” “Yeah, but no one believes me anyway so...” he said casting down his eyes. “Wait Erkki. I believe you have dreams about them and I believe those dreams scare the hell out of you. They scare you so bad that you've attached them to the scars on your body. Anything that's that powerful is very real Erkki. They may be in your dreams, but there must be something that put them there. Are you still having those nightmares?” “No. Well, maybe... I don't know.” Erkki said stressfully. “It's been a few weeks since they came back, maybe their gone.” “When do you dream about them? I mean, is there anything special or different that happens just before they show up?” “No, they just show up in my room sometimes and start begging me.” he said with a distant look in his blue eyes.

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“Begging you? What do they want Erkki?” “I don't know! I don't know! They're so sad! They're in so much pain, but I can't help them Mr. Penner, I can't!” he told the man as he began to tear up. “OK Erkki, there's nothing you can do for them. Is that why they hurt you?” “I don't... I don't know.” he said as he wiped his face with his sleeve. “What do they say to you Erkki? Do they tell you to hurt yourself?” “No! I mean... I don't know. I can't understand them.” “I see. Well, how do you know they're sad and in pain then if they can't communicate with you?” Manny asked intrigued. “I just know, OK.” “Fair enough.” Manny said with a nod switching pages in his notes. “Are these the same boogie men who talk to you sometimes when your awake.” “No.” Erkki said looking away slightly embraced. “I don't know who he is. He's different and I never see them with him. I think they... it's just so stupid.” Erkki said as he clamped up his jaw intending to end the subject. “Don't leave be hangin' little bro. Just answer that question and one more and I promise I'll drop the subject, OK?” Erkki sighed. He felt frustrated because he knew he was only digging himself in deeper, but at the same time it really did feel good to talk about it, at least a little. “I think he comes from somewhere else. Somewhere away from the cold and the pain.” “OK last question, just like I promised you. Do they still talk to you Erkki?”

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Erkki thought out his answer. What should he say here? Did the grown-up actually believe him? Did Erkki even believe himself anymore? “No, he's gone.” he said quietly. “Very good Erkki. I'm glad to here that.” “Mr. Penner?” Erkki said as he raised his head to meet the man's gaze. “What's up man?” “Why don't you let Eddy Nussbaum hang his work up in the building anymore?” Manny smiled and thought for a moment before responding. He then laughed slightly and shook his head. “Oh Eddy...” he said chuckling again. “Eddy's pretty handy with a box of crayons isn't he Erkki?” “He's really good Mr. Penner.” “Some of Eddy's past masterpieces have been a bit... disturbing though Erkki. The more attention his work gets the more disturbing it gets and the more disturbed he gets about it. It's his choice to keep his own private gallery out there Erkki, not ours.” Erkki covered his face with his hands giggling softly to himself. He couldn't resist peeking out from between his fingers, however as he continued to watch poor Eddy fumble, kick, trip over, and re-fumble the football. “Eddy!” He laughed. “Just let it stop first! Once it's dropped, it's dropped.” The other boy pushed the hair out of his eyes and watched the oblong object finally come to rest against the fence. He jogged over to it carefully picking it up with his chubby hands. “I got it!” he said happily preparing to throw it back to Erkki.

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“Good hustle Eddy. Now try and make it come all the way to me this time, OK?” he said smiling. “Erkki I'm not sure I can be a very good footballer Sir. This ball is hard to throw and it bounces all crazy.” he told him as he struggled to fit the object into his palm. “Come on Eddy. Our deal is, you teach me how to draw stuff and I teach you how to play sports. I'm not very good at making my pictures look like the stuff there of, but I'll keep trying. You need to keep trying until you find a game you can actually play.” 'Without making me laugh!' he thought privately. “OK Sir, if you say so.” Eddy resigned as he stepped back with his right foot and closed one eye. With much hesitation, Eddy charged forward and pulled back his arm preparing to throw the pigskin as if he were tossing a bowling ball. “Eddy...” Erkki said as he watched him rush forward. “Eddy lookout!” he yelled just before the nervous Eddy Nussbaum collided with George Portski as he attempted to cross the field toward the dorms. Both boys fell to the ground and tumbled over in the grass as the football bounced twice and rolled up to Erkki's feet. “What the...!” George said with surprise as he brushed the dirt from his hair and spied the grass stain on his new white shirt. “You!” he accused, locking eyes with Eddy as the boy slowly climbed back onto his feet. “What the hell is the matter with you, you fat little bastard?! Look what you did to my shirt! I'm gonna bust your ass so hard your gonna look like one of those crazy bloody drawings you used to put up in the dorm!” he said as he grabbed Eddy by the collar and pulled the frightened child toward him.

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“Leave him alone Portski!” Erkki yelled as he ran over toward the conflict. George tucked his fist into Eddy's doughy stomach causing the boy to yelp in pain as he pulled back his arm for another strike. “Stop it!” Erkki yelled as the big kid struck Eddy again, this time in the chest and Eddy began to cry out loud. “No! You piece o' shit! Stop!” Erkki yelled as he grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it at Georges head. “Your gonna pay for that weasel-boy!” George said as he threw Eddy to the ground and turned to face Erkki who put his fists up in defense preparing to stand his ground. Eddy got to his knees and started to cry even louder as he held his stomach. The poor kid really wasn't very good in a crisis and he squeezed his eyes shut as he threw back his head wailing loudly through his tears. “Awww are you gonna cry for me chunky-butt?” George said as he turned his head to look at Eddy. “That's it cry baby, cry for me yeah!” “Stop it George!” Erkki said still holding up his fists. “Put your flabby gut into it! That's right scream piggy!” he pushed still watching the upset child. “Stop it George!” Erkki yelled louder. “After I massacre your skinny little boyfriend over here I'm gonna ram my fist up your butt and pull your tongue back out and watch you lick your own butt! How's that sound Nussbaum?! Huh?! Huh?!” Eddy screamed out in fear crying so loud it made Erkki's ears hurt. That was it. He couldn't take anymore. There was so much anger and frustration in him already he just couldn't handle another moment of this. The thin cord in his mind that held him back saying you really shouldn't do that... snapped, and he tucked down his head, stuck out his

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jaw and charged George Portski. Before the distracted teen had any chance to react, Erkki jumped up and landed his left foot on Georges right knee and pushed off climbing upward onto his chest like a rabid squirrel. George finally turned back with a shocked expression as Erkki dug his knees into the boys shoulders, grabbing his collar tightly and nearly strangling him. George tried to bring up his hands to fend off the enraged child, but they were pinned down by Erkki's strong legs. George opened his mouth to speak, but didn't manage to squeeze out a single consonant, just a silent... “...?!...” Then Erkki gnashed his teeth, quickly pulled back his arm, and offloaded three days of fear, anger, and frustration into George Portski's face. “Hello? Anybody in there?” said the voice as George slowly regained his senses and blinked opened his eyes. There was a horrible stench in the air like sulfur and blood. Doctor Reahger smiled as he pulled the capsule from under the boy's nose and tossed it away. “Wha...? What happened?” George asked looking around him. He was lying flat on his back with the afternoon sun blazing into his eyes as Doc Reahger and Mr. Penner knelt over him. “Well son...” Henry smiled as he put away his stethoscope. “It seems you've come down with a sudden case of clock-cleaning.” “Huh?” The youth asked confused as his memory started to clear. His face felt strange and he brought his arm up to wipe his nose with the back of his hand. “OW! Damn! What...!” he yelled as the thunderbolt of pain shocked him. “My nose! He broke my nose!”

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“No. I don't think so.” Henry told him as he gently pushed the cotton into George's nostrils. “He defiantly loosened up your hinges a bit, but I'm sure it's not broken.” “Come on son.” Manny Penner said as he took his arm and began to pull him to his feet. “Let's get inside and get you cleaned up. After Doc finishes putting your face back together, I'll listen to your side of the story.” The two of them moved off toward the administration building, holding the limping youth between them. Manny glanced over at George's bandaged nose and swollen face as they walked thinking silently to himself. 'That little chipmunk has one hell of a right cross!' There was a soft knock at the door as Erkki sat there on the stool looking out the window of the time-out room. He ignored it as he folded his arms and squinted at the early evening sun. Moments later the knob turned and the door cracked open. “Erkki? You OK in there?” It was Mister Vince, Erkki recognized his voice. Of course he knew he was coming before he even came near the door. He could feel his presence in the building. “Erkki?” He said as he pushed the door fully open and looked around finally spotting him by the window. “Hey kiddo, I hear you had a busy day today.” Erkki looked over at him not saying a word. “Why don't you come with me so we can wind down a little. It must be quite tiring picking fights with kids twice your size and making poor Doc Reahger reassemble them downstairs.” he said as he smiled slightly. “He made me do it.” Erkki said flatly. “He was asking for it Mister Vince.”

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“Oh, I'm sure he was Erkki. I happen to know George Portski pretty well, though this is the first time I've ever had to come up here and take a boy out of time-out for beating him up.” he said smiling slightly more. “I didn't beat him up.” Erkki insisted as he looked back out the window. “I only hit him once. It's not my fault he dropped like a sack of wet cement.” Vincent laughed out loud a little as he peeked out into the hall to see if anyone was listening. “Well to be honest Erkki, I think that's the first time anyone has ever actually punched him like that. I don't think his system was quite ready for the impact.” “I guess not.” Erkki shrugged looking out into the parking lot. “Let's go grab a bite to eat, OK? If I'm not mistaken your rather fond of hot dogs, am I right?” Erkki swallowed a little and licked his lips. It seemed Mister Vince was beginning to learn his weaknesses and that didn't exactly please him. Oh well. A hot dog was a hot dog, anyway you could get it. Vince and Erkki sat in the booth of the diner as the traffic raced just outside. Vince was troubled by the recommendation he received which said Erkki should go through months, or perhaps years, of counseling before he could be fostered. That wasn't going to go over well with him at all. 'You gotta be tough with this kid Vince. Tough and honest. If you are, he'll respect you. If you aren't, well... he wont.' That's what Ben said and he knew he was right it's just that... well, Vince felt like he was about to deliver an awful sentence upon a troubled little kid and he struggled to

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find words he could embrace to tell him. Vince didn't really feel like being respected right now, he just didn't want Erkki to hate him. “What's wrong Mister Vince?” Erkki asked with his ketchup face. “Did you find me a place close to Miguel so we can go to school together in September?” “No Erkki, not yet.” he said still scrambling for the words. He would need a distraction first so he could put his thoughts together in the back of his head. “Do you maybe know the man in this old picture Erkki?” He said as he produced the copy and pointed to the man in back. “That's grandpa.” Erkki said. “I'm named after him.” “Good Erkki. Now can you tell me anything about him? Did you ever see him?” Erkki furrowed his brow as he stared at the image. “Um... no, not really. Momma didn't like him much and papa didn't talk about him, at least not that I remember.” he said fidgeting nervously. “Have you ever heard anyone else talk about him?” “I don't think he was a very nice man Mister Vince. Momma and Papa's friends didn't talk much about him but I think they said my grandpa was kinda weird and mean and...” he said thinking hard. “and what Erkki?” Vince asked looking at the picture on the table. “...and old. Really, really old. Like older than anyone else they knew. He was ancient.” 'Really?' Vince thought looking at the photo. 'He was definitely an older man but certainly not what I would call ancient.'

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The man's short white hair and fine lines denoted he had been around for a while, but his stark blue eyes were nearly as young as his own. “When is the last time you saw your grandpa Erkki?” “I never saw him.” Erkki said as he stared at the image of his torn family. “Papa said he came back to see me when I was born to make sure I was a...” he trailed off biting his bottom lip. “A boy?” Vince concluded. “Yeah.” Erkki said looking away. “You said, you were told he came back to see you. Came back from where? Do you know?” Vince asked moving to the edge of his seat. Erkki just looked up at him and shook his head no. 'Oh well. It was worth a try.' Vince thought. Vincent looked down at the report and back to Erkki. The boy had such a good vibe about him. There was something there Vince just couldn't quite put his finger on telling him this kid was getting a bum rap. He deserved a real home, he needed a real home, not years in some antiseptic group home being poked and prodded by “experts”. There was no doubt in his mind Erkki also needed help with his mental problems, but to condemn him to spend the rest of his childhood at St. Joesph's Hall was just wrong. Wrong and unnecessary. “I'm working on getting you out of there Erkki. It's... complicated, but I know we can do it. Just promise me something though, OK?” “What's that, Mister Vince?” Erkki asked working on his third hot dog. “Don't beat up anymore eighth-graders.” **********

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William Stroop rolled quietly around the table of azaleas occasionally reaching up and pulling a sick leaf or a bruised petal. It was getting quite dark now as the sun set over the hill. The old man wheeled his chair to the bench and picked up the small water can. As he approached the table again he suddenly felt cold and he heard a soft rustle back toward the other end of the greenhouse. He peered into the growing shadows and adjusted his glasses. “Wendy? Wendy is that you hun? I know I'm late for dinner, but I'll be in in just a few more minutes.” he said squinting back toward the door as he leaned forward. “Nakkes astayarātar... akkisk.” a voice whispered. “What? Who's there?” Judge Stroop demanded as he rolled forward just a bit and bumped the table causing one of his prized potted flowers to tumble over and spill out, dropping the blossom onto the floor. “Oh!” he exclaimed as he bent over as much as he could, struggling to reach the flower without falling out of his chair. “Here Bill, let me help you with that.” said a man in a long dark leather coat as he reached over and picked up the orange and red flower from the ground. His black leather gloved hand deftly plucked the plant away from Judge Stroop's reach as he stood back up. Judge Stroop was caught by surprise as he pushed himself slowly back up to an upright position in his chair. He saw the man's dark dusty boots and long legs and had to cock his head back once he was seated again to the see his face. “Hiya Bill. How's the harvest this year?” he said as he sniffed the petals and looked down at the elderly man with his icy cold, metallic blue eyes. “Y... You!” The chair-bound man sad as he shivered with both cold and fear.

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The strange man looked to be perhaps in his sixties with a full head of ghostly white hair cropped short in a military fashion. His back was quite strait, and he stood maybe almost to seven feet. He held the azalea between his gloved fingers as he watched the Judge with a harsh gaze that never blinked. “Go back to Hell!” the old man cried as he pushed himself backward away from the stranger. “Hell won't take me, you know that Bill.” the tall man reminded him as he reached out and dropped the flower. As the herb hit the ground it shattered like glass. It was frozen solid.

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Dark King's Knight to White King's Rook 5

Chapter 7 Erkki got himself dressed very early that morning before anyone else was awake. He finally got a good nights sleep as George was moved into another dorm yesterday while Erkki was in the punishment room. He wanted to take his long jeans and t-shirt down to the wash room so they would be dry and ready to wear by breakfast. Until then he had little choice but to don the plum colored corduroy pants and the red and white striped shirt with the exaggerated collar. “No! I don't wanna!” Eddy moaned in his sleep from across the room. Erkki watched him clutch his hands to his chest as he mumbled something about a puppy. He started to walk over and shake him from his dream, but he stopped and opened his locker as he got a better idea. Moments later Erkki left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Inside slept Eddy, quite peacefully now, tightly clutching Erkki's old teddy bear. A little over an hour later Erkki was back in his “normal” cloths as he made his way down the hall to the cafeteria. He was feeling a little better today and he looked forward to a huge glass of Tang with breakfast. Eddy was there waiting for him in his trademark shorts and random comic hero shirt. He looked up as Erkki approached but he didn't smile. Instead he had a rather solemn look in his green eyes. Erkki knew he was burdened with something, and he knew that something was guilt, guilt and fear.

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“What's wrong Eddy?” he asked quite concerned. Eddy normally had a very sunny disposition and the boy's soul tended to sing. Of course no one could hear it but Erkki, but he had come to rely on that music to get him through the day. On this morning however, it was silent. “Hi Sir.” he said even more downcast then usual. “Come on I'm thirsty, and I think I'm getting used to powdered eggs cuz I'm starving!” Erkki told him with a goofy smile trying to get the other boy to lighten up. “Um... We have to go out to the woods Sir. There's something there I need to... Well... I have to bring you... I mean, there's a...” Eddy struggled as he trailed off. “Ooookay.” Erkki scratching his head. “...but I need to get breakfast first.” “Um... but... well... OK sir, but please hurry.” he said clearly upset. As the boys walked through the breakfast line, Erkki took two cartons of Tang instead of his usual milk with his food. Eddy followed along with his hands in his pockets. “Aren't you gonna eat?” Erkki asked breaking into his first juice early. “Nah, I'm not very hungry Sir.” 'Not very hungry?' That wasn't like Eddy at all. Something must really be wrong. They sat down in their usual spot by the window. “So I thought we would try hoops today. The ball is a little easier to handle and a half court game doesn't take so much running.” “That's nice Sir. I thought I was gonna puke getting from one end of that soccer field to the other.” Eddy said as Erkki laughed. The next moment one of the children in the isle across from them became distracted by something and dropped his

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tray causing a loud clatter. Eddy, being quite a bit more on edge than usual, jumped back in his seat and raised his hands accidentally knocking Erkki's freshly opened second Tang off the table and onto his lap, drenching his newly washed white shirt. “Oh! I'm so sorry Sir!” Eddy said almost in tears. “It's OK Eddy! Relax it's OK.” Actually it wasn't really OK, as this was the only plain white t-shirt Erkki had and he couldn't face having to slip into the other awful clothes in his locker. The boys got up and headed to the bathroom where Erkki removed his top and soaked it in the sink with a small amount of hand soap hoping the orange drink would rinse out before it stained. They then headed out to the yard where Erkki hung his shirt on the thin wire in the bright morning sun. “Well, I guess it's shirts and skins and I'm skins!” he said as he picked up the basketball. He then noticed Eddy was looking at him quite strangely as he stood there dribbling the ball. “What's up?” he asked looking back at him curiously. “What happened to you Sir?” Eddy asked looking him over astonished. Erkki's torso was brutalized with long dark scars. Some of them were only an inch or so long while others ran all the way from his back to his stomach. “I... just had a few accidents and stuff. Nothing to worry about.” Erkki told him slightly embarrassed. “Accidents with what Sir? A grizzly bear?” “Come one Eddy, lets just play OK?” Erkki said wanting badly to change the subject. “OK but you said we would go out to the woods after breakfast.” Eddy noted nervously. “Oh yeah, OK lets go.” Erkki said dropping the ball. “To the hut then? Did you draw something new?”

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“No, there's somewhere else we need to go.” 'Somewhere else?' Hmmm, that was curious. He didn't know of anywhere else out there to go. The two boys squeezed through the fence and hiked out into the overgrown wooded area behind the school. Eddy took a different, less traveled path today as Erkki followed. He could see the torment growing in Eddy as they pushed along through the weeds. There was a battle going on in there and Erkki began to worry about him. Ten minutes later, the boys reached a leafy clearing shaded by a single old tree under which was planted a small homemade sign which read “Open Me” followed by an arrow pointing down to a small folded scrap of paper lying on the ground. “What's this Eddy?” he said as he slowly approached the slip. “I'm so sorry Sir.” Eddy said as he watched the other boy walk away from him toward the sign. He started to cry a little as he looked around expectantly. Erkki bent down to pick up the paper as he spoke. “Sorry about what Eddy?” He straitened up and unfolded the sheet staring blankly at the message within. “I don't get it.” he said as he raised one eyebrow and looked up at Eddy whom he realized was crying. “Eddy what's wrong?” An instant later the trap was sprung as the rope constricted around Erkki's foot knocking him onto his face and yanking him upside-down and upward suspended in the air by his ankle. The paper slipped from his grasp and glided to the ground with the single word “gottcha” lying face up under his chin two feet below. “Eddy! What the hell...!” Erkki yelled.

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“I'm sorry Sir! I'm so sorry! He made me bring you here! He said he would tear down my picture place and rip everything up if I didn't!” Eddy balled. “Who did?!” Erkki yelled. “I did weasel-boy.” said George as he moved from his position behind the tree. “Let me go!” Erkki cried. “Oh I will, when I'm done with you.” he said in a somewhat nasal voice. George walked around the front of the tree and stood there crossing his arms. His face was still swollen and his nose was dark red and bandaged. “I told you you were gonna pay weasel-boy, and now your gonna pay with interest. I'm gonna work you over like a heavy bag, then I'm gonna smash your face so bad you'll wish you looked as good as me right now.” he said as he cracked his knuckles. “I'm sorry Sir! I'm so sorry!” Eddy cried with his face in his hands. “It's OK Eddy. I understand, I forgive you.” Erkki said as he swallowed hard and watched his approaching doom. “Then weasel-boy, just to remind the rest of those punks who's boss...” he said as he flipped out a switchblade and held it before him. “...I'm gonna carve my initials into your little forehead so everyone will always recognize my handy work.” “Wait! You didn't say anything about cutting anyone!” Eddy cried raising his head from his hands. “You said you were just gonna beat him up and let us go!” “Shut up chunky! You better just thank God that ain't you up there, now go away.” George told him as he approached the suspended child holding the knife.

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“No! No! No! No! No...!” Eddy yelled. “Damn it chunky! I said shut up! If you don't...” he began to yell as he stepped forward and tripped over an exposed root causing him to fall forward onto the ground. For a long moment he just laid there not moving, only staring out with a surprised look on his face. Then he closed his eyes and coughed as a trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. Slowly he pushed himself upward a few inches clenching his teeth and rolled over onto his back. The handle of the blade was still jammed in the split between the roots and the sharpened edge stood upright covered in blood. George laid there holding his stomach as the fast spreading bloodstain began to soak through and roll down his sides. Eddy screamed in horror and danced from one foot to the other as his short circuiting brain attempted to settle on a course of action. “Eddy! Eddy cut me down!” Erkki yelled. Eddy ran in a small circle, mentally torn between helping Erkki and fleeing. “Eddy please! Get me the knife! We can't just let him bleed to death! Help me!” Erkki yelled holding out his hand. He could see Eddy was out of his mind, but if Erkki didn't get out of the trap soon he would likely pass out and someone would die. “Eddy! Eddy look at me man! Eddy look at me!” he cried. Eddy stopped running around and looked at Erkki. Eddy's eyes were loaded with panic and he held the sides of his head with his hands as if he thought it might actually blow off. “Eddy! Listen to me. I need you right now. Go over and get the knife and hand it to me! That's what you should do now Eddy. That's what you should do!” he said as calmly

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as he could with the blood rushing to his head and a dying boy lying before him on the ground. George was a first class heel, but Erkki couldn't just watch him die there. He was no paramedic, but he thought he might at least be able to slow the bleeding. Eddy regained a sliver of sanity as he looked into Erkki's desperate eyes then turned his head to behold the knife. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled slowly toward it as if he were sneaking up on the object. “That's it Eddy! Good job man! Now pick up the knife!” Erkki urged. Eddy blinked wildly as he slowly stretched out his trembling hand toward the knife. He clasped it around the top of the handle and closed his eyes as he felt the warm blood touch his skin. “Yes! Very good Eddy! Very, very good! Now bring it to me. That's all you have to do man. Bring it to me!” Erkki called to him as he held out his hands. Eddy held the knife with both hands, staring at it as if he were afraid it might try to cut him. He walked over to Erkki and held out the shiny object to him as the other boy grabbed it and struggled to double himself over and grab the rope with his free hand. Eddy took several steps back and put his fists under his chin as he watched George writhe on the ground. Portski held out a bloody hand to Eddy as he choked. “Help me... please!” he begged Eddy looked at the gore covered hand and panicked completely. He screamed and ran off into the brush as Erkki dropped out of the tree onto his back.” “Eddy wait!” Erkki yelled, but it was too late, Eddy was long gone.

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Erkki removed the cord from his ankle and flinched slightly as the blood rushed back into it. He crawled over to George and moved the boy's hands away from his abdomen to lift his shirt and what he saw made him very afraid and quite sick. The wound was grievous and very deep. The knife had not only pierced him strait on, but had been dragged sideways slicing a wide crevasse across his midriff which boiled with blood at every heartbeat. A heartbeat which was getting weaker and less frequent. 'Oh! What do I do?! What do I do?!' he grappled. He didn't have a shirt he could use for a tourniquet, and even if he did, what would he apply it too? “Would you suffer for him?” whispered a soft voice from no particular direction. “What?” Erkki asked looking around. He didn't have time to start hearing voices right now and he decided to try and ignore it. George reached up and touched Erkki's bare shoulder leaving a trail of his life's blood across his chest. “Please...” he said as he coughed up more blood onto his shirt. “...help me...” There was nothing he could do, there was nothing anyone could do. Even if Eddy got help George was going to die within moments. “Will you suffer for this child of Adam?” asked the voice again, the words gently blowing around him like a soft wind. “Yes.” Erkki answered fearfully. “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. So shall you be purified with blood, for without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness. I give unto you then my promise and our Covenant be sealed.”

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George looked up at Erkki as he knelt over him looking off to some distant place. 'Is he going to help me?!' George wondered. 'Who's he talking to?!' he looked around seeing no one else in the clearing as Erkki answered some unheard question with a strange word. 'Oh my God! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! It hurts so bad! Oh my God help me Erkki!' He could no longer speak. There was too much blood in his throat, it was all he could do to breath. Erkki looked down at him with big blue eyes, and George felt himself getting cold as he was gripped with even greater fear seeing as he did the boy's eyes change to a gleaming metallic color. He looked up at him as Erkki's face seemed to darken and the sun shown around his head like a halo. He stared up at those cold cobalt blue eyes which shined with a frightening inner light and he tried to speak but could not. He no longer felt much physical pain, only... only shame. A horrible numbing shame as if every dark word and deed he was ever responsible for in all fourteen years of his life was sinking into his skin like nails, fastening his unworthy soul to the ground. 'I'm sorry! I... I didn't know! I'm sorry!' he begged silently as dire judgment flowed from the boy's shining eyes. 'No! Please make it stop! Make it stop!' he continued to beg as Erkki moved back a little making the sun illuminate his face, rather than being eclipsed by it. Erkki's eyes began to shift color as he watched him, going from a harsh frigged blue to a deep glowing azure as he reached out over George's body and placed his small hand over the massive bloody rend in his gut.

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Erkki looked at him with a sadness as his fingers started to glow dimly with a silvery light. A moment later George blinked with surprise and confusion as he saw a small wound open in the young child's bare stomach. Erkki cried aloud as the cut widened and began to drip with blood. George didn't feel cold anymore and felt his throat began to clear as he coughed trying to speak. 'What's happening?!' he thought as he watched Erkki clench his teeth, obviously in terrible agony as the fresh gash in his stomach pucked wide open and blood began to run from his mouth. “No!” George cried out as the awful shame he felt only a moment ago overwhelmed him. “No! I'm not worth it Erkki! Don't do this!” he said as he lifted his head from the ground and pushed himself up. His hand dropped to his belly where he expected to hold his guts in, but found only smooth bloody skin. There was no injury, Erkki had somehow absorbed it completely. “No! This is my fate! I deserve this not you! I'm a horrible person Erkki! I'm just horrible! The things I've done! Please don't take my punishment!” Erkki didn't respond to him, he just knelt there covered in both George's blood and his own as he stared upward into the sun. As George Protski cried, cried real tears for the first time he could remember, he saw Erkki's new laceration began to close. It pulled together slowly at first, then began to heal over at a phenomenal rate as he stopped bleeding and the wound became smaller and smaller. As Erkki rested on his knees in the blood soaked dirt with his arms spread out from his sides and his head back, the wound became a cut, the cut became a seam, and the seam faded away to nothing.

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There were no words George knew or would ever be able to find to express what he felt. He knew nothing he could ever do or say would communicate even a fraction of the guilt stricken gratitude in his soul. He could only speak the words he knew, they were all he had to offer. “Thank You.” ********** Vince's car pulled up into the driveway as the police officer exited the greenhouse. He brushed his long side burns and lit up a cigarette as he watched him climb out of the car and walk toward the house. “Vincent Behar? Over here Mr. Behar.” the officer waved at him. “Yes hello officer.” He began. “I received a message that an investigator wanted to see me here at Judge Stroop's home? What's this about? Is Mr. Stroop OK?” “No, Mr. Behar, he's not OK. He quite dead.” he said pulling the cigarette from his mouth. “What?! How? I was just here last night and... wait a minute am I a suspect?” Vince asked shocked. “Relax Mr. Behar, your not a suspect. There are no suspects, it was a suicide.” “Oh my God. But... why?” Vince asked wishing he had a cigarette also. “We don't know. There was no note, no last words to the wife, no message, nothing. I was kinda hoping that you, being the last person to talk with him other than his wife, might be able to shed a little light. “I'm sorry officer but he never mentioned wanting to kill himself to me.” Vince answered looking at the misty greenhouse windows.

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“Wendy Stroop said he came back into the house last evening after talking with you about an old case of some kind. She said he was quite upset and wouldn't talk about the incident. Any chance you can fill me in on what happened there?” Vince told the officer he was perusing an old case that was ruled as an unexplained crib death as part of the background work for his new client. He told him about his suspicions concerning the mother and his curiosity involving the strange grandfather. The man listened to him quietly toking on his cigarette not interrupting once. “Sounds to me like your stretching a bit beyond the boundary of your authority Mister social worker.” the officer told him. “Yeah well, we all do what we think we need to do to do our jobs don't we officer?” to which the man didn't respond. “So, if I may ask, how did he die?” “Asphyxiation due to self constriction of the larynx with an external object.” the cop said. “He what now?” Vince said confused. “He hung himself Mr. Behar. Right over there, in the greenhouse. From the central support rafter.” “It must have been pretty tough for an old man in a wheelchair to stretch his own neck from something that high.” Vince said with a sideways look. “Old folks can be pretty spry when they want to be.” the man said lighting another cigarette. “I can see how he would have done it, there's just two real problems I have here. Number one question is why. Mr. Stroop didn't have any marital problems, or owe anybody any money. He wasn't on antidepressants and he has an appointment today to get his hair cut.”

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“That doesn't sound like a man who wants to kill himself.” Vince said. “Nope, it sure doesn't. The other issue I have is with the damage to his skin.” “Damage? What kind of damage.” Vince asked, his curiosity flowing strong. “Mr. Stroop showed signs of frostbite on several places on his body, including his arms, chest and neck.” the investigator told him looking up at the bright sunshine. “Frostbite?” Vince said scrunching his face confused. “How could he possibly have suffered frostbite? It was like seventy degrees last night!” “I'm well aware of that Mr. Behar, hence the problem I have with this suicide.” Vince pondered as he looked at the old greenhouse remembering how uncomfortably warm it was inside there that evening. 'How does someone get frostbitten in Ohio in the middle of July?' ********** Doctor Reahger walked out to the waiting area of his clinic as Manny Penner stood. “Well?” Manny said expectantly. “Well, there all fine Manny. Not a scratch on them.” “But the blood... how can that be?” he asked concerned. “Both Erkki and George are suffering from extremely low blood pressure. Those boys lost a lot of blood very rapidly... somehow.” Henry said looking at his chart. “Somehow? There's got to be an injury Henry. They didn't just sweat out several pints of blood onto their cloths!”

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“I'm quite certain they didn't sweat out the blood Manny, but I've checked these boys from the tops of their heads to the soles of there feet.” “...and?” Manny asked impatiently. “...and nothing. Not a scratch on them except for Erkki's scars of course.” Doctor Reahger told him. “Like I said there is nothing wrong with them, other than low blood pressure... well except for Eddy. His blood pressure is still pretty high. I have them hooked up to plasma IVs at the moment to steady their systems. Other than that there's nothing left for me to do.” “Did they tell you what happened?” Manny asked as he sat down. “Well, Eddy is still too upset to talk much, but he seemed quite certain George was dead when he left the scene. Erkki doesn't have much to say. He told me the boys were playing in the woods with the knife when he thought George had tripped and fell on it. He said Eddy saw it too and ran for help thinking there was an injury, but it turned out no one was cut.” “Same thing they told me.” Manny said. “How about George?” “Well now...” he paused as he sat down his clipboard and removed his glasses. “That's a different story entirely.” “What did he tell you?” Manny asked looking him in the eyes. “He said he was hurt Manny, hurt bad. He had the knife out there to scare the wits off Erkki for busting his nose, but he wound up impaling himself. He said Erkki... did some kind of laying on of hands thing and took away the stab wound, then healed himself.” Henry said cleaning his lenses. “Well?” Manny pressed.

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“Well, it certainly explains the loss of blood now doesn't it.” he chuckled. “Seriously Henry.” Manny said stone faced. Henry Reahger squinted at him and replaced his glasses and picked up his clipboard. “What do you want me to say here Manny? That the boy performed some kind of miracle? Look we don't know what really happened out there. We just have three frightened and confused kids who got a bit excited and things got carried away. The only miracle is that nobody is hurt, and thank God for that.” “Yeah, I know Henry. It's just that Eddy was so upset, and when I saw George and Erkki walk up covered with blood...” “I can only imagine what was going through your head then Manny. You did the right thing running them out here.” Doctor Reahger said. “There is just one more thing though, it's not a big deal, I suppose, but It's definitely strange.” “That would be?” Manny asked with great interest. “Well, the cartilage and connective tissue in George's anterior nasal spine suffered quite a bit of trauma yesterday, as you well know.” he said as Manny nodded. “I can't explain it Manny so don't ask me to, but there's nothing there now. There's no sign that that young man's nose has ever been touched. All the swelling is gone and the nasal cartilage is quite firmly set to the bone again, with no bruising or blood vessel damage of any kind. Manny, soft tissue damage like that doesn't just fade away in less than twenty-four hours. It should have taken a month for Georges nose to snap back to it's old self. The human body just can't repair itself that fast, it doesn't work like that. Except that...”

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“Except that in this case it just did.” Manny finished for him. Henry Reahger just gave him a helpless look and shrugged. Manny Penner opened the door to the chapel and looked around. Three rows from the front of the room sat a young man with his head bowed in silent prayer. He quietly closed the door and walked softly along the empty pews to take a seat in the row behind him. He waited patiently for him to finish his communion as he sat quietly pondering to himself. “Hi Mr. Penner.” he said knowing he was there. “Hiya George, how are you feeling?” “I feel good Sir.” he responded still facing away from him. 'Did George Portski just call me Sir?' he asked himself surprised. “I feel better than I deserve Sir.” “That's great George, I'm glad to hear it.” he told him as he looked around the empty room. “Father O'Larse tells me you've had something of an epiphany recently.” “Yes Sir.” George answered “He tells me your thinking of devoting your life to the church, is that true George?” George raised his head and sat back in his seat as he stared at the Christ image and spoke. “I've wasted my life Sir. All I've done is brought pain and misery to the people around me. I just blamed my father for his mistreatment and tried to make it all his fault, but it wasn't. It was my fault Sir. I saw my soul through another's eyes today, and it has become ugly.”

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“George, I know fourteen seems like a lot of years to you, it comprises your whole life so far in fact but, it just too soon to declare a wasted life. You have so much time left son that, well, it's really tough for a young man like you to really grasp it. As far as bringing pain to others, I'm glad you've decided to step back and examine your actions George, but maybe you should just pray for forgiveness if that's what you believe now and move past it.” Manny said as he leaned forward resting his hands on the bench. “I have already been forgiven Sir. I've been absolved of every awful thing I've ever done up to this point, even though I...” he stammered as he wiped the tear from his cheek. “...even though I didn't deserve it, or even have the courage to ask for it.” “That's great George, really I... I'm so happy to hear you say that, but I think God will understand if you give your decision a little time, OK? You have a clean slate now, like you said, so let's not go off making promises you may find very hard to keep, you know, a month or so down the road.” “I know what I have to do Sir.” George said. Manny Sighed as he leaned back. 'What in God's name happened out there?' He thought. 'How could three kids all experience the same thing and have one who had to be sedated, one who insists nothing happened, and the third is giving his life to God over it? It's also odd that the kid who's likely the most disturbed of the three is the only one who got through it undamaged.' “OK George, but just please give what I said a chance to roll around in your head, and don't be late for supper. I'm going down to get a little coffee before Dorene tosses it out.” Manny said as he slid out of the pew and turned toward the door. “Sir?” George called as he bowed his head again.

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“Yeah George?” “You should get rid of as much sin as you can Sir, because it doesn't go away on it's own, and they can see it.” “Who can see it George?” he said as he turned and looked at the back of George's head. “They can see it like the way you see someones face. It's who you are to them. They can't understand it, they can't look past it, and they can't stand the sight of it.” “Who George?” Manny asked again. “There's not much time left Sir, please hurry.” ' not much time' Manny wasn't certain what George was talking about, but he had a strong feeling it wasn't coffee. ********** The boys all crept quietly through the light wooded area behind Cord Browning's house. It was just past sunset and there was no moon tonight making it very difficult to maneuver. Cord lived just outside the city limit in an older two story house which sat in the center on a large lot surrounded by a tall wood fence. The boys approached the fence cautiously and Miguel stood on Sam's shoulders peeking over scanning for any sign of trouble. “Coast is clear guys.” Miguel whispered. “You sure there's no dogs?” Kik asked nervously. “No. There's no dogs out here. Only Filbert lives here.” Miguel told him. Filbert. The name used to fill even the hardest streetjack with dread. It was the name street corner shop keeps would swear revenge by when they caught someone stealing. It was the last name you wanted to hear where the cops were after you. Filbert was both a legend, and the stuff

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of nightmares. He was the biggest, meanest, hungriest, and most ruthlessly fierce police dog ever to take a dump on the streets of Maragold... and he lived right here. “Filbert wont allow any other dogs around, so he's it, and Cord locks him in the house when he's gone so come on let's get going.” Miguel said as he hopped over the top of the fence. Sam helped the smaller kids over, then placed his hands on the top of the fence and heaved himself up dropping over to the other side. The gang huddled close together as they approached the back door. Even though they knew it was a fact Cord kept Filbert inside when he was gone, the boys couldn't help looking wide eyed into the dark corners of the property in expectation of the creature to lunge at them. As they reached the old porch and stepped up to the door, Miguel slipped his hand into his pack and pulled out his trusty crowbar. He pushed it into the door jam and pulled on it several times to no avail before he bent down to study the lock. It was a solid deadbolt and there wasn't quite enough clearance in the jam to slip it out. “Who's got a library card?” Miguel turned and asked, but the boys all looked at him helplessly. “Oh come on you illiterate punks! I know somebody has one!” he insisted. Slowly Hube turner reached into his back pocket and lifted out several candy wrappers and a pack of gum. As he brushed away the trash he pulled his card from the bundle and handed it to Miguel. Once again he pushed his crowbar into the jam and pulled. He leaned over and laid his shoulder onto the bar as he wiggled the plastic card into the slot managing to slip it free from the bolt as the door creaked open.

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“Hey! You scratched my picture!” Hube protested as Miguel handed him back his card. “Deal with it book-boy.” he said “Alright guys this is it.” Sam said as they entered the kitchen. “From here on out it's hardcore. Everyone stay together and listen for Filbert. Once we get him out of the way, we can find the ring. It's probably under where he sleeps or something.” The boys moved quietly into the house, flashlights blazing. They could hear each other breathing as they nervously searched for signs of the beast, he could be anywhere. They slowly opened the door with the glass window that lead from the kitchen into the living room as the tension built and no sign of the evil dog was to be found. Miguel poked his head around the next corner as he quietly pushed his black curly hair up into his orange ball cap. It was Cord's rec-room, but there was no doggy bed or dog. They moved into the room and spread out looking around. Miguel was about to head upstairs when he heard a set of “pssts” from behind him. Looking back he saw Rob and Bob standing on either side of what he had thought was a closet door. The twin boys pointed down toward the floor and as Miguel shined his light at the base of the aperture, he saw what they had noticed. It was a doggie door, a big one, and Miguel swallowed hard knowing what he had to do now. 'This is for Erkki, so grow a pair Miguel!' he told himself as he tried to open the door. It was locked and locked hard. Hube reached up and silently offered his card again, but Miguel waved him away. “Just stay out from in front of the door when you hear me coming.” he said as he got down on his hands and knees.

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“Good luck man.” Sam said as he got down behind the couch. “Yeah thanks.” Miguel answered as he turned his hat around backward with the red lightning bolt over the bill facing behind him. Then he pushed his head against the dog flap and climbed through. On the other side of the door was a staircase leading down. It appeared to be a basement or cellar. Miguel stood up and shined his light to the bottom of the stairs and saw a heap of laundry and some old boxes. It smelled strongly of wet paper and mold as he quietly descended the staircase. Wet paper, mold and... dog. Filbert was here somewhere, Miguel could smell him. He walked off the last step at the bottom of the staircase and moved his flashlight slowly around the large room searching for signs of movement. “Here puppy puppy puppy.” he called quietly. “I have a treat for you puppy puppy. Here boy, good puppy.” he said as his stomach fluttered and his hands shook with fear. His wide eyes sought any sign of movement in the thin beam of light but he saw nothing. “Where are you little puppy puppy?” Miguel asked as he swallowed the knot in his throat. He caught sight of an old purple cushion against the wall. As he moved his light he saw a dog bowl half full of kibble and a water bowl overturned beside it. Quietly he crept over and got down on his knees as he started to search around for the ring. 'Just let me find it now so we can get out of this... what was that?!' he thought to himself alarmed as his ears caught movement nearby in the dark. He froze, then brought up his light to look in the direction of the sound. There were

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more old boxes and some engine parts against the wall but there was no monstrous dog or... “AHHHH!” Miguel screamed as the dark furry creature burst from the box and leaped out onto the floor running across the damp concrete. The boy fell back onto his butt and dropped the flashlight as he watched the big rat climb up into a pile of newspaper and disappear. He sat there with his mouth still open and his heart thumping hard enough to crack a rib as he finally began to breath again. As he slowly reached down and picked up the light, he felt a warm breeze on the back of his neck. He turned his head around and pointed the light in that direction only to find himself nose to nose with Filbert. The gigantic black doberman stared into Miguel's big brown eyes as he slowly rolled back his lips and began to growl. “N...nice puppy.” Miguel manage to rasp as the adrenalin started to flow. “Good pu...puppy puppy.” but Filbert only growled louder. “What was that?” Jay asked from behind the chair. “Did you guys hear that?” “Yeah.” Larry said. “I did. It think it was Miguel” The next thing the boys knew Miguel burst out of the doggie door as he dove through head first yelling. “Gang way!” Then he rolled and jumped to his feet heading for the kitchen. Not even a full second later a massive “dog-beast” exploded from the door, ripping the flap off and sending it sliding across the floor. The kids gasped as the huge animal tore after their friend and bolted through the den into the living room like a snarling salivating rocket. Poor Miguel ran like human lightning as he reached the inner kitchen door and jumped up

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grabbing the thick frame molding with his fingertips, desperately drawing his legs up out of the way. Filbert blew past him through the doorway as the doberman pushed out its legs trying to stop and turn around, but instead it went sliding off across the room, its claws digging into the linoleum. Miguel let go of the wood and dropped down, grabbing the doorknob with both hands as he slammed it shut, trapping the animal in the kitchen. The boy put his back against the door and panted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He laughed nervously at himself as he glanced down to see if he had peed his pants, which he actually thought he had, but with great relief discovered he had not. As the other kids ran into the archway between the rooms, Miguel held out his thumbs up and smiled. Just then Filbert leaped at the door snarling and slobbering at the thick glass protesting loudly from just on the other side, again shocking Miguel with fear. He reached over and grabbed a wooden chair jamming it up under the knob as he moved away and watched the mighty Filbert as it assaulted the door in the throws of doggie madness. All flashlights were on the glass as the kids watched the awful K9 thrash upon the door. “You think it'll hold?” asked Hube nervously. “It's plate glass, but I don't know, that dog is pretty big, and pretty pissed.” Sam told him. “Lets get the damn ring and get out of here.” The kids all grunted in agreement as they quickly made there way into the den and through the hole in the basement door. The searched Filbert's bedding thoroughly as well as his bowls and beleaguered toys but turned up nothing. Chris Redman shined his light up at the dirty sign at the top of the wall behind Filberts cushion. It read “No admittance, you've been warned”

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“Hey look guys, it's a door!” Chris said as he ran his finger along the crack in the wall. “Yeah! That must be where the ring is!” Hube said as he spotted the notch and put his finger inside pulling the partially hidden door open. As it swung out into the room Sam, got a glimpse of a thin wire which dropped away as the portal came open, and Miguel's sensitive ears heard something small and metal fly off and bounce against something else. “What was that?” Miguel asked nervously. “What? What happened?” Kik asked from behind them. Sam poked his head into the tiny room. For some reason something to his left caught his eye and he turned his light on it. Knowing immediately then what it was from his own personal studies into military machines, Sam shot out his arm, reaching into the deep niche in the wall between the rooms and squeezed the handle of the grenade, preventing it from going off. “Is that what I think it is?” Miguel said stepping away. “Yeah. It sure is man, and there's more than one in there. It feels like maybe half a dozen.” Sam said as he stood frozen with his arm elbow deep into the wall. “If one goes off, they all blow up. Find the pin guys. Find it now.” he said shaking. “Pull it out! I wanna see!” Kik insisted stepping back nervously. “I can't.” Sam told him focusing on the hole before him. “It's fixed in there somehow. It won't move.” “Are you guys serious?!” Hube asked. “Lets just run! We can get out of the basement before they go off!”

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“I doubt it Hube. I think I grabbed it with about one second left on the timer. The moment I let go it's gonna blow the foundation out from under this place, so find the God damned pin.” “Holy shit!” Hube said as he thrashed around searching the floor. “What way did it fly Miguel?” Sam asked as the sweat began to run down his twelve year old cheeks. “I don't know! I'm not sure. I heard it travel maybe six to ten feet, then it hit something hard and bounced.” he said trying desperately to remember the exact noise. Flashlight beams danced wildly everywhere as the kids searched every inch for the tiny pin, but there were so many places it could have slipped into it might take an hour to find it. “It's porno!” Larry said as he popped open one of the boxes in the tiny side room. Indeed the dozen or so small boxes were filled with various issues of soft and hardcore pornography, from playboy and easy rider to hustler and various “fetish” specialty mags. “What kind of lunatic booby traps his dirty magazine collection with a freaking bomb?!” Larry asked as he felt around the boxes. Sam heard another noise from inside the wall and he turned his head listening intently. It sounded like small weights and gears, some kind of clockwork devise. As he tried to understand what it was he was hearing, a small metal panel slowly began to descend over the niche in the wall through a top-wards slot just inside the compartment. The bottom of the panel had been sharpened like a guillotine blade and his eyes bulged with fear as he realized what was about to happen.

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“Oh crap! The same kind of guy that booby traps the freaking bomb with something else! Find the pin guys! Find it now!” The boys panicked as they threw everything around shaking and tossing things in a mad search for the grenade pin. The niche was halfway shut now and Sam was sweating hard enough to wet his shirt. “OK guys, just go.” he said. “What?!” Miguel said shocked. “Just god damn go! Everybody go now! Run!” Sam yelled. “Hell no!” Miguel argued as he felt around on the floor with both hands and the flashlight beside him. “There's no time Miguel! It's over! Your not gonna find that pin! Run! Please man!” The kids all stopped and glanced at each other with uncertainty and fear as they eyed the steps. 'Your not gonna find that pin!' 'find that pin!' 'that pin!' 'Pin!' Miguel's mind was rapid firing something at him. He froze for a moment trying to grasp what it was. 'so... I pulled out this thing... You know, to see if it opened it.' “The thing!” Miguel shouted as he drove his hand into his pocket and ran over to Sam squeezing closely up against him.

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“Miguel this is no time to declare your love for me dude, now get out of here!” Sam told him. “Pfff... You wish Iller.” he said as he reached into the narrowing hole with both his hands. “Just gimme a little more room.” Miguel said. “What the hell are you doing man! Go! Now!” Sam screamed at him. “Stop yelling at me! I have something that will fit!” he hoped. Miguel fumbled around with the explosive not certain where the pin should go. He felt all around the top of it with one hand while holding the little metal pin with the fancy dangling fob from the old fashioned fire alarm bell in the other. Finally his thumb landed in a small depression that he prayed was the correct spot and he started to jam the firebell pin into it. The grenade was, thankfully for them, also coated with Sam's sweat which provided just enough lubricant to allow the ill fitting pin to slide home with a click. Both kids heard it when it did, and Miguel and Sam simultaneously released the cluster with a war scream and threw themselves onto the ground as the panel ground into the bottom brick with a crunch. Slowly they lifted their heads and looked at each other. After an uncomfortably long moment Miguel broke a huge smile as he slapped Sam on the back and laughed. Sam just reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow as he started to sit up and lean against the wall. “I... have got... to start... hanging out... with some new people.” he said aloud to himself. Miguel grinned again as he turned to see his other friends who all stood there frozen in horror, only just now grasping the concept that they might not go boom. As he looked them over he noticed Hube Turner had not been as

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lucky as he himself was earlier that night. The front of the boy's trousers was stained a much darker blue then the rest of his jeans. The kids continued to search the basement. They were much more cautious now as they poked around, but frustration settled in on them as they turned up no sign of the faux-artifact. “This is interesting.” Sam noted to himself as he pulled a long strip of paper from a metal box under the big box of Hustler magazines. It was some kind of list with several things crossed off dated 06/19/72. He had no idea why it held his attention, but he shoved it in his pocket for later. “Jay, are you sure you heard them right man?” Kik asked. “Yeah! He said the ring was with Filbert! I know he did!” Jay insisted. “Wait...” Sam said as he stopped rummaging and thought for a moment. “Did he say it was with Filbert? What exactly did he say Jay?” “He said it was in the hands of the only person he could trust, Filbert” Jay told him. “Dogs don't have hands.” Miguel said. “No... they don't do they?” Sam said. The kids all stood there watching Filbert maul the glass of the kitchen door. There was a thick layer of slime on the window now as the crazed animal jumped up over and over depositing more as he howled in rage. With his flashlight pointed directly at Filbert's collar, Miguel could now see the ring jingling wildly next to his license tags. “How the hell do we get it off him?” he asked.

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“Were gonna have to put him down.” said Sam. “You mean kill him?!” Rob asked shocked. “We don't want to kill a dog!” said Bob. “Yeah, me neither!” agreed Kik and Chris “We may not have to kill it.” Sam said. “Miguel, you ready to go round two with Filbert?” “Hell no!” Miguel answered sharply looking at Sam as if the boy had lost his mind. “Come on man, for Erkki.” Sam urged “Are you ready Miguel?” Sam asked from his position by the door. “I guess so man.” Miguel said from the rec-room. “OK then everybody back up to either side of the door, and don't move!” Sam told them. “On three Miguel.” he said “One.” “Two.” “Three!” Sam yelled as he pulled the rope, dragging the chair away from the knob allowing the door to come flying open. For a moment nothing happened and Miguel squinted into the dark kitchen curiously. Then it emerged. With a heavy growl, Filbert slowly stepped out of the kitchen staring through the archway into the den at Miguel who waited there with a long red sheet unfurled before him. “Toro! Toro!” Miguel yelled at him as he jerked the sheet egging the dog onward. Filbert lowered his head as he rolled back his lips and growled fiercely while pawing at the carpet with his right front foot like a bull. “Come on Alpo breath! I ain't got all night! Let's do this!” Miguel yelled at him.

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Filbert leaped forward, springing into a full sprint as he flashed through the living room and into the den. Miguel seemed to be holding his ground there with the red sheet draped in front as Filbert jumped up, plowing into him at a dead run. There was a loud crash as the dog hit the sheet and slammed into the old washing machine the boys had dragged in from outside. The impact was so strong it knocked Miguel right off the top where he had been kneeling as his cap came flying off and he tumbled backward onto the floor. Sam walked in and saw the huge dent in the front of the old machine as he glanced down at Filbert who laid there thoroughly silly-fied. “I get to be the first one to say it!” he declared as he smiled. “That had to hurt.” ********** Erkki stood in line outside the circus big top tent. He was excited to see the show tonight and he munched on two caramel apples, one in each hand, as he slowly worked his way toward the door. The fairground was lively and full of kids all running from ride to ride as the twirling lights and twinkling stars lit the way to the main attraction. As he reached the grand entrance he looked at the man on the stool who glanced up at him as he approached. 'My ticket! Where's my ticket?!' he thought as he dropped one of his snacks and started going through his pockets. “Hey don't worry about it kid.” the man said with a strong south Jersey draw. “After all it's your show, eh!” 'It is?' “Go on in there Sir and we can get started!” “OK!” Erkki agreed with joy as he ran in.

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The place was packed to capacity he noticed as the noise from the cheering crowd filled his ears, and it looked like he might have to stand in the aisle. “Right this way Sir.” said a somewhat older boy who was looking at him from the circus floor. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and held out one hand toward him while the other was supporting a silver tray. “Sam?” Erkki asked him as he slowly approached. “I believe this is your food of choice tonight Sir? I noticed you had lost the other outside.” Sam said as he held out the tray to Erkki. It contained a single caramel apple on a wax paper slip, and this one was even rolled in nuts! “Wow! Thanks Sam, but why...” he began as the child cut him off. “Right this way Sir. Your seat is ready.” Sam said leading the way across the circus tent floor. Erkki silently followed him as they walked along the packed dirt. He didn't understand why everyone was treating him this way, but he was happy he didn't have to watch the show standing. As they moved toward the bleachers, he glanced into the center ring at the clown who was attempting to ride a unicycle, but failing miserably at it. It was a rather small clown, possibly a midget and it wore a huge floppy hat that made it hard to see it's face. He giggled at it as he saw it fall on it's face time and time again and wondered if it was just part of the show. “Your seat Sir.” Sam said dully as he indicated to the area set off with the velvet rope. This section of bench actually had a blue and red cushion installed and looked rather comfortable. “Sorry Sir, just finishing up.” said a boy who was on his hands and knees, also wearing an orange jumpsuit, and appeared to be scraping gum off the underside of the seat.

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“Kik? Why are you guys dressed like that?” he asked The boy just looked sadly at him as he collected his simple tools and moved quickly away. “Enjoy the show Sir.” Sam said as he walked off. Erkki didn't know why he didn't notice before, but Sam's ankles were shackled together and he shuffled as he walked. “Sam?” Erkki called to him, but the boy paid no attention as he disappeared around the row of bleachers. “Ha! That kid is such a klutz!” said the people behind him. “Yeah, I don't know where they picked this one up, but watching him suffer up there is better than watching one with actual talent. I'm definitely coming back every day!” someone answered. “I hear that!” said another. Erkki looked out to the center ring, at the small clown now attempting to juggle several bowling pins. He clearly had never done this before and couldn't keep the items up for more than a couple seconds before dropping them to the ground. Instead of giggling at him he started to feel great sympathy for the poor clown as he realized everyone was laughing at his misery. “Well? Pick'em up stupid! Folks are here to see a show, so get performing!” said the man in the guard uniform standing near the clown. “Snap to it kid, unless you want to do a little private party for us.” said another uniformed man standing behind the first. “No!” Erkki gasped as he stood up. It was them. It was the men who Cord Browning sent to... to do those bad, sick and cruel things to him. Why were they here? What's happening?

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“I'm trying Ok?! I... I don't know how to juggle, I told you that man!” said the clown. Erkki knew that voice. It was the most important voice in the world to him, but it can't be him! Why would it be? Erkki jumped up and ran into the ring toward the clown as it gathered up it's props from the floor. He leaped and slid toward it on his knees landing just behind the downtrodden harlequin as he reached over and pulled off it's hat. He saw long and curly dark hair which hung down just below his shoulders. He could also see the clown suit was just a thin smock with an orange jumpsuit sticking out at his collar just under his hair. The olive skin, freckled face boy turned and looked at him startled as Erkki removed his huge hat. “Miguel! Why are you here? What's happening?” “I'm sorry Erkki. I let you down man.” Miguel told him sadly. “What?! Come on, lets get out of here!” Erkki said desperately. “I can't go Erkki, I have to stay here now.” Miguel said, his voice trembling as he pointed to the steel shackle which connected his ankle to the tent pole. Erkki gently helped him to his feet as he eyed the evil men in guard uniforms. “Let him loose.” Erkki said as he tightened his fists at his sides. “Yeah right, I don't think so.” the first one said. “They're here because of you in the first place small fry, so take a seat and enjoy the show.” said the other. “What do you mean because of me?” Erkki asked confused. “I was sent away from Miguel so I couldn't drag him into trouble!”

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“You think this punk needs your help to find trouble?” said the first guard. “He could have used your help to stay out of trouble, but it's too late now.” said the second. “I'm sorry Erkki! I thought... I mean, I just wanted to... Oh Erkki, how did it go so wrong?!” Miguel said as he cried. “Miguel no!” Erkki cried. “I wont let them have you! I... I'll... I...!” he groped for words to console him as the two guards moved toward Miguel looking at him hungrily as they licked their foul lips. “Get away from him!” he yelled. “No! Get away! Huwappa eik watkunu lammar!! Apeea Tá! ” Erkki yelled as he sat up in bed. His heart was beating fast and chill sweat rolled into his eyes as he took in the darkness of the dorm room. “Sir?” came Eddy's little voice from across the room. “Is everything OK?” “No.” Erkki said gathering his thoughts. “No it's not OK Eddy. Somethings wrong!” “I don't understand Sir!” Eddy said looking around the dark room fearfully clutching the teddy. “Me neither, but I have to go!” Erkki said as he jumped out of bed and pulled his new jeans on over his underwear. “Go? Go where Sir? To the bathroom?” “No Eddy, I have to leave. I have to get away from St. Joe's to help someone!” Erkki said searching for his shirt. “But... But I don't think your allowed to just leave Sir!”

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“Yeah, I know Eddy. I need your help to get out.” he said as he shoved several pairs of socks and a bag of chips into a small bag. “You mean right now Sir?” “Right now Eddy, right now.” The boys moved quickly and quietly down the well lit hallway as they approached the corner. Erkki motioned for Eddy to stop as he peeked around the corner and saw Mr. Koccer, the night monitor, cross the hall and enter his office. After hearing the squeaky squish of his rump settling into his chair, Erkki motioned for Eddy to follow as he got down on his hands and knees and crawled along the wall. They passed the open doorway and shuffled along under the large hall observation window behind which Mr. Koccer sat reading his magazine. As Erkki neared the end of the glass, he heard a very quiet grunt from behind him. He froze then slowly turned back to see Eddy a few feet behind him, directly under the window crouched there in mid shuffle with his hand over his mouth. “Hello?” Mr. Koccer said as he stood up and looked out through the window. Erkki gave Eddy a confused look, which Eddy returned by glancing down several times toward his knee. Erkki followed his clue as he looked down and saw a green thumbtack buried in Eddy's knee and winced a little. Eddy then gave Erkki a strained look, to which he responded with a desperate and pleading gaze as he flicked his eyes up toward Mr. Koccer several times. Eddy squeezed his eyes shut and held his mouth tighter as Erkki carefully crept back to him and reached out for the pin.

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Mr. Koccer just stood there with his coffee in one hand and his magazine in the other, at the moment more interested in his article than some phantom noise as Erkki silently plucked the errant tack from Eddy's knee. Eddy's eyes opened wide and Erkki feared he would scream, but instead he settled back into an expression tremendous relief and a grateful smile to which Erkki responded with a wink, then nodded in the direction of the door. The kids stood as they moved around the corner and headed for the dim area with the door leading to the playground. “That hurt real bad Erkki.” Eddy whispered to him as they approached the exit. “I know it did Eddy, thanks for not selling us out.” “You mean like I did yesterday morning?” Eddy said sadly. “No man. I told you I don't blame you for that. Even if George would have beat me up real bad, it still wasn't your fault.” He told him straining to keep quiet. “OK Sir, but I still feel so bad...” “Look Eddy, I forgive you, but if you really want to make it up to me just do like we discussed and show me the way through the woods to the road, OK?” “OK.” Eddy said with a mousy smile. Erkki reached out to push down the bar on the door when it suddenly flew open and Mr. Penner began to step in as he spoke to another councilor. “Well yeah he knows that, but you just can't make a guy understand another point of view when he... Erkki? Eddy? What are you doing out here?” “Let's go Eddy!” Erkki cried as he grabbed the younger boy's arm and ran out into the dimly lit playground.

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“Erkki! Stop! Wait!” Manny yelled from behind them as Erkki half dragged the much slower boy along toward the gap in the fence. “Sir! Sir, I have to give you something before you go!” Eddy told him as he puffed. “Not now Eddy.” Erkki said as he pushed through the opening and turned to pull Eddy into the woods as fast as possible. “But it's real important Sir!” Eddy cried. “There's no time!” “It's out here in the hut! It'll only take a second Erkki, please!” Eddy begged. Maybe it was because the boy had finally called him by his name, maybe it was because he knew he would likely never see Eddy again, maybe he didn't want to help one friend by hurting another, or perhaps all three, then again maybe it was just fate, but he decided to allow Eddy to lead him to the picture hut one last time before they made for the road and he had to say goodbye. The boys moved quickly in the darkness. They didn't own flashlights, but Eddy knew the way and Erkki trusted him. He glanced behind every few seconds for signs of pursuit as he knew Mr. Penner would get Mr. Koccer, and Mr. Koccer would have all the night monitors out here within moments. “Almost there!” Eddy said As Erkki ran looking behind him he failed to see the branch as it collided with his head sending him over onto his back in the dirt. “I think I heard them! Let's move people!” someone said not far away as Erkki caught sight of multiple flashlights scanning the darkness.

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“Better let's go Erkki!” Eddy said as he jogged back and held out his hand to help Erkki up. The kids raced along until they caught sight of Eddy's shelter. They ran up the broken steps and threw open the door moving inside as they paused to catch their breath and Eddy quickly lit the small oil lamp inside. “Here Sir. I couldn't let you go away without this, I just couldn't!” Eddy said as he handed him a rolled up piece of poster sized paper. Erkki gently unrolled the item and realized it was Eddy's almost magical drawing of him he had made two days ago. “Wow Eddy! I don't know what to say! You worked so hard on this! Are you sure you want me to have it? Don't you want it to remember me?” Erkki asked honored. “I'll never forget you Sir.” Eddy said as he placed his right foot behind his left and rocked a little. “I'll never forget you either Eddy, and... call me Erkki, OK?” “OK Erkki.” Eddy said with a smile. “OK they should be just ahead in that old shack! Get everyone to move in!” said a voice from somewhere outside. “Oh no!” Erkki said as he saw flashlight circles forming on the paper covering the old windows. The boys ran outside and looked around. There were flashlights all around them in the woods. All the security people and the teachers had formed a circle around the old hut as they suspected that's where the boys would go and they were quite right. “Eddy man, I need a distraction!” Erkki said desperately. “A distraction?” Eddy asked, not certain what the word meant.

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“Yeah, I need you to do something to get everyone’s attention so I can get through!” “OK, but what? I'm not very good at distractioning Erkki!” “It doesn't matter, just as long as it's big enough that I can sneak through them! I need you to do this for me Eddy! It's very very important to me!” Erkki told him grasping his shoulders and looking into his green eyes. Eddy looked down at his shoes and blinked, then back up at Erkki, he knew what he had to do. “OK Erkki. I'll do it for you.” “Awesome man! There's just one last thing... what way do I go? What direction is the road?” Erkki said letting him go as Eddy pointed south. “Thank you Eddy! I'll never forget this man!” he said as he turned and ran in the indicated direction. “Goodbye Erkki.” Eddy said quietly as he retreated back into his beloved space. Erkki ran far enough away to be just out of sight of the hut but he could see flashlights blazing before him and on both sides. He jumped behind a tree as he swallowed and panted knowing he would soon be seen if Eddy didn't come through. The voices were close enough now he could hear them talking, it was too late to try and climb up out of sight, and too late to try and run back! The only thing that could insure he made it out to help Miguel would be if Eddy came up with a... “What's that smell?” one of the approaching grownups asked. “It's fire! That old shack is on fire! Everyone get up there now!” someone said. 'Eddy no!' Erkki yelled silently.

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He could see now, as the grown-ups all ran past him with their attention firmly on the top of the hill, that the woods were glowing up there back toward the cabin. He could see flames licking the structure from between the trees. 'Eddy you didn't have to do this! Not this! Not your hut, all your work! Oh my God!' Erkki felt sick, and he wanted to cry, but there just wasn't time. Eddy had indeed provided a suitable distraction for him and he had to move before they discovered he wasn't there. He pushed off from the tree and continued running south through the dark woods toward the road. He had no intention of allowing Eddy's incredible sacrifice to be for nothing. ********** Cord pushed the front door open after spending almost five minutes fumbling with his keys in the dark. He stumbled into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator, squinting at the sudden burst of light. A smile crossed his face as he spied the single remaining lager pushed way in the back behind the spoiled milk. Filbert came trotting up to him as the drunken man grabbed the bottle and wobbled into the living room stopping for a moment to inspect the kitchen door. “What the hell Filbert?” he said as he saw the layers of dried slime encrusting the glass and the deep claw marks in the wood. “Bad dog.” he mumbled at it as he moved slowly forward putting his hand on the back of the couch to keep from falling over. He reached out for the small cord on the lamp several times before managing to grab the real one rather than the doubled over images of it. However Just as he switched it on he finally lost his tenuous balance and

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collapsed with it onto the floor. Before passing out, he lifted his head and looked into the rec-room seeing his old washing machine for some reason sitting there in the middle of the floor and Filbert busily walking around it. “Bad dog.” he said as he lost consciousness. ********** The sound of the phone ringing in his father's room awoke the sleeping boy as he grunted and pulled the covers over his head. “Hello?” Miguel heard his father answer sleepily through the thin wall. “Are you serious? Do you know what time it is Erkki?” “Erkki?” Miguel said to himself from under the blanket. The next moment found him springing from the bed toward his door as he anxiously ran out to hall filled with excitement. “Erkki, the suns not even up yet buddy. It's good to hear from you, but why don't you call back in a few hours after Miguel wakes up?” Jack told him as he looked over at the clock. “I'm up! I'm up!” Miguel yelled out in the hall. “Nobody gives a damn Miguel, so shut up!” Vierco yelled back from his bed in the boys room. “Screw you Vierco! I got it papa! On the downstairs line!” “Whatever...” Jack Sanchez said as he heard the click of the other line pick up and he hung up the phone. “Erkki! Where are you!” Miguel asked filled with pleasure at the sound of the other boy's voice. He listened intently as his smile shrank to a grin, then dropped to serious line, then opened into a look of grave concern.

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“Oh man, do they know where you are?” he asked quietly into the receiver as he huddled into the corner. “Oh! OK like, we're supposed to meet up at the quarry in the morning to... well, that's kinda complicated, but can you make it out there?” he asked as he nervously fondled the cord. “OK, I'll wait for you, but please hurry Erkki! There's something super important we have to talk about when you get there OK?” he told him then hung up the phone. He poured himself a glass of orange juice all the way to the rim as he saw the sun start to come up over the edge of the city. 'It's gonna be a crazy day.' he said silently as he poured out the last few droplets from the carton into the flower pot of the daisy by the window. As the sun's rays struck the flower it raised up it's yellow head and spread forth it's leaves like an angel waiting to be carried into heaven. ********** The soggy sensation of Filbert's tongue against his thinning scalp pulled him slowly from his stupor as he reached up and pushed the big doberman away. Cord slowly lifted his groggy head off the floor and looked around trying to find his watch which was missing from his wrist. “Ah damn it.” he cursed as he remembered he had used it to pay for the last round of drinks after he ran out of cash. He took a deep breath and turned over onto all fours as he steadied himself on the couch and pushed his bulk upward to a precarious standing position. As he rubbed the drool from his mouth, he made his way into the den to look at

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his clock but stopped short as he once again saw the old washing machine in the middle of the floor. “How the..?” he pondered as he looked around. Filbert came back to him holding his empty bowl in his sloppy jowls as Cord tried to remember if he had dragged the object inside last night for some reason. Then he saw the huge lump on the animals head and the swollen eye which gazed at him expectantly. With a look of fear and realization he dropped down on one knee to inspect Filberts collar. “No!” he said shaking with anger as he pushed himself back up and hurried into the other room to inspect the intrusion. 'Did they clobber him with a washing machine??' he pondered as he fingered the dog shaped dent. A bright orange object beside the lazy-boy then caught his eye and he hurried over to it, snatching it up from the shag carpet. It was a hat. An orange baseball cap emblazoned with a red lightning bolt. Cord stared at the object closely knowing that he had seen it somewhere before. It was hard to think right now with the alcohol still in his system and the anger bursting in his temples but... “No... it couldn't be!” he said as the realization struck him. The loud knock at the door caused his head to snap around as he shoved the cap into his back pocket. “Sheriff? You in there?” came Father Dolsey's voice from the front porch. Cord pushed the drape aside and saw the two priests and a nun waiting just outside. He then glanced over at the clock and saw it was just past 7 AM. “Damn!” he cursed again realizing he passed out before setting his alarm.

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“Uh... I'll be right there padre! Just feeding the dog!” He called out as he gathered his thoughts. “We missed you at breakfast Officer Browning!” Father Dolsey called back. “I thought maybe something was wrong!” “Uh... No, nothings wrong padre! I'll be right out!” he yelled as he tore off his stinky plaid shirt and grabbed his uniform. “So let me thank everyone again for supporting us and raising all the money we need to erect every needed repair on our house of worship!” Father Dolsey said as the small crowd clapped. “It has been our finest honor to host this viewing of an icon of the Christian faith and the time has come to send it on it's final journey to the Holy See.” “Your late man.” Lenny whispered to Cord as the two men stood there in their uniforms with their hands behind there backs smiling away at everyone. “I had a problem.” Cord whispered back through his teeth trying to look like he wasn't talking. “Yeah, I can smell it on you.” Lenny said. “Got to hell Len.” Cord said as he continued to smile and act as if he were paying attention to the speech. “Well I'll meet you there.” Lenny whispered clearly upset. “They're gonna have that guy from Italy come pick the thing up here now Cord!” “Shut up!” he said as he bopped the deputy in the back of the head while acting as if he were stretching. “I know. They told me yesterday, that's why I used the police key to come in here and make the switch last evening before I went... out.” “Oh.” Lenny said relieved. “Good thinkin' Cord.”

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“But...” Cord stammered as he nervously shifted his weight. “It's gone.” “What?!” Lenny said aloud as everyone looked over at them. “I said, we praise God for giving us this beautiful sunlit day.” Father Dolsey repeated looking at the deputy. “Uh... he heard you Father, he uh... just had something... stupid in his ear.” Cord said. “Carry on Sir.” “Very good.” the father said clearing his throat. “As you know, our advertising for this event, as well as the tickets for the raffle, were provided free of charge by...” he continued. “What the hell do you mean gone?” Lenny asked with a hoarse whisper, again trying not to move his lips. “Unbunch your panties Lenny, I know where it is... kinda” Cord grumbled quietly. “Kinda?” Lenny said straining not to look upset. “Well they're kinda gonna kill us when we show up empty handed tonight now aren't they Cord.” “Relax, we're gonna fix this as soon as this meet and greet is over.” he told him as he raised his glass of sparkling grape juice and smiled for the toast. ********** “Damn it Miguel! We gotta go! There probably looking all over the city for us right now, we have to get this thing to the real cops over in Carter this morning like we said!” Hube said half out of his mind with worry. “Relax pee-boy.” Miguel said as he sat on the rock against the wall of the old quarry with his arms folded. “I'm not leaving without Erkki and that's that.” “He'll be here.” Sam said. “It takes about three hours to walk here from Harley road. He's gotta be close by.” he

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told the boy as he inspected the ring closely under his magnifying glass. “It sure looks real.” Kik said sitting close by Sam as the two studied the fake as they sat on the hood of the old broken down car. “Yeah, whoever made this sure knew what they were doing, I guess.” Sam commented. “It really looks old.” “Is that a real ruby you think?” Kik asked. “Nah, it's just glass, but I think this is real silver though.” he said scratching at the band with his fingernail. “Can you fix it?” Rob asked Larry who was diddling with the tiny carburetor of the dirt bike. “We don't want to have to ride two on a bike to get home.” added Bob. “Why not, you guys do everything else together?” Larry told him. “There I think I got it now.” “It's Erkki! He's here!” Chris yelled from atop the quarry wall. “Erkki!” Miguel called as he unfolded his arms and moved back to see the path that lead into the shallow pond. There was Erkki. He was hurrying down the path toward the others and as Miguel saw him it was as if several invisible clouds, that he wasn't even aware were blocking the sun, moved away to reveal it's true brilliance. The two kids nearly tackled each other as they hugged one another tight and laughed joyfully. After several minutes they calmed down and joined the rest of the gang by the old car. Everyone was thrilled he had made it today, even though they were all concerned about him being on the run, and they all wanted the boy to come with them as they turned in the evidence that would finally convict the crooked cops. It took them all of fifteen minutes to explain to him what had happened and how they had managed to get the fake ring

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from Cord before he could use it. Erkki shuttered as he heard all about Filbert and the trick they pulled to get the ring from it, and he gasped as Sam described the bomb they found in Cords basement. “Well I'm sure glad you didn't get blowed up!” Erkki said. “Let me see the ring!” Sam handed the silver ring to him as Erkki took it and studied the object with one eye closed. “Wow! It looks so real.” Erkki said. “That's what I said!” Kik piped. “You guys are sure this is fake, right?” Erkki asked looking at Sam doubtfully. “Yeah man! Look for the last time guys, it's just glass. Toss it over Erkki.” Sam told him as he held out his hands. “As everybody on Earth knows from watching old detective movies on T.V., gems like rubies are made from aluminum oxide.” he told them as he caught the ring. “Aluminum oxide is way harder than glass which is what this is. If it was a real ruby, it would scratch this glass instead of just rubbing along on it like this cuz...” he started to say as he reached over pushing the stone down upon the front window of the abandon car and dragging it toward him leaving a long gouge upon the windshield surface. “...cuz there both... glass?” he said as he stood looking at the mark. The boys all gasped as they stared in shock at the tell tail scratch upon the car. After a long moment the open mouth youths slowly and silently looked over to Sam who still stood there gazing at the ring. “I don't get it.” Sam boggled. “Jay said... but I thought... How could...” “Maybe he already switched the two.” Erkki suggested.

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“Oh man, we're jewel thieves now! We can't turn that in!” said Hube as he started to panic. “Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!” chanted Miguel as he began to breath heavy. “Clam down everybody!” Erkki said stressfully. “There's got to be someone who'll believe us if we just...” “All right you little piss-bag, thumb-sucking punks!” yelled Sheriff Cord Browning as he ran down the path into the old quarry. “Freeze and gimme that ring!” Erkki opened his eyes wide as he turned to behold the men as they stormed down into the quarry. “Oh crap.” he said. ********** “God damn it Manny! Why didn't you call me last night?!” Vince yelled at him as the two men raced for the car. “There was nothing you could do Vince that we didn't already do. We combed every inch of those woods, once we got the fire out anyway, but the kid was long gone.” Manny said taking the door handle of the little Honda. “Your sure there was no note or anything?” he asked as he slid behind the driver's seat. “Nothing. Not even Eddy knew why he jumped up in the middle of the night and decided he just had to leave, but he was dead set and determined” Manny told him. 'What are you up to Erkki? What's happening in that mind of yours?' Vince thought. “So where are we going?” Manny asked as Vince pulled out of the parking lot. “To find Erkki.” he answered. **********

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“Stand against the wall punks!” Cord told them as he approached Miguel with his nightstick. “Now first thing your gonna hand over that ring.” Cord said glaring at him. “What ring?” Miguel asked smiling. “You think this is a game you little spanish fly?!” Cord said as he pointed the end of the nightstick at Miguel's nose. “Like I said your gonna give me the ring, then we're all going downtown so I can take the evidence off you in the station in front of witnesses.” “What evidence?!” Miguel yelled at him. “Lenny, show him the evidence.” Cord said as he motioned to his deputy who stood in the back with the four other dirty cops in Cord's little operation. “You mean this evidence?” Lenny said holding up several small bags of white powder. “You see that boys? That's your future right there.” Cord said. “You'll be in prison till your eighteen as drug mules, now don't that sound like fun? Huh? Don't it? Now give me that ring you little curly haired punk before I have to plant a knife on you to explain why I had to beat you to a bloody pulp before I arrested you!” “Hey!” yelled a small voice from somewhere behind them. “Who was that?” Cord asked as the cops looked around the abandoned quarry. “Hey stupids!” the voice called again. “Up here!” Cord's left eye twitched wildly as he saw Erkki standing at the top of the quarry wall above them. “Lookin' for this?” the boy said as he turned his head to the side and gave Cord a big smile while holding up the ring of Saint Abban the Hermit on a thin steel chain which hung around his neck.

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The sound of the 150cc dirt bike rung out around the wooded hill as Erkki flew down it full throttle. He had ridden the bike many times before, and he had a feel for how it was meant to run, and Larry's modifications added quite a bit more “pep” than it carried stock. A brief moment later the sound of sirens flooded the area as all three police cars burst over the hill in pursuit of him. Erkki looked back and smiled to himself knowing he had fulfilled what he set out to do, even though he didn't know what that was until moments ago. Anything else that happened from here on out was just gravy! 'Here we go again you son-of-a-bitch! This time it's just you and me!' Erkki said to himself as he jumped over the small hill flying perhaps ten feet before coming back into contact with the ground with a hard bounce. The cars were gaining on him, but the city of Carter was just right there at the bottom of the hill and he knew they would have a hard time dealing with the traffic once he hit the street, and hit the street he did. The Sheriff's car hit the dirt hill hard and Cord nearly lost control as the car went sideways and bounced off the other police car rolling beside him. “God damn it!” Cord yelled. “He's gonna pay for that!” Erkki flew out into the parking lot, sliding sideways as he struggled for control of the bike. Several people carrying bags of groceries jumped out of the way and yelled at him as he hit the throttle and straitened out. Across the street, a parked Carter police car saw the reckless boy as he tried to swerve through the crowded lot and flicked on his lights. “Pull it off the road!” the police said through the megaphone.

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“That kids nuts!” said the officer to his partner as he saw the boy jump off the curb and fly out into the street. “Get on the radio!” Erkki looked over and saw the police car as it pulled out of the diner and tore after him lights blazing. Glancing back he also saw Cord and his cronies diving through the parking lot as the hapless people continued to leap out of the way. He slowed slightly, pulling up the front wheel, and jumped the curb as he sped off into the grass. Herbert looked off into the morning sun has he lined up his shot. If he hit the ball just right he would miss the sand trap and put it on the green. Of course luck had not really been with Herb today as he was well over par. Nevertheless, he decided he would just tune out the world and take his good ol' time with this shot as he focused on the little white ball at his feet. As he pulled back his swing, he was distracted by a loud noise just behind him, causing him to slice far to the right. The annoyed Herbert turned to see the source of the racket realizing only later how lucky he was to just to make it home at the end of the day. “Gang-way Mister!” Erkki yelled as he barreled strait at him with the throttle buried. Herbert spun around trying to keep his balance while the boy nearly ran him down as he made his way across the course at incredible speed. Poor Herb had just recovered when he saw the four cars headed strait at him, carburetor flaps wide open, and he crossed his arms and covered his head fully expecting to be killed as the police blew by him missing him by inches. “Jesus that was close! What's wrong with those guys?” said the Carter Officer “Gimme that mic.” he ordered as the other officer reached over to hand it off.

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“Sheriff Browning, is that you?” he asked pressing in the button. “Sheriff Browning please pick up your radio! Over.” “This is Cord Browning.” came the squelchy response. “Listen Sheriff a man was almost run down by your men back there, and that's clearly a minor on that bike! I suggest we back off before someone gets killed.” he said. “Negatory.” came the response. “What?! Why? What did that kid do? Over.” he demanded. There was no response. “What do we do?” said his partner. “Just keep after him till we know what the hell is going on. Here...” he said giving the man back the mic. “Tell the dispatcher where we are and see if we can get some traffic control.” Erkki turned and saw Cord right behind him as he headed toward the clubhouse. He only glanced for a split second, but during that brief moment he locked eyes with the evil man and he knew Cord meant to see him dead. He looked down at the fuel gauge and saw that he had plenty of gas, all he had to do was find a way to escape. “Look out!” someone yelled bringing his attention back to the front as he saw the glass doors before him. He had somewhat misjudged his velocity and reached the building sooner than he thought, there was no time to turn. “So you really think soft-ware will turn out to be worth investment outside the mainframe market Paul?” the fat man in the hot tub asked the man soaking beside him. The man laid his head back relaxed as he thought on the question for a moment or two. “Nope.” he answered at last.

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The hot water around him sloshed up into his face as the fat man hastily left the small wooden pool for some reason. “Paul get out!” the fat man yelled. “I told you I'm not in that market.” Paul said. “No Paul, get out of the tub now!” “What?” he said as he raised his head and saw a small boy on some kind of motorbike leap up through the open sliding glass doors and speed through the archway down the hall. “Wha...!” he yelled scrambling out of the hot tub hitting the hard floor rolling while the police car, sirens and lights blazing, crashed through the glass as the driver attempted, unsuccessfully, to stop and smashed into the tub causing a tidal wave of hot water to flood the room. “Holy hell Cord!” Lenny yelled at him from the passenger seat. “Is anyone dead?” Cord asked. “I don't think so.” the deputy answered as he poked his head out of the window looking over the wide eyed people in the spa. “Then lets go.” he said as he threw the car in reverse, backing out of the building and swinging around. “Sheriff, for God's sake stop!” came the voice over the radio. “Everyone switch over to the other channel and maintain radio silence unless you got somethin' worth saying.” he said into the radio as he spun around and hit the gas. “Sheriff why are you...?” the voice on the radio began as he switched to channel 76. “Your gonna piss off a lot of people today Sheriff.” Lenny said.

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“Hell with 'em.” he said as he accelerated. The sound of the bike engine echoed like a bolt of thunder as he navigated down the hall of the large building. Erkki always wondered what a country club was like, but as it flew by him at breakneck speed he didn't have much chance to look around. He prayed no one would come stumbling out into the hall as he approached the large double doors ahead leading to daylight. To his relief no one did, but as he crossed the threshold the ground suddenly left him as he burst out of the building and flew outward into the air over the heads of several people who were making their way up the steep staircase outside. The startled people jumped out of the way as a child on a fast moving motorbike emerged suddenly and soared, screaming in fright, across the sky above them. The increasingly pale skin boy landed hard and almost bounced out of the seat as he continued, white knuckled, down the lane toward the main gate. Ahead he saw two Carter police cars come to a screeching halt just outside the gate and leap from their vehicles running toward the guard box. He cursed softly to himself as he saw the large double doors slowly begin to swing shut threatening to seal him inside the facility. The sound of sirens rung in his ears as he heard Cord's car fast approaching him from behind. “The kids gonna go for it!” said the officer standing on the outside of the gate with the guard. “Can you make this thing close any faster?” “Nu-uh, it's just a little electric motor man.” said the man in the booth. “Chuck! Do something! The kid'll be killed!” one of the other officers yelled.

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“Well can you stop it?!” the officer asked desperately. “Um... I think so. There's supposed to be an emergency button...” the man said as he bent down looking around under the console. “Hurry the hell up!” the officer yelled as Erkki fast approached. As Erkki neared the thinning portal he gave the throttle everything it had as he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. “Get out of the way!” the officer yelled as Erkki blasted through the narrow gate. He opened his eyes as he felt the road flow under him and looked down at his shoulders which stung sharply for some reason. On each arm he saw a small cut which bled slightly through his t-shirt. Erkki had no idea how they got there, but just before the steel bar gates clanked together behind him, a tiny droplet of his blood was visible on the two sharp latches just inside each door. “Found it!” said the man in the box beaming proudly at the stunned officer who turned to look at him with disbelief. “Chuck!” one of the officers yelled as they all went diving again. The officer turned to the side and covered his head as Cord Browning's car slammed through the closed gates knocking one of them off it's hinges as he slid around and stepped on the gas tearing off after the mysterious young rider followed by two other Marigold police cars. “What the hell is that lunatic doing?!” he yelled. A moment later, a Carter police car rolled out into the street cautiously from the golf course lane. “Where did the kid go?” the officer in the car asked them.

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“Forget the kid! I want that crazy Sheriff stopped before he kills someone!” the police captain yelled. Erkki zoomed along down the street looking for an avenue of escape. The sheriff was closing in again and though he didn't like to keep track, Erkki knew he already had one too many lucky breaks today and his luck had probably run out. Two cars screeched to a halt as he blew through a red light and picked up speed headed toward the business district. He saw police lights to his left at the next intersection and more gumballs approaching from the right as they emerged from the allies. “Kid! Stop! Whatever is wrong, whatever you've done, it's not worth dying for!” said someone over a loud speaker. “You better do what he says boy-o.” said a voice from somewhere nearby. “He ain't worth it, and there's still time to work out our deal.” Erkki ignored them both as he continued down the blockaded road at full speed. His eyes were beginning to sting and it was increasingly hard to navigate. Looking back he saw Cord and his henchmen fast approaching from behind. Looking forward he saw only one route left to take, so he went for it. “Oh my God no!” said a policeman as he watched the boy streak by. “Is he seriously?!” said another. “Somebody tell the Captain!” “Sheriff Cord!” said a voice from the radio. “Go ahead.” Cord responded into the mic.

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“I've been listening to Carter on the other channel, and they said the kid is headed for the freeway ramp!” the voice said. “That's perfect. They wont pursue follow a fleeing child on a dirt bike up the ramp, it's against regulations.” Cord said with satisfaction. “...but we will I take it?” Lenny asked “Hell yes. Once we got him to ourselves again I'll run his little ass off the road and pick the ring out of the goo pile. What do we care if there's an investigation, we'll be out of the damn country by then.” “There's more Sheriff.” the voice continued. “They said if you try to chase him, Captain Chuck Samuel gave clearance to shoot our tires to stop us.” “Now what?” Lenny asked as Cord banged the steering wheel in frustration. “Alright listen up, everybody hang a right and take the market road exit. He'll get a good lead on us, but I'm pretty sure that little bike can't go over sixty, even if it could there's no way he can move that fast without goggles” “Check car two.” came the response. “Check car three.” came the next. “Let's do this.” Cord said as he veered off and headed further downtown. Erkki headed up the on ramp leaving the police behind him as he traveled. He looked back several times expecting to see the Sheriff's car racing after him as he zipped along between the fast moving cars. Any other day this road would be bumper to bumper traffic flowing at a top speed of around twenty miles per hour and he could have lost any pursuit by driving on the shoulder, but today it was actually moving smoothly.

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“Hey! What's wrong with you kid? Are you crazy? This is a freeway!” said a man traveling beside him as he rolled down his window. Erkki just ignored him as he pushed the throttle and tried to shield his burning eyes with his hand. He really wished he would have grabbed Rob or Bob's goggles before he snuck off with the bike, but there wasn't much chance for consideration. He approached a large semi-truck as he moved through the traffic searching for an exit, and the vehicle's tires assaulted him brutally with tar and gravel. He narrowed his eyes as much as he dared while grabbing the handlebars with both hands and maxing out the throttle attempting to get by the titanic vehicle so he could see again. The driver of the 18-wheeler looked into his rear view mirror and saw the struggling boy on his tiny bike slowly creeping up along side him on the inside lane. “What the blazes?” he said to himself. Then he looked over and saw three police cars in his passenger side mirror racing up the on ramp onto the outside lane. He rubbed his thick mustache as he pondered what he should do. “Hey kid!” he yelled as he leaned out the window and slowed. “I don't know what yer up to, but it must be a doozy! I'll slow down those pigs as long as I can little brother!” “Thanks Mister!” Erkki yelled as loud as he could as he raced by. “Does anyone see the brat?” Cord asked into the radio as the cars attempted to merge with the traffic. “Hell no, all I see is this stupid truck.” said the voice. “What's with this guy?” Lenny asked looking at the semi-truck in the lane beside them. The driver seemed to be

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intentionally forcing them off into the approaching median as he matched their speed preventing them from merging. Cord hit the siren several times but the driver seemed to ignore them as they raced along. “Damn it!” he said thoroughly frustrated as he hit the breaks to prevent being squeezed off the road and the squad car behind him rammed into the trunk. He swerved out behind the big truck and attempted to move into the inside lane as the semi driver again cut him off causing Cord to break to avoid colliding with the huge steel bumper before him. He was angry enough to spit teeth now as he turned on the PA and grabbed the mic. “Alright jackass, get your ugly rig the hell outta my way now!” he yelled. The driver didn't budge, he just stuck his hand out the window and flipped him off. Erkki raced along the road scanning for an exit. Finally he saw a sign which read “Storm sewer and Dam Maintenance Exit ¼ Mile”. He had no idea what that meant, but he had to get off the freeway soon, his eyes couldn't take any more. He looked back and saw Cord's car and the two others struggling to get around the big truck who's driver was doing his best to ruin their day and it made him smile despite his aching eyes. Maybe some grown-ups weren't so bad after all, he thought as he approached the turn off. Erkki opened the throttle as he started to lean left and suddenly the bike began to cough and sputter. 'No!' he cried silently as the engine popped and the bike started to stall. 'Damn it Larry! Can't you do anything right?!' he thought to himself as he pumped the throttle and the bike

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slowed. In desperation (or perhaps frustration) he took his foot off the peg and kicked the engine with his heel as hard as he could. The bike responded with a loud cough and a backfire, after which it began to pick up speed and run smoothly. Erkki looked back and saw Cord had finally managed to pass the truck and he and his men were gaining on him again. Ahead of him, the exit avenue bent sharply downward with the narrow sidewalls lined with concrete and it contained a series of short hills like a road full of whooptydoos which ran under Cherry road bridge. There was some kind of scaffolding near the bottom of the lane which he couldn't quite see clearly through his dry, blurry vision. Without hesitation, he bolted downward toward the bottom. “Stop!” Miguel yelled as he sat on the back of the motorbike holding on with his arms around Sam's waste. He pushed up his goggles as he looked down over the side of the bridge and saw Erkki headed down toward the sewer access. “There he is!” “And there's the Sheriff!” Sam said as he stopped the bike and threw down the kickstand. “There's no way out of there!” Miguel said. “He's trapped!” Erkki felt his guts raise up in his torso as his bike went off the edge of the concrete whoopty-doo. He landed with a bounce only to fly off the edge of the next hill scant seconds later. Behind him the squad cars were just launching off the first hill and they came down with a loud crash sending sparks everywhere as their front ends bit the ground. Three hills later, one of the cars lost it's front bumper completely as it flew off and rolled away.

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He passed an unfinished tower structure with long wooden boards about a foot and a half wide and twenty feet tall stacked up against it as he squinted and rubbed his eyes looking around him for another road, but he saw nothing! The narrow road ended here just ahead of him! Erkki hit the brakes trying not to flop off as he put his foot down so the bike didn't spill over on it's side. He stood there still sitting on the dirt bike as he sought any way out of the concrete dead end, but saw nothing except large drains covered with heavy grates. The three cars slid to a stop before him. Cord in the middle and the two other cars turned somewhat sideways to the left and right blocking the road. The rightmost car bumped the base of the tower as it stopped causing several of the boards to come crashing down onto it. “Damn it Kirk!” Cord yelled as he stepped out the door. “Ain't you busted up my cars enough today?!” Then he slammed the door and walked slowly toward Erkki. “You. You are without a doubt, the biggest pain in my ass I have ever had you know that Erkki Lahja?” He laughed a little as he approached him slowly sliding out his nightstick. “I thought your grandpappy was an evil man Erkki but oh, I hadn't seen nothin' yet had I kid? I didn't get any warning about the cruel little spawn of that family that would come back to haunt me, did I Erkki? If I would have known this nightmare would go on for another generation, I would have thrown that evil eyed old... whatever the hell he was, in prison for killing that baby. How's that make you feel, by the way Erkki? To know your grandfather murdered your sister to make room for you, huh? He ripped the life force right out of that child and used it to make the seed for you, you know that? Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore does it? It's all gonna end... right here... right now.”

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'Hes lost his mind!' Erkki thought to himself. 'Hes gonna kill me!' “Oh, and when we're done here we're gonna make sure your little brown friend is taken care of too boy, so let's get this over with.” he said as he approached. 'No! I won't let you do this! I won't! There has to be a way out!' “Sam! He's gonna kill him! He's gonna kill him down there do something!” Miguel yelled as he went out of him mind. “What are we going to do Miguel?! What?! What can we do?!” Sam cried back at him helplessly. Erkki watched the dark form of Cord Browning as he approached him in the late morning sunshine. He heard his heartbeat pound in his chest as it thumped slower and slower. The moment began to stretch forth like an elastic band as the man's footsteps pounded in his ears. He had the darkest nimbus Erkki had ever seen on anyone. It blazed like cold black fire and he wondered how anyone could carry around that much hatred and not be consumed by it. Caught in the long moment as he was, he looked up and saw Miguel and Sam standing on the bridge far ahead and above him jumping up and down probably trying to help him, but they could not. There was nothing anyone could do now. There was no way out... or was there? His tipped ears caught the sound of something rolling. He didn't know what it was, but he looked to his left and right oddly curious about it as it got louder and louder. Finally he saw it. Ahead of him and to his right, one of the long planks had still rested on the top of the police car, it formed a sort of ramp and he wondered if he could make it

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over the vehicles. It was too steep though. If he tried to ride up that plank, he would go almost vertical and likely break his back when he fell strait down. Rolling down that wooden board, however, was a single coin. No one else even noticed it but him as it hit the ground and continued rolling forward toward him. The sound of it rang in his ears and it seemed to clatter loudly as it bounced off his front tire and collapsed at last on the ground before him. Erkki looked at Cord, then Miguel, and then again at the strange coin as he decided to give himself over to fate. The boy screamed out a cry of defiance as he twisted the throttle on the small bike and pointed it at the ramp just ahead. Kirk Farkerly, the driver of the right hand squad car jumped out of the way as he yelped in surprise narrowly avoiding being run down as Erkki flew by. Cord drew his gun and took aim at the speeding child as his front wheel mounted the wood. “What the hell is he doing!” Sam yelled. “He can't jump all the way up here! He's gonna break every bone in his body!” “No Erkki No!” Miguel yelled to him. As Erkki's rear wheel touched the plank, his vision narrowed and he knew he was looking strait up. He gave the throttle everything it had, knowing full well it wasn't enough, and squeezed his eyes closed. Behind him Cord brought his gun to bear and tried to aim, but the sun was directly in his eyes and all he could see was luminous blaze as he squeezed the trigger.

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Miguel and Sam watched in horror as Erkki rocketed up off the end of the plank. There was a moment at which he should have stopped and fell back to Earth, and at that moment the boys heard a gun shot ring out from below and saw Cord had actually fired at him as he flew upward... but he missed. He missed because Erkki didn't stop. At the point at which velocity lost it's battle with gravity, the boys saw two large ghostly figures sweep in and take hold of Erkki, soaring upward with him toward the bridge. They were hard to look upon as the boys vision seemed to slide around them. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't make their eyes stop directly on the strange figures who bore their friend through the air toward them. The kids froze speechless as the two figures darted off into their peripheral vision with lightning speed then vanished as Erkki's bike hit the ground, safely touching down on the pavement of Cherry road bridge. Erkki let go of the throttle and hit the break as he stuck out his feet and opened his eyes trying to grasp where he was. He turned and saw Miguel and Sam just down the road to his left and gave them a wide open mouthed look of pure confusion. The two boys just stared back at him in helpless wonder as the sound of clashing cars and roaring sirens filled the air. Down below, the Sheriff and his men had climbed back into their vehicles and were knocking each other around like kids in a bumper car rink as they tried to back out and turn around in the narrow concrete canyon. From the other end of the bridge, they could see at least half a dozen more police cars racing toward them. “Go Erkki Go!” Miguel yelled as the kids grabbed the throttle and spun out in the gravel rolling back out into the street.

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Sam followed Erkki off the street and into the busy parking lot of a large truck stop. The eatery here was quite popular with both drivers and locals, and on this particular sunny day several people were gathered for a neighborhood picnic brunch. A surprised driver on his way back to his truck suddenly dropped his packaged meal and tossed away his coffee as he jumped out of the way of the boys who raced down the lane. Another man leaped backward into the bed of his pickup, narrowly avoiding the zipping bikes. Behind them, the police had begun to flood into the parking lot and the people gathered around the picnic tables all looked over in the direction of the disturbance. “Erkki! Erkki we have to...!” Sam tried to yell over at him, but as he did a hapless driver chose that moment to back out into the lane causing Sam and Erkki to slide to the left and right respectively, and split off in different directions. Erkki really had nowhere to go and no way to stop as his bike zoomed up the wheel ramps of the lawn maintenance truck which was parked just off to the side. The landscapers drew deep breaths and shielded their eyes with their hands as they watched poor Erkki fly over the top of the cab with a frightened shriek and land on the picnic table a few yards away sending the shocked guests fleeing for their lives as the tires of the bike sent food, glass and silverware flying. He dismounted the table driving on into the lot as he looked backed at the raging chaos behind him. He was scarred, confused, and uncertain but at the same time he was having more fun now that he ever thought was possible! He looked around for Sam and Miguel, but couldn't see them. He hoped they were clear of the trouble and found away through the people back toward town. He tried to consider what to do right now, but his mind was locked in flight mode

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and it was just too hard to think and steer at the same time. His bike it seemed however, have made the decision for him. 'No! Not again!' Erkki cried silently as the bike began to backfire and spit. He tried to kick it, but it refused to respond favorably to him as it accelerated and decelerated randomly. He looked down at the engine and saw the choke was stuck open and he reached down with his right hand to attempt to free it as he steered the wobbling bike, still traveling at dangerous speed, with his left. He stretched as far as he could and smiled as he managed to tip the linkage with his fingertip causing the engine to smooth out. Oliver Rolland McEan exited the diner with his coffee after enjoying a late breakfast to himself. The church service was short that morning, and he was grateful for that as he pulled out his keys and walked toward his truck. He had a nagging feeling all morning like he had forgotten something, or perhaps some kind of premonition which continuously bothered him from the moment he got out of bed. 'Well, so far so good Ollie.' he observed quietly as he sipped his coffee and fingered his truck key. Just across the parking lot there was a disturbance of some kind. He saw several sets of police gumballs and began to hear sirens as he glanced over squinting with the sunshine. “What the hell?” he said to himself as he stopped and looked over toward the problem. 'Might be an interesting day after all.' he thought to himself as he approached his new '75 super cab. Oliver yet had no idea how true that statement was, but much later in his life as he looked back on this day, he would still sit in awe of how much everything changed right then, and how empty his existence may have remained without that moment.

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Oliver stood there in the parking lot of the White Rose Truck Stop and Diner, a coffee in one hand and his keys in the other, as he watched a young boy on a fast moving, out of control dirt bike look up and open his mouth to scream as he slammed helplessly into the broadside of his parked truck.

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Selah

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Black King's Knight to White Bishop's Pawn 5

Chapter 8 “How could it have gotten this cold in here?” Alex asked the officer in charge of the crime scene. “There's no answer to that question yet investigator.” Officer Hershel told him as he watched his team slowly and carefully chip through the ice. “What did HAZMAT say?” “They were all over this place for almost an hour. The ice tested negative for every known refrigerant catalyst. The guys are wearing masks just in case, but there's nothing detectable in the air either.” he said as his breath fogged in the cold frost encrusted room. “So it's just ice?” Alex asked as he reached out and snapped the tip from a melting spike of the mysterious frozen water and sniffed it. “It's frozen tap water, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less.” the officer told him. “A room full of frozen tap water in the middle of an otherwise well warmed juvenile detainment facility in late July.” Alex said looking at him sideways. “Yeah, I know Mr. Johnson. This is the craziest thing I've ever seen too. The uniforms of the three night shift guards were found just outside the shower area. We aren't certain why they removed them. There's no sign that they were torn off, so at this point we have to assume they undressed themselves, but what kind of duress they were under to do so remains, at this point, unknown.”

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“Well, it doesn't help to shower with your clothes on I guess.” Alex said as he watched the forensics team gradually extract the frozen corpses of the three men from the ice. “No, and it doesn't help to shower in water that's so cold it freezes instantly.” Officer Hershel added. “Well, we know the water didn't come out this cold. If it was it would have frozen in the pipes. The only logical explanation here would be that these three guards either decided to take a late night shower together, or were forced to by parties yet unknown, then at some point after the water was flowing, something entered the room with them which was cold enough to instantly drop the temperature of the entire area well below freezing and turned this place into an iceberg.” Alex deducted as he ran his finger along the ice encased wall. “Uh-huh.” the officer said looking around. “What do you suppose could have affected the temperature like that? Some kind of nitrogen gas burst, or maybe ammonium nitrate solution?” “Nah, cant be. You said HAZMAT tested everything.” Alex noted as the officer nodded. “Then whatever caused this apparently somehow left the area after the deed was done.” Alex concluded. “So... it was Mister Freeze then?” said the officer with a smile as a block of the ice fell from the nude guards frozen face revealing an expression of horror and shock painted in a wintry blue. Alex approached the corpse and pulled out a wooden depressor as he carefully examined the dead man's tongue in his open mouth. “I doubt he would find this funny officer Hershel. This man died of asphyxiation. He screamed away all his oxygen in there long before he froze.”

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“Alex?” asked a voice over the portable radio at his hip. “Go ahead.” he said as he drew the large walkie-talkie from his belt. “How's it going over there?” the voice asked. “It's cold as hell Chuck. Cold and inconclusive.” “We need you in Carter as soon as you can Alex. We got two more.” Alex stepped back away from the frozen man as he put his instrument away. “Two more frozen men?” Alex asked furrowing his brow and looking at Officer Hershel. “Well... not exactly frozen, but... you need to see it for yourself Alex.” the voice told him hesitantly. “OK, where am I going Chuck?” Alex asked into the radio. “Carter Police Headquarters, downtown.” the man told him. “They in the morgue already?” Alex asked with annoyance. “I'm a crime scene investigator Chuck, not a mortician.” “They're not in the morgue Alex. They were brought in for questioning this morning on charges of reckless operation and public endangerment. The bodies were discovered about ten minutes ago and... well, I can't explain much over the radio.” “You mean they died in the holding room?!” Alex asked astounded. “They didn't just die Alex. We don't know what happened, but it's got everyone pretty well freaked here. I need you ASAP.”

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“Alright. I guess I have all I need here for now until they get this place thawed out. I'll be there in twenty.” he said as he repacked his radio and lit a cigarette. 'Now what?' “So what do you have for me Samuel.” Alex asked as the two walked quickly down the busy hall of the Carter Police station. “I think it's best if you see what we saw before we go in Alex.” Chuck said as they turned into the security station. Inside the little room were several small black and white monitors above a complex instrument panel all meant to observe and record statements from perps and witnesses, as well as monitor general security around the station. Chuck pointed to one monitor in particular which held a previously recorded image still frame of an officer talking to another officer who was handcuffed. “These guys were cops you had in there?” Alex asked astounded. “Yeah. The Sheriff of Marigold in one and his deputy in the other.” he told him as he pointed across to the other monitor with the still image. “They were formally arrested a couple hours ago for leading a damn vehicular rampage across Carter in pursuit of a kid on a dirt bike. Those maniacs caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage, five times that in probable lawsuits, and almost killed over a dozen people including both me and the kid.” “Why?” Alex asked as he looked at the frozen black and white image on the screen. “Hell if we know.” he said disgusted. “It had something to do with an interesting piece of stolen jewelry found on the kid's person after he was apprehended in the parking lot of a truck stop.”

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“So he was chasing a jewel thief, and got overzealous?” “He was more than overzealous Alex, he was homicidal. It's my opinion as a police chief that that crazy bastard was trying to kill that kid, and he was far gone enough that he didn't give a damn who got in his way. We took them into custody for questioning and dismissed the four other Marigold City officers until we got some answers.” “How's the kid?” Alex asked tapping his chin with his pen. “Out cold in Carter General. He laid the bike down into the side of some guy's truck and was rushed in with possible head injuries. We found the jewelry on him at the scene of the accident.” “How old was he?” Alex asked curiously. “Ten.” Chuck told him with a sigh. “Shoplifter?” “Nope. It's complicated Alex. His friends showed up at the scene and gave us quite a story. I'll give you a copy of the full report if you want, but our main concern is what happened after the arrest.” he said pointing at the left screen. “OK, roll it.” The police captain reached down and flipped the switch as both tapes progressed forward in real time. “Look I ain't got nothin' to say without a lawyer.” Lenny's black and white image told the officer seated before him. “I'm a damn cop, you think I don't know my rights here?” “I understand Officer Druke. We're just giving you a chance to make a statement.” the Carter policeman told him. “I got nothin' to say, except that you are impeding a formal investigation being conducted by your neighboring

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city.” Lenny told him as he shook his cuffed hands at the officer. “Very well Officer Druke. I'll be back in a few minutes to see if you need anything. Would you like some coffee?” the man asked. “Uh... yeah OK. Cream no sugar.” “OK. Be right back.” the Carter officer said as he stood up and exited the room closing the door behind him. The other monitor continued to display Cord Browning as he sat alone in his room at the table with his head resting on his fist tapping his fingers. “I don't get it.” Alex said. “There.” said Chief Samuel as he pointed to Lenny's monitor. The camera showed the angry deputy as he sat back in his chair. The door of the room slowly pushed open and an extremely tall, fair man with a white flattop and a long dark coat entered the room. They only caught a glimpse of him however, as some kind of thick film suddenly covered the camera lens. “Who the hell are you?” they heard Lenny ask him. “Where's my coffee, and why is it so damned cold in here? You can't do this kinda crap you know. If my lawyer finds out you guys tried to crank up the AC to get me to talk, he'll sue you good!” “Who is that? What's up with the camera?” Alex asked as he squinted at the hopelessly blurred image. “Listen.” Chuck said as he hushed the investigator. “Hey, you ain't a cop! Who are you?” Lenny demanded. A moment later he spoke again. “AH! Don't touch me! What the... What's wrong with you?! NO!” “What's happening?” Alex asked pressing his face nearer to the screen. “Who was that guy?” Out of the corner

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of his eye he saw the image of Cord's interrogation room cloud over with the same odd opaque film, as the sound of the door opening registered on audio. “You gotta be kidding me.” Cord said. “Let me outta here! Now!” he raged clearly in a panic as they heard the sound of his chair overturning. “Yoz jerlka mi dammesha. Si ku samas zankilātar vi larch al' lazziya.” the unknown man said in strange smooth words. “Sheriff Browning?” said another slightly muffled voice from the playback. “Sheriff please open the door!” it said followed by a series of bangs. “I...!” said Cord Browning, followed by a moment of silence. “Sheriff Browning! Please unblock the door! Officer Browning!” The next sound was a large bang as the unseen officer outside apparently kicked in the door. “Oh Jesus Christ!” someone said horrified. “Did anyone see anything?! Get the Chief and stop anyone who's not supposed to be here! Someone get on the front door now!” he said as the tapes ended with a static hiss. As Alex and Chuck left the monitoring room and approached the broken door, the hairs on his neck tingled with the chill air. Inside he saw former Deputy Lenny Druke lying face up on the table. His face was contorted into a desperate anguish and his neck and fingers were coated in quickly drying blood. “What was blocking the doors?” Alex asked not seeing anything handy the stranger could have done so with. “We're not certain how the perpetrator sealed the doors at this time.” the officer told him.

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Alex bent down and looked closely at the doorknob which had broken off when the officer kicked in the door. He held his hand over the metal as he looked closely at the mechanism. “Careful Alex, that's not dusted yet.” Chuck told him. “It's so cold.” the investigator commented as he studied the knob. The brass threw off a chill so strong it made his eyes feel as if they were starting to freeze over. “It looks like he tried to tear his own throat out.” Chuck said looking at the body before them as Alex began to search around the corpse. “The dark areas on his throat and chest aren't bruises, but I don't know what they...” “Frostbite.” Alex said amazed as he pointed his tiny flashlight down the dead man's throat. “You sure about that Alex?” Chuck asked, glaring with confusion. “Yeah, and I know why he tried to tear open his own neck.” Alex said knocking on the expired officer's chest. “That sound? It's his lungs Chuck. They're frozen solid.” Erkki slowly pulled open his heavy eyelids. The brightly lit room stung his vision and he lifted his right arm to shield his face as he groaned. He squeezed his eyes back shut and turned his face into the pillow as he discovered he was for some reason or another unable to reach his brow. Lifting his left arm instead, he managed to reach up and touch his head to discover he was wearing a hat of some sort. Shading his eyes with his arm, he tried to steady his blurry vision and determine where he was. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his memories of how he may have

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gotten wherever he was to wherever he is came only in short flashes, and weren't necessarily in the right order. “Miguel?” he croaked in a dry, hoarse voice. “He's waking up. Can you please get someone to take that thing off his wrist now?” he heard a woman's voice ask. He still couldn't see very well and the shapes around him were fuzzy and cast a terrible glare. He pulled again on his right arm and found it to be trapped or fastened somehow and wouldn't move more than a few inches. He tried instead to lift himself to a sitting position with his left, but someone put their hand on him and gently pushed him back to the pillow. “Not so fast Evel Knievel. Just take it easy and I'll crank up your head rest if you want to look around.” she said. Erkki felt weak and the attempt to resist the push made him dizzy. Unable to put up any fight, he laid back down on the unfamiliar bed and tried to make his eyes focus on whatever was securing his right hand. As promised, the half of the bed under his head began to slowly rise as he heard someone turn a mechanism near him. As the shapes around him began to clarify and the bright glare became tolerable, he could see his arm was handcuffed to the bed rail and he stared at it in confusion. “Is there someone out there who can take that lock off his arm? I really don't think he's going anywhere right now. For God's sake, the child can barely lift his head!” the nurse requested to a man standing near the door. Moments later a policeman entered the room and walked around his bed. Erkki squinted tightly at him as he passed in front of the window and approached him. He was afraid of the man but he was simply too weak to resist as the officer lifted his arm and removed the handcuffs securing him to the bed.

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“Thanks Bob.” said a strange man as he entered the room and tapped the officer on the shoulder. He was a short stocky grown-up with graying hair, dark eyes and a no nonsense look on his face. He wore slacks and a blue sport coat over a white dress shirt and tie. “How's he doing?” the man asked the nurse as he watched Erkki closely. “He'll be fine. The impact shook up his body, but kids his age are pretty flexible internally. He's recovering from a concussion, but other than that well... This is why God made little boys able to bounce.” she said with a laugh as she adjusted the bandages on his head. “That was quite a bounce.” the stocky man told her. “Unfortunately God didn't make my truck.” he said shaking his head as he put his hands in his pockets and walked around the bed. “So, your Erkki Lahja.” he said as he looked the boy over. Erkki had no idea who he was and was still struggling to put the scattered puzzle that was once his memory together in his head. “I wasn't even aware your papa had a son Erkki. It's been so long since I've seen John, I thought he pretty much had his hands full with the five girls.” he told him as he chuckled softly. “My papa is dead mister.” Erkki said softly. “Yeah Erkki, I know. I'm sorry about that. John and I were very close friends at one time, but life has a way of sending people off in different directions. I heard he remarried and was lost in an accident, but no one ever mentioned to me he had a son.” “Who are you?” Erkki asked as he coughed away the dust in his throat.

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“An old friend Erkki. My name is Oliver McEan. Like I said, your papa and I knew each other very well once. We graduated high school together if you can believe that! After that, every year I got older and older, but your father... well, let's just say, time was kinder to him than I.” he said smiling as the lines around his eyes pulled tight. Erkki couldn't hardly imagine this man was the same age as his papa. He didn't really know how old the men were, but the last photo taken of John, which was only around four years ago, he looked young enough to call this man father. “Where am I?” Erkki asked. “Carter General Hospital, pediatric wing. Do you remember how you got here?” the man asked him. “I...” Erkki stuttered as he closed his eyes and tried to focus his fragmented mind. “I was trying to... The ring! Where's the ring?!” he croaked as he felt around his neck searching for the metal chain. “The ring is safely on it's way to Italy Erkki. No ones decided for certain yet if you boys deserve a sentence or a medal for recovering it. After you cannon balled my truck, all your friends showed up and told the police their story, and they're going to need a statement from you. “We didn't do anything wrong mister.” Erkki insisted. “Relax kid. No one in their right mind would think the mob would hire a gang of preteens to heist a jewel. We know Sheriff Browning was involved with...” “Cord!” Erkki suddenly burst out as he struggled again uselessly to sit up. “You have to help Miguel and Sam mister! You have to! If he finds them he'll hurt them! He'll... He'll...”

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“Erkki! Erkki relax! Calm down boy.” the man said as he took his hand. “Erkki your friends are all OK, though they're worried about you.” “But Cord!” he pressed breathlessly. “Cord isn't going to hurt anyone Erkki. Cord is... well, let's just say he's no longer in any condition to be a threat. Miguel and Sam are safe, though everyone is under house arrest for their own protection until we can get all this sorted out, OK?” Erkki didn't answer but he laid back relieved to hear the man was somehow finally under control. Nevertheless worry wracked his blurry mind. “There are policemen waiting in the hall to come in and take your statement, OK? You don't have to be afraid of them Erkki, just tell the truth, do you understand?” the man asked as Erkki nodded. “Good boy. Now do you remember how you got here and what happened with Officer Browning and the ring?” he asked as Erkki nodded again. “Excellent.” he said as he looked over and gestured to the two men standing just outside the door. “Now what I need you to do Erkki, is to start at the beginning and tell us everything you know about Cord Browning.” ********** “So did you decide what you want for lunch Erkki?” Nurse Abby asked him as he and Miguel sat on the hospital bed playing Go Fish and watching Spiderman. “Hot Dog!” he answered without hesitation as he gave the threes in his hand over to the other boy. “Why am I not surprised?” the woman said as she reached over and handed him a banana Popsicle.

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“Hey! Where's mine?” Miguel asked giving her his fake hurt look. “Don't worry Miguel, I didn't forget you.” she said as she pulled a second Popsicle from her pouch and handed it to the smiling boy while playfully patting his long curly hair. “I'll be back with lunch in fifteen minutes Erkki so finish your game guys.” “Yes Nurse Abby.” the boys said in unison as the woman left the room. “She's kinda hot.” Miguel said peeking from around his cards at the nurse's backside as she walked down the hall outside the door. “Dude!” Erkki said laughing at him. “Knock knock.” Vince said as he stepped in from the hall “Hey Mister Vince.” Erkki said with a wave. “Well your looking better without those bandages on your noggin. I thought you had to wear those for at least a week?” he asked as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “Doctor Reahger said I didn't need it anymore.” Erkki said with a big smile. “Really?” 'That's odd.' Vince thought to himself as he looked him over. Erkki was brought in five days ago on a stretcher, unconscious with nasty head trauma and didn't even know where he was. Vince ran out here the moment word came down about where the kid was and when he first saw him he was quite frightened for the boy who lay there with his head wrapped in gauze too weak to move and barely able to speak clearly. Over the past five days he watched as that pitiful figure was somehow transformed back into the lively

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rambunctious ten year old he picked up many days ago. It didn't seem natural. Not natural at all. Miguel's presence definitely helped as neither he nor McEan could seem to bring him any joy until it was decided to allow the other kids their freedom again. From the moment the little Spanish boy showed up, Erkki seemed to begin regenerating at a phenomenal rate. The boys spent every afternoon together since then and Erkki looked to be good as new. Vince tried to stop in every day to see him while he worked to get the system to allow the boy a chance at fostering. It seemed they were dead set on therapy and testing rather than finding him a home and current situations weren't making them change their minds any faster. “Where's Mr. McEan today?” Vince asked him just noticing the man was gone. The quirky old man had spent every moment he could here with Erkki since he was brought in. He was the first on the scene of the accident back at the truck stop and did a damn fine job administering care to the boy until the ambulance showed up. A fine stroke of luck that an Ex-Army Medic just happened to be having breakfast there that morning. Apparently, he was familiar with Erkki's father and became fascinated with the knowledge that he had a young son. “He went downstairs to get coffee.” Erkki answered him as the kids traded cards again. Oliver McEan was a retired Judge. He specialized in Juvenal and family court cases and arbitration, or rather he did until he left the bench just two years ago when his only son died in Vietnam. Unable to focus on his work, he decided to retire at his small ranch just outside Marigold and has had very little contact with anyone until the past few days. The man was aging, but retained his thick stocky build

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as the days went on. His stern handsome face was a little softer and wrinkled than when he ruled the bench, but his piercing gray eyes still commanded an aura of respect. He attended the funeral service of his friend and fellow Judge Stroop then stayed in town to attend a late morning church service after which he decided at the last moment to get breakfast, that's where he inadvertently met Erkki. He's been here with the boy every day since, from 10 AM to 6 PM and seems to developed quite a repore with him. “Look Mister Vince! Mr. McEan taught me how to play chess!” Erkki beamed as he held up the cardboard box containing the pieces. “That's great kid! Are you any good?” he asked as he walked in and sat in the chair beside the bed. “No. He stinks.” Miguel answered for him as he looked over his cards. “Hey! I'm not that bad!” Erkki protested. “The eight year old down the hall beat him three times in a row!” Miguel reported as he laughed. “Yeah, but he had help!” “From the other eight year old in his room!” Miguel countered laughing at him. “So. That's still two against one. Go fish wise guy.” “I don't think that matters in chess Erkki.” Miguel said as he drew a card. “Hello there Vincent.” said Oliver as he walked into the room with a steaming cardboard cup. “Good morning Mr. McEan. Erkki tells me he learned a new game this week.” “Ah yes. The game of kings. Helps a boy learn to think strait. Teaches us that there's consequences for our actions later down the road. A young man who can handle a

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chess game can certainly handle whatever life throws at him.” he said sipping. “In that case Erkki better learn to duck.” Miguel said giggling behind his cards. “Hey!” Erkki said with a smile. “Well... He's no Bobby Fischer.” Oliver admitted. “But I think he'll get better.” “Mr. McEan, can I see you out in the hall for a few minutes? There's some paperwork here I'd like you to look over.” Vince said as he stood. The two men left the boy's room and walked down the hall toward the front desk. Vince seemed to be lost in thought as they left the kids behind and he shoved his hands into his pockets deciding how much to say. “I really appreciate you spending your time here with Erkki Sir. I know a man like you must have lots of things to do and you've been a huge help.” “Nonsense. What's an old man like me got to do these days Vincent? The highlight of my day anymore is refilling the bird feeder outside. Besides, knowing John's kid is going to be OK is plenty thanks enough for me. So where exactly are his foster parents set up at? Wouldn't mind stopping in once and a while. I assume he'll be placed with someone here soon?” Oliver asked him quietly blowing the steam from the top of the cup. “Yeah, about that...” Vince said rubbing his eyes. “Is there a problem?” Oliver asked as he stopped in the hall and looked at him. “Yeah, there's several problems. Recent events have made it kinda tough to get Erkki on a foster care list, and until I can make that happen he's going to have to stay at Glenborough.” Vince said as he cast his eyes down to the floor.

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“Glenborough?! That's a psychiatric hospital! Why the hell would he be going there? Lots of kids get themselves mixed up in trouble sometimes Vincent it doesn't mean they're psychopathic!” “It's not just this Mr. McEan. Erkki's been classified as aphephobic, possibly self-mutilating, and borderline schizophrenic. They won't allow him to enter the general foster care system until all that is addressed.” he said sadly. “That's bullpudding and you know it don't you Mr. Behar.” “I don't really know Mr. McEan. I know he hears voices that aren't there sometimes. He told me that himself. I know his body has strange wounds that defy any reasonable explanation, and I also know he's afraid of any direct physical contact with other people. His life has damaged him Mr. McEan of that I have no doubt, but if your asking my opinion then, no I don't believe Glenborough is the right place for him, but that's where he has to go.” Oliver turned and looked back down the hall into Erkki's room where the two boys sat on the bed together laughing at something on the television and snacking on Popsicles. Miguel pointed at the screen and said something to Erkki which made the child laugh so hard he dropped his treat on the floor. Without much hesitation, he picked it up and looked at it for a moment before doing what any typical boy would do. He shoved it back into his mouth. “How long till he has to go?” Oliver asked as he watched the boys. “I'm supposed to take him right after lunch.” Vince said sorrowfully as he watched Nurse Abby approaching with the cart of trays. “Already? The kid just drove into the side of my truck a few days ago!”

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“Yeah I know he hasn't been here very long but the doctor said he's ready to go. Erkki healed up faster than anyone he's ever seen in any similar condition and even though he was just in a major accident less than a week ago, there's no sign of trauma. He has to go today.” Vince said as he shuffled his feet. “Does he know yet?” Oliver asked as he sipped from his cup. “No. I've didn't tell him yet because I wanted to take every chance I had to fight this before it became his future, but...” “Let me tell him.” Oliver said interrupting him. “I'll take him out there myself, that is if you don't mind.” “Uh... Yeah, Mr. McEan, I guess that's alright. If that's what you want to do, but if you don't mind me asking, why?” Vince asked as he looked at him closely. “That little boy's father was my best friend at one time. I don't know, maybe if I had known Erkki existed when John died I could have... well, there may have been something I could have done to prevent all this you know? John was a good and kind man and I just feel I owe him at least this much. Let me try and explain it to Erkki, and I'll do whatever I can to change the situation.” “Where are we going Mr. McEan?” Erkki asked as he waved goodbye to Miguel and his father as they pulled away from the parking lot. “Hop in partner, we'll talk about it on the way.” Oliver said as he opened the door of the rental car. “Where's your truck?” Erkki asked looking over the black sedan.

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“Well, it seems somebody ran up and put a boy shaped dent in my passenger door. It's at the body shop.” he said as he reached over and unlocked the other door. “Oh. I'm sorry Mr. McEan.” Erkki said as he sat down and closed the door. “Don't worry about it kid. Anyone who can do that to two tons of American steel, with their head, and still live to apologize about it is OK in my book. My own kid would have had a hard time matching that damage and he was a Marine.” Erkki smiled a little as he rubbed his head and wondered proudly just how big a dent he managed to make. “You have a kid Mr. McEan? What's his name?” “His name... was, Robert. He's gone now Erkki, the damn war took him.” Oliver said as he backed out of the parking spot and onto the road. Erkki didn't know much about the war in Vietnam. He had one or two friends who's older brothers had been hauled off against their will by the government and dropped out of a helicopter over there with a new rifle after six weeks of being yelled at while doing push ups. He also knew of one little boy at his old school who's papa never came home from that strange place. It was safe for him to assume that's what happened to Mr. McEan's boy. All he really knew for certain is that whatever was happening there ended nearly a year ago and no one dared ask or talk about it. Anytime anyone so much as mentioned it in public, everyone started to scream and fight. “Do you have other kids Mr. McEan?” “No Erkki, God gave me the one boy, then decided to turn off my faucet for good it seems. Robert had a hard time settling down, so he decided to join the service for a while.

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He never got the chance to give his old man grandkids.” he said as he merged into the left lane. Erkki didn't really understand what Oliver's faucet was, but he nodded just the same. “So what do you do Mr. McEan? Mister Vince said your a judge guy.” “I was a judge guy Erkki but I'm retired now.” he said as he looked out the window. “What does retired mean?” the boy asked him. “I guess it means I'm not much good to anybody anymore. I spent forty years building a life, a career and a family, then another twenty or so giving it away to God and my country. Now there's just not much left to give. That's what retirement is Erkki.” “Oh. I'm sorry Mr. McEan.” “Don't be sorry kid. If it weren't for little punk binks like you getting themselves in such trouble all the time, there would have been nothing for me to do at all.” he said with a chuckle. Erkki thought for a moment about this strange man. He remembered how scary and intimidating he thought he was when he first saw him and how even the policemen treated him with careful respect. He remembered seeing his face everyday after breakfast in the hospital just before Miguel would show up, and he was always there after the other boy left to keep him entertained with games and conversation. After a few days he began to feel more comfortable around him and though he didn't know what Mr. McEan wanted, he knew the grown-up didn't mean to do him any harm. The two of them had many conversations over the last few days about his papa and he learned more about him from this stranger than from anyone else ever in his life. He still

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kept a secret doubt about these men being teenagers together, but he didn't really see a need to pursue it. “So... where are we going Mister?” Erkki asked finally after ten minutes of silence. “I have to tell you something kid about where we're going right now.” Oliver said as Erkki watched him closely. He knew Mr. McEan was carrying a burden, and that that burden had something to do with Erkki. He saw that clearly the moment he returned to his room during lunch. He was happy when Oliver told him he was going to get to leave the hospital, but he didn't say much about where he was leaving to. “Look, I thought I could find a way to sugar coat this for you kid, or at least find words to make it make sense not just to you, but to both of us.” he said as Erkki started to feel quite nervous. “They want you to spend some time working out your problems with people who will listen to you and help you find a way to deal with your life, and that's where we're going right now.” Oliver said as he glanced over at the boy who sat there trying to understand. “So where is that? Miguel will still be able to come over and play, right?” “Well, I don't know. Maybe sometimes they could... I mean they might... “ he said as he grappled with words. A strange noise sounded from under the car as Erkki felt a bump and it began to pull a little toward the curb until Mr. McEan regained control. The man brought the car to a stop along the side of the road, just out of traffic, and quietly cursed as he hopped out and saw the flat tire. “Sit tight Erkki, I'll have this fixed in a sec.” Oliver said as he reached in and popped the trunk latch.

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Erkki sat in nervous anxiety as Mr. McEan headed to the back of the car and began fiddling in the trunk. What was he trying to tell him? Where were they going exactly? Who were these people who were going to help him somehow? Erkki already had several bad experiences with mysterious people wanting to help him and the concept didn't really sit well in his stomach. He began to feel fear creep up and he jumped with a start as Oliver slammed shut the trunk with another curse. “Is it really too much to ask for a company to keep a spare tire in the back of the rental cars? I don't believe this.” he ranted as he approached the passenger door and opened it up. “Well Erkki, looks like we're walking. I think I saw a phone on the corner a few blocks back. Let's go for a stroll while I decide how hard I'm gonna punch that guy at Hertz when I get back there.” Erkki sat on the bench swinging his feet and watched the people across the street enjoying the carnival at the fairgrounds. It was just after 1 PM and the hot sun blazed brilliantly on his fair skin as he waited for Mr. McEan to make his call in the booth beside him. He spent most of his time out doors playing with Miguel or, if he was in Marigold, just out doing whatever yet his skin always remained unchanged by the harsh light. While he noticed other kids would slowly turn to darker shades or at least burn red, his own flesh retained a constant pale. Often when people met him they would ask if he was sick or not feeling well because of his odd pallor. Other kids sometimes just thought he was a freak. He heard Mr. McEan swear again as he hung up the phone and pushed open the folding glass door of the phone

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booth. The man wiped his forehead with a towelette and grumped as he sat down beside Erkki. “Guy says it's gonna be an hour before they can have somebody come out with a new tire.” “That sucks.” Erkki said still watching longingly across the street. Across the four lanes of light traffic the sound of hundreds of people laughing and talking rang out. Carnival game vendors competed, yelling over top of one another, and an occasional scream of triumph or excitement broke through the noise and music. Sir Duke played over the loud speakers as the crowds of bell-bottomed, paisley attired people wandered around. “Yeah, I guess it does.” Oliver said as he followed the boys gaze across the street and saw what was holding his attention. He looked over the young people and their kids enjoying the summer day as he felt a slight pang of regret and maybe a brief aftertaste of loneliness. Slowly his gray eyes fell back to the boy at his side then down to his watch. With a tiny sigh of surrender, he looked at his loafers then back up at Erkki. “Erkki?” “Yeah Mr. McEan?” he answered still watching the flashing lights of the midway. “Erkki, would you like to go to the carnival?” he said with a small grin. Erkki's eyes widened slightly as he looked over at Oliver, then back to the fair across the street, then down at his sneakers. Finally he looked back up at the man beside him and flashed a wide smile. Oliver and Erkki laughed out loud as the spinning car circled around again close to the ground then swung back up lifting them high into the air. The wind blew their hair

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around wildly as the machine called The Octopus arced and spun it's hapless passengers in a circle lifting up and down, while the individual cars twirled freely. After several minutes of said mistreatment, the guys headed off to the next closest attraction, a devious devise known as the Twirl-a-Whirl. It appeared to be a huge circular floor surrounded by a wall covered by small cushions to lean your head against and individual hand grips for each person. There was also a rather dubious looking tattered belt one could assumedly fasten around your waste if you really wanted. Of course being 1975, all such precautions were entirely optional and generally ignored. “What's this thing do?” Oliver asked his companion as they took up slots on the wall side-by-side and the ride began to lurch into action. “Just hold on till it speeds up, then watch your feet!” Erkki told him giggling excitedly. “Oh, and it's probably not a good idea to look up.” he added. The machine rose up from it's docking platform as it began to spin faster and faster. Before too long the hand grips became useless as the centrifugal force kept it's passengers pinned tightly to the wall and it became difficult to even pull ones head away from the small red cushion. Erkki laughed joyfully as he released the grips and put his arms over his head in the standard display of amusement park bravery. Oliver, on the other hand, had no intention of letting go and he eyed the circular metal floor suspiciously as he felt his feet began to lose contact with it. Sure enough, it was slowly dropping away and their feet dangled unsupported within the vortex. Seeking a point of reference to calm his dizzy vertigo, Oliver looked upward toward the overhanging support bar and quickly learned why Erkki told him not to look up. The

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sky spun out of control and he began to feel like he was looking out of a huge washing machine which made him even dizzier than before! Slowly the floor returned and the huge machine spun down to a gentle stop to allow it's passengers to leave and the next crew to board. Oliver's head was still spinning as he stumbled away from the awful thing and drunkenly meandered off while Erkki held his stomach laughing uproariously at the poor man. Finally the boy approached him, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he reached out and took Mr. McEan by the hand so he could lead him in the right direction. Erkki pointed at the small spook house attraction and led Oliver toward it with a happy smile. The operator took their tickets and waved them inside the dark hall as Erkki drew closer to Oliver in anticipation. Inside, the cliche sound effects record played at an uncomfortable volume and the flat black painted plywood smelled of fresh construction. As he walked along the dark corridor, Oliver looked down at the boy pressed against his side as he thought about Vincent's so called “experts”. ' Aphephobic huh...' A witches head on a mechanical extender emerged suddenly in front of them as a light flashed and a loud screech rang out causing Erkki to jump with a yip of surprise. A moment later, a grotesque clown face popped from the wall right beside Oliver who instinctively raised his right arm in protection while striking the mannequin with his left. The big red rubber nose was instantly flattened against the objects core as it froze in place with a mechanical twang. Erkki looked at the busted clown head somewhat startled, then covered his mouth scandalously and began to laugh.

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“Someone's gonna be pissed about that Mr. McEan!” he said as he looked back toward the door. Several minutes later, the two emerged from the opposite end of the tour with Erkki still covering his mouth and laughing so hard he had to close his eyes not to cry. Oliver walked beside him with a rather annoyed look as he rubbed his big fist and looked around. “No more fun houses.” he said as they moved quickly toward the midway with Erkki giggling and watching behind them. After a brief stop for a snack, Oliver and Erkki walked along the main path between the carnival barkers who all competed for their attention as they ate their fill of popcorn and cotton candy. “I think we missed the rental car guy Mr. McEan.” Erkki told him as he looked at the big clock over the midway. “Eh. Ta hell with him. They don't deserve my business anyway kid. By the way, it's alright if you just want to call me Ollie.” “OK Ollie!” Erkki said showing his teeth in a smile. “Hey, baseball!” he said pointing to the booth with the little round white balls lined up on the counter. “That's right kid! Baseball!” said the barker as he caught his attention. “All ya have ta do is whip one of these balls at yonder bottles! Knock'em all down and win your choice! You look like a pitcher boy! I bet you got quite an arm there. Get your old man ta lay down fifty cents for ya and show him what you got!” “Wow! Look at the size of those stuffies!” Erkki said with excitement as he saw the assortment of plush stuffed animals hanging over head, all of them almost as tall as himself.

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“Yeah but these things are all rigged Erkki.” Oliver told him as he dug into the popcorn bucket. “The three bottles up top are normal, but the three on the bottom row are filled with lead, that's why they're all painted. When he demonstrates how easy it is, he just stacks them the other way around with the heavy bottles up top, then puts them back the other way for you.” “Let me try just once Ollie! I know I'm small, but real good with a baseball!” Erkki begged. Oliver sighed and laughed to himself as he reached into his pocket and produced two quarters for the boy who happily grabbed them and ran toward the barker. Oliver held the popcorn bucket and smiled at him as Erkki picked up the ball and proceeded to warm up and stretch him arm. Finally he pulled back and began to throw as the barker moved off to yell at another potential customer who was wandering close by with his arm around his girlfriend. The ball flew true and struck two of the bottles on the bottom row of the stack causing the three on top and the one on the right end to topple over into the grass. The center bottle wobbled, but stayed upright and the leftmost bottle remained untouched. The ball, however bounced downward after striking the bottles where it then hit the edge of the table and came flying back out into Erkki's hands. Erkki caught the ball and looked at Oliver who looked over at the busy barker who hadn't noticed a thing. He raised his brows and gave Erkki a shrug as the boy smiled and lined up on the two remaining bottles. One solid throw later, Erkki squealed with delight as the obviously weighted containers gave way to his pitch and fell over. As the day went on Erkki walked along beside Oliver clutching his gigantic lion stuffie as the two of them traveled from ride to ride. Oliver refused to mount the Twirl-a-Whirl

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again, but gladly sat shotgun with him on the Tsunami, the Avalanche, the Roller Whip, and the Super Swings. Placing their things in a rental locker, they changed into swimming trunks Oliver decided to buy for them as they headed out toward the enormous water slide. Erkki waited in line with Oliver as he watched the people go sliding down the triple run. There were three water slides set up which all emptied into a shallow pool at the far end. They were quite tall and the riders picked up a lot of speed as they sailed down the ramps one by one and splashed into the water. Erkki started to become aware that people were looking at him a little strangely as he climbed the long ladder followed by Oliver, but he was too happy right now to really care. At the top, he waited patiently for the teenager in front of him to slide down the long steep grade and he looked back excitedly at Oliver after he saw the boy splash down into the pool far below. “OK! Your next kid! Lets...” the man at the top began to say as he cut himself off and gave Erkki a strange look. “What's wrong mister?” Erkki asked wondering if he was going to lose his turn for some reason. “Am I too small? The lady down there said I was old enough to go!” he protested. “No! No, your fine my man. You can go ahead whenever your ready.” he said still looking a bit concerned. “Ace!” Erkki said as he sat down and pushed off without hesitation, sending himself down the chute and screaming with excitement. The boy rocketed down the plastic tube as the water pressure spun him around and forced him to fall head first. Erkki was unable to right himself again as he had to hold onto his shorts with all his strength to keep from losing them as the rushing water threatened to strip him bare!

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Finally he splashed down into the basin below and stood up trying to get the water out of his eyes so he could see. Through his chlorine blurred vision, he saw a large dark shape approaching fast and he blinked and squinted trying to focus on what it was. Apparently Oliver was just trying to slowly lower his bulk down to a sitting position where he would wait for the man above to tell him the way was clear, but in doing so he lost his balance and began his ride a bit prematurely. Yelling for Erkki to look out, he crashed into the water knocking the boy over sending both of them to the bottom of the pool. “Erkki! Are you OK?” he yelled at him as he pulled the boy up to the surface. “That was sooo Ace! Can we do it again Ollie?!” Erkki asked as he laughed and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah Erkki, but you go ahead without me this time. I'm just gonna relax in the big pool over there for a bit OK?” Oliver said relieved. “OK Ollie! I'll be over in a little bit. I wanna go feet first this time!” Erkki rode the slide several more times before he ran over to find Oliver lounging in the fairgrounds city pool. “So I was thinking maybe we could do the bumper cars next before we go see the horses. What do you think Mr. McEan... I mean Ollie?” he said as he stood there smiling at him. “OK Erkki, OK, but after that we need to cut out of here and get some dinner. There's a couple of phone calls I have to make and after that we need to have a little talk, you and I, OK?” he told him as he puffed on a large cigar. Erkki again became aware of someones attention focused on him and he looked over Oliver's head to the two women in the pool near him who were staring at him and

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talking quietly. He took a step back and turned to see several people watching him at pool side and he began to feel a bit self-conscious. Looking down at himself he finally realized why he had so many odd looks thrown his way. His lithe, pale body was marred with long awful scars across his back and around his stomach. The shorts he wore allowed several inches of the scars on his thighs to show as well and all around him people stopped to stare at him. “Um... I think I better get dressed now Ollie.” Erkki said sadly. After the two left the swimming area, Erkki finally got to ride the bumper cars and happily crashed about for almost twenty minutes before traveling over to the horse stables at the center of the fairgrounds. Erkki had never seen a real horse up close enough to touch one before and he marveled at the size and shear power of the animal. He had seen plenty of them on TV of course, but to be this close to the real thing made him realize what a massive muscle bound beast a horse really is. He had no intention of feeling any fear for them when he got here, but now that he stood looking up at the long giant face and those huge dark eyes his nerves began to twinge and he shied away hiding behind Oliver. “What's wrong kid? Don't you want to ride?” Oliver asked he looked over the horses in the stall. “I don't know Ollie, there pretty big. Don't they have any kid size ones?” he asked nervously. “Come on inside Erkki I'll ride with you.” Oliver encouraged him as he entered the horse barn. As Erkki walked into the barn he felt something strange in the air around him. There was a kind of apprehension, a kind of repulsion, a kind of... fear. He didn't know where it was coming from as there were only two other

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people in the barn with them, and they were busy grooming horses, but it was clear, and it was all around him. He looked over at the wide eyed mare near the entrance, locking eyes with it as he passed by. The horse became suddenly upset as it winnied loudly and backed away against the wall of it's stall. As they traveled farther into the barn he looked around and saw that all the horses were staring at him with their big black eyes and curling up their lips with severe agitation as they backed away. “Uh, Ollie? I think we better go now.” Erkki said nervously as the animal close to his left nayed and jumped back against the wall causing it's stall to shake. “Don't worry Erkki. There's nothing to be afraid of. Cowboys ride horses all the time! You like cowboys don't you? All boys like cowboys.” Oliver said patting him on the head. “Whoa boy!” one of the groomers cried as his horse bucked him and began to pace around the stall stricken with fear. As Erkki turned to his right to look at a large white horse in the pen at his side, the horse gazed back into Erkki's deep blue eyes and suddenly panicked rearing up with a winnie! As it came down it slammed the wooden door of it's stall almost breaking through as the entire structure shook. “Ollie? I really think we need to go man!” Erkki said desperately as the powerful animals all began to screech and kick wildly. “What's happening?!” Oliver boggled as the huge creatures went mad all around them. “Oh my god! Everybody get out!” the other groomer cried as his horse suddenly came crashing out of the stall tearing it's gate to pieces. The doors on the stalls all groaned

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and cracked apart as the panic crazed beasts thrashed about threatening to bring the building down around them. “Mother Mary!” Oliver yelled as he grabbed the boy around the waste, picked him up, and ran for the exit. The sound of a support beam shattering thundered through the air as part of the roof collapsed and Oliver made a grand leap out of the way landing in the dirt outside. As he turned and looked up he saw the horses stampeding out of the building toward them and he wrapped Erkki up in his arms trying to shield him as the dust rose up around them. The animals didn't trample them even though they lay dead in their path. In fact they halted immediately struck with unearthly fear almost trampling each other as they changed course and leaped over the low fence of the yard and ran out into the fairgrounds! “Oh man! Stop them!” The head groomsman yelled as he raced over the fence followed by the rest of the staff as they chased the terrified horses through the crowd of shocked people causing chaos to erupt exponentially as people dropped their food onto the ground and dove out of the way. Several of the animals slipped on the mess as they crashed into rides and booths causing even worse problems as hot syrups and grease exploded everywhere sending people screaming for their lives! As the cloud of disaster moved away, Erkki grunted from underneath Oliver's large body and he pushed his head out so he could speak. “Are you sure they don't have any kid size horses?” he said causing Oliver's face to shift from shock to a smile as he began to laugh quietly with confused relief.

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White Pawn to Black Bishop's Pawn 6

Chapter 9 “Just put the cover back over him.” Alex said as he turned his face from the mangled corpse on the table. “I think I'm gonna be sick.” “Quit a piece of work, eh?” said the coroner as he laid the sheet back over the unfortunate man's body. “How could that not be an animal attack?” “Well we haven't completely ruled that out Alex. It's still the most likely cause of death. The problem we're having is with the fact that Animal Control found no tracks, no urine or feces, no blood other than the victim's, and no fur has yet to be recovered from the crime scenes or the bodies.” the coroner said as he pulled down his mask and washed his hands. “What about slobber?” Alex suggested. “Not a trace of saliva, even in the bite wounds. Frankly I'm stumped here Alex. I can't reason a single scenario which would explain this here. We really have no legal choice but to consider homicide as a possibility.” “There's still not one witness? I mean no one heard anything?” Alex asked as the coroner shook his head. “There was a report of screaming at the scene of victim number two. Judging by the expression on his face, I'd say it was likely the victim himself.” “What size is this thing we're dealing with, assuming it is an animal?” Alex asked as he tried to envision the huge paws it would require to mutilate a man like that.

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“Animal Control can't ID the bite marks. They tell me it doesn't fit the jaw line of any animal they've ever seen, though it strikes me as somewhat similar to an over grown pit bull bite, something with a short but wide muzzle. Also I would have to say there was definitely more than one of them. I've identified five distinctly different sets of teeth marks.” “Yeah, but how big?” Alex asked again. “I'd say bigger than a large dog, smaller than a bear.” “So we have five somethings the size of lions just wandering around in a city full of people and no one saw anything. I don't figure it.” Alex said scratching his head. “Well Alex, that brings us back to what I said before. We have to consider other possibilities. If this man had been attacked by lions, or pretty much any animal big enough to bring down a full grown man, they would have eaten him. Animals don't kill for fun. They may kill to protect territory or out of fear, but animals that hunt in packs only hunt for food.” “Was any other injury found on these three? Anything you can't attribute to a wild animal?” Alex asked tapping his pencil on his chin. “Well, now that you mention it, there was something odd on the first corpse. I missed it during the first examination because it's rather hard to notice with all the rent flesh in the way, but aside from the jowl marks I also found this on his neck.” the man said as he flipped on a light and pointed it toward an x-ray photograph. “What is that?” Alex asked as he squinted and pointed toward the dark area around the victim's throat. “It appears to be some sort of deep tissue damage acquired before the victim was torn apart. What your seeing is the remains of millions of living cells which suffered

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massive intracellular damage and sudden breakdown of the cell walls.” “What the hell would cause something like that to happen? Some kind of poison or venom?” he asked trying to grasp what he was seeing. “No it's too localized to be a toxin. You might think this sounds crazy Alex, but in my opinion it was some form of cryoablation.” the man told him looking over the top of his glasses. “What now?” “It's a process which uses thermal conductive fluids moving through a sealed probe to remove chunks of tissue.” “Thermal conductive... you mean it was frozen?” Alex asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man. “Flash frozen, yes. Whoever did that had to be in possession of specialized equipment of some kind. There's no abnormal chemicals on the body or at the scene to suggest he was exposed to liquid nitrogen, or any other cryogenic substance, so whoever caused that injury would have to have been carrying very bulky and expensive lab equipment.” “So Mr. Freeze is working with the Wolfman.” Alex said as he put his pencil away. “Mr. who now?” the coroner asked giving him a concerned look. “Let's just say I really need to figure this out before people start thinking I've lost my grip on reality.” he said as he left the dimly lit room and closed the door behind him. 'Who the hell is this guy?' he pondered as he walked off and tried to figure out how he was going to write a report that didn't sound crazy. **********

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“So your absolutely certain you want to do this Oliver?” said the man at the table as he sat down his drink in the busy restaurant. “Yep.” Oliver McEan answered as he cut into his steak. “It's a huge responsibility Oliver. If this kid is considered to be mentally ill, or even at risk of it, you'll be placing your whole life on the table for these people to look into. I mean, you certainly have the qualifications to provide care for him. Your degrees and your career as a family court judge should be enough to get them to sign the papers, but do you realize what this will mean to your life?” “Yep.” Oliver answered as he pushed the fork into his mouth. “As your lawyer I really advise against this Oliver. I understand your desire to help this kid out and the fact that retirement hasn't been all you may have hoped it would be, but you do realize your sixty-three years old?” he said with a concerned look. “So what does that mean?” Oliver said insulted. “It means your a bit far along to chase a preteen around the house by yourself Oliver, and what happens when this kid starts to grow up and becomes a teenager? Do you really want to deal with that when your turning seventy? Once he graduates high school you'll be seventy-one years old, and if he hasn't managed to get some kind of scholarship, which by the way looking over his school records isn't hardly likely, your going to be on the hook for college tuition Oliver. All that kind of puts a damper on your retirement portfolio.” “Look Craig, can you make this happen or not? I appreciate your opinion, you know that, but in this case I gotta go with my gut, and my gut says this is the right thing

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to do.” he said as he sat down his utensils and wiped his mouth. “Are you sure that's your gut you listening to and not your heart?” the lawyer asked looking at him intently. “You know Craig, for the first time in my life, they're both telling me the same thing.” he said returning his stare. “Very well. I'll get a hold of the people at Glenborough, I'm sure they're wondering where he is by now. There should still be time to track down the caseworker today, and we'll get the ball rolling on this, but...” he said as he stood. “But what?” “Once I start this process there's no going back Oliver. You'll be stuck with this boy for life, and no one is even certain yet what kind of problems this child is suffering with. Are you truly certain this is what you want?” “Craig, it's only been a week, but honestly I can't imagine being stuck without him.” he said as he smiled at Erkki who was returning from the bathroom. The lawyer nodded to him as he turned and walked away. “Bye Mr. Peansky.” Erkki waved as he sat down. “Goodbye Erkki. Your a very lucky little boy. I can't imagine a better man on Earth to call Pa then Mr. McEan.” he said as he smiled and left the room. “What did he mean by that?” Erkki said as he sat down and began to fumble with his macaroni and cheese. “Never mind him. Erkki, I was supposed to take you someplace today. Someplace your supposed to be, but shouldn't be.” the man said awkwardly. “Huh?” Erkki asked as he tried to jumble sense out of his words. “There's people who want you to spend time in a hospital called Glenborough.”

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“But I just got out of the hospital Ollie!” he protested. “I know, but this is a different type of hospital. It's one where you would have to stay for a very long time and you wouldn't be able to see anyone, including your friends.” “I don't want to go there!” Erkki cried gaining the attention of the nearby tables. “Hush boy! I said I was supposed to take you there. Neither I nor Mr. Behar believe you should be there, and although he's powerless to prevent it, I'm not.” “What do you mean?” Erkki asked trying not to get upset. “I want you to stay with me. If you can handle being a part of this old man's family, I'll sign the papers to make you my foster child.” “What about my mama Ollie?” he asked with a voice straining with concern. “Your mother can't take care of you anymore Erkki. It's not your fault boy. There's nothing you could ever do, or ever could have done, to help her. She's very sick kiddo, and not the kind of sick you eventually recover from. It's a kind of sickness that just gets worse.” “Is my mama going to die Ollie?” he asked tearfully. “No Erkki that's not what I meant, she's not dieing, and maybe someday we'll be able to see her, but she's not going to come home from the hospital.” Erkki thought for a few moments as he poked at his food and sank back in his chair. He didn't really know what to do. His old life was completely gone now, there was no home to go back to. He wished Miguel was here so he could talk things out with him. Sometimes Erkki felt like he only had half a brain when the two were separated and wondered if Miguel felt the same way. Then he looked at Mr. McEan.

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He barely knew this man. He seemed nice, and he has yet to try and lie to him about anything, but why would he do this? 'Oh well. I guess I have nothing left to lose. Don't hurt me Mister. Please don't hurt me.' “OK.” he said softly “Thank you for giving me the chance Erkki. We're gonna make this work, OK? You and me.” he told him as he smiled and held out his huge hand to the boy. Erkki hesitated again as he looked at the open hand before him. He really didn't like it when grown-ups touched him, at least not anymore, not since... 'No!' The boy silently yelled at the filthy black pseudopods that reached out to him from the dark place in his mind. They were just the tip of a memory he had banished there. A memory that didn't hurt as long as it stayed there in shadow unheard, unfelt. Quickly the tendrils sank back into the abyss. Then he remembered the spook house and how safe he felt against the darkness when Ollie was beside him. He reached out to him as he swallowed nervously and the two shook hands. “I guess this is your room now Erkki” Oliver said as he opened the door and flipped on the light. “I know it's not exactly tasteful in the eyes of a ten year old, but we'll get some new furniture and maybe change the wall paper.” he said as he fidgeted. “How about posters? You have any posters?” he asked the boy as he wandered in looking around. Erkki just shook his head no and sat down his suitcase. “OK we'll get posters, who do you like these days?” “Um... I don't know. I guess E.L.O. is cool, and Stevie Wonder.” Erkki said as he sat down on the big bed. He couldn't believe he was going to sleep on a queen size bed! It was almost to good to be true!

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“OK then, tomorrow we'll go shopping for E.L. Wonder posters what do ya think?” Oliver said as he pushed his hands into his pockets. “OK.” Erkki said snickering at his musical ignorance. “Great. It's getting late Erkki and we have a big day tomorrow. Before we go shopping, your case worker wants us to come see him so lets get some rest.” “OK. Good night Ollie.” he said smiling up at the man. “Sweet dreams kid.” the old man said as he left the doorway. Erkki stood up and looked around. He could definitely do worse than this, he thought as he looked over the room with the big bed and the little private desk. The drab colors and the rather dull old fashioned wall coverings and curtains made him somewhat uncomfortable, but it was by far an improvement over the lime green cement block walls of St. Joesph's Hall. He undressed himself and pulled up the sheets of the gigantic bed as he hopped in and felt suddenly quite tired. His whole body occupied maybe a tenth of the mattress and he stretched out in it's very center feeling the cool linen against his bare skin. 'Maybe he's right about the posters.' Erkki thought as he flipped off the light on the night stand and fell happily asleep. ********** “Hey Carlos” the man in the torn jacket said as he stepped back into the shadow of the adjoining alley. He bopped the other man on the shoulder as he nodded toward the back street motioning him to look. “Who's that?” Carlos asked.

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“Hell if I know, but he's our bitch tonight.” the man said with a smile reviling his missing front tooth. “Go get Andrey and Mitch, he's a big boy. I want him to go down hard.” Carlos sprinted down the alley toward the connection to the dark street as Hector looked the strange man up and down. He was indeed a big boy as he stood easily seven feet, maybe taller, and a thick frame that carried that big dark coat quite well. The way he brazenly moved down the dim alley in El Dragones territory in the thin fog of the night suggested to him he may be packing serious heat. That long coat could hide almost anything, maybe a shotgun or even an automatic weapon. By the cut of his white hair Hector guessed he may be Ex-Mil and wouldn't put it past this guy to have hard core firepower under there. Hector heard a low sharp whistle telling him his guys were in position just down the lane and he crouched down behind the dumpster waiting for the man to pass by. He heard the soft clip clop of boots on pavement as the marked man approached his position and he retracted his switchblade to prevent it from reflecting any light. For an instant he thought he caught movement from the corner of his eye and he jerked his head around, squinting into the shadows for any trace of trouble. Seeing no one, he peeked around the dumpster toward the alley as the man walked quietly by. He was brazen alright, or perhaps just stupid, Hector thought to himself as he silently watched the tall man pass the blind corner without so much as a glance in his direction. 'Might be easier that I thought. Maybe me and Carlos should have just rolled string bean right here.' he remarked to himself as the back of the man's head became visible to him.

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All at once he began to shiver. An oddly chill wind seemed to moan down the darkened side street and into the alley as the pale skin man stepped by and Hector had to steel himself to keep from shaking. Suddenly nervous as he crouched there behind the large steel waste bin, he again glanced behind him and again saw nothing. 'Could have sworn I heard breathing.' he thought as he extended his knife and studied the empty street. A moment later he turned back to the alley and quietly darted across the street behind the man and into an adjoining road. Behind him, a large dark shadow slid down from the top of the dumpster landing silently on the black stone as it followed. Mitchel stood with his back to the wall and rubbed the big scar on his chin as he glanced up at the small mirror carefully set up at the end of the alley. He saw the tall stranger approaching as he signaled to Carlos and Andrey just across the alley. Carlos turned and poked his face around the edge of the corner watching him walk toward them. “That's the tallest dude I ever saw.” he whispered to Andrey who was crouched beside him. “What's up with his hands?” “What about 'em?” Andrey asked not able to see. “I think he's carrying two cigarettes. His hands are smoking.” Carlos whispered back. “Why would he be doing that?” he heard Andrey whisper. “How should I know? Just get ready, he's almost here. You set?” Carlos asked in a whisper as he continued to watch the approaching figure with one eye. “Andrey, you ready man?” he asked again as he turned around to find he stood alone. “Andrey? Where the

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hell did you go?” he whispered harshly seeing no trace of the man. A moment later he looked back across the alley to Mitch who was staring at him with a horrified look. “What?!” he mouthed silently as he spread his hands looking confused. Suddenly something grabbed his leg. Carlos felt as if he had stepped into a bear trap as whatever it was yanked him off his feet sending him slamming onto the pavement as it dragged him quickly off into the shadows. He tried to scream, but another dark shape burst from nowhere and grabbed his throat in it's jaws biting down with crushing force. He flailed wildly but there didn't seem to be anything to grab hold of. It was as if the shadows themselves had grown teeth and were enveloping him. He gurgled and swung repeatedly with his nightstick at the closing darkness as the entities moved in and shredded his body. Hector turned the corner and ran to the end of the side street just behind his prey as he stopped and put his back to the wall. He peeked around the corner and saw the tall man was just about to pass Carlos and Mitchel. He waited for a moment expecting to see them jump out and attack, but the man just walked on by the intersection. 'What happened? Where are you guys?!' he thought as he clutched the knife tightly in his right hand and pulled his head out of the alley. 'You'd think we've done this enough times to get it right! Those pizoles better be down there! Where did...!' he thought to himself as he heard the heavy breathing again behind him. Hector turned and saw a large dark shape approaching through the shadows cast by the dumpsters against the dim streetlights. “Carlos?” he asked as he squinted at it. As it reached the edge of the dumpster shadow, it moved out into the soft

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light padding silently toward him. It looked to him like a part of the shadow itself pulled away from the trash bin and split off, amoeba-like, into the light taking on a new shape and a life force of it's own. The thing looked somewhat like a wolf, but larger, and though it's face had K9 contoured features, it was no animal who was watching him through those eyes as dark as voids, it was a man. A man with a grotesquely wide jaw lined with vicious teeth. “Cara de Muerto!” he cried out as he turned to run. Hector ran a few steps into the alley before skidding to a halt as he saw another black beast racing across the road toward him. They ran quickly and silently, but with an awkward loping gate as if their rear legs were just a bit too long. As he turned to run back toward the main road, a third entity jumped up and tackled him from behind sending him sprawling to the hard ground. Hector flipped over and tried to stab at the monsters as they closed in, but found it impossible as his weapon, and his entire arm, just glided through them as if they were illusions. Though their bodies seemed incorporeal, their jaws and claws were clearly not as the sound of teeth crunching on bone and the wet squeal of tearing flesh spilled into the alley and reached the tipped ears of the tall man in the dark leather coat who smiled with satisfaction as he moved. Before him, a young man ran into the alley, sprinting toward him with a look of pure fear in his eyes. At his heels were several dark wolves which emitted a low base grinding noise from their throats as they snapped and swiped at him. As he ran past the pale stranger, the huge man thrust out his hand and grabbed Mitch around the neck clotheslining him to a sudden stop as he pulled the panic stricken punk up off the ground and close to his face.

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“Halzāi smas?” the man with the eyes like frozen blue steel asked him calmly. “Wha...?! What?! Lemmy go!” the smaller man cried as he struggled to breath. He grabbed the stranger's wrists and tried to pull himself out of his grip, but the pale man's hands were like iron, intensely cold iron. “What is your name?” he asked this time in English, but with a strange thick accent. “M... Mitch!” he answered with his last gasp of breath. “Your an evil man Mitch. An evil and brutal man, who has taken his existence for granted and turned his soul black.” the stranger said with disgust as he looked upon Mitch who dangled there helplessly before him. “This you cannot hide from me, for all that you are is laid bare. If you will not make use of your soul, then I will.” he said as he dropped Mitch into the gang of waiting beasts at his feet who swept over him like sheets of darkness. The stranger in the long dark cloak moved forward again and the black wolves moved with him as they padded along subserviently leaving the desecrated corpse lying behind them in the alley staring up at the streetlight with empty eyes. Slowly a dark nimbus began to cover the body, and the air around it shimmered slightly as a black bulge pushed upward from the dead man's chest. Gradually a tailless, black wolf-like creature crawled it's way up out of the bloody mess and out onto the road. A vaguely humanoid face with a long scar on it's chin looked around for a moment before it ran off to catch up with the pack. In it's wake followed three more fresh abominations. “Let me go!” yelled Penny as her boyfriend pushed her into the alley and onto the ground.

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“I told you what was gonna happen if I caught you with him again, didn't I?!” the angry man told her. “Get away from me Kenny! I've had enough of you and your stupid jealous rages!” she yelled trying to get up as he pushed her back to the ground. “Nah you ain't had enough yet bitch. I'll tell you when you've had enough!” he said as he produced a long knife from his boot. “What are you doing?!” she yelled. “I'm...” he began as he suddenly dropped to the ground and began writhing and choking. “Kenny?” she inquired fearfully as she pushed herself up and watched him. The man was frothing at the mouth as he swung his knife around him with his right hand and grabbed madly at the air before him with his left. “Kenny what are you doing?!” Penny screamed as his body was suddenly jerked backward somehow and slid along the ground leaving a bloody trail. She covered her mouth and tried to scream but she was so terrified that her voice was mostly paralyzed. Moment's later deep wounds opened in the mans chest and stomach as his intestines spilled out onto the concrete where he finally lay still. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Penny cried as she backed into the corner. She then heard the soft clopping of boots and she looked down the alley to see a tall man in a long dark leather coat slowly approaching. “Help him please!” she cried, but the pale skinned stranger just walked on by completely ignoring her as he continued on down the alley. Penny slunk down to the ground and covered her face as she began to cry. The tall man continued to the end of the alley, then out into the street and onto the bridge. He stopped and put his boot on the low stone rail overlooking the city of Carter

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as he rested his elbow on his knee and leaned forward stroking his chin. As his bright steel blue eyes observed the city below, many pairs of black eyes surrounded him. The shadow black wolves crowded around waiting for him to move as more of them poured in from the joining side streets, and below he saw more approaching up the ramps toward the bridge. Nearby, a young couple shared their first gentle kiss on a park bench overlooking the city, completely oblivious as the dark entities swarmed around them toward the pale man. ********** Oliver lay in his bed for a long time still trying to decide if he had done the right thing. It wasn't what Craig said that concerned him, he had other doubts on his mind about what kind of father figure he could be for this boy and how he would provide for him if he didn't exactly make it to see Erkki through school. Sure he felt as healthy as ever, but on the other hand one never knows when age is going to suddenly kick in. He sat up and flipped on the light as he rubbed his eyes. A glass of warm milk with a dash of brandy generally did the trick on nights like this and he decided to give it a try. Of course this is the first night in a long time he ever came home with a kid so maybe it wasn't quite the same. The last time this happened was almost thirty years ago when his son was born. He was pretty sure he didn't get much rest then either. He opened his door slowly so it didn't creak and wake Erkki. As he entered the hall, he distinctly heard the sound of talking and he wondered if maybe the boy had snuck out and went downstairs to watch TV. Oliver crept quietly to the end of the hall and put his ear to Erkki's door. Inside he heard the boy speaking softly to someone. Slowly he turned

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the knob and pushed open the door to the dark room. Inside was only Erkki. He lay sleeping upon the large bed mumbling out loud in his dreams. Oliver smiled as he watched him resting there looking every bit like the proverbial angel all tucked in under the sheets and rolled into a ball. The boy was so small even the pillow of the big bed dwarfed him. He quietly closed the door and made his way down to the kitchen to get his milk. As he stood there in his bathrobe holding the little sauce pan over the gas flame of the stove, he was assaulted by a strangely cold breeze. Shivering slightly, he turned off the stove and walked to the kitchen door waving his open palm around the seal looking for the source, but he could detect no leak. He bent to one knee as he felt along the bottom of the door and the lights in the room flickered. First they dimmed and brightened several times, then the bulb flashed brilliantly and blew out. “What the hell?” Oliver said as he stood up and opened the drawer to retrieve the flashlight. He cracked open the refrigerator and the bright light within told him the power was still on. “Must have been a surge. Those bastards owe me a bulb.” he grumped as he slowly climbed the stairs. Oliver opened the upstairs hall closet and pulled the string for the light finding to his growing annoyance that bulb also was out and he clicked on the flashlight searching for the boxes of extra light bulbs. “Hazemestra joril daimnesti! Daphana seja'hal!” Erkki cried softly from behind his door. “Erkki?” Oliver inquired as he turned and opened the door to the child's room.

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The boy lie there uncovered now in his bed as he still slept, fitfully talking nonsense in his sleep. Or was it nonsense? “Mua sezaja plealtimetra goozame lawa higisten.” Erkki said intently. There was something about the boy's words or perhaps the way he said them that struck him with strange curiosity. He was no linguist, but he did spend some time studying cryptanalysis in the military and he had the distinct impression that what he was hearing followed rules of some kind. He turned back to the closet and pushed aside the box of bulbs to get at the larger box behind it. Quickly he dragged the heavy container into the hall and pulled open the top. He smiled with satisfaction as he lifted the dusty reel to reel tape recorder from storage and saw it was still threaded with tape. 'Well I owe you five bucks Jamie. I actually did find a use for this stupid thing.' he said to himself as he plugged in his retirement present for the second time in two years. Oliver placed the devise as close to Erkki's bed as he could, then reached over and set the small mic on the boys night stand while flipping on the record function. Erkki continued with his fitful and incomprehensible one way conversation for several minutes as Oliver sat there listening to him. The boy's words were set with pauses, which likely meant there was someone else in his dream with him for him to speak to and as he went on, he became more and more agitated with whoever it was. Oliver looked at him closely and saw Erkki had begun to sweat and his bare skin had taken on an even more pale pallor then usual. Seeing this, he decided it was time to wake the boy and spare him from whatever nightmare his dream had become.

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As Oliver stood and approached the bed, the temperature of the room suddenly plummeted to a deathly cold, and he gasped with shock as he watched a long deep cut slash it's way across Erkki's chest followed by another on his leg. “Méma! Méma!” the child cried out in desperation. “Erkki! Erkki get up!” Oliver yelled at him as he shook the boy and slapped his face. His skin was icy cold and his lips were going blue. “Méma!” he cried again louder. “Erkki! For God's sake wake up boy!” Oliver cried as he swept the boy up out of the bed and ran down the hall with him. He could feel the warm blood from Erkki's fresh wounds running down his shirt as he headed for the bathroom holding the boy tightly. Oliver was afraid. He had no idea what was happening, but every moment it seemed Erkki's little body was becoming colder and colder. Erkki tossed and turned unable to warm himself under the blankets of the bed. He lay there staring up at the gray ceiling as he tried to make sense out of what his life had become, or was becoming. The boy shivered again as he looked over to the window wondering if he had forgotten to close it, but it was quite sealed. The dull and starless black sky outside was unusual for a summer night. Erkki could have sworn the air was warm, clear and full of stars when he first got into bed. He looked around the room and noticed everything had a rather cool gray texture now, as if the night has sucked the color and cheer right out of it. He tried to wrap himself up tightly and make himself sleep, but for some reason the chill in him would not be extinguished. As he lie there with

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his eyelids pressed together, the sound of feint whispering tickled his ears and he slowly pulled his head from under the blanket. “Hello?” he asked peeking around the dark room nervously. Again he heard the quiet noise of indiscernible speech emanating from around him and like any small boy he decided to search the most likely place for such disturbing sounds, under the bed. Slowly lowering himself off the left side, he pulled up the blankets and fearfully peeked under the edge of the bed frame into the dark space below. There was nothing. Not a boogie nor frightsome awaited him as he inspected the area below, but the sound of strange whispering again occurred to him and he pulled his head up to look around the shadowy room. They were here again. Erkki froze as he saw the wispy flat black figure before him. It stood there just beyond his reach on the right side of the bed hovering above the floor. It resembled nothing less then a humanoid paper doll. A doll cut from a sheet of paper so oppressively stygian as to redefine the color black. As he watched it, he saw others merge into his room one by one until perhaps a dozen of them stood around him. It seemed almost as if they were already there, but turned at an angle that rendered them invisible to him until each one moved slightly, and each one that appeared pulled away more of the room's sparse warmth dropping the temperature lower and lower. “No! Stay away from me! Please go away!” Erkki cried as he pulled himself into a tight ball at the head of the bed. The entities just stood there looking forlornly at him making strange gestures and whispering words he couldn't understand. The only part of the atramental beings that didn't radiate utter dark and cold was their eyes. Unlike their

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bodies, their eyes were large and bright blue. Their eyes had depth, intelligence, and most of all humanity. “Go away from me! Just please go away! What do you want from me!” Erkki begged as he looked at them. Those blue eyes expressed so much torment, so much desperation, so much sadness that it made him burst out into tears as he pressed his back against the headboard. One of them moved forward and began to reach for him as Erkki recoiled as tightly as he could. It meant no harm and he knew that, but their touch was unbearable to him. The acuate edge of the being's fingers would split his flesh without resistance and the shocking cold would burn like fire. “No! Don't! It hurts! Why are you doing this to me?! Why?!” he cried at it. The tenebrous creature stopped and gazed at him sorrowfully as it moved it's mouth hole. Erkki couldn't hear what it was saying but as he gazed back at it he recognized the eyes of a child. This thing was a boy, just like him, and it was afraid, just like him. Though it's speech was incomprehensible, the message in the other boy's eyes was quite clear... 'Help me!' It longed more than anything to touch him, for Erkki was in contact with something which this entity was not. He had no idea what that thing was, but he knew it to be so. “Please don't hurt me anymore! Please! I don't know how to help you! I don't know what you are!” he begged as he sat there in his underwear shivering in the cold. His words produced mist in the air as he spoke to the dark child with a shaky, terrified voice. The black paper child continued to speak with him in it's just barely audible whispering drone. The words were a

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complete mystery, but he was successfully conveying a sense of urgency and a desperation even more profound than what these creatures tended to display previously. As it spoke it moved closer, finally overcome by it's unearthly need to embrace him. It's two dimensional hand gently caressed Erkki's bare chest as the searing pain erupted from the razor cut. “No! No!” Erkki screamed as the blood welled up and ran down to his navel. 'I'm so sorry!' the entity said with it's heartrendingly sad eyes as it touched his thigh causing the boy to scream in agony as if he were aflame. “No!” “Erkki! Erkki please can you hear me! Please answer me boy!” Oliver yelled as he struggled to wrap the child's chest and leg with the soaking wet gauze. Oliver had rushed Erkki into the bathroom and laid him in the tub. The bath was over half full now with warm and bloody water as the desperate man raced to stop him from bleeding and succumbing to hypothermia. Erkki's skin seemed entirely without pigment and still radiated a frightening chill as he slowly opened his blue eyes. “Thank you Jesus!” Oliver said as he saw Erkki begin to come around and his own gray eyes flooded with tears of relief. Erkki looked up at him and began to cry as he reached out and threw his arms around the old man pulling him down into the water with him as he wept loudly. Henry Reager closed the bedroom door softly as he sighed and wiped his tired eyes. Oliver stood and handed

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him a steaming cup of coffee he had waiting on the table in the hall as he came out. “Well?” Oliver asked him as he retied his robe and sat down. “I don't know, Mr. McEan. I just don't know. It's possible some form of Dysautonomia could be responsible for the sudden drop in body temperature. I'm going to need to run some tests as soon as possible on that, but those cuts... something severely wounded this child.” “Yeah.” Oliver agreed. “Something did. Any thoughts on what?” “Well, I now know what the tissue damage is around the older scars on his body. It's the same tissue damage that's around the fresh cuts.” Henry said as he sat down across from Oliver and sipped his mug. “...and that is?” “It's frostbite Mr. McEan. The tissue around the cuts was frozen on contact with whatever cut him.” the doctor said as he stirred his drink. “Are... Are you sure? What could have done that to him? What in the name of God has been doing that to him?” Oliver asked bewildered. “The mind boggles Oliver. I can't think of anything that could do that to flesh, except perhaps a medical scalpel that's been frozen to about a hundred below zero.” Henry said helplessly. “That's insane! Where would anyone get anything like that?” “Anyone couldn't. It would take fantastically powerful and expensive equipment to do that. Like the stuff in superconductor labs.” he told Oliver as he sipped again. “I don't... understand. So what happened to him Doctor Reager? What am I supposed to do here?” Oliver

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asked as he stopped drinking and looked at Henry with a pain in his eyes. “As God as my witness Mr. McEan, I have no clear idea.” ********** The police station was overrun with media as Alex arrived for his meeting with Chuck. He knew this was going to happen, but it still amazed him to see the army of news trucks surrounding the building as he got out of his vehicle and crossed the street. At the top of the steps, Chuck was completing his statement to the press in his finest dress uniform. “...that being said, all citizens will be expected to comply with the curfew which will remain in effect until such time as the parties responsible for these murders are in custody.” “So you don't have anyone at all under arrest at this time Chief Samuel? Not even for questioning?” one of the interviewers asked as the mics moved in closer. “That is correct. At this time, we have apprehended no person or persons involved with this case, however we have witnesses which are giving statements and it will only be a matter of time until the group responsible for this atrocity is under arrest.” “Reports say all the deaths are attributed to wild animal attacks. How do you respond to that Chief? Do you know what kind of animals are involved or how they may have been transported here or where they may be at this moment?” asked a man in a brown polyester suit on air with the Cleveland news. “It's true the injuries sustained by the victims of last night's massacre are synonymous with animal attacks, but

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we're not using the term wild animal. We feel certain there are animals, currently unknown of what species or type, which are being controlled by multiple handlers for the expressed purpose of murder and terrorism.” “Excuse me Chief, did you say Terrorism? Can you be more specific on that, and is the military involved?” asked another reporter as he pushed aside the first. “Due to the sheer number of deaths occurring in the city of Carter during the last ten hours and the possible link to terrorist organizations, there will be a small number of military and National guard troops deployed to aid us in our investigation.” “So do you have any suspects at all Chief Samuel?” a man with an off color toupee in a teal blue suit with extended collars asked into his mic. “We have no comment on that. That's our statement gentlemen so please lets move along here so we can keep traffic moving. Good Day.” Chuck said as he turned and headed back into the building. Several of the media attempted to follow only to be turned away by the officers guarding the door. Alex moved through the crowd and climbed the steps as he displayed his badge to the police at the door who waved him inside. The building inside was on the verge of chaos. Every officer was on duty and the sound of phones ringing were nearly deafening. People rushed back and forth and in and out of doors with an urgency in their step as they moved around him without so much as a greeting. Alex walked down the hall and knocked lightly on the Chief's door as he watched the frenzy behind him. “Whoever you are you better be bringing me coffee.” said Chuck from the other side of the glass.

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“Nope. Sorry Chuck, your boy's emptied the damn thing.” Alex said grinning slightly. “Alex? Get in here.” Chuck said cheerlessly. Alex opened the door and walked inside. The officer's desk was covered with piles of photos and statements and even the floor around him was being used as filing space. “Did you seriously call in the National Guard? I thought people only did that in movies.” Alex said sitting down. “I didn't call in squat. Once word got out they just showed up. Gerald Ford sent his boys in this morning and there's not really anything to be done about it.” he told him with a note of anger in his voice. “You mean there's Feds here now?” Alex asked amazed. “Yeah, they're here alright, and they're all over my guff.” he said as he sorted through sheets of paper. “You told me over the phone we have a lead on this?” Alex asked curiously. “Yeah, I hope so. We have a single witness who watched her ex get used as a chew toy behind Grinders bar.” “So then we know what these things are?” Alex asked moving to the edge of his seat. “No. No we don't. She uh... didn't see the animals involved in the attack.” Chuck said looking at him helplessly. “You said she watched him get torn apart! So your telling me she couldn't identify the species? Can't we do that from the description?” Alex asked in disappointed confusion. “That's the problem Alex, there is no description. We have eight witnesses form different crime scenes who all reported seeing people get pulled down and dismembered, but not one person saw what was doing the killing.”

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“I don't follow. Was it too dark? Did it have it's back to them? How fast were these things?” Alex questioned him looking for something to grab onto. “Alex all eight witnesses gave the same story. The victim in each case was pulled to the ground and attacked by invisible beasts.” he said giving him a serious look. “I don't buy that Chuck. You can not seriously expect me to believe almost two hundred people were randomly ripped apart by thin air last night. Someone had to have seen something.” Alex stated his frustration growing. “Not so random I should think.” “Come again?” Alex questioned. “Most of those corpses, or at least the ones we've been able to ID, belonged to some of the worst dirtbags on file. Drug peddlers, gang members, wife and kid beaters you name it. There was quite a house cleaning going on out there last night Alex.” “That's a lot of blood Chuck. Someone had to have noticed it.” Alex insisted. “Someone did. The girl who saw her ex die gave a description of someone who was at the scene. By her testimony he was traveling down Conner's alley southbound at 11:15PM which according to the time of death of several victims prior, places him at or near at least nine crime scenes.” Chuck told him as he rifled through his paperwork. “We have a visual?” The police Chief handed him a large piece of paper containing a sketch drawn by the police artist. Alex felt a chill move through him as he looked upon the strange face. 'So are you Mr. Freeze, The Wolfman or The Invisible Man?' he asked the image silently.

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“Let's get this image on the boob tube. I want to talk to this guy real bad.” Alex said as he looked into the hard blue eyes of the man in the drawing. ********** “Your sure you feel up to this kiddo?” Oliver asked the boy as he pulled up to the curb in front of Miguel's duplex. “Yeah, I'm OK. It's happened before.” Erkki said sadly. “We need to help Miguel's Grandfather start to move his things since he can't live at the home anymore.” “Those people should be ashamed of themselves for what they're doing to those folks out there. Tossing all those people in the nursing home out on their butts and for what? What would an accounting firm want with a decrepit old building like that in the first place?” Oliver asked sadly. He identified strongly with these people considering he wasn't all that far away from the nursing home scene himself. “I don't know Ollie, but Mr. Sanchez doesn't have anyplace else to go.” Erkki said as he stepped out of the car and slapped hands with Miguel and Sam. “Take it easy boy. I'll be back in a few hours so have fun, and stay safe OK?” Oliver said as he rolled down his window. “Don't worry Mr. McEan.” Miguel said. “Erkki has angels.” The boys waved to him as he drove off then jumped into the back of Jack Sanchez's truck which was waiting in the drive. 'Erkki has angels.' Oliver thought to himself as he pulled off the road onto the highway ramp. 'I hope so.'

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“So what do ya think Mr. Seamer? You recognize anything here at all?” Oliver asked the man as he listened intently to the recording through the thick headphones. “Mr. McEan?” Asked Vincent Behar's voice from outside the office door. Oliver opened the door and shook hands with Vince as he continued to watch the man at the desk listening to the reel to reel tape. “So Erkki is OK then? Henry told me he had to make a house call last night. How did he injure himself?” Vince asked as he looked around curiously. “The kid's OK. This is why I asked you to meet me out here instead of the office this morning.” he said as he patted the tape recorder. “Where's Erkki?” “He's helping his friend's grandpappy move. I'm going to pick him up in a couple hours.” Oliver said. “How did he get cut Oliver?” Vince pressed. “We're not sure yet Vincent. I'm kinda starting to think there's more going on here then Erkki is letting on. I'm wondering if there might not be something else involved here” “Such as?” Vince asked cocking an eyebrow to him. “May I?” Oliver asked the man listening to the headphones who then nodded to him and pulled the bulky device from his head and handed it to Vince. “What is this?” Vince asked him as he narrowed his eyes and listened intently to the strange words. “It's Erkki. Last night before he was hurt he was talking in his sleep.” Oliver reported. “So you recorded him? Why?” Vince asked suspiciously.

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“I'm no psychologist, but when people talk in their sleep it's generally about something that's bothering them. I want to help him every bit as much as you do Vincent.” “Well I am a psychologist Ollie, and I can tell you people are just as likely to ramble about mundane pointless things as they are anything significant, besides have you listened to this? It's complete nonsense!” “Yeah see... I don't think it is.” Oliver told him with a concerned look. “So what is it then?” Vince asked him. “Mr. Seamer here is a linguistics expert. I'm hoping he can answer that.” Oliver said as he crossed his arms and looked at the man at the desk. “Well, I'd almost think there was something there Mr. McEan were it not for the fact that I don't hear a single root from any Latin based language. It doesn't contain any word parts of any eastern dialects either.” the man reported to him with a dry tone. “So your opinion on this sir?” Vince asked the man as he watched Oliver. “It's gobblety-goo.” he said flatly. “Gobblety-goo.” Vince repeated. “Ollie can I see you out in the hall.” Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he followed Vince into the hall. The social worker closed the door behind them and put his hands in his pockets as he spoke to Oliver. “What are you doing Oliver?” he asked him with a serious tone. “What do you mean? I'm trying to help the kid.” “By feeding his delusions?” Vince asked with a hint of anger. “What do you mean? Erkki doesn't even know I recorded this!” Oliver defended.

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“See that he doesn't. Look man, Erkki is already hearing voices and acting out delusional behavior. You know as well as I do that poor boy has been through a form of Hell to which neither you nor I have yet to experience ourselves and it hurt him Oliver. It hurt him bad. Those scars on his body? Those are just the tip of the iceberg. It's the scars in his mind that are the real danger. If he starts to think someone like you believes in his imaginary demons, he'll quit questioning their existence altogether. If that happens we'll lose him Oliver, maybe forever.” Vince said as he put his hand on he man's shoulder. “I know you want to help him man, and I think you'll make a fantastic foster father for Erkki. The main reason I wanted to see you today was to thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing what I myself have been unable to do, get this boy in a good home. However, it's not to be considered a permanent arrangement until I sign the paperwork declaring it so, which I want more than anything to do. I gotta tell you though Oliver, this isn't helping.” “Yeah. Yeah I guess you got a good point or two there. Maybe I got carried away, but I was so sure there was something important there.” Oliver said with a sigh. “There is. There's a guy who cares enough to obsess over clues that aren't there.” Vince said with a smile. “I guess I'm an old fool.” “We're all fools in his game Ollie. Erkki is a very complicated case and I agree with you when you say there's more here than the boy lets on, but I don't think speaking in tongues is a proper avenue for investigation. Doc Reager made an appointment for the day after tomorrow to test to make sure whatever happened last night was a fluke, and I made this appointment as well.” Vince said as he handed him a small business card.

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“Doctor Florena?” Oliver asked reading the card. “Shes going to help you and Erkki manage his condition. We don't want to start him on any drugs yet, but that all depends on his progress over the next few weeks.” “Well be there.” Oliver said looking at the card. “Great to hear. Tell Erkki I said hello and I'll stop in to see him soon, OK?” Vince said as he turned and walked down the hall. He hoped he hadn't come off as too jerkish back there as he made his way to the lobby of the university. He didn't want to be so frank with the man, but it was important that Oliver understood what was at stake here. In the opinion of the professionals, Erkki was a little boy who was teetering on a very dangerous fence between imagination and delirium. If something sent him off the wrong way, Vince would have to break up his new found home and send the boy to Glenborough, and he would almost rather die himself than do that. “Police have released this sketch of a man wanted for questioning in relation to the possible terrorist attacks made on Carter City overnight. If you know this man, or know who he is, do not attempt to apprehend him as he is to be considered extremely dangerous and in possession of several dangerous trained animals. Instead contact the Carter City Police Department at the number below. Also the city wide curfew goes into affect at 10PM tonight and every night until local and federal police consider the situation under control.” the television in the lobby reported. Vincent stood there frozen as he blinked at the screen hardly believing what he was seeing. 'It can't be him. There's absolutely no chance that that's him.' he thought to himself as he studied the image on the screen.

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“He will corrupt him. He'll push him, and push him, and push him until he just cant handle anymore and then he'll claim him. When he does, Satan will control all the Malakhadam souls and he will use them to claim the Earth, and a child shall lead them... My child.” “Again any information regarding this individual should be reported to Carter City Police.” the television insisted. 'If I report this I'll be as off my nut as Oliver. The man is dead, he has to be by now.' he thought. “This man he...” Judge Stroop said as he wiped his brow which had begun to sweat profusely. “...he ain't a man, at least not entirely. He's... well, I don't honestly know for sure, but he's gone now, God willing...” The blue eyes of the police sketch seemed to mock him from the screen as Vince looked over the contour of the face and the line of the jaw. Even the hair was exactly like the photo which Vincent almost felt was threatening to burn through his briefcase. He lay the attaché down on the coffee table in the lobby and sat in the chair before it. He had to look again. He needed to convince himself the image wasn't as similar as his imagination was letting on. With a click the fasteners popped up and he pulled open the top of the case. Vince's eyes flew open and he jumped back in his chair with a start as the small creature flopped around on his folders and papers. The blood was everywhere inside the case and had soaked into most of his reports and records. He watched with alarmed fascination as the small white dove tumbled out of his briefcase and onto the floor where it

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struggled to crawl away on it's crushed wings. Vince pulled his feet up onto the chair not wanting the injured animal to touch him as it pulled itself along leaving a trail of crimson behind it. For a moment it stopped and nearly righted itself as it looked up at him. Vince could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he stared back at the small bird with bewilderment. A cold feeling shot up his back as he met the dove's eyes and saw they were bright blue. The creature turned away again and began to crawl pitifully across the floor under the table making it perhaps two feet before it collapsed exhausted and died. “Sir? Are you OK?” asked the woman at the courtesy desk as she looked at him fearfully. “What?” Vince asked looking up at her from his crouched position on the chair. “Are you OK? Do you need help or something?” she asked again staring at him with an odd look. Vince looked back down at the floor and saw nothing. There was no trace of the animal which had fallen out of his bag. He got down on his hands and knees and searched around under the chair and the sofa as the woman stood up and watched him. “Are you sure your OK?” she asked again. “Yeah I... I just lost my glasses under here somewhere.” he lied as he felt around finding nothing. He sat back in the chair and looked at his briefcase in confusion. There was nothing out of the ordinary there at all now, just papers and envelopes, no blood. 'Oh my God. What the Hell is wrong with me? Am I not getting enough sleep? Is this a stress thing? It must be a stress thing.' he pondered as he reached into the case and pulled the photocopy from the top pocket.

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There was little sense in denying it. The hair, the jaw line, the shape of the face, the eyes, even the little points on the tops of his ears were the same. The man in the sketch was a dead ringer for Erkki's Grandfather. He would have to clear this up with the police. If the man turned out to be alive and in the area then Erkki could be in danger. He decided not to alarm Oliver right now as the chances of this man being alive and terrorizing the city were rather slim, but if there was any chance at all he needed to know. ********** All three kids rode in the back of the truck as Jack drove them to the nursing home where his father had been receiving care. The man was quite ill most of the time and required round the clock care, but this was the only home he could afford so it looked like papa Raul was going to be living with the family again. The accounting house which had acquired the property through an auction last week wasted no time in evicting everyone and firing the staff. Only a few people remained on the payroll and tomorrow the place was going to be bulldozed. As he drove up into the parking lot the boys looked over the old building with its rusty gutters and chipping gray paint and frowned. “What a dump.” Erkki said as the truck pulled to a stop near the side door. Several other people were loading trucks with things belonging to their parents or grandparents and the somber tone was heavy in the air. “Shadetree Rest Home, I know that name.” Sam said as he saw the broken sign. “From what?” Erkki asked as he hopped out of the truck.

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“It was on the list of names I found in the Sheriff's secret room.” Sam said looking around curiously. “What list of names? I thought the only thing in there was boxes of dirty magazines.” Miguel said as he jumped off the truck. “Mostly, but there was some other papers too. I took the list cuz it looked important, and this place was on it along with like twenty other places in Carter.” Sam said as the approached the main entrance. “What else was on it?” Erkki asked intrigued. “Nothing. Well... a date. June 19, 1972.” Sam said with a frown. “Three years ago? What happened here three years ago?” Erkki asked Miguel. “Nothin' man. This is an old folks home. Nothing is the only thing that's allowed to happen here.” The aura of depression outside of the building was nothing compared to the uncomfortable sadness inside. Many people just sat in wheelchairs and stared out the windows into the parking lot while others sat alone and mumbled quietly to themselves. “Hi there Jack.” said a large man in a light blue-green smock. “Miguel buddy! You here to help with Raul?” he asked cheerfully. “We have to take grandpa home Mr. Casey” Miguel told him. “Yeah, I know buddy. I wish more people would show up for some of these other folks.” he said losing a bit of his cheer. “They dropped this bomb on us out of nowhere and I can't even find half of these people's contacts. When the new owners show up tomorrow I don't know what's going to happen to some of these people.” “Where will they go Mister?” Erkki asked curiously.

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“The shelter, the street, I don't know son. Most of these folks can barely afford this place, and this place ain't much. A couple years ago, the previous owners moved everyone who didn't have a place to go to a hotel for two weeks while they did repairs. It was a good thing to, because I couldn't find anyone then either. The new owners just don't really care, they just want everyone out.” “What repairs?” Sam said looking around. “This place is falling apart.” “Foundation stuff I guess, but yeah they didn't really do much for the occupants.” “What's through there?” Sam asked him pointing to a surprisingly solid and new looking aluminum door. “That's the cellar. The workers put that up after they finished down there. We could have used the space but the owner never gave me a key.” Mr. Casey told him crossing his thick arms. “Hi Grandpa!” Miguel said as he greeted the elderly man who moved slowly into the room. “Come on boys. Mr. Casey has a lot to do so lets get your Grandpa's stuff ready Miguel.” Jack insisted as he hugged his father. “Mr. Casey does June 19, of '72 mean anything to you?” Sam asked him as the big orderly turned away. “Nope. Should it?” he asked as he stopped and turned. “Nah, just wondered.” the boy said as he hurried to catch up with the other two kids. For the next two hours the boys helped to clean and and clear out Miguel's father's room. Nearly everything was in the truck when Erkki and Sam stood together by the cellar door looking over the sad lonely people in the room. “I hope I don't live that long.” Sam said.

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“Shut up man! They'll hear you!” Erkki said as he nudged him. “Erkki these people couldn't hear me if I walked up and yelled it in their ear.” “I guess not. So what do you think is down there?” Erkki asked as he fiddled with the locked door. “Probably more dust.” Sam said as he looked at his shoes. “So where else was on that list?” Erkki asked curiously. “I don't remember off hand. I'll bring it to the city park tomorrow if you want. It's just a bunch of property names with two or three scratched off and the numbers at the top. I don't know what Browning was doing with it, but I would bet he was up to no good.” “OK cool. Looks like we're ready to go. Jacks taking Raul out.” Erkki told him as he looked around sadly. The two boys moved off to help Raul as a bony man watched them and listened intently from behind the front desk. Just as the boys began to walk away Erkki suddenly stopped in his tracks. Without a moment's hesitation, the child turned and looked strait at the man behind the desk as if the stranger had called out his name. Dropping his pen, the man locked eyes with the boy and felt overwhelmingly invaded. Fearfully he cast about in his mind for some reason struggling to hide things he wasn't even aware were hanging out. Slowly Erkki backed away and turned giving the man one last suspicious look as he hurried to catch up with Sam. The somewhat shaken man composed himself and watched the boys for a moment as they spoke to Dean Casey and slowly picked up the phone. A moment later he was greeted by a buzz from the other end of the line.

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“Hey we might have a shot left at this thing after all. You know those binks who got into Cord's basement? Well they were just here, and guess what they got...” “Mr. Casey?” Erkki asked as he watched the muscle bound man helping an old woman eat. “Is there anything you can do for them?” “Kid, all I can do for the forgotten ones is keep them comfortable until the man comes to toss them out.” he said sadly. “Then what?” he asked as he looked over the room full of people. “I don't know. By God kid I don't know.” “Can't you protest this or something? Get some attention? I'll help you!” Erkki told him with his eyes sparkling. “Look kid, you got a big heart there, but most people well... don't. Even if we chained ourselves to the door no one would care. The only protests people care about these days is Vietnam stuff, and even that's over with.” he said as he wiped the woman's chin. Erkki looked over the orderly as he knelt there gently feeding the old woman in the wheelchair. He had one of the brightest souls Erkki had ever seen, but it was troubled, and that light was growing dimmer. It made Erkki sad when he saw that light start to go out in someone. “Don't give up Mister.” Erkki said as he touched the man on the shoulder. Dean Casey shuttered for a moment as Erkki's hand rest upon him. There was an almost electrical feeling from his fingers and he felt suddenly lifted, as if with a touch the boy had somehow managed to recharge a battery deep within him he didn't even know was dying. He sat down the bowl and stood up as he watched the boy leave. Looking around

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again at the helpless souls in the room, he began to grasp a new perspective as he realized his fate was tied with theirs. 'This place will not go down without a fight.' he thought to himself as he clenched his fists. ********** “Alex? There's a Mr. Vincent Behar here to see you. He said he spoke with you on the phone?” came the voice from the speaker on his desk. “Yeah send him on in.” Alex said depressing the button. A minute later the door to his office opened and a tall thin man stepped in wearing a sport coat and jeans carrying a light briefcase. Alex introduced himself and the two men sat down across from one another as Vince sat his case down on the desk. He carefully clicked it open as he closed one eye and looked inside. “Something wrong Mr. Behar? You looked like you expected something to jump out at you.” Alex said eying him curiously. “No, sorry. I'm just feeling a little jumpy that's all.” Vince said as he fished through the pockets on the inside. “Here's the picture officer.” Vince reached the photocopy across the desk as Alex took it and looked it over. “Bright day in the mornin', that's our boy!” he said astounded as he laid the paper beside the sketch. “Well, wait officer. That picture was taken in 1963 and...” Vince began. “So he aged well. It's only been eleven years. How old is this man and what's his name?” Alex asked as he began to jot down notes.

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“I don't know how old he is, but at the time that photo was taken he had a fifty-two year old son, which would have put him around seventy, at least.” Vince said as Alex stopped and looked up. “So this man would be in his eighties now?” he said disappointed. “All accounts are that he's dead, but it's not known for sure. If he is alive then yes, eighties. His name is Erkki Lahja... Senior, Erkki Lahja Sr.” Vince clarified. “Last known whereabouts?” Alex asked hopefully. Vince just shrugged and pointed at the photo. “I guess that's it.” he said. “OK Mr. Behar, unless there's something else you need to tell me, I'm going to get on this and try to track this guy down. He's a bit outside the profile, but I appreciate the help you've given us.” Alex said as he stood. “I wish I knew anything more than what we discussed over the phone sir.” Vince said as he closed his case and stood. The two men shook hands as Vince left the office leaving Alex alone in his room with the photo. He looked deeply into the eyes of the man in the old image. He wasn't quite sure what he saw there, but it disturbed him nonetheless. “Margie?” Alex called as he pushed the button. “Go ahead Alex.” the voice responded. “I'm going to need everything you can find on a Mr. Erkki Lahja.” ********** “Sounds like a bad situation.” Oliver said as he listened to Erkki talk about his day at the rest home.

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“Why would they just throw all those people out Ollie? It isn't fair.” he said as he picked at his food. Oliver watched the boy push his carrots around as he rested his heavy head on his hand. Most kids would have completely forgotten about such things by now, but not Erkki. In that moment, Oliver was reminded again why he felt such fondness for this boy. No matter how hard life kicked Erkki, and life had kicked him pretty hard several times, he contained not one gram of bitterness or hate. No matter how deep his wounds may be, he still manages to feel everyone else's pain but his own. “This really bothers you doesn't it Erkki?” Oliver asked with concern. “Yeah. I don't like it when bad people get their way.” Erkki said depressed. “If it'll make you feel better, I'll go downtown tomorrow and see if there's anything that can be done to stall them. Maybe we can buy Mr. Casey enough time to find those people homes.” he said with a sigh. “You really mean it Ollie!” the boy said perking up immediately. “I'll try. It sounds to me like a violation of housing responsibility. As long as there are people in that building they can't tear it down so tell Mr. Casey to sit tight. Plus I'd like to know what's in that basement. By law if whatever it is isn't in the sales agreement, it belongs to the residents.” “Thanks Ollie.” Erkki said as he stood up and hugged him tightly. “I'll do what I can Erkki, now hit the sack it's late.” Oliver laid awake again that night. He wasn't getting much rest and though he was quite tired, sleep just wouldn't come.

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“If he starts to think someone like you believes in his imaginary demons, he'll quit questioning their existence altogether. If that happens we'll lose him Oliver, maybe forever.” Oliver McEan considered himself a Christian. He said his prayers at night and went to church on Sunday, but he never thought seriously about demons. Vincent was completely right of course, but what happened in that bedroom last night? “Don't worry Mr. McEan. Erkki has angels.” That's what his friends said, though he wasn't certain why. Those weren't angels making wounds out of nowhere that night. If sixty-three years of Sunday sermons taught him anything at all about angels it was that they didn't go around at night tormenting little children in their beds. What he saw and heard was a hard thing to just forget, but for Erkki's sake he needed to move on. “Atamonda?” said a small voice from the hall. Oliver had decided to sleep with his door open and the sound of someone moving toward his room caught his attention. “Erkki? What's wrong boy?” he asked as he looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight and the child had no business wandering around at this hour. “Go on back to bed Erkki. We can talk more in the morning.” he said as he sat up in bed. “Stedi hallesend jírzasfendres tamí.” the voice said again.

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“Erkki do you need a drink of water or something? Go back to bed and I'll...” he began as the child walked into view just outside his door. It wasn't Erkki. It looked like Erkki, but this was no boy. The child-thing hovered over the threshold into his room, illuminating the area with a soft light. He was bare of clothing and his impossibly fair skin seemed to glow like polished platinum. Waving behind him in an unfelt breeze were two long silver lines which rose from his back and stretched up and away. An opaque white screen of light fell from them and curled around the entity like two massive wings. His long jet black hair fell about his shoulders and reached to his waste, moving slowly as it glimmered and caressed his skin. Most striking of all, were his eyes. The figure before him had two eyes of blazing metallic blue. Eyes within who's depth was reveled a flawless purity so cold and overwhelming that it was terrifying to look upon. “Oh God! What...?! I...! Please...!” Oliver babbled as a torrent of shame and dread washed over him, immediately stripping away every defense leaving his soul exposed and shaken. “You have to help me child of Adam.” the entity told him with a voice that somehow resembled both morning doves and thunder. “I... What do you want?” Oliver asked as he covered his face with his hands unable to bare the sight of such magnificence any longer. “He's coming.” the Erkki-thing told him. “Who... Who's coming?” “A son of the daughters of man.” it said harshly with a cold tone. “I don't understand! Who are you?” Oliver asked as he shivered with fear.

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“I am the lamb who shall make many to be accounted righteous. You must not allow me to bear corruption, only suffering so that I may understand what it is to sin.” “What is it you want me to do?” Oliver asked as he began to cry with the sorrow of his exposed unclean human soul. “Protect me. Do what you must to preserve me until the time has come to fulfill my Covenant. Soon the Father shall flood the Earth in darkness to send away the decedents of the giants. I must face him then, when the choice is mine alone, and God's will be done.” Oliver couldn't stand the entity's presence any longer. It was so mind-shatteringly strong that having it's attention directed at him was like falling into the sun. It was just too much and his senses began to overload. Reality seemed to twist and balk as if struggling to remain cohesive. He could never have imagined what it might be like to be crushed by pure spirit, but after tonight he would never forget.

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Black Rook to White Rook's Knight 3

Chapter 10 Mace stood leaning with his back to the wall dragging slowly from his cigarette as he watched the area for anyone who matched up to the description of the kid he needed to talk to. He had waited here since dawn and was growing more impatient every hour. Things had been rough since the bosses got plowed under and if the new family had any idea he was still around, he'd likely be next. All he needed to make it out of here, and out of the business completely, was waiting for him under that old folks home. Ernesto and Frederico laundered almost half of their money recently for a “retirement fund” that the two of them were going to split in a few years. They converted the cash into gold and picked one of their properties in which to stash it in case something happened to one of them. Well... something happened, to both of them. Mace had known about the vault under Shadetree for the last two years, but even after both of the brothers died there was nothing he could do about it. He saw the blueprints for that thing, and there was only two ways in. You either knew the combination, or you blew the damn door off. Since it would be impossible to blow up a building full of old folks without a hell of a lot of attention, he had begun to pull together cash to buy the place when the government put it up for auction last week. Frederico's crooked accountant must have known about it too though, and he took the place out from under him.

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Now it seems he might get a shot at it after all. That no good, back stabbing Cord Browning must have got the combination from his phone tapping rat. He never figured out what building it was in though. If he had that information, he would have cleaned the place out. Now it seems the crafty binks who broke in and spoiled his little jewel heist had the combination. Ted was one of his guys he kept on top of the vault out there at Shadtree. The guy was on the payroll as a clerk, but his main purpose was to keep an eye on things until Mace could come up with a way to get in. The papers never reported the kids names, of course, but he knew what he was looking for. Teddy said the kid was bringing the combination here today, and Mace intended to get it. He dropped the spent cigarette onto the ground and lit another as he thought about going for a couple of hot dogs, then he saw Sam. Mace didn't know his name, but he had his description from Ted at Shadetree and this was definitely the kid he was waiting for. Quickly he pulled a long drag from his tobacco, then dropped it to the ground as he moved off toward Sam who had just dismounted from his bike as he looked around for his friends. Erkki and Miguel walked through the gates into the Carter City park carrying their rollerskates over their shoulders and looking for Sam. Oliver went downtown this morning just as he promised, to try and find a way to halt the demolition of Shadetree for Mr. Casey. Mr. McEan was acting very strangely this morning at breakfast and he was hesitant to allow Erkki to go off on his own today. It seemed to take quite a bit of convincing just to get in some bootin' time with his friends. He wasn't used to people watching him

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so closely and it was kinda irritating, but at the same time rather comforting. Visiting hours began at Shadetree in just a couple hours, and Mr. Casey told him over the phone this morning that he was going to hold his ground against the new owners and not allow the rest of the people there to be set out on the street until Oliver returned with some kind of hold order. Erkki told him he would come help as promised, and Mr. Casey sounded very enthusiastic to see him again. Until then there was nothing else to do with such a beautiful morning but meet up with Sam and skate. At least that's what Erkki thought, until Miguel dropped a bomb on him. “Erkki, before we get Sam there's something I have to tell you.” Miguel said as the two boys walked along. “Something wrong man?” Erkki asked while he watched Miguel kick a piece of trash along with them. “Well, yeah. Papa said since Raul has to live with us, my mother has to quit her job to take care of him.” Miguel said sadly. “Oh, well at least she'll be home more and you wont have to deal with Vierco as much.” Erkki said trying to cheer him. “Yeah, but it also means we can't afford the rent any more.” Miguel told him as he looked away. “We have to move Erkki.” “What? No! No Miguel you can't move! Where will you go?” Erkki asked him as he stopped and held onto Miguel's arm. “I don't know man. Papa said he's going to try and find a place we can afford to live here in town, but...” Miguel said as he stuttered and bit his lip. “but what?” Erkki asked alarmed.

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“...but if he can't we might have to move away. Away to someplace he can get a better job.” Miguel told him with profound sadness. Erkki was stunned. Just when it seemed things were going to turn around something like this hit him from nowhere. He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut and the frustration of knowing there was nothing he could do about it just made it worse. “Hey. Who is that guy?” Miguel asked as he looked across the picnic area. A huge man was talking to Sam with his back to them as they approached. He was about five feet eight inches tall, but almost the same width, and Sam looked frightened of him as he spoke. “Alright bink. Stop actin' stupid! Your gonna gimmie that combination or I'm gonna beat it outta you!” the man said as he grabbed Sam around the collar and shook him. “What combination?! What are you talking about man?!” Sam yelled back at him. “Where's the list kid? We know you got it here so hand it over or I'm gonna hold you up by the ankles and shake it outta yous!” he threatened. “You mean this?!” Sam asked bewildered as he pulled the envelope from his back pocket and handed it over to Mace. “Hey! What's your problem dude?! Let him go!” Miguel yelled at him. Mace roughly dropped Sam to the ground as he turned and balled up his big fists. “I'll tell you what my problem is you freakin' bink! I'm...!” he began to say.

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Suddenly he stopped and looked over at Erkki as his eyes widened with recognition, then back to Miguel as his snarl faded to a look of fear. “Oh no! No! No! Not yous two! Get away from me!” he cried as he pulled a crucifix out of his shirt and kissed it. “What the hell are you doing to my friend?! That doesn't belong to you!” Miguel accused him as he stepped forward. “No! Stay back!” he cried in terror as he moved backwards almost tripping over Sam's bike. The strange man looked all around as if he expected something to drop out of the sky on him. Without another word he turned and fled. “Hey!” Miguel yelled at him again. The two boys looked at each other in confusion as Erkki shrugged, then with no further hesitation they turned and ran after him. The man ran across the open field in a panic as the boys perused him. Erkki ducked as a frisbee sliced through the air over his head. The man who caught the disk cried something in protest, but he couldn't hear him over the sound of his radio which was blasting “No Sugar Tonight” by the Guess Who as he ran by. The boys tried to avoid the colorful frisbees as they chased the hulking grown-up across the grass. Apparently, some kind of tournament was in progress and they quickly discovered they were in the crossfire area. Miguel deftly snatched one of the flying objects from the air above him and heaved it at Mace who was racing forward through the play field with colored disks bouncing off of him left and right. It seemed as if the younger contestants had decided it was far more fun to hit the big guy in the middle than to throw the

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frisbees to each other and the plastic disks were buzzing around him like flies! Miguel's frisbee hit him square on the back of the head as Mace continued on across the field in blind fear paying no attention to it. He ran through the yellow tape marking edge of the play field and barreled forward into the next area knocking over several people who were skating together. A moment later as they began to regain their feet, Erkki and Miguel bumped through them at a full dash knocking into them and sending them sprawling again. Mace pushed aside the usher standing just behind the buffet table of the outdoor wedding as he burst through the velvet rope and leaped over the benches. People gasped and jumped out of his way as they yelled at him, but Mace continued on through them toward the edge of the park. As he reached the platform with the bride and groom who were standing astounded at his intrusion, he stopped and looked back to see Erkki and Miguel pushing through the carefully arranged flowers behind the party. Someone cursed at them as they burst through, but the moment they caught sight of Mace they tore off after him as the frightened man turned and pushed the table out of his way knocking the huge cake over onto the groom sending both tumbling to the ground as he ran. The boys pushed their way through the powder blue tuxedo adorned people as they ran in the direction of the strange man. As they moved past the table Erkki paused for a moment and looked around. He reached down and scooped a big chunk of cake off the top of the pile and shoved it in his mouth as Miguel turned to look at him. “What are you doing?!” He yelled. “It's chocolate!” Erkki said.

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“Seriously?!” Miguel asked looking at him with wide eyes. “What? It was already ruined!” Erkki defended innocently. “Come on!” he cried as he ran past the angry bride and across the road. As they crossed the road they stopped in front of the bus station and look around. “He must have went inside.” Miguel said as they searched the area outside for a disturbance. “You go in the front, I'll circle around!” Erkki said as he wiped the frosting on his sleeve and sped off down the sidewalk. Miguel pushed through the doors as several people moved aside with surprise as he burst into the building and looked around. To his great disappointment he saw no sign of the man they were chasing in the crowded building. Erkki flew through the back door and joined up with him as the two kids leaped up onto the rail to get a better look around. “How did he get away?” Erkki asked as he scanned the huge room. “I don't know, cake boy. Maybe if we hadn't stopped for a snack he wouldn't have gotten ahead of us.” Miguel teased. “Dude, it was chocolate cake!” Erkki defended again. “Who is he anyway?” “No idea.” Erkki answered searching the crowd. “Wait...” Miguel said as he looked up to the busy catwalk which ran around the second floor of the crowded station. Several people were swearing at someone who was pushing through toward the large automated staircases at the far end. As the figure reached the halfway point to the staircase Miguel saw it was Mace. He reached back and

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tapped Erkki on the shoulder who was looking over in the wrong direction and pointed upward toward the disturbance. The kids looked at each other and smiled as they jumped off the rail and ran up the narrow stairs toward the second floor. Mace shoved the people before him out of his way like a human snowplow. He knew what happened to people who got too close to those two and he had no intention of letting them near him. Reaching down and kissing his cross again, he turned the corner and started down the mechanical staircase. Unsuspecting people were tossed out of his way as he shoved through the stationary riders on the jam packed stairs. A minute later he finally managed to reach the first floor again as he stopped and tried to catch his breath. Several dozen angry and confused people stared at him as he looked around desperately for any sign of the kids as he wiped his forehead. “Hey you! Stop!” Miguel yelled from the top of the crowded staircase as the man dropped his kerchief and ran across the concrete floor still grasping the envelope. The crowed grunted with annoyance as the the small figures tried unsuccessfully to push through and down the slow moving steps. Moments later they jumped up onto the raised strips between the sets of mechanical steps, one on each side, and blazed down like skiers on their rollerskates. As they flew down toward the ground floor people pulled their hands and arms out of the way and screamed at them but the kids payed them no mind. They leaped off the end of the thick rail and skated toward Mace who was pounding on the button for the elevator in a near panic. Before they reached him the doors finally opened and he jumped inside mashing the door close button. Erkki and Miguel put out their hands to keep from crashing face first into the door as it sealed shut before them.

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They looked up at the indicator and saw the man was headed up toward the parking garage. “Over there!” Miguel yelled as he pointed toward the door leading to the steps. There was no time to take the skates back off again, so they burst through the door and ran up the treacherous steps as fast as they could using the handrail to pull themselves along. Mace stood in the elevator cursing his luck. Of all the binks in the city to run into right now, why did he have to find those two, and why were they chasing him? He had to get away. If they got near him God only knows what would happen. The last time he got wrapped up with those kids he almost died. Mace saw his life flash before his eyes when that train narrowly missed him and that same scene of dread was pounding in the back of his head right now. The doors opened and Mace stepped out into the parking garage. It looked as if he finally lost them and he began to breath a sigh of relief as he started to tear open the edge of the envelope. “Hey you!” Miguel yelled as the boys burst through the door. “Cripes!” Mace cursed as he turned and bopped his nose into the closed elevator door. They were skating toward him as fast as they could, pumping their arms and leaning forward. Mace turned and ran out into the parking garage desperate for a way out and away from his tormentors. He looked around for a ride, any ride but the area was empty of people. Then he heard the sound of an engine whining up the ramp toward him and he ran in the direction of the noise. 'Dis ain't my day.' he said to himself as he saw the moped buzzing up the lane toward him. It wasn't what he

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wanted to jack, but it was better than nothing. There was no other way he could escape those two in here on skates. As the tiny bike came near, Mace stuck out his arm and clotheslined the driver who came flying off the vehicle and rolled to a stop nearby. He hopped on the seat and spun the bike around sending it full throttle back down the ramp. “Hey come back with my ride!” the teen yelled as he got to his feet. “Out of the way dude!” Miguel said as he flew passed him almost knocking him over again followed by Erkki who was breathing hard trying to keep up. The two boys hit the ramp and pumped their arms as fast as they could, flying down the narrow lane at shocking speed. It curled around and down sharply so they couldn't see Mace on the moped ahead of them, but they could hear him. As they skated downward ever faster in the middle of the lane, the grill of an up-bound Ford Thunderbird suddenly popped into view around the corner and the driver looked at them in surprised horror as he leaned on the horn. Erkki and Miguel screamed in fear as they pushed off each other barely making it to the walls along the side of the lane and skirting the vehicle as they continued downward. At the bottom of the hill, Mace buzzed around the arm of the gate followed by the attendant who ran out to yell at him. He saw the end of the ramp leading into the street before him and he throttled up intending to make it across before the light changed from yellow to red. The boys reached the orange and black stripped arm and made mighty leaps, both narrowly clearing the gate as they saw the man heading out into traffic. “Is he gonna make it?” Miguel yelled over to Erkki. The light changed from yellow to red as Mace hit the curb and the traffic rushed out in front of him. With a

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frightened scream, the large man on the tiny bike attempted to turn but instead rolled over the handlebars and somersaulted onto the sidewalk, his head coming to rest against a street lamp knocking him out cold. “Um... Nope.” Erkki answered as the kids slid to a stop nearby. Mace laid there unconscious as Sam's envelope floated gently down landing on his brow. Erkki rolled over to him as people began to gather around the man and picked up the still sealed paper smiling with satisfaction. “Good thing to. Honestly, I wasn't sure what we were gonna do if we caught him Miguel.” Erkki admitted as he pocketed the list. “I don't know about you, but I was gonna do this.” Miguel said as he kicked the stupored man in the ribs. Mace groaned and began to stir slightly as the boys stepped back nervously. Deciding not to press their luck, they turned and fled with the envelope. “Don't you guys get it? This isn't a date, it's a combination to something!” Erkki said looking over the paper with excitement as the three boys skated along the sidewalk. Following the events in the park that morning, they decided they would be better off on the sidewalk in the city then possibly running into the crazy man again. “Combination to what then?” Sam asked as he avoided a bicyclist going the other way. “I don't know, but I'll bet it's some kind of treasure!” Erkki said hopefully. “That guy didn't look like a pirate Erkki.” Miguel said as he looked over the boy's shoulder at the list. “He looked like a mobster to me, and he was serious guys.” Sam said still shaken from the incident.

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“Cord must have found out about it somehow and got the combination himself. It looks like he was scratching off these places one by one looking for something.” Erkki said as they stopped for the traffic light. “Hey, I wonder if it's got anything to do with that big new door at Shadetree?” Miguel proposed. “Of course it does! That's got to be where it is! Whatever's down there belongs to those people out there, Ollie said so! We gotta get down there!” Erkki said nearly bursting. “I'll bet those assholes who kicked everyone out know about it too.” Miguel told him. “Then let's go! Mr. Casey'll hold them off while Me and Sam...” “No.” Sam said as he rolled back a step. “What's wrong?” Erkki asked confused. “I'm out guys. I don't want to do this anymore OK? Look, you guys are Ace, but I don't really wanna... well, it's just that things got real close to getting real bad the last few weeks and I just...” Sam told them as he groped for words. “So your not gonna help us?” Miguel asked somewhat hurt. “This is no damn treasure hunt Miguel. That guy was gonna break me in half back there! Whatever is down there belongs to the mob and they want it, don't you get that? The people who are knocking the place down are probably mob too, and they want it. It's not fun to get killed guys, I'm out.” Sam said sadly as he turned and rolled away. “Sam wait! We can do this! We have Mr. Casey, and... and...” Erkki said as the boy moved off alone. “No Erkki. I'm sorry man.” Sam said over his shoulder as he continued on his way down the block.

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“Sam?” Miguel called to him sadly, but the boy didn't respond, he just rolled around the corner of a building and vanished. “Let him go. Come on lets just get on.” Erkki told him as he sat down on the curb and untied his rollerskates. “OK, but gimme the list with the numbers.” Miguel requested as he sat down beside him. “What's up?” Erkki questioned him as he handed over the envelope. “Just makin' sure nobody can steal it again.” Miguel said as he took the letter from him and slipped it down the storm sewer grate. “Whatever. Let's just grab a bus across town to Shadetree before anything else happens.” Erkki said as he finished with the bow in his shoe. The sound of brakes locking up made them both jump to attention, and as the huge Lincoln town car swerved over toward them the kids jumped to their feet. Three men jumped from the vehicle and approached them cautiously. “Yeah, it's them alright.” one of them said as he removed his sunglasses. “Who are you?” Miguel asked looking over the approaching men in their dark suits and fancy shoes. “Get in the car.” He said sharply and looking around. “Hell no! Aren't you supposed to offer us candy first or something jackass?” Miguel asked him as the boys stepped back. “Hey, you don't listen so good.” said another of the men as he lifted the flap of his jacket and displayed his pistol holstered to his belt. “Move it binks.” The first man said as he grabbed them by their shoulders and pushed them into the car. All

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three men quickly piled back into the auto and it sped off away from the curb into traffic. “Where's the other kid?” The man with no sunglasses demanded as he pushed the two boys together into the center of the back seat. “What other kid? Who are you guys?” Erkki asked nervously. “There were three of you. Where's the tall kid?” he demanded. “We don't know any tall kids.” Miguel insisted. “Don't gimme that bullshit mop-top. We know you three have the combination so who has it, one of you two or the third guy?” he insisted as he grabbed Miguel collar. “Hey! Don't push him around butt-face!” Erkki cried. “I'm gonna do a lot more than push him around if I don't get that paper. I'm gonna push him out doin' 70 now where is it?” he demanded again glaring at Erkki. “There is no paper! We threw it away!” Erkki told him. “For Christ's sake...” said one of the men up front. “Don't lie to me bink! I'm gonna blow your freakin' heads off if I don't get that combination!” The man with no glasses threatened. “It's 42, 23, 88!” Erkki told him with a steady gaze. “What d'ya think?” he asked the man in the front seat. “If they know it we don't need the third kid, or the list. Take us out to Shaky's. You can hold the brats there while I call Ziffy and check out the numbers.” he said. “You better not be lyin' to me bink. If I have to ask you again it'll be with the business end of a branding iron.” The boys sat silently as the car headed out of town and up into the hills of the unincorporated land around Carter. Erkki wondered to himself if he had done the right

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thing by giving these strangers fake numbers. He had no idea where they were going and they would be plenty mad when they found out. He watched carefully as they traveled, attempting to memorize the way back to the city and he was somewhat grateful when the vehicle pulled up into what appeared to be a closed down auto mechanic's garage just on the edge of the county only twenty minutes later. He knew how to get back from here, but there remained the not so small matter of escape. “Alright, out punks.” One of the men told them as the car came to a stop inside the building. As they all piled out, a man who was waiting inside rolled the door down behind them as he flipped on the light and looked over Erkki and Miguel curiously. “So what was Mace's problem with these kids again Paul?” he asked as he pushed the locking bar down on the big door. “To hell with Mace. He's just one of Ernesto's incompetent goons that cost us control of the city in the first place. We got the key to the door now, we don't need the worthless bastard. It's time to take what we're owed. Darrel, you call Ziffy at the home and give him the numbers. There's not much time left if we're gonna get in there before Epstein knocks the place down.” the driver said as he moved over to the makeshift bar and began mixing a drink. “What about these two?” one of the men asked as he pointed at the kids. “Just sit them down over there and keep your eye on them. After Ziffy gets in the vault we'll take care of them.” the man named Paul said. Erkki didn't like the sound of that statement at all. It wasn't clear what he meant by take care of them, but he had a

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bad feeling it didn't mean give them a sucker and send them on their way. The kids sat on a bench on the other side of the shop as Paul and his men stood around the table talking quietly to themselves just out of earshot. The Lincoln and two other cars sat parked inside between them and the boys and one of the strange men leaned lazily on the Lincoln's hood smoking a cigarette as he continuously glanced over at them. Darrel hung up the phone by the locked and chained front service door as he smiled and yelled across the room. “OK, Ziffs on his way down. It'll be about five minutes.” he told them. “Erkki what are we gonna do now?” Miguel whispered with a shaky voice. “There gonna kill us when they find out you lied!” Erkki didn't answer. He didn't really have a plan and as he scanned the room, every exit he saw was bolted or chained shut. He knew they had to do something fast, but what that something was he had no idea. He wished he could stand up and look around, but the man on the hood of the car would see him the moment he moved. Then in the dim light of the garage, Erkki caught a tiny flash of light as something moved through the air over the car and struck the smoking man on the back of the head, then bounced off the hood of the car with a ping. “What da...?” the man said as he stood up and looked at something on the ground at his feet. “Yo, what's the big idea flingin' coins at me jerkwad?” he said as he reached down and picked up the object, then tossed it back across the room at Darrel. “What's the matter with you? You tryin' to put my eye out or something?! I didn't fling nothin'!” Darrel protested as the two men began arguing.

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Erkki wasn't certain what just happened, but he did know this might be their only chance. He quietly stood up and looked over the entire room hoping for a door, a window, anything, but to his dismay he saw nothing. Even if they got out somehow, they would likely be caught again before they got anywhere. “Don't gimme that bunko! You been wantin' a piece of me for a long time jacko so take your best shot!” the men continued to argue paying no attention to Erkki as he sought escape. Suddenly the phone rang, and Erkki knew exactly what that was going to mean to them if they didn't do something now. He squinted and looked desperately around the area until he saw... “Let's go.” Erkki said as he pulled Miguel by his shirtsleeve. “Go where?” Miguel whispered back confused as he followed Erkki across the room, both boys stooping to keep their heads down. “Shut up and answer the phone!” Paul yelled from his chair at the two angry men as they continued to accuse one another. Erkki approached the Lincoln and quietly pulled open the passenger door climbing inside. “What are you doing?!” Miguel whispered fearfully. “You work the pedals, I'll steer.” Erkki said as he pointed to the keys still hanging there in the ignition. “Are you outta your mind?! We can't drive this thing!” “Uh huh. You sure Ziffy?” asked Darrel after he finally put off his argument and answered the old phone in the shop. “Tried it three times and still nothin', got it.”

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“We have to Miguel! It's the only way out!” Erkki said as he slid over and folded his legs under him in a kneeling position so he could see out the front window. “Well, why do you get to steer?” Miguel argued. “It's the wrong numbers Paul.” the man said as he hung up the phone. “Damn it!” Paul swore as he stood. “I told you I would bust your asses if you didn't give me those numbers! Your gonna wish you... Where are the freakin' kids!?” he yelled as he cast around searching for them. “Cuz your legs are longer, now lets go!” Erkki said as he reached for the keys. “Fine.” Miguel conceded as he squeezed in beside Erkki and slid down to where he could reach the break and the gas. “You ready?” Erkki asked him as he looked out the window. “Let's do this.” Miguel said. “Where did they go you idiot?! You were supposed to be watching them!” Paul yelled as the men spread out around the room. “They couldn't have gotten out. This place is a freakin' fortress.” Jacko said as he looked behind the old cabinets. Erkki twisted the ignition switch and the big car roared to life. All six men turned toward them and came running as he quickly hit the door lock switch to fend them off. “Aw crap! You left the keys in the car?!” Paul bellowed as he pounded on the window. Miguel hit the throttle, but the car just sat there and roared as Paul ran back and grabbed a crowbar intending to bust through the glass.

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“Erkki put it in gear man!” Miguel yelled as he peeked out over the dash and saw Paul approaching with the weapon. Erkki stared at the big handle to the right of the huge steering wheel. He knew from observation that this was the object he needed to pull to make the car move, but he didn't know exactly where to move it. As the engine roared up and he watched the man approaching with the metal bar he reached up and grabbed the knob jerking it down sending the car leaping backward at full torque! The boys screamed in fear and surprise as the car smashed through the brick wall in the rear of the building flying backward at shocking speed. “Erkki go forward!” Miguel yelled beginning to panic as he rammed the break pedal with both feet. Erkki looked at the indicator on the dash expecting to see a “B” for backward and an “F” for forward. To his dismay, he saw neither so he just pulled it down to the next notch as Miguel again hit the throttle causing the engine to race while the car sat still. “That's not right either! Try again!” Miguel said. Erkki pulled the knob down again as the car suddenly lurched forward snapping their heads back and rolling out onto the dirt road. “We made it!” Miguel said smiling up at him as he held his foot on the pedal. “Not yet. They're coming after us, go faster!” Erkki told him as he turned around and saw the two Ford cars racing up on their tail. “How's this?” Miguel asked as he leaned on the accelerator. “That's good I guess.” Erkki reported stunned as his head pushed back and his eyes opened up wide straining to control the fast moving car.

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The boys approached the first turn topping sixty miles per hour as Erkki swung the huge wheel around fighting for control of the five thousand pound behemoth as it slid off the road and fishtailed around nearly clipping a row of trees before he regained his bearings. Miguel relaxed the pedal slightly and he managed to stretch himself up just high enough to peek over the top of the big dash. “You sure you know the way back?” He asked as he looked around not recognizing anything. “Yeah, I remember, but...” Erkki began to say as the car following behind them rammed into the rear bumper causing Miguel to drop back onto the seat as he pushed the pedal harder. The car began to swerve as the Ford attempted to push them into a fishtail and Erkki held onto the wheel as hard as he could. They swung around the next turn, barely avoiding the guard rail as Erkki's suddenly dropped his jaw and took a deep breath. “Breaks! Breaks Miguel! BREAKS!!” he yelled as he went stiff armed and watched the fast approaching rear end of the tractor which puttered just around the bend in front of them. Miguel complied and slammed the break pedal but it was too late and Erkki had to swerve off the road and into a cornfield to avoid a collision. The three cars blew through the tall stalks, smashing them into the ground as they plowed their way across the field. Erkki tried to push himself up to the top of the window so he could see over the vegetation but it was just too high. “Erkki where are we?!” Miguel cried up from his position on the floor as he heard the plants thumping all around them. “Just speed up so we don't get stuck!” Erkki said as he pushed random buttons trying to find the windshield wipers to clear off the crushed corn and leaves.

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The cars rolled through the field and out the other end. As they burst into the barnyard, Erkki gasped and cut the wheel hard to the right to avoid colliding with a large cow which just stood there and stared at them with dull eyes as it continued to chew. Unable to swerve back in time, the boys drove into the open doors of the poor farmer's chicken barn taking out the main beam and crashing through the back wall causing it to collapse behind them as they dashed across the road. “What was that?!” Miguel demanded as he tried to peer over the dash again. “Uh...” Erkki began to say as he turned around and looked back. “Nothing.” he finished innocently. The kids continued across the dirt road and into the junkyard lot. Erkki called for Miguel to slow down as he navigated his way through the rows of dilapidated and wrecked cars. He needed to find his way out of here and back to the paved road over the hill which lead back to town. As they raced through the narrow lane toward the gate at the other end of the lot however, the two Ford LTDs swung in and slid to a stop in front of them blocking the way. Miguel held his breath and started to go for the break just as Erkki reached up to shield his eyes from the sun, accidentally swiping the shifter knob knocking the car into reverse. Miguel screamed and Erkki grabbed the wheel to keep from being flung into the back seat inadvertently causing the car to swing around 180 degrees pointing them away from the pursuers as Erkki put the shifter back into drive. “Oh man! How did you learn to do that?!” Miguel asked amazed. “Do what? What I do?!” Erkki asked confused as he steered around the teetering pile of crushed cars.

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“Never mind just get us out of here!” Miguel said shaking his head. “They blocked the gate and the other way just leads back to that barnyard!” Erkki told him. “Then find another way out!” “OK, you got it man.” Erkki said as he pointed the car toward the fifteen foot chain link wall with a determined look on his face. “Erkki fence!” Miguel said desperately. “ERKKI FENCE!” he cried as he let off the gas, but the car continued forward smashing through the barrier as they rolled up the hill and swung around, tires squalling as they at last came into contact with the paved road. “Hurry up! I know where we are now!” Erkki said as his little hands tightened on the big wheel and his eyes lit up with recognition. The car roared forward approaching seventy miles per hour as the boys raced back toward town. Without warning the car topped a hill and the road dropped away. The Lincoln flew forward though the air slowly nosing down as the ground approached. Both boys cried out in fear as the vehicle crashed back down to earth pushing the bumper up into the grill and wrinkling back the hood as all four hubcaps launched from the car. Erkki bounced up and hit the roof of the cab nearly losing control as the front suspension groaned and pitched. Just as he managed to get them strait again, he saw one of the LTDs rolling toward them coming the other way on a collision course. “Oh so that's the game now.” Erkki said as he straitened his back and narrowed his eyes. “Erkki no!” Miguel said fearfully as he peaked over the dash at the oncoming car.

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“Don't worry man, I never lose at this.” Erkki told him as he leaned forward and straddled the yellow line. “Erkki this ain't cool man! We're not on bicycles!” Miguel pleaded with him. “I got this.” Erkki told him clearly not intending to relent. “Erkki! Erkki no!!” Miguel cried out as he stomped the break pedal with both feet locking up the tires as the car continued to slide strait forward toward the fast approaching Ford. “AAAAAHHHH!!” Miguel screamed as he held onto the dash with both hands watching the solid chrome bumper of the LTD getting perilously close. Perhaps an instant before it would have been too late, Darrel lost his nerve finally realizing playing chicken with a ten year old might not be as good of an idea as he thought and he swerved hard left to avoid them sending the three men off the road and plunging them head first into a scum covered pond. “Yeah! Outta sight! Eat lake cheesers! Come on Miguel hit the gas!” Erkki cried in triumph as he danced in his seat. Miguel just clung there still frozen in terror his feet clamped around the break pedal and his wide brown eyes staring forward. Finally he blinked and turned to give Erkki an irate look as he punched him in the arm. “Stupid!” he yelled. “Hey! Whats...?” Erkki began. “Don't you EVER, do that again!” he demanded as he at last began to relax. “But we won!” “Oh my God Erkki, lets just go.” he said as he pressed the throttle and the car again careened ahead.

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“Uh oh, here comes the other car.” Erkki reported looking at his side mirror. “How much further?” Miguel asked as he pressed harder on the pedal. “Not far, but we need to slow them down.” “Like how?” Miguel asked giving Erkki a worried look. “I need something to... Something I can...” Erkki said as he scanned the sparse contents of the car. At first he saw nothing to fulfill his idea until he glanced up at the rear view mirror and saw the objects still lying on the back seat. “Hold the wheel for a sec.” Erkki said as he looked at the fast approaching car behind them. “Erkki I can't see!” Miguel reminded him. “Just hold it steady for a few seconds, that's all I need.” the boy said as he lowered the window. “Erkki I can't...!” he began as he saw the child let go of the wheel and lean into the back seat to retrieve something. With a fearful gasp he reached up and clutched the wheel and attempted to hold it strait as Erkki returned to the front seat and poked his body out of the driver's side window. “What the hell are they doing?” Paul cried as he saw Erkki climb out of the window of the moving car before them. “I think I got a shot at him!” said the man beside him as he reached his gun out of the window and pointed at the exposed boy. Without delay, Erkki swung the knotted pair of rollerskates over his head and heaved them at the vehicle closing from behind them striking true and scoring a direct hit to the LTD's windshield as the car's safety glass instantly shattered into an opaque barrier. The men inside the car

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yelled in fear as they suddenly lost all sight of the road and the Lincoln before them. “Erkki what's happening!” Miguel yelled blindly from under the dash as he held the bottom of the steering wheel. Erkki smiled with delight as his blue eyes flashed brilliantly in the sun. He turned to drop in and take control of the wheel again when he saw the train crossing rails were fully down and flashing just ahead of them blocking the road. Worse still, he could see the train racing toward the intersection to meet them. “STOP!” he screamed falling back into the car bypassing the seat and cramming the break pedal with both feet as he squeezed his eyes shut. Miguel cried out in frightened confusion as both boys were mashed up under the dash of the screeching car as it hauled to a stop and stalled out. After a moment of silence, Erkki and Miguel lifted their heads and looked out the front window. Erkki didn't see the crossing rails. His eyes became wide with wonder as he tried to grasp what had happened, had they slid past them? Had they gotten turned around? His question was answered, of course, as he heard the howl of the train whistle as it bared down on them from the right side! Erkki turned the ignition switch several times but the car remained stalled across the tracks in the path of the huge train which had locked up it's emergency breaks far too late. The two kids shrieked in horror knowing there was no time to escape as they grabbed each other hugging tightly and watched the giant iron cow catcher close in on them. Their screams were abruptly cut short as the Ford LTD's blinded driver, still struggling to get the window down so he could see, suddenly smashed into them sending the car

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rocketing forward off the tracks. An instant later Paul's car was demolished completely as it was carried away southward by the screeching, speeding train which took almost a mile to finally stop. After the noise outside faded away, the boys gradually let go of each other and sat up to look around. The train was gone, and the car full of strange men was gone as well. It took several minutes for their hearts to slow back down and their minds to clear of the fright before they could speak again. “Sam's gonna be really sorry he missed that.” Miguel said with a labored smile. “Yeah.” Erkki answered still trying to catch his breath. He had screamed so loud just a few moments ago that his throat hurt and it was hard to speak. “So... you think this thing can still make it back to the city?” Miguel asked as he looked back at the trunk lid which had just been knocked through the back window and was lying on the seat. Erkki reached up and turned the ignition switch as the car rumbled roughly on it's four flat tires for a moment. It then clunked loudly and backfired shaking the entire vehicle while the hood went up with a puff of black smoke. With a clang the left rear door dropped off the car and it stalled again. “Um... Nope.” Erkki said sadly. ********** Oliver sat patiently in the pew of St. Michaels church as he waited for the bishop. He had an appointment with a bureaucrat at 10:30, but until then he intended to get some answers from someone about Erkki. The court was loath to give out any information concerning the boy's family until

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Oliver had under gone a period of what they called “probationary custody”, however he hoped the family's ancestral parish would be more forthcoming. In the main hall, the reverend was delivering his sermon for the morning parishioners and Oliver listened absentmindedly. “...and so upon the cross did Christ meet his destiny. At the hands of his own people did Jesus suffer and die that day, but praise him for it! For without the shedding of the blood of Christ there would be no forgiveness for the original sin of human kind. Without his selfless sacrifice, the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven would remain forever sealed unto us...” As he sat there, his mind wandered back into the dream he had last night. Was it a dream? Of course it had to be, but it was so real, and so very powerful. Oliver had never had an experience like that in all his years. He felt it changed him somehow, deep inside, even though he couldn't understand how... or why. Slowly he looked around the room as his eyes drifted to a painting nearby representing a gathering of angels. He stood up and walked quietly toward the artwork studying it closely. The painting depicted several hundred smaller angels flocking around four large angels which were back to back in the center. One of them was facing away, the other two looking off to the sides and the fourth was looking out from the canvas. Curiously he noticed every figure was clearly male, nothing else was depicted otherwise and he found it odd as he was sure he had seen female angels in other pictures before. Again he stared up at the center figure which held a long golden trumpet in his hands standing there poised as if he were prepared to bring it about. The piece was

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magnificently painted including several details in the skin, the face, the eyes... The eyes. Where had he seen those eyes before? The grand image stared back at him from the wall through it's cold metallic blue eyes. Eyes that surely knew his every secret, his every thought, his every sin. Those harsh eyes which beheld him with a mixture of sympathy, sorrow and contempt as they froze him in place. He had seen eyes like those, and they had seen him. “Mr. McEan?” a young woman in a light habit asked as she tapped him on the shoulder. Oliver jumped and nearly fell forward as the strange spell which held him broke and he returned to the real world. “Oh dear! I'm so sorry to have startled you Mr. McEan. Are you well?” she asked kindly taking his arm. “Yeah... yeah I'm OK. I was just thinking that's all. Just looking over your collection here.” he told her as he felt his chest just to make sure his heart was still beating. “It's a fabulous piece, don't you think?” she said proudly as she looked up at the large painting. “It was donated to the church over fifty years ago.” “It's very, ah... realistic.” he said glancing up at it once more. “Indeed.” she agreed. “The artist was truly inspired.” she said with a smile. “How come there's nothing but men there?” he asked curiously. “I think it's supposed to represent the whole heavenly host gathered around Arch Angel Gabriel right?” “I don't understand.” she said furrowing her brow. “Why would there be?” “Don't women become angels too?”

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“Human souls don't become angels Mr. McEan. Humans are humans and angels are angels. We are two very different things.” she said with a smile. “OK fair enough. So aren't there female angels too?” he asked intrigued. “Mr. McEan, the angels were created in the direct image of God, God the Father. Angels have no need for sexes because they're immortal. Adam was then created in the image of the angels. In fact women didn't show up at all until Adam requested a companion from God, something different from himself yet still human.” she said looking at him sideways as if she were professing to a child. “To answer your question Mr. McEan, there are no female angels.” Bishop Father Wargester said as he approach the two from behind. “Bishop Wargester, I'm happy you would see me this morning.” Oliver told him as the two men shook hands. “Pardon my curiosity Father, I just wondered about the artists vision. This painting kind of... interests me.” “Yes, the man who painted this was true to the word. Angels count no women among them. Often angels are depicted as women in various works of art and fancy, but in truth, all angels are male. Is that what you came to see me about Mr. McEan?” “Uh... No father.” he said clearing his mind. “No. I have recently become the legal guardian of young Mr. Erkki Lahja sir, and I was wondering as this was their family church, if there was any information you could give me that may help me to understand this boy's past or family.” “Well Oliver, I'm rather new to this parish as Father Maxtor has recently past on, however I'm sure we can look through the records downstairs. What is it your looking for?

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Grand parents? Great grand parents?” he asked with a smile as the two sat on the padded bench. “Anything you could tell me would bring me joy Father. Erkki and I need all the help we can get to help each other out.” “Very good. Sister Vanya? Would you be so kind as to retrieve the information from the archives?” he requested of the young woman as she quietly nodded and strolled off toward the back of the building. “She's a new Novitiate.” the priest said quietly. “Fresh from the world waiting to take her vows.” As Sister Vanya entered the large back room of St. Michaels church, she glanced over the old wooden filing cabinets opening the one for the 'L's'. Fingering through the papers she reached a small tab labeled 'Lahja'. Within was only a small scrap of paper with the instructions 'Arc VI – Lock 47'. “Hmmm...” she said to herself. She had only been down in the archives once before to retrieve some very old paperwork needed when Father Maxtor died a year ago. She took the paper scrap and closed the cabinet quietly before making her way to the old room behind the stairs. Inside was some old robes a few other vestments and a small trap door leading down to the archive room under the building. She opened the hatch, feeling the quick rush of old, moldy air from inside and descended into the dark room below. Reaching up, she pulled the tiny cord on the overhead light and glanced around the room until she saw the roman numeral VI above one of the vaults on the wall. Reverently she turned the handle and pulled open the big metal door revealing a series of small labeled drawers within. Brushing away the dust from the little tin plaques, she found the nine

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inch by two inch drawer labeled 47 and slowly pulled it open. As she did, the oddest feeling crept over her. Suddenly she felt as if many eyes were upon her and she turned with a gasp as she placed he hand on her chest. Of course there was nothing there leaving Sister Vanya feeling more that a little silly and she giggled nervously to herself as she shook her head and reached into the small drawer pulling out a very old leather folder. Overcome with curiosity, she lifted the dusty cover and peeked inside at the loose pages within the booklet. They were all written in Hebrew. 'What on Earth?' she thought to herself. 'What is this all about?' She thumbed through the old yellowing pages finding only sheet after sheet of mostly Hebrew script, and passages in some other strange language she had never seen before. There was nothing here she could understand as the Jewish writing was indecipherable to her, but as she dropped the pages back into the binder, she saw something she hadn't noticed before. On the inside cover, stamped into the leather, was an odd seal. It was dusty and faded, but it looked like a man's hand emerging from a cloud grasping a woman's hand coming up from below, and there was writing around the circle. She could pick out some of the letters from her brief lessons in ancient biblical linguistic basics, but they didn't seem to say anything she could understand. 'I can't wait to see what Father Wargester makes of this!' she thought with excitement as she closed the vault door and climbed the ladder out of the archives. “Do you think angels ever actually visit humans in this day and age Father?” Oliver asked still looking into the eyes of the figure in the painting. “I think so yes... In a way. I don't believe angels walk the Earth as they may have in the distant past, but there are signs and messages all around us if we may open ourselves to

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see them. Tell me, Mr. McEan, why the interest in angels?” the priest asked. “I don't know Father, I just kind of wondered what one should feel if ever contacted by such a wondrous thing.” Oliver said distantly. “Well, I wouldn't concern yourself with such flights of fantasy Oliver. Angels don't deal directly with men, at least not insomuch. Angels can't stand the sight of sin you see, and as men we're rather riddled with it! There is a circle of heavenly messengers who's duty it is to act as liaisons should the need ever arise, but I doubt either of us will every lay eyes on them Oliver. However, I would imagine the whole experience of speaking with an angel would be quite beautiful and unforgettable if it were to happen.” the priest said with a smile as he also looked upon the painting. “I don't know about that Father.” Oliver said as he began to break into a cold sweat. “I think your half right. I don't think it would be a beautiful thing at all. In fact it may be the single most awful thing a man could ever experience. Something that could tear you apart. As for unforgettable well, you nailed it there.” Oliver told him as he began to tremble. “I suppose in such a case it may be unpleasant.” the priest said losing his smile. “You have to understand Mr. McEan, angels have never been living, breathing people like you and I. They haven't experienced the same weakness and suffering that humankind have born. They don't understand it and it might make them appear somewhat heartless before man, but rest assured Oliver, it be not the angels which judge you in the Kingdom. God's angels are his servants, not your masters.”

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“I am the lamb who shall make many to be accounted righteous. You must not allow me to bear corruption, only suffering so that I may understand what it is to sin.” “Mr. McEan what...” the priest began as Sister Vanya reentered the room. “I have the documents Father Wargester, and you wont believe where I found them!” the young woman said with excitement. “Very good Sister.” the priest said deciding to let the former subject drop. “What is this?” he asked as she handed him the folio. “I haven't a clue, but the documents were in the archives!” she told him proudly. “Interesting.” the priest said distantly. Slowly he lifted the old leather cover and peered inside. For the first moment, only a look of confusion shone in his face as he looked upon the ancient documents within. Scant seconds later however they were replaced with a gleam of terror as he closed shut the loose leaf book and turned away from Oliver and Sister Vanya. “I'm sorry Mr. McEan I can't help you.” Father Wargester said as he stood, tucked the volume under his arm and walked away. “What? What do you mean?” Oliver protested. “What is that book?” he asked as he stood watching the priest go. “As I said Mr. McEan, there's nothing I can do to help you... or Erkki, now please go. We hold services at seven AM on Sunday and I hope to see you then.” he said without turning back. “Wait!” Oliver demanded but the old bishop continued to stroll away as if he didn't hear. As he entered

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the private office area to the side of the main hall, he closed the door behind him and the sound of a lock being set registered in Oliver's ear. Helplessly he looked at Sister Vanya who stood there as shocked as he was and raised his hands in a questioning gesture. Sister Vanya looked back at him with an equally helpless expression as the figure in the old painting continued to stare down upon them both in contempt... and in silence. ********** Erkki and Miguel huffed as they ran the last mile back to the rest home. It was Erkki's plan to meet back here with Mr. Casey hours ago however being kidnapped put a bit of a twist in their day. As they approached the unkempt front lawn Erkki's heart raced at the sight of construction vehicles all lined up in front of the building like snakes ready to strike. “Oh no! We're too late!” Miguel groaned. “Not yet!” Erkki hoped. “There's Mr. Casey!” Dean Casey stood on the porch with his big arms folded apparently arguing with another man on the front steps. As the two men talked, over a dozen elderly men and women shuffled out of the building as a man in a hard hat locked the front door. “You won't get away with this Venetti.” Mr. Casey said darkly. “You still don't understand Mister... Casey is it? It's already done. Your trespassing on my property now, and in a construction zone.” the bony little man warned him coldly. “If you don't leave I'll have you arrested, that is after my crew teaches you some respect. You've lost Mr. Casey. Unless you want to go to the next level, I suggest you get the hell out.”

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Three of the large drivers moved forward menacingly advancing on him as the last of the elderly people left the porch and walked sadly toward the boys carrying the last of their possessions. With a sad empty sigh, Dean Casey dropped his gaze and scratched the back of his head. It seemed he had accepted defeat as he slowly stepped off the staircase and walked away. Once Mr. Casey and the last of the residents had cleared the small area, Larry Venetti leaned over to the man next to him and spoke quietly. “I don't know how the hell he found out, but he knows.” he whispered. “You sure boss? How could he possibly know?” the man answered nervously. “I don't know, but it don't really matter. Just get these trucks started and level this place before he pulls anything like that again. In five minutes it'll be a pile, nobody can do nothin'. We'll go in later and blow the vault. After that it won't matter a damn if the city pulls the permit or whatever.” “Mr Casey!” Erkki yelled across the parking lot as he raced up. “I'm sorry we're so late but... well, it's kinda a long story.” “Go home kiddo. There's nothing you can do here.” he said without looking at the boys. “But Mr. McEan will be here soon with the...!” Erkki insisted. “It's too late Erkki. Even if you were here earlier there was nothing you could have done.” “But we can stop the trucks and protest and... and...” Erkki said breathlessly. “No Erkki.” Dean Casey said gently as he dropped to one knee looking the boys in the eyes. “I know this is hard to understand, but sometimes in real life the bad guys win.

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When they do, you just have to find a way to accept it and move past it.” Mr. Casey sighed again as he stood and walked off. Erkki watched him leave as the frustration built up inside with no place to go. Slowly the elderly people who had remained in the building began to walk past them lugging their meager belongings toward the bus stop on the corner. They had no money and no where to go but the homeless shelter across town. If the boy's suspicions were correct, whatever was in that basement could fix all this, maybe even... “Let's just go Erkki.” Miguel said sadly. “I don't want the bad guys to win this one.” Erkki said slowly as he took a step toward the old building. “I don't want all these people to lose everything and have nowhere to go. It's just not fair.” he said as he started to walk toward the trucks surrounding the site. “Erkki where are you going man?” Miguel asked nervously. “This doesn't have to happen this way, I just know it doesn't.” he said moving faster. “Erkki no.” Miguel warned looking over group surrounding the house. “I don't want...”the boy said bravely swallowing his urge to cry. “I don't want you to have to go away Miguel. There's a way to make that not happen, and it's in there.” Erkki pointed at Shadyside as he moved with grim determination. One by one the old men and women slowed and stopped to watch as Erkki moved through them in the opposite direction toward the building. “Oh God Erkki, please don't do this. Please!” Miguel begged knowing full well it was pointless to try and stop Erkki once he made up his mind about something. With a

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bad feeling in his heart Miguel trotted up behind Erkki intent to follow him to the end of this no matter what. “What the hell is going on here?” Larry Venetti exclaimed gesturing toward the group of onlookers behind the trucks. “I told all you to get off the property why are you standing there?” he said frustrated. “Were not leaving.” Erkki said with a matter-of-fact tone as he strolled past Mr. Venetti and the other construction men. Larry looked down at Erkki with angry confusion as the boys simply walked passed him and onto the porch. Erkki took a hold of the post in front of the door and looked him strait in the eye as he spoke. “We're protesting this demolition. Deal with it.” Larry Venetti looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Behind him, the man with the clipboard full of papers sighed helplessly as he tossed the schedule on the ground and gestured for the trucks to shut down again. “You gotta be kiddin' me?! Who are you? No, you know what? I don't care who you are, just get the hell off my porch before I plow you two under!” Mr. Venetti said exasperatedly. “We aren't leaving.” Erkki repeated stolidly as Miguel waved the man a nervous hello and tried, quite unconvincingly, to smile. “Alright kids, if that's the way you want it, fine. Jeffry? Crush the place.” Venetti said as he started to walk off. “Say what?!” Miguel blurted losing his false grin. “Sorry boss, can't do it.” the crew chief told him as he wiped his brow. “What the hell do you mean can't do it?!” Venetti growled angrily. “Knock this heap down! Now!” he insisted.

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“Look Mr. Venetti, with all due respect sir, I ain't driving a truck over a couple of kids. If you want them out, you throw them out.” “You...! But...!” Venetti said almost choking. “Fine. Gimme your hammer.” “What?” the foreman asked somewhat shocked. “I said gimme your damn hammer Nancy! You deaf too?!” Venetti demanded. With a bit of hesitation, the man unclipped his tool and handed it over to Venetti who grabbed it from him and walked up the short steps toward Erkki. The bony man stood over the boys as he pulled a long drag from his cigarette and looked at the hammer in his right hand. “You want to know a secret, little boys?” he asked them as he bent down and pushed his hooked nose into Erkki's face while exhaling his smoke at him. “I don't like kids. Not one bit.” “I have a secret too mister.” Erkki whispered impetuously. “Oh yeah? What's that you little prick?” Venetti asked with a sneer. “I don't like assholes.” Erkki told him as he kicked the man in the shin as hard as he could causing him to drop the hammer and nearly swallow his cigarette as he howled in pain. Miguel covered his mouth and tried to hide behind Erkki as he snickered and laughed uncontrollably for a moment. “You son of a bitch!” Venetti cried as he rubbed his leg. “That's it! You got five seconds to get out of here or I'm gonna crack your head boy!” “Common Erkki, we better go now.” Miguel urged. “One...” Venetti bellowed as he picked up the hammer.

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“No way.” Erkki insisted. “Two!” “Erkki man, this isn't funny anymore. That guy's really mad.” Miguel pushed. “Three!” “This isn't right Miguel. I'm not leaving.” Erkki said as he pushed out his chin. “Four!” “Erkki please! We gotta go now!” Miguel tugged at him ready to panic. “No.” Erkki told him as he stared the man down. “Five!” the man yelled as he walked to the top step and raised the hammer over Erkki's head and swung. “NO!” Miguel cried as he grabbed Erkki and tried to pull him back. Erkki refused to let go of the post however and would have certainly been struck hard if not for the powerful arm which grabbed Venetti's hand in mid swing stopping it solidly over the boys head. “No. That's not gonna happen.” Mr. Casey said as he grabbed Venetti by the shirt with his other hand and tossed him off the porch into the dirt below where he landed with a thud and rolled several yards. Miguel looked up at the big man with such relief he almost hugged him. He didn't know from where he had come at that moment, but he had never been so happy to see a grown-up in his life. “Thank you Erkki.” Dean Casey said as he patted the boy on the head. “Thank you for saving my soul today. Now let's save a building.” “OK!” Erkki returned with a smile. “Get him outta here!” Venetti cried as he picked himself up from the dirt. At his order, several men rushed forward onto the porch after Dean. The former orderly of Shadyside fought them off with all his strength swinging and

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pushing while still trying to keep the boys behind him. More men came and as one of them attempted to climb the side of the porch, Erkki raised his foot and stomped his fingers causing him to let go and fall back to the ground with a howl. Another man approached from the the rear as Miguel grabbed up the hammer Mr. Casey had discarded and brandished it at him. “You gonna hit me with that little boy?” the man said sarcastically as he moved toward Miguel. “No.” Miguel said smiling. “I'm gonna hit this.” he said as he whacked the old cracked post supporting the back of the porch roof which tore loose nearly collapsing on the the man as he jumped off the back off the side to save himself from being buried alive. The boys continued to kick at anyone who came in range as Dean Cassy held his own, but it was clear they couldn't hold out much longer. They were fast getting tired. “What's that?” Erkki asked as he perked up his ears and looked toward the big hill on the east side of the building. “It sounds like yelling.” Miguel answered as he squinted at the setting sun toward the hill. It was indeed yelling the boys heard. A lot of it. The next moment, many figures crested over the top of the hill. It was hard to discern them with the summer sunset blazing behind, but as they began pouring over the rise Erkki and Miguel jumped up and down with excitement. It was Sam! It was Sam and all the other boys from their club! Not only them, but many, many more! As the wave of kids rolled over the hill en masse, it was clear Sam had somehow gotten what looked to be every boy and girl for miles around to march on Shadyside! There had to be over two hundred children boiling over the hill! Over the hill and

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down the lane they poured screaming, some peddling bicycles, others just running in, as all of them began furiously pelting the construction workers and all their equipment with rocks, marbles, old food, and just about everything they could scrounge up between their homes and here. The men around the building desperately dove for cover as the endless torrent of debris wielding children battered every exposed object and person mercilessly. Moving forward, they all rushed onto the porch stampeding anyone unfortunate enough to still be in the way, and continued hurling rocks and mud in every direction like a vengeful kid volcano. “Sam! You came back!” Erkki yelled over the voluminous clatter of screeching kids. “And how!” Miguel added happily. “Why should you two always have all the fun?” Sam yelled back to them grinning ear to ear. Several minutes passed as the demolition crew struggled to escape by crawling under the trucks for cover as they moved toward the road. Soon the sounds of sirens blared over the din of excited children as three police cars pulled in along side Oliver's truck. He had made it! He had come at last! “What the Hell is happening here?!” Chuck Samuel yelled over the noise as he stepped out of his cruiser. “Ollie, what the Hell...?” Oliver raised his hands helplessly and gave the police Captain a look of false confusion as they cautiously moved forward. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was quite certain only Erkki could possibly be in the eye of a storm like this.

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“Let them through!” Sam yelled as loud as he could. “Everybody be cool now!” he said as he tried to reign in his motley army. Oliver and the officers cautiously strolled toward the porch as they looked around in wonder at the incalculable mess which lie all around them. As they got near the steps, the children fell quiet and stepped aside revealing the bound and gagged form of Larry Venetti who lie upon the ground helpless and covered in all manor of filth. Oliver slowly knelt down and pulled the soled towel from the man's mouth. “I want each and every one of these little brats arrested and charged with trespassing and assault! I'll see to it every damn one of them pays for what they...!” “I believe this is yours.” Oliver said as he shoved the rolled up paper into the man's big mouth. “What...?!” Venetti gagged as he spat out the sheet. “It seems Ernesto and Frederico never paid property taxes on this establishment the whole time they owned it. As this parcel should have been seized years ago, the sale of such is null and void.” Oliver told him. “What?!” Venetti shouted. “The manipulation of county records and falsifying tax documents is a serious crime Mr. Venetti.” Chuck told him with a slight grin. “The only person going to jail here today is you.” “The state has agreed to move all the remaining residents to free quality temporary housing while a new rest home is built on this site, at which time they may return. Until then...” Oliver said as he stood and looked at Mr. Casey. “You have been appointed as temporary caretaker of the property with full rights to secure the building and make sure anything unusual that the state doesn't know about finds

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it's way to where it rightfully belongs before this place comes down.” “WE DID IT!” Erkki screamed. “WE WON!” he railed as he pushed his fists into the air. From behind him came the deafening roar of hundreds of kids who's outcry could be heard for at least a mile around the building.

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Black Knight 4 to White King's Knight 2

Chapter 11 Oliver and Erkki made their way home that night chattering away about the incredible events of the day. Oliver was quite stunned by the boy's tales of chasing the huge man across town and subsequently being kidnapped by strange men. He wasn't sure that everything the boy was telling him could possibly be true, but he already decided he was going to have to keep a much tighter leash on Erkki from now on. “OK Erkki, OK.” he told him trying to wind him down as they drove into the garage. “We're going to have to have a long serious talk about your free time tomorrow, but you have a doctors appointment first thing in the morning so lets hit the sack kid.” “Awww, but Ollie I'm sick of doctors.” Erkki told him with his eyes downcast. “Yeah, me too kid, but Doc Reager needs to make sure you don't go all fish out of water on us anymore like you did the other night.” He told him as the boy started to pout. “I know you don't want to go Erkki, but think of poor 'ol Ollie. I don't think my heart can take it if you do that again.” he said with a smile. Erkki looked up at him slowly and smiled back. “OK Ollie. For you.” Oliver made his way down the hall with his cup of hot black tea. He decided to settle in for an hour or so of news programming before he knocked off for the night. He

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intended to have a talk with Miguel tomorrow about the things Erkki told him and if it was indeed true, he fully intended to find out who was responsible and why. At the moment, however, all he could think about was that idiot priest who had practically thrown him out for asking questions about the Lahjas. What could have caused an otherwise reasonable man to act in such an unreasonable manner? What was so important about that old folio that made him fly off the handle like that? It was almost as if he was afraid of talking about it. Afraid to even look at the papers once he knew what they were. What was so fearsome about a little ten year old boy? Speaking of ten year old boys, Oliver detoured down the bedroom hall to look in on Erkki to make sure he was getting ready for bed. He had come to find the child a bit... unpredictable, when it came to making plans so he thought it might be a good idea to be sure he was there. Oliver gently turned the knob and pushed the door open just slightly as he saw the boy in his pajamas kneeling on the floor facing away from him beside his bed saying his evening prayers just like Ollie had taught him. The old man smiled proudly to himself as he watched quietly from the hall. If nothing else, he had given him this, and a boy like Erkki was going to need as many prayers as he could get. He was about to close the door when he caught the sound of those strange words coming from Erkki again. Definitely not English, but certainly not “gobblety-goo” as the so called expert had suggested. “Maattse Demastra arrūsa pāwar ehu. Sayar estanza badiem.” he chattered. As he did, Oliver began to notice a sheath of light emanate from the boy as if he had begun to glow softly. As Erkki spread his arms, Oliver stepped back from the door which fell full open and he saw what looked to

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him like a set of large membranes of silver light flowing from Erkki's shoulders and the back of his head seemed to be suddenly wreathed in a golden light. “Sweet Saint Mary! What...?” Oliver choked out as he fell against the opposite wall of the hallway dropping his tea cup with a clatter. As he did, the apparition spun it's head around to behold him. It was then he realized there were two people there kneeling beside the bed. Erkki and... something else. Whatever it was, it occupied the same space in the room as Erkki. The two of them were placed one on top of the other like a double image. The ghostly figure gazed at him with it's hard cold blue eyes and he realized it looked exactly like Erkki! It looked like him, but it wasn't him, couldn't be him. The image looked into Oliver with it's fiery blue eyes making him feel helpless. Helpless and very afraid. “Ollie?” Came Erkki's gentle voice. “Ollie are you OK?” he said as he took the man's hand. Oliver blinked and looked over at the boy as he realized he had been out cold on the floor across from Erkki's room. “Ollie what happened?” the child asked nervously. “I heard you fall and found you sprawled out on the floor! Are you OK?” he asked clearly concerned. “I...” Oliver grunted trying to recapture the images in his mind. “I think I was sleepwalking. I must be more tired than I thought.” he said as he allowed the child to help him to his feet. “Are you going to be alright?” Erkki asked him with a note of fear in his voice. “I'm fine child. I'm old and I fall down once in a while.” he said with a smile as he patted the boy's head to reassure him. “Now go on back to bed.”

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Oliver made his way downstairs after hugging Erkki good night to make himself a fresh cup of tea. Gently he sat the cup down on the stand beside his evening chair and walked over to turn on the TV. “... and we don't have any additional information on the exact nature of the situation. All we know for sure is the police as well as several national guard troops are out in full force to keep the public calm and the streets clear. There is an eight PM curfew in place now as of tonight and it will continue until the authorities have apprehended everyone involved in the mass slayings in Marigold, Carter, and surrounding towns.” “What the hell?!” Oliver said as he froze in mid-sit staring in horror at the television as the lady continued her report. “Anyone seeing anything suspicious or spotting any type of strange animal activity should report as soon as possible to the number on your screen. You are highly advised not to approach any unknown animal as it is still not known what kind of feral creature is responsible for the hundreds of deaths being reported over the last two hours, nor who or what group is responsible for turning them loose on our streets...” ********** “Don't give me no bullshit Ahn.” Chuck Samuel told the Asian man as he pushed his face in close to meet the hard gaze of the helpless man's eyes. “We know you and your boys use tigers to intimidate other gangs into throwin' in with you. We've got proof that you've illegally imported exotic animals into this country and that you harbor said animals right here in town. Now what the hell is happening in my city Ahn?! What did you set free in my streets man?! Talk

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to me!” The Chief yelled with his intent eyes locked on the gangster. “Your outta your mind!” the man yelled back straining against the handcuffs which held his hands locked securely behind the wooden chair. “I ain’t got no damn tigers man! That's just talk! We didn't turn anything loose on the damn city man! You got nothin' pig! Nuthin'!” “Perhaps you don't really understand the situation your in Ahn.” Chuck continued to push as he signaled his officer waiting beside him. “This ain’t no police station and there ain’t no cameras around here that are gonna make us play nice with you. This is just a goddamn abandoned office building in a back alley just like you and your boys use when you want to know something from someone who won't talk, and you know what happens in these situations, right Ahn?” Chuck asked as the other plain clothes cop handed him a small box. “What are you talkin' about?! I ain’t done nothin' and I don't know nothin'!” the man continued to insist. “Well lets just test that theory then shall we?” he said as he pulled the large stun gun from the box and tossed the container back to the officer. “How does a hundred thousand volts to the nuts sound Ahn? Does that jolt your memory?” “You crazy man! I don't know what's going on! I swear I got nothing to do with it! Over half my guys are dead and gone because of this crazy man! I want his head hanging on the wall as badly as you do man! Can't you see that?!” Chuck Samuel continued to listed to the man's fearful rantings struggling to discern fact from false in the old structure several blocks back from the main road. So intent was he on his interrogation that night that he and his officer failed to notice the gathering shadows outside the old dusty

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windows in the moonless night. Slowly the metal plate on the door to the old office anchoring the steel knob and deadbolt began to frost over as the very air around it tingled with icy vapor. “OK, let's try this again.” Chuck told the Asian man as he again threatened him with the device. “Where are the freakin' animals Ahn! Where are you keeping the...” he stopped as began to feel something strange and he looked up suddenly at the officer beside him. “Did an air conditioner just pop on or something?” “There's no electricity in this building Chuck.” the man told him flatly. “Then why is it so cold in here all of a sudden?” he asked as he stood up strait and glanced around the dimly lit room. The gas lamp reveled no vents or blowers in the walls or ceiling of the dirty old office. “What the hell are you doing now? You gonna freeze me to death?!” the man in the chair demanded as he began to shiver. “I told you I don't know anything about... GAHGASCH!” He gargled as his head suddenly went back in the chair. “What the hell is the matter with you?!” Chuck demanded as he held the lamp closer to the the choking man. A moment later the chair flew backward sending the man onto his back crushing his arms, then it began to jerk a step at a time toward the wall leaving a pool of blood with each yank as the helpless man gagged and twitched. “Oh shit! What's happening!” Officer Bennington gasped as he watched Ahn get pulled apart by what looked to be absolutely nothing. Chuck drew his gun and searched as hard as he could for something, anything to shoot at, but there was simply nothing there.

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“Check outside!” Chuck barked and Officer Bennington responded by stepping back and grabbing the doorknob. The man screamed in desperate pain as his flesh instantly froze to the metal and tore from his hand as he pulled his arm back away from the door. “What in the hell is going on!” Chuck yelled in frustration waving his gun as the world around him seemed to stop making any kind of sense whatsoever. Then, as if they had always been there, he saw them. They both did. Standing over the corpse of the dead gangster hunched two tremendous black wolves. Quickly the two monstrosities turned toward them as he gazed into the black hate filled eyes of it's ape shaped face. “Sinners.” it croaked out with a voice which sounded as if it were made by scraping two big rocks together. “What the hell are you?” Chuck demanded of it as he stood there shivering in the cold air holding his gun on the creature as his hot breath collected in a cloud around him. The wolves didn't answer. Instead they folded back their long pointed ears as they slowly moved toward him. “You see this crazy thing too, right man?! You see this crazy thing here I'm seeing?!” Chuck yelled over to Officer Bennington. “Yes! So shoot the bastards Chuck! Shoot them now!” the other man yelled back clutching his maimed hand to his chest. Office Chuck Samuel fired several shots directly at the wolves monkey like heads but they seemed to pass through them as if they were nothing but shadows in the night. Then he bent down to pick up a loose brick, hurling it as hard as he could at one of the animals. The object simply passed right through it smashing the old filing cabinet behind

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them. The two men looked at each other knowing there was only one way to go. The old building sat quietly on the back alley street abandoned for several decades. The crumbling walls and foundation had not seen much of interest for a long time and only the scurry of rats made any noise these days in this secluded part of town especially at night. That is, of course, until the night two police officers smashed through the window of the second floor crashing down into the old dumpster below. The sound of the shattering glass echoed through the alleyways like the ringing of a great bell. “You OK man?” Chuck grunted as he struggled to pull himself up out of the damp, dusty old trash. “I'll live.” the man answered him as he rolled over onto his stomach. “We gotta get out of here.” Chuck told him urgently as he pulled the man out of the dumpster and onto the street. “We need back up and the car's just up that... way.” Chuck stuttered as he saw the other end of the ally quickly filling with dozens of the great black beasts silently galloping across the pavement toward them from the darkness. “Go!” he yelled as he grabbed the other man's arm and pulled him along the dark street in the opposite direction. High above the street, standing silently in the chill wind of the late evening on the roof of that same abandoned building was a lone figure watching the two men run for their lives on the road below. His long dark coat waved gently in the breeze like a flag of pure darkness and his eyes, like the stoney cold blue stare of death itself, watched calmly from above. From behind him a dark figure rolled across the black tar paper roof moving up slowly and silently like a bead of water. As it reached his side, the black animal looked up at

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him with it's tormented Asian eyes which held both great awe and great fear for it's new master. “What are they?!” Officer Bennington gasped as he ran along side Chuck struggling to keep up. His hand was beginning to thaw now and the rent flesh burned like fire. “I don't know man. Turn right!” Chuck yelled as he dove around the corner onto another dark back street. Just as quickly he skidded to a stop by grabbing an old downspout with one hand, and officer Bennington with the other. “No!” he yelled as he saw more of the dark animals racing silently down the street toward them. They were so hard to spot in these unlit alleys that the two men almost ran headlong into a pack of them. “Oh God, Chuck! Oh God! What do they want?!” Office Bennington cried. “Common!” Chuck ordered as the two men reentered the previous alley running as hard as their adrenalin could push them. The beasts emerged forth from every shadow and every dark corner. All the passageways between the buildings were funneling more and more of them as the pack grew ever larger behind them. As the men ran, they caught site of a vagrant sleeping quietly in a nest of newspapers just ahead and Chuck yelled out for the man to flee as they lept over him. “Wha...?” was all the man managed to vocalize as the pack swarmed over and enveloped him not slowing one bit. Chuck was somewhat relieved when he saw the streetlights of the main avenue ahead as he hoped these things were adverse to stampeding out where they would be seen. “Almost there buddy hold on!” he gasped to Officer Bennington as they flew out onto the wide road under the

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lights. For a moment the men stopped, gasping for air as they watched the dark street from where they had come. It was hard to see, but there appeared to be no sign of the creatures in the deep shadows of the alley. “I don't... I don't know what to put in this... report. That was... intense.” Chuck Samuel said as he hunched to his knees trying to breath. “Chuck...” the officer said as he turned around. “That was... crazy. It was freakin' Surreal!” he continued. “Chuck!” the other man said as he grabbed Office Samuel's shoulder. “What's wrong?” he asked looking up at last, sweat running down his face. “RUN!” Chuck Samuel's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. Hundreds of the black wolf-apes were silently running toward them down the well lit street. More of them poured into the road like a flood of black waters from the surrounding streets. Even from the rooftops they dove heedlessly down to join the advancing pack. Without another word the two men sprang forward running down the center of the street. Just behind, and closing on them quickly, flowed the dark wolves. Their paws made no sound as they ran, but the men could hear the deep grinding noise the creatures made in their throats getting closer and closer. Just ahead, the road abruptly ended at the graveyard behind St. Micheal’s church. The men would have to turn ninety degrees right or left to go around the graveyard and stay on the road, which they knew without discussing it would be certain death as the pack would surely catch them. The only option was to leap the four foot rod iron fence and

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go strait through. Maybe they could hold them off inside the structure... assuming they reached it. As he approached the fence, Chuck grabbed the top of the rail and heaved himself over as he continued sprinting toward the church. “Chuck! Help me!” Officer Bennington cried as he struggled to get himself over the fence. His hand was bleeding badly leaving him unable to pull himself over with it and the loss of blood had begun to weaken him. “Paul! Grab my shoulder!” Chuck yelled as he ran back and grabbed his wounded officer. With a mighty heave, he pulled the man up over the iron rail, but his shifting weight sent them both off balance and tumbling to the ground. Chuck Samuel closed his eyes and gnashed his teeth knowing for certain they were both done for. He flailed around trying to grab a stick, a rock, anything to fight with as he awaited the inevitable pounce of the dark pack... ********** “Mr McEan, the doctor says you can go on in now.” The nurse told him as she touched him on the shoulder. “About time.” he said exasperated as he pushed himself out of the chair. He had been sitting in that hospital hallway for over two hours that morning as his patience grew thinner and thinner. Finally he opened the door to the examination room ripe with anticipation over the state of Erkki's possible condition. “Well, how's our boy doc?” he asked placing his hand on Erkki's bare shoulder. “He's right as rain Oliver.” Doctor Reager told him with a smile as he put down the instrument he was using to

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probe the boy's ears. “There's nothing here to indicate he's prone to anything which would cause a repeat performance of the other night's episode.” Oliver closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief as he took in the news. “There's just a few things we need to go over Oliver. Nothing serious, of course...” the doctor said winking to Erkki. “... just some little details and boring stuff you wouldn't be interested in kiddo. Why don't you go out and tell nurse Sheffy your ready to get dressed Erkki. She'll get your things and maybe a nice lollipop!” he said to the boy with a smile. “OK!” Erkki said more than happy to leave the examination room as he popped up and skipped out the door. “So what's up doc?” Oliver said smiling at his own joke. “You know Mr. McEan that never gets old.” Doc Reager told him returning his smile. “Listen, Erkki's fine. Other then the marks left by years of abuse he's a happy, healthy boy but...” Henry told him as his look became more serious. “But what?” Oliver asked suddenly concerned. Erkki sat in the plastic chair just outside the nurse's office waiting for his clothes. The hard cold seat wasn't exactly comfortable on his bare bottom so he tried to tuck the gown tighter around his waste for something to sit on. As he struggled with the awkward garment, he suddenly felt a dark emotion pass through him like a wave. The source of the anguish was just down the hall and he quietly stood and moved toward it to see what was the matter. As he drew closer to the end of the hallway, his ears picked up the sound of muffled sobbing coming from behind the door at the end

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and to the left. Strangely drawn as he was toward the epicenter of the powerful emotional emanation, he moved closer and pushed open the door to the room. As he peeked around the door, he saw a lone woman seated in a chair beside a bed. She was crying softly as she held the hand of the child who lie completely still, half covered with his eyes closed. Around them were various instruments and machines Erkki could not even guess from what purpose they served, but they all appeared to be switched off and moved back from the two people before him. “Ma'am?” Erkki called to her softly. “Are you OK?” he asked still peeking around the door afraid to come in. “Please go away little boy.” she answered back sadly not even looking at him. “OK, but...” Erkki said hesitantly. “Are you OK?” he asked again knowing something was clearly wrong here. “No child.” she answered him as she cried. “I'll never be OK again.” Erkki slid into the room quietly, unable to turn away from the woman. She was in more pain than anyone Erkki had ever seen. The anguish permeated into the deepest levels of her soul and darkened her light to a mere flicker. Looking over toward the bed Erkki saw the cause of her darkness. The child there was dead. Erkki had never before seen death, at least not face to face like this. The boy's lifeless body lie still and silent in the bed before him and the woman gently held his pale hand as she cried. Erkki took a step back and felt behind him for the door as he realized what he was seeing, but something stopped him. Something wasn’t entirely as it appeared here. He knew the child before him was dead, but he was still here. The other boy's hopes and dreams, his fears and his desires, even the overwhelming

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love for the woman beside him who held his slowly cooling hand were all present in the room. Slowly he moved closer to the couple irresistibly drawn by a strange fascination. As he raised his trembling hand and placed it on the woman's shoulder, she looked up at him with her tired and pain filled eyes. “He loves you very much.” Erkki told her quietly. “What? Who are you?” she answered back confused. “It's not too late. He's still here.” Erkki said as he moved along side the bed. Without another word he reached out and touched the other boy's forehead. “According to her medical records, Erkki's paternal grandmother had a condition known as Novitasvaletudo.” Henry Reager told Oliver as he showed him the document and pointed to the highlighted paragraph. “It's nothing serious, in fact it's normally completely dormant and not considered any kind of medical threat, but it's carried in the blood and it's one hundred percent inherited generationally.” He continued as he handed Oliver another sheet of paper with highlight. “As you see here John Lahja, of course, also carried this dormant gene in his blood as well, as would be expected.” “So what are you saying?” Oliver asked confused. “Is this thing some kind of problem for the kid? Is it causing these crazy seizures? Or the skin lesions?” “No, not at all Mr. McEan. In fact...” He hesitated as he handed the large man a third sheet of paper. “It's not even there.” “So... What's the problem?” “Well, there's no real problem Mr. McEan, but as you see by the report Erkki doesn't carry Novitasvaletudo in his

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blood.” The doctor told him as he removed his glasses and stared at him intently. “So?” Oliver asked still confused. “As I said Oliver, it's a bonded trait. There's absolutely no chance John Lahja's son wouldn't carry this gene.” he said flatly. At last the fog in his mind cleared as he began to grasp what this man was telling him. “Oh boy.” Oliver sighed as he sat down the papers and rubbed the back of his thick neck. “What to we do now.” “We need to know who this boy's father is Oliver. If there's a genetic condition causing him to go into fits at night, we need to know what it is and how bad it's going to get. The best way to do that is to study the medical records of both parents and try to find what we're dealing with. Of course there was nothing in Erkki's recorded history to suggest what he had just learned. Apparently it was a secret to pretty much everyone til now, even Erkki... pretty much everyone, but there was one person who knew. One person who had to have known all along... The sounds of a woman screaming echoed down the hall as Oliver and Henry looked at each other with surprise. Another scream was followed by incoherent excited babbling and several other voices raised in alarm. “What in blue blazes...?” Doctor Reager muttered as he pulled open the door and trotted quickly into the hospital hallway. Oliver stood and followed, looking up and down the hall for Erkki seeing him nowhere in the chaos of scrambling people. “What's happening?” Henry demanded as he grabbed the arm of a passing nurse stopping her abruptly. The young woman was teary eyed and clearly shaken by something.

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“It's Benny Doctor!” she choked out almost too emotional to speak. “The little boy who was hit by a bus?” Henry asked intently looking at her sideways. “Yes! He's... He's...” she stuttered. “He's dead Kathy. He came in DOA. There was nothing they could do for him. The trauma was too...” he explained sadly. “No! That's just it Doctor! He's alive! They're moving him to ICU!” she told him exasperated. “That can't be.” He said releasing her arm. “I witnessed the death certificate myself over two hours ago. The child's chest was crushed. The coroner should be here any minute. There must be some kind of mistake.” Henry said as he swallowed hard. “No Doctor! He's alive and... and he says he want's to go home!” the young nurse said finally bursting into tears. “Impossible.” Henry Reager said to himself as he made his way quickly down the hall and pushed through the excited crowd. Sure enough there was little Benny Green on a rolling stretcher connected to an IV and a heart monitor beeping out his quite strong life signs as a team quickly transported the equipment out of the room with him along side the cart. A frantic woman yelled incoherently and ran circles around the bed as they pushed him down the hall toward the elevator while several people attempted to calm her down. As she caught sight of Doctor Reager she reached out to him wrapping her arms around the man as she cried joyfully. “I don't understand. What happened in there?” he asked her with an unsettled voice. “That little boy!” She exclaimed barely able to talk as she pointed to Erkki who was making his way quietly out

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of the room. “He gave me my son back! He just touched my child and he came back to me!” she cried out bursting again into tears. The people gathered in the hall all stared at Erkki in wonder as they began to whisper among themselves. Oliver and Henry looked at each other alarmed as more people with cameras came running around the corner toward the scene. “Get him outta here Ollie! Get him out now!” Henry told him as he held the shaking woman in his arms. “Hi Ollie!” Erkki said waving innocently. “Did you hear I... GAH!” Erkki's words were choked off as Oliver snatched him by his collar, tucked him like a football and ran for the staircase. “Ollie What's wrong?!” Erkki protested as the man flew down the stairs as fast as he could holding Erkki backwards under his arm around the waste, the boy's bare bottom hanging out. “Can't I at least put my pants on?!” he cried as Oliver made for the parking garage with the thoroughly embraced boy still held at his side. As they drove out onto the road, Oliver wiped his forehead with a kerchief watching the mirror closely. “Erkki what have you done?” he asked the boy clearly shaken. “I... I just wanted to help.” the child whimpered. “Did I do something wrong Ollie?” “Yeah. Yeah you did something wrong Erkki. Do you have any idea what those people would do with you if they thought you could... If they suspected even for a moment that you had the ability to...” Oliver was clearly frightened of something but Erkki couldn't wrap his head around what it was.

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“Let's just forget about that for now. I don't know what you did in there boy, but you must never do it again.” he said not looking at him. “But... the woman was in so much pain Ollie, and I made it all better.” he insisted. “No Erkki, you made it complicated, very complicated.” he returned. “Why?” Erkki moaned beginning to get upset. “Erkki, there's a reason people have to die. We don't always understand it and we certainly don't like it, but it's a fact of life. There's a plan for everyone and everything child. We can't really grasp it because we're not meant to see the big picture. People die when it's their time to do so, you can't just... I mean you can't go around...” Oliver stuttered as he struggled to find the right words. “But why?” Erkki pushed. “Because you can't see the big picture anymore than anyone else can. You don't posses the wisdom and more importantly you don't have the God damn right to decide who lives and who dies.” he yelled shaking with anger as he slammed on the breaks of the truck and steered off onto the shoulder. Suddenly frightened and confused by the outburst Erkki began to cry. “Look kiddo...” he said much softer as he took a deep breath and gently placed his hand on the boy's quaking knee. “I want you to promise me right here and right now, that you will never, ever, do that again. Do you understand me?” “Ok.” Erkki said as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “I promise.” As Oliver and Erkki drove up the lane toward the garage, the old man caught sight of two people sitting on his

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front stoop apparently waiting for them as they rolled to a stop before the house. “What is this now?” Oliver grumbled to himself as he popped open his door and stepped out. “Stay here.” he told the boy as he closed the door behind him. “Mr. McEan, it's good to see you again!” the young woman exclaimed as he approached him smiling. She wore the habit of a nun and the young man with her was dressed all in black with a priest's collar. “Sister Vanya is it?” he asked her trying to remember the woman's name from yesterday. “Yes indeed Mr. McEan!” she said smiling warmly. “I came to personally apologize for Father Wargester. He has been under a great strain lately and I'm certain he did not mean to be rude.” she told him embarrassed. “Ok.” Oliver said as he studied the two people carefully. “And you are sir?” “Father Morgan.” Said the young man as he approached him and shook his hand. “Sister Vanya described the symbology she saw on the Lahja family records and I was very intrigued and anxious to meet you!” he said shaking his hand vigorously. “Yeah, Ok. One second Father, if you would.” he said looking at the man sideways. “Erkki, go on and get dressed.” he called back to the truck. Without a word the boy left the vehicle and trotted inside to find something to hide his almost nakedness. “Is that the Lahja boy?” the man asked him with nervous excitement. “Lets talk.” he said inviting the two inside. “So as you see the symbol has a long standing history, synonymous with warning and dread.” the priest told

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him as he sipped his tea on the back porch with Oliver and sister Vanya. “So what does this have to do with Erkki?” Oliver asked. “Well the symbol represents the hand of the Watchers joined in union with the hand of the daughters of man.” he said as he pointed at a copy of the image in his paperwork. “Watchers?” Oliver asked confused. “The Watchers are spoken of only in the book of Enoch, Mr. McEan, which the church no longer recognizes. However the legends of those angels are well known.” “Angels?” Oliver asked setting down his cup suddenly feeling quite ill. “The Watchers were, and as far as we can know still are, an order of Angels who are tasked with keeping things in line with God's plan. When things begin to go awry these Angels step in to fix things, as it were, and put them right. Their symbol is the Coin of Fate.” “You mean like Guardian Angels?” “To a certain degree yes, but their constant proximity to man has in the past at least, led them far astray from their intended purpose. Here is where the fallen ones come in.” the priest explained. “And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied, that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heavens, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ’Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of Adam and beget us children.’ Samyaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ’I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ They all

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answered him and said: ’Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then swear they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. This symbol, you see Mr. McEan, is the symbol of the oath these entities swore to bare children with the daughters of man. The union from which came the Nephilim, or giants of the Earth.” he said breathlessly. “So... what does this have to do with Erkki?” he asked again more confused then ever. “The children of these unions were tremendous in power being both, immortal like angels, yet easily tempted, like men. The were called giants not only because of their large physical presence, but because they were all powerful. They assumed control of the kingdoms of men and began to war amongst themselves using the human race as nothing more than fodder to throw against the walls of each other's boarders. Humans began to worship these beings as Gods and served them willingly. In response God purged them from the Earth in the event known as 'The Flood'.” He said reverently. “So that's that.” Oliver said pouring himself another cup. “Not exactly.” Sister Vanya interjected. “Scripture specifically states concerning the time of the flood: 'The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters

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of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” “So some of them survived.” Oliver said intrigued. “Indeed.” Father Morgan continued. “It is said in ancient Hebrew scripture, not all of the Nephilim were given to temptation. A very few chose to live apart from the human kingdoms and obey the word of God, although they did take fully human wives being that all who were born of the union of the Watchers were male. Those few were told to flee the flood and headed to the far north into distant lands of ice where the waters would freeze. It is here that they continued to interbreed with human kind and produce decedents.” “So these half-angels had children of there own, and grandchildren I presume who were also half-angels?” Oliver suggested. “Not exactly. You see, their descendents were not the immortal demigods, if you would, that their forefathers were. The second generation were all born male like the first, however their might was quite diminished. They were said to have power far exceeding mankind, but nothing close to the strength of the true Nephilim. In continuing generations, only the merest spark of the divine flowed in the blood of these children. This spark does not provide them with the potency of their fathers although it was suggested it may grant them unnaturally long lives. It is said they are much slower to mature physically than fully human children and remain youthful throughout most of their lives as they mature only very gradually. It's not said of what became of these untainted angelmen who survived the flood, but their descendents were given a name: Malachadam.” he said intoning the strange word as if it were sacred.

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“Are you going to suggest to me that Erkki is somehow related to this tribe?” Oliver asked holding his cup closely. “That is what the record would suggest Mr. McEan. I'm not going to tell you it's so, I only interpret what has been set before me.” He said raising his hand. “But all this happened before the flood, and Noah and all that, right?” he asked setting his cup down at last. Both of his guests nodded to him affirmatively. “So assuming this even happened, there could be a million kids descended from this lot for all we know, or more. What happened to them all?” “The Malachadam generations that followed the first almost all died out. According to traditional scrolls and verses, after the first generation they only very rarely produced male children.” the man told him nodding to himself. “I don't get it.” Oliver crossing his arms. “There are no female angels.” Sister Vanya told him. “The spark of the divine can only be passed unto the male child. Father to son.” 'I can't believe I'm listening to this.' he thought to himself. He didn't want to believe any of this crazy nonsense was related to Erkki, but then again how could he disbelieve anything after what happened at the hospital today. What did all this ultimately mean anyway? He decided to keep an open mind, for now, as these people may be able to help him to locate Erkki's real father, and perhaps answer a few other questions... “Father Morgan, I have something I want you to hear...”

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“Fascinating!” the young priest said as he listened closely through the headphones connected to the reel to reel tape. “Amazing!” he expressed. “So what is he saying?” Oliver asked with a gleam of excitement. “I have absolutely no idea!” he said smiling to himself. “Great, thank you.” Oliver said leaning back in his chair thoroughly disappointed. “But... I know someone who just may!” he said rekindling Oliver's hope. “Sister Vanya can you stay here with the boy while Mr. McEan and I take a little trip across town?” he asked the woman hopefully. “Of course Father, I'd be happy to.” she said with a smile. Oliver and Father Morgan carried the recorder to the truck loading it carefully into the storage box behind the seat before they pulled slowly out of the drive. “Who are you?” asked a little voice from behind Sister Vanya causing her to jump. “Oh, hello Erkki!” she said kneeling down to meet the boy's gaze. “My name is Sister Vanya and I'm going to stay here for a little while Oliver and Father Morgan run a little errand won't that be nice?” she said with a big smile. “I guess so.” Erkki said with a shrug. “So... are you a priest?” Erkki asked noticing her unusual clothing. “I'm a Noviciate Erkki, sort of a Nun in training.” she corrected him gently. “Oh.” Erkki said thoughtfully. “Can I ask you something then?” “Certainly child! What would you like to know?” she asked smiling as she sat down beside him.

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“Is it bad to bring someone back from being dead? You know, if the doctors say they're not supposed to be alive anymore?” he asked with a serious look. Sister Vanya dropped her smile as she gave the child a long strange stare before finally speaking. “What?!” “So you see, it is said in the lore that few Malachadam will ever walk the Earth because of the rarity of male children to them. The last of their kind would be called Ma'ha'Dach, a Nesili word you can see the meaning of here.” Rabbi Simmons announced to them from behind his old oaken desk as he pointed out the words from the huge book. “Why is it so certain the lineage will end with this Ma'ha'Dach?” Oliver asked curiously not entirely believing the stories he was hearing. “The Ma'ha'Dach is to live among us and feel the suffering of mankind for himself. When he is ready, it is his destiny to judge mankind as sinful and evil. In a display of his anger and power, he will take control of the kingdoms of man, as did the first Nephilim. God would then again flood the Earth and this time nothing would survive.” he said solemnly. “Does it have to end that way?” Oliver asked sliding back in his chair. “Isn't there a chance this Ma'ha'Dach will see some good in the human race? Something worth saving? Why is it assumed he will fall on the side of condemnation?” “The Ma'ha'Dach, like all others of his race, posses the sight of their divine ancestors which is to them both a blessing and a curse.” the Rabbi told him confidently.

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“Are you telling me these things can read your mind?” he asked amused. “No. Not exactly.” the old man responded pointing a finger at him. “They cannot read minds, but they can read hearts. Sins committed in the dark are seen as sheets of fire unto them. No wrongness can be hidden from them, as they can actually see sin just like a true angel of God. Like all such entities, they despise the sight of it. Sooner or later their abhorrence grows to great to withstand.” “But isn't pride a sin Rabbi? This is something I haven't grasped about these passages. Wouldn't judging everyone else unworthy to run the world be just as great a sin to abhor?” Father Morgan asked him as he thumbed through the old man's books. “Perhaps. However the scrolls would lead us to believe, that the sight of these beings, would not be perfect. That in fact the only sins that would escape their notice would indeed be their own. This was what led the original Nephilim unto self-destruction.” “What about their descendents?” Oliver asked trying to decide whether he really wanted to accept that any of this was connected to Erkki. “Are they also damned?” “Well... honestly, Mr. McEan, I don't really know the answer to that. The material does not exactly provide us with a full explanation of these things. All the truly evil Nephilim were destroyed by the flood along with most of the living things on Earth. Those who went north were guided by the word of God, suggesting they had not suffered the full rejection of Heaven.” “But they were never purged of their original sin.” Father Morgan added. “If their ancestors weren't human, they wouldn't carry the stain of Adam's betrayal.” Oliver suggested.

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“They carry the stain of a different original sin than would mankind. Theirs would be the sin of their own existence. The betrayal of Samyaza when he decided to copulate with the daughters of man. This is why Father Wargester became so upset when he saw the warning attached to the boy's records. The church considers all such beings, should they still exist, to be abominations unto the lord. Although I have to admit this is the first time I have ever seen such a record taken seriously.” the priest added as he sat back down. “Well about abominations I don't know.” The rabbi broke in. “What one can surmise from the text however is that these people, should they exist, being not really human have no direct covenant with Elohim and would therefore have no claim to Gan Eiden, original sin not withstanding” “So they can't get into Heaven, is that what your saying?” Oliver asked thoughtfully. “Well... I will tell you Christ died for our sins Oliver.” Father Morgan said setting down the dusty Hebrew book. “Our sins. The sins of mankind. They would therefore have no path to God. I'm sorry Oliver.” he said looking down at his shoes. “So you are saying these people are all damned!” Oliver said getting a bit upset although he didn't really understand why as he still would not accept any of this had anything to do with the innocent boy he kept safe. “No. There is an alternative.” The rabbi closing his book and folding his hands on the table before him. “If your suggesting Hell, that is something we as Jewish people do not accept. There is however a place for those who do not belong at the side of The Lord.”

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“Purgatory.” the priest suggested. “The place for those who are not damned, but can not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” “Well... we would call it Gehenna, but yes it is a very similar thing. Normally a soul would not remain in such a dreadful place for more than a year, however in this case it is possible such entities could be trapped there for centuries or perhaps indefinitely.” “What is this place Rabbi? Where is Gehenna?” Oliver asked curiously. “Where is?” the Rabbi answered. “It's nowhere. A no place between Heaven and Earth. A space where there is no sound, no light and no warmth. Here those who cannot go before the sight of Elohim may remain, existing in this case forever, trapped in utter darkness and utter cold. At least until the Ma'ha'Dach releases them.” “Releases them?” Oliver asked intrigued. “Oh yes. If such a fell creature were to walk among us and judge us unworthy, this is how he would set about taking control of the Earth. By pulling forth all the souls of the Malachadam who came before him into a terrible army of Nephilimkin who would have no choice but to serve him, causing Elohim to have no choice but to flood the Earth, this time in darkness rather than water, and wipe all life from the Earth.” “This is insane.” Oliver said as he stood and wiped his brow on his sleeve. “Fallen angels, half human zombie armies taking over the world, abominations... I can't believe I'm listening to this drive-in movie crap. All I wanted was some incite into a little boys family and I get nonsense like this.” “Oliver I've never seen an official seal on a record like that. Perhaps...” Father Morgan began.

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“Perhaps someone made a mistake Father. Perhaps this is all a fairy tale, and a really off the wall one at that. If neither of you can tell me something about Erkki that doesn't involve prophesies of doom, I'm leaving.” Oliver said as he folded his arms. “Play the tape for him Oliver.” Father Morgan suggested. “Rabbi Simmons is an expert in old languages. He can tell us if there's something there.” The old Rabbi listened intently with his eyes closed and his hands over the big earphones as he played the audio over and over again. Finally he pressed stop and removed the earpieces setting them gently down to the table. “Well?” Oliver pressed impatiently. “Well... it's certainly not, how you say, gobblety-goo, is it?” the old man said smiling. “You mean you recognize it?” Oliver asked amazed. “Oh yes. The grammar seems missaranged, the pronunciation is not what I would expect, and the accent is very odd. Then again who can know for sure as no one has spoken this language nativley in over three thousand years.” the Rabbi answered. “What?! Then what is it?” Oliver demanded. “It could be called Nesili, the language of the people of Anatolia.” “Who?” Oliver asked as his mind raced. “It's Hittite Mr. McEan. At least that's what we would call them today.” “Hittite?! Are you sure about this?” “Oh yes, very certain. Ancient Indo-European languages such as this are very remarkable and quite unmistakeable.” the old man answered pushing the tape machine aside.

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“So what is he saying?” Oliver asked excited. “It's very hard to understand completely, but I believe he is struggling with someone. He warns them to stay out of reach, not to touch him for to do so would cause him great injury. This is all I can hear other than indecipherable screaming.” “How would a little boy start yelling in Hittite from his dreams?” Father Morgan asked. “Nesili was among the last major languages of the ancient world just before it was wiped clean by the flood. Perhaps in this case it would do well to discover why Erkki speaks with these words.” the old Rabbi offered. ********** Vincent combed through the Visa records looking for the elder Lahja's application dates. He had learned the man was said to be originally from Finland and had come to the U.S. to be with his son. Mysteriously however, there was no mention of such a man on public record. He thumbed through the drawer all the way back to the end of the list but found nothing indicating he had entered officially in the last forty years. “Do you have any other records?” Vince asked the clerk who was busily arranging stacks of documents on an overloaded desk. “I might need a year or two back.” “Uh yeah, down the hall, first door on the left. It's a mess in there though, no one goes in there very often.” he told him without so much as a glance. Vince wandered down the dirty beige hall thick with the musty small of old paper until he found the indicated door. Pushing it open, it stuck with a thud after swinging six inches in. He leaned his head around and saw the room was floor to ceiling stacked with boxes of deteriorating

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yellow paper. With a sigh he squeezed in and found the door was blocked from opening any further by crates of old documents long forgotten by any bureaucrat. Several hours passed as Vince poured through box after box of crumbling paper until at last he slid out a folder with paper written out in neat script recording the passage of one Erkki Lahja through Ellis Island. It was him alright. The physical description matched perfectly, right down to the eerie cold blue of his eyes. The census taker recorded he was carrying papers denoting him to be a man in his fifties from Kajaani, a town in Finland. That was indeed where the Lahja family was recorded to hail from. All he needed now was to get the photo confirming his identity and he would at last have a lead to find this man. Sadly none was provided. Vincent took the folder back to the clerk hoping the missing evidence was at hand but the man just looked at him with an idiotic grin as he looked over the paperwork. “I'm sorry Mr. Behar there is no photograph.” he said looking at him with amusement. “Why not? It's been policy for the last fifty years to keep a photo record of all immigrants entering the U.S. through customs.” he said exasperated. “Yeah I know that sir. But this document predates that policy.” he said matter of factly. “What? That's not possible.” he insisted looking over the paperwork. “Right here sir. The date on this entry is 1892.” he said pointing out the stamp at the bottom of the page. “If your looking for this guy I suggest the graveyard. If he was fifty when he came in that would make him over a hundred and thirty years old.”

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********** Erkki watched his bobber floating deathly still upon the nearly glass like surface of the pond in the garden behind Ollie's house. He wasn't really sure why he kept attempting to fish this obviously lifeless lake, but something about the calm serenity of this place drew him here again and again. He had a lot on his mind and watching the sun set, out here away from everyone, had become a sort of ritual for him. What happened to all those people in town last night? Was it going to happen again tonight? Worst of all, why was it he couldn't stop the nagging feeling that it has something to do with him? Did it? No. That's just silly. Then again a lot of silly things had been happening lately. The incident at the hospital had really sparked everyone. Why did he do that? How did he do that? He honestly didn't know. Just like George Portski in the woods behind the home, he just knew what had to be done and did it. Yet he felt the need to hide the deed after. Now everyone was afraid of him and that thought made his heart sink another notch. He felt the weight of the world upon his slim shoulders even though he had no idea why. Erkki couldn't help feeling like everything was coming to a head and for some unknown reason he would wind up in the middle of it all. Erkki always wound up in the middle of things. A strange loneliness crept over him as he watched the bobber drifting silently on the waters of the garden. He never gave it much thought before, but he always kinda felt as if maybe someone was there for him. Someone or something he couldn't see or feel watching over him to make sure he came out OK. Miguel and Sam even said they saw them once when he was trying to get away from Cord Browning. They said they looked like ghosts, or maybe angels. Recently, however, he started to realize whatever they were,

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they were no longer there. The presence had been with him for so long he just took it for granted. It wasn't until that presence was gone that he understood it had once been there. Now, even here in his new home with Oliver, he felt as if for the first time in his short life, he was truly alone. Nothing he could put his finger on had changed but that didn't stop the overwhelming feeling of abandonment which filled his soul. 'Please come back to me whatever you were.' Erkki closed his eyes and prayed as hard as he could. 'I'm afraid and I don't like being all alone. I'm sorry I never said thank you, but I didn't even know you were there! I feel like something bad is going to happen to me and I think I need help! Please help me!' He felt himself began to sweat in the warm moist air and wiped his brow on the back of his hand as he opened his eyes. He reached for his pole clasping it in his right hand as he stopped and stared in shock at what he saw. The back of his hand was thinly coated with blood. He reached up with his left and touched his forehead to find his fingertips slightly bloody. No doubt, he was sweating blood. “Oh God, what's happening to me?” he whispered mournfully. “Your growing up boy.” spoke an unfamiliar deep voice from behind his shoulder. Erkki dropped his pole and half stood, half fell as he tried to jump to his feet and turn round. A streak of fear shot up his spine as he knew no normal person could have snuck up on him like that these days unless he was completely distracted, which he wasn't. Erkki should have felt the approaching presence. “Oh don't get up on my account Erkki.” he said calmly as he stood there watching the boy through ice blue eyes. “I've merely come to have a brief word with you my boy.”

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Erkki froze as he looked over the tall figure standing in the high grass of the field just a few short feet behind him. He wore a long black coat of some kind which blew gently in the warm breeze of the summer evening complete with dark colored boots and gloves. His white hair had the severe cut of a soldier and his eyes... his eyes were blue. Not a normal blue, but ethereal blue like Erkki's own eyes, something the boy had never seen before. It was strange and quite a little frightening to be beheld by such a face. Suddenly Erkki began to understand why others tended to avoid his own gaze. “Who are you?” Erkki asked nervously as he glanced toward the house secretly figuring how long it might take him to sprint there from here. Of course what he wanted to ask was 'What are you?' as this man registered to him in a similar way as did the Hollow Man weeks ago. Just like Hollow Man, this person had no weight to his thoughts. No emotions, no desires and no intentions, at least none Erkki could feel. There was one big difference, however, between this man and the Hollow Man. This man was not just devoid of a soul altogether, his soul was there but it worked backwards! Instead of projecting itself upon the surrounding reality like a normal soul, it actually pulled the world into itself creating a void space in which the man who stood before him shone through. “I'm a friend Erkki.” the dark figure told him as he began to slowly approach. “The only one you have left.” “Don't come any closer mister.” Erkki insisted droping his pole as the man drew nearer. “Erkki! I'm truly hurt my boy. You would greet me thus after I came all the way out here just to talk with you?” the man said with mock sorrow.

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“What do you want with me?” Erkki pressed him as he took a step back. “I just wanted to know how you've been all these years. I haven't laid eyes upon you since you were no taller than my hand. How has the world been treating you my boy? Well, perchance? Or not?” “I'm fine.” Erkki answered cautiously. “I see. So... They didn't laugh behind your back as you were brutalized by the bigger children? They didn't make fun of you because you look different from other children? They didn't call you a liar when you told them what you could see? Or rather, what they were too blind to see? They didn't stuff you in a boy box with a hundred other unwashed brats none of which deserved to even lay eyes upon you much less share your space? Oh... and they haven't been imprisoning you and using you as a toy upon which to unleash their perverted lust?” he drilled at him as his eyes hardened and grew so cold he would have sworn he could actually feel the temperature drop. “No! I mean... How could you know about that?!” Erkki fired back at him with a mix of shock and shame as his face grew red with embarrassment. “I know. And may it console you to know those man have paid for their crimes.” “But, how could you know?” Erkki asked again not understanding his answer. “Because I watched it all happen Erkki. I watched you suffering at the hands of these animals all these years until I could take it no longer. You deserve better than this for yourself Erkki. These wretches should be groveling at your feet for your amusement. They should be falling over each other in a rush to fulfill your slightest desire. Yet here you are senselessly enduring their endless abuse.” he

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continued as he bent slowly down to sit upon his ankles so he could look Erkki in the eyes. “I don't understand. Why would they do that for me?” the boy asked curiously. “Because your better than they are Erkki. Simple as that. In fact your not just better than them, you are superior to them in every way. You have the power of the sight, they can hide nothing from you. Your stronger and smarter than them. Even the domain of life and death itself is yours to control as you see fit.” He told the boy with a smile. “Me? I'm just a kid mister.” Erkki said still confused. “Did you not snatch one of their children away from the very jaws of death and return him to world of the living?” the man insisted. “Well... I...” “You did indeed. That boy lived or died by your whim alone and that's the way it should be.” he said smiling more broadly. “I don't understand what you want me to say mister.” “I want you to say nothing right now Erkki. Just think upon what I have told you here and when the moment comes I want you to make the rational decision not to suffer any longer. You can let this cup pass for you need not drink from it at all.” he said as he stood and began to walk away. 'Cup? What Cup?' Erkki pondered. “That's nonsense mister! Everyone's not mean to me! Everything's OK now. Ollie is going to make sure no one is ever mean to me again so there!” Erkki said proudly. “Oh is that so?” the dark figure remarked as he stopped and turned back toward him. “Perhaps you may find interest in this document which I took the liberty of taking possession of from good 'ol Oliver.” He said as he pulled a large white envelope from a pocket inside his coat. “It's a bit

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of a dry read up until paragraph thirteen which you may find of considerable interest to your future.” he said as he tossed the packet to Erkki who almost dropped it when he discovered how strangely chill the paper was. It crackled in his hands as if it were nearly frozen. Erkki looked at the envelope closely and recognized the name of Oliver's lawyer who he had met two of three times previously. “What is this?” Erkki asked as he looked up only to find himself standing alone in the garden. The only other creature around was a big black snake he apparently failed to notice before which was making it's way out into the tall grass of the field away from him. If this was the first time something like this had happened to him, he would have been a bit more upset, however right now his burning curiosity demanded precedent over everything else. Slowly he peeled open the envelope and withdrew the three page document within. Glancing over it, he could make out very little of what it was as it used language of the legal sort which only really sense to other lawyers. He knew it had something to do with him, however, as it mentioned his name several times. None of it seemed very interesting until he got to the thirteenth paragraph which was on the bottom of page two which the boy read with great interest and growing horror. 'He lied to me! Ollie lied to me! But How?! Why?!' He didn't want to believe it, but there it was in black and white and signed by Oliver himself. “No!” Erkki said as he began to cry. “It's all been a lie! How could you do this to me!” **********

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“I know this is hard Sharon, but I need to know who Erkki's real father is.” Oliver told her as she sat watching him from the hospital bed. “There's a possibility he may be developing a medical condition from a genetic disorder and we need to know who this man is.” Sharon looked at him sadly and said nothing for several minutes until finally her eyes drifted over to the barred window as she began whispering softly. “He was so angry.” she said distantly. “Who was angry Sharon?” Oliver asked her quietly. “All his planning and plotting had come to nothing. She was my sweet angel.” she said smiling gently as the evening sun lit her face. “Not the kind of angel they wanted though. She wasn't good enough for them, oh no...” Sharon sat in the rocking chair holding little Gloria gently in her arms watching her sleep. So many years had passed since her last child she thought she would never hold another baby of her own again, much less a daughter! She had given Bobby four sons before she lost him to a heart attack two years ago just after the last boy had flown from the nest and out into the world. She found herself suddenly alone and afraid after that, but now everything was OK again. Her sons were still angry at her for marrying John Lahja so soon after their father's death, but they just didn't understand how she felt. Being alone was the worst fear in her mind. Besides, there was something about John that made her trust him, and even love him. When she looked into his soft blue eyes she felt safe and loved. That was all she really needed. When they had Gloria together, she felt as if she had a new lease on life. A whole new world of people who needed her again.

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Tonight, however, she felt very nervous. As she sat rocking little Gloria to sleep with gentile lullabies, John and that strange man were out in the living room arguing again. He told her the man's name was Erkki and he was his grandfather from Finland, but she didn't believe that. She was sure she had seen pictures of John's grandfather and this was not him. Clearly they were related as they had similar features, including the strangely tipped ears that John tried so hard to hide under his black hair, but he was not who John tried to tell her he was. To make matters worse, they spoke to each other in a most peculiar language. They normally only did so when they thought they were alone, but tonight the two men argued loudly back and forth with the foreign words and she feared they would awaken little Gloria. That awful man had no love for John's daughter. He could see it in the cold way he would look at her and she had the feeling the infant was the cause of the argument in the other room right now. Suddenly the mysterious conversation seemed to end and she heard the sound of someone leaving. The front door opened, then closed, and she heard a car drive away from the curb. With great relief, she stood holding Gloria in her arms and made her way into the other room. “John? Is everything alright?” she asked as she entered the dark room which was lit only by the dim glow of the black and white television. “He's gone.” the man answered. Sharon stopped and looked at him shocked. She assumed it was he and not John who had left the house and the fear began to creep up in her. “Where did he go?” she asked as she pulled her child close.

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“He has gone out.” he told her coldly. His words were colored so thick in his odd accent that she almost didn't understand him. “When is he coming back?” she asked nervously, but the man didn't answer her. He just sat there in his black cloak intently watching the TV with his frighting and harsh blue eyes not even looking at her. Without another word she backed out of the room and up the stairs. She entered the nursery and gingerly laid little Gloria down in her crib. She was a mostly fussless child who almost always slept through the night once she was down, assuming nothing disturbed her. Sharon leaned in close and kissed the infant on the forehead before carefully backing away out of the room. She decided she would go off to bed herself as John's unwholesome relative was hogging the TV and she didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of trying to make conversation with him. The large man frightened her so much, and she couldn't bare his cold blue gaze anymore tonight. Quietly she crossed the hall to her bedroom, pressed the door closed and went off to sleep. She didn't know exactly what had awakened her. Call it intuition, call it instinct, or just wild coincidence but Sharon's eyes popped open little more than an hour after going to bed. Immediately the feeling of urgency overwhelmed her and she tossed aside the covers not bothering to wrap herself in her night robe before she dashed out the door of her bedroom. Gloria's door was open and the child made no sound from within, but a terrible dread burned in her as her breath grew short and her heart pounded in her ears. Upon rushing into the room she stopped suddenly as she saw the dark figure huddled over her baby.

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“What the hell are you doing?!” she demanded trying not to panic. “There will be no more useless decedent ones.” the old man John called Erkki said as he slowly turned to look at her. In his hands he held before him a small throw pillow from the couch wrapped tightly in his long fingers. “Gloria!” she screamed as she tried to push the huge man aside, but he didn't budge even an inch. He dropped the pillow and took hold of her arm shoving her backward onto the floor. “John has disappointed me for the final time. I will wait no longer for the long night to end.” he told her as his cold blue eyes gleamed. Sharon pushed herself up and looked up into the crib in horror. She could see little Gloria's tiny arm drooping over the side of the bed. Her skin was blue. “You monster! You demon!” she spat at him as she fought, but there was no resisting him. The primal strength of an enraged mother is a formidable thing, but the power in this man's limbs seemed far beyond all her summoned anger to resist. “This is the day.” he said calmly and coldly as he tore off her gown... “So he raped you.” Oliver sighed as he handed the woman a tissue. “Did John know?” “He knew.” she whispered quietly. “He knew when he left what would happen.” “Wait a minute, you mean he allowed this to happen?” Oliver said shocked. The man he knew would never consider such an act of evil. “Yes, he knew, but not about everything...”

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“I'm so sorry Sharon. This shouldn't have had to happen. You just don't understand what's at stake here...” John said as he held the sobbing woman in his arms. “At stake? What do you mean?! I don't understand this!” she yelled. “It just seemed so much in our favor Sharon. I mean you've have five boys. All boys! It was the best chance I though I would ever have. I failed you. I'm sorry. This whole thing is my fault.” “You bastard! You married me just because you thought our baby would be a boy?!” she roared back at him in disgust. “No! I mean... at first maybe! That was the arrangement, but I love you Sharon! I honestly love you! I'm so sorry it had to be this way, but I love you and Gloria! When the boy arrives I will love him too! Just like he was my own son!” he told her desperate to calm the woman down. “Sharon, you just don't understand how it is. That entity... it is my grandfather! Well, a many great grandfather, but there's just no way to keep from him what he wants!” “John... Gloria... That son of a bitch! He... “ she tried to speak but couldn't make herself say her precious child was gone. “No.” John said as he gently pushed the woman away. “No he wouldn't do that!” the man said as he stood and rushed upstairs. John Lahja rounded the corner at the top of the stairs at a flat out run as he slammed open the door to his daughter's nursery. He stopped for a moment in the doorway trying to speak, but the knot in his throat was almost too tight.

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“Gloria?” he hoarsely prompted as the sickening feeling within him deepened. Slowly he approached the crib side and looked down at the still bundle within. “No.” he said as he wept. “You didn't have to do this. There was no reason to do this! I told you I could take care of them both! Damn it I swore to you I would!” he said as he knelt down before the white painted crib holding his face in his hands. “I'm sorry Sharon.” Oliver said trying to comfort the woman as she told her tale at last. “Why didn't you go to the police with this?” “I did.” she began as she wiped away her stream of tears and continued... Chief Deputy Cord Browning sat in his office quietly reading the newspaper. Before him, his desk was covered in folders and files. Masses of paperwork he intended to get to in good time. Sheriff Coonie didn't really care what he did anyway. The old man was too old to be in police work and Cord was more interested in getting his job someday then doing his own. He sat there snickering to himself over the Sunday funnies, until an odd feeling of cool dread crawled up his spine causing him to drop the papers to his desk. There he noticed a strange man staring at him through the iciest hard blue eyes he had ever seen. The man sat in a chair just on the other side of his desk watching him intently as if he had somehow been there all along. “Who the hell are you?!” Browning choked out still somewhat shaken by surprise.

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“I have had many names Mr. Browning.” he said with an accent Cord couldn't place. “In this era, I am called Erkki, Erkki Lahja.” Cord looked across at the man somewhat stunned. The stranger was the oddest looking fellow he had ever seen. His skin was quite pale and his features were sharp and angular, what some would call statuesque. His hair was short and bright white allowing his strange pointy ears to push through. The single dominating feature were his eyes. They blazed like twin blue flames in his head. “Wait a minute...” Cord said as the name struck his memory. “Lahja... yeah! I know who you are!” he said as he stood and quickly pulled out his sidearm. “Put your hands where I can see 'em! Now!” he ordered as he recalled the name from the interview he had with the woman the night before. He hadn't even filed the report yet, but here before him was a man accused of both rape and infanticide. “Relax Mr. Browning.” he said coldly and with a tone of self certainty. “Sit and let us have words.” “Are you outta your mind fella?!” Cord asked him somewhat unsettled by his rather casual attitude. “Get on the ground NOW! Hands behind the back!” “You've been a naughty man Mr. Browning. You've taken bribes by both the Mexican and the Italian mob to look the other way. To make matters more interesting, you've promised both sides to keep your eye on the other. Very naughty Mr. Browning, and quite ballsy.” he said still sitting in the chair while watching him closely with those frighteningly cold eyes. Cord stood shocked uncertain how to respond to what this man said. It was all quite true of course, but there was no way he could know this. Cord told no one about his deals and he was very careful about covering his tracks.

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“Who the hell... Your full of shit!” he blathered. “No Mr. Browning. I am full of truth. You cannot hide sin from me. Every evil thing you have ever done in your short, dark life is lain bare before me. Your a liar, a thief, and an adulterer, but playing one mafia against another for personal gain? That's suicidal I would think... or rather, it can be.” “I outta shoot you right now.” Cord said as he moved closer to the figure pointing his gun directly at his large forehead. How could he possibly know? “No Mr. Browning, you oughtn't. The repercussions of that course of action would not bode well for you at all.” he said in an almost playful tone of voice as if he were daring Cord to try it. “I understand you've been looking forward to a promotion here for quite a while.” The stranger said as he smiled. “Perhaps we can make that happen.” Cord Browning was standing and holding his loaded weapon on what appeared to be an unarmed suspect in his very own office. Why was it then he was gripped with the feeling that it was actually he who was at that moment helpless with a gun to his head. Oliver shook his head slowly hardly believing what he was hearing. “So he got to Browning.” he said with disgust. “He blackmailed a dirty cop to drop the case.” “No.” Sharon whispered sadly as her tears soaked he cheeks. “He forced him not to investigate. It was the judge who sealed the records...” Judge Glen Stroop sat at his desk in the old study of his home gingerly sipping on his glass of bourbon as he

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watched his small black and white television news programme. Today had been one of those long and tiring days, but he had no idea how bad it was going to get until he heard that name again. “Matsuki Akamashi.” said a man's voice suddenly from behind him. “Wha...?” Judge Stroop managed as he gagged on his liquor and spun his chair around. “Who...? How did you get in here?!” “I go where I am needed.” the large pale skinned man said softly as he stood before him arms folded. His long dark coat seemed to waft gently in some unfelt breeze and the room around him began to gradually sink in temperature. “Mister I don't know who you are, but your beyond trespassing right now and full into felony home invasion. You better take your ass right back out the way you got in before I call the police!” Stroop told him as he fiddled around under the desk for his gun. “Looking for this?” the stranger asked casually as he sat the hand gun down on the desk before him. Glen Stroop quickly grabbed the firearm and pointed it at the stranger's head as he stood and reached for the phone. “OK pal, that's it. Now your busted and I... Wait, what did you just say?” Stroop demanded suddenly remembering the name he uttered. “Matsuki Akamashi? Yes, that's a pretty name is it not Glen Stroop?” he asked him seemingly amused at his shock. 'How could he possibly know?!' “Who are you mister?” Stroop demanded as he cocked back the hammer on the firearm.

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“It would be a shame for your wife and sons to find out about her after all these years would it not Mr. Stroop?” he asked coldly. Glen knew that name. He had not heard it spoken in decades, but the sound of it pierced his soul and burned his heart. Matsuki was his lover. During World War 2 he was a young man and fell for a Japanese servant girl at a hotel his platoon had commandeered. He was married, of course, but long years far away had begun to wear on him and he found himself more and more infatuated with this young beautiful girl. Eventuality they began to steal away together to enjoy each other's company. It was quite innocent at first, but before long he had fallen in love with Matsuki and laid down with her several times. Soon after came the word that the bomb had been dropped and the Japanese Empire had surrendered. At last he would return home to his wife and children leaving Masuki behind. When he told her he was leaving she became furious and revealed to him she was carrying his child. Indeed the woman was newly pregnant and she insisted he take her home with him to America. He just couldn't do that. There was no way he would ever put his family through that. “This woman loved you, yes? The child she carried was your very own son, yes? How then, Mr. Stroop did you repay her?” the strange man with the bombardier blue eyes demanded of him. “There is no way on God's earth you could know any of this.” he announced to him as his hands began to shake with fear. “I don't know anyone named Matsuki. I don't know who you are or who sent you, but your not getting anything from me! That was over twenty years ago and you have no proof of these lies!”

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“You killed the woman didn't you Mr. Stroop?” he asked matter-of-factly. “Your insane! Get out of my house!” he cried desperately. “You waited until she left home one morning, just before dawn, then you shot her down like an animal from a roof top didn't you Mr. Stroop?” he said. Clearly it wasn't really a question. “I'm warning you mister.” Stroop said as he picked up the phone receiver from his desk. “If you don't leave me, I'm going to throw your ass away for years!” “You could not use an American weapon to do it, oh no.” he continued undaunted in his strange and entirely foreign accent. “So you used a little souvenir from one of the many other Japanese men you were responsible for killing.” 'How?! How could this man possibly know this? I was so careful!' “Look mister, I don't know what you want, but you have no proof of any of these lies and if you think you can just waltz in here and...” his words were cut off abruptly as the strange looking man reached in and pulled out a long wood stock rifle from his coat and laid it upon his desk. It was quite rusted and waterlogged, but Stroop recognized it instantly. 'No! It can't be! How, after all these years, did this man recover it from the bottom of the Yellow Sea?!' “We need to talk about something Mister Stroop. About something that is of interest to you, and something that is of interest to me...” “Sharon...” he hesitated trying to find the words. “You sure this man is Erkki's father?”

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Sharon Lahja looked up at him slowly as if she could hardly believe what he was asking. “Can you look into those eyes and tell me he's not?” she whispered. “So where is this man now?” he asked her as he stared into the picture he held. “Who can know. He moves in and out of shadow at will. He's only found when he wants to be found.” she said looking down at her bare toes. “From what I've come to understand of these people, they don't have that kind of power Sharon.” “He is not Malachadam.” she said quietly. “I don't get it. Then what is he?” he asked looking up to her confused. “John told me what he is that night. He's one of the first ones. He is Nephilim, immortal spawn of a fallen angel.” “I though they were all damned, except for a few good eggs who ran north.” “No.” she whispered intently. “The angels who committed the atrocity were damned. The Nephilim were merely imprisoned.” “Purgatory.” he said to himself. “Yes. There they await a judgment which will never come, for the Lord has turned his back on the entire race. On the evil first ones as well as all the otherwise innocent people that followed them. Even my John...” she told him as she started to weep. “How is it that this man walks the Earth then Sharon? How did he escape?” “He didn't. No one escapes Limbo.” she told him as she wiped her eyes. “The Devil taught him how to wander... by bringing Purgatory with him when he walks.

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He travels the world still wrapped within the dark and cold of the abyss.” she said fearfully. Oliver sat back in his chair deep in thought seeing the insane logic in the woman's words. Erkki clearly wasn't like other kids, and he managed to pull off more stunts then any human boy should be able, but this was all very hard to swallow. “I just couldn't do it.” Sharon spoke as she broke down and cried. “I knew I must, but I just couldn't and now there's no hope.” “Do what Sharon?” he asked as he took the woman's hand to try and sooth her. “You just don't understand. Erkki isn't just Malachadam, he's the Malachadam.” she said grasping his hand firmly. “The Nephilim told John he had come to see the final fruit of the tree, the last. He told John they were the last of their kind and the time had come for the final son to be born, and that his child would lead the world into a new age and give rebirth to their race.” “But it had to be a son didn't it, and John never had a son.” “No.” she answered weakly. “If the Ma'ha'Dach had been of the flesh of a good man like John, maybe there would be a chance he would not turn on us, but he's not. He is ten thousand one. He is the very last, and he's the spawn of a monster! I knew what had to be done. I've always known, but I just couldn't do it” she gasped. “Do what Sharon?” he repeated. “He must die.” she told him through her tears. “If he lives he will judge the rest of us as unworthy and take control of everything! He will pull the souls of the others from their prison to use as powerful soldiers against us! He will begin a new lineage of his cursed kind and the world

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will end in darkness! You must kill him now while he's still small and weak! I just couldn't do it! I tried so hard not to love him but he's...” she stuttered as she cried out desperately. “He's my baby still!” Oliver slowly left the building, his mind heavy with thought. Erkki deserved to know his father wasn't his real father, but was he ready for that? He struggled to come up with a way to break it to him without getting him upset but there was no gentle way to tell someone something like this. After much self-debate he decided he should get the whole story first before he sat down and discussed it with the boy. As he stepped out and thumbed through his keys, he noticed the long shadows around him and looked at his watch with a start. How long have I been here? He asked himself as he glanced at his timepiece. It was only 1 PM, so why was it so dark out here already? “Oliver! What the hell are you doing here?” Vince demanded as he trudged up the steps of the mental hospital. “You know damn well your not to have any contact with Erkki's mother!” “I need your help Vince.” he responded with all seriousness. “I'm doing everything I can to help you guys, but your putting me in a very awkward situation right now Oliver. They could terminate your custody for this.” “Yeah I know Vince, but there's something I had to know, and you need to know it as well...” “Mr. McEan! Mr. McEan!” waved Sister Vanya as she came running from the house.

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What now? He thought as he and Vince stepped out of the truck. “Erkki's run off!” she said exasperated and waved a scrap of paper at him. “What do you mean? Run off to where?” “I don't know. I left him right there in the garden because he said he wanted to be alone to think. Next thing I knew he came back in grabbed his bag and ran out the front door! All he left was this!” Vince grabbed the note from the woman squinting hard at the writing. “Well?! What does it say?” Oliver demanded. Vince looked up at him silently as he turned the small sheet around and held it up to him. There was just one word scrawled upon it in big bold letters: “LIAR” Sharon sat in silence as she watched the men walk off into the parking lot together and drive away. They wouldn't listen to her. She tried to warn them both, but they didn't believe her. No one did, and no one ever would... until it was too late. She had been watching the gathering darkness outside the whole time she was speaking to the man who called himself Oliver. She knew what it meant of course. It meant it was already too late. A cold breeze assaulted her and she moved to pull her shawl over her shoulders but stopped mid movement as the familiar sense came over her. “I knew you would come for me.” she said still watching the fading daylight outside. “They will try and protect him from you, you know.” she said quietly as the chilling wind enveloped her and her breath began to hang in the air.

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“They will fail.” a deep voice answered her as a cold hand reached around her throat.

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White Pawn takes Black King: Checkmate

Chapter 12 “So where do you think they went?” Vince asked in a frustrated tone as he sat in the pickup with his arms folded. “I don't know, not for sure anyway. I know a few places they like to hang out, but one thing's for certain, wherever he is he's with Miguel.” Oliver told him confidently as he watched the road before him. “It's getting darker Oliver.” Vince said nervously as he stared out the window at the unnaturally dark afternoon. “Looks to me like it's going to rain like hell soon. It's dangerous for him to be out in this weather.” “I know. I'll get him. When we get to Carter I'll try calling Miguel's dad again. He should have been home by now. I can't imagine where he would be.” After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Vince turned away from the window to Oliver. “So your certain John Lahja is not Erkki's father?” Vince asked carefully. “Medical tests don't lie Vince.” he replied flatly. “Did she show you a picture of this guy? The one she said raped her?” “Yeah. She had an album. Creepy fella.” he said with a pause.”...and he looks just like Erkki.” “Is this him?” Vince said cautiously as he held up the copy of the old newspaper photo.

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“Where did you get that?!” Oliver exclaimed as his eyes began racing back and forth between the road and the paper. Over the next several minutes, Vince described his experience of the last couple days as he searched for reliable records of this same man (excepting the episode with his bloody briefcase of course) as Oliver listened silently. “So what do you think this guy wants after all this time?” Oliver asked mostly to himself. “I would assume he's out there looking for the same thing we are right now Oliver. He may be Erkki's father, but he's also wanted by the police and they say he's dangerous. Sharon Lahja's fantasies aside, we have no idea what this guy will do with him if he finds him so we have to be damn sure we get to him first.” “What the hell...?” Oliver grunted as he slowed the vehicle. As the truck left the freeway onto the exit ramp into Carter, the men caught sight of the fires raging just ahead of them. They rolled to a stop behind several apparently abandoned cars in the middle of the road as they looked over the dark and burning city before them. “Hit the radio man! See what's going on!” Vince said shocked. After several minutes of jiggling and searching the frequencies, Oliver failed to find a single station broadcasting. “Where the hell is everyone?” Vince said as he rolled down the window. “HEY!” he yelled aloud. “ANYONE AROUND HERE? WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON?” receiving no answer, he sat back in his seat and looked at Oliver. “What do...” he started to say as a man dressed in filthy clothes suddenly appeared next to him in the window.

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“Are you like, crazy man!” he said with obvious panic in his voice. “Your gonna bring the whole pack down on us!” he yelled desperately. “Pack of what?! What's happening?” Vince answered as he glanced around nervously. Oliver caught the sound of something rumbling nearby and he looked out the window in search of it. It was a strange grinding rumble that seemed to vibrate the hairs on the back of his neck but he saw nothing. “Blast!” the strange man cursed in fear. “It's too late! Dumb idiots! Have fun diein' dudes!” he spat as he turned and ran for the alley between the old office buildings. “What the...?” he began to say again as something large suddenly hit the truck from Oliver's side tipping it momentarily onto two wheels before crashing back down with a slam. Seeing nothing around them, Vince reached for the door handle intending to go out and see what hit them. “No!” Oliver yelled grabbing his shoulder. “Wait.” “What's wrong? What do you see out there?” Vince said as he froze with his hand on the lever. “I don't...” Oliver said as the loud crash cut him off. Something huge and dark hit the windshield of the truck causing it to shatter into bits of safety glass as the two men covered their faces in alarm. The next moment found them face to face with a nightmare. Standing on all four legs on the hood of the tan truck was what at first glance appeared to be a black wolf of gargantuan proportions! As it lowered it's head to see inside the vehicle however, they saw it's apelike head which seemed almost to smile evilly at them exposing long rows of small needle sharp teeth. “What the hell is that?!” Vince gasped in horror as he pushed back in his seat away from the shattered glass.

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“One of Sharon Lahja's fantasies.” Oliver answered. “You sure that's what it said man? I mean Ollie seems like a stand up guy, you know for a grown up anyway.” Miguel pondered as he and Erkki sat in the back room of the old shop they used as a hide out. “I saw it with my own eyes. I don't know why he would lie about this, he's always been strait with me, you know?” Erkki told him with his eyes downcast upon the dirty old floorboards. “Maybe there was a reason? Did you ask him about it first?” “No. I just ran.” Erkki answered him feeling somewhat ashamed. “OK, well... How did he do it? You know what happens when someone lies to you Erkki. How did you not know?” Miguel questioned with narrowing brown eyes. “I don't know.” the other boy answered simply. “Can we please just talk about something else?” “Sure man, sure.” Miguel agreed looking down at his shoes. They were brand new. The first pair of brand new out-of-the-box shoes he ever owned. All his sneakers till now were somewhat funky hand-me-downs from Vierco, but the gleaming white Adidas gracing his toes today were his and his alone, virgin to all other feet. Since his grandfather recently received his share of the money from the gold under the rest home (or at least what was left of it after the back taxes on the property were paid), the family was doing very well. In fact Miguel and his papa were set to go out house hunting tomorrow for a bigger place for them all just outside of the city. Jack even told him he and Vierco would get their very own rooms! The mere thought of that made Miguel tingle with excitement.

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“My papa said he's setting up a college fund for me so that I can be the first kid in our family to get a degree in something!” he said proudly. “It was supposed to go to Vierco, but he said he didn't want to go off to school, so I guess it's up to me.” “Why would you want to go to more school after your done with school?” Erkki asked bewildered. “Because stupid, that's how you get girls! …I guess.” Miguel said with a big smile. “I guess...” Erkki said shaking his head. “So what are you gonna degree in, or whatever?” “I don't know. Whatever, I guess. They say computers are gonna be a big deal in the future, maybe I'll do that.” Miguel said thoughtfully. “You've never even seen a computer!” Erkki said with a laugh. “Hey I'll learn!” the boy shot back with his own laugh. For a few moments the two just sat there together on the old bench laughing quietly. The boys drew so much strength from one another over the years they couldn't imagine life without each other. Now that Jack could semiretire and work part time without having to constantly worry about feeding and clothing his kids, life seemed so much better for all of them, and it was all thanks to his beloved best friend. “Thanks Erkki.” Miguel said with a warm smile. “For what?” Erkki asked with a smirk. “I don't know... stuff.” “OK.” Erkki said raising his brow. Miguel was worried about his friend, there was no doubt, but what could he really do? They tried hiding out together before, but it never went right. Thankfully Erkki

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always seemed to have something else watching out for him, keeping him safe. Miguel couldn't explain it, but he always felt as if someone else was there with them, even when they were alone together somewhere. He never saw anyone, or heard them say anything, but there was definitely a “presence” that tended to tag along with them wherever they went. “Do you believe in God Erkki?” he asked becoming more serious. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, your supposed to, right?” “Yeah but do you think he like, follows people around and stuff? You know, just to keep an eye out for certain people?” Miguel asked nervously. “Nah, Gods too big for that I think.” Erkki answered. “I don't think he can really just pop in and push things around where he wants them, he wouldn't... fit, you know, and he'd probably break stuff if he tried. I think at some point he had to just leave smaller people in charge to run things.” “People? You mean like us?” Miguel asked with growing interest. “Nah, not like us. Not really people people. We're too small the way Gods too big. I mean something that's just the right size for that, like Angels. That way if stuff starts to go all wonky in a way it's not supposed to, they can get in and fix it.” “How? Have you ever seen them?” Miguel asked placing his chin in his hand as he watched Erkki play with a big fifty cent piece coin by turning it over and over in his hand. “No you cant see them because by the time things are made right again, they're already gone, well usually anyway. Sometimes stuff can go really really wrong, and they have to actually be there to fix it.”

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“But... how?” the boy pressed. “I don't know. I think...” Erkki hesitated as he stared at the large coin in his hands. “I think they can change just the right thing at just the right moment to make just the right stuff happen to just the right people at just the right time.” “How?” Miguel insisted. “I don't know. Oliver says it's because they can see The Big Picture, and that lets them know exactly where to be and exactly when to act.” Erkki told him as he continued flipping the coin over and over in his hands. “What's The Big Picture?” “I don't know. I guess we can't see it, because we're not supposed to see it.” “Oh.” Miguel said with disappointment as he stood up and headed over to the dusty old window and lifted the blind. “It's really getting dark outside Erkki. I think there's gonna be a storm. We better get back to the house.” Miguel said as he looked out at the strange and bleak darkness of the still quite early summer afternoon. “I can't go with you back to the house. Ollie will be looking for me there. I need time to think.” Erkki said as he slid off the bench and walked away from Miguel. “Erkki it's seriously creepy looking out there. I mean like, horror movie creepy. Please come with me.” “I can't. Not right now. Jack will know by now I'm on the run. Ollie would have called him. I just need to think about stuff for a while.” Erkki told him firmly. “But Erkki...” Miguel began to insist as the window behind him suddenly shattered inward ripping the blind off the wall and sending glass flying throughout the room. As the boys uncovered their faces they saw a huge dark beast standing between them inside the shop. Some kind of

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gigantic, black fur coated animal occupied the floor of the building now which turned to behold Miguel with a frighting gaze. In it's huge black eyes, he could see his own reflection as it moved silently toward him with an odd, less than graceful, gate. “N... Nice puppy puppy. Good puppy...” Miguel stuttered out, his voice hoarse with fear as he stood there frozen in terror with his back against the wall. “Miguel!” Erkki screamed. “Get away from it!” Miguel however just stood there too frightened to move, his big brown eyes locked now in a staring contest with death itself, too afraid to even blink. “Miguel snap out of it! Run!” Erkki howled at him but the child didn't respond. He seemed transfixed by the beast, petrified in place. “Hey!” Erkki yelled at the monster desperate to get it's attention. “Hey ugly mutt! Over here!” he cried out as he approached it from behind. Slowly the dark wolf turned round and Erkki's heart began to race as he struggled to figure out what he was going to do with it's attention once he had it. “Run away dog!” he screamed at it as he waved his arms, but the creature just stood there looking at him. “I said RUN AWAY NOW!” he told it much more loudly as his face took on a subtle change. His blue eyes began to glow softly as he beheld the wolf and the animal responded by taking a cautious step back from him. Erkki moved in closer as he picked up an old board from the floor waved it at the monstrous ape-dog threateningly but it held it's ground. “SCAT!” he ordered it as he swung the wooden club as hard as he could at the creatures head, but the action set him off balance as the weapon mysteriously passed through it without impact. Erkki quickly righted himself as he looked

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closely at the board in confusion. Not knowing what else to do, he continued to yell at the beast and swing the wood board which sailed on through it harmlessly each time. Each time however he noticed the beast flinched as if it had been struck, and it's dark gaze began to take on the impression of uncertainty. Gradually it began to back away from him as he slashed at it furiously. He had no idea why the horrible apparition seemed hesitant to attack him. He only knew whatever he was doing, it was working. “Miguel run away!” he cried desperately not knowing how long it may be before this thing decided it had had enough of both of them. Finally Miguel seemed to come to his senses and slid along the wall toward the door as his hands continued to shake with fear. Once the other boy was clear, with one foot over the threshold of the doorway, Erkki dropped the board and bolted for the exit. The boys ran out into the strange darkness, too afraid to even look back to see if the monster was chasing them as they ran, but they both silently prayed it was not. After several blocks they stopped to catch their breath. Rounding a corner and dropping to their hindquarters, Erkki hesitantly peeked one eye around the brick wall back the way they had come, but of the monster there was no sign. “What's happening? Where is everyone? Why is it so dark?” Erkki gasped out as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It was afraid of you.” Miguel said breathing heavily as he stared at Erkki in wonder. “Nah. It was just stupid. I think I confused it.” Erkki said as he stood and looked back around the corner of the building. “No.” Miguel insisted as he looked reverently at him. “It was afraid of you Erkki.”

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“Well then that proves it was stupid doesn't it? Come on. We gotta figure out what's going on. I think I see smoke.” Oliver threw the truck in reverse slamming the accelerator to the floor dislodging the beast from his hood sending it tumbling onto the road before them. As it began to regain it's footing, he quickly put the truck back in drive lurching forward as the dark form of the animal passed under the front of his vehicle and out of view. Oliver hit the breaks and stuck his head out the window scanning the area behind them uncertain if he had hit the animal or just bumped over the piles of debris in the street. “What are you stopping for? You want to take the damn thing to a taxidermist or something? Let's get out of here!” Vince clamored. “No idiot. We don't know where Erkki is, but if he's anywhere near here I want that... whatever that is, dead.” Oliver answered calmly. “Do you see it?” “No. It's not there. I don't know how I could have missed it, but it's not there.” he told him with nervous disappointment. “Let's go then. We need to get Erkki and beat it the hell out of here. Everything's gone crazy and I smell fire.” Vince said peering out at the unnatural darkness surrounding them. “Wait!” Oliver announced. “I see someone. Just up the lane, come on.” he said stepping out of the truck. “Oliver are you nuts? Who just walks around in this kind of crazyness? The guys probably a thug, or just insane!” Vince warned.

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“Let's go. I want to know what's going on.” he insisted. Vince slowly crept out of the truck searching all around for any sign of the mysterious beast that attacked them. Barely able to see at all, he gave up and trotted along side Oliver as the two of them made their way across the street to the old mailbox on the corner of the crossroads where an odd man leaned, apparently completely relaxed, against a broken streetlight smoking a cigarette. At least Vince thought it was a cigarette. As they drew near, he realized whatever he was smoking was giving off the strong odor of sulfur and he began to gag slightly. The man on the corner seemed to pay them no attention as they approached, but there was definitely something about him which set Vince on edge. Not the least of which was how he was dressed. With his dark blue pinstripe suit trimmed with purple velvet, his violet suede shoes and his thickly gelled hair, he seemed like a cross between a 1920's gangster movie extra and a pimp. The worst thing of all, however, was that cigarette! God whatever he was smoking it stank absolutely awful! “Excuse me fella.” Oliver said raising a hand. “We're looking for a couple of boys that may be lost here. A Latino boy with curly hair and freckles and a white kid with dark hair and blue eyes. We think they may be wandering around have you seen them?” he asked cautiously but there was no response from the stranger who just went on smoking his fuminous cigarillo and ignoring them. “Can you tell us what happened here? Can you tell us where everyone went? Or why it's so dark?” Oliver pressed as he approached closer, but the strange man just exhaled his lungfull and chuckled softly to himself.

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“OK, how about you tell me what's so damn funny then.” Oliver asked gradually losing his patience. “What it is dat I find funny, you see, is that you can look all around you as easily as I can, and yet still ask me a stupid question like dat. You people never cease to amaze me with your antics!” he scolded them with his North-east coast accent. “Humor our antics then fella and let us in on what you think is going on.” Oliver said grinding his square jaw. “Why the end of the world, of course! Well... the end of your world anyway.” he told them in a casual tone. “Well it's a little dark, but don't you think end of the world is a little melodramatic?” Vince interjected. “Melodramatic? Is dat what you just said? Melodramatic?!” the man insisted turning to them at last. “You think this is just here? Ha! No smacko! This is total baby! Everywhere! Everyplace! You dig? You see they couldn't do the whole water thing again, after all, a promise is a promise. No, this is much worse. A flood of darkness to cover the Earth and extinguish the light of life! Lemmy ask yous, how long do you think it's gonna be before your average global temperature drops to around thirty below? How long to you think it's gonna be before all your fields are dead from lack of sunlight, eh? Just how long do you think it's gonna be before all yous that are unfortunate enough to stick around for a while are huddling in caves for warmth and eating each other to be able to try and stay alive another day?! Well, if I were to venture a guess about how long that might take, based on some degree of past experience, I'd say about maybe oh... forty days. Give or take a few hours, of course.”

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“Come on Oliver, this man is clearly disturbed.” Vince whispered to Ollie as he tried to gently push him in the opposite direction. “Oh disturbed am I? Nah corduroy-boy I ain’t a bit disturbed. You on the other hand are gonna be very disturbed when that kid your looking for turns out to be the cause of all this.” the stranger said taking another toke from his smelly cigarette. Oliver pushed Vince away at the odd man's mention of Erkki and strode up to him with grim purpose. “Why are you doing this?” he asked the cruel looking man. “Who? Moi?” the man answered giving the most innocent looking face he could put on. “Your barkin' up the wrong tree there squarehead. Ya see I ain't got nuthin' to do with this. This is what you might call... an extreme turf war measure.” “What are you talking about?” Oliver Demanded. “It's simple squarehead. Stupid, but simple. Ya see, when another gang moves in on your block, and you've done everything else you can do to keep them out, you give up and blow the joint up so nobody gets it! Worked before anyway, what wit the ark and all that jazz, but eh... not so much this time. This time yous are just as good to us dead, as you are alive boboh! It'll be all over soon though, don't you worry. Forty days in the cold and dark won't seem like nuthin' when your dead, and dead is what everyone will be just as soon as that kid opens the door.” “Where's Erkki?” Oliver demanded as he attempted to menace the figure before him. “He's safe and sound with his family by now, where he belongs.” the man answered taking another drag.

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“He belongs with me! That's my boy mister! In my care! Now what the hell have you done with him?!” Oliver told him smacking the cigarillo out of his hand and onto the sidewalk. “Now see that’s where your wrong Oliver.” the stranger told him as he stood up strait and face to face. The man's eyes flared brilliant blue for a moment, then settled down to gleaming orbs of darkened violet which pulsed as he spoke. “He's not your boy. He never was your boy. He is our boy, do you understand that? He's not your son Oliver. He's not even your species, which I'm sure your quite aware of by now. Once he is made to understand that, he will make the correct decision.” the entity told him as it seemed to grow increasingly heavier, larger and darker. “I think he may just surprise you as to how human he is.” Oliver told the beast as he stood his ground. “We shall see...” the demon stated as he stared Oliver down through the two pin points of violet light that had once appeared to him as eyes. “Hey! You two! What the hell are you doing over there?! There's a mandatory evacuation of the city in progress. Now get over here!” Officer Chuck Samuel yelled to them from across the street pulling there attention. Oliver and Vince at once turned back around to find the stranger was gone. “Hey! Don't I know you?” Chuck asked as he began crossing the darkened street. “The Lahja kid! Your the people taking care of the Lahja kid! What are you doing here?” “He's here... somewhere.” Vince told him grimly. “In the city!? No. No that's a bad answer.” the officer said sadly as he looked around.

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“Chief Samuel is it?” Oliver asked slowly as he put a hand on the man's shoulder. “Would you be so kind as to tell us just what the HELL is happening?” “I wish I could man. All I know is it's like hell on Earth in there.” he said pointing back toward the downtown area. “The power went out, the sun freaking vanished from the sky and everyone lost their damn minds. We tried to get a presence out here as fast as we could to keep a lid on everything but then those... those things just showed up man. Just showed up like they'd been there all along just waiting for their chance. After that... chaos man. Strait up pure chaos.” “We got a good look at one back there.” Vince thumbed behind him. “What are those things Officer, I mean... what manor of thing are they?” “I don't know, but I can tell you they're mean as hell, and once they take chase they don't give up. Well except once...” Chuck told them with a haunted look. “You know something else?” Oliver asked curiously. “No. Not much. Just that another officer and I were... working a case, when we first got a look at them. It came out of literal nowhere man. Tore a suspect to bacon. Nothing we could do, we couldn't even see it man! Once we finally did get a good look it tried to run us down. Bullets went right through it, useless. Next thing we knew there were dozens, then hundreds! We hit the street and ran. We came up on a fence and barely made it over. We were gonners man. I know those things could have lept that fence like it was nothin' but a curb but...” he hesitated and scratched his head. “What happened?” Oliver pressed. “Nothing.” he concluded. “Nothing?” Vince asked raising his brows.

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“Nothing. I grabbed up a piece of broken gravestone for a weapon knowing it was damn useless, but they just stopped. I mean stopped hard.” “You mean they couldn't get over the fence?” Oliver suggested. “Hell no man, that's wasn't it. I've seen these things run strait up a steel pipe. It was something else. Whatever it was it shut 'em down cold like they ran strait into a brick wall. Then they all just stood there sniffing and leaning like they were looking for an opening. Hundreds of black eyes man, just watching us and hating us. Then they all just left. All at once like something called them off.” “A gravestone?” Oliver mused. “Yeah. Ironic isn't it? It was a graveyard. Old one across town.” Chuck said laughing to himself. “Alright then. Do you have any idea where Erkki is? Alex is leading a team to evacuate the hospital and that's where I need to be, so lets get your boy fast.” 'He's not “your” boy. He never was “your” boy. He is “our” boy...' , the voice echoed in Oliver's mind. “Erkki always runs away to the same place.” Oliver told the officer as he pointed over toward the orange glow several blocks northward. “He's with Miguel and they always go to that old shop downtown.” “Back there!?” Chuck gasped with an obvious note of fear. “That's ground zero.” The boys ran down the avenue looking for help but found no sign of habitation. It was as if everyone had just vanished and left them alone in the dark. All around they could see flames licking the sills of the windows and the sky had grown so oppressively dark as to hide all hint of daylight.

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“Erkki I'm afraid man.” Miguel told him as the stopped again to look around. The curly haired boy's eyes were transfixed to the angry black sky above which streaked with the occasional bolt of lightning and he wrapped his arms around himself as he began to shiver. “I see someone!” Erkki piped excitedly. “Over there!” The boys quickly crossed the street and entered the alleyway between two shops where the sprawled figure of a man laid partially covered by newspapers and fallen garbage cans. Hastily they pushed away the debris and Erkki put his ear to the man's mouth. “Is he... dead?” Miguel asked quietly pulling his hands away from the stranger. “No! He's breathing! Help me move him!” Erkki told the boy as he grabbed the man's shoulder and heaved. Miguel grabbed his other arm and together the children slid the heavy man back away from the sidewalk and into the alley just moments before the flaming awnings collapsed across the entrance to the roadway burying the walkway and the street before it. “Now what Erkki? We're trapped!” Miguel stressed as he looked down to the other end of the alley which was strung with old, tattered trash coated barbed wire. “No we can push through that.” Erkki insisted. “Just get a dumpster lid to hold open a space to get through. I'm going to wake him up.” The boy complied and in a few minutes he had made an area in the barrier which was smashed down enough for the both of them to climb through. He lowered himself down to a crawling posture as he looked back and yelled for Erkki to follow.

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“He won't wake up. Help me carry him.” Erkki said as he tried futilely to heave the large man off the ground and onto his own back. “Are you nuts?! We cant carry that guy! He must weigh a thousand pounds or something!” Miguel insisted as he gingerly held open the open space in the security fence. “Just help me! We can't leave him here! In ten minutes these buildings are gonna collapse on him!” Erkki begged as he nodded up toward the old flaming wooden structures which were already starting to groan and lean in toward them. “Erkki he's too heavy! We're just kids!” The other boy argued. “I'm tired of hearing that excuse Miguel! Just because we're kids doesn’t mean we're useless. Now help me!” Erkki angrily insisted as he wiped the sweat from his face leaving a sooty black mark from his dirty hands. “Oh man...” Miguel sighed as he ran back and lifted the stranger's legs. Bracing the man's weight on his back, Erkki lowered himself as far as he could trying to squeeze through the small opening in the old web work of the barbwire. Almost without noticing, he managed to snag a severed length of the fence which became tangled up in his hair as he heaved and struggled to pull the two of them through. From within the alley, Miguel pushed with all his strength to get the man through the opening. Finally Erkki emerged out into the open street as he stood upright nearly exhausted with the man stretched across his back. The deadweight man's arms hung limply out to the sides of Erkki's back like a cross and around the boy's head wound the rusty barb wire, still tangled in his hair like a

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thorny crown piercing his skin causing blood to run down into his eyes. A moment later the structures behind him groaned loudly, then fell into one another filling the alleyway with burning debris. “MIGUEL!!” Erkki screamed as he struggled to catch his breath. “No! Miguel!!” Erkki unloaded the big grown-up as he pushed through the garbage and wire spikes heedless of the pain as it cut his hands. “Erkki! Help me!” He heard Miguel yell from within the collapsed pile before him as he dug furiously. Suddenly he felt a hand grasp his wrist from within the tangled mess and with a mighty heave he pulled back with all his weight toppling backward onto the pavement as Miguel squished out from the debris falling on top of him. “Miguel I thought...!” Erkki said as he struggled to talk without breath. “I thought... I love you Miguel!” he said finally as he hugged his best friend tightly trying not to cry. “I love you too man.” The other boy told him returning his hug. “Erkki, your hands! You cut up your hands!” He said as he saw the small spike sized holes in Erkki's shaking palms and looked around for something clean to bandage them but little remained to find. “What...? Where am I?” The man groaned as he tried to roll over in the road. “I see the boys!” Vincent yelled as he broke into a sprint crossing the roadway toward where Erkki and Miguel sat catching their breath. “Alex!” Chuck exclaimed as he rushed along just behind. “Alex! What happened?! Are you alright?” he asked quickly as he helped the man get to his feet.

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“Yeah I... I think so. Something fell off the building and busted my noggin... I think.” “Erkki your hurt!” Oliver said fearfully as he bent down to one knee to inspect Erkki's injured hands. Spying the barbed crown circling the boy's head, he reached up to brush it away, but it was hopelessly tangled up in the child's hair so he set himself to wiping the the sooty filth from Erkki's face. Erkki really hated when grown-ups licked their fingers and wiped his face . He really was in no mood for it right now so he pushed the man's hand away with irritation as he spoke. “Why did you lie to me Ollie?” he asked coolly. “Child what is it you think I deceived you about? Why did you run away like that?” “I... found a paper that said you were going to leave me in that hospital in six months. It said it right on the paper Ollie! It said so!” Erkki cried. “Erkki How did...? Where did you...?” Oliver's mind boggled. “Look boy you didn't understand the whole thing! You were to be handed over to Glenborough in six months...” “What?!” Erkki cried again hardly believing it even though Oliver said it. “...in six months unless I agreed to adopt you after the trial period! I want to be your new father Erkki! I want to adopt you!” Oliver concluded. “You mean like... for good? I... I get to stay with you forever?” Erkki asked somewhat shocked. “Erkki you have a home with me for as long as you want. No more floors, no more couches, no more group homes. Just you and me, and Miguel can visit whenever he likes.”

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Erkki closed his eyes and let it all sink in. He wanted to hear those words from someone for a long time, but for some reason he couldn't explain, he knew it was not to be. “What's happening Ollie?” he asked looking around realizing these streets were littered with the motionless corpses of men and women. “I don't know kiddo. Some kind of disaster. We have to go now, right now.” Oliver told him checking to see the path behind him remained clear. “Disaster!? What about Papa?! And Vierco?! And Grandpa Raul!! We can't just leave them!” Miguel exclaimed horrified. “I don't know what the hell is happening kid, but we need to make our way out of the city. Right now.” Alex told the boys as he surveyed the area. Perhaps a hundred bodies lie tossed randomly in the street, all of them clearly mauled by whatever beasts these were which continued to hunt in the now endless night. “I'm not leaving without my family!” Miguel protested as he looked back at the officer shocked he even made the suggestion. “Look Miguel...” Alex began as he stooped down and took hold of the boys shoulders. “It's not safe here anymore. Not for anyone. Your folks surly must have figured that out hours ago and are hoping you made it out too.” “But you don't know that!” Miguel continued to protest. “They might be out there looking for me! I have to go back and check the house. I have too!” “Miguel! Listen to me! I want you and Erkki to move south with Vince and Oliver now!” Alex demanded. “But...!” Miguel attempted to interrupt. “No Miguel! There's no but anything here!” he insisted. Then he softened his gaze just slightly as he spoke.

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“I promise you that I will check your house to make sure everyone is out Miguel.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Oliver asked him suddenly confused. “I thought we decided to all get out of here together?” “We will, but there's something I have to do first. Chuck needs help getting the people clear of the hospital and out of town before this pack of monsters gets downtown.” “That wont be necessary Mr. Johnson. You see, I'm not interested in the sick and the weak of your people. They will serve well enough in time, but all that I desire is here now before me.” said the deep and penetrating voice as the lone figure approached them from the other end of the abandoned street. He walked slowly and with purpose as he casually stepped over the mangled bodies in the road before him, his long coat dragging across their faces like a shroud as he passed. The foreboding clip clop of his ebony boots rang out into the night like the sounding of a death bell. “You!” Alex gasped as he locked eyes with the very man he had hunted since all this madness began. “Leave Erkki alone Mr. Lahja.” Oliver said as he quickly shoved the small boy behind him and drew the pistol he had kept hidden in his shoulder holster. “Or by God I'll send you back into whatever nightmare spawned you.” “Oliver you have a gun?!” Vince asked shocked. “You know that violates the terms of your custody!” “Are you serious?!” Oliver asked him with a sideways glance. “Do you not see what is happening here yet?! Damn it Vince were not dealing with people here anymore! That's a God Damned fallen angel over there, and were standing in the middle of Armageddon ground zero, yet your worried over your freaking fine print?!”

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“Oliver for God's sake it's just a man! A sick man! He's just a man and it's Erkki's father!” he yelled only realizing his mistake a moment later. “Vince!” Oliver gasped. “Damn it Vince, Damn it!” Erkki blinked several times as the words soaked in. Vince wasn't lying. The man he loved and remembered as his papa was not his papa at all. This man, this awful, awful man was his father, and the time had at last come for him to face that. Deep within Erkki's mind, things were beginning to make sense. Terrible sense. “Get down on the ground dirt bag!” Alex yelled as he pulled his own weapon. “I don't know exactly how yet, but I know your somehow responsible for all this and your gonna start answering questions!” “No. I don't think so Mr. Johnson”, the large man answered coldly with a thoughtful look. “I don't answer questions you see, assuming control of creation is a process which must follow a schedule and I don't have time for nonsense.” “Now you look here Lahja! I don't know who or what you think you are, but this is still my town and I...” Alex began as he stepped forward with his gun raised and pointed between the strange man's large metal blue eyes. “No Alex.” The man said matter of factly. “It's not at all your town.” The next moment came as if the world had gone completely mad. The strange man no longer stood alone before them but was surrounded by hundreds of salivating black hound-like things which all stood packed in the street watching them with their huge empty black eyes. None of them saw the apparitions arrive, it was as if they had been there the whole time somehow unnoticed.

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“All that I survey is mine.” the dark man told him as the hound pack began moving slowly toward the group. “Holy shit.” Alex stated as he stepped back from the ghastly mass hardly able to believe what he was seeing. “I will not let this cup pass.” Erkki spoke up finally as he pushed his way past Oliver's bulky body. “Erkki get back!” Oliver yelled at him as he grabbed his shoulder. “No.” Erkki stated as he turned and looked up at Oliver. The boys eyes gleamed like cold metallic as he looked over the men behind him. “There's something I have to do now. Something I'm supposed to do. Run! Go! Take Miguel and go back the other way.” “Erkki have you lost your mind!” Vince asked horrified. “I'm not asking you to go Mister Vince, I'm telling you. Take Miguel and go now!” Erkki demanded as his eyes began to glow brightly in the night. His entire face shone with dull azure luminescence as he spoke and his very words seemed to vibrate in the air around them. “Erkki, what... ?!” Vince stuttered as he took a fearful step back from the boy. “GO!” Erkki yelled at them and the power of his thundering voice nearly pushed the entire group off it's feet. “Mr. McEan what's happening to him?!” Miguel whispered as he backed away from his best friend suddenly fearful. Erkki turned back to face his true father and at a glance, all the dark hounds stopped in their tracks and pouted nervously as if suddenly uncertain. “I know what you want.” Erkki told the dark man bravely as he stood his ground.

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“Do you now?” the man asked thoughtfully. “I wonder.” “If it's me you mean to have then come and get me papa!” Erkki said defiantly as he turned and bolted down a dark street leaving everyone behind. “Erkki NO!” Miguel cried out in horror as he watched his friend disappear into the darkness followed quickly by hundreds, or perhaps thousands of fang mawed animals which howled and barked as they tore off after him guided by the fresh sent of his fear. The elder Lahja had vanished as mysteriously as he arrived. It was a safe assumption that he too was in pursuit of poor little Erkki who was running for his life toward something at the north end of the neighborhood. “Oh my God Erkki no!” Oliver cried. “Not like this! You can't beat him!” “Where is he going?!” Vince yelled as he grabbed Oliver's collar. “To face his destiny.” Oliver told him sadly. “My ass he is!” Vince said defiantly. “Alex whats up that road?” “Bad news man, that's what. Reports say everything out that way is on fire. That area was hit hard by the chaos. Folks just went plain nuts when the hounds descended on that neighborhood. That's where all this broke loose.” Alex reported. “What is he doing Ollie?! Why did he run away from us?!” Miguel wheezed desperately. “He's trying to give us time to get away. He knows the pack will follow him.” Oliver told him. “There must be something up that way that's not burning. A shelter of some kind? Someplace he can hide?” Vince asked as his mind raced.

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“The church.” Oliver suggested. “Last I heard St. Micheal’s was not in the blaze. Samuel you said the hounds refused to follow you into the graveyard before?” “Yeah. Wildest thing, they ran right up to the edge of the lawn then it was like they hit an invisible brick wall.” Sam recalled to him. “Hallowed ground! That's it! Erkki's headed for hallowed ground!” Oliver said loudly. “We need to get around the pack and get to that church!” “This way.” Alex tugged at him as the group headed quickly toward the north-east. Erkki ran faster than he ever thought he could as he flew down the street of flaming apartment buildings. The brightness of the fire against the surreal jet black early afternoon sky stung his eyes but he searched desperately for St. Micheal’s which he knew for certain was nearby. Everywhere he looked he saw only death and destruction. Dark lumps he assumed were bodies and burning structures all collapsing in on themselves. “Erkki!” He heard the bellowing voice of his father yell out. “You can not run from me boy. This doesn't have to be a bad day Erkki! You know what we need to hear from you! Just one word from you and this will all end Erkki!” He screamed. The sound of the black hounds closing in on him drew nearer and a frightful panic gripped him as he thought he might have run off the wrong way. What if it wasn't even here? What if St. Micheal’s was in another part of town entirely and in the confusion of the burning city he had gotten turned round? What if...? There it was! The blaze had not touched the stone structure yet at all! If he could just make it inside the hounds

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would not be able to follow. This was a holy place after all and he was certain the despicable creatures could not approach. There would be no way out, Erkki knew that and that's why he came alone, but if his friends did what he told them to do they would get away safely. Once he was inside he too would be safe, but even so it would only be a matter of time before the fires crept over even this landmark. He had to come up with something, someway... Erkki was sweating hard as he flew up the long stone staircase leading to the huge triple doored structure. Three sets of double doors, all of them closed, awaited him at the top. Erkki gasped for a moment at the thought that they might be locked. 'Why would anyone lock a church?' he wondered as he lurched up touching only every third step hoping it wasn't so. To his great relief, the doors were indeed not locked and he pulled open the eight foot tall heavy center door with his last ounce of strength, slamming it shut as he dodged inside. The boy slumped to the ground against the door completely exhausted. His lungs stung from breathing so much ash and smoke and his body felt as if it was struggling just to support his weight. For a moment he thought he might pass out, so he summoned his tremendous will and pushed himself back to his feet. The building seemed dark, empty and strangely quiet almost as if perhaps the world outside was not falling apart. The orange glow of the burning city shone through the stained glass of the church reminding him of the horrors outside. The firelight dimly lit the interior of the vast open hall as Erkki walked slowly between the pews using each one to hold himself up as he moved.

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“Hello?” he called out hearing his voice echo back to him from the dark corners of the room. “Is anyone here?” he asked as he looked around nervously. As he approached the alter, he noticed a figure apparently knelt in prayer before a candle which had burned about halfway down. The tiny flicker of light was just enough for Erkki to see the man was wearing the vestments and robes of a priest as he crouched there silently facing the candle. “Father Wargester? Is that you?” Erkki called to him happy that at least he wouldn't be all alone here. “Father Wargester? It's me Erkki, Erkki Lahja.” He told him as he tip toed closer. Strangely Father Wargester did not respond. He just knelt there apparently lost in his prayers. “Father Wargester?” Erkki called again as he gently touched the man's back. Something was wrong. Something didn't feel right about Father Wargester. It was as if he... “Father Wargester?” Erkki urged again as he moved around to face him. Erkki let out a terrible scream as he saw the devastated face of the man who was once the priest of this holy shrine. Father Wargester was not kneeling in prayer at all, he was slumped over the barrel of a shotgun having taken his own life by blowing off the top of his head. Before him lie a note written in a shaking script that read simply. “My lord I have failed you. The long night has begun.” Erkki tumbled off the dais stricken with a sick fear. He had never seen anything so awful before, so raw. He stopped screaming at last and crawled away from the corpse trying to catch his breath as the sweat began to run down his face and into his eyes. He looked up and blinked away the salty water as he caught sight of something moving through

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the shadows of the dimly lit church hall down both sides of the aisles. “Hush up!” Alex said as he stopped behind a gutted building that was only yesterday a Circle K convenience store. “I hear something!” “It's Erkki!” Miguel cried “And he's in big trouble!” the boy said as he caught the muffled sound of his best friend screaming in terror from somewhere further down the block. “Miguel wait!” Oliver yelled as the boy broke his grip and bolted away toward the source of the sound. “Kid stop!” Alex cried. “You don't know what's out there you can't just...! Christ almighty, after him!” he said as he ran down the street behind Miguel. “I'm coming Erkki!” Miguel screamed as he ran out into the flaming street. “Miguel look out!” Oliver cried out as the wooden pole supporting a large transformer cracked and groaned having finally burned through. The big object came crashing down directly in the boy's path as he ran heedlessly toward the big stone church where he was certain he had heard Erkki's desperate cries. “No!” Erkki gasped in frustration and horror. “You can't come in here, you can't! This place is holy, it's...!” Erkki said shaking with dread as he looked over at the body of Father Wargester. “Yes, it was.” The pale man in the long dark coat said as he pushed through the big double doors and stepped inside. “It was good of Father Wargester to desecrate it for us with his suicide. Now child, although you have been faithless to me and quite the fool to boot, I know you don't want to suffer. All you have to do is look into your heart.

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See what they have done to you, see what they are! They are sinners, all of them! Look around you boy.” The man said as he waved his hand indicating the black hounds which circled Erkki hungrily but cautiously. “These are what they truly are, all they will ever be. Judge them as you know is the truth. Judge them as your vision grants you the power to see them. Ten thousand soldiers await your words Erkki. Myself and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine others. You feel the awesome power of the spark burning in you now don't you Erkki? Grasp it. Grasp it tight and it will provide you with everything you ever dreamed. Power over the Earth, over the stars, over life and death itself! Together we can conquer all of creation as is our right as decedents of the divine. Would you pass judgment as your spirit cries out to do or would you suffer for these children of Adam?” he said as he walked slowly down the center aisle toward Erkki, both of them now surrounded by the vicious black wolves. “What?” Erkki asked him suddenly struck with a notion. “You well heard me boy. Would you have me do this? Would you suffer for these children of Adam?” the pale man repeated as he looked upon Erkki with his cold blue eyes now gleaming brightly. Erkki blinked away the sweat and blood from his own shining blue eyes feeling the barbed wire circlet tangled in his hair as the epiphany finally struck him. He looked beyond his father toward the front of the church and saw the gathered souls waiting there in the flickering shadows for him to do what it was he was meant to do. They stood there still silently begging him for help as they had in his dreams. Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pairs of bright blue eyes.

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Erkki swallowed hard and stood up strait to face his father as the huge man drew near. Their metallic blue eyes locked on one another as the gap between them closed. Erkki was afraid and filled with sorrow, but he knew at last what he had to do, what he was born to do. Alex lunged forth and managed to grab Miguel's collar yanking the boy back as the transformer fell just a couple feet before him crashing down in front of the stone staircase of the church. The still live wires thrashed and jumped as the powerful electrical machinery buzzed angrily before them. “Damn it that was too close Miguel!” Alex said shivering as he pulled the boy to his feet. “Now listen to me, we don't know what's in there, we need a plan!” “But Erkki...!” Miguel protested. “Someones coming!” Oliver said as he pointed up toward the center double doors which pushed outward violently making them slam against the stone walls. “Your a damn fool boy, just like your brother!” the giant man yelled across the burning night. He emerged from the church surrounded by his evil hoard which swarmed out like hungry locusts ready to devour everything in their path as his black coat billowed around him and his frighting frozen blue eyes gleamed. No sane men would have stayed to watch such a unleashing of nightmares such as this. No one in their right mind would wait even another moment to turn and flee before this demonic flood... ...but they all did. They stood frozen in horror because in the grasp of this terrible figures left hand, dangling well above the ground and struggling in vain to breath, was Erkki.

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“You made the fool's choice boy.” the man told him through his clenched teeth as the flesh around Erkki's neck quickly began to freeze and blacken. “If you will not rule with me, you will serve me just like the others.” With these words said, Erkki's father drew back his arm and threw the child outward. Erkki's small body flew back over the church steps down toward the street. As he sailed backward through the hot dry air of the deepening night, the world slowed to a blurry crawl. Erkki felt his heartbeat grow slower and slower as the moment stretched forth. Somewhere behind him he thought he heard Miguel's voice howling in terror and all around him was darkness and flames. As he gradually floated back across the night, he managed to pull one last breath through his partially frozen throat as he looked up at the starless sky drifting above him. “Why have you forsaken me?” he gasped just before he struck the transformer. “ERKKI!!” Miguel roared, and his mind felt like it just exploded. The boy shook and struggled violently, kicking and screaming at Alex as he tried with every cell in his body to overpower the man so he could break his grip on him and reach Erkki. “Miguel! Miguel stop it!” Alex yelled as he actually had to summon great strength to continue to restrain the boy who fought like a lunatic against him scratching, clawing, and beating him furiously in his attempt to help his beloved friend. Of course it was far too late. As Oliver fell to his knees, he covered his ears and squeezed shut his eyes which flowed with tears. Vince just stood shocked at what he saw, horrified but too overcome to look away.

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A few feet before them all, the body of Erkki Lahja thrashed and bounced as the massive current flowed through it. As he laid across the metal with his feet together and his arms stretched out like a cross, his flesh grew dark and gobs of white foam, followed by dark red blood flowed forth from his mouth. With one final screeching electrical noise and a loud pop, Erkki was blown clear of the device and tossed back onto the hard, cold stone stairway of St. Micheal’s where he laid smoldering and motionless. “NOOOO!” Miguel screamed so loudly Alex thought he might have lost his hearing in one ear and the boy put his face down on the arm struggling to hold him where he buried his teeth deep into Alex's flesh like a wolverine. The blinding pain forced Alex to drop the child who ran around the dying machinery toward the staircase utterly thoughtless of the gruesome mass of hounds who occupied it. For some reason known only to them, the black wolves parted to allow Miguel to leap across several stairs to reach Erkki who lay face down on the marble before the booted feet of the fell creature who was his father. “Erkki? Erkki please wake up! Oh please Erkki! Please answer me!” Miguel begged, his face soaked with tears, as he tried to shake his friends body. Gently he took hold of Erkki's shoulder and rolled him over onto his back. Erkki's face was nearly purple as every vein in his body had been burst by the amperage. His arms and legs lay limp upon the stair and his eyes, once so beautiful and blue, sat lifeless and pale in their sockets as they stared upward toward the void colored sky. “Erkki!” Miguel cried as anguish melted him like a snowflake in the sunshine. Slowly he laid his head upon the dead child's chest and wept. Now there was nothing left but sorrow, and as the rain finally broke and began to fall from

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the dark sky like great sheets of grief, so to did Miguel’s tears rain down. “So be it.” the man in the dark coat spoke as he looked without pity upon the children at his feet. “Then I am the Mah'ha'Dach. I am the last to live. My judgment stands as testament so let the war begin.” he said as he looked up at the people gathering before him. Several dozen people who were still fleeing the city had been corralled by the black wolves into the area around St. Micheal’s and everyone stood fearfully watching the scene wondering what to do. “No.” Oliver said finally as he rose slowly to his feet. “You've lost.” he told the man with the metallic blue eyes who looked back at him curiously. “Is that so son of Adam? Pray tell why you would suggest such a thing upon the eve of your races destruction at our hands.” the fell man asked him curiously with a smile. “Where's your army Erkki Lahja?” Oliver asked him as he wiped the rain and tears from his eyes. “Where's your ten thousand fallen angels?” “I...” the dark man hesitated as he glanced around uncertain. “Why do your wolves no longer attack as we stand here looking at you?” Oliver pressed as he stepped forward. “Um, Oliver? What the hell are you doing?” Vince questioned him nervously. “Shut up Vince.” he returned without looking away from the dark man. “I got nothing left to be afraid of, or for, anymore.” “I'll personally tear out your tongue son of Adam if you don't fall silent.” the dark man threatened. “No. I don't think you will. I don't think you'll get the chance.” Oliver spat back at him through his hatred.

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“WHAT?!” the dark man roared with anger as his eyes gleamed a bright ice blue. “Mah'ha'Dach doesn't mean 'Last to Live' Lahja and you damn well know it. It means 'Last to be Born' and that was your son, the one who lies at your feet. The only way your master would win this game would be if Erkki damned us, judged us for what he saw, for what the human race, the Sons of Adam as you call us, made him suffer for.” Oliver said as he stopped at the base of the stairway. “...but he didn't, did he? That's why you murdered him... because you failed to corrupt him. You've lost Lahja because the sacrifice has been made. The Mah'ha'Dach lies crucified by his own father's hand. He has suffered for the Sons of Adam and the Covenant has been fulfilled. The banishment of your race to purgatory is over and it's judgment day for you at last.” Oliver told him as the rain began to pound harder. Somewhere in the distance, from a direction Oliver couldn't pinpoint, he heard a feint but monstrously furious bellow. “No! It's not true!” the dark man yelled. “I am the Mah'ha'Dach! I am the judge!” “There's only one true judge Lahja. Erkki always knew that, and I think your about to find that out as well.” Oliver said coldly. As the dark man looked around, he began to realize all the black wolves were staring intently at him. It was not fear nor respect he saw in their deep ebon sockets, it was hunger. One large hound stepped forward toward the dark man and gazed up at him as it salivated. It's face was more dog-like than most of the others, almost pug shaped. With great effort that looked as if it caused the beast to nearly unhinge it's jaw, it spoke one word in the voice of Cord Browning.

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“Sinner.” “No!” the dark man howled. “This will not be!” The next moment the same hound leaped toward his throat as the dark man threw up his arms to block the black wolf. The animal grabbed his wrist in it's jaws as the dark man growled with anger. He took hold of the wolf with his other hand and pulled it free throwing it down the steps. As the apparition hit the ground it merely rolled over and lunged at him again even more furiously this time as another wolf leaped up upon his back and sank it's teeth into the dark man's neck. A third monstrous animal rushed in and grabbed his thigh as he fought the beasts with all his great strength while roaring with anger. With a furious howl they were all upon him. All their hatred, their anguish, and their frustration about what they had become they directed toward the fell creature who was only a moment ago, their master. They swarmed him by the hundreds, then the thousands as all signs of the dark man was lost within the great nexus of abyssal anger that raged like a storm upon the steps of the church. When every last black beast had been absorbed into the swirling darkness, it began to collapse upon itself like a dying star forming a funnel into a terrible black hole upon the stone. With one last cry of madness heard from within the evil core, it was gone. Only the sound of fading fires and the rain falling on the stairs could be heard that bleak sunless day, that and the sound of a child who still sat there gently rocking Erkki's lifeless body back and forth upon the stone step as he moaned softly oblivious to everything else. Alex sat down on the stair at the base of the flight rubbing his eyes and wiping his forehead with a rag he pulled from his pocket as he pulled forth his silver flask, quickly unscrewing the top.

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“I don't understand what just happened. I don't understand it and I guess I never will, but I know a hero when I see one. Here's to you kid. Rest in peace Erkki.” he said solemnly as he pulled a deep drink of whiskey and looked around. Over a hundred people now stood around the base of the church steps of St. Micheal’s talking softly in the chill of the unnatural dark and the cool rain. “Miguel can you hear me?” Oliver asked kneeling beside the boy as he continued to cry softly and embrace his lost friend tightly. “I know it hurts Miguel. It hurts me too, but Erkki did what he had to do. He did good, remember that.” he told him as he patted the boy's long curly wet hair, but the boy seemed not even to notice him. “What do you mean had to do?” Vince questioned him angrily as he stood over Miguel and Erkki's body. “We don't really know what the hell just happened or why! Who's to say Erkki had to die stop that lunatic? A bunch of Bible hoodoo? Your Jewish friend? Maybe if you hadn't convinced Erkki to commit suicide we could have handled this another way!” “Convinced him?!” Oliver spat back at him as he rose to his feet. “I would never do any such thing you pompous moron! I never told Erkki he should give his life!” he yelled sticking his finger in Vince's face. “You may as well have!” Vince continued to argue. “You put all this fallen angel crap in his head Oliver and look where it got him! Besides, if Erkki just fulfilled some hairbrained prophecy mumbo-jumbo that why the hell is it still dark?!” “Look here Mr. social worker boy, you...!” Oliver began to rant back. “Shut up!” Miguel raised his head and screamed. “Just shut the hell up, damn!” he spoke silencing both men.

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He poked his head up at the two adults standing over him as they stopped glaring at one another and looked into his red, tear filled eyes as the cold rain soaked his hair. “Erkki's dead!” he told them as his face twisted into an expression of utter misery. “My friend is dead! My brother is dead! He's dead! Erkki is dead!” he trailed off as he very gently laid Erkki onto his back letting go of him at last, all but his hand which he held softly against his cheek as he cried. The two men fell silent and knelt at Erkki's sides. Miguel was right. Arguing was pointless now. What was done was done, and as Oliver took Erkki's other hand in his and looked upon the child's burnt and broken body he was overcome at last. Vince realized he was fighting Oliver mainly to keep himself from feeling the deep sorrow and anger which clenched his spirit. Now that the moment was past there was nothing left to protect him so he reached out to touch Erkki's bare chest through his torn shirt as he cried. As the trio mourned, a gasp of surprise came from the small crowd at the base of the stairs a few yards away which began to move back slightly as they pointed at something far up the steps. Alex turned and stood as he dropped his flask upon the ground and blinked several times disbelievingly as he muttered aloud. “What the...” Moving slowly downward across the Earth and approaching the group step by step was a single thin beam of sunlight. It's origin was unknown as it seemed to pierce through thick black clouds miles overhead and beyond sight. A solitary concentrated shaft of light, no bigger around than a baseball, moving slowly down the steps toward the three people and Erkki's body below. As Miguel sniffled and rubbed his nose, he happened to look up for a moment and

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spotted the odd event as it drifted toward them from the stairs above. “What... What is that?” he asked as he sniffled again wiping the rain from his face. Oliver and Vince both looked up at him, then followed his gaze to the strange light as it moved ever nearer to them. They squinted at it as they tried to see a source for it high above, but nothing could be seen up there in the angry darkness of the pitch sky. They looked at each other in confusion, then back to the light as it dropped two more steps creeping closer. “What is that man?!” Miguel cried as he began to become afraid. “I don't... I don't know.” Oliver admitted as he sat there fascinated by the bizarre luminescence which was clearly drawn to them. “We gotta move Erkki! It's gonna touch him!” Miguel cried as he began to panic. “Wait! Just wait Miguel.” Oliver didn't really know what he was waiting for, but a sense of peace washed over him as he looked into that light. Slowly the beam descended three more steps then moved between the two men where it settled warmly upon poor Erkki's forehead. As it did, a single tone rang out from the old bell high up in the steeple of St. Micheal’s and the light reversed direction heading back up the steps toward the center doors. “Get him to the church.” Oliver said as he half stood and started to pull Erkki's lifeless body from the stone. “What?! Why?!” Vince gasped as he stood with him. “Just do it. Miguel, help me.” he said as he began to lift the child's body.

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“Why are we doing this?” Vince questioned as he took hold of Erkki's other arm and helped raise him off the ground. “For God's sake Vince just help us... please.” he begged Vince closed his mouth and took up Erkki's left arm and leg while Oliver supported the right side. Miguel lovingly cradled Erkki's head in his hands and walked slowly backward following the light over his shoulder. As they gently lifted the boy up and started moving toward the doors, none of them even noticed the small red tulip which had burst forth from a tiny crack in the cold stone just beneath the spot where Erkki's body once lay. A perfect little flower, which opened and began to bloom. “Come on. Almost there.” Oliver said as he smiled just a little ignoring the rain as it drenched his clothes. The ground rumbled slightly and a small light began to shine from within the stained glass of the building ahead of them. Suddenly, without explanation, the set of double doors to the left of the main entrance flew open and blew off their hinges tumbling end over end up into the dark sky overhead. A few steps later, the doors on the right also were violently ripped open and pulled upward far out of sight. “What's happening?!” Miguel yelled as the wind began to blow harder and the dark clouds overhead began to churn. “I don't know Miguel, but it's a good thing!” Oliver told him joyfully as he followed behind the light beam. As they approached just a few steps away from the main entrance, the huge banded doors flung open and tore free of the old iron hinges. They sailed outward just a few inches over their heads where they picked up speed and were sucked strait up into the sky.

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As the beam of light crossed the threshold into the church hall and winked out, everyone looked up at the frightening, but wondrous sight of what appeared to be a huge ball of lightning emerging from the nebulous sky. It plummeted to the Earth like a falling star streaking downward dragging a white fiery tail behind it as it dropped toward the roof of the church. When finally it struck the building, all the windows in the high lofts were blown out and a fantastically bright light filled the top of the structure illuminating the entire neighborhood. Floor by floor it continued to fall as the glass burst out from every window including all the stained glass work around the sides. As whatever it was struck the ground floor back within the main hall, the building shook and the huge glass artwork which dominated the front of St. Micheal’s blew out showering the front steps with millions of colored bits. The crowd gasped and moved back to avoid the shards as they shielded their eyes against the brilliant white light which shone forth from within the damaged church. Alex had to squint and peek through his fingers to see the dim outline of the three pallbearers as they crossed over into the church carrying the body of Erkki Lahja. For the next few minutes, the crowd waited and watched the glowing building with both fear and awe as the bright light continued to shine out across the darkness of the dreaded night. There was no sign of the three people who entered and no one could hear anything save the humming pulse of the light and the patter of falling rain. Most of the surrounding fires had died down to wet smoldering ruins which continued to sizzle lightly as the cool rains drenched them. “Look at that!” someone yelled as everyone began to point at the new figures moving in the powerful light. At

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first it was only a few, then hundreds appeared circling around the building high above the ground. They looked like people! Hundreds of flying people just barely visible in the growing luminescence of the white light surrounding the church. Before long those hundreds became thousands and their voices were plainly heard as they all laughed, cried and sang as they flew wildly around St. Micheal’s. The voices of men, women and children all crying out in elation at levels all but unknown to the Earthbound observers. It was the most beautiful sight any among them had ever seen, ever imagined, and it drove several of them to their knees as they wept with exultation. Nothing could ever compare to the sight of so many souls freed from endless dark, endless cold, and given over at last to endless joy... except perhaps what happened next. Suddenly the chaotic choir grew silent and seemed to look upward toward the apex of the steeple as they paused in mid flight. There, high above the building, just visible in the commanding incandescence of the church light, the four stone angles decorating the bell tower suddenly moved and spread forth their wings as the trumpets they carried were raised and sounded with such a powerful noise it shook the Earth itself. As the trumpets blared a single perfect clear note, the light from the building became much brighter as it overwhelmed the scenes and bathed the entire area in a fiery white. A cone of light blew through the roof of the church and upward into the sky as the blinding pulse drowned all vision. The force ripped free from the building as if all the light in the universe had been unleashed. It was indescribably beautiful and unimaginably awful at the same time.

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Only moments later, the sound of the instruments was gone, the bright light was gone, the choir of souls was gone... and the darkness surrounding the Earth, was gone. The bright summer sun shone as powerful as ever through a clear sky. Even the rain was gone. Only a huge wide rainbow, larger and more clear that anyone had ever seen before remained behind. All around the battered building, arose a field of blooming red tulips. Not hundreds, but thousands clustered all around the building covering the ground with a fiery red. As Alex slowly overcame his shock he noticed the two men and the boy emerging at last from the main entrance and he trotted up the stairs to meet them as the gathered crowd below began to cheer gratefully. “Oliver, Vince, kiddo... are you guys OK? My God what happened in there? What just happened?!” he struggled to ask as the three passed him by without a word. Oliver just smiled and put his hand on Alex's shoulder clearly too overcome to speak. “Where's Erkki?” he asked Miguel as the boy paused. “I mean... where's his...?” he asked stuttering. “I know what you mean Mr. Alex” Miguel told him smiling brightly. “Look there.” he said as he pointed and smiled even more showing his teeth as his dark eyes gleamed with happiness. Someone in the crowed screamed and several people cried out as they saw what emerged next from the church. Alex turned to look back toward the door where Miguel pointed and was unable to stop himself from sinking to his knees. “Dear God...” Alex gasped. Walking forth from the doorway of St. Micheal’s was Little Erkki Lahja. He was there looking out over the

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gathered people before him as he raised his hand and smiled. No trace of his wounds remained, of any wounds in fact. His bare unclothed skin, while still pale white, shined smooth and bore no sign of not only any recent trauma, but of any scar or injury it had ever once carried. The boy's body seemed to glisten now as if it were purest platinum. His hair, which was before cut short and wild, now lay in long flowing black sheets which blew gently in the summer breeze as it cradled his back to his waste and tiny points of white light tinkled within it as he moved. Behind him could be seen layers of wispy silver light which flowed back from his shoulders as they stretched outward and upward. Erkki looked over the assembled people below through eyes not of cold metallic, but of deep and blazing azure. Eyes which have seen some of the worst sins of mankind. Eyes which have seen cruelty and had known pain. Eyes which at last understood human frailty, suffering and temptation in a way which could never be understood by the others who merely watch from on high. Eyes which blazed with infinite compassion rather than harsh judgment. In that place, at that moment, nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine cleansed souls streaked toward the heavens singing in infinite joy... a moment later, with a smile and a wave goodbye... ten thousand.

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Epilogue The park was busy that summer day as a long, hot dream-like Sunday slowly faded into a warm pleasant evening. Many families had packed up their picnics and headed home for an evening of TV or to begin the process of winding down the little ones for bed. It had been an unusually hot and rather dry season but the cool breeze felt like a gentle silk sheet flowing over the land. The air was full of the scent of lilac and buttercup and the sound of children playing in the stream bubbled over the shady spot under the tree making the two lovers smile and gaze happily over the water at their first born son, now almost ten, as he raced to gather fireflies in the fading sunlight. “He looks so much like you Miguel.” Sandra, his wife of twelve years, told him quietly as she sipped on a cold ice tea. “Nah, he's taller than I was.” he said with a proud grin. “Yeah, he gets that from my side of the family.” she said giggling. “Whatever.” he answered rolling his eyes and laughing. “We should get going soon, you promised to take the boys to see their grandpa Sanchez in the morning, remember?” she said stroking his shoulder. “Yeah.” he said in a distant breathy voice. “What's wrong honey?” she asked him looking into his eyes as he slowly looked over the grassy hills and

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wooded edges of the Marigold city park clearly lost in thought. “Nothing, just... remembering.” Miguel said distantly. Sandra stopped looking at him and laid her head on his bare shoulder. She knew there was nothing to do but wait for him to catch up with the world again when he got like this. No amount of coaxing could drag him back to her when he wandered away into the past like that. Several minutes later he pulled out a cloth and wiped his forehead as he looked down at his loving wife at his side. “Hear that?” he said with a broad smile. “What honey?” she asked looking up at him. “Ice cream truck is coming.” he said shaking his brows at her as she laughed at him. “I swear Miguel Sanchez, you are such a child.” she told him sarcastically. “Erkki! Go hit the ice cream truck for us! Come over and get some money!” he called out across the stream to his son. “Ice cream truck? Cool!” Erkki Sanchez said as he sat down his bug collecting jar and ran toward his father. “Where's your little brother?” Miguel asked him as he came running up, feet thoroughly soaked after running through the water. “He's playin' kick ball with the Iller kids over the hill.” he told him pointing off toward the road. “Your supposed to be watching him.” Sandra scolded him gently. “Sorry mom.” the boy said. “Well go get him and hit up the ice cream truck before it gets too far away! Here's a five, you know what I want.” Miguel said with a wink.

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“Astro Popsicle with the bubblegum at the bottom, I know.” the boy said rolling his brown eyes. “Just make with the ice cream wise guy, and make sure your brother only gets one thing, OK?” Miguel told him as the boy happily ran off toward the edge of the park. “OK dad!” he yelled back as he dashed off toward the musical sound. Little Jack Sanchez played contentedly with his big blue ball as he tossed it overhand against the tree over and over again catching it each time with his tiny five year old hands. The sphere was as big as a beach ball but he hugged it tightly as it came bouncing back to him time and time again. The Iller twins had gone home with their family about ten minutes ago and Jack was supposed to go back down the hill to play with his older brother, but he didn't really wanna. He wanted to play more ball, but Erkki was only interested in rounding up lightning bugs. As he tossed out the ball again as hard as he could, his ears picked up the sound of a musical tone playing over a loud speaker. It was the siren call of the ice cream truck alright, he could hear it even if it was miles away! Momentarily distracted, he failed to catch the big rubber ball as it sailed passed him after bouncing off the tree and careened off toward the sidewalk. “No! My ball!” he cried as he refocused his attention on the toy and dashed off after it. The woman in the green car was paying little attention to the road, much less anything else as she rolled along arguing with her ex boyfriend on her cell phone. She angrily smacked her hand on the wheel as she tried in vain to make her point to him and had inadvertently allowed her lead

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foot to push her dodge up to almost forty five miles per hour on the little park side lane. As the big blue ball bounced onto the sidewalk it made it's way out into the street quickly being followed by the little boy who was intent on recovering it and didn't even realize he was leaving the play area. Before Jack could set one foot off the sidewalk and into the road, however, a strange man in mid fall from his bicycle suddenly bumped into him knocking him back into the grass as they both fell down almost on top of one another. “Oh geeze! Are you OK kid?!” the man asked him as he sat up and brushed the grass out of his hair. “I didn't even see you there! I'm so sorry, are you OK?!” he asked Jack again with obvious concern in his eyes. Jack looked away from him and out into the street as he saw his big blue ball get run down by the woman in the green car as she drove on by doing almost fifty now. Had the child been following it, she would never have been able to stop in time. Slowly the tattered remains of his toy drifted down and slid across the asphalt to come to rest against the opposite curb, completely ruined. “My ball...” little Jack said sadly to himself. “Here, let me help you up kid.” the man offered as he stood and rubbed his back. Jack reached up and took the man's hand as he got to his feet and wiped the grass from his shirt. “I'm really sorry little boy, I hope I didn't hurt you. It's just that... well... The... The craziest thing just happened! I mean, never in a million years would that happen just right to... Well the coin, and the tree limb, and the frisbee, and the tennis racket, then my bicycle... I mean what are the odds?!” he sputtered on completely amazed by something as he lifted his bike up from the ground. “It was all so surreal, I mean did you see it?” he asked Jack who just stared at him blankly.

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“No huh? Well maybe I just imagined it then, I dunno. I guess it was nothing but a stroke of bad luck eh? It was so strange though...” the man trailed off as he rode away on his bicycle. “Jacky!” came Erkki Sanchez's voice from over the hill. “Come on, papa gave me five whole dollars for the ice cream truck, let's go! Hurry!” the boy said as he waved to Jack. “Ice cream truck!” Jack said excitedly as he turned and ran back toward his older brother forgetting all about the strange man and his lost ball. As the boys ran off, a radio somewhere nearby played out the first soulful southern notes of Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'See the Light' while a small form stood casually nearby against the tree listening to the music. He was a young boy about four and a half feet tall, wearing loose blue jeans and a plain white tee shirt. His short and somewhat unkempt black hair hung around his face playfully as he brushed his bangs aside out of his big, unnaturally blue eyes. He smiled as he watched the other boys run off for ice cream while he skillfully flicked his coin up into the air over and over again catching it and rolling it around the back of his pale skinned hand. The boys never even noticed him, neither did anyone else, but he didn't care. That was the way it was supposed to be. He snatched his coin out of the air as he felt his pocket with his other hand. From within his trousers came the jiggle of more coins. In fact he had lots of coins to use today and plenty more for tomorrow! When those ran out, there were more coins waiting for him, ever more coins. The boy grinned again as he smelled the scented evening air. He always liked this park and he kinda wanted to stay a while, but he knew couldn't. After all it was a busy

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day for him and there were places he needed to be. As he looked down at the silvery coin in his hand, he knew what to do. There was a another miracle waiting to happen somewhere not too far away. A miracle no one would ever see, or ever believe if they did. Just one more miracle out of the thousands upon thousands that happened everywhere, everyday. Just another of the pocket full of miracles he carried with him now. Put a candle in the window... 'cause I feel I've got to move. Though I'm goin', goin', I'll be coming home soon. As long as I... can see the light...

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Erkki Lahja, a kind hearted boy from a crumbling family in a crumbling neighborhood, tries his best just to move through life and protect his friends in the bright summer of 1975. He also seems to be the only one oblivious to the fantastic chain of events that unfold miraculously around him. A chain that wraps around him tighter and tighter pulling him deeper into the world of mobsters, dirty cops, and madmen. Erkki's social worker is convinced he's schizophrenic, his new foster guardian has come to believe he's a prophet, the man who calls himself the law just wants his head on a pike, and poor troubled Erkki just wants to go home and be left alone. Unfortunately for Erkki, that's never going to happen as he has a decision to make which may very well mean the salvation or condemnation of all mankind. A decision of which forces beyond earth will stop at nothing to influence. An answer to a question which is far and away beyond little Erkki's ability to understand, but one which only he can resolve in the end. The Children of Malakh is a book about innocents and bravery in the face of utter evil, the relationship of two boys who's "unbreakable" bond is continuously put to the test, and a very special child with a very special heritage who guards a powerful secret deep within his luminous soul.