Trouble in Tiltown

Remember me

Walking home from the funeral, I see posters stapled to every lamp post. I stood in front of one, reading it. On it read,

Missing person named James Nelson. Last seen at local hospital.

I sighed softly before shaking my head and moving onwards. As my walk seemed like an eternity, raindrops began bouncing off my all black suit. My hair quickly becoming soft as it became rinsed by the rain. My eyes closed momentarily, enjoying the fresh scent of the rain and the wet oak mixed together. The past few weeks have been a nightmare, and I felt the need to appreciate the earth, to remind myself that, it's not the earth that's the nightmare. It's just certain people in it that are. Everybody was at the funeral. People I didn't even recognize even.

*An hour prior*
I sat in my seat, sitting besides Jerrick and Kat. In the front row was Amber, Scott and West. He kept his head down as his dark sunglasses covered his eyes despite it not being sunny. In fact, it was on the verge of raining. I watched as Amber massaged West's hand in a circular motion as Scott sat next to her, hugging onto her arm as the priest spoke his speech.
"How is he doing?" Jerrick whispered in my ear as both of us stared at the back of West's head.
I shrugged, "Ever since the day we saw the nurses and doctors run into the room, he hasn't spoken a single word. To me or to anyone." I responded back to him. Kat rested her head on his shoulder, her long red locks sprawling over his chest. Her eyes had stayed glossy throughout the entire funeral. I remembered she had said Elouise was her best friend. I couldn't imagine losing your best friend. My eyes glance back to Jerrick. His eyes stayed focused on the speech being given, his jaw tightening every once in a while.

Soon enough, the event ended. Some people hugged each other goodbye and as a few people attempted to give their condolences to West and his family, he denied it before they could even speak by walking away and to their car. As I tried to get any of their attention, Amber finally looked up and caught my eyes.
"I'm sorry." I mouthed to her. As she shut the car door behind Scott as he crawled in the backseat, she nodded with a forced grin that was only filled with sadness before she put herself in the car. Before I knew it, Kat and Jerrick rushed up to my lonesome person and brought me into a warming hug. As we stood there for a good minute of warmth and sadness, we stepped back.
"We'll get through this." Kat reassures with a cracked voice as Jerrick pulled her in closer to him. I nodded.
"Do you need a ride home?" Jerrick offered.
"No, I'm just gonna walk. I need some fresh air." I said before making my way out of the cemetery.

*Present*
Walking inside my warmer home, it was filled with silence as for my mother was still working. I changed myself into a sweater along with a pair of old denim jeans and warm socks before making myself a sandwich. I ate at the kitchen table in silence, only being able to think of the events that have taken place over the past couple days. Once I finished up, I wandered into my bedroom and turned on my stereo that sat on my nightstand.

"Hello Tiltown. It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, this might be the last time I'll ever do this because I have a mission. See, my little sister passed away recently." West voice came over the speakers. My eyes bugged out as I got closer to my stereo before he spoke once again.
"So, I'm going to get my revenge. Abraham and Tiltown itself, get ready. Because I'm going to destroy you." He stated before going off air. Just as he did so, a knock on my door sounded. As I ran to it and opened up the door, James stood there. Bruises all over his face along with a cut on his lip and eyebrow.
"What happened to you?" I breathed with shock. He stood there, slouched and breathing heavily. His eyes, slowly meeting up with my stare.
"Abraham happened to me." He replied before almost falling to the ground. I caught him and dragged him inside my living room, propping him on the couch before getting my first aid kit. Crouching in front of him, I tried my best to fix any wounds that were on his face. Once I finished, I finally took sight of his entire appearance. He wore the same exact clothes that I last saw him in which was a plain red shirt with jeans and tennis shoes, but more scuffed up. Then, I remembered. The last time I saw him was a week ago, the same day that Elouise passed. Hurrying to the kitchen, I filled up a glass with water and made up another sandwich before bringing it to the living room. I took the seat next to him as I now waited for him to awaken.

I checked my watch and noticed he had been out for about 45 minutes now. As I began ripping at the hangnails on my fingers, I saw his eyes began fluttering opened.
"James?" I said as he slowly sat himself up. His eyes looked at me, then to the table with water and the sandwich.
"For me?" He asked quietly.
I looked the table then back at him, "Uh, yeah." Before I could say anything else, he snatched the sandwich and began munching on it like he hadn't ate in months, finishing it up within seconds.
"So, you aren't missing?" I questioned him. However, he started on his water now. Chugging the whole thing before turning to me.
He shook his head, "No, of course not. Abraham kidnapped me from the hospital that day." He explained before rushing into my kitchen and raiding my fridge.
"Did you know that Elouise is dead?" I asked him. He was chowing down on some yogurt before he stopped and looked at me, yogurt filling his mouth still.
"Yes. Abraham told me, that's why I look the way I do. Listen, I didn't mean to." He stated before swallowing the rest of the yogurt. His eyes suddenly becoming red with tears.
"We are gonna have to have a long talk, James." I said before we sat down at the table. He nodded in agreement.
"Yes we are. Because I have a lot of information that you are going to need." He spoke with a serious tone in his voice.