Sun light peaked through an opening in between the thick curtains. The light landed on the two familiar faces of Dustin and Jake. A happy Derrick burst through the doors. "Rise and shine sleeping beauties! School awaits you two!" Derrick sang way off key. "Be quiet dad... I don't even want to go to school!" Dustin pulled the covers over his head. "Why must the sun be so mean?" Jake grumbled pulling his covers up over his head too. "Get up! Be glad you two can go to school!" Derrick ripped the bed sheets from the boys grip. Both boys groaned and covered their faces with the pillows.
"Hey boys! If you want waffles come now or else you don't get anything." Liz called from the kitchen. "We're up!" Jake and Dustin bolted out of bed to get ready. Running down the hallway came the two boys. First came Jake then Dustin came next not a moment later. "How do you do that?" Derrick came in a while later. "I'm just so amazing." Liz giggled.
"You are amazing. So I'm awesome." Derrick chuckled wrapping his arms around her waist. "Ewe, y'all can wait till I'm gone. I don't want to be traumatized by you two. Not today not tomorrow not ever." Jake mad a playful disgusted face. Liz's face got a small tint of red while Derrick looked at Jake with a bit of an amused face. Dustin chuckled at everyone's reactions. Finally both of the boys finished their waffles, grabbed their backpacks, and headed out. "Derrick is a bit weird at times." Jake thought aloud. "I agree Jake... I agree." Dustin said. Arriving at the bus stop wasn't the best or enjoyable part of their day. Not any day really. Jake seemed to be tense when he saw a red ribbon tied to the bottom. "Oh no..." Jake clearly seemed to tense.
"Look guys! It's Pirate Jake! Ooh and he got a sailor too!" A teenage voice laughed from behind them. Jake and Dustin turned around to face three teens as old as Jake maybe a bit older. "Who are they Jake?" Dustin couldn't take his eyes off the one in the middle. Tall and muscular, his tan skin, he looked not that scary truly.
"Argh! Who is your sailor, Captain Jake?" Drake acted like a pirate mocking Jake."Tease me all ya want. If any of y'all hurt Dustin I'll hurt you twice as bad!"Jake threatened the group. In a flash Jake was back-handed by Drake and Dustin was held back by Jace and Alex. "Want to say that again pirate?" Drake spat angrily. "Hurt me all ya want. Just don't hurt him." Jake pleaded. "Hmm.... How about a no." Drake growled signaling Jace. Jace nodded and pulled one of Dustin's hands back sharply making him yelp in pain. "What are you going to do pirate? Oh looks like you're stuck yourself!" Drake laughed. Jake struggled to get free and so did Dustin while the three bullies laughed and mocked them. "I highly suggest you leave them alone," A new voice interjected.
All the laughing and struggling stopped. Everyone's heads snapped over to see who the intruder was. It was another regular man. He had an average build; he was tall, his hair a pitch black, a black suit, and a fedora hat covering his eyes. "Who might you be?" Jace asked. "That is none of your concern right now, Jace." The mystery man said lowly. "What-How did you know his name?" Alex pointed to a shocked Jace next to him. "Secrets, Mister Alex, tons of little secrets I have." The mystery man replied. He seemed to have stunned everyone into silence before speaking again. "Again, let Sir Jake and Sir Dustin go or else..." The man started to growl. Drake being a complete idiot to the stranger decided to be a pest. "Or what will you do? Call our mommies to take us home and put us in time out?" Drake pushed.
His two friends, Jace and Alex, didn't laugh at his remark. "No, I might come to visit your family one night. When they least expect me." The mystery man threatened. Drake knew he had crossed the line with this stranger that meant business. Drake, Jace, and Alex's eyes widened as big as they possibly could go without popping out of their heads. Without a single word the bullies pushed Dustin and Jake aside then running around a corner, out of sight. "Who are you?" Dustin picked himself up from off the ground dusting off his pants.
"I am Mister Timothy Isaac at your service." The man called 'Mister Tim' said. "Ok, two more questions. One, how did you find us?" Jake asked getting up too. "All the laughter, voices, and teasing sounds coming from the area over here gave you away. I just wanted to check it out being the curious me," Mister Tim said. "Two, where is the bus? It usually comes by now." Jake looked around puzzled. "The bus was quite easy. I just punctured the tires to make them go flat, cracked the oil tank so the oil leaked out, and stuff." Mister Tim shrugged. Both of the boys stood there with their mouths agape. "Close your mouths boys! You aren't cod fish!" Mister Tim said a bit harshly. "You did that?!" The boys seemed to shout almost. Mister Tim covered both of their mouths and his watch timer went off.
"Quiet! Look I got to be quick about this but don't worry you will see me again," Mister Tim looked around to see if anyone was within ear shot. "What do you mean?" Jake asked. "You'll see it all come to play Jake. It may not be pretty but I will try to be there for you both." Mister Tim looked up showing his deep brown, almost, black eyes. He started to run away from the boys but before he vanished he said to them, "Everything has an end eventually sooner or later. Soon it shall come time for both of you." After that little meeting, Jake and Dustin walked home in a bit of shock. Memory of the mystery man, Tim, never leaving their minds even for a minute. No words were spoken on the way home, only thought. Liz was working in the garden while Derrick was mowing down the over grown grass again. When Derrick and Liz saw Jake and Dustin walking back they stopped doing their work and headed over to them.
"What are you doing here? You should be on the bus or at school by now!" Liz worried. "The bus never came so we think school is canceled. " Jake told a truth and a lie. "Ok then." Liz smiled weakly. "Uh, mom do you know someone named Mister Tim?" Dustin asked out of the blue. "Oh, I knew someone named Tim. He was my older brother, always wearing a black suit and his fedora hat..." Liz's eyes sparkled for a moment but faded away and got teary. "What do you mean 'was' and 'knew'?" Jake asked. "He disappeared a while ago... People thought he went insane... How do you two know about him?" Liz looked at them trying to hold back tears threatening to fall.
Dustin and Jake looked at each other shock hardly noticeable to Derrick or Liz but to each other it said enough. They just found Liz's missing, possibly insane, brother. "Uh just wondering... No real reason." Jake lied to Liz and Derrick trying to cover up a mistake or the look of unease. "Jake and I are going to go play video games in our room now so bye!" Dustin lied pulling Jake away from them. The boys went up to their room trying to solve the many puzzles inside their heads. Dustin's eyes followed the figure pacing across the room franticly. "I can't believe this!" Jake exclaimed waving his hands around in the air like a mad man. "I know! We found Liz's missing, probably crazy, brother." Dustin ran his fingers through his brown curly locks. "He even knew us!" Jake said. "But we don't know him... Very well at least." Dustin added. "He said bad things will come!" Jake cried. "Seriously? Like we haven't had enough pain and bad luck in our lives?! What the heck world?! What the heck is wrong with you?!" Dustin shouted to no one in particular.
The pieces and clues wouldn't fit together in their minds. Dustin worried more and more as the problems seemed to pop up. Evil and frightening thoughts swirled and flooded both of their minds. Thoughts, ideas, memories, and future flashes went around. "We can't keep this a secret from them Jake." Dustin sighed putting his heads in his hands. "What will we do then? Walk up to mom and be like 'Oh hey we had just seen your long lost brother! Just to let you know he said bad things are going to happen to us! He doesn't want to see us for a while now!" Jake said a bit harshly and sarcastically.
Dustin opened his mouth to shoot a cocky response back but he thought better and closed his mouth. "Sorry Dustin. I just don't want to see Liz hurt," Jake started. "It's ok Jake, I understand why." Dustin said. "Still I'm sorry." Jake wrapped his arms around Dustin gently. Dustin's mind took a while to process what Jake did, because he still wasn't very used to hugs yet. They hugged for a good while until it got really awkward.
"Wonder if anyone has a story similar to ours?" Jake blurted out. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe there are some people with stories like ours." Dustin agreed. "If there is, I feel sorry for them." Jake stood tall and saluted the air as if an army general was there in their room. Both boys wonder if someone or some people shared the same or similar story to theirs...
