Undertow

Chapter 2

10 PM

It didnt take long before the neighborhood was bursting with flashing red white and blue that illuminated the quiet aristocratic suberbia. Paramedics picked up the dead body of the man who had been shit and declared him deceased from impaction of a weapon.  It took me a while to calm my nerves before i was qble to speak coherently.

"My name is....Thomas Brae but my adoptive parents renamed me Alovar. I am 17 years old and I was home alone when the incident happened.  I don't know anyone who could have helped and I was scared. My parents gave me up when I was young and was never taught how to defend myself because I lived in foster care until I was 15. I dont know how or why it happened but but All I could think of was protecting myself. I didnt want to die and the men kept talking about how they were there on a heist so that my adoptive parents could collect on insurance. They told me they had a party to go to that I wasn't allowed to go to. They bribed me to stay home and fend for myself" The police officer looked at me and I could tell that  he was processing  this information. 

"Am i going to jail?" I asked as I felt my throat tighten making it hard to breathe.

"On a typical circumstance I would say yes, but because of the new law that passed. Antone under the age of 18 who is not being monitored by an adult that acts in self defense is still considered innocent if they have evidence to prove it. Do you have video or surveillance that can we can check?"

"3rd room on the left. Password is PelicanBay" I choked on my words as that lump in my throat made it harder for me to speak. The police officer clicked his pen and headed upstairs while I waited on the landing. It didnt take long before my adoptive parents conviently rushed through the door. Their act of selfless love reeked of patronizing arrogance.

"Alovar! We heard about the break in tgank goodness you are alright!" The attempt to hug me was quickly interrupted by a forceful habd that pulled them away from me.

"Sir I am going to ask you to step away from the victim while he is processing." An officer stated as he jerked the man away from me.

"You are a lying sack of horse piss that doesn't deserve the gratification of living on this planet. If things were different I would have shot you instead. Fuck you and your bimbo trophy wife who is just is with you because of your money. How could you treat me like I am nothing more than a blank check so you can live this lavish facade. I hope you rot in a jail cell" i screamed with rage as tears swelled in my eyes stinging them as they rolled down my cheeks.

"Well looks like the kids story checks out. Just like he said. Surveillance caught everything and your plans to demonize him for profit is more than enough to put you in jail for a long time. "  the police officer and their captain quickly pushed the couple to the ground and read their Miranda rights before putting them into the squad car. The police officer turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder, as the captain turned to him

"Someone should stay with him tonight. " he sighed.

"I will make a call to Flora. She is more than willing to help out any way she can. On the mean time take the night off until we get him in a safe home"

"You guys are talking like I'm not here. I can take care of myself. You know that. You've seen it. The worst is over. You caught the bad guys"  I said quietly.

"Yes but you can't live by yourself.  You are still a minor and needs to be in a home that can help you live your life. Living on your own with no parental guidance or knowledge of how to sustain yourself will only end badly for you"

Deep down I knew he was right. I had nothing to my name except a few thousand pounds that my parents had given to me, but even that money felt tainted by the spoils of war. I wouldn't be able to survive on their scrupulous tastes nor would I be able to transport myself from their homestead without  getting myself lost or in deeper trouble.  The mere fact that I literally killed a person with a harpoon gun seemed to counter  felonious charges my foster parents would be facing by just the skin of my teeth.  From child endangerment to money laundering to countless other schemes that would make any sane person physically nauseous, but the worst of it was over for now and my ill fated hostility towards these people was finally put at ease for a short while.

Sleep came uneasy as they come. With various dreams of unsettled reactions mixed with hallucinating torment of nefarious ideas that would make people shudder and therapists rich from the amount of sessions that would be used to disect the raw unfiltered memories. Some dreams were a mix of past events from the last 24 hours all the way to memories of my abandonment.   The pale moon light filtered through the window as the constant berating of the shore sounded a little more aggressive than normal as the sound of rain began to patter the window screen. The damp coastal rain felt good as wind began to pick up exponentially.  Soon the window and my headboard began to shake and rattke as the window rocked the house. I closed the window and locked it as torrential rain that sounded like pebbles hitting the concrete building.  Soon the sound of ripping and tearing began to make its presence known as the sound of tree branches hitting their limbs across the house made for an eerie experience.  But soon just as the weather came, it was gone in time. The rain still lingered for a good few hours but the wind that rocked the shoreline dissipated. The moon gave just enough light to take in the travesty that was left behind. Fish and crabs littered the shoreline while overturned patio furniture scattered the tides breach. Waves crashed over the plastic furniture pulling it into the ocean but then pushing it back on shore. The immense power of a hurricane snap was just a taste of what could possibly be the worst season to start.