Truth Comes Second

A Rattle

Author's Note: You guys are the best people ever!! This story and Family Comes First has been on the Horror "What's Hot" list for the longest time. Honestly, I didn't expect anyone to like my stories and I honestly can't believe how many people have read this. Your comments and support have given me so much more confidence in what I write. I've been writing since I was six, and I still have a hard time considering myself a "writer".  I can't thank you guys enough!

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Jimmy's POV:

I kept glancing at myself in the rear-view window. I was paranoid that my hair would reveal my scar and somebody would notice. I passed only a few cars on the road. Their headlights filled my car and I felt like the driver was staring at me. I knew they weren't paying any attention to my car, but the thought lingered in the back of my mind.

I needed to find Alcomby. I kept driving, but I didn't see any signs on the side of the road that would tell me where to find Alcomby. I needed to find a map or ask somebody, but that was risky. I couldn't drive around aimlessly for hours.

The gun was safely in my pocket. I put the sleeping bag Gabe gave me and all of the money I had left in the trunk of the car. I didn't plan on going back any time soon. Tommy had enough food to last him a couple of weeks, and once I found Alcomby I wasn't leaving without Julie.

I pulled over to a gas station I saw. I filled the tank, I didn't know when I was going to stop next, and kept looking over my shoulder. A teenager sat behind the counter inside. He had his feet up on the counter, headphones in his ears, and a magazine in his hands. I pulled my hair over my face and my hood farther over my head. I kept my hand over the gun as I walked into the station.

The teenager looked up at me when I entered. A couple of bells clanged against the door. He out his feet on the floor and dropped the magazine on the counter.

"That'll be thirty dollars," he said with a mouthful of gum.

I pulled some money out of my pocket and handed it over to him.

"How do you get to Alcomby from here?" I asked.

"It's like a twenty minute drive north," he said.

"Only twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, just stay on the highway and it's like the fourth exit."

He leaned in and I turned around before he could notice who I was.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I hurried out.

I drove back onto the highway and counted until I got to the fourth exit. I kept driving until I saw a big blue sign that said "Alcomby" on it.

I couldn't stop my lips from lifting into a smile. Julie, my Julie, was here. I was so close to reuniting with my family. Gabe and Tommy told me it was never going to happen, but they were wrong.

Every single building that I passed could have Julie in it. Which one was going to be the hard part. If I was going to find her, I was going to have to find her on the street. I'd have to see her taking Hunter for a walk or going to a store. I'd have to risk going out in the broad daylight to find her.

I pulled the car over in an empty parking lot. The streets were dead. Since I've entered Alcomby, I haven't seen one person walking on the street. I looked over at the clock to see that it was two in the morning.

The wind caused a shiver to run up my back. I tucked my hair behind my ear, but I kept the hood up. I barely saw anyone, but I wanted to be safe. I stuffed my hands into my pocket, and held onto my gun.

I walked for hours. I looped blocks, passed many stores, and walked by many different houses and apartments. I wondered if Julie was in any of these. I hoped she was sleeping peacefully. I hoped Hunter was with her and safe.

I walked aimlessly for hours. I was about to try to find my way back to the car, but then I heard something. It was a soft noise. It sounded like a girl. Who would be up this late?

One light was on a couple of apartment buildings down. A shadow stood on the balcony. I followed it to realize that the woman was singing. I recognized that voice. It was the voice I had been missing for months.

It was Julie.

Julie's POV:

I watched as the red numbers on my clock slowly began to change. Hours passed by and I was still awake. I didn't want to go to sleep. Every time I went to sleep I dreamt of Tommy. I didn't want Carrie shaking me awake on my first night here. She'd get rid of me in no time if she knew how much of a nuisance I was.

Hunter's crying crackled through the baby monitor Carrie got me. My wheelchair was beside my bed, but I didn't want to try to deal with that. I would definitely bump into something in the dark hallway and wake Carrie up.

Using my nightstand, I managed to pull myself up out of bed. The pain still shot up my leg, but it was manageable. Thankfully to Tessa's physiotherapy exercises, I was able to walk down the hallway. Hunter's room was next to mine, so I didn't have far to go.

I flicked on the lights, and I saw Hunter throwing out his arms and his legs as he screamed. I bent down, picked him up, and started bouncing him in my arms. He continued to cry, so I set him back down in his crib and went into the kitchen. I got his bottle out of the fridge and slowly made my way back to Hunter's room.

I picked him up again and gave him the bottle. Hunter stopped crying and latched onto the bottle. I wiped the remaining tears off of his pink face. I turned off Hunter's light and brought him into my room. I grabbed the comforter off of my bed and went out onto the balcony.

There was a plastic chair out on my balcony and a small plastic table. The black metal of the balcony was connected at each level by a fire escape. Carrie had a balcony too, but hers was on the side. Our apartment was on the corner, so we each saw a different side of the street.

I sank down into the plastic chair and threw the comforter over Hunter and I. Hunter continued eating, but he'd look up at me with his big brown eyes. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I ran my fingers across his thin brown hair and began to sing to him. I tried singing to him in the hospital, but my lungs hurt so much it came out as a raspy whisper.

Hunter finished his bottle and I held him up against my shoulder to burp him. That's when I heard the fire escape begin to rattle.