Castle High

43. Hero Unveiled - I

"C'mon, you still got five more to go!"

His uncle's yell was audible from the other end of the lawn. It was a bright, warm Saturday morning in the summer and they had both gone to exercise in an open field nearby. His uncle had packed some planks and wooden benches along for the exercise that would act as make-shift hurdles.

"Just five more!" The voice was closer now, as he ventured closer to it. As usual, Uncle Levi's trade-mark stoic smirk was donned, and his legs were spread out wide with his arms propped down on his waist.

"You mean five more to my death," Jake said as he collapse by his uncle's towered figure on the lawn. "I can't take anymore, Uncle Levi and you're seriously going to have to increase the level of credit you give me. From where I'm from - 9-year olds are frolicking on their couches, eating shrimps and fries and binge-watching superhero animes. Not running the length of a 200-meter track and jumping over high wooden benches acting as make-shift hurdles, which would almost break your leg when you accidentally ram into it."

"That's why shouldn't ram into it." Levi declared, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "That's the consequence for failing. On a real track the consequence of ramming into it is the pain of losing the race, but you can't feel that sort of pain out here - especially when you're not thinking of venturing into the sport. So, only this sort of pain is possible, and is therefore plausible. In the future, when you run your hands through your legs - and a pain stems from it, you'd remember today's lesson and its relevance."

"All set, ready to go." The police officer declared after running his hands through the full length of Jake's body. On the other side of the counter stood both of his parents beaming with immense joy at the impending action. He was finally being discharged from the detention site's hospital, and also being acquitted totally of his crimes. He was a free-man.

It was two months ago, when he hurled himself through the hospital's highest floor window, and crashed down to the life beneath. Unlike Benjamin, he was extremely lucky and also quite prepared for the situation. During the fall, he had managed to whirl himself around so that he rammed his back unto a car beneath, without incurring damage on any other vital part of his body. His back however suffered severe bone damage, and required extensive treating and rest and was also the cause of his long stay in the hospital.

On that day he had passed out instantly upon impact with the vehicle, on-lookers had acted quickly in alerting emergency and a team of medics arrived not so long after. After being treated and gaining his consciousness, Jake had handed over the bruised I-Pod to the forensics team of the CIA, to extract the message. The mission was successful, and the team and the police was able to listen to it. After the whole process, further protocols were observed before the jury was able to pronounce Jake - 'Not guilty of the charges leveled against him.' And then announced that he be released immediately the moment he had returned back to good health.

The news took the world by storm also, and majority didn't fail to express their relief on the matter of how joyous they were about the new development, and the mass didn't fail to take to various sort of platforms on social media to express how they always knew - he was a hero, and was being framed all these while.

A bunch of hypocrites they were.

The one person he knew he owed immense gratitude to was - 'Dennis Yates.' If Ben's dad didn't make the sacrifice he did, then only God knew the sort of fate that would have befallen him. He owed a lot to the man. And it only dampened his spirits further when he thought of what happened to Ben. He had only brought sorrow and sobriety into the lives of everyone implicated.

The whole ruse was to destroy his life, put him into a situation in which no one would want him so that he could have a reason to start it all over again with his mentally deranged uncle. Every single person that had lost their lives, either directly or indirectly, killed by Levi or losing their lives as a result of collateral damage had all been murdered by him - Jake. If he hadn't walked into their lives, sorrow would have never crossed path with them.