THE VICKERS

Chapter 3

They were next to Cosgrove Estates, the nicer side of town with bigger homes and fancier cars. So he walked until the houses got smaller and the cars got crappier. Devin walked for about quarter mile before coming across a car that could be broken into without sounding an alarm.

He found an old Geo Metro parked in front of a wooden house that could easily be mistaken for abandoned with its rotting steps and broken balusters but the garden at the front was well kept.

Pink flowers bloomed over onto the sidewalk. He bent down and peeped through the driver's window. All clear. He pulled his hood low and the sleeve of his hoodie over his fists.

He looked around one last time before jamming his fist through the window of the driver's side. There was no alarm. He still waited to see if anyone heard the crash. The street was as quiet as a graveyard.

He unlocked the door and got inside the car. He yanked the cover on the steering wheel column, and it came off easily. It revealed three bundles of wires. He desperately tried to remember which bundle was the battery and which was the ignition.

Remembering Darius' explanation of the steps from a book, he tried to decipher which was which, but he wasn't as smart as Darius. Darius could tell you everything about vehicles and machines. When they did go to school, he'd spend most of his time in the library, just reading. He definitely had an obsession with mechanics. He once built a remote control car and had it driving around their tiny room. Until one day Barry found it and run over it with his own car. Devin would never forget that.

He found Darius crying in their room that evening. When he learned of what had happened, Devin was fuming. He took on Barry in front of his friends, but that only earned him a brutal beating.

Devin desperately tried to rattle his brain to figure out what to do. When Darius had explained it to him, he needed to have a car breaking into right then and there, to really understand. He finally remembered having to connect the starter and battery.

Of course, that's how cars work. But which bundle was it? He picked a random bundle and stripped two of the wires, using the knife he hid in his socks. He twisted them together. Nothing happened. He selected the bundle above that, which had a red wire. The red sparked a memory. Red= Battery he thought.

He stripped it. Then chose another wire praying it was the ignition; twisting them together the car came to life.

"Okay now to start the engine"

As he did that, something's started to float back to memory. He remembered having to spark it against the battery wire.

Another wire from the bundle was chosen randomly. He sparked it against the red wire; being careful not to shock himself.

The engine miraculously came to life, chuckling loudly in the dead streets.

Anyone who was a light sleeper might have heard. He revved the engine twice so it didn't stall and then he was off to the abandoned train station.

It was 4 in the morning. He could get there in less than 10 minutes if he went above 50mph but he decided to take it slow and look out for police cars that may be patrolling.

It was a nice neighbourhood, and they needed people to feel safe in their homes if they wanted to sell out the new real estate.

~~~~~

Devin rolled up in front of the abandoned train station 20 minutes later. He would have been there earlier but the damn car stalled twice on the way. He had to keep sparking the wires, almost electrocuting himself one of the times.