The Parallel

Chapter One: The Kid

The culprit was getting away and Jake couldn't keep up. His brother ran past him, full speed, shouting "I'll get him, bro!"

There weren't much people on the sidewalk that day, so Finn wasn't worried about bumping into anyone. He quickly caught up and when the runner glanced back, Finn was in the air, landing right on top of him as they both crashed to the ground.

The thief groaned as his hands were being cuffed behind his back, in too much pain to resist. Jake finally arrived, panting like a dog. He took a moment to catch his breath then started arresting the kid laying face down on the sidewalk. He turned to look at Finn who was sitting on the floor to his left and said "You're not allowed to handcuff 'em, y'know? You're not a cop yet."

"What was I supposed to do then? He would've tried to escape!"

"I'll let it go this time-- but just don't steal my cuffs again!" Jake said, frustrated.

***

They got to the police station where Finn gave back the stolen wallet to its owner, a jogger that got jumped during his morning run. The man, Simon, was told he could press charges but decided not to now that he had his wallet back. Finn now noticed the woman to the jogger's left, whom he recognized from one of Bonnibel's parties, but couldn't remember her name.

He walked to the jail cell the thief was in to get a better look at him, he was alone in there, sitting on the edge of the bed. The boy looked around 15 years old with albino-like deathly pale skin, white hair and grey eyes. He wore a black hoodie, navy blue jeans and black sneakers.

Jake walked up to Finn and said "He won't talk, I don't think he's from around here." Finn stared at the kid who sat hunched, head down, his elbows on his knees. The boy looked deep in thought and this made Finn curious.

"Hey, kid!" Finn yelled. The kid turned towards the sound with a confused look.
"You hungry?" Finn asked, smiling knowingly. The boy took a moment before responding with a gentle nod. Jake turned to Finn in shock.

"We'll buy you whatever food you want if you answer our questions. Deal?" said his capturer. There was a silence before he answered in a low, deep voice that was unexpected for his age.

"Deal."

Jake pulled Finn away and whispered "Dude! 'WE?' I can barely afford my own meals, why would you say that?"

Finn rolled his eyes.
"He's a hungry kid that just mugged someone, probably to pay for the meal we could just give him ourselves!"

Jake knew this was the only way to get answers so he agreed to pay half.

***

They came back with three veggie burgers and a big bottle of orange soda. Finn went inside the cell with the food while Jake got the cups. They unfolded a plastic table in front of the bed and the two brothers sat across it on plastic chairs. When the kid was handed a burger, he devoured it as if it would be taken from him at any second. He downed two cups of soda then sat still as if expecting more.

Jake picked up his yellow legal pad and wrote something down before asking questions. The first question was of course:
"What's your name?"

The kid thought hard before responding with an "I don't know." Finn was confused because the answer seemed very truthful and appeared to bring a hint of sadness to the boy's face. On the other hand, Jake only got upset. "I knew we shouldn't have done this! He just took advantage of the free food and wasn't even gonna tell us anything!" Jake yelled in frustration.

Finn ignored his brother, put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, he asked in a calm voice "How come you don't know your own name?" The kid glanced at Finn's bright blue eyes for a moment before quickly looking down again.

"I don't r-remember much from before last week," he answered nervously.

"What's the first thing you remember?"

"I woke up in a grass field, in a lot of pain... it was out near the water."

He paused for a short moment, "There was nobody around for miles so I walked for hours till I reached this city and I've just been trying to survive ever since."

Finn knew that there was more to the story.

"Is that all?"

"I live on the streets and collect scraps for food..." he stopped and sighed "There's nothing more to say." Finn looked at Jake, expecting him to ask questions too but he just stared at his notepad with furrowed brows until the kid spoke again.

 "Um... are you gonna eat those?" he said, pointing at the two burgers.
"No, you can have them," Finn said smiling, aware that his brother was now glaring at him.

***

Finn sat himself down over on his brother's cluttered desk.

"So what's gonna happen to him, Jake?"

"He's staying in a shelter until we figure out who he is-- And get your butt off my desk!" he shouted and smacked Finn's arm with his notepad.

Finn laughed and hopped off. He reached for his bag on the floor and said "Well, I'll be at Bubblegum's penthouse for a dinner party if you need me. That place is so cool!"  Jake looked at all the paperwork he had for tonight and wanted nothing to do with it. As his brother headed for the station's doors, Jake caught up to him and begged "Let me come with you! Just this once!" He pouted and looked at Finn with desperate, puppy dog eyes or at least tried.

"Don't leave me here alone, I'll get so bored!"

"I get paid to help with these parties, I can't just invite you to my job. I'm not there to have fun, okay?" Finn turned to face Jake.

"Ughh fineee," he nodded his head towards the bus stopped across the street, "you should hurry then." While his brother ran to catch the bus, Jake sat back at his desk and grumbled to himself "Back to work, I guess."

***
Author's Notes

Welcome back readers!
So... it's been a while since I posted but I hoped you liked this chapter. I was being super critical of myself and took forever to be happy with it.

I would still highly appreciate it if you guys gave me feedback, criticism or any opinions at all. I'm looking forward to hearing what y'all think! 😄