Detective

Chapter 2

As Tim slowly woke up, he realized that it's the middle of the night.

He doesn't seem to remember anything until he sat up, and a wave of dizziness hit him.

He slowly turned his aching head and saw his brother curled up in a ball next to him, looking peaceful despite their location and situation. Jason seemed to be asleep, and Tim winced as he saw some dried blood on his brother's neck.

Shadows danced across the walls like ghosts from a horror movie, and there was a groan of an old car engine.

Curious, Tim slowly slipped out of bed and held in a scream as he bumped his left hand into the desk. He held it close to his chest and saw that there was a bandage wrapped around it.

One side of the bandage was soaked with blood, and he looked over at Jason, as he stirred in his bed.

As Tim put his foot on the wooden floorboards, it let out a loud creak, and Jason sat up in one smooth motion. He looked at Tim with confusion written across his bruised face.

"What are you doing?"

Tim stopped moving and turned to his sleepy brother. "I'm just going for a walk." He said in a croaky voice.

Jason didn't by it and shifted closer towards Tim, seeming more awake than he was moments ago.

"You're going to that place, aren't you?"

Tim turned and looked Jason straight in the eye. "I know that you don't want me looking into this, but-"

"I'm not going to stop you," he interrupted, surprising Tim. "I'm just going to warn you."

There was silence in the room for a full five seconds as the shadows lingered across the walls, almost as if they were listening and waiting for the conversation to continue.

Jason took a breath and ran his shaky hands through his messy hair. "These people, they're not your ordinary bad guys. If you don't give them what they want, if you look into them, they will do anything to get you off there tail."

Jason looked at Tim with begging eyes. Tim and Jason only had each other when it came to life. Their mum and dad don't care for them, and wouldn't notice if they were to drop off the face of the earth until their dad would come barging into their room drunkenly, looking for a fight.

Jason took a shaking breath. "Just promise me that you'll be careful and unseen."

They stared at each other for a minute, and then Tim spoke. "I will."

***

Tim grabbed his ripped backpack and shoved a leaking drink bottle and a few scraps of food he found on the floor into it.

He then snuck out of the room, and heard his brother whisper, "Please come back."

As he crossed his dad's room, he heard shouting, and grunting. He passed it with no respect and a look on disgust on his face.

As he approached the front door, he hesitated before opening it. The old, rusting metal door creaked as he swung it open, and he stepped into the old alleyway without looking back.

The sky was grey, and the night was cold. He shivered as a few drops of rain soaked through his thin clothes, and he cursed his parents for not caring enough to get him a jacket.

He put his hand into his back pocket and took out the scrunched piece of paper which he took from his father's desk earlier. He glanced down at the messy writing as the rain begun to fall harder. He quickly took cover under a sheltered doorstep and straightened his clothes out.