The Boy

Marcan was a 20 year old P.I. He took all cases that other better P.I's couldn't bother with but had very low success rates. He only ever took 15 cases and only finished one that involved a love affair. He worked out of a tiny apartment in lower Manhattan and was struggling to make ends meet. He owed rent, he didn't have much food, and was going to be evicted at the end of the month of December. December 1st rolled around and he finally got a knock on his old wooden broken door, he straightened himself out and tightened his tie. He answered the door to see a small boy wearing a baseball cap and an over-sized coat. "Are you lost?" "Are you the pie, like the one who helps people?" " Well i'm a P.I but yes I help people, are you lost, do you need to you my Telephone to phone your parents?" "No" He looked at the boy curiously and asked, "What brings you here this late at night, I suppose you have a curfew and your parents are pretty frightened and panicked looking for you." The boy just stared at him and only said, "No." Marcan was ringing the police station and seeing if the boy had been reported missing but before he reached for the telephone the boy stopped him by asking, "I need help finding my parents." Marcan looked at the boy expecting him to say more but he just stood in the doorway not saying another word. Marcan started reaching for the telephone again before the boy said, "I need you to find them, I have money." The boy reached into his over-sized coat pocket and pulled out a dollar and 5 cents. "Im sorry kid but I think you will have better luck talking to an officer and he bring you home to your folks." "Oh, I don't have a home, i'm just looking for my parents." "What do you mean you don't have a home, where do you live?" Marcan was thinking of just picking up the telephone and ringing the station but a part of him was curious. "I need help finding my parents." as the boy handed out the money. "You can put the money back in your coat and ill help you find your parents but you have to give me more to go on okay?" The boy put the money back in his coat and took a slip of parchment paper and handed it to Marcan. Marcan looked at it but there was nothing on the parchment. "Like I said i need more to go on." The boy without speaking pointed to the light hanging above Marcan's desk. Looked over at the light and back at the boy Marcan walked over to the light and held the parchment. When he held it up he saw faint pencil marks that he to the best of his ability to read as, ~ick~an st S~lem M~as. "I can't make out everything but I see Mass and Salem, what is a boy of your age all the way out here for?" The boy just shrugged and stayed quiet. "I can take you back to your parents, not like i have much business here anyways, leaving for a day won't hurt." Marcan muttered and looked around his dank decrepit apartment and sighed. Marcan looked through a file cabinet labeled maps and pulled out a map of Massachusetts and started looking for the street that matched best. "Pickman Street? Is that where your from?" The boy just looked at Marcan and shrugged. "Okay, this is where your parents are correct?" The boy just shook his head in agreement. "Well the closest train doesn't leave until midnight, would you like to go to a diner until the train comes?" The boy slightly nodded his head. Marcan grabbed his hat and trench coat and locked up his apartment. When they walked out of the building there was slight snowfall and a small pad of snow on the sidewalk and street. They started their way to the nearest 24 hours diner. When they got their Marcan ordered eggs, bacon, toast, and a black coffee. The boy just had a single egg. "Cute kid but whats he doing out this late?" The waitress asked. "I have no clue, he showed up and asked me to take him home." The waitress gave a concerned look and walked away. When 11:05 rolled around they where done with their food and walked down to the station. They got their and waited around 40 minutes for the train to come. While their a young couple with a baby who where on their way home from a long trip was also waiting for the trip. Their baby started throwing a fit out of nowhere, they started looking worried and looking around apologizing to the 10 other people waiting while trying to silence the baby. When the train arrived they piled into the train and because of the lack of people had enough room for everyone. The babies fit grew larger on the train to the point where the young couple thought the baby might have caught a cold. About an hour into the train ride everyone on board was asleep, Marcan, the boy, the baby, the young couple, and the other passengers. "Now arriving in New Haven, Connecticut." Rubbing their eyes the young couple got up and stumbled out of the train cart with their baby in the cradle. The train started up again and started making its way. Slowly the passenger numbers dwindled until it was just Marcan, the boy, and a vagrant passed out in the corner of the cart. Finally after 6 hours, the sun was coming up off the horizon and the last announcement was made, "Now arriving in Plymouth Massachusetts." The conductor was on his last run and was making sure the carts where empty. Marcan and the boy walked out tiredly but the conductor had to wake the vagrant up. "Sorry sir this is the last stop, the train will be heading back to Jacksonville, you have to leave the train." The vagrant stumbled to his feet and mumbled something into the conductors face which made him recoil, the vagrant stumbled out of the cart almost falling down. When he walked out he stared Marcan in the eyes, Marcan started walking away with the boy while the vagrant watched. As Marcan and the boy walked down the street Marcan was looking around for a taxi. By chance there was one headed down the street so Marcan waved him down. "Pretty late to be on a walk with your son their." The driver said as Marcan and the boy got in the taxi. When he got no response he asked, "Where are you two headed?" "We're headed to Salem." "Oh I'm sorry sir I only go as far as Brockton, you might find a taxi but there's a slim chance of any out this early." "That's fine, shall we be off then?" The time was about 6am when they arrived at Brockton. "I'm sorry I can't bring you any further." "Its okay, we wont have a hard time walking the rest or if luck is on our side a taxi will find us. Good day sir." Once again Marcan found himself walking in silence with the boy. "You haven't said much since New York, are you from around here or did you and your folks move here." without looking up the boy said, "We're from far away." And nothing more on the matter. "Well what else can you tell me about yourself, what's your name, how old are you, small stuff like that." Without looking at Marcan again the boy said, "Mal" "Thats a nice name, do you have a last or middle name?" The boy stayed quite again. "What about your age, I would think your about 10." Still the boy stayed quite. "Is all i'm going to get out you is your name?" "That's all you need." Marcan stopped pressing and just walked in silence. The sun was up pretty high in the sky by the time Marcan and the boy reached Quincy. "I need to rest, im betting your tired to eh young man?" There was no sweat anywhere on the boys face and he didn't seem to be tired at all. The time was around 10am now, they saw more activity on the streets and Marcan spotted a taxi. He waved the taxi down and hopped in the back and buckled his seat belt, when he looked up to tell the driver where to go he stopped because the driver looked familiar. When he figured out the driver was the vagrant from the train. Marcan was about to ask him how he got here so fast but before he could get a word out he had a cloth with a liquid on it covering his mouth. Marcan awoke in a dark dank room with only a candle, he was bound to the chair he was sitting in. He started to panic and move around, the chair went backwards right onto Marcans bound hands crushing three of his finger. As Marcan screamed out in pain but realized there was something wrong. His tongue has been cut off. Blood drooled out of his mouth when he tried to scream for help but all that came out was clots of blood. He started to choke on his vomit but he heard a metal clang and the sound of rusty metal scraping. The vagrant walked in and pulled Marcan up off the ground and slapped the back of his head to get the blood out. The vagrant lit another candle and revealed the boy strapped to the wall brutally murdered. Marcan started freaking out and trying to scream, the vagrant calmly walked over and stared at Marcan. After thirty seconds of screaming the vagrant drove a rusty screwdriver into Marcans leg. Marcan shortly passed out from the pain. When he awoke he was bandaged up and the boys body was gone. Marcan found his hand untied and wooden splints around his fingers, he was unbound and free to walk around. He grabbed the lit candle and looked for the exit. After two minutes of fumbling around he found the door and quickly opened it, to his surprise it wasn't locked. Marcan walked out to a pitch black hallway, his candle only illuminating about 3 feet in front of him. He started looking for another exit but the hallway was long and all he was able to make out was locked metal doors. Marcan managed to find and unlocked door but when he entered the smell of a thousand dead hit him, he puked on the ground and quickly shut the door. Horrified but still determined he looked for more door and found another unlocked door. He slowly opened the door holding his breath but all he found was some kind of broom closet that was empty except for a key. Marcan places the candle down and inspects the key, it has a piece of parchment that reads, "Oh how I love toying with them, first the boy and now the gentlemen." Marcan is revolted by what he read but understands there's no hope for him. He with candle and key in hand goes to every locked door he checked before. He tries five doors he but has no luck. Finally he gets the key to go into one door. When Marcan opens the door he's greeted with a candle lit room with a human skull in the middle. He slowly approaches the skull and inspects it, he sees a key in the eye socket with a little bit of human meat on it. He doesn't want to but he grabs the key and gently pushes the meat off the key. Yet again he has to check the other rooms, this time it takes him two tries to find the right door. The room is dark put one faint lit candle off in the corner. Marcan walks around and stumbles upon a black box with a piece of parchment that reads, "HANDS FIRST" Marcan stares at the box imagining the horror that lays solace in it. He builds up the courage and slowly puts his hand in the box, to his shock is empty except for a key. As he pulls it out another piece of parchment falls out, its reads, "TRICKED" Like a carousel Marcan walks out and tries more door, this room is the brightest. Marcan is horrified by what he sees, human skulls used to hold candle, fingers strung like Christmas decorations, and the worst obstacle Marcan has seen yet, a baby, dead, hung upside down by its feet with a key in its mouth. Marcan falls to the floor dropping the candle and starts sobbing. He feels like he can't go on and starts punching the floor with his already broken fingers braking the splint the vagrant built him. He pulls himself together and walks up to the key and slowly grabs it. On his way out he grabs a candle and walks to the next room. The first door Marcan tries opens and he's greeted with a single candle, the key, and a piece of parchment. It read, "Here's an easy one." The last room Marcan enters scares him immediately, eyes glued to the wall and a message on the wall made of blood saying, "IVE HAD MY EYE ON YOU FOR A LONG TIME" Both ends of the key had eyes on the end of it, holding back his disgust Marcan got the eyes off the key. As he walked out it hit him, those were the only locked doors he saw, what was this key for? As he looked around he remembered the room that was first unlocked and shuddered at the idea of going back in there. As he held his breath he walked to the door and slowly opened it. Marcan was slammed with the door, looking a tooth, busting his lip, and getting a black eye. Stunned he stayed on the ground to see the vagrant in the doorway staring at him with wide eyes and a giant smile on his face. He lunged at Marcan stabbing in the arm with a knife, Marcan being injured from before stood no chance. After stabbing Marcan five times in various spots the vagrant stopped, stood up, and stared in absolute horror. Marcan was losing blood fast and was light headed but could see what the vagrant was looking at. The mangled body of the boy standing in the doorway. The vagrant couldn't get a word out and started mumbling and panicking. "WHAT IN THE HELL, I KILLED YOU, I STABBED YOU, CUT YOU, SLIT YOUR BODY UP!" The boy took one step forward, before he could do anything the vagrant raised the blade to defend himself but after a second plunged the blade deep into his own neck. The vagrant died while blood pooled out of his neck while his body was twitching on the floor. The boy stared at the body for about a minute then turned his gaze over at Marcan, the adrenaline was pumping through his body keeping him alive. The boy slowly walked to Marcan and in a soft voice whispered, "you didn't take me home."

John Clove was an officer with the MPD with his partner as they rode to a crime scene. On the way there Clove was reading the latest paper, "A young couple charged with killing their infant son after the baby refused to stop crying" How sick do you have to be to kill an infant. "And listen to this one" "Train derails killing one hundred and injuring five hundred" "The worlds a messed up place, just look at the place we're going to. A physco set up a kill basement and we found hundreds of bodies." Clove and his partner entered the building, "Jesus what a sick freak, this him on the ground, sick guy slit his throat." Just then they heard tools move in the next room over, weapons drawn they see a bloodied child. "JESUS LOWER THE GUN, hey son what are you doing here?" "Can you take me to my parents?" "Sure kids cmon lets get out of here,cover your eyes we'll get you a blanket. What's your name son?" "Mal"