Hello everyone. This is my first Unnatural History story. It's a crime/mystery/slash/romance kind of story. This story will be long, and it will be updated weekly. (Every Sunday night) Anywhozzles, on to the summary.
Summary: While looking for a new adventure, Henry finds himself the pawn in a dangerous criminals game. This time even his culturally diverse abilities can't save him. It's up to his cousin Jasper and friend Maggie to save him, but without Henry's witty intelligence…what can they do?
The faculty meeting had taken forever and Bryan Bartlett, dean of Smithson High, was ready to drop. It was just after midnight, and with school the very next day he knew his son and nephew would be fast asleep. Pulling his car into the driveway, he noticed something wasn't right. All the outdoor lights were off. Usually Jasper would leave the front light on so that his father could properly see where to put the key in to open the front door. Getting out of his car, he pulled out a small pocket light. Shining it towards the door, alarm hit him. The front door was wide open. He cautiously walked up to the door, slowly moving through the house. The furniture around the house was thrown about, and the smell of smoke alerted him to what was probably a recently put out fire. He moved towards the kitchen area, taking in the image of broken dishes all around him. A weak whimper coming from the floor caught his attention.
Brian Bartlett looked down, the sight of his son curled up in a ball in the corner of the kitchen consuming him. He could see a considerable pool of blood beneath Jasper, and from the deep gash on his son's arm he knew why. Bruises littered the boys visible flesh, and heavy breathing could be heard in the silence of the house. His son looked terrified, sending cold shivers down his own back. Burn marks on Jasper's hands confirmed his earlier suspicions of a fire. Something was definitely wrong.
"Jasper…what's going on?"
Jasper tried to get up, but it seemed to be too much and gravity pulled him back to the floor. In what seemed to be frustration, Jasper lifted his fist slamming it into the cabinet next to the one he was leaning on. The wood splintered around his hand, and a few drops of blood showed his dad just how hard he had hit the material.
"…He got him Dad...He got Henry...And I couldn't stop him…"
Immediately Bryan Bartlett picked his son up and raced to get him to the hospital. He figured he probably seemed crazy, but hoped with his emergency flashers on other motorist would understand. Jasper was quickly wheeled into the E.R. so they could begin to examine him for internal injuries. Sitting back in one of the waiting room chairs, he decided to see if he could get Henry from Jasper's cell phone. Jasper had handed him the phone once they had arrived at the hospital, telling his dad to answer no matter who called. He could hear the urgency and hope in his son's voice at the mention of a phone call, no doubt wanting to hear if Henry was okay. He dialed the number but the phone didn't even ring, instead going straight to voicemail. This wasn't a good sign. The instant voicemail meant the phone was off completely, so there really was no way to see if Henry was okay.
On the way to the hospital he had asked Jasper about the situation, and just who exactly had taken Henry. He had gotten very little from his son, fear etched in his voice even with the few words he spoke. So far all that Mr. Bartlett knew was that Henry, looking for adventure, had gotten involved with a dangerous individual. Jasper had made it clear that Henry was not involved with drugs or gambling, but rather into a criminal investigation. Henry had just been swept away with the case, and had randomly ended up right in the lap of the criminal mastermind.
"Dad...this guy's sick. I don't even want to imagine...what he might have done to Henry."
Thinking, Mr. Bartlett dialed Maggie from his son's phone. After several rings she answered, her cheery voice telling him right away that she didn't know what had transpired. He told her what little information he knew, and she told him that she'd be there as soon as possible. In the meantime, Mr. Bartlett waited patiently for the doctors to tell him the status of his son. He paced the halls, and had gone multiple times for coffee in the hospital cafeteria. Just as he went to go for another cup, he heard Maggie asking the woman at the Emergency Room desk where she could find him. He caught her attention and asked her to join him as he went to get another cup of their watered down coffee.
The conversed about this and that, not really talking about anything relative since Maggie didn't know anything about the situation. They moved back towards the waiting room, and within a hour the doctor came out. He had a grave look in his eye, and Maggie burst into tears. The man came over, but instead of sorrowful words a gentle smile graced his features. He gently patted Maggie's shoulder.
"You must be Maggie. I'm Doctor Carl Morrison. He told me you'd be here waiting and that you'd cry when I came out. Don't you worry, he's fine," he turned to look at Mr. Bartlett, "And you must be his father, Brian Bartlett. Nice to meet you. As I said, I'm Doctor Carl Morrison, and your son is doing fine now."
"Yes, I'm his father. How is he exactly?"
"As far as my medical diagnosis goes, he has several broken ribs and his right ankle is broken. We've worked on some internal bleeding he had, and he should be fine now. He has a very mild concussion, and the gash on his arm is all stitched up. The bruises will heal over time. Mentally, he seems to be sharp as a needle. Most kids would be kicking and screaming with all that pain, but he just gritted his teeth and keep talking about you two and a boy named Henry. I believe that's his cousin, right? Anyway, he's good. I'm concerned about how he got these injuries, but we'll talk about that later. For now, why don't you two go see him, okay? I'm sure that's what he wants most. Oh, and only one of you at a time. Don't want to overload him just yet."
With these words the doctor walked off to see his other patients. Maggie went in first to see Jasper, and her visit was relatively short. It was mostly her sniffling and telling him how glad she was that he was okay. Then Mr. Bartlett went in, sitting himself on the side of Jasper's hospital bed. His son looked so much worse under the harsh hospital lights. Bruises and cuts littered his face, and he could see Jasper flinch from even the slightest movement.
"Dad...we have to find Henry. I have to get out of here. Dad-," Jasper said as he was cut off.
"First, tell me what exactly is going on."
"It's a long story," Jasper said weakly.
"It's okay. Just tell me so we can get Henry back," Mr. Bartlett said as he gently grasped his son's hand.
"It started three months ago..."
TBC
So that's the first chapter, which is basically somewhere in the middle of the timeline of this story. Jasper will tell his father over the next few chapter all that has happened in the last three months, and then the chapters will get back to the "present day" of this chapter. After that, the story will continue on like normal. Does that make since?
Please review. Your reviews inspire me, helping me to update faster and with better precision. I'm excited to see where this story goes.
