Galileo Barstow
Leo Barstow was like any typical 13 year old boy. He lived in the suburbs. He had 2 best friends Noah and Steven. And he had a sweet Mom, Bonnie.
His small family consisted of him and his mom. But he was okay with that.
They had most everything they needed. His Mom, Bonnie, liked to work on computers and other electronics. So Leo (pronounced Lay-o), had almost everything that came out new. When CDs first came out, his mom bought one of the first players and tore it apart. When DVDs first came out, his Mom bought one of the first players and tore it apart. He loved to watch her do it and someday he planned on joining her in that.
But the best technologically advanced item Leo and his Mom had, had to be the Acura NSX sitting comfortably in their environmentally controlled garage. KIRA was her name. And Leo loved KIRA. She had been their primary transportation since before he could walk. And even though he took her sleek and stylish looks for granted, his friends and even strangers were always stopping, staring, and taking pictures of KIRA.
KIRA's name stood for Knight Industries Roving Assistant. But Leo liked the name KIRA more. Leo was never quite sure who Knight Industries was. And really, he could care less. He just figured that that was where his mom worked every day. And for the most part, he was right.
Leo for the most part, had it all and life was good. He was what you would call for the most part, a bored tween. And this summer was no different.
But today, his life was about to change drastically...
It was a hot summer day in mid July. Leo had no school which made him thrilled. There were no tests. No homework. And no stupid teachers saying his whole name. Galileo Michael Barstow. He shivered every time the teachers called his name. All the kids would make fun of his name. If he would ever get big enough, he would maybe beat up those guys. But right now, he was still just shy of 5 feet and a bit scrawny. Hopefully, he was going to get that growth spurt this summer.
Leo was stretched lazily out on the front porch swing softly swinging and enjoying the new misting system his Mom hooked up. It was early afternoon and he was bored but loving it. His Mom was inside working on something or another and he really could care less. He was feeling hot, lazy, and tired. Within minutes, his heavy eye lids slid closed.
Suddenly, the familiar sound of the tinny music Pop Goes the Weasle played distantly.
Leo leaped to his feet and checked his pockets. He pulled them inside out and frowned. No Money! Darn It!
Leo bolted inside the house and nearly ran into his Mom in the kitchen. "Mom! Mom! Can I have $5? PLEASE?" He begged as fast as he could. He knew he only had a few minutes before the ice cream truck was going to pass by.
"No Leo." Bonnie rejected carefully. "We will be having dinner soon. If you are really hungry, I have some celery and peanut butter in the fridge."
Leo frowned instantly. "You never let me have ice cream." He whined in hopes of her relenting.
"I do. And acting like a 5 year old is not going to get you any either. Now go back outside and play." Bonnie ordered smoothly. She loved being a mother but sometimes that boy could be soooo trying.
Leo sulked out the back door. He bowed his head sadly and dragged his feet. Why couldn't he ever get iice cream from the ice cream man?
Then he remembered that Noah had gotten some money for his birthday last week. Leo dashed back through the house at full speed and out the front door.
"Don't go to far Mister!" Bonnie yelled as the front screen door slammed. She had a sneaky hunch exactly where he was going though.
Noah lived only 3 houses away from Leo and his Mom. And usually if Leo wasn't at his own house, he was at Noah's doing something or another.
Leo dashed in the front door unannounced and up the stairs 2 at a time. "Noah? Noah!" He yelled when he was halfway up.
Noah peeked out of his room. "Huh?"
"Hi Leo." Mrs. Sharp offered sweetly when she saw her son's friend acend the stairs. "Slow down son."
"Sorry Mrs. Sharp." Leo apologized quickly and slowed only a little. Within seconds, he disappeared behind Naoh's closed bedroom door.
"Dude, do you still have that birthday money?" Leo asked quickly as he listened to see if the ice cream man was still around. To his relief, he sounded like he was still a block away.
"Yeah, why?" Noah asked skeptically as he dug into his cluttered desk.
"The ice cream man is coming and mom won't give me any money. Can I have $5?" Leo asked quickly as he edged closer to the door. He was ready to dash back out the very second the cash hit his sweaty palm.
"Okay," Noah replied quickly. "I want one too."
Both Noah and Leo headed out the door and down the stairs as fast as their young legs could take them.
"You had better not be using your birthday money to buy ice cream." Mrs. Sharp warned from the Living Room. "Leo's Mom just called. She told me about Leo's little plan. No ice cream Noah. And Leo, your Mom said no too."
"Awe Man." Both boys whined in unison.
They both sulked and walked outside.
In the distance, Leo could still hear the glorious sound out the ice cream man coming. And as he sat down on the top step of the white wooden porch, he began to form a plan.
"Hey Noah, how about we split one?" Leo offered with a sly grin. "That way neither one of us had one. We had HALF of one."
Noah's blue eyes lit up. He too was looking forward to the ice cold gooeyness of an ice cream. "Okay."
Both boy instinctively checked over their shoulder for Noah's mom and then slipped off of the porch like a renegade spy. Within seconds, they were hiding behind one of the bushes in the front yard.
The ice cream truck slowly rounded the corner at the end of their block. It's music was blaring, singing the song only a Pied Piper would know.
Noah was the first to act. He peeked around the side of the bush back to the house. With a quick wave, he bent down low and dashed full speed up to the GMC Sierra parked in front of the hot sidewalk. The truck was huge and made a perfect cover for the two boys.
The ice cream truck slowly rolled closer. Once it was just about to pass them, Noah stepped out from next to the truck and yelled, "Hey!" and then waved.
The old battered, beaten, and replic of a van squeeched to a whiny stop and then a young man stepped up to the window.
Noah was instantly at the window. "I want an ice cream drumstick." He ordered with a brilliant smile.
Leo hung back watching for any evidence that they may be caught. His blue eyes were darting both towards his house and Noah's house. If he had to, he could get both of them out of there in a second.
The young man brought out a drumstick and then smiled, "You will get this if you tell me your names."
Noah gave him a confused look. The ice cream man never asked for his name before.
That's when Leo became suspicious too. He hadn't been paying that much attention to the truck before now. He was too busy trying to stay out of trouble. But now that he took a good look at the truck. It looked wrong. Something just didn't fit.
"I'm Noah and that's Leo." Noah finally gave up in hopes of getting his much-wanted ice cream. "Here's the money." He offered and lifted his arm up higher to give the man his cash.
Like an alligator snapping at his prey, the young man grabbed Noah's arm and pulled him into the truck. Within that second, he had the struggling boy held tight against his chest with a hand covering his mouth. The ice cream man's look was feral as he laid his green eyes upon Leo.
"You scream," He instructed lowly. "He dies."
Leo's face paled as it finally hit him. Noah was being kidnapped.
Leo took an unsteady step back towards the Sierra. His eyes never left his frightened friend's eyes. Noah was already crying and Leo was only seconds from crying himself.
"You." The ice cream man growled. "Come here."
Leo shook his head and mumbled, "No."
"You don't come over here here and your little friend gets it." The mean man growled again. Then he picked up his free hand to show a small black gun. It looked a lot like the water guns he and Noah always played with. But he doubted that that was a water gun.
Leo played this scenario in his mind quickly. He had always been taught by the school that he was supposed to run to the nearest adult or the nearest house while screaming like a banchee. But his Mom had always told him to yell for her or KIRA and they would handle it from there. But he had never believed that this could actually really happen.
"5." The young man holding Noah hostage began to count imaptiently. He then pointed the gun toward the ceiling of the beat up white van.
Leo cried and took another step back. "No."
"4." The man continued with a grin forming ever so slightly. He began to lower the gun toward Noah. The little boy was now shaking in the guman's arms.
Leo couldn't hold back the crying now. Noah was in some REAL trouble now. And he was helpless to save his best friend. "Please," He cried. "Let my friend go."
"You come with me and your little friend is free." The ice cream/gunman bargined with that grin. "If not, your friend dies and I still capture you."
Leo sobbed as he locked his frightened eyes with his friend Noah's. They were both begging each other for help.
"No." Leo finally replied shakily.
"3." The man continued and his feral grin became wider.
"STOP!" Leo yelled. "Let him go! This isn't funny!"
"Who said I was doing this for a laugh?" The guman calmly replied. "Though I am enjoying this very much."
"Please Mister, whatever it is that you want, I'll get it for you." Leo begged. "Just let Noah go."
"What I want," The evil ice cream man began. "Is you. Come here and all of this will be over."
Leo took another shaky step backward and slammed into the front of the truck. When he turned around to look at the what he had bumped into, the ice cream man yelled, "F*** It!" and then counted down the last 2 numbers in rapid sucession. "2...1!"
Then a loud bang overrode the sounds of Pop Goes the Weasle.
Leo screamed and then crawled under the massive GMC Sierra to hide. His small size had come in useful now. Now he was quickly crawling as fast as he could under the truck. He had to get back to the house and his mom. He had to call for help.
As Leo was trying to get away as fast as his hands and knees could take him, the evil ice cream man taunted, "One down. One to go!"
Then a dull dropping noise caught his attention. Leo chanced a quick glance. He shouldn't have but he did. What he saw made him freeze in place.
It was Noah! He was lying there in a very awkward postion. And he eyes were looking at him. Leo could telll by the hollow unrecognizeable look that Noah wasn't alive anymore. He screamed.
"And you," The evil ice cream man yelled. "Are next!"