Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I finally have the time (and willpower, lol!) to give you all the 10th chapter of THE CLOCKWORK HOSTAGE. Enjoy and hope you had a great Christmas! It's a chapter that will capture this holiday's season scenery. I'll work on the 11th chapter (and hopefully post it by then) this upcoming Wednesday, so hang on tight till then! ;)

IMPORTANT: In chapters 5 and 8, I totally mixed things up with what happened with Georgie. If you go back to chapter 5, I implied that he died during the last gang stunt with Dim and Pete. But then in chapter 8, I implied that he and Dim simply decided to become cops instead of Georgie being murdered. So, I decided to keep what happened to Georgie in chapter 8, where he and Dim decided to "grow up" and became cops. So please ignore what happened in chapter 5 about Georgie. Thanks!

Chapter 10

Sleeping while you're angry is always strange. You feel like you're in a nightmare before your head hits the pillow and you just want it all to end. The transition from being awake to falling asleep while you're angry… it's like going into a smog of dark red and gray clouds, confusing you and letting you fall into a state of humming silence. You might have a dream, or a nightmare of some sort, but once you're asleep while angry, readers, you can't help but feel calm. Sleep to me, is a cure of my depression; of my desperation in my hostage situation. I fell into a dreamless, breathless sleep, feeling my inner subconscious mind elevating from the entire world around me…

Then I woke up. For a moment or so, I felt too afraid to let out a breath. Then I remember that I'm alone in the basement, and so I sigh with a shiver.

I slowly sit up, and all I can see is the basement being illuminated by an orange light from the outside. Is it evening now? Or a bright early morning from yesterday's nasty fight? I croak out in anger at remembering that; How is it that I haven't hit Alex in the face yet after everything he put me through?

Stupid Pete. You never stand up for yourself, do you?

I stretch before getting out of the bed, making my pathetic self haul up the small staircase until I reach the door to the kitchen. I really don't want to see Alex, but I am starving. That's another strange thing about falling asleep angry. You wake up starving to death and wanting to eat everything in sight.

I open the door just a tiny bit, just enough so that I can take a peak outside. The kitchen is empty, and the living room right next to it is as well. I open the door wider so that I can make myself go through, when I feel my toe gently hitting against something. I let my head drop and find myself staring at a festively decorated present, wrapped up in a metallic light blue wrapping with a bright red bow on top. What in the actual fuck is this shit?

I gingerly close the door behind me before bending down and wrapping my arms around my knees to stare at this present. I study how the lights and imagery of the room- The walls, the clock hanging on one of them, the sunlight shining through the kitchen's window-all reflected on the metallic present wrapping. Who is this for? And who is it from?

I tilt my head to the side and see a message written in black marker on the side of the present that reads, To Pete from Alex.

For some reason, readers, the anger simmers right back up. I let myself drop completely so that my behind rests comfortably on the floor and my head on the wall behind me before I grab the present with much rage. I rip the wrappings into shreds, my heart banging like steel drums, just begging what Alex got for me on Christmas day. So I guess it is morning as of now, Christmas morning on top of it. And I couldn't fucking see Georgina and her sweet face. How tragic. How heartless. How cruel, I know so…

So now all that's left is a white box, similar to a large shoe box. My breath catches in my throat, and I slowly, carefully, painfully-lift the box off to see what's inside. And in it, my readers and friends, is something that melted my heart immediately as my eyes rests upon it…

It's a hat. But not just any old hat, readers, but a hat that is more sophisticated than that bloody French beret that Alex forced me to wear during our gang days. The material felt smooth, expensive, beautiful and left me feeling rich beyond my imagination. The color is a steep black color, majestic and almost magical in a way.

It's his hat. And he gave it to me.

Okay, so you're probably confused as to why I'm getting so emotional over this. There's a story behind my reaction, readers, so hang onto your pants before you start criticizing me. It all started when I first saw Alex's old nemesis from his corrective school, which was fat boy Billyboy and his ugly friends. Goddamn, were they ugly- All dirty and smelly and stinking rotten hooligans with mouths so dirty it made me sick to my stomach. Black, holed up teeth. Greasy faces and messy hair. Alex didn't like them then, and I sure felt the same. I still do, if I am ever to see them again.

Alright, it went like this. I was still the shiny new toy in Alex's gang, and we were strolling around on a Saturday night, you know, just pissing around like fourteen year old boys would do. We were enjoying the grand sight of the moon in the night sky, and we were hanging out in the Flatblock Marina that fateful day. Alex was lying down near the river, whistling at the sky while Dim and Georgie were play-fighting with each other. And I, being the introverted little malchick that I was, was sitting cross-legged near Alex and watch him as he watches the night skies above him…

"Make a wish, now!" Alex says with a mischievous glint in his icy-blue eyes, "It's eleven-eleven o'clock. Make thy wish straight from your precious heart, I say!"

I look up with a closed smile, and feeling giddy, I close my eyes and say, "I wish—"

"Don't govoreet it now, brother! Just do it in the gulliver!" Alex barks, leaving me to sigh a little before doing what he said. I am certain that my wish is a pretty stupid one, but it's a wish never the less that I hope will come true.

So all is quiet in the Flatblock Marina, with Georgie and Dim now sitting a couple of feet away from us to chit-chat amongst themselves, every once in a while to take a suspicious peek at me now and again. Can't blame them, you see; I'm new. I could tell on all of them to the "rozzes" and have them properly put to jail for a very long time. I would give them an awkward little smile, only so they can continue on with their hard gazes at me. "Twat" I hear one of them mutter, and I quickly turn away to hide my embarrassment.

A few seconds pass us until we hear a rowdy gang from the distance. Alex immediately sits up and turns his head around from behind and we all look towards his direction until we see the group gathering near us. The stench of cheap booze and strong cigarettes soon hit my sinuses, and I scrunch my nose in disgust before wrapping my arms around my knees out of habit.

"Well, malchicks! Look who we have here! Bunch of fags we got in 'ere!" This amazingly fat, ugly boy announces, his face blackened with dirt and his teeth all yellow and rotting. His long raven hair hang around his sweaty face, and the rest of his gang sorrounds us all while laughing like gorillas.

Alex smoothly stands up before giving the fat boy a smirk, "Welly welly well! Could my glazzies deceive me, for it isn't fatboy billygoat Billyboy! Your em kicked you out of her domy, I pray not?

Billyboy stops his laughing immediately, scowling at my blond leader instead, "Watch that pretty malenky rot, Little Alex! We may not have enough raz nor chances to drat like chellovecks in our corrective skolliwoll, but we ain't got's no teachers hanging around us, eh? Now it's just me and you to settle the score, yes? Lest you want to run and hide like the faggot that you truly are!"

"No bother!" Alex boldly answers right back, sliding his small knife out of his cane, "You and I want to drat, yes? Then let's do it so, bratty. Let us drat like the Romans have done past, and let out our roaring rage against each other! Let us drat like two lions, to finally be king of this jungle! Your move, Billyboy!"

"You son of a-!" Billy charges right towards Alex, but my eyes could not make sense at that moment. In that moment, Alex moved his arm so fast, I could have sworn he was not from this planet, my readers and dear friends. His swift, smooth move earned Billyboy a screech and his body hitting the floor, boo-hoo'ing like a baby while holding his bleeding chest with his chubby fingers. Immediately, his friends bend down to try and help him, but Billyboy only growled and slapped their hands away from him. I could already tell he isn't a fan of being touched by others…

One of Billyboy's friends looked at Alex with the kind of venom in his eyes that could only belong to a dangerous snake, and his face scrunched up in anger, real ugly if you presume. He looks sort of stupid, only because he tries so hard to look scary, yet his awkward mustache made him look like a try-hard father of some crazy trashy girl living in a trailer park. Regardless, I took it seriously and grabbed at my cane before hitting him right in the face before he takes the first step lunging towards Alex.

Both of the group fell silent. Billyboy, in all of his high cholesterol glory (sorry), looked at his friend on the ground with a bloody mouth and nose with a shocked expression on his face.

"Get me out of here! And help Ricky up!" Billyboy screeched, and all of his friends scurried about helping these two poor fellas off the ground before scamping off with their tails between their legs. I guess they couldn't handle us, being so fast and smart for their liking, and decided to call off the fight bright and early before someone in their tight knit group dies. Heaven forbid, especially for that big-as-a-brick-house Billy.

The night atmosphere around us fell quiet for a few moments, before Alex comes up from my side to slap his bowler hat right on top of my head after he swiped the beret out first. The clean smell of his shampoo lingers in the bowler hat, and I smile. I turn to him and he smirks.

"From now on, brother," he speaks in a smooth voice, "You'll be my second in command. My right hand, if you will. Your bravery impressed me tonight, Peter Rabbit… and so, my respect for you has extended."

My eyes flickers over to Georgie and Dim, who for some reason looked at me with soft expressions, as if in awe of what I just did. They, too, came up to me before laying a hand on my shoulder, whispering "Good job" and "Brave lad, aren't ya?" to me.

I fit right in like the perfect piece to Alex's puzzle, and he looks at us all with satisfaction. His group is now complete. I smile a little at him, his shampoo from his hat still surrounding me all around.

I place the hat on top of my head, and I stand up to check where Alex might have gone. I could just check to see his room, just to tell him thanks. I go up the flight of stairs before reaching his bedroom door, softly knocking on his door.

"Alex?" I inquire through the door, "Are you awake?"

Nothing. I try again with the knockings, a bit louder this time, "Alex? Alex!"

I hear something, a metallic groan of some sort. It might have been the bed after Alex got off from it. I patiently wait for a moment before the door creaks open, and I see Alex's tired, frowning face. For some reason, I feel very giddy once I see his squinting blue eyes, "Alex… Can I come in?"

He didn't respond, but opened the door for me, miraculously. I take a step in, letting Alex close the door behind me, and I couldn't help but do the most questionable thing in the world, readers- I wrap my arms around him before whispering, "Merry Christmas, brother!"

He groans annoyingly so, "Pete, its sunrise right now, I don't need you slobbering all over me!"

I only squeeze tighter, nuzzling my face into his neck, "Don't matter, now! You gave me the best present a friend could ever give a friend… a piece of memory of the distant past that we shared. That's too nice of you, Alex!"

"Well, I'm real fucking glad you appreciated it," Alex grabs a hold of my shoulders before pushing them a bit back so that my eyes can look into his angry ones, "But I'm tired and need some rest. Do you mind?"

I shake my head no with a smile, and I unlock my arms from around him so that I can open his bedroom door to get out.

"Pete."

I stop, turning my head over my shoulder to see Alex looking at the bowler hat on my head with a solemn expression. He stares at it for a while before looking into my eyes with a smirk.

"You look much better in it than I will ever be. I mean that."