Chapter 7- No one left
It was a sunny day in Bikini Bottom, but the weather contradicted the town. It was all broken around the police station. About seven years back, things really turned to shit. Crime spiked, the mafia presence skyrocketed, and after that, the rest of the pieces fell into place. The mafia all but controlled the town, but that didn't mean justice was never served. Although the police station was corrupt, there were still duties that must be attended to.
One of those was Patrick's murder. It was one of the last cases they thoroughly pursued, and they had expended all their resources in doing so. It was Bikini Bottom's last case in its era of normalcy. It was ironic, even. The case was never closed, and the killer was never found.
It was morning, now. And a box lay on the ground in front of the station. On its side was the word EVIDENCE printed in bold red letters. It was unbeknownst to any bystander as to what was inside. It was for the police to decipher. A desk jockey had found the box, heading out for their smoke break.
They opened the box, and inside was gruesome. There was a clarinet, a gun, a knife, and the decayed bones of what had seemed to have belonged to a starfish, once. A shout erupted from the desk worker, the scent of the contents had been repugnant. A crowd gathered from inside the station, responding to her cries.
Oh, and evidence it was.
The taxi rolled up to Spongebob's parents' house. They were both still alive, even after the ten years, albeit they had never visited Spongebob. They had stayed in their own lane, letting their son fall to the ruins.
Spongebob shuffled up to the door, his black, run down shoes making a low squeak with every step. He reluctantly raised his hand to the door, going to knock. Every thought in his mind had begged him to just turn around and get back into the car, but his hand fell on the door, and behind it was his mother.
He felt her warm embrace once again, the tears soaked his collar. His father stood in the archway- in the distance. Spongebob looked at his dad, but he turned away and slammed the door. His mom took his hand and led him to the couch. "Are you using again?" She looked at him, tears welling.
"No! No I'm not here for money Mom" He slicked his nose back, like brushing his hair from his eyes. "I've changed!"
She looked at the bookshelf and no longer made eye contact with him. The room was dark, they hadn't much money for electricity. "Honey we both know that's not true"
"It is! I've been trying to reconnect with Gary-"
His mom looked at him. "You ruined that poor snails life" She loved Spongebob too much to hurt him. But it just broke her heart seeing that poor snail and what her bastard son had turned her into.
"I've been talking to Gary for 3 months now… He forgives me for my past sins." He looked at his mother's stagnant shell looming over them. His mother hadn't believed in television- only in Neptune The Lord and Savior.
Spongebob's mother left the room momentarily, leaving him to his thoughts. It had been so long. The house still smelled like liver spots and mothballs, but it was still home to him. The house he had grown up in. His mother quickly returned with a box. She set it down on the floor before him, and smiled.
"I found a bunch of your old toys!" She chuckled. Spongebob stared at her, mouth agape, jaw on the floor. His mother pulled out a baby toy, and his heart calmed.
"Do you remember this one?" She asked. He examined it. A stapler, it warmed Spongebob's heart. He had remembered his school days, running around stapling childrens fins to their chairs. The memories had faded away, but they had come back to him now. He smiled, for perhaps the first time in a while.
The next toy was a rattle. He had beat many kids with this rattle, and it had survived many battles of will, and battles of wit around the daycare. He had triumphed. Although, they were probably more successful than him now as adults. But he had one first, before all of them. And it was real to Spongebob. That was what mattered.
Tears started to flow from him.
She touched his face. "Your eyes." She squinted. "They're dead. Where has the shine gone Spongebob? Where did my little Bobby go?" Her tears cascaded down her face, quickly absorbed by her porous skin.
"He's right here Ma'" He stood up, and walked towards the bookshelf. The bookshelf was also shaped like a shell- to commemorate Neptune. Spongebob, was always a bit rebellious and worshipped Sky Lee- but that…. is another story. "Do you remember our trip to the lake?" He grabbed a picture book. "I always loved going because you and dad wouldn't fight."
"Please I don't want to talk about the lake." She covered her face, sobbing on the couch as he stood, flipping through pages.
"The boats came. They took Uncle Kush. We watched them drag away Grandma Jaxxon. You had the choice to save her or me remember? WELL? Was it worth it? Was it worth it for your drug-addict loser of a son?" Spongeboob stared at his mother, and dropped the book cold on the ground.
"Where's the love mother?" She burst another cry. Dad toddled in, wielding a gun.
"We don't have anything" He pointed it at Spongebob. His mom stood in front of the barrel.
"Please, please don't shoot him" she hugged her husband but he didn't lower the gun.
"I came here to tell you I've changed- but you just don't love me anymore do you?" He was covered in tears, he took a step towards the door.
"We don't want to see you here ever again" He coddled his mother, she didn't once look at Spongebob. Spongebob stared at his dad- beside the front door.
"I wish you live longer than your children" and he stormed out- never to see his parents again.
The taxi ride home gutted him. He was rejected by his parents, too. He really had No one left. The taxi driver probably wouldn't even care if he had jumped out of the taxi right now, in front of all this traffic…
Spongebob gripped the handle, his arms shaking.
He pulled the handle.
Click.
Damn it. Child lock was activated. Thwarted again. He would never actually be able to do it, but one can dream...He would have to wait for the cancer to take him. It was his last hope, and death was the only thing he had left.
Spongebob was jarred from his thoughts, his shell phone was ringing. It was a number that Spongebob had seen before, but could not recognize. He flipped up his shell phone.
"Hello?" There was a woman on the other side of the line.
"Hello Mr. Sponge. We have new information on the murder of Patrick Star. I think you should come down to the station, precinct nine. Come as soon as possible. Ask for Officer Debby." Said Officer Debooby. His heart was racing once again. New information on the murder of his best friend? The case was made cold three years ago, after sitting open for three years. But after all this time...new evidence?
It was something to be grateful for, truly. Most cases like these never get new evidence, and remain open forever. Luckily, he deviated outside of that norm.
"Driver. I need you to take me to Polyp Street in Bikini Bottom. And I need to get there, STAT!" He shouted. The driver looked behind him.
"You need to be somewhere important, huh?" He said. Spongebob nodded his head, and the driver put the pedal to the metal. The boat lurched forward, they were going nearly double the speed. "Then let's get you there." He whispered.
The new evidence...Spongebob would see it soon.
The police station was nearly deserted when they pulled up, save for a few cops that had gotten the night shift. What a mess. The parking lot was empty, and the taxi driver pulled into the parking lot. Spongebob gave the man his money, and the boat sputtered off.
Suddenly, a police boat swerved in front of the police station, and met a brisk stop. Out of the car were two police officers, and in the back was a familiar face. He was taken out of the car in tentacle cuffs. It was Squidward.
"I didn't kill him! This is bullshit! I didn't do shit!" Squidward was having a tantrum in front of the police station. Who was he talking about killing?
The realization hit him like a truck.
The new evidence.
Squidward being arrested.
Squidward killed Patrick.
