Chapter 9
At school, Tyrone was very worried about Matt. He didn't concentrate in class at all. Everytime the bell rang, he would jump or gasp aloud. He was very worried, hoping he didn't make a mistake leaving Matt all alone. It's not that he trusted the boy. He was worried something might happen to him. He knew the salt or whatever that surrounded the house with its "power" was protecting their home, but for how long?
Tyrone had so many questions. So much has happened in such little time he started to analyze things. First there was the Bogeyman. Then the Mothman. Then poor Matt, who was kidnapped and held hostage at OHSU. Then there was the gnome with the salt. Seriously, things were getting weirder and weirder.
His thoughts were all over the place as he walked down the hallways of his school when he bumped into someone. "Ouch, Watch where you're going." said the boy.
"I-I'm sorry." said Tyrone, breaking out of his thoughts. The boy who bumped into him was about Tyrone's height and he had a muscular build. He had sandy blonde hair that was sort of spiky and he wore a green sleeveless shirt.
"Hey, you okay? You look kinda pale." said the guy.
"I'm good. I'm just on my way out." said Tyrone.
"I know you! You work at the Corn Dog place! You don't recognize me?" asked the boy.
Tyrone looked at him and smiled. He actually did reconize him. "Oh yeah. I remember you. You're the guy who orders that monster Corn Dog with ranch dressing all over it and with two bags of chips. You make the cook nervous each time you visit." said Tyrone.
"You remember me! Cool, and I didn't know you came here." said the boy. Just then, another boy showed up.
"Ganon, what's the hold up? We were supposed to find Bubbles, remember?" said the other boy.
"Garret! Look who I found!" said Ganon.
"Oh yeah! The guy from the Corn Dog Place!" he cried.
"I know you too. You are the one who orders the same old thing everyday. One corn dog with a small diet coke." said Tyrone.
"You know me," said Garret.
"Anyway, to get to the point dude, have you seen a hermit crab around here?" asked Ganon.
"Hermit crab? No, I haven't seen one. Is it your pet?" asked Tyrone.
"Yes. It's mine. I brought it to school with me today, but he escaped and I have no idea where the heck he went." said Ganon.
"Maybe it's a magical hermit crab," said Garret.
"That would be funny. Imagine if Bubble were some sort of secret agent and we didn't know a thing about it." laughed Ganon.
Tyrone chuckled. "I hope you guys find it. I'm going to work now. Are you guys headed there after?" asked Tyrone.
"You know it." said Ganon.
"Okay. I'll prepare your stuff for you guys. I'll have it ready." said Tyrone.
"You would?!" asked Garret
.
"Sure. You are the only ones who clean up after themselves and you make the afternoons cheerful, so why the hell not." said Tyrone.
"Well that's what brothers are for!" said Ganon.
"You two are brothers?" asked Tyrone.
"We are. We're twins actually. But we don't look alike." said Garret.
"I'm the youngest by ten seconds." said Ganon.
"Woah. I didn't know that. No wonder you guys are together most of the time. You remind me of those cartoon chipmunks." said Tyrone.
Ganon and Garret laughed . "We kinda are." they said.
And with that, Tyrone made friends that day. Simple as that. He found two friends that actually liked him. For once, his worries were gone. Tyrone never made friends about the same age as him. He was always kind of a loner. He then thought about Matt shortly after. He began to wonder about his grandparents who were still alive. Did they hear the news? Do they know what happened?
Tyrone headed to the library and pulled out his tablet from his backpack. He wanted to see the news. Matt lost his family the day before, and surely there was something about it. He typed "KATU NEWS" or "KOIN SIX NEWS" and sure enough, he did find something out.
The headline read "Slain seventeen year old dies by strong beatings from his stepfather. Mother arrested and youngest child is missing."
Tyrone read the article, which was somewhat brief, but it had so much information that coincided with Matt's story. It read that there was a boy who died by extreme violence. Bruises were all over the young man's body around the neck and the chest area. The mother was taken away by the police and so was the stepfather. Of course, Tyrone knew that was the boyfriend of Matt's mother.
As Tyrone kept on reading, he noticed Gannon and Garret by the entrance of the library. They both looked casually standing there, but Tyrone couldn't help but shake the feeling he was being watched. Something was up. And Tyrone didn't like it.
But he continued reading. The article made no mention of Matt's grandparents anywhere. Matt told him that he never knew his grandparents, which was sadly true. He would have told Tyrone where they lived or a phone number perhaps. Tyrone felt like he hit a dead end. But then he remembered the Mothman's promise to help Matt. He felt like he had no choice but to wait a little longer. He let out a sigh and got ready for work.
Meanwhile, back at Tyrone's place, Matt was walking around Tyrone's little home. After crying for about an hour, he knew he had to get up, and explore. That was something his beloved brother Marcos would do. Matt knew he was in a safe place, but he wanted to get to know Tyrone a little better. He somewhat reminded him of Marcos. He walked about the house looking at the family photos of him as a kid and with his parents.
Tyrone's parents looked really stern in the photos, but Tyrone looked like he was a goofy kid when he was younger. Matt chuckled as the photos evolved slowly. There were photos of them camping, photos of them in the kitchen, at the mall, and at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Tyrone seemed to have had a perfect childhood. Matt was somehow a little envious.
"He was a white kid." he thought. "He had it all."
Matt continued walking down the hallway and saw a photo of Tyrone's grandfather. He wore a pioneer hat made of racoon skin and he had a funny looking mustache. Matt chuckled, thinking that this would be Tyrone if he became an old man. Matt decided to take a peek in the master bedroom, which belonged to Tyrone's parents. As he entered, the room was in perfect condition. The bed was made and there was a small air wick connected to the wall, releasing a fresh cranberry aroma. The bedroom was decorated in the style of a cabin. The bed sheets were all plaid and there were antlers on the wall, decorated with small garden lights.
Matt walked about and saw two large photo albums by the nightstand. Matt decided to take a peek and see what photos there were. He saw tons of baby photos of Tyrone and photos of his parents doing everyday things.
What caught Matt's attention was that Tyrone's parents didn't seem like they were serious people. They looked as if they both enjoyed life and they were very open minded. In one photo, Tyrone's mother was taking a selfie with a young woman who was Hispanic. It was probably taken at work or somewhere else. Then in another photo, Tyrone's father was with a diverse group of people, doing a protest on humanitarian rights in front of the White House.
By the looks of things, they were both very active in their lives. Matt's prejudices were slowly fading away as he saw more photos of the Oaks family. They were also humble and by the looks of things, they were very kind and generous people. No wonder Tyrone took him in. He then realized that if Tyrone's parents were involved in any of this, they would have taken Matt in.
After watching the albums, he decided to take a peek in Tyrone's bedroom. He wasn't supposed to, but he was wondering how it looked like. He slowly walked in the hallway and stepped inside. Tyrone's bedroom was a mess. His bedsheets were on the floor, his clothes were all over the place, and his walls were decorated with race cars and Oregon Ducks posters.
There really was nothing interesting to see here. Matt let out a sigh, until he saw the orange pills by Tyrone's nightstand. At first, he panicked, thinking Tyrone was taking drugs. But something caught his eye. He saw that they had labels in them, suggesting that they were his medicine. But medicine for what he thought.
He wondered if Tyrone would tell him and he decided to leave it at that. No use worrying about these things he wondered. Matt closed the door behind him and then he went to the living room to watch YouTube on the TV. When he did, he saw Koin Six news and sure enough, they were reporting about last night.
Matt felt his heart bump wildly until the reporters mentioned that a little boy went missing. And then, Matt's face was plastered on the TV. He blushed red and tried to change the channel on the TV. When he did, he took a deep breath. He then remembered he had to meet Tyrone soon. How the heck was he going to get to town? If his face was exposed; he'd be recognized immediately. All he needed to do was just put on a hoodie, cover his face, and hopefully, things will go well for him.
