Chapter 4
One year from now
Matt drives his truck up to the front of the curb, places it in park and turns off the car. They are park in front of a nice house with white picket fence. The grass is trimmed and the flower garden is weed free. The blue house has a porch with a swinging bench. The house is on a slight hill. The facade of the house has a classic look for a two story home. The house is so picturesque that it deserve to be on HGTV. Lilly Page steps out of the truck without waiting for Matt to get out.
Like the brat that she is, Lilly made Matt drive.
"Well, this screams problems." remarks Lilly as Matt steps out. He grabs his phone out of the truck and looks at his phone.
"What are you doing? Waiting for Tink's phone call." jokes Lilly as Matt pulls up an app from his smart phone. Matt did not show any amusement by the joke.
"What do you think about Walter?" asks Matt as he changes the subject..
"He is a creep." reply Lilly wondering where this conversation is leading to. "Why are you asking?"
"I think the guy is a weasel."
"Seriously. Why do you even talk to him?" asks Lilly.
"Because he will sell out his own mother to save his own neck." said Matt.
"Ok. As long as he is not lying, he is a good snitch." said Lilly as she make her way to Matt.
"That is the good thing about him. He never lie. The bad things is that he just don't give you the whole truth." said Matt. He continues to look at his phone.
"What's your point?" asks Lilly.
"I think he is telling the truth about Hyde."
"Ok. I'll bite. How do you know?"
"Last year, the idiot lost his phone. I found it. Before I gave it back to him, I made sure that I can track his phone. I am not telling you anymore than that to keep you out of this."
"Wait, you can track his phone?"
"Yep. Guess what?"
"What?"
"He is already gone." Matt holds up his phone to show Lilly phone's screen. It had a map of Maine. There is an arrow heading out of the state of Maine specifically out of the town of Storybrooke.
"Wait. He left town?"
"Yeah." Matt decides to let it process in Lilly's mind. "Look like he is in a diner outside of Maine."
"He knows something." said Lilly.
"Yeah."
"What the hell is Hyde planning if Walter decided that leaving town is the smart thing to do?" asks Lilly as she looks at the house.
"Don't know. But we need to find out." said Matt as he stares at the house. They stand beside the truck, not making a move toward the house.
"We could be walking into a trap." remarks Lilly.
"Wouldn't be the first time." said Matt.
"Great. We could die in there." comments Lilly
"What do you have to worry about?" Matt looks at his partner, not believing that the sentence came out of her mouth. "You're a scary dragon bitch."
"Doesn't mean I am invincible."
"Just big and dangerous."
"Damn straight, skippy." Lilly looks at her partner. "Ready?"
"No." said Matt with a smile.
They both start to walks up to the front door of the potentially deathtrap. Matt looks around, hoping to see something that were alert them to a potential danger. When they approaches the door, they approaches with caution. Lilly knocks while Matt continues to scan.
They wait for a minute. Both individuals waiting to hear a sound from inside the house Lilly knocks on the door again.
"It's the sheriff's department." said Lilly, resisting the urge to make a joke.
They waits for a minute.
"Should we break in?" asks Lilly. Matt's face gives her his answer. "Fine. I'll check around back see if there are any broken windows." Lilly walks off the porch.
"Lilly."
"I said check, not causes." clarifies Lilly as she walks away from the front porch. She follows the walkway to the side of the house, while checking for any open windows or broken window. There is no fence that secure the backyard.
With her thought on looking for a reason to get into the house, she is startled by a man standing in the backyard. What caught her eye is the fact that he is holding something. Her mind didn't register what it is until she felt a pinch on her arm.
It is a taser.
That was the last thought she had before the voltage courses into her body.
Present
It has been a long time since Matt felt relaxed as he watches the town from a park bench by the harbor.
After the lunch that he had yesterday, Matt walked around the town. Since everyone seems busy, no one paid attention to Matt. He counted his blessings for that. He simply observed how people behaved with each other without anyone asking questions. Nothing strange.
Just small town living.
Once the time came, Matt walked back to Granny's diner to get cleaned up It did not take long for Matt to take a shower and go straight to bed. What he didn't realized at the time was the fact that he needed the sleep and his body welcomed it.
Twelve hours later, Matt woke up feeling like a human being. Matt changed clothes, had some breakfast and did his checklist.
Before he left Mystic Falls, Matt made a checklist that he wanted to do before making a decision. It was something that Tyler insisted that Matt had to do. After some arguing, Matt reluctantly agreed with Tyler.
1. The house. In the offer, the mayor listed the house that Matt would stay in while he is sheriff. Matt drove to the house and simply stared at it According to the job offer, he had to work for the sheriff department for three years. During that time, he could live in the home, which would be property of the city. After three years, he can have the home. No mortgage is needed. It would be his home free and clear. To Matt, it was simply too good to be true. The home is nice. It has a big back yard with white picket fence. There is a porch. Matt try to resist the urge to break in to see the layout. While it is nothing compared to the Lockwood home, it did not matter. The house would be his and no one else. For an hour, Matt fantasized about living in the house.
2. Matt took another drive around the town. He wanted to know where everything is lay out. Where is the school? Where is the town hall? Where is the sheriff office? He had to get an idea how the town would behave?
3. School. He did see the grade school. Like the town, it is simply clean and nice.
4. Review the packet that the mayor gave him. He had to look over the benefits again to be sure he did not miss anything.
The town is what he expected. In fact, it reminded him more of Mystic Falls. It had that feel. It felt like home.
The thought hits him like a brick. He did not miss Mystic Falls. He miss home. He miss having his own place to stay. He miss having the option of calling friends over and having a cookout. He miss running through town without having to worry about vampires. He miss catching the high school football games on Friday night and catching a college game on Saturday. He miss Penny and Vicki.
Matt takes another sip from his coffee that he brought at Granny's diner. Matt could not believe that the thought is in his head. As he thought about it, it made sense.
Mystic Falls stop feeling like a home when Vicki died. He just simply did not realize it. Matt had things distracting him from that thought. He had his friends. He had school and a job. He had a future. Things, however, changed. His friends slowly moved away for various reasons. People that he trusted started to die. He nearly died in the truck accident was the last straw. His own friend left him in the truck as opposed to helping him. That straw made Mystic Falls something else entirely. It was not home. It was a place where he had to fight just to stay alive.
This town. It might be a better place for him.
"You must be Matt." Matt looks up at the voice that interrupts his thought. There is a teenage kid standing in front of him. He is carrying a writer's satchel.
"Do I know you?" asks Matt.
"Doubt it. I'm Henry." Henry extends his hand in friendship. Matt stands up and shakes the kid's hand. "I'm the mayor's son."
"Oh. Matt." Matt sits back down with the kid sitting beside Matt.
"So, what do you think?" asks Henry.
"You mean the town." Henry nods. "Not bad."
"You like it." said Henry with a smile.
"What makes you say that?"
"You haven't left." said Henry. "I was at Granny's yesterday when you walked in. The fact that you are still here after twenty four hours is a good sign."
"I guess it would be. How do you know it was me?" asks Matt realizing that he knew only one person in town, whom he had been avoiding since he got into town. Actually, he knew Sister Green, who he is hoping to see again.
"Mayor's son. Mom tries not to keep any secrets from me. Beside, I helped her with the search." reply Henry.
Matt looks at Henry. There is the feeling again that something is off. Matt remembers that the Mayor did say that it was through unorthodox mean that Matt's name came up. Hopefully he can find out what that meant.
"So, this is legit. I am not part of some sacrifice or prophecy." Matt really wished that he was joking.
"Oh, god. I hope not." said Henry as he shakes his head. "That would suck."
Matt chuckles.
"So, level with me. You guys need a sheriff. Why don't you hire from inside the town?" asks Matt the question that seem to need to be answer.
"Honestly. We need someone with experience. Someone like you. You have been sheriff over a town. You know how to do the job. You know how people can be. Good and the bad. Right now, we have some problems and we need help now." said Henry.
"So, why me?"
"Why not?"
"No. Seriously." asks Matt.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." said Henry.
"So, your mom did tell you the real reason." comments Matt.
"What did she say to you?"
"She said that I had experiences that she needed."
"That is a big part of it. It is because I told her to offer you the job." said Henry. Matt looks at Henry.
"You?"
"Remember, I helped her with the search. I look you up on Facebook and Twitter. I found old articles about you. Mom is old fashion. She really does not mess the computer or smartphone." Not really the answers that he had hope to hear.
"What did you find out about me?" Matt hate to admit it, but he never goggle himself. It was something that never occurred to him. Now he wished he did. He wouldn't have been paranoid about the offer.
"Matthew Donovan. Quarterback for his high school for two years. Would have been an All American if he got better grades and did not take that job at the Mystic Grill. You were a bartender, waiter, and sheriff. Then something happened. You left. At this moment, I know that you need a change. Second chance if you will. I think this town would be the place for you to start over." said Henry with a smile, knowing the truth of Matthew Donovan.
"You practiced that line, didn't you?" said Matt.
"A little bit." said Henry with a small laugh. Matt chuckles.
"I am not sold yet."
"I can introduce you to the sheriff." Henry stands up. Matt shakes his head.
"Fine, but I am not agree to anything." Matt stands up from bench. "So, what is the deal with the town? Is there a coven of witches that live here?"
"No. It is something entirely different."
"Look, you seems nice, but honestly I need the truth. I can't even make a decision if I am in the dark about this place. I am not going through that again." said Matt. Matt hate to say that, but it is the truth. He is tired of being in the dark. He rather deal with the devil in front of him as opposed the devil hiding in the shadows.
Henry looks at him. Henry knows what Matt was hinting at. Henry takes a deep breath. He opens his satchel and take out a long thick blue book. He hands the book to Matt. Matt looks at the cover. It had gold lettering and it said "ONCE UPON A TIME.."
Matt looks at Henry. Henry simply nods. Matt opens up the book. The first thing he saw is one picture. It was the Mayor in a costume. He had to look at Henry again.
"What the hell?"
"Before you say anything, no that is not a photo album. Yes, My mom is the Evil Queen from the story about Snow White."
Matt shakes his head in disbelief. He drops the book and start to back away from Henry.
"Look..I really don't have time for games. Tell your mom, thank but no thanks." said Matt as he walks away from the teenage boy. Matt's patience is gone and he did not want to hear the explanation.
