It was early in the morning as Jenk drove T.K. to a nearby city. The city in question was called Northfield. It was well known for its exceptional factories, but it fell on hard times due to crime. The truck came to a stop as Jenk turned to T. bid farewell. "Alright, here you go, son. Are you sure that you don't want me to drive you another town?" Jenk pried.
T.K. shook his head, "No sir. You've done enough as it is. I wouldn't want you to waste anymore of your gas."
"Oh...I suppose that's ok. Please take care of yourself, this city 'ere is pretty rough on newcomers," Jenk warned, unlocking the passenger door.
"Jenk, please. I'm as rough as they come," T.K. reassured, hopping out of the truck and closing the door.
Jenk waved to T.K. as he drove off, "Alright, youngin!"
T.K. waved back as the truck disappeared from his view. He looked around the rundown town: crumbling buildings, boarded up homes, and grass growing from within the cracked concrete. It gave the boy a sense of dread, as if like something bad was going to happened. "I should really get moving," T.K. muttered, fixing his backpack and moving along.
Time rushed as it was sunset before he knew it. He stopped on a stoop for a dinner break from one of the only restaurants in town. "Hmm, one of these abandoned houses could be a dope place to relax for the night," T.K. thought as he ate his tacos. He eyed a particular one down the the street. It was a duplex, and surprisingly, it looked in better shape than the other homes in the city.
"Perfect," T.K. smirked as he popped the last of his taco into his mouth. He planned out that he was going to wait until nightfall and sneak inside. Later on, it was night, T.K. jogged down the street to his target of "Operation: Relaxation." He crept around the duplex, looking for any inhabitants and a way inside. Fortunately, for the former and latter, there was no one there and there was an open vent in the backyard.
"Noice! Part one of "Operation: Relaxation" is complete. Now, for part two, sleep," T.K. listed as he crawled inside the vent.
After getting lost in the ventilation system, T.K. finally made his way into the duplex. The inside was the same as the outside; it was clean and spotless, which it was a huge contrast to rest of the city. "Ok, I'm getting a feeling that someone does live in the middle of this dump after all," T.K. realized, heading towards the kitchen for a snack.
The boy opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. There was nothing more than some government slices of cheese and assorted sandwich meats. "Well, it's better than nothing I suppose," T.K. said as he took two slices of cheese and one slice of turkey meat. He founded the bread on the counter. After wrapping the bread up, he took his sandwich and he went to the living room.
He sat down on the couch and founded the remote. Turning on the T.V., he founded another of his favorites shows was on. A funny internet video show called Craziness. "Aw yeah, a new season. I was beginning to think that it wasn't coming back on anymore," T.K. remarked, biting down on his sandwich.
Time shifted forward as another show came on, but before T.K. could enjoy it, he heard a noise. It was hard to tell because of the T.V.'s volume. "Huh? What's that noise?" T.K. wondered, muting the T.V. so that he can get a better audio. To his horror, it was the rattle of the front door. The owner was home!
"Oh no! This is just like that story with the little girl and the three bears. What was the girl's name, Brownielocks?" T.K. whispered as the first lock was opened. Realizing about what the owner might do to trespassers, T.K. quickly turned off the T.V. and hopped off the couch. He grabbed his backpack and rushed back to the kitchen. He found sanctuary inside of a tall pantry.
"Alright, I'll just hide in here until morning, and then I'll sneak out the same way as I came in," T.K. planned, opening the door a little bit to see what was going on. He heard the last lock clicked as the door opened, revealing a 20 year old Caucasian male: he had dark clothing, a blond bowl haircut, and a rough five o' clock shadow.
"Ugh, I swear that these runs are going to be the death of me," The blonde groaned, tossing down two bags.
T.K. looked at the bags on the ground, "Just what are these bags containing? Drugs, or laundry? Please let be the latter." The blonde leaned back to crack his back. "Ok, if I can just keep quiet and pray that he doesn't come ove-"
BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPPP!
T.K. quickly closed his mouth in futile as he silently cursed his body for the worst timing. He looked back through to see the blonde now staring at him. He squinted his eyes as someone was inside his house. He slowly reached for something as he crept towards the pantry. "Oh my gosh, this is not how the story ends," T.K. whimpered quietly as he crept backwards to the pantry wall.
He heard the footsteps grow louder and louder as the blonde stood outside of the pantry. "Oh snap, this is exactly how it goes down in the horror movies. The hero waits for his impending doom at the hands of the psycho," T.K. thought fearfully as the door opened, revealing himself to the blonde.
"What the? Who are you, what the hell are you doing here, and how the hell did you get in here," The blonde ordered, reaching and grabbing T.K. out of the pantry. He then held the boy in a headlock with a knife close to his face.
T.K. struggled in the adult's grasp, "In order, I'm T.K. Mutombo, I needed a place to stay, and I crawled through the ventilation system."
"Damn it, I really should bolt up the grate," The blonde noted.
T.K. rolled his eyes, "Yeah ya should. Now, can you let go of me? The knife to my face isn't really helping our relationship status, brah?"
"And why should I do that?" The blonde pried, inching the knife closer to him.
T.K. relaxed himself, "Because even you wouldn't be savage enough to hurt a minor."
There was a long silence as the blonde lowered the knife and released the boy. "Fine, you can stay until you can get on your feet. One rule; do not go into my room, get me?" The blonde instructed, putting the knife away.
T.K. nodded, "Deal! Two things: when you say that you remind me of someone, furthermore, what's your name?"
"Just Angel," Angel responded.
"Hm, ironic. So how did you ended up here?" T.K. asked.
"Long story short, overbearing and controlling parents and my rebellious nature equals massive fallout. I ran away after they didn't want to have no part in my life anymore. Been fending for myself since I was 13." Angel reminisced.
"Wow, that's bites," T.K. remarked, shaking his head.
Angel just shrugged, "Eh, it was practically stimulating being under their wicked control. So, what about you?"
"Well..., my long story short is my father got gunned down by some mark in broad daylight. I've been sent to foster home that's under this beast of a woman's control. Two weeks later, I ran away because of conditions and something very sinister," T.K. reminisced.
Angel was taken back, "Whoa, I'm sorry about that, kid. Wait, you said ''something very sinister.' What can be so sinister about a foster home?
T.K. proceeded to tell him about the child labor ring that Leemick is participating in. He also showed him the green notebook that he kept during all this time.
"That's messed up. But good on ya for taking that notebook of hers," Angel praised.
.
T.K. smugly shrugged his shoulders, "Like a brotha do. Say can I crash on that couch?"
Angel nodded, "Be my guess, and also the comforter is in the closet down the hallway.
Following his directions, T.K. went to the hallway closet and retrieved the comfortee. He placed it down on the couch. Quickly, he took off his daily wear and was soon in his baller shorts and tank top. He hopped onto the couch and crawled under the comforter.
"All snugged?" Angel asked, walking towards his doorway.
T.K. nodded, "Yeah."
"Alright then, good night," Angel wished as he turned off the light and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.
It didn't take long for T.K. to fall asleep to the darkness of the room and the silence. Apart from the occassional shuffling in Angel's room, he slept like a baby.
Author's Note: Another chapter done, another problem solved...for now. Hope you enjoy, peeps, and I'll see you on the next chapter.
GrandMassaSpectre has left the building.
