Chapter 3 - Outta Time
Friday
9:55 A.M.
4.844 inches
Damn this rain... Ethan thought, running accross the road. Looking up, he spotted the sign he had hoped to find: "City Garage". He opened the metal door to the garage and stepped inside, the warm current of the room pushing against him.
Hope I didn't lose Norman back there...
The door closed with a loud "CLACK!". Ethan spotted the same mechanic that had been working just a few days prior. The man, realizing he had a customer, wiped his greasy hands off on his blue jumpsuit.
"Ah, hello there, sir," the man greeted Ethan. "What can I do for yah?"
Here goes...
"Uhm, I was wanting to know if I could borrow a car..." Ethan told the man.
A look that stated "Are you completely mentally ill?" crossed the man's face.
"I'm afraid I can't loan out cars sir. They don't belong to me. I just fix 'em up, store 'em..."
The entrance door opened once again, screeching on the old hinges. Norman stepped in, soaking wet.
"Any luck?" Norman asked Ethan.
"No," Ethan sighed. He looked back at the man. "Listen to me: my son's life is at stake! I need a car so I can find him!"
"Wait a minute... you're all over the news. You came in here the other day, didn't you? You're that God damned Origami Killer! Stay away from me!" the man screamed, backing away.
"I don't have time for this!" Ethan yelled.
Drastic times call for drastic measures, I suppose.
Ethan reached for something inside his coat pocket. Before the mechanic had time to react, Ethan had a gun trained on him.
"I'm going to find my son, whether it means killing you or not," Ethan told him in a menacing tone.
"Ethan, surely there's another way around this," Norman protested, reaching out to Ethan.
"Okay, don't shoot!" the man pleaded, trembling. "The keys are in the office over there." He tilted his head to the side, pointing the office out for Ethan and Norman, just in case they were dumb enough to pass it up.
"I'll find some," Norman told Ethan, disappearing inside the office.
While Norman was looking for a set of keys, Ethan decided to calm the man down.
"Look, I'm sorry I'm putting you through this. I promise, once this is all resolved, I'll bring you the keys back," Ethan told the man.
He just shook his head. "Keep the keys, they're yours! I never want to see you in my life again!"
"I'm not a bad man," Ethan assured him. "I just... I love my son. I love my son."
Norman returned, jingling a set of keys in his hand.
"You drive. I got the shakes." Norman tossed the keys through the air. Ethan caught them, all the while keeping the gun on the mechanic.
xXx
Roy couldn't believe his luck. Here he was being held up by the Origami Killer himself, and things looked bleak. A gun aimed at him... all that needed to happen was one movement of an index finger, and he would cease to exist.
"I love my son," the Origami Killer told Roy.
Oh, I bet you sick son of a bitch... Roy thought.
"You drive. I got the shakes," the killer's accomplice said, throwing a set of keys to him.
The Origami Killer caught them, and put them in his pocket.
"Come on Ethan, we have'ta go!" the man told him, running for the elevator shaft in the back of the room.
Roy noticed tears rolling down the Origami Killer's face. All part of the show. The next thing he noticed, however, was not.
The Origami Killer pulled his hand back out of his pocket, and with it came a piece of paper. He hadn't seem to notice it, as he turned around to meet up with his friend. The piece of paper slowly fell through the air. The moment they were out of sight, Roy knew he was going to have to grab it.
"Almost out of here," the Origami Killer said as the elevator door opened. The two stepped onto it, the door closing.
They're gone!
Roy dashed for the piece of paper. He lifted it up and read it aloud:
"961 Rainbow Lane."
That must be where they're off to!
Roy walked back to his office, picking up the telephone. He dialed 9-1-1.
After hearing the initial "What's your emergency?" speech, Roy replied, saying, "I need the police. I know where the Origami Killer's at."
xXx
Norman stared at the card he held in his hand.
"Level 2," he read aloud to Ethan. "The car's on Level 2."
Ethan nodded.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the elevator reached the second level of the garage, the doors sliding open.
Ethan clicked the "alarm" button on the keys, searching for the car. The '09 Mustang directly to their right started going off.
"We have a winner," Norman declared, heading for the passenger seat. He jumped in, closing the door. Ethan turned the alarm off before getting in as well.
"Shaun, here we come," Ethan sighed, starting the car up. "Where are we headed again?"
He reached inside his coat pocket for the unfolded origami figure.
"Rainbow Lane... 961 Rainbow Lane," Norman recalled.
"Aw shit..." Ethan moaned.
"What's the problem?"Norman asked.
"I dropped the fucking origami!" Ethan yelled. He took a deep breath. "You're sure it was 961 Rainbow Lane?"
"Almost positive," Norman nodded.
"You have to be right..." Ethan replied, starting the car up. "I can't believe I can't even remember... Shaun could die."
Norman caught sight of Ethan's hand when he set it on the steering wheel. He had blood-splattered gauze on his pinky finger. On top of that, his pinky looked like half the size of a normal one.
"What happened to your finger there?" Norman asked.
"The third trial," Ethan sighed. "I had to cut off my finger just to get a few letters."
"Was it worth it?" Norman asked him intently.
Ethan began backing the vehicle up, looking into the rearview mirror carefully.
"Any information I can get that helps me to find Shaun is worth it. I could have gotten half of one letter, and I'd be happy... well, as happy as I could be without having him with me..."
Ethan is not the Origami Killer. He doesn't have to prove it anymore... Norman thought to himself. I believe him, 110%.
"961 Rainbow Lane it is," Ethan stated, driving the Mustang out of the garage.
xXx
Blake sat in his squad car. He pulled his black jacket closer around him. It was cold outside, and all the God damn rain wasn't helping matters.
Guess it beats having Jayden bitching at me from the other seat...
Norman, that stupid fuck. Blake knew he'd be trouble the moment he met him at the scene of Jeremy Bowel's death.
"I'm Norman Jayden, FBI." He didn't care where Norman came from.
Suddenly, Blake's cell started ringing. He quickly answered it.
"Carter," he spoke into it.
"Lt., we have the location of Mars and Norman," came Perry's voice from the other end.
A smile spread across Blake's face.
"Lay it on me."
xXx
The building they found at 961 Rainbow Lane was exactly what Ethan had been expecting: run-down and old.
"The last trial..." Ethan mumbled.
"You can do it, Ethan," Norman assured him.
"I hope so."
The two made their way inside the building.
Ethan was prepared to do anything to save Shaun. Anything.
xXx
Room 207's doorway was decked out in police tape. Madison didn't care though. Police tape had never stopped her before. She ripped through the cautionary tape, stepping into Ethan's old room for the fourth time.
Maybe he left a clue as to where he was going...
Madison's gaze was directed to the desk by the sliding glass door. On it was an open shoebox. She made her way over to it.
That's strange... you'd think the police would've taken a shoebox in as evidence or something...
She peered inside of it. The contents of the box caused her jaw to drop: inside were four objects. Four animal-shaped paper objects.
Four origami figures.
What the hell?
xXx
A/N: See, this story isn't dead! I definitely haven't been too interested in working on it, but I hope I'll be able to finish it. I kind of rushed this one to get it out. Probably lost your interest in the story. Roy is not an OC; when playing "The Bear", he's the mechanic in the garage. Well, it's either Roy or Ray... it's kind of hard to tell. Apologies to anybody that read this chapter when his name was "Greg". I was attempting to go off this terrible memory of mine. Review this chapter and tell me what you think! The next one's crazy!