A/N- Hey everybody! Alyss Mei and I are back with the EIGTH chapter of Halloween Thief! So, anyway hope you all like it, and the BIGGEST question of all will be revealed! Just know…this isn't over yet…I'll let you know when it's over, or before over! But know, please enjoy the REVEALING chapter!
Part 1: Jack's POV
"Truman?" I asked my eyes wide with disbelief. I slowly crossed over to the cell bars, resting my head against the cool steel. I hoped my eyes weren't deceiving me…but no, the person standing in front of me had every aspect of Truman, down to the double-knotted loafers.
One minute, I'm going to court, and…I think…almost kissing Kim, and now I see Truman sauntering through the prison doors, waving everything we've been scouring for the past week.
"No Jack, I'm Justin Bieber!" Truman snapped, his voice harsh and sarcastic in contrast to the relief coasting through me. I rolled my eyes…yeah, that was Truman alright.
"So, do you mind telling me why you just burst in here, screaming at the top of your lungs?" Officer Collins asked, tapping one foot impatiently.
"I just couldn't take the guilt anymore…Jack shouldn't be in jail! He didn't do it, and I have your proof right here," he announced, handing over the stack of white papers.
"Alright, lay it on me," the cop said. "Of course, not literally…We don't want to ruin this body, do we?" We all cringed in disgust. Truman dug through the pile of papers, finally removing a slightly-larger, official appearing document. If that wasn't the lease…well, then I hoped it was the best counterfeit ever made.
Officer Collins seemed to take forever to skim the document, occasionally flipping back and forth between pages. Honestly woman, how long does it take you to read 6-pt font? "This is…-"
"The lease agreement," Truman confirmed, smugly sitting on her desk. "The real one, that is. If you look at the one taped under Jack's desk, you'll notice slight differences between Rudy's signatures. Also, Rudy, when did you buy the dojo?"
"Ah…" Rudy furrowed his brow, "January 13th, 2010!"
"How do you remember the exact date?" I asked, surprised. I mean that man couldn't remember where he left Tip -Tip, let alone the date of the dojo's purchase!
"Hey, that day was the best day of my life!" Rudy said.
"Oh, because you bought the dojo?" Kim asked.
"No!" Rudy said. "Because I got front-row, backstage exclusive Lady Gaga tickets to her concert! Go Gaga!" He cheered, doing a little dance I never wanted to see again.
"Anyway, if we can go back to the dojo…" Truman said, staring pointedly at Rudy. "If you take a look at the date on the one that was taped on Jack's desk, the date was wrong…Officer Collins do you have it?"
She jerked open one of the drawers in a file cabinet, revealing a huge stack of manila folders, all lined up and labeled. Heck, I bet they were even color-coded. She shuffled through a few, before plucking one out labeled "Bobby Wasabi Dojo." Sitting on top was a document nearly identical to the "Truman" copy in her hands.
She frowned for a second, and peered at the date. "Jumping clams, you're absolutely right! How could I have missed that!" she exclaimed, eyes widening. Well, considering her addiction to gum, chips and laziness, I could see how that would be managed.
"And I also have the certificates, right here," Truman replied, holding out a few papers. I glanced at Kim and Rudy in shock. We've been looking for those papers everywhere, and now, suddenly, they just appear, and in Truman's hands, no less. But the only thing was: who took the papers? Everything that just unfolded in the past five minutes points to Truman, but…
"Wait," Kim said. "So you took the papers?"
"Absolutely not!" Truman exclaimed, looking offended. "But now you have the certificates and awards. That's all that matters…right?" His voice cracked on the last few words. I frowned. This wasn't looking too good.
Of course, Rudy was too oblivious to notice. "Yes it DOES!" He hugged the papers to his chest. "I missed you so much…daddy loves you all!"
"Does this mean I'm out of jail?" I looked up at Officer Collins hopefully, plastering the best I'm innocent look I could muster on my face.
"Be quiet!" she snapped at me. "This doesn't prove anything! Now, Truman, did you take all of this?"
Truman looked like he wanted to say something, but he bit back his words. "Oh, hey look," he said, conveniently changing the subject. "I even have 300 dollars for you, Rudy!" He pulled a wad of green bills out of his pocket and tossed it to Rudy, who kissed it happily.
"Truman…"Milton began. "Are you the thief?"
"No, I swear!" His voice was defensive. "I just happened to steal it from the thief!"
"And the thief is…?" Eddie asked, looking at Truman suspiciously.
He quickly scanned the room, his eyes landing on every person, and spun around, making a dash for the door. Officer Collins lunged and grabbed his by the back of his shirt. "Spill the beans, boy!" she crowed.
"Alright, alright," Truman screeched, his high-pitched squeal sounding very much like a little girl's. "Just let go of me!"
Officer Collins reluctantly let go of her iron-grasp on his shirt and Truman quickly brushed out the wrinkles. When he looked up, his eyes were panicked, as if revealing the thief's name would kill him.
"Come on guys…Jack, Rudy…Officer Collins…does it really matter who the thief is?" he talked slowly, offering us a sheepish smile. "I mean, you have everything you need!"
"No!" Officer Collins exclaimed. "This isn't enough proof that Jack is innocent. You either tell us who did it, or Jack's staying in jail!"
Truman looked torn. He looked anxiously from me, to the documents on Officer Collins' desk, to Officer Collins, and back to me. He took a deep breath, and shifted uncomfortably. The silence and tension in the room was enough to make a person go mad- I was barely refraining from kicking the concrete wall.
"Okay," he said softly. He turned to Kim and walked up to her. She regarded him with disdain. "Kim?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Do you remember going to England to compete when you were a Black Dragon?" The question was completely out of the blue and I was not expecting it. What did this have to do with anything? Officer Collins' patience was rapidly depleting, and her eye was twitching.
Kim frowned. "Um…yeah! I was eight or nine…but it's fuzzy…I don't remember the details."
Truman looked satisfied and pulled something out of his pocket. He handed it to Kim- it was a glossy photograph. "Maybe this will jog your memory."
Kim looked even more confused. "What? What is…?" Her eyes brightened with realization, and then her face darkened. She stumbled back, crashing into the wall. "No!" she exclaimed. Her mouth was open to say something else, but she suddenly crumpled to the ground.
"Kim!" I exclaimed, rattling the bars of my cell. What had Truman done?
Kim's POV
As soon as Truman whipped out that picture…something clicked inside my head, as if the gears had been jammed, but suddenly they whirred back to life. Flashes of visions flew past my eyes, so quickly I couldn't keep track. My head throbbed painfully and it felt as if the ground was rocking underneath my feet. The vivid colors of the visions and the bleak prison walls blurred into a huge, swirling mass, until that fell away to darkness. Sweet darkness.
When the light returned, my head was splitting and it took me several moments to realize…I wasn't in the jail anymore. I was soaring above a large, bustling city, almost as if I was a bird. It felt as if something, like an invisible rope, was tugging me towards a certain area of…London? Yeah, there was the Big Ben. So I was in London…why?
And…speaking of the Big Ben…I was rapidly flying towards it! I tried to stop…turn around…even move my arms, but I had no control over my body. I tried to scream, but no words came out. Flashes of color and light swarmed behind my eyes, and the splitting throbbing reappeared. Just before I was about to crash into the clock face…everything went black.
I opened my eyes for a second time…now I was sitting against a building. I found myself able to move my limbs- which were a great relief- but that same "rope" was drawing me towards something. Well, at least I wasn't flying.
For some strange, incomprehensible reason, I turned my head to the left and focused on a group of people walking in black silk karate gi. All of them were male; except for a little blond head that bobbed between the groups…was that me?
It was! Why was I in London? I frowned. I knew this…I knew this! What was it? Ugh, I gave up. That nagging feeling that I knew why was bothering me to no end.
That "rope" tugged me towards the group, so I followed them, wondering what on Earth I was doing. The group walked into a long, flat building. Before the door could close, I quickly snuck through. Inside it was dark, the only light coming from eerie red lanterns flickering on the walls.
I walked faster, trying not to get lost in the dark. Suddenly, I stumbled against someone, who cried out in surprise. "Frank!" a gruff voice called. "Was that you?"
"Yes, Sensei?" another voice said.
"Did you just walk into me?"
"I'm at the front…what are you talking about?"
"I think someone followed us in here! Security!"
The sound of heavy, booted footsteps immediately became audible, and a bright, overhead light flicked on. I quickly stepped back, but there was nowhere to hide. A slightly younger, less wrinkled Sensei stood before me. He glared right at me…but he didn't say anything. I frowned. Did he not see me? I was standing right in front of him!
I shifted from side to side, trying to see if his eyes would follow me. They didn't, he merely frowned and turned back around. "False alarm!" he exclaimed. "There's no one there."
OK, what was going on? How did he not see me…oh my gosh! I must be dead! I must be a ghost! Panic shot through me. How could I be dead? I must have had a heart attack! But why…I'm so young! There were things I wanted to do, places I wanted to go, people I wanted to meet! I didn't even tell Jack I loved him…Wait, what? Thinking about Jack seemed to ease my mind- it stopped the dull throbbing, and helped clear my thoughts.
I took a deep breath and tried to think sensibly. The Sensei had felt me bump into him…so I can't be a ghost. I sighed with relief. I must just be invisible. Or maybe I'm just dreaming. Yeah. That has to be it.
I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I realized I was completely alone in the hallway. Fortunately, the lights were still on, so I could see that there was a multitude of gray doors lining the walls...all completely identical.
I groaned. Now what? The tugging feeling had completely disappeared, leaving me in the long, expansive hallway with no guidance whatsoever. I looked around, panicking. Far ahead of me, I saw a door swing shut …that must be them! I hoped so.
I quickly crept through, and fortunately, saw the Black Dragons. Unfortunately, they were standing so close to the door, that it whacked Frank in the back, causing him to stumble forward. I jumped backward, but Frank only frowned and turned back around. I managed to squeeze through the tiny opening and crawl into a corner of the room. It looked like we were backstage at some concert.
A tiny crack of light appeared in front of us, and I glimpsed what looked like to be a huge karate dojo. I clutched my head, trying to figure out what the heck I was doing here! I think…I…remember…Ugh. Nothing. What was wrong with me!
Huge curtains swung aside, and the room was filled with light. Another team, dressed in blue, stood directly across the huge white mat.
I realized now...we were at a karate tournament. The Black Dragons ran forward, doing impressive flips and cartwheels. The audience erupted in cheers and cries. I wanted to grab a microphone and reveal the lying, scheming truth about the Black Dragons…but of course, this is just a vision.
But this looks all too familiar, and I suddenly realize…it's not a vision or a dream…it's a memory!
I snuck between the curtains and sat against one of the walls, trying to enjoy the show. There must be some reason for me going back to this time…so why?
I was the last to go up. We were tied against the opposing team, and it was up to me…the nine-year-old, I mean. I watched the Young Kim confidently stride up to the opposing member and bow. When I saw the other person, I had to do a double take.
Unevenly swept, ruffled blond hair…that wide mouth and fiery look in his eyes. It was…
Young Kim's POV: Still within Kim's memory
Fight!
My fist flew through the air, ready to make its mark against his chest. With an inhuman speed, he sidestepped, swinging his leg out in one, smooth motion. I barely managed to evade the attack, but he still clipped my shoulder.
Grimacing, I swept my leg across, hoping to trip his legs. He jumped backward, stumbling slightly. Neither of us made any progress, our speed and agility was evenly matched.
I put all my weight into a hard kick aimed at his chest. My foot was flying so fast, the kid was caught off guard…I remember the look of surprise and…something else...
Bam! The breath was knocked out of me, and it took me several seconds to realize that I was flat on my back on the mat. Trembling, I somehow managed to rise to my knees. The blonde sneered at me, before something hard slammed against my skull. I was knocked back against the mat, eyes closed, and my short hair spreading across the ground.
I always win, a nasally whisper hissed into my ear.
I woke to a barrage of heavily accented voices. It was completely dark, and it took me a while to realize my eyes were closed. I struggled to open them, but for some reason, it was as if they were glued shut. I had no choice but to relax and listen.
She's unconscious!
And the winner is…
The diagnosis came back. She has a mild case of amnesia; she will regain her memory back in a few days, but everything will be a complete blur. Thankfully, she won't remember the damage to her leg.
Our home town, Red Eye Dojo! Their first ever win, thanks to…
If she finds anything of this experience- a photograph, another person, trophy… her brain will link back to this memory. It is what naturally happens, yes? However, there is a very high chance her brain will remember this ... her comatose state. The way her brain is wired, it can be sensed as a false alarm…and she will fall into a coma like this again. Although, it would be much more serious. Irrevocable damage could be issued to her brain.
Marcus Thompson.
The sound of strange, muted screaming rose to my ears. I couldn't move. I tried to scream, thrash about, but it was as if I was trapped. Trapped.
Part Two: Jerry's POV
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Kim started screaming. I was scared out of my mind, man! It was as if she had a nightmare. But not just any ordinary nightmare…
THE nightmare.
Okay, I don't know what I mean when I said THE nightmare…like, you know, a nightmare on steroids…yeah? You know what, never mind.
I turned around and saw Kim resting against the wall, clutching Jack's arm. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and she was breathing heavily. There was a panicked, far-away look in her eyes, as if she was scarred for life. I wondered what she had seen…
"Kim, are you okay?" Jack asked frantically.
"Marcus!" she screamed. "Marcus did it!" She looked hysterically around the small room, before her eyes landed on the photo. She screeched even louder, scrambling away from the picture. She was FREAKING OUT!
Jack grabbed her and held her trembling body close to his. He glared daggers at Truman. "Truman, what the heck did you DO?"
"There was a very valid reason why I showed her that picture!" he explained, his voice eerily calm.
Jack looked at Kim, his features instantly softening. "Kim…" Jack murmured soothingly. "It's okay, don't worry…just tell us what happened."
Kim nodded, still staring at the picture. She sat down on the cot- yeah; we were still in the prison- and pulled her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. Okay, I have NEVER seen Kim like this- her defenses down, looking completely vulnerable. And using "Kim" and "vulnerable" in the same sentence is NOT normal. Hey…I used a big word!
"How long was I out?" Kim asked us, her voice shaking.
Milton glanced at his watch. "8 minutes and 43 seconds!" Milton cried triumphantly.
I shook my head at him disapprovingly. Not cool, man. Not cool.
"Kim, what did you see?" Rudy asked her. With the concerned look on his face, and the soothing tone in his voice, he resembled more and more like a parent. Ugh. I wanted the old, daredevil, embarrassing Rudy back!
"Okay," she said. "I've seen Marcus before. And it didn't end well."
"What happened?" Eddie asked.
"I was getting to that!" Kim snapped. It took a lot of interruptions, shaky breaths and broken sentences, but she slowly retold her memory.
When she was finished, everyone looked at her in shock. Jack narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second. Truman!" he barked.
I turned my head to see the little weasel trying to back away. "Get over here!"
"You could have just told us Marcus did it!" Eddie screamed.
"Again, there was a very important reason why I did that!" Truman said.
"Then, talk!" Officer Collins snapped. Truman jumped a little at the sound of her voice and scurried away from her.
"Alright, alright!" Truman said, annoyed. "I'll explain everything."
"We're listening," Jack said, glaring.
"Marcus was plotting to use it against her when you guys needed her the most. She would have passed out, or worse."
"How would it have been worse, though?" I asked, confused.
"Think about it…if Marcus showed himself in that karate uniform, that would've emotionally damaged Kim. Remember what the doctor said? Irrevocable damage could have been done to her brain if she slipped into a coma.
With me showing a picture, I regained her memory back. Marcus was planning to wear the karate uniform the next time he saw her, so she would've surely ended up in a hospital. Then Jack would have been broken-hearted and left the dojo, causing Rudy to go out of business. See?"
I was starting to understand everything now. Even though Marcus isn't a ghost, he sure is haunting us…especially Kim. But now I can say who took Rudy's things. Who the thief was, the one we've all been searching for the past week.
The Halloween Thief was Marcus.
Kim's POV
I was having a really hard time soaking in what just happened in the past fifteen minutes.
So I had a truly terrifying dream-flashback thing….and Marcus was in it…woke up screaming (totally embarrassing, by the way…Kim Crawfords don't scream!). It was Marcus who did it! He took Rudy's Black Belt Certificates. He took Rudy's awards. He stole three hundred dollars. And he stole the lease agreement for the dojo. But why? He already hurt me when I was nine…what did we ever do to him?
I turned and faced Truman. "But why was Marcus out to get me like that?"
He sighed. "It was all part of his scheme. One of them was framing Jack." All our eyes darted towards him. That still didn't really answer my question, but I still wanted to hear about this.
"Wait…" Jack was thinking hard. His eyes widened. "Kim, remember how we found that walkie-talkie device thing at Rudy's place? That was-"
"Marcus." Truman finished for us. "He took the audio of your conversation that day. He stole the little words that made up that sentence, and put it on a CD, so you could get framed for the robbery." He handed Officer Collins another CD. "This was their real conversation."
Officer Collins took the CD and put it on her laptop. We all huddled around her computer.
"Geez, this guy sure seemed desperate," I heard my voice first. This conversation felt like it had taken place years ago…not just a few days! "He even looked through Rudy's birth certificate!"
"Really?" Jack's voice came in. Jack and I exchanged looks. "God, this detective work is so freaking hard! I wish the thief would make our lives easier and shout 'I'm the thief'!"
The rest of the guys chuckled. Officer Collins was just seriously looking into this conversation, like she was examining it.
"Jack…really?"
"I'm sorry, but it's just that I…we…we're just kids. No one knows who took the certificates and awards…it's just irritating."
"Yeah, I guess I agree. Stupid thief…why can't he just make our lives easier and raise Alpacas?"
There was a pause for a couple of seconds until Jack said, "Kim, look at this!" By now, we must have found the device thing. The recording abruptly stopped and Officer Collins looked at us.
"Wow," She said. "So Jack isn't the thief! But explain how there were cheat sheets and the lease agreement taped underneath!"
"Ugh," Truman said. He clearly looked fed up of explaining things. "That was another way to frame Jack, duh! When Marcus came in to 'help' you guys break out of detention, remember how he had those papers as a distraction?"
"Yes!" Milton said. "It didn't make much sense though."
"Yeah, I mean papers weren't such a big distraction." Jerry piped in.
"My awesome acting skills were far better than that paper distraction!" Eddie said.
"Well, he had the fake papers to tape underneath Jack's desk in all that chaos, so nobody could see." Truman said. It was one mystery after another, unfolded. "Is that all?"
"Yes, that's it," Officer Collins said, almost rather reluctantly. "Okay, Jack you are no longer arrested…and it won't go in your permanent record! So celebrate, do all your la-di-da. We'll work on our case to find that weird British kid."
Jack's eyes widened and his face brightened. We all cheered and hugged one another, happy that Jack wouldn't be in jail anymore. Jack even gave Truman a little bro-hug thing.
"Thanks Truman," Jack said. "I'd never thought I'd live to see the day you actually helping us."
"Well… now I've been boosted from frenemies to enemies so that's a good sign." He said happily. "I mean, believe me pulling pranks on you was funny, but now it's just taking things too far. I don't want to see you in jail…so you're welcome."
We all smiled and gave him a pat. He was smiling, too. "Hey, Truman I think we can call you our friend instead of a frenemy." I said, smiling.
Truman frowned in disgust. "No! I can't be seen with you people!" He promptly exited the prison and we all laughed.
"Alright," Rudy said. "Now that this is all taken care of, let's all go home! And Jack, your mom would definitely be happy about the fact that you're not in jail, so let's get going!"
We all walked out of the police station-finally-and in a long time, were all smiling.
"It's good to have you back, buddy!" Milton said to Jack.
"Yeah, welcome back brotha!" Eddie said.
"It's about time we got out of that dump!" Jerry complained.
I looked at Jack, who gave me a relieved smile. I smiled back…maybe this was going to be a good birthday after all.
My phone buzzed with a new text message…one glance at that and all my hopes were crushed. Jack frowned and looked over my shoulder to read, while the other guys were arguing about who was hotter (if you ask me, it's none). The chilling words of the message haunted me. Thousands of new questions sprouted, even when I had thought everything was done.
Oh, Kim…you may think that it's over. You may think you've reunited with your boyfriend once again. You may think that there is a happily ever after. But in real life, there's never a happily ever after. EVER. Enjoy your birthday, while you have it. Prepare for it to be the last one you'll ever celebrate.
A/N-You thought the story was over! NOPE! Sure, they found who took the things, and Rudy has them safe with him, but the story isn't over yet! We still have Kim's birthday…and the shocking PRE-ending. And of course the ending! So, please review! And I would just like to point out, that the 50 REVIEWS CHALLENGE IS OVER! YAY! We finally got to 50 reviews! OMG! You have no idea how much this means to us! I didn't think this would actually happen! Seriously, thank you guys so much, this means the world to us! It's so unbelievable to have 50 reviews! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT, LOVE YOU GUYS! And as promised there will be an EPILOGUE! YAY! So keep reading! Hey, think we can get to 75 reviews before the epilogue? LET'S SEE! Only 15 more reviews…think you all are up for a more challenging challenge? LOL.
Thank you guys! Chapter 9 is on the way! AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 3
PEACE. LOVE. HAPPINESS.
-Taylor and Alyss Mei.