Chapter 5
The Mothman and Tyrone walked into a forest clearing that was not far from Tyrone's home. In fact, they walked up to a pond that was in a garden that seemed to have been forgotten. Yet, this garden was rich in blackberry bushes and strawberries. Tyrone could spot a few wild rabbits and ferrets eating away at the fruits and Tyrone couldn't help but feel at home there. It was such a peaceful scenery that it put Tyrone at ease. All his worries were somehow soothed by this very serene calmness.
The Mothman grabbed one of the berries and squeezed it so its juice would fall on the pond and then the Mothman dipped a finger on the water, making small ripples.
"Tyrone, this pond here is actually an enchanted portal left behind by the Queen of Rood Bridge Park. It has remained hidden for a long time and now you can have access to it whenever you please." said the Mothman.
"This pond here? But are you sure?" asked Tyrone skeptically.
"I know you think this is a mere pond, but trust me it is actually enchanted. I will tell you all about it after you bring the boy here. Just go inside the portal and you will find yourself in front of the OHSU hospital." said the Mothman.
"One last thing…. What does the boy look like? And what's his name? Do you know?" asked Tyrone.
"Mateo Garcia of Hillsboro OR. He should be in the pediatrics firm, in a room hidden from everyone else. You will find the boy when you feel his nightmares." said the Mothman.
"He's not registered in the hospital and he's got a room? How do the people there not notice?" asked Tyrone.
"The Bogey Man's powers saw to that." said the Mothman.
"Of course. The Bogeyman. The creepy stalker who follows me around. Mr. Mothman, can you come with me? I think it would be easier if I had a guide." said Tyrone.
"I won't be able to go with you. I'm needed here. But I can send this to aid you." The Mothman snapped his fingers and a glowing bug appeared out of nowhere.
"This firefly is one of my spies. He will help you find the boy and bring you both here to safety. But beware. The Bogey Man will probably be there, and he will do whatever it takes to stop you." said the Mothman.
"Like I said, if he gets in my way, I'll kick his ass." said Tyrone.
"Be careful Tyrone. I do not know this man, and I do not know how powerful he is. Be prepared for anything." said the Mothman.
Tyrone looked up at the hairy beast and couldn't help but smile a little. He was starting to slowly trust him. The Mothman didn't seem like a bad person. On the contrary, there was a certain amount of warmth in his voice; kind of like a grandfather of sorts. He also took things step by step, making Tyrone somewhat satisfied with some of his replies, despite not getting a bigger picture of things.
"Well, wish me luck." Tyrone was starting to say. Then he chuckled.
"I'm not that confident. But I swear to you, I'll save the boy and bring him to you." said Tyrone.
"No, my boy. Don't do it for me. Do it for him. And for you." said the Mothman.
"What do you mean?" asked Tyrone.
"You'll see for yourself." said the Mothman in his soothing grandfatherly voice.
Tyrone opened both his eyes and found himself standing on concrete ground. He looked up and indeed, the OHSU hospital was right in front of him. He made it. The portal did allow him to go there. Now all he had to do was rescue the boy. The child the Bogey Man kidnapped.
First off, Tyrone had to figure out his surroundings. He was in a parking lot building, at the very top. Tyrone let out a sigh and ran towards an elevator. The firefly that was in his pocket flew around his face and pointed towards one of the buttons in the elevator.
"Got you. Second floor." he said aloud.
What followed was a series of twists and turns around the hospital. But Tyrone didn't mind at all. He followed the firefly wherever it took him. He got around hallways, avoiding staff, avoiding any suspicious eyes. Tyrone may not have seen anything dark or sinister, but he FELT it. He felt evil following him in every corner.
Tyrone never believed in the supernatural, but that day, he felt something was definitely not right. He started to imagine what the boy was probably going through and he began to ask questions in his head. Questions he knew the Mothman might answer, IF he got home safely that is. But a bigger question was on Tyrone's mind suddenly.
"Why am I doing this?"
Tyrone wondered why he cared. This was a boy he never met. In fact, Tyrone never dreamed of helping someone who was in trouble. He wondered why. Was this something his parents would have done if they were the ones tasked for this job? Perhaps they would have. Tyrone's father was a very good man. He worked as a school teacher, and he was very accepting of people. He didn't question anybody's reasons for being themselves nor did he talk ill of anyone in general. He loved people, and he served his community with a very big heart.
His mother on the other hand was more serious. She was reserved and quiet about things. She worked as an accountant and she worked from home mostly. However, she too was caring towards her son and Tyrone was her everything. Gosh, how he missed them.
After he was thinking about his parents for a while, he then thought of the boy. Did he have a family that was searching for him? Was he taken from them by the Bogey Man? Why was he kidnapped in the first place? Tyrone was asking so many questions in his mind that he eventually lost track of the firefly. He started to panic a little, until the firefly came into his view. He followed it and smiled with relief.
"Security in this place is horrible." thought Tyrone to himself, changing the subjects of his mind. He does that quite often nowadays. Some would say Tyrone's life was kinda boring. It really wasn't. By now, it was getting pretty exciting.
He wanted to keep his cool, thinking random things. He thought of writing letters to the hospital for its lack of security. He thought of a movie he was going to watch in the afternoon, if he did arrive home that is. The firefly then stopped in front of a wall. Tyrone instantly knew what that meant. He smiled and pushed his hand against the wall, which allowed him to go through.
Tyrone sure enough entered a normal hospital room and there, sleeping soundly on the bed was the boy, Mateo. Tyrone walked up to the bed and tried to shake the boy slightly. He was wet in sweat and he began to moan. Tyrone did not like this. The boy was surely having an intense nightmare and he had to wake him up!
The firefly landed on Tyrone's hand, and blinked its light softly. Tyrone understood the message. The firefly was telling him to calm down. Tyrone breathed in and gently shook the boy's body. The boy opened both his eyes slowly. He began to pant but there was a hint of relief in his eyes. Those eyes, Tyrone thought. They were green. Deep green eyes Tyrone never saw in another person before. Tyrone then quickly whispered softly to the boy.
"Are you Mateo?"
Mateo moved his lips, but he looked very drowsy and tired. He was so sweaty and he closed his eyes once more. Sleep was overpowering the boy.
Tyrone tried to wake him up again. "Please wake up kid. You're in danger here." he said softly as he could.
The firefly then flew on Tyrone's face, almost as if it was warning him. Tyrone turned to see the Bogey Man standing in the room, with his arms folded, frowning at him. Tyrone jumped as he saw him instantly.
"So you came after all. Well done." said the Bogey Man. He then began to clap his hands slowly in a sarcastic manner.
The firefly then flew against the Bogey Man's face and he tried to swat it away. But the firefly was fast and it kept making an irritable buzzing sound.
The Bogey Man couldn't just ignore that. He tried to get the bug out of his face to no success. Seeing this distraction happen, Tyrone quickly picked up the boy in his arms and ran out the room as fast as he could. The firefly bought Tyrone some time.
"Come back you kid! Curse you bug!" cried the Bogey Man. He then clapped both his hands on the firefly, seemingly killing it. But then, a burst of fire engulfed both his hands and the Bogey Man screamed. The firefly used its last remaining strength to burst flame from its body to burn whoever had the gall to squish it.
The Bogey Man then snapped his fingers. "You two won't get away from me that easily." he exclaimed.
Tyrone held on to the boy tightly as he ran in the twisted hallways of the hospital. As he ran, he caught the attention of many people there, both staff and patients. Some quickly dialed for the police while some doctors chased after Tyrone. This whole scene looked like an attempted kidnapping. Tyrone knew the truth. The Bogey Man was the true kidnapper. But who would believe Tyrone if he told them that? He would be sent off to jail!
Tyrone ran so fast that he managed to lose some staff members and hid in a broom closet. He stayed there for a while, still holding Mateo in his arms. Suddenly, his head began to hurt.
"Oh no… not now… please," he said aloud. He knew what was coming. Tyrone then felt his world spin around him. He then fell to the ground, along with Mateo still in his arms. And the seizure began. All this happening in the broom closet.
Meanwhile, the Bogey Man emerged from the room. No one could see him. He saw to it that he was invisible. "You think you can run from me, but you won't. Not until I get what I want." said the Bogey Man.
He traced Tyrone's footsteps on the ground using his powers. And then at last found the broom closet and he smiled at his victory. Just then, he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"Doctor! Thank goodness! I need your help with a patient! He's going to have open heart surgery and I don't know where Dr. Martinez is!" cried a nurse.
The Bogey Man turned around and smiled as calmly as he could be. "How can you see me?" he asked with his eyes sharp. If only looks can kill. The Bogey Man couldn't help but notice something was off about the nurse. Her eyes were red. Glowing red.
"A Moth Woman?" said the Bogey Man. He wasn't alarmed, yet he was surprised to run into a person with vision abilities at the hospital. And he was also surprised to see that she was human, not an insect like the Mothman.
The nurse frowned and folded her arms. "This part of Oregon is under my jurisdiction. You will not harm those boys." said the woman.
"You knew the boy was here and you didn't bother to rescue him. Why?" asked the Bogey Man.
"I saw the older boy saving him. There was no need to intervene." said the nurse softly.
The Bogey Man rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't care Rood Bridge Park, okay lady. I'm on a mission of my own. And I will not let anything stand in my way." He then turned around and opened the broom closet.
Empty. The broom closet was empty. "How did…" the Bogey Man was starting to say.
"I saw in a vision that you were chasing them down towards a broom closet. Problem is, I sent you to the wrong one." said the nurse.
The Bogey Man turned around and slapped the young woman across the face.
"Do you realize what you have done!?" he cried, his yellow eyes going aflame.
Suddenly, people stopped and stared. There were a few gasps and murmurs and the Bogey Man instantly noticed. Somehow, his invisibility wore off or perhaps this Moth Woman had something to do with it.
"What did you do!?" he cried alarmed.
The nurse smiled and then she screamed.
"Someone call the police! I've been slapped across the face by this freak in a costume!"
People started to gasp loudly and pull out their phones to record. The Bogey Man cursed under his breath and vanished into thin air, leaving a lot of people confused and in shock.
Meanwhile, inside the broom closet, Tyrone woke up slowly and saw Mateo by his side, bleeding from his head. Tyrone gasped and quickly picked him up. He then slowly opened the broom closet and left with Mateo in his arms.
He followed his steps and went back to the parking lot. Upon arriving there, he saw three fireflies flying around him. They then flew towards a fountain in a small courtyard. There was nobody there and Tyrone figured that this could have been another portal, like the one back home. With all his might, Tyrone slowly walked towards the fountain and smiled when he finally reached it. The fireflies then flew in the water, suggesting Tyrone and Mateo to do the same. Tyrone nodded and held Mateo tightly in his arms. He then closed his eyes and jumped in the fountain.
The Bogey Man arrived there just a minute after Tyrone and Mateo were gone, and he cursed once again. He tried to go through the portal, but it was not possible. Something was blocking him from going to the other side. Something or someone. He stomped his foot on the ground and opened a portal of his own design. Of course, it would not take him directly to the boys. They were now guarded by the forces of good, which were now fully aware of the danger that was now awakening. The Bogey Man just needed to think of something else. Something clever is all he needed.