Chapter 9
At school, Tyrone was very worried about Matt. He didn't concentrate in class at all. Everytime the bell rang, he would jump or gasp aloud. He was very worried, hoping he didn't make a mistake leaving Matt all alone. It's not that he trusted the boy. He was worried something might happen to him. Even with magic salt, Matt could still be in danger. His thoughts were all his mind that day.
In the afternoon, as the bell rang and Tyrone shifted to another class, he thoughts were still on Matt. Was he safe? Did he eat? And most importantly, was he OUT of his room?
"Ouch, Watch where you're going." said a boy aloud.
It took a second for Tyrone to realize he bumped into somebody in the hallway.
"I-I'm sorry." said Tyrone to the stranger.
The boy who bumped into him was about his height and he had a muscular build. He had sandy blonde hair that was sort of spiky and he wore a green sleeveless shirt that was very bright.
"Hey, you okay? You look kinda pale." said the guy.
"I'm good. I'm just on my way out." said Tyrone, trying to collect himself.
"I know you! You work at the Corn Dog place! You don't recognize me?" asked the boy.
Tyrone looked at him and smiled. He actually did recognize him after a good look at him.
"Oh yeah! I remember you. You're the guy who orders that monster Corn Dog with ranch dressing all over it and with two bags of chips. You make the cook nervous each time you visit." said Tyrone.
"You remember me! That's cool, that's cool." said the blonde boy. In a moment, another boy appeared. He was thinner and scrawnier and he had shaggy brown hair.
"Ganon, what's the hold up? We were supposed to find Bubbles, remember?" said the other boy.
"Garret! Look who I found!" said Ganon.
"Oh yeah! The guy from the Corn Dog Place!" he cried.
"I know you too. You are the one who orders the same old thing everyday. One corn dog with a small diet coke." said Tyrone.
"Uh, that's me." said Garret, smiling awkwardly.
"Anyway, to get to the point dude, have you seen a hermit crab around here?" asked Ganon.
"Hermit crab?" asked Tyrone.
"Yes. It's mine. I brought it to school with me today, but he escaped and I have no idea where the heck he went." said Ganon.
"I told you not to bring Bubbles here. I told you so many times. He was very expensive when we got him at Petco." said Garret.
"No he wasn't. And just because we used up all our lunch money on him doesn't make him totally expensive. He's not a Gucci Crab or anything like that." laughed Ganon.
Tyrone chuckled. "I hope you guys find it. I'm going to work now. Are you guys headed there after?" asked Tyrone.
"You know it." said Ganon.
"Okay. I'll prepare your stuff for you guys. I'll have it ready." said Tyrone.
"You would?!" asked Garret
"Sure. You are the only ones who clean up after themselves and you make the afternoons cheerful, so why the hell not." said Tyrone.
"Well that's what brothers are for!" said Ganon.
"You two are brothers?" asked Tyrone.
"We are. We're twins actually. But we don't look alike." said Garret.
"I'm the youngest by ten seconds." said Ganon.
"Woah. I didn't know that. No wonder you guys are together most of the time. You remind me of those cartoon chipmunks." said Tyrone.
Ganon and Garret laughed . "We kinda are." they said.
And with that, Tyrone made friends that day. Simple as that. For once, his worries were gone. Tyrone never made friends easily. He was always kind of a loner. He then thought about Matt shortly after.
Tyrone headed to the library and pulled out his tablet from his backpack. He wanted to see the news. Matt lost his family the day before, and surely there was something about it. He typed "KATU NEWS" or "KOIN SIX NEWS" and sure enough, he did find something out.
The headline read "Seventeen year old boy shot in the chest by mother's boyfriend. Youngest child is missing."
Tyrone read the article, which was somewhat brief, but it had just enough information that made Tyrone's stomach hurt.
He read exactly how Matt's brother died. He read that Matt's brother was shot.
He continued reading. Tyrone felt like he hit a dead end once he saw nothing else. But then he remembered the Mothman's promise to help Matt. He felt like he had no choice but to wait a little longer. He let out a sigh and got ready for work. However, Matt was still in his mind. He couldn't even imagine the horrors that sweet little boy saw that night. It was devastating to know that such a kid would go through something so unspeakable.
Meanwhile, back at Tyrone's place, Matt was walking around Tyrone's little home. Matt knew he was in a safe place, but he wanted to get to know Tyrone a little better. He somewhat reminded him of Marcos, his older brother. He walked about the house looking at the family photos of him as a kid and with his parents.
Tyrone's parents looked really stern in the photos, but Tyrone looked like he was a goofy kid when he was younger. Matt chuckled as the photos evolved slowly. There were photos of them camping, photos of them in the kitchen, at the mall, and at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Tyrone seemed to have had a perfect childhood. Matt found himself a little envious.
"He was a white kid." he thought. "He had it all."
Matt continued walking down the hallway and saw a photo of Tyrone's grandfather. He wore a pioneer hat made of racoon skin and he had a funny looking mustache. Matt chuckled, thinking that this would be Tyrone if he became an old man. Matt decided to take a peek in the master bedroom, which belonged to Tyrone's parents. As he entered, the room was in perfect condition. The bed was made and there was a small air wick connected to the wall, releasing a fresh cranberry aroma. The bedroom was decorated in a rustic fashion. The bed sheets were all plaid and there were antlers on the wall, decorated with small garden lights.
Matt walked about and saw two large photo albums by the nightstand. Matt decided to take a peek and see what photos there were. He saw tons of baby photos of Tyrone and photos of his parents doing everyday things.
What caught Matt's attention was that Tyrone's parents didn't seem like they were serious people. They looked as if they both enjoyed life and they were very open minded. In one photo, Tyrone's mother was taking a selfie with a young woman who was Hispanic. It was probably taken at work or somewhere else. Then in another photo, Tyrone's father was with a diverse group of people, doing a protest on humanitarian rights in front of the White House.
By the looks of things, they were both very active in their lives. Matt's prejudices were slowly fading away as he saw more photos of the Oaks family. They were also humble and by the looks of things, they were very kind and generous people. No wonder Tyrone took him in. Perhaps if Tyrone's parents were still alive today, they would have done the same.
After watching the albums, he decided to take a peek in Tyrone's bedroom. He wasn't supposed to, but he was wondering what it looked like. He slowly walked in the hallway and stepped inside. Tyrone's bedroom was a mess. His bedsheets were on the floor, his clothes were all over the place, and his walls were decorated with race cars and Oregon Ducks posters.
There really was nothing interesting to see here. Matt let out a sigh, until he saw the orange pills by Tyrone's nightstand. At first, he panicked, thinking Tyrone was taking drugs. But something caught his eye. He saw that they had labels in them, suggesting that they were his medicine. But medicine for what?
"What a fancy place right?" said Matt to himself. He looked at the couch and imagined Marcos sitting there.
At first. But his eyes widened upon seeing somebody completely different. Somebody much more menacing. Wearing that dreadful and tacky 1800s getup was the Bogey Man, cracking his knuckles.
"That salt has no magic. I bet you that gnome is actually a pirate in disguise." said the Bogey Man.
"Why are you here?!" cried Matt.
"Relax. I'm not here for you. I'm just looking out for you." said the Bogey Man.
"Looking out for me? Why?" cried Matt.
"Believe it or not, kid, I actually care about you. I was there. I saw." said the Bogey Man.
"What?" asked Matt.
"I saw the whole thing, kid. As I was walking down the street in Hillsboro looking for victims in the early winter fog, I stumbled upon…." the Bogey Man didn't say a word after that.
"You don't know anything. You're just a snooty white man who looks down on immigrants like me!" cried Matt.
"If I looked down on you, then would I have put you in a nice, warm bed at the hospital? I rocked you to sleep using my Dark Impulse powers." said the Bogey Man.
"Dark Impulse?" asked Matt.
"That is what my power is called. But enough about me. I have tried to locate your grandparents. They passed away years ago." said the Bogey Man.
Matt observed him closely. He didn't look menacing right now. In fact, he looked almost too human. He was actually showing some empathy. And then it shook him. He just told him that his grandparents weren't even alive.
"Oh." Matt was able to say.
"I looked them up that same night." said the Bogey Man as he got up from the couch.
"Then, why did you help me in the first place?" asked Matt.
"I have my personal reasons. Everything was going smoothly until Tyrone decided not to work with me. So I had no choice but to use you so I can get to him." said the Bogey Man.
"You want Tyrone? Why do you want him?" asked Matt nervously.
"Again, I have my personal reasons. I'll deal with Tyrone some other time. But for now, let's focus on you. Did you eat well? Did you sleep? Are you feeling anything funny?" the Bogey Man was starting to say.
Matt took a step back and the Bogey Man rolled his yellow eyes. "Noted. You still don't trust me. Don't worry. In time, you might learn to trust me, since I have powers beyond imagination." said the Bogey Man.
"You need to leave. Or I'll tell the Mothman! Whoever he is!" cried Matt nervously.
"Oh I will. It seems that the salt was magic after all. I'm starting to see things." said the Bogey Man, blinking his eyes up and down. He looked outside and sure enough, he saw that the salt was beginning to glow.
"Blast. It sensed me. And I thought I was successful sneaking inside this house." The Bogey Man opened the door and stopped for a brief moment.
"If you need anything, just holler." said the Bogey Man. And then he vanished.
Matt was dumbfounded. "What just happened?" he asked aloud.