"…for attempted murder, not guilty. Court is adjourned."
Jack heaved a sigh of relief as the judge said the words he was not expecting to hear today. Jack stood walked carefully around the table in front of him. He held out his hands and the bailiff undid the handcuffs and leg restraints. Jack twirled his wrist with freedom and a smile on his face.
He turned and looked over at the woman who was prosecuting him for the state. She looked angry and frustrated with the loss of the case. He looked out across the courtroom pews. He saw a few familiar faces. His boss was there, smiling at Jack gladly. Victoria was also there sitting next to his boss, she had a small smile on her face, though it felt genuine. He looked towards the back and saw his co-worker that had helped him attain the few not so legal parts in his computer. Jack waved at him and got a slight wave in return.
Jack noticed that bailiff was still standing next to him. He looked down at his orange get-up. He got the bailiff's attention and asked what to do with the outfit. He was instructed to get a ride down to the PD and retrieve his belongings from the front desk. Jack nodded his head and turned towards his appointed attorney.
"Can I borrow your phone?" Jack asked slightly annoyed with the arrogance of his defender.
"Sure, here." He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Jack.
Jack proceeded to call a taxi so he could get to the police department. He handed the phone back to the practically useless man who had asked other witnesses practically no questions.
As he waited outside the courthouse he talked with his fellow employees about the case and how the state had attempted to convict of a crime he was innocent of. They had laughed at the prosecution woman's expense. How angry she had looked at the fact she had not won the case.
Jack waved goodbye to them as he saw the cab pull up to the courthouse.
As Jack walked up to his finished home he breathed deeply before stepped on to the porch. He looked at his front door as if inspecting it. No foreboding feeling came to him as he grabbed the door knob.
As he entered his home the stale air hit him. He had missed his home the past three weeks incarcerated for something he had not done. As he looked around the living room he noticed a layer of dust had settled down on everything. He walked farther into his home and dust seemed to kick up wherever his feet landed. He laughed and remembered that the people who repaired his home had most likely not vacuumed after they were done. HE walked down the hall with a slight spring in his step from the fact that he was able to come home once again and walk into his own bedroom.
The doctor looked over the notes on his clipboard and hummed with concern when he saw his patient had no living relatives.
He shook his head lightly and looked over to the nurse with a slightly grim look upon his face, "Helena, has this patient had any visitors in the last three weeks?"
"I don't believe so Doctor, why?" Helena asked curious.
"Well, he doesn't have any living relatives." The doctor said solemnly.
"Oh dear, how sad. What should we do?" She asked worried of the response.
"Nothing we can do. His condition has gotten better, but I'm not sure how long we can keep him here." He stated matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean doctor." Helena had a feeling of what the doctor meant, but she wanted to be sure.
"I mean, we might have to take him off life support. If he continues on after we pull the plug…" He trailed off leaving the nurse to fill in the blanks.
"I see Doctor." She nodded her head.
They both left the room, causing them to miss the twitch of the patient as if he were listening.
As Jack stepped out of the shower, he heard something stir on the other side of the door. He paused with one foot in the tub and listened for more.
The sudden violent thrashing on the door caused Jack to slip. He fell back onto the side of the tub, his back slamming into the edge and then onto the floor. His panic had reflexively made him grab the shower curtain pulling it down with him. His arm scrambled to free himself the cocoon of plastic. The erratic pounding on the door made Jack panic more, making his efforts futile in the attempt to escape the curtain. It began to wrap around his face covering his mouth and nose. Jack started to hyperventilate in his distress.
The bathroom begun to shake viciously as Jack struggled to breath with the curtain around his head. The mirror above the sink fell from the vibrations and shattered on the floor next to Jack. Jack twisted and turned as room quaked around him.
In his attempt to get to the plastic off in a panic he rolled atop of the broken shards of glass. The glass tore open the shower curtain and incidentally his skin. The plastic became slick with blood. Unable to get a firm a grip on the slippery plastic he rolled back into the tub, too fast though as he banged his head against the tub hard enough to knock himself out.
-6 Years Prior-
Aster walked down the street towards his home with a bag of groceries in hand. He waved happily as he passed by other pedestrians. He said hello to his neighbor as walked up the steps to his door.
"Ma, I'm back!" Aster shouted while he walked through the hallway to the kitchen. He set the bag of groceries on the kitchen table and set to putting them away, "Ma, they didn't have the brand a'coffee ya asked for, so I just grabbed da'generic!" Aster shouted again hoping his mother would hear him.
After he had finished putting the bag of food away he walked back down the hallway to the stairs. As he climbed the stairs he heard no sound coming from upstairs. I didn't think Ma was going anywhere today. Aster reached the top of the steps and waited for a moment until he heard a sound in his mother's bedroom. Oh, so she is home.
He walked through the threshold of her doorway, "Ma, did ya hear me downsta-"
Aster was cut off by the sight in front of him. His mother was on the ground and a tall man was looming over her. He was shocked, he didn't know what to do.
"Ah, Aster, so nice to see you." Aster was stunned into silence, "No words Aster? Strange. No matter. We've only come to collect the debt."
Aster finally found his voice, "Debt?" Is all he managed to get out though.
"Oh yes. You see, your dear mother here," The man gestured to Aster's unconscious mother, "had trouble affording the bills so she came to us. Although she was unable to pay back the loan." Aster looked behind him towards the other bedrooms. "Oh, don't worry about your siblings. We've already picked them up from school." Aster emitting a low growl, "Are you a dog now boy? Well, protect your master like a good boy." The man then let out a heckle to mock Aster.
Aster charged into the room towards the tall, suited man. The man swiftly pulled out a silenced pistol and pointed it at Aster's mother and pulled the trigger. Aster paused abruptly at the sudden realization of what the man had just done. Anger shot through Aster and he started towards the man who was only a few feet away.
Aster went to throw a punch, but before he could land it his fist was grabbed and twisted. Aster lost his footing and fell to his knees. Unable to catch himself with the loss of a hand his weight pulled away from the man.
Aster howled as his arm made a distinct popping sound and bent in the wrong direction. Aster's eyes were closed from the pain emanating from his shoulder so he was not able to see the man point his gun, but he heard the man cock the gun near his ear.
Terror of losing his life fueled his next immediate actions. Aster righted his feet under him quickly and he shoved with all the force he could muster. His dislocated shoulder searing with pain as a tendon tore from twisting even more when he pushed the tall suited man hard.
The sudden force throwing the man off balance, he shot twice, one bullet grazing Aster's skull. The man stumbled backwards towards the bedroom window. He caught himself against the windowpane stopping himself. He corrected his footing and pointed his gun back to where Aster was. It was in vain though when he couldn't get a single shot off into his target. The wind was knocked out of him as he felt the glass of the window shatter around him and the wind whirling past him. The feeling of falling was short lived as he hit the pavement of the sidewalk. From the second story window Aster saw and heard the instantaneous snapping and shattering of bones of the man he had just killed.
Hello Everybody! I updated! Okay, just so everyone is clear...The tall man in the suit was not in anyway supposed to Pitch. It was just a guy. A tall guy in a suit...with a gun. ANYWAY! I hope All of you happy it was decided that Aster did in fact LIVE from the fall. I did quite a bit of research of fatalities vs Falling. And well, Turns out he could live..so he did. NOW! More exciting news! Because Aster has survived the fall, I no longer am going off my outline! SO! That's spectacular news because now I have no idea how I want to end it. This how reviews keep a story going. Right here is proof of how reviews from readers keep a writer motivated. I noticed alot of people didn't want him dead..So, I've worked it into a plausible outcome. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and learning of Aster's past. Have a wonderful night/morning/afternoon/twilight or dawn! And remember: Read and Review!