FirstLineFiction beta

from Contest #5

Chapter One

A boy with a parrot on his shoulder was walking along the railway tracks.  He stumbled, barely able to stand. Tedd, a game warden, watched the boy from his place on the porch of the ranger station. He could not tell how old the boy was, but he could tell that he was in trouble. He jumped down from the banister he was sitting on and walked towards the boy. As he came closer, he assumed the boy to be somewhere around thirteen years old. He looked no more than eighty pounds which was somewhat under weight for a boy his size. The color of his hair was hard to make out because it was all matted up. The boy walked right passed Tedd and didn't even seem to notice him. As he went by, Tedd realized that the boys hair was matted together with dried blood. In fact, he was covered in dry blood. Just as Tedd was about to ask him what happened, the boy stumbled again. This time though, Tedd caught him.

When he woke up, Henry did not know where he was. The lights were bright and there was a faint smell of chloroseptic. As he looked around, he realized he an an IV in his left arm and a cast on his right one. He tried to get up but there was a sharp pain in his ribs when he did. "I must be in a hospital", he thought. He wanted to get someone to come in his room so that he could see how long he'd been there, but he couldn't talk. He was born mute. As he tried to figure out how to get someone's attention, the door opened slowly and a man he didn't recognize walked in. He looked like a cowboy straight out of a western. He wore a dark jean jacket and jeans with a cowboy hat and boots.  Although Henry was in a hospital, he was still very alarmed at the mans presents. He had learned over the past few years to be very afraid of men.

Tedd wanted to see the boy he found to make sure he was okay. He didn't know the boy's situation but felt somewhat obligated to try and help him. At least until his family was notified. Thats one thing that frightened Tedd. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the boy did not have family. He had been praying for God to send him and Shelly a son. Maybe this was it. He stopped by Andies Grocery to buy the boy a few things. While in the elevater up to the boys room, he looked through the bag at what he had bought. An assortment of candy bars and magazines. He didn't know what type of things the boy liked but hoped he liked at least one thing he'd bought. He paused outside the door wondering if he had woke up yet. He had been out for several days. He opened the door slowly as not to wake him if he was sleeping. Once inside, he saw that he was awake. He crossed the room to the boys side. "How are you feeling today?", he asked. "Any better?" The boy sank away from him and pulled the sheet up to his chest. Tedd noticed the color draining from the boys face rather quickly. Figuring he was either in pain or shock or perhaps both, he called for the nurse.

The elevator doors opened and out walked Calvin Morre, the sheriff of Dusty Wind, Idaho. Calvin was also Tedd's brother-in-law. "Over here Cal", Tedd called. Calvin removed his hat and walked over. "Hey Tedd. How you doing?", he asked. "I'd be doing better if you would tell me whats going on.", he said angrily.  I tried to visit with this kid and I'm told that under your orders, no one is allowed to visit him. Now why is that sheriff"? "Well Tedd", he said looking down at his hat. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but as of just after eight o'clock this morning, this boy is under arresst for murder." Tedd was shocked. "You think he killed someone?", he asked. "I know he did Tedd. I have the proof." "What proof?", Tedd managed to stammer out. "Who was murdered?" "A man named Martin Lusk. He was the adoptive father of not only this boy, which is named Henry, but two other boys as well. All three boys were mute. That's why he adopted them. He knew most people wouldn't want them and he wanted them to feel loved too. At least thats what Margaret, the head of the orphanage tells us." "Where are the other two boys now?", Tedd asked. "Hello sheriff." Morgan Donely, the doctor that examined Henry, called as he walked towards Calvin and Tedd. He shook both mens hands and then gestured towards Henry's room. "You ready sheriff?", he asked. "I have some other rounds to get to before my shift ends." "Yes. Of coarse Morgan.", Calvin replied. He turned towards Tedd and said, "I dont have all the answers yet Tedd, but Henry does, and I'm going to find out what they are. Excuss us." With that, the doctor and sheriff both walked to Henry's room and went in.

Calvin splashed cold water on his face. He had just lost the contents of his stomach into the bathroom trash can.  He tried to think of what to do about what he had just heard, but could not. He still felt sick. In hopes that some coffee would help settle his stomach, he headed towards the hospital cafeteria. He hoped that some color had returned to his face by now. He walked in, got a cup of coffee, and turned to find a place to sit. He saw Tedd. He figured now was as good a time as any to tell him what he learned. He walked over and placed a hand on Tedd's shoulder. "Mind if I join you?", he asked. "No. Not at all." Tedd said. He wanted to talk to him later anyway so this would save him from having to go look for him.  "Whats up Cal?", he asked. "You dont look so good. Are you sick?" "You could say that.", he replied. "It's about Henry isn't it?", asked Tedd. Calvin didn't speak, he just nodded his head yes. His hands started to shake and he began to sweat. Tedd waited patiently for the sheriff to speak. After a few long swallows of coffee, Calvin started the story.

Chapter Two

"Martin Lusk, the man I said adopted those boys", Calvin began, "ran a small illegal business of selling indangered and exotic animals. He didn't adopt those boys to show them love, he wanted them to be his slaves. They were not allowed to live in the house even though he kept all the animals in a bedroom there. The boys were kept in cages out in a shed that was hidden in the woods. They would be brought into the house early in the morning to clean up after the animals and Martin himself. If they didn't do it to Martins standards, they didn't get feed for that day. When they did get fed, it was only dog food. The parrott Henry has is an indangered species. That's how he came to have it. Martin would kill any animal that was born with a defect. That parrott was born with only one wing. Martin through it out to die. The next morning, Henry snuck and got it. He figured it would die, but he wanted to try and nurse it to health anyway. It ended up living so he kept it and named it Simon. He hid it in a whole he had dug in his cage so Martin wouldn't see it. The boys were beat on a regular bases. Henry was the oldest then there was Jonathan and David." Tedd held up his hand for Calvin to stop. "So this Martin guy adopted mute children to not only be slaves but so that they couldn't tell anyone about his illegal business." He stood then and put on his jacket. "I'm sure Shelly will want to adopt him now more than ever.", he said. "Adopt?", Calvin said standing now too. "Yea. I went home for a while when you was in with Henry. I told Shelly what you had told me so far and we decided to adopt him regardless of his crime. Don't you see Calvin? He really does need to be shown love." "Tedd, there is a whole lot more to this story that you couldn't even begin to imagine. I'm coming with you so that I can tell you and Shelly at the same time. Afterwords, then you can decide if you still want to adopt him".

Shelly placed the pot of coffee on the kitchen table where Tedd and Calvin were sitting. She poured them all coffee and then took a seat herself. "Alright.", she said. "Tell us the rest Calvin." Calvin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he began where he left off. "You were right Tedd when you said Martin didn't want the boys to tell anyone about his business. But you were wrong about which business. Martin used those boys in his child pornography ring." Shelly gasped. Tedd could do nothing but blink. Calvin continued. Martin would show up late at night in the shed with several men with hoods over their face and a little girl. The boys were never allowed to see the mens faces. The boys were made to undress the little girl and perform oral sex on her and her on them. Then the boys would have to tie the girl spread eagle to some post in the floor and watch as the men with hoods would repeatedly rape her. The boys were then made to untie her and dress her. On some nights, some of the men would stay after and have the boys perform oral sex on them. Everything was always video taped by Martin. One night, the youngest boy David, refused to perform oral sex on one of the men so he was beaten to death. Several months later, the other boy Jonathan was sick with a fever and couldn't perform any of it, so he was beaten to death." Shelly stood up abruptly and went to the sink crying. Tedd went to comfort her and Calvin poured them all more coffee.

An hour had passed and Calvin figured he could continue now. "All thats left to tell is how Henry came to kill Martin. If you guys are ready, I'll tell you about it." "I wish he was still alive so I could kill him!", Tedd said angrily. Calvin got up from the couch and began to pace as he told them the rest. "Martin came to the shed one morning to get Henry for the morning cleaning I told you about involving the animals. He saw the parrott and went off. He smacked Henry around a little and then went for the bird. He told Henry he was going to wring it's neck and that if he didn't watch him do it, he would wring his neck too. When he turned his back to Henry to get the bird, henry grabbed a shovel and hit Martin in the head with it. He went down but Henry was so angry at him he couldn't stop hitting him so he kept doing it until his energy was gone. He said he did it because he couldn't take seeing something else get killed by Martin, so he killed Martin. After that he guessed he passed out because when he woke it was dark. He panicked that the men that came at night would be there soon so he got the parrott and ran and never looked back." With that, he sat back down on the couch. "Now you see why I said you wouldn't want to adopt him. He has way to many demons to deal with. Plus, whoever thos men are, when they find out Henry is alive and could potentially be a threat to them, they'll come looking for him. They'll want him dead. If you adopt him, you are just putting youself in danger too." Tedd and Shelly went to the kitchen to talk. When they came back, they told Calvin they still wanted to adopt him. Calvin tried to talk them out of it, but was not successful. "Okay you two. Dont say I didn't warn you. I'm leaving now to start the paper work, but first, I want to tell you this. Don't trust anyone and be suspecious of everyone."

Epilogue

It was almost nine months to the day before Sheriff Calvin Moore was able to find out who else was behind the child pornography ring. When prints were lifted from Martin Lusk's shed, one came back with a hit on a man named Joseph Riley. Joseph confessed his part in the ring and also pointed out Margaret Keenley, who was the head of the orphanage, as the ringleader of the whole thing. Joseph's job was to get the little girls from Margaret. He would take them to Martins shed and wait up in the house for someone to get him to take the girl back. He would then take her back to Margaret. She would send him to the broiler room of the orphanage to get the broiler very hot. She would show up with the girl stuffed in a garbage bag. They would shove it into the broiler wan wait until it was completely burned. Although Margaret Keenley never admitted to anything, she was sentenced to death by a grand jury. Joseph Riley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Although the ring had been busted, Henry never stopped looking over his shoulder. After all, the hooded men were never identified and therefore, still out there. They could be anyone. The doctor, the sheriff, some neighbors, or even Tedd. Henry couldn't trust anyone...

The End

 

 

 

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