The Brawns

Chapter 5

I walk home through the same alley that I have walked for years. Every step is familiar, every move intimate. I go through all of the weird things that have happened lately. Everything seems to be different. I shake it off as I realize that I'm only a block from home.

***

I wake up at 12:03 am. I quickly get out of bed, already dressed. It feels weird having no idea what you're doing or where you're going. I just have to figure out what happened to Cora and why she has been so quiet lately. Nellie is sound asleep and I hear my dad's snoring through his brown bedroom door. I tiptoe downstairs as calmly and silently as I can. My sweaty palm reaches for the brass doorknob.

The midnight breeze hits my face. It feels so good. I saw the figures last night, but I didn't have the courage to leave then. I run down the street and make a right turn. Shortly after I make another right, I hear slow footsteps and quiet voices.

"We need to get to Duke soon. I can't afford another day without a meal." It was a female's voice. A young female's voice.

"Just a minute, it's not even one o'clock yet, we have a while." A male's voice, slightly older. Who were these people? I check my watch. 12: 53. I wouldn't exactly call 7 minutes a while.

"Zane! We have to get back! Duke said he'll kick my ass if we don't get back before one!"

"Well maybe he knows what he's doing, you do need an ass-kicking sometimes." I stifle a laugh.

"You're one to be talking."

"I am one to be talking, as I am talking now, do you have a problem with that?"

"Actually, I do, smartass."

"At least my ass is smart." That one makes me laugh. I let out a half-snort and slap my hand over my mouth. The footsteps I hear stop.

Crap.

I don't move. I don't breathe. My body is completely still.

"Did you hear that?" I hear the girl whisper.

"Yeah, shh. Let's go." I hear small lightly-stepped movements. I wait a couple minutes, or hours, I can't really tell, until I hear nothing for a long while. I go as quietly as I can back through the streets. It's still only 1:37, so my dad won't be up for a while. I decide to stay out.

I don't know what caused me to do it. It surprised me. Let my just say; I am not one to take chances.

I go down a couple extra streets until I see an old abandoned pizza store on what looks like Columbus Avenue. The old green sign is beat-up and dirty to the point it is too hard to read. It says "C l bu Av n e." I stop. It's tiring, running around all night. I lean against the alley-way's brick wall and put my hand on my head.

Suddenly the hard surface that's pressed against my spine becomes smooth. I stop and open my eyes. The bricks that once surrounded me were gone, and what appeared was a gray, beat up door.

I stare. I blink. What the heck just happened? I see a little black knob with a finger scan. I look around. Absentmindedly I press my fingertip against the scanner. The door slowly creaks open.

That's when I see Cora.