The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Nineteen

Morning came and Ben woke up still clutching some of the pages of the unbound manuscript, while the rest lay scattered on the floor. He rubbed his eyes and wiped the drool from the corners of his mouth. Unsure what time it was or how long he had dozed off, Ben rose from the couch and reassembled the manuscript.  

Ben exited the room and walked back down the long winding corridor and through the fireplace. On his way upstairs, he saw sunlight pouring through the windows and he could not help but smile. He felt unusually invigorated. It was the first time in a long time that he actually looked forward to his day. Now having been fully charged, Ben was excited to explore the events contained in the secret manuscript. Unfortunately for Kyle, he was at school and would not get to share the joy of Ben's discovery. 

Ben set the manuscript on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator. The fridge was nearly empty aside from a half empty carton of milk, a two-litre of pop, and a box of pizza. Ben lifted the lid to the pizza box and saw there were only two slices left. He glanced at the time on the microwave - it was just after ten o'clock. He grabbed the milk instead and decided on the more sensible breakfast option - a bowl of cereal. In addition to inheriting the house, Ben had also acquired Mr. Gringer's dishes and cutlery. After opening a few cupboards and drawers, he eventually found what he needed and sat back down at the table to read the manuscript while he ate his breakfast. 

As he continued on, he came to a part in the story he had almost forgotten. It described a situation where he was getting bullied and Kyle had come to his rescue.  

Ben curled up on the ground in a turtle position, protecting his head from the repeated blows. The commotion caught Kyle's attention, but he did not react right away. Off to the side of the scuffle was another bully going through the contents of a distinct red backpack. This was when Kyle knew the victim of the attack was his brother, Ben.  

Kyle rushed into action and lunged at the group of kids - shoving two of the boys and punching a third one in the mouth. The group of boys spread out unsure whether to stay and fight, or just leave. Kyle stood his ground and eventually the boys decided not to continue the fight. Once they left, Kyle grabbed Ben by the arm and helped him to his feet.... 

A few chapters later, there was yet another account of Kyle's heroism. Again, Ben's recollection of the event had almost completely vanished. The memories were so vague that it was hard to know with any degree of accuracy how much of it was factual. As he continued to read, parts of it slowly started to come back, but he could not remember how exactly the story turned out. In addition to it being a long time ago, Ben had done his best to put his past behind him. 

The next morning Ben and Kyle woke up at 7:00 a.m. to do their morning chores. The first thing they had to do was feed the animals. They went into the stable and started shovelling hay into the horse stalls. Next to be fed were the pigs.  

They went back to the barn to get the slop buckets. That's when Ben noticed the padlock on Bob Wibley's garage was unlocked. This was unusual since it had always been locked in the past. There were no windows to peer into, and there were explicit instructions to never go near the garage. Naturally, a healthy curiosity brewed as to what Wibley stored in there. With a hurried pace, Ben walked toward the garage to see what was inside.  

Kyle, being the more sensible of the two, stayed back and urged Ben not to act on his curiosity. He knew the only thing to come from it was likely to be trouble. 

"Ben, come on, quit messing around," Kyle shouted in a hushed manner.  

Ignoring Kyle's advice, Ben unlatched the lock, opened the large wooden door, and disappeared into the mysterious garage. Once inside, Ben's heart raced as he snuck around in the dark. The only light came from a tiny sliver through the doorway. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized what was concealed in the off-limits garage.