"What. The. Hell."
That was the only thing the man could think to say as he stood outside the door to his office. Standing in front of him, with a stupid grin on his face, was the boy he had turned away yesterday.
"Hey, Mr. . . . Tom Waller," said Jackie, reading the man's name off the name tag clipped to the collar of his blazer.
The man in the suit, Tom Waller, rubbed his temples. "What are you doing here, kid?"
Here, by the way, is the back-office area of a police station. Yes, they are in a police station. And also yes, Tom Waller worked in a police station.
"Well," said Jackie, "it's a bit of a long story."
**********
Despite Waller's refusal to help, Jackie was not deterred and decided on a new course of action. Since he could not figure out the Gathering's hideout from the flyer or someone who could read its hidden messages, the next best thing to do was to find a known member of the Gathering and follow them in hopes that they would lead him there.
So, once more after school, Jackie set off to the only place he knew he'd find Gathering members. He spotted Taylor right away, the same as yesterday and the week before, handing out flyers in the hopes of recruiting more members. But Jackie, himself, was not the same as before. Instead of walking up to Taylor, he hid in an alley a few feet away where he could observe her and her buddies from. With a pair of binoculars, of course.
He watched them as they passed their flyers out, occasionally shooting breeze with some passerby. This went on for about an hour and a half. Nothing else happened until Taylor suddenly turned her head his way.
Jackie quickly pulled his head back, heart pounding.
She didn't see me, did she? No, she can't have. I'm too far away.
After waiting a few more seconds, Jackie risked a peek. He was just in time to see Taylor hang up her phone and stuff it in her jeans' back pocket.
In hindsight, he really should have taken that as a sign to leave. But instead, he continued with his clandestine observation until he felt a tap on his shoulder a few minutes later.
Slowly and reluctantly, Jackie turned his head and looked behind him. Looking back was a big, pink face with puffed out cheeks nearly drooping over the collar bones. Above that face was a black hat with a glossy front brim. At the center of that hat was a gold badge.
Looming menacingly over Jackie was a police officer.
"Son," he said in a level, but firm way, "I'm going to need you to come with me."
Jackie blinked. "Huh?"
Next thing he knew, he was in the back of a police cruiser.
"Huh?"
The door slammed shut over his baffled face. And then Jackie found himself sitting in front of his stepfather at opposite sides of an office desk. The smell of coffee was strong in the air over a clamor of overlapping voices and ringing phones.
"Huh? No wait. Oh crap!"
**********
"So you got caught stalking again, got arrested for it this time." Waller was not surprised. "But that still doesn't explain why you are standing in front of me right now."
"Well, I happened to glance out the door to the hall, spotted you passing by and figured I could get ahead of you by taking another exit. I'm guessing by the key in your hand and the way you're facing this door, this is your office. And you are actually . . . an accountant."
Waller rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's right. I'm an accountant. So unless you need help with bookkeeping, please go away."
"I do need help," said Jackie. "But not with bookkeeping, whatever that is."
Waller raised an eyebrow.
Before Jackie could continue, his stepfather appeared, looking exasperated as he came marching over.
"There you are!" he said. The plainclothes police officer grabbed his stepson by the collar and yanked him back. "Didn't I tell you to stay put at my desk?"
And then he turned to Waller, his angry stare instantly turning into a remorseful look.
"Sorry, Tom. I hope he hasn't been a bother."
"Not at all," Waller replied. The way the kid looked like a sorrowful puppy dog being held by the scruff of his neck made Waller feel sorry for him, so he decided to do Jackie a solid. "We were just having a pleasant chat about Batman. But, uh . . . Arnold, you know this kid?"
Arnold Willis gave Jackie a glance before answering, "You could say that. He's my -"
Jackie cut Arnold off. "I'm his stepson. Basically adopted."
He and Arnold exchanged looks and they both fell quiet, creating an awkward air that Waller did not care to be a part of long.
"Ahem!" he went, bringing the father-son duo's attention back on him. "Well, it's been nice getting to know you, uh . . . what's your name again?"
"Jackie," Jackie answered.
"Right, Jackie. Well, it's nice getting to know you Jackie, but I got work to do. Lots of accounting stuff."
The accountant quickly retreated into the office and shut the door, hoping that it would be the last he saw of Jackie. But he knew deep down that it would not.
And he was right, because a few hours later after his work shift ended, as he was walking towards the bus stop, he suddenly stopped and sighed before turning to speak to the nearby trash can.
"I know you're there," he said. "Get out already."
Reluctantly, Jackie stepped into view.
Hands to his hips, Waller frowned at the boy. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet? I know Arnold must have lectured you about stalking already before he kicked you out of the station."
Jackie frowned back. "Hey, I wouldn't have to do this if you'd just tell me where the Gathering's going to be."
"Ugh! This again! Kid, look! I know I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but the cops already got the time and address to the next meeting. If you're right and the Gathering's hella suss, then the police'll sort it out lickity-split."
Jackie's face twisted with confusion. "What? Dude, who uses 'hella suss' or 'lickity-split' anymore? I can't even tell which is older."
"I'm not old!" Waller shouted a bit louder than he meant to and attracted stares from the bus stop he had meant to go to. Well, now he couldn't.
While stifling down a surge of embarrassment, he turned at his heels and swiftly walked pass the eyes on him, turning his gaze away from theirs. Jackie briskly followed.
"Go away, Kid. I just told you the cops are already on the Gathering's trail, so you don't need me anymore. You don't need to do anything anymore."
"Come on, man," said Jackie. "You and I both know that the police aren't going to find them, even if they do have the address."
"Then it makes no difference to tell you."
"Ah ha!" Jackie pointed at Waller. "So you admit you do know the address! That means you do have special eyes that can see invisible things!"
"Oh, for-! Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now?"
"You're not denying it anymore," Jackie pointed out.
"Ugh!' Again, Waller smacked his forehead in exasperation. "You know what? Sure, whatever. It's been a long day, I have to walk home now because SOMEONE won't stop bothering me, and I'm too tired to argue at this point. Even though, again, this stuff about invisible monsters and such is all crazy talk."
"So . . . Will you tell me what you saw on the flyer?"
"Yeah. Sure. Okay," said Waller as he continued down the street in long and quick strides. Jackie struggled to keep up with his frantic pacing. "I saw . . . "
"You saw . . . ?"
"Big words that say to come join the Gathering. There! You happy now?"
No, Jackie was not.
"Come on, man!" he said, indignantly. "What's it gonna take for you to tell me where the Gathering is? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg? Is that it? Because I'll do it. I'm serious. I'll really do it. And I'll be really loud about it too."
Waller stopped and turned again.
"Kid, I've had it up to here with you!" He put his hand a few inches over his head. "You either go home, or I call the cops. I'm sure Arnold will be thrilled to find out that his son - sorry, STEP-son, got arrested twice in one day for the same crime. See what happens then!"
The threat worked.
Although reluctant, Jackie slowly backed away until he turned at his heels and walked away. He wanted to keep pressing Waller for answers, but knew that if he got in trouble again, Arnold would ground him. That would put the search for Alice in jeopardy, which was the last thing that Jackie wanted.
Don't you feel sorry, Tom, Waller silently told himself as he watched the boy trudge away. The sorrowful look on the boy's face sent a pang to the accountant's heart, but he had to remain stoic. This is for his own good. You tell him what he wants, you can be sure he'll go running to death. it'll be like you killed him yourself. Sometimes you just gotta play the bad guy for what's best for others.
But as he continued staring at Jackie's receding back, Waller soon realized that his act of kindness would be for nothing.
Something had popped out of the alleyway after the boy passed by it, something both weird and impossible. It was a huge creature that looked sort of like a gecko. But unlike normal geckos, this one was the size of a limousine car. Its head was an assembly of wood blocks. Its right hindleg was a bicycle wheel. The toes of its left foreleg each had a steel kitchen knife blade stuck to them. It also had two tails instead of one, both entirely just a chain of yellowing bones.
There was only one word for such a creature: monster.
Despite the monster's eye-popping appearance and size, Jackie didn't seem to notice it. And why would he? Only Waller could see the creature. Just like only he could see or hear the black rags flying around him, giggling like little children.
"We told you, we told you," they sang.
"We told you something nasty was going to happen."
"Something nasty to that boy."
"Now what will you do? Will you stand here and do nothing?"
"Ooh! How cruel! How cold-blooded!"
"No, how kind! How warm! Let the monster gobble him up. The poor, poor starving monster."
"Not so poor, poor starving anymore! Hee hee hee!"
As they flew around him like planets orbiting the sun, they continued to chant, "Do nothing. Do nothing. Do nothing."
"Argh! Damn it!"
With an infuriated roar, Waller wildly swung his arms about, shooing the rags away. And then he broke into a run up the path that both Jackie and the monster had gone.
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