As Theo lies on the operating table, he begins to feel very nervous, almost unbelievably anxious. If he thought clearly, he might even be able to scare himself out of the surgery. But the medical staff pumped so many fluids into his system and gave him so many pills to reduce the swelling in his brain that he's barely thinking straight.
Theo lies there as he watches the team of doctors and nurses scurry from one station to another. His brain feels as though it is wrapped in cotton, his mouth drier than the Sahara Desert. He listens as the team leader begins speaking to him.
"We are about to begin." She says in a very soft-spoken voice that is almost a whisper.
She puts the anesthesia on Theo, and he slowly drifts off to sleep. His brain stops feeling all pain and emotion; it's like he's in a bottomless dark pit. He struggles to not fall asleep, and eventually, he succumbs.
The team leader whispers to the rest of her staff, "Instruments."
The team responds by handing her several scalpels and other instruments that she needs for the operation.
She whispers to one, "Gag reflex."
Putting a dirty cloth in the patient's mouth. The patient struggles slightly but then stops moving altogether.
"Heartbeat?" she asks.
One of the nurses places a metal object near the leader's head. It makes a "blip, blip, blip" noise.
The leader begins to cut into Theo's skull with the assistance of another nurse. Theo suddenly wakes up, his brain clearly feeling all emotion and pain once again. But it's too late. The anesthetic wears off after several minutes, but Theo's brain is so scrambled that he is still paralyzed. He just twitches slightly, unable to speak, see, or hear anything.
A nurse walks over and says, "His vitals are dropping."
The leader continues cutting as the rest of the staff tries to keep Theo alive.
"His brain is swelling. We need to keep cutting until we reach the cerebellum." She says as she cuts several more times.
Theo's body twitches a bit and then goes completely limp.
The leader says, "He's dead."
Theo wakes up in his basement and shuts off his computer.
"I have to stop reading all these No Sleep posts," he says as he gets up to stretch. He walks upstairs and pauses at the bottom of his stairs as he hears his television playing a news report.
"I turned that off before I went to bed," he thinks as he walks into the living room. He pauses again, hearing the words coming from the TV.
"The missing arm of the girl Alice that was found mutilated four months ago has been found after a team of divers searched the sewer drains. Along with a pair of gloves that are believed to be those of the killer. Another update on the murder of Ben Higgins; a torn jacket was found near a park bathroom. If anyone has any information or seen anyone during that time, please contact the police."
"Theo?" his mom says, walking out of the kitchen. "Why are you just standing there?"
"Uh, just listening to the news," Theo says as he sits down in one of the chairs in the dining area.
His mom laughs and says, "You going to try to find a new girlfriend?"
Theo pauses and says, "I don't know if I want one."
"What's wrong with you?" she says with a laugh as she pours herself a cup of coffee.
"Nothing," he smiles as he takes a sip of orange juice. "I'm just tired, I guess."
His mom goes on to say, "Honey, They will never know it was you. Your Uncle Jack is taking care of everything. Hanna’s aunt and uncle are gone, and don't worry about those two kids. They won't remember a thing about you after what Jack did."
"What about the people in the other house?"
His mom puts her hand to her mouth and pauses for a moment. Theo notices the pause but doesn't think anything of it; she's always been a bit dramatic sometimes.
She lowers her hand and says, "They saw nothing. Don't worry about that either."
Detective Edmond Gates's phone rings; he flips it open after a few rings and says, "Detective Gates." He listens to the voice on the other end for a minute and then says, "okay, I'll be right there."
David Zayim was listening to the news report about the update on the murders four months ago. He thinks back about the kid he saw at the park. The so-called "paperboy." He goes to his computer and checks his video drafts, hoping he hasn't deleted the video he took that night of the kid coming out of the bathroom.
He opens the video to confirm that it is, in fact, there and watches it again.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"God damn it!" he whispers as he sees someone watching over his shoulder. He quickly turns around to see his sister Jennifer locking the door.
"You fucker," she says as she slaps him hard across the face. "I can't believe you would do that."
"Do what?" David says in a squeaky voice as he rubs his chin.
"You saw that kid the night he killed Ben and didn't fucking tell anyone," she says as she starts to yell at him.
"I didn't know it was him at the time. I thought it was just some kid out on his paper route."
"Bullshit, you watched the news like the rest of us and knew exactly who it was when you saw him."
"How was I to know it was him? He was just some kid," David says, raising his voice a bit.
"You could have stopped him before he killed Ben! Fuck!"
David's sister starts tearing up. Ben was her boyfriend, and she still hasn't gotten over his death. After a few moments of silence, David finally says, "Who else knows I saw him that night?"
"Just me," she says after wiping her eyes.
"Don't you think you should tell..."
David says, "I already called Detective Edmond Gates. He's on his way right now."
The police arrive within minutes, and David's sister goes into the bathroom to get ready. David has a difficult time preparing himself for them knocking on the door. Feeling like an eternity, a man in a blue suit and badge on his belt shows up at the door. David's sister comes out of the bathroom and greets him at the front door.
David opens the door and says, "Welcome back, officers." As soon as he opens the door, both officers walk into the house with their pistols drawn.
"GET ON THE FUCKING GROUND!" one of the officers screams. David instinctively gets on his knees and places his hands behind his head.
David's sister falls to the ground, "What the fuck is going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know," David says as another man comes in that David hadn't noticed was there. He sees the man has a badge but is also carrying a pistol.
As he enters the room, officers quickly inform him of the situation as he briefs him on recent events.
"Fuck," the man says as he runs his hand over his face.
"What's your name, son?" the officer says, turning toward David.
David is confused at being called son by a man he’s old enough to be a father of until he looks at the nametag and it says "Gates."
"David," he manages to squeak out.
The police officer pulls out another chair and sits down while the original two officers keep their guns trained on David.
"So what happened?" Officer Gates says as he puts his gun back in his holster.
"I..." David is at a loss of how to explain the situation.
"How about your sister tells me what happened." Officer Gates says.
His sister nods and Officer Gates flashes her a small smile before saying, "This shouldn't take too long, and we can get you both some therapy to help you both get over this."
His sister starts to explain what happened that night with David interjecting every now and then to help fill in the gaps. “Ben was walking her home from the movies. When this boy and girl came up to Ben. I guess Ben knew who they were because he gave them both a fist bump. They walked with us until they dropped me off here. Ben left with them, and that is the last time I ever saw any of them.”
Detective Gates then tells her that the girl she saw was Alice and the boy has yet to be identified.
The officer spent the next few hours asking questions and taking notes of everything David and his sister says. Finally, he seems to be done and tells them that someone will be by soon to take them to get some breakfast, and then they will be taken to a hotel.
"Just tell the officer in charge that you're with me, and everything will be fine."
At about noon, they are taken to a hotel. The officer in charge of this is a tall man with dark, curly hair and a freshly shaven mustache who has a very commanding presence. He calls himself Captain Datyal Jackson. Everyone seems to defer to him instantly when he enters the room.
After getting their rooms, he takes David and his sister to a diner down the street for some breakfast. Over the meal, David gets a good look at Captain Jackson. The man is tall with broad shoulders and has an athletic build. His skin is dark, and his eyes are a bright blue.
David sees him looking back at him. "I've been told you are a smart man, so I'll explain some things to you now."
"Alright," David responds, unsure what to say.
He tells David that he is part of the Criminal Investigative Division. He went to college and majored in criminal justice. This is his first major case, so he is taking personal charge of it. The reward is now up to 50,000 dollars, a record for a small division, indicating how important this case is. David notices that Captain Jackson seems to know everyone in the diner. Waitresses greet him by his first name, and guests at other tables wave and say hello. He asks David if he remembers when Detective Patrick Turner came to visit him. David nodded as he did.
"Well, I was out in the van listening to the conversation. I'm glad to see that you remembered as much as you did."
David was little worried now. He had passed the first test, but he knew that his memory had been bad that day. He just couldn't remember what else the detective asked him. Captain Jackson explains that he was there as a backup just in case the detective doing the interview needed a fact checked.
"Do you remember what else he asked you?" Captain Jackson asks while looking at him in the eyes.
David thinks deeply for a few moments and realizes he is asking which questions he means.
They meet eyes again, and Captain Jackson smiles. "You passed; you didn't look away once. I'm not sure if I deserve to be looked at in such a direct manner, but it's good that you have the confidence."
David sits up a little more and stops hunching. The posture changes seem to make him more alert.
Jackson pulls out a folder. "So David, or shall we call you Mr. Crime Watch?" David looks at him, shocked. "Yes, we know you're the owner of that YouTube account. Don't worry, we won't reveal that to the public." Jackson keeps going, "Are you ready to go undercover?"
David is shocked. He stutters a little and asks, "What? Me? That seems pretty dangerous. I'm not sure I would be able to."
Captain Jackson smiles at him, his blue eyes pierce right through David.
"We need you to find The Paperboy," Jackson says in a severe tone.
"The Paperboy?" David asks, confused.
David thinks back to the video and remembers the creepy song that was in the background, "Yeah, I think I found out who it was."
"Who?" Captain Jackson asks.
"I'm not sure of his name, but I remember seeing him as a lifeguard at the high school pool."
"What's his name?" Jackson asks again.
David looks down at his phone and spells out the name "Z-E-D." He had remembered correctly but now realizes it probably wasn't his real name.
"That's not a name, son. That's an abbreviation." Captain Jackson says as he takes the phone.
"Can you find anything on him?" David asks.
"I'm sure I'll be able to find something," replies Captain Jackson as he begins typing on the phone while biting his lip.
Captain Jackson looks up from the phone and stares at David.
"Are you in?" he asks.
David doesn't know how to respond. Go undercover to find a guy that's been causing mayhem all over the city, with almost no information, or say no and possibly never get another chance.