Post by storyteller on Feb 12, 2010 15:27:46 GMT -5
Sleuth
The trio continued their stroll through the forest in near silence; the elf and star child not knowing what to say, and the hooded man not wanting to say anything. Even if they had wanted to talk they couldn’t; for the path the hooded man led them on was so winding that Geno and Christine were constantly jogging to keep up, hurdling over fallen trees, and sometimes getting the feeling that they were retracing their steps.
After some time of this, just at the point when Christine had felt like complaining, they came out to a vast plain which stretched out ahead of them. She took it in; the grass was its usual dark green hue, which seemed to be bordering on purple. The sky was dark as ever, with no sun in existence, and only a few stars to hold their place in the sky. Somehow, though, there was always light decent enough to see.
By the time she realized they were still walking, the group had come out about 50 yards from the forest, and her feet were sore.
“Can we take a break?” Geno asked the man, and Christine gave her agreement.
After thinking about it for a minute, and looking backwards, the man replied, “Sure.”
The hooded man sat down right there, and took out two water bottles from his coat. They were shaped more like orbs, and had their names painted on, Geno’s in blue and Christine’s in green.
“Ok, this is too freaky,” Christine said, staring at her name.
“How do you know both of us? What’s your deal?” Geno asked, angry, but too tired to really get mad.
“You’ll see. Or you could ask the sleuth over there.” The hooded man pointed, revealing a human hand, with a Caucasian skin tone, which the two followed to see a hat on the ground, barely an inch from the edge of the forest. A hand reached out from behind a tree and grabbed it, before trying to hide itself again. “He’s been following us since around when I met you, Geno.”
“Well,” said Christine, getting up, “I’m going to go say hi.” She started off slowly, waiting for the hooded man to call her back, but he did not. When she got to the trees, she decided to call out.
“Hey! We know you’re watching us! We want to be friends! Well, I do, and so does Geno!” A moment later, a man stepped out; wearing the same hat she had seen on the ground. His hat was odd, she had never seen a fedora before. He looked to be in his 40’s, and strong, but with an edge about him. He wasn’t one you would want to cross, not necessarily because he would shoot you, but her could give a decent beating and find out dirt. Heck, he even held a stick with a piece of glass on the end.
“Hi, I’m Christine.”
“Theodore Ace Harding,” the man said, extending his hand. She shook it.
“So have you been following us?”
“Yes. I’ve seen that man in the cloak before, so I decided to try and figure out who he is. Shadowing hasn’t worked. Do you know anything about him?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the one figuring this out?”
“Yes. I was a private investigator a while ago, but not anymore.”
“Well, we haven’t found out anything either, don’t worry. But he’s supposed to be helping us get out of this place, so we’ve decided to follow him.”
“This world does have a bit of a…gloom about it. I’d like to return to my world.”
“Then, would you like to join us?”
Back at the resting place, Geno addressed the hooded figure once more.
“Hey, did you know that someone was following us?” he asked.
“As long as he is following, who cares?” was the hooded man’s only response.
“You’re not curious at all about who this guy is?”
“Frankly, I already know of him. Theodore Harding, private detective. Goes by the name Ace. If you ask Christine over there then she’ll probably confirm it.” Geno looked to see that Christine was talking to the man now. “When he comes to join us, give him my regards.”
“But who are you, and how do you know so much about us?” Geno was practically yelling.
“I’ve practically given up my identity so don’t worry about it!” Now, the hooded man seemed to be beyond angry, as he was standing and yelling at Geno. “And if you’ll be patient, patient at all, then you’ll wait! You may not have had as long a wait as anyone else, but you and I both know you’ve been here for years, and gotten by without explanation. You can go longer. If you believe, truly believe, that I can help get you out of here, then you’ll follow me. Heck, I know you will, you already are. You’re under my control, because I know you. So just shut up, keep up, and no more questions. I’m basically giving up my existence to give you all life again, so back off star boy, there’s nothing you can do about it.” Ending his diatribe, the hooded man got ready to go, but first pulled another water bottle from the hood, tossing it to Geno.
“Give this to him when he arrives.” Geno caught it, and saw the name Ace, painted in brown letters.
Geno waited a minute for Christine and the sleuth to return, giving the hooded man a head start.
“Ace?” he asked, looking to the man.
“How do you know my name?”
Geno looked a bit saddened by the news. “Here’s your water bottle.” Christine groaned upon seeing this, and Ace only looked shocked.
