Status: Old Piece I Found
A Homless Hero
***. A story told. Hero made.
The wind blew cold and strong as rain pelted the roads of the city. Most were asleep in their homes worrying over petty thing like work the next morning and what they were going to wear. But for some it was not so easy. For some this weather was the perfect way to get some food or grab a blanket from a busted store window. That is why He was out being soaked to the bone. He was Damien. Just Damien, no last name, no family, it was just him. And this was his chance to eat for the first time in almost three days.
So when he ran down the streets of the small city he kept to the shadows, holding his only belonging in his right hand, ready to use it if someone came to stop him from lifting his food. No one would though. No one would come to this end of town, in this weather at midnight. No one was that stupid but him. So Damien ran to the store he had watched. Glancing around to make sure no one was in sight. Not just ‘good guys’ waiting to turn someone like him in, but also people like him. People who would have to run just as hard and as fast as him, so they would not be caught. In this city, it did not matter if you caught the right guy, just as long as one guy was caught.
Seeing that the way was clear Damien gave the robbers whistle as a last warning to anyone around and brought the handle of his knife to the window. The window gave way and as the shards of glass fell, Damien reached into the store with a well practice movement than ran. He ran so hard he almost missed the two other people moving swiftly down the street. Luckily, Damien was able to duck into a doorway just as one of the two people turned around.
“What was that?” a distinctly rough male voice asked.
A feeble women’s voice answered him, “I don’t know.”
“Like hell you don’t,” the man replied. “When did you call the police?”
“I didn’t-” A slap cut the women’s voice off.
“When?!” The man almost shouted, than seeming to remember where he was asked in a quieter tone, “When? Was it when I killed Mark? Or was it when you ran after seeing Marcy hit the floor from my knife?”
The women started to sob and answered through tears, “I d-didn’t c-call t-them.”
“Fine. Stop your blubbering; it must have been a stray cat.” The man said icily. “Just get into the house.”
Damien peeked around the corner just in time to see two well-dressed people, a tall well-built man and a curvy petit woman, step into a rundown apartment that had boarded up windows. Looking up at the street signs Damien took note of the location of the building as he prepared to do what he swore never to do after he had run away from his last foster home. Damien was going to talk to the police.
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Damien stepped up to the stoop of the police office and took a deep breath. He knew he had to do this. He knew that the woman would die if he did not. Damien did not know how he knew she was going to die but he did. And that simple thought made him step into that office looking and feeling like sewer trash. And that thought made him walk up to front desk. And that thought made Damien tell the balding man sitting there, “I wanna to report the kidnappin’ of some lady and the murder of someone called Mark and someone called Marcy.” And that thought kept Damien from running right out the door when the man asked him,
“Did you say Mark and Marcy?” Than at the Damien’s tentative nod the man stood up and replied, “Come along to the back and will get you set up.”
That is how Damien found himself here, sitting in a small room with a big burly police officer sitting across from him asking him questions.
The man started “Name?”
Than Damien would reply “Damien.”
The man glanced up and asked “Full Name?” putting emphasis on the ‘full’.
Damien looked up for the first time since he got here and looked the man in the eye and said, “It’s just Damien. But if you wanna, go look me up in your little records ya can look in missin’ children about 5 years back. But I wanna like to cut to the chase. I haven’t got all night and I would like to report a murder. Two actually”
The man said with an annoyed tone “Fine what did you see and or hear?”
Damien smiled slightly saying, “Thank you. Well I was on the corna of White Holly and Heather Grove outside of the city park on my way home when…” and lunched into his story finding it easier and easier to talk as the man took down notes. Then when Damien finished the sergeant sent men out to get the two people hiding in the apartment. Then he led Damien to a small waiting room telling him, “Rest up. If the police I got out their find them you will need to I.D. them for us.” Damien simply nodded and slumped into the chair he was sitting in.
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Sometime latter Damien was wakened to shouting, as the sergeant walked in brought him to I.D. the people behind the one-way mirror.
“Damien that is Ms. Sherrill Griffin. She is the woman we found at the apartment along with Mr. Floyd Koberg. Are these the people you saw?”
Damien bit his lip and asked, “I’m pretty sure but could ya have ‘em say somethin’?”
The sergeant did. The man-Floyd- started to yelled as soon as the men in the room told him he need to say something for identification, “Where is he?! That son of a gun who turned me in for nothing!” Damien tried not to flinch as he continued to yell, “I’m going to sue his ass for ruining my business and reputation!”
Damien said with certainty, “That’s the man who was talkin’ about ‘dem murders.”
“All right,” the sergeant said motioning a positive I.D. to a man in the room. Then he turned to Damien asking, “Here goes Ms. Sherrill Griffin.”
As Sherrill started to talk Damien knew it was the petit lady he had seen dragged into the apartment. “Well,” Sherrill started, “I don’t really know what to say… but at the entrance to the building I told that man that I didn’t call the police and I didn’t know who was in the street with us.” Sherrill then looked at the police officer to see if that was enough as Damien looked over to the sergeant and said, “That’s her, the lady from the apartment.”
The officer motioned once more to the police a positive I.D., looked to Damien, and asked, “Do you know who this lady is… like in this city?”
“No, sir.” Damien replied.
“She is a local scientist working on a special medication for cancer patients. Ms. Griffin’s work has brought her a high income and that is not to mention she is now the only living daughter of Mr. Randolph Griffin III.” Damien stared at the man blankly not getting at what he was trying to say. Was this man just trying to rub the fact that he was a homeless kid in his face? The sergeant continued to speak, “I know you requested not to have to meet anyone, but Ms. Griffin would like to offer her gratitude for you saving her.”
Damien looked down at his shoes as though they held all the answers to his terrible life. Looking up he supposed softly, “I guess it wouldn’ do me no harm if I go and listen to her…”
The sergeant smiled sympathetically to Damien noticing the boys uneasiness, “No, I don’t think anything bad could come of talking to her. And remember if you want to leave at anytime you just got to say.”
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Ms. Griffin was already in the room when Damien and the sergeant entered. She smiled at them with a hundred watt smile even though it was clear to see that Ms. Griffin was a little worst for wears. However, her state did not seem to effect what she thought she needed to do to thank the boy that saved her.
“Ms. Griffin,” the sergeant began, “This is Damien, young man who reported your kidnapping.”
Ms. Griffin smiled saying, “Damien, I can’t begin to thank you enough for helping me. I would have been dead before morning like my half brother and sister if you had not stepped up to report the disturbance.” Here she paused as if imaging what would have become of her. Then she continued on, “As I understand it, coming here to report this was basically throwing yourself under a bus. However, I would like to repay you for what you have done. I am willing to pay you for your help also, if you would like, to come live with me. You see I have been trying to foster a child for a while but none in this area have been in need of a home. As I understand it, you seem to hate the foster system you were in and would most likely run again. So what do you say would you like to come with me?”
Damien was shocked speechless for a moment. Then when he was about to reply Ms. Griffin quickly added in a worried tone, “Oh, I almost forgot. Do you have anything against dogs? I have several big ones.”
And at that Damien knew what he had pick was the right choice. “I would love to come live with ya Ms. Griffin. And I love dogs…I always wanted one of me own when I was little.” And for the first time since he found out his parents left him, he smiled, a real smile one to match Ms. Griffin’s.
So when he ran down the streets of the small city he kept to the shadows, holding his only belonging in his right hand, ready to use it if someone came to stop him from lifting his food. No one would though. No one would come to this end of town, in this weather at midnight. No one was that stupid but him. So Damien ran to the store he had watched. Glancing around to make sure no one was in sight. Not just ‘good guys’ waiting to turn someone like him in, but also people like him. People who would have to run just as hard and as fast as him, so they would not be caught. In this city, it did not matter if you caught the right guy, just as long as one guy was caught.
Seeing that the way was clear Damien gave the robbers whistle as a last warning to anyone around and brought the handle of his knife to the window. The window gave way and as the shards of glass fell, Damien reached into the store with a well practice movement than ran. He ran so hard he almost missed the two other people moving swiftly down the street. Luckily, Damien was able to duck into a doorway just as one of the two people turned around.
“What was that?” a distinctly rough male voice asked.
A feeble women’s voice answered him, “I don’t know.”
“Like hell you don’t,” the man replied. “When did you call the police?”
“I didn’t-” A slap cut the women’s voice off.
“When?!” The man almost shouted, than seeming to remember where he was asked in a quieter tone, “When? Was it when I killed Mark? Or was it when you ran after seeing Marcy hit the floor from my knife?”
The women started to sob and answered through tears, “I d-didn’t c-call t-them.”
“Fine. Stop your blubbering; it must have been a stray cat.” The man said icily. “Just get into the house.”
Damien peeked around the corner just in time to see two well-dressed people, a tall well-built man and a curvy petit woman, step into a rundown apartment that had boarded up windows. Looking up at the street signs Damien took note of the location of the building as he prepared to do what he swore never to do after he had run away from his last foster home. Damien was going to talk to the police.
╠╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╣
Damien stepped up to the stoop of the police office and took a deep breath. He knew he had to do this. He knew that the woman would die if he did not. Damien did not know how he knew she was going to die but he did. And that simple thought made him step into that office looking and feeling like sewer trash. And that thought made him walk up to front desk. And that thought made Damien tell the balding man sitting there, “I wanna to report the kidnappin’ of some lady and the murder of someone called Mark and someone called Marcy.” And that thought kept Damien from running right out the door when the man asked him,
“Did you say Mark and Marcy?” Than at the Damien’s tentative nod the man stood up and replied, “Come along to the back and will get you set up.”
That is how Damien found himself here, sitting in a small room with a big burly police officer sitting across from him asking him questions.
The man started “Name?”
Than Damien would reply “Damien.”
The man glanced up and asked “Full Name?” putting emphasis on the ‘full’.
Damien looked up for the first time since he got here and looked the man in the eye and said, “It’s just Damien. But if you wanna, go look me up in your little records ya can look in missin’ children about 5 years back. But I wanna like to cut to the chase. I haven’t got all night and I would like to report a murder. Two actually”
The man said with an annoyed tone “Fine what did you see and or hear?”
Damien smiled slightly saying, “Thank you. Well I was on the corna of White Holly and Heather Grove outside of the city park on my way home when…” and lunched into his story finding it easier and easier to talk as the man took down notes. Then when Damien finished the sergeant sent men out to get the two people hiding in the apartment. Then he led Damien to a small waiting room telling him, “Rest up. If the police I got out their find them you will need to I.D. them for us.” Damien simply nodded and slumped into the chair he was sitting in.
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Sometime latter Damien was wakened to shouting, as the sergeant walked in brought him to I.D. the people behind the one-way mirror.
“Damien that is Ms. Sherrill Griffin. She is the woman we found at the apartment along with Mr. Floyd Koberg. Are these the people you saw?”
Damien bit his lip and asked, “I’m pretty sure but could ya have ‘em say somethin’?”
The sergeant did. The man-Floyd- started to yelled as soon as the men in the room told him he need to say something for identification, “Where is he?! That son of a gun who turned me in for nothing!” Damien tried not to flinch as he continued to yell, “I’m going to sue his ass for ruining my business and reputation!”
Damien said with certainty, “That’s the man who was talkin’ about ‘dem murders.”
“All right,” the sergeant said motioning a positive I.D. to a man in the room. Then he turned to Damien asking, “Here goes Ms. Sherrill Griffin.”
As Sherrill started to talk Damien knew it was the petit lady he had seen dragged into the apartment. “Well,” Sherrill started, “I don’t really know what to say… but at the entrance to the building I told that man that I didn’t call the police and I didn’t know who was in the street with us.” Sherrill then looked at the police officer to see if that was enough as Damien looked over to the sergeant and said, “That’s her, the lady from the apartment.”
The officer motioned once more to the police a positive I.D., looked to Damien, and asked, “Do you know who this lady is… like in this city?”
“No, sir.” Damien replied.
“She is a local scientist working on a special medication for cancer patients. Ms. Griffin’s work has brought her a high income and that is not to mention she is now the only living daughter of Mr. Randolph Griffin III.” Damien stared at the man blankly not getting at what he was trying to say. Was this man just trying to rub the fact that he was a homeless kid in his face? The sergeant continued to speak, “I know you requested not to have to meet anyone, but Ms. Griffin would like to offer her gratitude for you saving her.”
Damien looked down at his shoes as though they held all the answers to his terrible life. Looking up he supposed softly, “I guess it wouldn’ do me no harm if I go and listen to her…”
The sergeant smiled sympathetically to Damien noticing the boys uneasiness, “No, I don’t think anything bad could come of talking to her. And remember if you want to leave at anytime you just got to say.”
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Ms. Griffin was already in the room when Damien and the sergeant entered. She smiled at them with a hundred watt smile even though it was clear to see that Ms. Griffin was a little worst for wears. However, her state did not seem to effect what she thought she needed to do to thank the boy that saved her.
“Ms. Griffin,” the sergeant began, “This is Damien, young man who reported your kidnapping.”
Ms. Griffin smiled saying, “Damien, I can’t begin to thank you enough for helping me. I would have been dead before morning like my half brother and sister if you had not stepped up to report the disturbance.” Here she paused as if imaging what would have become of her. Then she continued on, “As I understand it, coming here to report this was basically throwing yourself under a bus. However, I would like to repay you for what you have done. I am willing to pay you for your help also, if you would like, to come live with me. You see I have been trying to foster a child for a while but none in this area have been in need of a home. As I understand it, you seem to hate the foster system you were in and would most likely run again. So what do you say would you like to come with me?”
Damien was shocked speechless for a moment. Then when he was about to reply Ms. Griffin quickly added in a worried tone, “Oh, I almost forgot. Do you have anything against dogs? I have several big ones.”
And at that Damien knew what he had pick was the right choice. “I would love to come live with ya Ms. Griffin. And I love dogs…I always wanted one of me own when I was little.” And for the first time since he found out his parents left him, he smiled, a real smile one to match Ms. Griffin’s.