Broken Boy - Prologue

She smiled again and hugged me. I was tired and wanted to sleep, and Mrs. Sheldon's arms made me feel safe, so I fell asleep.

***

JACK MARLEY

"FUCK!" I yelled and punched the slot machine. A fucking lemon. Every time I can win, the lemon appears.

I was at a smaller bar that I go to quite often. Of course, I only drink water since I got drunk and had a car accident that killed a little boy.

It wasn't my fault. But it still bothers me. Their phone rang at the bar. The barmaid picked him up and started talking. I continued to play.

Well, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Jack Marley. I'm a lieutenant in the homicide division of the DPD. I will be forty years old, single, childless. I would like to enjoy life and freedom, but my conscience is still haunted by the little boy who died in a car accident.

"Jackie, you have a call." barmaid said.

"Who is it?" I said, but didn't look on her.

"DPD."

"Tell them to fuck off." I answered her angrily and smoked a cigarette.

"Yeah? I'm supposed to make you fuck off." she said into the phone.

"What? Okay. They say that if you don't go to the phone, you'll be walking the sidewalk from tomorrow." she said to me.

"I do not care."

The barmaid wanted to talk on the phone again, but they had already hung up on the other end.

"Someone has already been sent here for you."

"I'm on fucking vacation!" I yell and again punched the slot machine.

I sigh. I got up and slowly walked to the bar.

"Do you want more water?" the barmaid asked me.

"No. Give me some gum." I said with a cigarette between my lips.

"Okay. Here you go. Look, you already have a ride." and she pointed out of the bar.

"Fuck." I sighed and shook my head and slowly left the bar.

"Well, enjoy your night's work." the barmaid was laughing at me.

"Kiss my ass, Suzie." I answered her.

It was around half past eight in the evening. The policeman took me to the hospital, from where they said we were called. He said domestic violence and child abuse had been reported. Okay. Whatever. It was still better than looking at a corpse.

***

I walked into the hospital and went straight to reception.

"Hello. I'm Lt. Marley. Detroit Police Department." I said, pulling out my badge.

The front desk lady was helpful and seemed to know right away why I was here.

"Are you going to see Dr. Sheldon?" she asked me.

"Yes, that's him. Can he come down here?"

"Hold on a minute, I'll call him."

The lady at the reception called him, and the doctor took the elevator down to the reception.

Wow. He was younger than me. He looked educated. He came to me and shook my hand.

"Doctor Sheldon, and you are?" he asked me.

"Lieutenant Marley, DPD" I said pulling out my badge again.

"Have you reported child abuse to the police?" I asked him.

"Yes, it is true. Come with me, please." he said, and we both walked towards the elevators.

"I had no idea you would come today. They told me on the phone that you will not come until tomorrow." he said

"Yes, but they are in a big hurry for everything here, you know."

"You don't look very happy to must have been here."

I grined on him.

"Because I'm on vacation. But unfortunately, work has to come first." I told him.

"Yes, I know it very well."

We took the elevator together to the fifth floor and walked through the main hall.

"My wife brought in a boy this afternoon who was in a pretty deplorable state. He had bruises, scars, burns, and scalds and is malnourished. He is a student at the school where my wife teaches, and it was she who noticed his condition and immediately brought him here. My wife claims he told her his father did it to him, but I don't really want to believe that." I listened to what the doctor was telling me and made a picture in my head.

"Can I see him?" I asked.

"Of course, but he won't tell you anything. He passed out and is now sleeping peacefully."

"Okay."

We walked through a few more halls before finally reaching the boy's room.

The room was dark. Only a faint ray of light seeped in as the doctor opened the door.

There was a woman sitting in the room, probably the mother of the boy, who was lying on the bed in front of her with his head turned towards the window.

"Honey? This is Lieutenant Marley, he's come to see the boy." he said to the woman.

So, it wasn't the boy's mother, but the doctor's wife who brought the boy here.

She smiled a little at me and shook my hand.

"I'm Ruby Sheldon. I brought that boy." she said looking on me.

"Yeah I heard. Your husband told me everything. Does the boy have any papers?"

"No." said Mr. Sheldon.

"How not?"

"We don't know, he just didn't have anything with him." said Mrs. Sheldon.

I sigh.

"Do you at least know his name?" I said.

"Yes, I know him. His name is Shae Hickey." she told me.

"At least something." I said a little rudely.

I really didn't want to be here. I wanted to relax and play games. But at least work will distract me from thinking about the boy who had a car accident.

"Doctor, can I see his injuries?"

"Yes, a nurse took a picture of them during treatment and sent it to my cell phone. Hold on, I'll show you them." he said, reaching into his doctor's coat for the phone.

He searched it for a while and then handed it to me to look at. What I saw shook me.

He was really in bad shape. He had bruises everywhere and some writing on his chest.

Faggot?

"Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon, do you think the boy is homosexual?"

They shook their heads.

"Why do you think lieutenant?" doctor said.

"Well, the one who devastated him like that wrote on his chest that he is a faggot. Maybe that was the abuser's motive for doing this to him." I answer to him.

"Oh my God." Mrs. Sheldon said.

"Doctor, I know that if it were true, they wouldn't have sent me here, but someone from the moral department, but I have to ask. Did you find any signs of sexual abuse?"

"No, nothing like that." he answered me.

"Good."

I looked on that pictures for a while and found something. He had some sort of metal collar around his neck.

"Doctor, the boy in that photo here, has some kind of collar on, but I can't see it on him right now. Where is it?"

"In my office. I'll give it to you."

"It would be good." I said firmly.

I looked at the boy for a moment, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed, putting the evidence together.

It looked like someone had made him a slave. He had a metal collar, was bruised and malnourished.

I was sorry for him. I wanted to give whoever did this to him a real hard time. He won't get out of jail anytime soon.

I asked them a few more details and said goodbye to them. The doctor took me to his office and gave me the collar that the boy had on his neck.

It seriously looked like a steel collar worn by slaves. I thanked the doctor and told him I would come and talk to the boy in the morning. He agreed and I left.

I went straight home and to bed. I was already tired.

SHAE

I woke up sometime early in the morning. I was a little dazed. I still felt weak.

Mrs. Sheldon was sleeping peacefully on the couch under the window next to me. I was looking at her. When she slept, she looked beautiful, like my mother.

Oh, my mommy. How I wished she was here. None of this would ever happen to me. I was grateful to Mrs. Sheldon for helping me.

I know I'm stupid for never telling anyone, but I was scared, and still I am.

My father became a psychopath and could come to kill me at any moment. He was also a doctor and worked in this hospital.

I turned to the door. Someone was standing in them. I was startled, I started to panic again because I couldn't see. I put on my glasses and found out that it was just a nurse who came to check on me.

Mrs. Sheldon was raised by my panic. After the nurse left, Mrs. Sheldon got up from the couch. She noticed that I was awake and smiled at me.

"Good morning Shae." she said smiling.

"Good morning." I answered.

She got up, put on her shoes and walked over to me. She slowly sat down next to me on the bed on my right side. She was still smiling at me, but a little sadly.

She raised her right hand and caressed my left cheek. I don't know why I did it, but I raised my left hand and gently squeezed her right hand, which was still on my face. I smiled a little.

Finally, after so much suffering, I smiled a little.

"How do you feel? Are you feeling a little better?" she asked a little quietly.

I had tears in my eyes. I didn't hear what she was asking me. I just looked into her eyes and she into mine.

She must have seen my unspeakable pain I was going through. She noticed my tears and her face turned into a question mark.

"What's wrong Shae? Are you in pain?" she asked me.

Of course, I was in pain. I had pain almost all over my body, but that was not the reason why I had tears.

They were not tears of pain, but of happiness and sadness at the same time.

"You... you..." I didn't know if I should tell her or not. I didn't want to startle her.

"Talk to me." she said.

"You... you remind me of my mom. She was also as kind and beautiful as you and always took care of me. When she hugged me, I felt safe, protected. I feel the same way in your arms." I said, finally smiling fully.

She blushed a little when I said she was beautiful too, but she didn't seem to mind. She just smiled at me and hugged me after a while.

I was happy. Just a moment ago, I was afraid that my psycho-father would show up, but now I was suddenly happy. I just wanted to enjoy the safe embrace that Mrs. Sheldon was giving me.

After a long hug, she let me go and got up. She said she was going to get something for breakfast. She told me I had to eat. I was malnourished and weak. I nodded, still smiling at her.

I was a little nervous when she left. Suddenly, I was here alone. I lay on my back and closed my eyes to calm down a bit.

She came back in about twenty minutes. I smiled a little again as I looked at her. She brought some sandwiches and tea.

She sat next to me on the chair, and we started eating. During breakfast, we talked about various things. About my mother, about school, about my grades, etc.

Mrs. Sheldon tried to get me to have other thoughts. To not think about what happened to me. It helped. I thought less of my dad than before, and I was glad.

After we had breakfast, Dr. Sheldon came to check on me and ask how I was feeling. I actually felt a little better.

I couldn't understand when my dad treated me why he treated me badly. He wanted me not to suffer just because of what he did to me, but so that my wounds would not heal, and my brand would become inflamed. Monster.

"Doctor Sheldon? May I ask you something?" I told him while he was sitting on my left side of the bed talking to his wife.

"Of course Shae. Just feel free to ask." he replied, smiling.

"You... do you know my dad? He's also a doctor and works in a hospital somewhere here." I asked.

Mr. Sheldon thought for a moment. But it looked like he didn't know my father. He told me that he really doesn't know about him. He knew every doctor in this hospital, but he couldn't remember any Doctor named Hickey.

I was a little relieved. At least I won't have him around.

Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon kept me company, so I wouldn't be alone. They talked for a while, occasionally asking me something, and then Mrs. Sheldon said he had to go to work. At school, he will tell what happened to me and where I am.

It was around nine in the morning when the doctor came into the room with a man.

I was a little nervous again. He was a person I don't know, and I don't know what to expect. My dad could pay anyone to do his dirty work for him.

But the doctor calmed me down. He was a DPD cop, and he was from the Homicide and Violent Division. He came to talk to me.

At first he asked me normal questions, my name, how old I am, where I live, etc. When he asked me if I am gay, I said yes. But then came the question of who did this to me.

I wanted to get rid of the pain, and I felt that I could trust him to help me. He was kind and sometimes tried to calm me down.

I told him everything from the beginning when I moved into my dad's house.

I cried a lot when I told him and the doctor. I was stressed again and had a huge fear again. Memories of my psycho father branding me came back to haunt me.

The unspeakable pain I must be experiencing. The daily beating and kicking of me. That he slowly gave me nothing to eat and tormented me with hunger. I told the policeman everything to finally get rid of it.

At the end, I broke down again. I curled up into a little ball on the bed and started crying and sobbing uncontrollably. He had to give me a sedative.

After a few minutes, I calmed down a bit and just cried quietly. They were both horrified by what I told them.

They walked a little further from the bed and talked about something.

I didn't listen to them. I was scared again. I just wanted to sleep.

***

JACK MARLEY

The boy was scared. He told me what happened and who tortured him like that.

I still couldn't believe it. A little boy who lost his loving mother had to live with a psychopathic father and had to endure his torture. Is the world so bad that people like this are born?

I decided to go to his father and bring him in for questioning. Fortunately, Shae told me where he lives. He lived in a fairly poor neighborhood.

I parked my car in front of his house and went to ring the bell. I rang several times and waited. No one answered. I went around the whole house several times and looked in the windows to see if I could see something or someone.

I noticed a haunted window at the back of the house.

I managed to slowly crawl inside. I must have been in the kitchen. I saw the table on which the boy apparently lay when his father tortured him.

I pulled out my gun, just in case his dad was hiding somewhere and ambushed me.

I walked slowly and silently through the whole house. Everywhere was surprisingly tidy and clean. So, apparently he was really forcing that boy into slavery.

I crawled into the basement, where it was dark. I didn't know where the light switch was, so I had to shine a flashlight.

There were different boxes. Various old things and clothes and some table. On the table was a box with some dirty rag. I took the rag in my right hand and examined it a bit. But then I smelled a whiff of some kind of smell. I smelled it.

He smelled of oil. The kind used for weapons. I put the rag back on the table and examined the box. It looked like it was new, recently opened.

I shined a light inside and inside were pieces of polystyrene and among them a small box from which cartridges were spilling. So, his father is armed. I was clear.

I left the house as I entered it and found that an elderly lady was looking at me through the fence. She started yelling at me about what I was doing there and that I was a thief.

I pulled out my badge.

"DPD, ma'am. I'm Lt. Marley." I told her to reassure her.

"Ah, that's a relief. There's been a lot of theft around here lately, and I thought you were behind it." she said apologetically.

I realized that she might be that old lady who must know everything.

"Do you know who lives here in that house?" I asked.

"Yes. Some Mr. Hickey and some boy. It's probably his son."

"I tried ringing the bell but no one answered. Don't you know where Mr. Hickey might be?"

She thought for a moment, but then answered.

"He must have gone to work. He's driving at this time."

"And do you know where he works?"

"Yes. Works at DMC." she replied.

"In hospital? But there they told me they don't know any Dr. Hickey?" I was surprised.

"Doctor?" she laughed.

"Mind you, why would a doctor live in a house like this." she was still laughing.

"So what is he doing there?"

"I talked to him a few times before he mostly left, and once he told me he was a maintenance man. You know, a man like a mountain, he had all the muscle on him."

"Thank you very much." I said and turned to leave.

But suddenly, I realized what my problem was. He works at DMC. In hospital.

Damn, that kid is in danger. I quickly ran to the car. I got into it and drove to the hospital as fast as I could.

***

SHAE

I was at home. In the garden with mom. We planted flowers together. We were happy. We talked about everything.

She asked me what I wanted to do in life. I always wanted to work with economics.

I told her that I would also like to live with my beautiful boyfriend, once I meet him. I was already seventeen years old, so it was time to find someone.

That's when I saw him at the door. A beautiful boy. He was all muscle and very tall. He had brown hair.

He slowly walked towards me. I got up from the ground and looked at him.

He slowly approached me, but suddenly, I forgot to speak. I couldn't breathe. I started suffocating. My throat tightened violently.

I opened my eyes. I knew it would come someday. My dad was kneeling on top of me on the bed with both hands around my neck.

I tried to scream, but I couldn't. I couldn't even breathe. I fought him, but unfortunately, he was soo strong.

"I told you what would happen if someone found out." he whispered.

He looked at me how I was dying. There was death in his eyes, like the day he branded me.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I was dying slowly but surely. My vision was fading. I was slowly starting to see black.

I was weak. My hands fell beside my body.

I heard someone shouting in the distance. Then there was a sound. It sounded like a bang, followed by another. Like if someone was shooting. I asked myself if this is what everyone who dies hears.

Then I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything.

I was probably already dead.

***

JACK MARLEY

It took me an hour to get back to the hospital. damn traffic jams.

I ran to the front desk to ask where the maintenance room was. She was only on the third floor, so I immediately ran to the elevator to get there as quickly as possible.

No one was in the maintenance room.

"FUCK!" I roared. God, if he went straight to the boy? I ran as fast as I could, but running on the tiles sucks.

I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, where the boy has a room. He was at the back of the floor. I ran there.

Dr. Sheldon spotted me on the way. It took a long time to reach the boy's room. I pulled out the gun and opened the door. I saw him.

He was kneeling over him and strangling him. I saw the boy die. His hands fell to his sides.

"DPD! HANDS UP!" I roared as menacingly as I could and pointed the gun at him.

He startled.

He let go of the boy and was about to put his hands up. Unfortunately, he did something else. He put his left hand up and reached for his belt with his right. He was pulling something out.

Only one thing came to mind. He had a gun, I saw him pull it out and I... I couldn't do anything else but pull the trigger. And again.

Two shots rang out in quick succession.

I saw him get one shot in the neck and the other a little lower in the chest. He dropped the gun and fell off the bed onto the floor.

"What the hell happened?" Dr. Sheldon yelled as he ran over to me.

I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Damn adrenaline.

"I opened the door. I saw him kneeling over him and strangling him. He pulled a gun on me. I couldn't do anything else." I said to him.

The doctor ran after the bastard and told me he was dead.

Then he noticed the boy on the bed, lying helpless and not breathing.

Oh my God. Another dead boy, thanks to me. If I were faster. I was able to run in time.

***

SHAE

I slowly opened my eyes. Where am I?

I was lying on some white floor and there was nothing around me. There was only white everywhere.