~Chapter 5~
The Chest of Secrets Book One
The Saint Louis jail is about one-hundred, and fifty miles south of Centerville, located on the rocky shores of the Missouri river. It is one of the older, most miserable run down jails in the entire state of Indiana, and it is now being run by the notorious, Big Sal Rossi, and her dishonorable gang of misfits, the Missouri Rats.
This gang of hoodlums, crooks, offenders, felons, villains, robbers and shysters are deep into all types of illegal activities: bootlegging whiskey, rum-running, stealing cars, strong-armed robberies, burglary, money-laundering, thieving and kidnappings, just to mention a few.
After over throwing the warden, and a few cowardly guards, the Missouri Rats had a new base, to set up their corrupt and very nasty empire. Now with Squint-Eye Pete and his two boys back in town and with Black Jack Tilly and his gang The Three Bad Dudes also being back: The Brains, Big Sal, were running all. Things could not be going any better.
"Hi ya ma, did you get good night's sleep?" asked Squint-Eye, as Big Sal came rumbling into the main dining room for breakfast, with her wheelbarrow firmly in hand.
"Are you kidding me, a good night's sleep? That idiot Rags Martin, who was sleeping in the cell next to me, was blowing his nose and snoring all night long. It sounded like a foghorn was going off every five minutes. I'm moving to a new cell later today."
"Yep, I've heard him before. He keeps the whole prison up at night."
"Well mom, how about a nice big breakfast, a few plates of: eggs, bacon, sausages, English muffins, some toast, hot coffee, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and oatmeal? That ought to hold you until your mid-morning breakfast."
"Yeah, git some of them eggs over here right quick Pete, cause I'm-a still starving. Now what were we talkin about yesterday, and where were we-a, with our operations? We got to git things in order here. Your lovin dad, Hunchback Pete showed me the ropes...god bless his soul. I miss him still...ya know."
"Yeah we got to get thing in order here, and for old dad. I miss him too" said Pete.
"I don't know how he ever passed on like that. Just think, him choking on a chicken bone, and committing suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head with that bow and arrow, then throwing, himself off that balcony and all. All at the same time, man that was something."
"Yeah, it was a real tragedy ma," said a real sad looking Pete.
"The morgue owner, your good friend, Slim Red said it was not an accident, but a suicide. It could not have been a...ah...murder? Just think, Red signing that death-certificate for nothin, no money or nothin. That was nice of him to do ya that favor...um..."
"Yeah real nice of him ma...my good friend Slim Red...I owe him a favor for that."
"Yep...it's all so sudden like...who would have thought it...?"
"Yep..."
"Hunchback just didn't wanna live anymore, I'm-a guessing. Image that you were the only person in the room to witness him committing suicide too. Again what did you think happened son?"
"Oh Big Sal, he died of a suicide, alright. I'm real certain?ah?er sure of it. If you had seen how it happened, you would not have believed it. Yep...and sure was nice of him...before he passed on...to give me his "evil eyeball" and all.
It was right before he jumped over that rail all right. He was just the givin type and very caring. The whole time he was falling he kept saying son, tell your ma, that I love her."
Oh, poor Sal just broke up after hearing the story of how Hunchback died again. Tears started to roll down here big fat, greasy cheeks, pooling into one of her oversized chins, that was hanging off to one side of her neck.
Black Jack Tilly came in through the mess hall doors wheeling a breakfast cart full of hot scrambled eggs, and other breakfast fiddles.
Pete lifted up his eye-patch, letting his evil eyeball gaze in Sal's direction. Sal took another puff of her early morning cigar, put down her fork full of eggs for a moment then she lifted her eye patch as well. Both evil eyes met again, forming a bond between son and mother; once again renewed.
"I love you ma."
"I love you too son."
"Now Pete enough of this talking about dead guys, how about we git back to business? Where is that Chest of Secrets you brought back with you from Santa's Village?" asked Sal as she stuffed her face with her first breakfast of the day.
"Black Jack you good-fer-nothin-low-down-miserable-Missouri-Rat, git your butt moving...and...and...run over to my cell and bring me that secret chest. And I mean-a real quick like!" yelled out Pete.
Black Jack streaked right pass Big Sal, off through the mess hall doors, well down the hallway, and was on his way back before Sal finish her last plate of greasy bacon.
After clearing a few more plates of food, Big Sal leaned back in her over-stuffed sofa, giving out a loud belch that shook the prison walls.
Black Jack Tilley tore back into the mess hall, stumbling as he came to an abrupt stop in front of Big Sal.
He stood there with the Chest of Secrets in hand gasping for breath as Big Sal belched one more time. Black Jack stumbled forward, as the air from yet another sour smelling belch engulfed him.
"Her ya go Big Sir...ah...I mean Big Sal. And if you want to borrow my razor later to take care of that five o'clock shadow of yours, just let me know."
"I don't need no shavin...today...just a-yet. It's still early in the day. Now give me that chest, and go git me some more eggs, and right quick," barked out Sal.
"Be right back, with some more eggs, just like you asked for sir..."
"Open that up Pete. We've got work to do."
Pete took the key out of his pocket (which he had pilfered from Santa's office table) and placed it, into the key hole. The chest was sitting on the dining room table in the center of the room. As the key turned the medium-sized old, rickety chest, it began to rumble and shake. When the strange key hit the last tumbler in the lock, and as the key was withdrawn from the opening, the box fell quiet.
Sal wobbled to her feet, slid her wheelbarrow under her hefty and very flabby belly, grabbed both wooden handles, and started to haul herself towards the center of the room.
"Ma don't pick up too much speed now. You won't be able to stop yourself. Ma, ma!" yelled out Pete as Big Sal went thundering by.
Sal dropped both handles, sending the wheelbarrow skidding to a halt, with her tumbling sideways across the table that held the Chest of Secrets. As she hit the chest, it went flying up in the air, sending its contents scattershot about the room.
As Big Sal fell, she hit the floor with a very loud thump, which was heard throughout the mess hall, and greater prison walls.
Then the room went silent.
Big Belly Bill, Sleazy, Cool Joe Biggs, Flat-Nose, Horse-Face, and a dozen other inmates hearing the noise came running into the dining room. Sal rolled over on her side, then sat up the best she could, as everyone present stood about the room, with a look of disbelief across their faces.
The strangest thing happened next.
An old, worn out leather-bound book, about twenty inches across, and about fifteen inches wide, rose up off the floor all by its self. It alighted to about three feet above where Sal was sprawled out on the floor. The front leather cover opened up by its self, sending an odd color of blue, glowing fountain pen rising up from within its pages. The strange pen began to write on an empty page in front of it, as everyone leaned forward to try, and read what was being written:
The new boy-king has been born
But Don't be forlorn
He has thwarted you once
And won the first fight
You must not be defeated again
If you want to own the night
The Ancients and Arions will arise once more
They will use a boy-king to strike back as before
Holding back the tides of darkness
Will b
e their calling
Don't let this happen or eternal darkness will not be falling
Follow my words as they are written in this book
And once more evil triumphant without a second look
Black Jack Tilly leaned forward, squinted up his left eye up to get a closer and clearer look at the words just written, crunched up his worried looking face, and spoke.
"Anybody here, know how to...read? I never got any good...schoolin...long enough to learn...nothin?any how."
"Black Jack you mangy looking, ignoramus, git outta my way. Let me have a look at that book!" blurted out Big Sal.
Everyone else in the room just plain froze, scared to death, and held steadfast in place, except for Squint Eye Pete and Big Sal.
"Ma, I think we've got somthin real important here. I knew Santa had some secrets, just like you said he would, but we might have come across the mother-load here."
"Yep, I think you're-a right...son. I think there is gonna be a fight here between good and evil. I think we are-a gonna have to git right in the middle of it, if we're not already.
"Do ya think those words are written about that little red-haired boy that keeps showing up all the time, with that stupid horse of his, Sal?" asked Rags as he blew his, snotty nose again.
"Yeah, it's that puny boy alright. Seems something is gonna happen real soon from what that fancy pen just wrote. Pete go git that compass, those maps, and that magic bell you stole from that kid, and bring them in here, right fast" said Sal as she started to figure out that this chest, that boy and that map, might all be tied together somehow.
Pete yelled out for his dimwitted kid, Sleaze Ball Tom to run to his cell and fetch the items Sal wanted. After a few moments passed an out breath and frazzled looking Sleazy, reappeared in the dining hall.
"Just like you asked for...dad. Did I do well?"
"You are stupider than your little brother Big Belly Bill, and just as ugly," yelled out Pete as he slapped Sleazy on the back of one ear.
"Thanks dad, you're the best, and I love you too."
"How stupid is that kid of mine, Sal?"
"Will you two bowling balls stop fussin, and let me think."
Sal looked over the compass and the map intently. She just could not for the life of her make out where the connections were.
"Gather up all these papers, and maps lying about the floor, give me some room. I gotta do some figuring here, and try to find out what all this means. Git me, a large pork pot-roast out here right quick, then everyone git out, except Pete. I mean go!!" screamed out Big Sal, as everybody ran to grab the papers and place them on a nearby table.
Everyone scattered from the room, like bats flying from daylight.
After a few moments, a very large pork pot-roast was brought in by Black Jack Tilly. A few more moments passed as Big Sal gorged herself she then grinned widely as she wiped some errant pork fat from her over-sized chin; turning a quizzical eye towards Pete, she spoke out.
"Pete, my loving son, things are gonna git real interesting around here right quick. Evil will soon be on the loose once more in the form of Big Sal Rossi, and Squint Eye Pete."
"Yes, I know ma..."
"Evil...knows no fear," said Big Sal.
"Evil...never sleeps," said Squint.
The Book of Aka Manah...has found its way back to its rightful owner...Petra Deegan Aden.