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“-Just so worried about him, he’s been so distant lately. He only comes out to go to work, he isn’t going to school, and he’s getting thinner and thinner. He doesn’t stop to talk at all… Teddy, honey, I need you to just go have a look, that’s all. Just check on him for me, that’s all. He won’t open the door otherwise, but if it’s you, maybe he’ll see your uniform and listen.”
“Alright, alright. …do you believe he presents a threat to himself or others?”
“I can’t say for sure, but he’s just a little boy, Ted. I know what he’s been through, and it breaks my heart, but who knows what he does all alone in there? I thought maybe he might have friends stop by to check on him, but no one’s been in there since I can’t remember when.”
“Ok, I’m putting that down as a ‘yes.’ Do you know when he’s usually home?”
“In the evenings. Just… be gentle with him, alright? He’s still a child.”
“Sure. I’ll be careful, I swear. “…maybe I’ll bring Fisher along, just to be safe. He loves kids, you know.”
“...Alright. Just make sure to keep an eye on him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know how Fisher can be… make sure he stays calm. He might scare Will. He’s such a sweet, quiet boy…”
“Got you. We’ll be careful, alright?”
“Thank you so much. Why don’t you bring him over to my apartment, later? I bet you anything he’s not eating properly.”
“Sure. Will do.”
“...Love you, Ted.”
“Love you too.”
—-
Despite Dorothy’s best efforts, the apartments weren’t in the best of shape. The stairwell was damp and poorly lit with fluorescent fixtures from the eighties that hummed unpleasantly. Like some sort of outcast prisoner in exile, William Clarke lived at the top of this stairwell. There were other apartments there too, but all except for Will’s were abandoned due to lack of tenants.
“So, what do you think we’re going to be looking at, here?” Detective Fisher said. His tone was casual, but his eyes darted carefully about the area in the trained paranoia reinforced to him through his job. A hand rested lightly on his hip.
“I already told you. Dorothy was worried about him. Just a kid, living alone. Depressed.”
“How old?”
“I don’t know, seventeen or eighteen. High school age.”
“What the fuck is a high schooler doing living alone?” Detective Fisher scoffed. “Ted, if you brought me into a fucking crack house-“
“It’s not like that. He’s a nice kid. Dorothy just raves about him.”
“Well, can’t really fault her opinion.”
“Rowan, She knows people well. She’s good with people. If she says will is a good kid, I believe her. Just… Listen, alright? You know he’ll be scared. If he’s got some mental health issues going on, you won’t help by being the bad cop. Just… be nice, okay?”
“Alright, alright. You wanna knock or should I?”
“Let me do it.” Rowan stepped aside, and Ted knocked on the door.
Almost instantly, as if he had been waiting, listening on the other side, the door opened, with the clunking of the lock, and Ted looked into the apartment.
Will stood before them, one hand on the doorknob, expression almost vacant, dazed. His skin was pale and almost clammy looking. His eyes were dark, and shrouded with dark circles. He did look kind of thin, but then, Ted had no frame of reference to go off of. He was wearing this baggy sweater that looked like it hadn’t been washed in a couple of weeks, and his skin looked dull.
Ted was so taken aback it took him a moment to speak.
“Is your name William Clarke, son?”
William nodded. He smiled. It looked sort of strange, like he was forcing his teeth out. Beside him, Rowan shifted uneasily.
“We… uh, we’re here on a wellness check. Just came down to see how you’re doing.” Ted continued. William didn’t look terribly surprised.
“Did Mrs. Hutchins send you?” He asked. Ted raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Yeah, she’s just a little concerned.”
William huffed slightly. “I know. She keeps bringing food.”
Ted didn’t know what to say to that, or why William sounded so sad when he said it. “Would you mind if we come in?” Ted asked.
William blinked. He looked very much like he did mind, but he held the door open anyway after a moment of deliberation.
“Yeah. Come in.” He said, watching them.
Rowan and Ted entered the apartment slowly, taking in their surroundings carefully.
It wasn’t as nearly as bad as Ted was expecting, especially for a teenager living alone. The whole apartment was cold, and very dark. Only one light seemed to be on. There was a sort of musty smell to the air that Ted recognized well enough as the smell of someone who has shut themselves in their room for a very long time. Still, it seemed clean, if incredibly bare. There was a noticeable lack of furniture, no table, no couch, no television… Ted supposed that was to be expected for a teenager. But something about it made him terribly uncomfortable. A teenagers room shouldn’t be so lonely, so empty. The only thing that stood out was a painting of a woman on the wall. It looked classical.
“Pretty painting,” Ted remarked.
“It’s Lilith.” William said without elaborating. Ted didn’t press for details.
“Do you guys want some water?” Ted jumped at the quiet, slightly raspy voice behind him. William had moved into a corner, evoking the mental image of a frightened animal, all big-eyed and trembling.
“Uh, no thank you, son. Do you mind if we look around a little bit?”
Williams face shifted in a way that looked… unnatural. His eyes flared slightly with fear, and his lip trembled. “Ok.” He said, voice trembling.
“Don’t worry. We just want to make sure you’re doing alright.”
William was shaking slightly, but he nodded. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” He said, and walked away.
Ted watched him go. Something wasn’t right.
———-
Okay, so this was fucked up. Something was seriously wrong with this kid.
Rowan was a dick, rude and aggressive, combative and snarky, but he was damn good at his job. He could look at a person and figure out what was ‘up’ with them after only a few minutes of talking to them.
…But something about this kid was seriously wrong. Teenage boys were supposed to be loud, stupid, annoying, reckless, whatever, but not so quiet. This kid looked like he had seen things no one should see. He looked… traumatized.
Rowan followed the kid into the kitchen. He immediately wrinkled his nose at the smell. The kitchen was wretched with the scent of rancid beer, stinking meat, and old milk. William stood against the counter, hand over a leather-bound book, almost protectively. Upon seeing Rowan’s expression, he leaned over and cracked the window open. “Sorry,” He said. “I haven’t cleaned in a while.”
“I can see that,” Rowan said in disgust. He examined the countertop. There was an old pizza box, filled with crumbs, slightly moldy from the humidity. Upon opening it, he discovered a few ants roaming around for the last pickings. He recoiled in disgust. The rest of the countertop was no better. A beer bottle had spilled over, soaking on a couple of outdated newspapers.
“I tried to wipe it up a little,” William explained hesitantly.
“Obviously didn’t work very well, huh?” Rowan asked sarcastically. “Don’t you have any cleaning supplies, kid?”
“Um.” William said. “I don’t get paid a lot.”
Rowan watched him, his frown fading. “That’s a heath hazard.” He scolded.
“What am I supposed to do?” William asked. “I don’t have any time to clean.” “You’re not old enough to drink.” “I promise I’ll stop.” William said nervously.
What was up with this fucking kid?
He looked at the fridge. Not even any photos. What was going on here? “Mind if I take a peek in your fridge?”
William shrugged. “Go ahead.”
Rowan opened the fridge. It was empty. “You on a diet or something?” He asked, turning his head to look at Will.
“I haven’t gone shopping in a while.” William responded, cracking a weird smile. Rowan frowned, turning back to the fridge. It looked as sterile as the day it was bought. Upon closer inspection, there was an empty can of soda in the back.
“I thought teenage boys were supposed to be gluttons.” Rowan remarked, shutting the fridge.
William shrugged. “I haven’t had much of an appetite lately.”
Rowan went to open the freezer, but William lunged forward, grabbing his wrist. His hands were freezing. Fisher jolted, hand going to his hip instinctually. William flinched back. “Sorry! I-I’m sorry,” He said, cringing. His face seemed to fold in on itself. “I just- you can’t look in there. I-it’s private.”
“Not how it works, kid. Sit the fuck down.” He gestured at the chair against the counter. Will slowly sat, staring at Rowan like he was about to faint.
Slowly, as though something was about to jump out at him, Rowan opened the freezer.
Inside were piles of individually wrapped mounds of meat. Rowan huffed out a slightly relieved laugh.
“The fuck? I thought I was gonna find a severed head in there.” Rowan laughed. William seemed to relax slightly.
“Sorry, I just-that’s for my job.” He mumbled.
“Where do you work?” Rowan asked.
“I… it’s a… farm. It’s owned by the Lawrence fraternity.”
“That freakshow? What the fuck are you doing messing around with them?”
William flushed. “They’re my family. They care about me.”
Rowan knew more than a thing or two about the Lawrence Fraternity, and he for certain that was no family you wanted to be a part of.
“Hang on. How long have you been a part of the Lawrence fraternity?” He demanded, reaching for his notebook.
“I-I…” William looked scared. “J-just a month or two.”
“Which is it? A month, or two?” Demanded Rowan. “Are you stupid or something? I can usually tell the difference between a month, and two months.”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t know.” William mumbled, shaking slightly. “I… I just… It’s been weird.”
“Weird? Weird how?” Rowan said eagerly, beginning to write down Will’s sentence. “Have you had to pay them any money? What do they talk about?”
“I… It’s, um… I haven’t been to that many meetings, I’m new.” William stuttered. “I mean, it’s… it’s spiritual. It’s philosophy.”
Rowan quirked an eyebrow. That held promise. “Philosophy? What are they telling you?”
“I.. I don’t know. I don’t know.” William said, shaking like a scared animal. Rowan sensed he wasn’t going to get very far like this.
“Hey Rowan?” Ted’s voice rang from down the hall. “Could you come here for a second?”
———
“Okay, so what the fuck are these?” Rowan hissed to Ted, out of earshot of the kid. “Look, I’ve been talking to him. Do you realize this kid knows shit about the Lawrence Fraternity?”
“Forget that for a second. Have you ever seen mushrooms like these? They don’t look like any drug I’ve seen before.”
“Who the fuck cares? That kid has been to meetings, Ted. We need to get him for an interview. This is important.”
Ted hesitated for a moment. “I found something else.” He opened the bathroom cabinet, and pulled out a slip of paper. He handed it to Rowan.
Rowan scanned it frantically. It appeared to be some weird chart with different emotions on it. He flipped it over to see if anything was on the back.
“What’s this?” He asked.
“I think it’s a guide. Do you see what he wrote on the top?” Ted pointed out a small handwritten note in scratch pencil: Note to self.
Rowan stared at it, lost in thought for a moment.
“So what do you think this means?” He asked finally.
“I think it means we need to be really careful how we proceed with this. If William is stuck in the Lawrence Fraternity, that means we’ve got a possibly neurodivergent kid being taken advantage of. He clearly seems afraid of something. We need to go easy on him, and not scare him, do you understand me?”
“Well, what do you suggest we do if he won’t talk?”
“If you scare him into clamming up, we’ll never find anything out. This kid doesn’t know what he’s getting into if what you’ve said is true. We need to tread lightly.”
Rowan nodded. “Okay. You investigate his room. Try to talk to him in there. I’m going to investigate the kitchen a little more. His freezer was full of meat.”
Ted raised his eyebrow. “You think we’ve got a Hannibal Lecter situation on our hands?”
Rowan snorted. “No. I don’t think the Lawrence Fraternity is that sick. But I did see some newspapers in there… and the kids got a diary. I wanna see what I can figure out.”
Ted nodded, but his eyes never left the note.
——-
This is the saddest bedroom I’ve ever seen in my life.
Ted stood in the open doorway, staring into the poorly lit room, William standing behind him, wringing his hands and humming lightly. Ted glanced around. He reached for the light switch and flicked it back and forth a few times. Nothing. He glanced at William.
“The lightbulb blew out and I never replaced it.” Will explained. “I don’t like bright lights. Migraines, you know?”
Ted nodded in confusion. The room was bare of anything that would have indicated a sense of personality or anything other than blande conformity. There were no paintings, no books, no pictures, no video games or Knick knacks of any kind. There was a phone charger against the wall, a bed, a desk, and a chair. The only thing that stood out whatsoever was a mound of papers on the desk. Ted approached it.
“Mind if I take a look through these?” He asked Will. William shrugged. “It’s just homework. Go ahead.”
Ted leafed through the pages. It did look like homework. Calculus, history, algebra-all of it untouched.
“Not doing well in your classes?” He asked.
“I haven’t been going to school much lately.” William replied, going to sit on the bed.
Ted sighed. Here goes nothing.
“William,” he said as gently as he could. “I need you to be open with me. I’m not here to intimidate you, or to scare you. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
William tensed. “I’m fine.” He said stiffly. “You’ve seen everything I have. What do you think I’m hiding, exactly?” He furrowed his brows almost cartoonishly.
Ted took a deep breath. “William,” he said carefully. “Have you ever been tested for neurodivergency?”
“Huh?” William said, eyes drawn wide in surprise. It looked… planned.
“Have you ever seen a therapist, Will?”
William shook his head, frowning. “No, never.”
“I see. Can you tell me what this is, Will?” He reached into his pocket and produced the ‘note to self’.
William stared at it for a moment. “That’s just… for reference.”
“Reference?”
I… I have a hard time expressing emotions. I don’t… I don’t know how to react correctly.”
Sounded like Ted had been right on the money.
“I understand. That must be hard for you, Will.”
Will nodded, leaning forward. “It is. Everyone thinks I’m weird. Everyone acts like I’m crazy.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“I just-I just… I don’t know how act like everyone else, and everybody hates me for it.”
“It sounds like you need to talk with someone you trust.” Ted said delicately.
“I don’t have anyone.”
“No parents?” Ted said in genuine concern.
“N-no. No.”
Ted felt his heart pang with sympathy. Darn sweet old Dorothy. Her empathy had rubbed off on him, it seemed. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked softly.
“I… I… my mom wasn’t very… she was really protective of me.”
Ted nodded.
“I… she told me I couldn’t date until I was sixteen. She told me it was unnatural for me to be interested in girls. She told me I w-was a sick pervert, and I-I- was bad. N-naughty.”
“That’s awful. She sounds like she wasn’t very good to you.”
“She-she said she loved me. She said she just wanted to protect me.”
“Sometimes, people can hurt by holding on too hard. I’m sorry you went through all that, Will.”
William gasped for breath, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. “I- thank you.”
Ted waited a moment. Time to drop a bomb.
“William,” He said as gently as he could possibly be, “I found these in your bathroom cabinet.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the mushrooms.
William went white. “I- Oh God, please… no, no…”
“Now, William, William… You aren’t in trouble. This isn’t an interrogation. It’s okay. I just want to help you.”
William had his head buried in his hands. “I can’t- I won’t- please stop. You have to leave. You need to leave.”
Ted thought hard. “William, have you ever heard the analogy of the boiling frog?”
“N-no. What?”
“A frog that is put into boiling hot water will supposedly jump right out. It knows the heat is too dangerous, and it will be killed if it remains. But if you put a frog into room-temperature water, and slowly increase the heat little-by-little, the frog won’t know it's in danger until it’s too late.”
William whimpered.
“William, do you understand what I’m talking about?”
William nodded. “Y-yeah. But you don’t understand. Father Lawrence has helped me. He cares about me. I didn’t have anything until I met him.”
“William,” Ted said gently, “That’s exactly what cults look for. They targeted you because you were vulnerable. I’m sorry. I know that that isn’t what you want to hear, but I don’t think you’re safe with them.”
“B-but… I don’t know what else to do. I have nothing. No one even likes me.”
“Come on. That isn’t true, and I think you know it. Dorothy thinks the world of you. Aren’t there any kids at school who you’d like to spend time with?”
William blushed. “I mean… yeah. There’s this girl…”
“There you go! What’s her name?”
“Martha…”
“Classic. Tell me about her.”
“S-she’s blonde. And nice and friendly. She told off some guys who were bullying me.”
“She seems nice. You should invite her to a movie.”
“R-really? You think so?”
“I do.”
William took a deep breath, and stared at his hands. Finally, he spoke.
“I… I don’t understand everything about the Lawrence Fraternity,” He said. “I… I really haven’t been to that many meetings. I’m not allowed to stay late, either, when they start meditating. I’m not high enough in the ranks, yet.”
Ranks. Ted huffed out a laugh. “I understand.”
“B…but.. They did tell me I could train. That I could learn.”
“Learn?” Ted asked. “How?”
William stood up. He walked over to the desk and opened the drawer, and pulled out a book. Wordlessly, he turned and handed it to Ted.
“The Words of Ryibkin.” Ted read from the cover. “What is this, Will?”
“It’s, um… He’s a professor. We follow his teachings, at least partly. He works with Father Lawrence.”
“I see,” Ted said. “Will, do you mind if I take this?”
Will deliberated on it, but finally nodded. “Okay,” He said. “Just… Please don’t tell anyone where you got it.”
“Of course, absolutely. Will, thank you so much for trusting me. You’ve helped us a lot.”
William opened his mouth to reply, but yelped when a thunderous banging echoed through the apartment. Will jumped about a foot, and Ted’s hand immediately dropped to his holster.
“Kid?” Ted said.
“You- you have to go. You have to leave. Take the fire escape.” Will hissed. “Keep quiet! He’ll- he’ll hear you.”
“Will, what do you mean?” Ted said.
“Never mind. Keep your voice down.” William whispered. Carefully, he opened the door and walked out into the living room. A second later, Rowan darted out of the kitchen.
“What the fuck-” he began. Will frantically shushed him.
“He might think I’m not home. Stay quiet.” Will whispered. Rowan glanced at Ted. Ted nodded.
For a long, long moment, all was silent. Then, the banging started again, making the trio jolt.
“...Will! William, you fffffuckin’ prison-bitch… Open the door!”
William was beginning to tremble violently. His skin was pale to begin with, but now he was as white as a sheet.
Rowan was beginning to reach for his gun.
“William! William! I know you’re in there, you little fuckin’ -hic- pussy… fuckin’ teasing me all the time… Fuckin’ think you can hide from me…” The door shuddered on its hinges as the banging resumed. William looked like he was about to faint.
“What’s going on?” Rowan whispered lowly. “Who is that?”
“S-Strupnev. H-he’s from the fraternity.” William whispered back. “I-”
“ WILLIAM!” Strupnev shouted from the other side of the door. The door banged violently. “You’re.. You’re hiding her in there, in your fuckin’ skin… GIVE HER TO ME, BOY! I’ll… carve her out of you… I’ll cut your fuckin’ skin to pieces and feed you to the pigs, you little fuck…”
William was beginning to hyperventilate.
“ YOU CAN’T JUST… HIDE HER FFFROM ME…”
Rowan pulled his gun from his holster.
“LILA! LILA! Can you hear me? Please, my princess… Please, come to me… Forget that little slut… He’s worthless…”
Ted frowned in confusion. Lila? There was no one here but Will, and Will had said he didn’t have a girlfriend.
William shook his head. He sank to his knees, back against the wall, and covered his head with his hands, shaking furiously. He jolted in a full-body tremor with each pound against the door. Ted nodded at Rowan, and withdrew his own pistol.
Holding his pistol defensively, Rowan approached the door on guard, Ted in the rear, standing in front of William.
“WILLIAM, I KNOW YOU’RE IN TH-” The voice started again. Suddenly, Rowan unlocked the door and ripped it open, pistol aimed at Strupnev.
“What the fuck?” Strupnev yelped.
“Now that’s no way to greet someone. And what were you doing, banging on the door like that? You have no manners.” Rowan said with a grin. He lowered his gun slightly, inspecting Strupnev’s face carefully. “You like to hurt kids, huh? You wanna pick on the kid? Tell me, what were you gonna do? What do you think you’re gonna do to William?”
“Hey, hang on a second… I’ve seen your face before. Buddy, I think you’ve got a warrant out, doesn’t he, Ted?”
“I think you’re right. Sir, get on the ground, please.”
—-------
William watched in dull shock as Strupnev was escorted into the back of the police cruiser. Strupnev kept his eyes on him the entire time, until he could no longer be seen through the window. Rowan got into the front, but Ted returned to where William and Mrs. Hutchins stood.
William was shaking slightly still, even under the blanket Mrs. Hutchins had put over his shoulders. Ted eyed him sadly.
“I’m sorry.” William gasped, his face etched still with terror. “I-I knew he was coming, but I didn’t think he’d be like that. I-I thought… I don’t know what I thought. I just didn’t know you were coming.”
“Will, does he often come over like that?” Ted asked in concern.
William nodded nervously. Mrs. Hutchins patted his shoulder. “H-he works right under Father Lawrence. He g-gets angry sometimes.”
“I’m very sorry this happened, Will.” Ted replied, and he meant it. “Would you like to press charges?”
“I-I uh, don’t have any money.” William replied. “I don’t have a lawyer.”
“It..doesn’t really work like that. But if you decide to, here’s my number.” He handed William a business card.
“Thank you,” William said. “Thank you so much, I was so…” His face contorted slightly, like he didn’t know what to feel.
Ted lightly set a hand on William’s shoulder. “William,” He said. “I don’t want you to stay in your apartment tonight. Dorothy, can you set up a cot, please? Otherwise, we’ll get you a hotel room.”
William shook his head. “I… I don’t want to be alone.”
“That’s alright, sweetie.” Mrs. Hutchins assured him. “I’ve got dinner ready. Do you want to eat? You look thin…”
“Just one moment, dorothy.” Ted said. “Will… One question. Who’s Lila?”
Will paused. “I have no idea.” He said. “I never saw her.”
Ted shrugged. “Okay, then. William, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, to check in. Why don’t you stay home from school? You look like you could use some rest.”
William nodded, and Mrs. Hutchins ushered him back into the apartment.
Ted watched him go, before stepping back into the cruiser.
“He okay?” Rowan asked.
“He’ll be fine, I think. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.” Ted felt for the book William gave him tucked into his coat pocket, and sighed.
“Fuckin’ bastards.” Hiccuped Strupnev.
“Shut the fuck up, you’re going to jail.” Rowan said off-handedly.
Strupnev growled from the backseat, but said no more, and there was peace.