As the darkness enveloped him, Alistair’s thoughts began to drift. He temporarily forgot about his quest for the chocolatey haired girl, focusing instead upon his own problems. Recently, it had occurred to Alistair that he did not fit in with the rest of the town. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had always known, but it was only in this pure darkness of the sewers, in which he could not even see his own hand, that he allowed his thoughts to form into ideas. Sometime, after this case was closed, and everyone in the town recognized him for his ability, he would get away. Get away to a place where no one could bother him.
The darkness around him shifted to a quiet meadow. Alistair lay still on the ground, looked up at the blue sky, and listened to the soft chirp of birds. In the distance he heard the steady sound of flowing water. Without complete control of his body, he began to walk slowly toward the sound. Barely realizing it, he entered a thick forest. Trees the size of small office buildings surrounded him. Running blindly now at the ever growing sound of rushing water Alistair saw familiar faces taking shape in the trees around him. Voices of his enemies back from grade school echoed in his ears. They pointed and shouted as he ran by, “Look everyone, it’s Mr. Detective!” They laughed hysterically. “It’s a shame, really, that he’ll never have any friends.” Alistair could not remember having feelings so intense after moving to the States. The noise was deafening. It could not be long before he reached the water. He rounded a corner and saw it: the Waterfall. It was twice as wide and deep as any that he had seen in his lifetime. He had no time to stop himself, he was going to go over. As he looked out over the edge he saw his mother smiling and waving at him in the cascading water ahead. She mouthed something to him that he did not quite catch. The was no ground underneath him any more. As he fell, he felt more at peace than he had since he watched his mother drive to the asylum and out of his life.
The pitch darkness of the tunnels returned, and with it, Alistair’s normal frame of mind. He had to find the chocolatey haired girl. Than he could find that forest. Alistair climbed through the small shaft until it opened up into a ten foot wide tunnel. He began to search for clues with his flashlight. After nothing presented itself, Alistair turned to go back to the orphanage. As he moved his flashlight, he saw something glint. On closer inspection, it seemed to be some sort of contraption. He twisted a small handle and pushed it in. A small section of the wall slid away to reveal a chamber with a somewhat startled man inside. “Who are you?” The man asked. “I’m Alistair Oxley, the town detective, and who might you be?” My name is Robin, Robin Spartacus Moore,” the man replied. Alistair went straight to business. “Have you seen a girl named Annalisa with chocolatey hair? I’ve been sent by her friend Xiu Li to find her.” Moore’s expression changed upon hearing his words. “ We can’t talk about this with that door open, come inside.” Alistair walked inside the chamber and the wall closed, leaving no trace that the small chamber existed. Mr. Moore began to speak, “I live a simple life, but my past is filled with trauma. My parents sent me to an awful asylum when I was young, and I’ve never truly recovered. I managed to escape by learning how to take care of myself and tinker with things. Because of my past, I cannot resist the urge to help young people in need when they come to me. Annalisa escaped from the police shortly after they picked her up. I happened to be nearby, and she asked me for help. I created this room for her to hide out from the authorities again. I came down here to check on her, but she’s not here anymore. I wish I could help you find her, but I’m on my lunch break. I have to get back to my job at the bowling alley, a man’s gotta eat right?” Moore opened the door of the chamber, and turned to look at Alistair. “See you around detective; And hey, good luck.” With that he left.. Alistair had a questionable story, and no lead. Great.
