"The Blank Book" (Part 4)

by Joseph Linhardt, ©2003  

(From Part 3 ...)

Aaron read the words that had appeared moments before. "It's like…we're in a…" he stuttered. 

"Story?" finished Jake. 

Aaron looked at him, totally serious. "Yeah. And…" his voice held a foreboding tone, "I don't think there's anything we can do to erase it." 

"Well," said Jake, swallowing, "Whatever happens, we're about to get rid of this book." 

"If nothing happens," said Aaron, looking over his shoulder as he did.

"Yeah…" said Jake, quickly putting the book back into his backpack. The two friends continued walking toward the police station, but now, a strange reluctance had seized them. It was as if they were about to part with a treasured possession. Jake couldn't understand it; he and Aaron wanted to get rid of the book…but they were hesitant to actually do it. 

They turned the last corner and arrived at the big police station. It was a large, two story building made entirely with faded brown bricks. Windows dotted the front, and at least fifteen police cars were in the parking lot. Jake and Aaron walked in the front door strolled carefully up to the desk. The sergeant at the desk looked at them and waited. 

"Excuse us, sir," said Jake. "But, could you tell us where the lost and found is?" 

"To your right, and through the door on your left," replied the sergeant in an off-handed way. "Just talk to the officer on duty there." He went back to his work. 

After thanking him, the two boys walked slowly to the right, through the door, which led to a hallway. They walked down the hall, reading the labels on the doors. 

" 'Booking Facility,' 'Crime Labs,' " read Aaron from the signs as they passed them. 

' "Lost and Found,' " read Jake. "Through here." 

Jake walked to the door, and tried to grasp the doorknob. Again, the strange reluctance seized him. He felt as if he just couldn't give up the book. His hand refused to obey his mind. Shaking his head, he tried again. This time he grasped the doorknob and turned it. But he couldn't open the door. He just didn't want to get rid of the book! Jake took a half-step back, shaking. It was as if someone…or something else was controlling his emotions! Jake closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. The image of the book suddenly appeared in his mind. It grew larger and larger until it filled his vision! Aaron's voice abruptly shattered the image. 

"Jake, you okay?" he asked, concerned. 

"Wha? Uh…yeah," replied Jake. He flicked his hand back and forth. He took a deep breath, and once again grasped the door handle. This time, with obvious effort, he was able to open the door. The two friends walked into a large, square room with a large desk in the exact middle. The walls were lined with tall, metal lockers. These were for the lost items that were brought to the station. Jake and Aaron walked slowly up to the desk, both completely on edge, scared of this book that was recording everything they had done. But even then they felt an unwillingness to give it up. 

"Can I help you boys?" asked the police officer at the desk. He was tall and strong, with equipment dangling from his belt and impressive badges on his chest. He noticed their uneasiness and smiled to calm them down. 

"Uh…yes sir," replied Jake haltingly. "We would like to give you this book we found. It has no address in the cover or anything…so we thought…" Jake broke off, unable to finish his sentence. He still felt an unwillingness to give up the book. 

"…We should bring it to you," finished Aaron, nudging Jake. 

The officer smiled again. "Well, that's very responsible of you, boys. Hand it to me and we'll see if we can find the owner. Now, can you tell me how, where, and when you found it?" The officer took out his note pad and pen.

Jake handed him the book and told the officer the story of how he and Aaron had found it. However, Jake left out the fact that the book recorded everything that had happened in their lives for the last day. He definitely did not want people to think he was a liar, or worse, insane. Jake finished his story and watched in nervous suspense as the police officer opened the book and looked at it. 

"What are your names, boys?" he asked, frowning as he looked at the inside of the front cover of the book. Jake and Aaron assumed that the officer would want to put their names on a report. They quickly gave him their names. 

"And your addresses? No, don't tell me," he said, before either boy could say anything. "Write them down." He handed them two pencils and slips of paper.

They wrote their addresses down and handed the paper to the officer. The officer looked at the slips of paper, and then compared them with something on the inside of the front cover. When he finished, he looked down at them, his friendliness now replaced with annoyance. 

"Why are you boys trying to give me a book that is clearly yours?" he asked. 

"What? That can't be-" began Aaron, in disbelief. 

"Officer, this isn't our book," said Jake, cutting him off. "We found it, honest!" 

"Boy, look," he said, pointing to something written just inside the front cover. "Your address is clearly written here. So is your friend's address." 

Jake and Aaron looked inside the book in stunned silence. It was true. Both the boys' addresses were written neatly on the inside front cover in the upper left hand corner. 

"Uh…sorry, officer," said Jake, his voice betraying his nervousness. "There's been some kind of mistake." 

Eyeing them suspiciously, the officer handed the book back to them, and looked at them for a long moment. Aaron almost squirmed under his stare.

"Have a nice day," said the officer, finally. 

"Thanks," replied Jake. They walked out quickly, Aaron leading the way and Jake close behind him. The moment they were out in the hallway, with the door closed behind them, they looked at each other, stunned. Both were too surprised to say anything until they were out of the police station entirely.

"This is really creepy," said Jake at last. He swallowed hard. "I don't know how those addresses got there, or even how this book is writing everything we do, but this is really freaking me out!"

Continue on to part 5...

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