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 |  A boy becomes a legend. |
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PROLOGUE Every city has its secrets; some darker than others. In New York City, secrets run deep. There are those who know secrets but fear for themselves or others. Then, there are those who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets silenced. One such secret was the Broadway Specter. A small child who was said to help those in need in and around the Broadway district then vanish into the night. No one knew who this child was or where he had come from. Efforts were made to capture the child but none were successful until a young girl entered his life. The story began in front of a beautifully decorated building on Broadway... A doll like young woman pushed a lock of black hair away from her green eyes. Standing next to her was a fair skinned, brown-haired, brown eyed little girl in a flattering white dress and Mary Janes. After a quick check in a pocket mirror, she turned to her camera man. He was a short, well-built man in tattered blue jeans and black T-shirt. Holding a heavy camera in one hand, he patiently waited for her. "How do I look, Hank?" Hank placed the heavy camera onto his shoulder. "You look great, Mae; let's get this story on the air." Mae nodded and Hank counted down to three with his free hand before cuing Mae to begin. "This is Mae Wood, reporting to you, live, with Angel McCarther in front of Broadway’s Open Door Theater." She motioned to the building behind her. "She is the leading actress in the musical ‘Orphans on Broadway’. This show has taken the nation by storm and will be playing in this very theater in a few short days.” “That’s right, we are hoping for a long run here on Broadway.” Smiling, Angel said. “A tragic event had forced its closure four years ago." Reporting, Mae added. "Today, as you can see from the long line behind us, people are anxious to see it reopen and come back to life." Hank turned the camera slightly, catching the long line before turning back to Mae and Angel. "I understand that the writers and producers of this musical, John and Brandy Stravis, had also purchased and restored this old theater." The two paused, turning to the theater; the front doors opened. A tall, burly man in a black suit emerged from within and cast a forbidding glance in their direction before allowing the line of people to start trickling in. If looks could kill… Mae shook off a certain chill then turned back to the camera. "They're now allowing people inside to purchase the remaining tickets for the first showing." She turned to Angel. “Now, what makes this musical so special to so many here in New York?” Angel smiled. “What makes this musical so special is that the boys in the cast were all orphans. They were adopted by the stage crew shortly before casting for the musical began.” “That was during one of the largest outpouring of adoptions in New York City's long history.” Looking at the camera, Mae said. “Strangely enough, this adoption run was sparked by the legendary ghostly child affectionately called 'The Broadway Specter'.” Angel raised an eyebrow. “I’ve heard about that. This ‘specter’ had supposedly been helping people in and around the Broadway district for nearly three years." Mae nodded. “Unfortunately, either no one knows a lot about him or they are not talking. It was this child who was credited for exposing the inhumane treatment of an orphanage just outside the theater district last year.” Angel smiled. “I’m glad the children there got a happy ending.” Mae nodded in agreement. “Sadly, no one has found this child to this day. Hence, he had been dubbed the Broadway Specter." she gave the camera a grin. "Personally, I would love to interview this child to see what the 'Broadway Specter' would have to say. This is Mae Wood reporting. Back to you Pat." "We are out." said Hank. He slid the camera off his shoulder. "Let's get moving; the boss wants us on sight for the press conference with the cast of adopted boys." Hank and Mae thanked Angel for agreeing to be interviewed then saw her to her mother, Maria McCarther. She was a near perfect replica of her daughter in a blue summer dress. She took Angel to the car while the reporters quickly gathered their equipment. All were unaware of a small shadowy figure watching them from a second floor window. As the news van pulled away, the figure leaned forward into the light of the rising sun. It was a small boy with longish brown hair. He was dirty but not pale; he appeared to be in good health. He was wearing an old style band uniform. It was dark blue pants with a light blue stripe on the side and a blue and white striped shirt. Both were slightly too big for him but fit well enough. He looked down at the news van and raised his hand as if to wave at them. He gasped as they pulled away. “Wait!” His call was too soft to be heard over the clamor of the city streets. The boy sighed, a single tear running down his cheek. He watched as the van vanished into the ocean of cars. “There’s something I wanted to say.” He took a breath. "My name is Timmy; I have been living inside this empty theater for so very long now. I'm hoping, praying, waiting for my mom and dad to come back for me. People come here, looking for me; they want to take me to an orphanage. They say it’s for my own good but I know mom and dad are coming back for me, they promised. So, until then, no one is taking me away." Then, from inside the dark hall Timmy was in, the sounds of footfalls reached his ears and he turned to see two shadows coming up a flight of stairs. With an annoyed pout, he silently ran across the hall, through a dark doorway. There, he pulled onto a light fixture just beyond it as if it were a switch. A hidden panel slowly closed in front of him, effectively hiding Timmy and the hall behind him from view. Not making a sound, he listened as two men approached, talking. "Have the new production posters come in yet?" asked the first man. "The Orphans on Broadway posters just came in about an hour ago." replied the second man. "They've already been placed in the lobby for sale. There's a few more in the backstage office in case we run out." The two men continued walking down the hall, talking, their footfalls fading to silence. Once it was obvious they were gone, Timmy hurried down the dimly lit secret passage, a smile forming on his face. "The new posters are here... more new friends." Outside of the theater, a second shadowy figure had watched the interview from inside a black four door sedan. The mysterious man wore a gangster style suit with a long black trench coat and Berkeley hat. He removed his hat, revealing a near perfect face, minus a broken nose and a small scar at the right of his lip. He was a middle aged man with crew cut brown hair and green eyes. Sighing irritably, he retrieved a cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number. “Have you caught him yet?” Gruffly, he demanded. A mumbled response echoed from the receiver. “There is no more time, you idiot! Everyone will be at the theater for final rehearsals at five tomorrow morning! You have until then to get the boy out of the way!” A muffled voice again echoed from the receiver. “I don’t care how you catch him! Just do it quickly!” He turned the cell phone off and added, “Before he decides to tell someone everything!” |
| Chapter | 1 | CHAPTER ONE: POSTERS | 44.45k |
| Chapter | 2 | CHAPTER TWO: THE CAST ARRIVES | 49.65k |
| Chapter | 3 | CHAPTER THREE: BROADWAY SPECTER? | 41.29k |
| Chapter | 4 | CHAPTER FOUR: CURTAIN CALL | 48.81k |
| Chapter | 5 | CHAPTER FIVE: FOUND! | 47.74k |
| Chapter | 6 | CHAPTER SIX: GRANDMA PIZANO | 30.80k |
| Chapter | 7 | CHAPTER SEVEN: TIMMYS TALE | 24.34k |
| Chapter | 8 | CHAPTER EIGHT: ENCORE PERFORMANCE | 31.94k |
| Chapter | 9 | CHAPTER NINE: SEARCH FOR TRUTH | 31.06k |
| Chapter | 10 | CHAPTER TEN: SECRETS | 19.99k |
| Chapter | 11 | CHAPTER ELEVEN: CAUGHT! | 43.78k |
| Chapter | 12 | CHAPTER TWELVE: RESCUED | 29.03k |
| Chapter | 13 | CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FINAL CURTAIN | 40.74k |
| Chapter | 14 | CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BIRTHDAY SURPRISE | 21.11k |
| Chapter | 15 | CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH | 14.84k |
| Chapter | 16 | EPILOGUE | 9.66k |
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