Elf AmongUs

Treasure

Treasure

Void
Crys sang along happily to a Bob Dylan song blaring through the speakers of his old, rickety but study tow truck. The old truck creaked and groaned as it faithfully chugged along, accenting the song. At least, in Crys' opinion, it accented the song. Not everyone agreed with him. Oh well, they just didn't get it. Or Bob Dylan's voice. He thought it was one of the best ever, but then again, he had strange taste.

Movement that was not a vehicle caught his eye. He adjusted the bright green bandana tied around his head like a hairband and pushed a wayward bit of blonde hair out of his blue eyes. Ah, there was the car he'd been called to collect! And a fellow waiting beside it. The tow truck chugged as it slowed down and rolled up alongside the car.

He pulled over and rolled down the window. "Hello, Mate! Are you alright?" he called with a very faint drawl. "Are you the one who called for a tow?" He gave the fellow a cheerful grin, his blue eyes sparkling merrily. A fake jewel hanging from his rearview mirror danced, sending sparkles of rainbows across his face and brown-leather vest clad torso. He was thin, almost delicate-looking, and absolutely harmless in appearance. Of course, he also had a tire iron under his seat, but he'd rather use that on tires than people.
 
Eliot leaned against his old car. He was stilling wearing the trousers and shirt he wore at work. Both covered in filth. He had washed his hands but, they still looked dirty.

Frustrated he stared in the distance waiting for back up. Of course, the thing broke down. It was bound to happen someday. The thing was creaking and making noises for months. He should have gone to the garage way earlier but, he neither had the time yet nor the budget but, honestly, he kinda forgot about it.

He cursed as hit the roof of the car. He should have known better. He should have paid more attention. With a bit of luck, he is home on time to hit the gym and still be able to bed at a reasonable time. As he saw an old creaking truck coming closer he stood upright observing the vehicle. It better be not the truck he called for. He could forget being able to get on time in the gym that way.

Eliot sighed as it slowed down and stopped in front of him. Eliot forced a smile as the window rolled down. "I guess I am," he said as he nodded. "I am Eliot Wanderer."
 
"Eliot Wanderer? Isn't that kind of like having a name like Tad Strange?" Crys chuckled. "But then, who am I to talk? My name is Crysiant Stone. Crysiant means 'Crystal.'" He flicked the crystal hanging from his mirror and chuckled. "Hold on right there." He pulled forward and backed into place in one smooth move. He lined up the vehicles perfectly then got out. "Have you gotten everything you need out of the vehicle?" he asked, suddenly professional.

He walked around the car and checked the wheels before he started hooking up the car and getting ready to pull it up onto the back of the tow. He got down and made certain the front wheels were properly situated, taking his time but not dawdling.
 
Eliot sighed annoyed, "Can we get on with this, I have things to do," he grumbled. He already didn't like the man with his annoying smile and jokes. Annoyed he opened up his front door to check and got his wallet and keys still in the car. He put the key away in his trousers but, hold on to his wallet. He sure would have forgotten them if the man hadn't point it out, but, he wasn't going to admit that.

"Yes, I have everything," he said nodding as he stepped backwards. Inpatient he watched as the man hooked up his car. "You can give any indication of how long it will take for the car to work again?" he asked, nodding at his barrel. Honestly, he would be surprised if it would ever be able to drive again.
 
Crys gave Mr. Wanderer an amused look as he finished attaching the front wheels. He was a grumpy fellow! He looked like this was just one more terrible thing that had happened to him, and that was never a fun thing. The longer he looked at Mr. Wanderer, the more Crys could see a hint of sadness deep in his eyes. Poor fellow.

"I won't be able to look until we get this thing into the shop, sir, but I can tell you it will take at least two or three hours," he told the man. "It looks like your poor vehicle hasn't had any tender, loving, care in a long time, meaning there's probably a lot of small problems stacking up and crying for help. We can fix the worst ones to get the car going again, but if you don't get them all fixed, you'll just end up back here."

He finished hooking up the car and went back to the truck. He took the remote attached to the side and pressed a button. A loud motor kicked in and slowly lifted the car off its front wheels and pulled it closer to the truck. In just a few minutes, the car was ready to go.

"Hop in!" Crys said cheerfully. "I can drop you off home, if you'd like, or we can go straight to the shop. What would you like?"
 
Eliot put his hands in his sides as he closly watched the man. He grinned, "I didn't know cars needed love to," he grumbled. Well atleast it was still be able to be prepared. That is if the man had any idea of where hé was talking about.

Eliot nochalent put the wallet down at the chair as he sat down in the truck. "You can drop me off near home please. If you get me to the supermarkt at spotwoodsroad I Will get home thank you," hé answered.
 
"Sure, I can get you there!" Crys agreed. He checked the area one last time then climbed into the truck. Bod Dylan's "Gotta Serve Someone" crackled through the speakers as the truck roared back to life. He hummed along, checking the traffic, then pulled out onto the road once more. "How has your day been, sir? Other than the car breaking down part, that must be a bit of a bump in the road," he chuckled merrily.
 
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Eliot said as he forced a smile. The words came out rather annoyed and sarcastic. He stared outside trying to ignore the humming of the other man. It wasn't that he was never happy, or never hummed along with music. Just not when his entire schedule is falling into bits and his car was breaking down.

"It was fine," he murmured, not in the mood of a conversation or to talk about his workday. He didn't want to talk about the fact that there was a big leakage at a customer who was blaming him. With reasons, because it was likely his fault. He didn't want to talk about the fact that he had to drink an unhealthy amount of coffee to stay awake today due to the fact he barely slept the night before. Right now he just wanted to exercise, it really was the only somewhat healthy way he had to feel somewhat alive.
 
Crys winced. "Ah. That bad, eh?" He gave his passenger a friendly smile. "I'm sorry about that, friend. Would you like to talk about it? Sometimes a friendly ear you never have to see again really helps." He turned on his turn signal and turned down a quieter road.
 
Eliot sight, "No, I said I was fine," he snapped at the man a bit more harsh than intended. "I am sorry I am just tired, it was a long day," he apologised staring right in front of him out of the window. At that moment he really wanted to run home but, since what happened there was no way he could run that far. That is without needing an entire strip of painkillers.
 
"Alright, friend, no hard feelings," Crys said gently with a little smile. He took no offense at the harsh statement, and the look he gave his passenger was one of concern. He said nothing more as they drove, letting the music fill the silence. He understood. Sometimes, you just needed a little quiet to sort out the tangle in your head.

Crys pulled up to the street his passenger had indicated and stopped. "Here we are! Are you sure I can't drop you off closer to home?" Crys offered. "Oh, and I'll take the car back to the shop. Someone will call you to let you know the damage and the options." He took a clipboard out from under the seat and held it out to his passenger. It was a standard form, name, address, phone number, make and model of the vehicle, that kind of thing, and would only take a second to fill out.
 
Eliot nodded thankful that the man held his mouth. In silence, he listened to the music as he checked his watch nervously from time to time. Not that his schedule wasn't already hopelessly lost. Slightly nervous he looked at the road passing by.

"No, it is fine, I will be fine," Eliot answered as he pushed the door open eager to be outside again. He didn't even really know why he wouldn't let the man bring him right home. He just didn't feel comfortable giving away his address to strangers. Something about people he didn't sit right with him. He wasn't foolish enough to think that people won't found out anyway but, still, his house was his safe place. Besides he told the man to put him down here can't go back on that anymore.

Hurried he took the clipboard and fill in the information. As wrote down his address he felt very silly. The man would know his address anyway why bother hiding. Because he needed the walk., he told himself. But, that was just a weak excuse. It would likely even do harm. But, he couldn't just let him drop all the way down his house. "Here," he said as he hands back the clipboard and hurried on away from the man to his house. His thoughts circled around in his head, filling up every little free space making it impossible to process thought properly.
 
"Have a great day, Mr. Wanderer!" Crys called after him cheerfully. Poor fellow. The name seemed to fit him. He was wandering through life. Crys didn't have to have an intimate knowledge of the man to see that. Crys put the truck in gear and pulled away, the truck growling and groaning as it trundled along with the car towing behind.

When Crys reached the shop, he pulled in and started the process of unhooking the car. As he started to get out of the car, something caught his eye and he paused. He reached into the passenger seat and picked up a wallet. Oh, dear. He checked inside and nodded. Yep. Mr. Wanderer had lost his wallet. Crys would get the car situated then go return it to him. Depending on how fast his coworkers could get to the car, he might even be able to tell Mr. Wander the news about his car as he handed over the wallet.
 
Eliot walked to his house, limping a bit more with his legs than usually. What was to be expected after a long day of work. He didn't live very away though just around in the corner in fact. As he walked he put his hands in his pockets. As he did so he only found his cellphone. That wasn't good, a little panicked he searched his pockets as he tried to think what he missed. His wallet of course.

"Shit," he cursed at loud as he put his hands in his last pair of pockets. "Shit," he repeated as he realised that he left his wallet in the truck. He scolded himself for not paying better attention. In war mistakes like this could costs lives. You are not in war, anymore. He told himself, something everyone kept on telling him but, it didn't really help.

Ok stay calm, he instructed himself as he glanced back but, the man, of course, was long gone. Ok stay calm, Eliot, a plan we need a plan. He tried to keep himself calm as he walked in the direction of home. He would call the garage when he comes home. It is fine, just a little delay. "shit," he cursed for the third time as he realised that he could forget to exercise this evening now for real.
 
It took about an hour for everything to get settled and sorted. Crys took the sheaf of papers indicating everything wrong with the car, the order of importance of the damages, and the estimated prices to fix said damages. Some things could be ignored for now, but to get the car running safely, at least four different things would have to be fixed before it left the shop. Crys had the feeling his former passenger was not exactly rolling in excess money, and he'd managed to work with his boss to get as many discounts and cost-saving techniques applied as possible. Even so, it was still going to cost a fair hunk of change, and there was no getting around that.

Crys clocked out and got in his old, VW bus van. He made certain he had the papers, as well as the wallet, then headed out onto the road. He had the Mamas and the Papas playing in this vehicle, and he rolled down the window, softly singing along as he drove along. People looked at the old van as he drove passed, and he couldn't help smiling at the glee it brought others. It was old, but he kept it in pristine condition, and the paint job gleamed like brand new. Many different colors of brand new. The van lived up to the stereotype built up around its make and sported a true psychedelic pattern, including a couple of flowers and a peace sign on the hood. The sight of this old van brought smiles to the faces of nearly everyone who saw it.

It took a few minutes of driving and taking a couple of wrong turns, but Crys eventually found his way to the right street and pulled up in front of the right building. He checked the address once more then got out of the van. The hackles on the back of his neck rose, and his eyes narrowed. He closed the door carefully. Something was not right.
 
Eliot wandered around his small apartment as he tried to contact the garage. Of course, he had forgotten what garage he needed to call. His apartment just existed out of a bedroom, living room and bathroom. Everything was extremely clean and there was barely anything in the rooms at all. How different was that than a year ago when his house was so filthy it was hard to even see the floor.

Suddenly he heard a sound outside his door and froze up. Anxious he started to think about all possibilities. Maybe it were the neighboors but, he knew it wasn't.
 
Five men focused on the small apartment. Three of them stood at the door while one picked the lock while the other two went into the empty apartment next door. The neighbors were gone, but they could be back any minute. The front door opened slowly and one man entered cautiously, the others hanging back in case of attack.

The other two men had found a closet where the wall shared the back of Eliot's closet. They moved carefully, trying to open the wall as quietly as possible with two hand saws, making a hole just big enough for them to climb through. They got into the closet and stood there, watching through the space in the closet door to see what would happen.
 
All of a sudden he heard the creaking of the front door. All the alarm bells in his head went off. No one had the key to his apartment, not even his parents it should be impossible for anyone to get through it. As quiet as he could he slipped to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife he could get his hands on. he pressed himself against the wall near the door towards the small hallway were front door is. Eliot kept silence as he waited for what happened.
 
The three men in the front went in first. Their eyes darted as they searched the area. Quickly and efficiently, they split up and started searching the living room, tossing things aside as they searched. They didn't care that anyone knew they'd been there. They were looking for something, and they looked fast. If they came across anything that looked valuable, they shoved it in a backpack, but it looked like an after thought, not an intent. They moved steadily toward the kitchen.

The two men in the bedroom were silent as they, too, hunted through the spartan room. They were out of the line of sight from the kitchen, so it appeared only the three in the livingroom were there.
 
Eliot held the knife tightly in his hand as he heard the men in the living room ravage through his stuff. He clammed his jaws together in anger, how dare they break-in in his house. Stay calm, he told himself as he waited till they got closer to the kitchen. He would let them know they chose the wrong house to break into.
 
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