Orange Paint
By: Sydney Coleman
Tags: Fiction, Fiction Friday, Fiction Writing, Short Story, Story

Orange Paint

Jack’s keys clanged in his bag as he moseyed his way down the street. There was a clink accompanying each step. He tightened his grip on his backpack straps, looking around every few minutes for signs of other people. The world remained silent.

Ahead he could see his destination clearly, the streetlamp illuminating his path. The clinks became more rapid as he turned the corner into the ally way beside the drug store. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone to check the time. 1 am, a bit behind schedule but he’d make due.

He slowly placed his backpack onto the ground. Jack could hear his keys crashing into the metal cans as he silently cursed himself for not taking more precautions. If he was caught, he was dead and being noisy was not the way to avoid that from happening.

He froze in an attempt to remain silent. The movement stopped and he reached his hands down to unzip his bag. He kept pausing after every inch by tedious inch determined not to draw any onlookers. This had to be quick. The front of the bag flopped open and he began removing each can of spray paint. He’d wrapped each can in a rag to stop them from clanging around in his bag as he walked but it seemed that one had escaped. He found the culprit at the bottom, tangled in his keychain.

The time had begun, he stepped back to gauge the space he had scoped out days ago. This had to be perfect. It was Joe’s own fault for not listening to reason. Joe had to know it was him but it couldn’t be obvious. He did not need the cops knocking on his door. His parents were already angry enough about his being fired. He could only imagine how much trouble he’d be in if they discovered the continuation of his vandalization habits.

In a way, he felt bad that Joe was going to be out here half of tomorrow trying to wash Jack’s art off the wall, but then he remembered the thirty-minute lecture he endured about coming in late only a few times before Joe basically threw him out of the store. With his thoughts of remorse squashed, he began to paint.

He stepped up close to the rough bricks and began sketching in his initial lines. He took out more colors and started filling up his canvas.

Jack watched a few drips escape down the cracks and smiled to himself. From blue to green to orange, he worked for hours. The chemical smell was strong and made his eyes water but he continued on. He kept pulling out his phone as he watched the clock tick towards 6 am. He had the urge to pick up speed but he knew he had to be meticulous. With one final streak of paint, his masterpiece was complete.

He stepped back to admire his work, only stopping when a sudden commotion in the street sent him speeding to gather his things.

Joe always did make a fuss about punctuality. He always said that early was on time and on time was late of course, this would be the day he’d come to work at 5:30. Haphazardly, he stuffed every can full and empty into his backpack and decided that he best sneak away.

Jack poked his head around the corner, looking both ways. Confusion took over as the street was as empty as when he began. He could have sworn he heard a car pulling up and there were definitely voices.

Jack stepped out onto the sidewalk and brushed off the oddity as a sign to get back home. That was until he heard something call out.

His head whipped around, looking for the source of the noise. He was anxious now, he couldn’t afford to get caught here. He elected to ignore it and started walking in the direction of his house. The farther he went the less he heard the noise. He didn’t get more than half a block before curiosity got the best of him and he was turning around.

He could hear it clearly when he stood in front of the garbage cans placed outside the apartment complex that neighboured the drug store. Jack assumed some animal had gotten itself trapped inside and he moved to open the lid.

As he did so, he leaped back in order to avoid the most likely rabid creature that he imagined jumping out. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to realize there was no wild raccoon ready to eat his face, in fact, nothing had come out of the trash can at all.

Jack leaned forward and peered inside. There was nothing but bulky garbage bags that only could have fit after some forced maneuvering. There were no signs of life. His concern grew as he pondered what could have possibly been the source of the noise. It was almost instinctive when he gripped the handles and pulled the trash can back from the wall it was placed against. What he saw made his heart sink to his feet.

Its skin was pink and wrinkled. There were dark patches of blue and greens spotted across its body, or at least what he could see poking out of the ratty t-shirt it had been bundled in. Its eyes were scrunched closed and its tiny mouth was open while it cried out desperately. Little hands were reaching out, touching nothing but air as it looked for help.

Jack’s head started to spin as he realized exactly what he overheard earlier. He quickly reached down to grab the child from where it had been tossed away. He pulled him close to his chest and he felt the little fingers grip onto his jacket.

“We have to get you to a hospital, little guy.” He unzipped the top part of his jacket and shoved the baby, who couldn’t have been more than a few days old, inside.

Jack ran. He ran towards the main street which would lead him to the hospital a few blocks away. He had never been one to take anything seriously but damn him if this wasn’t a good place to start.

He could feel the baby shiver against his chest and its wailing had ceased altogether. He knew the kid had just been put in the ally but who knows what happened before he got there.

He saw the lights in the building’s windows before the sirens jolted into his senses bringing him to a halt. He was like a deer in headlights as the two officers stepped out of the car and slowly moved towards him.

“Please, you have to help him.” Jack was quiet as he pulled the child from inside his jacket. Both men looked shocked, not having expected a baby. “He needs a hospital, I just found him and…” He was hyperventilating, he hadn’t been doing that before.

“It’s okay, son. We’ve got him.”

The one who had been driving took the baby from his arms while the other gripped his shoulders. “Get in the car, we’ll take him to see a doctor.”

Jack’s whole body felt numb. It could have taken them two minutes to get to the hospital or it could have been two hours. Either way, he was shocked when they arrived.

The officer holding the baby took off through the ER doors while the other came around the car and helped him out. He was thankful for the arm around his shoulders as he didn’t trust his legs to hold him up.

The world went by in flashes, one minute he was being told to sit and the next he was watching his hands shake as both officers were talking to a nurse. They kept looking at him and he couldn’t tell why. He couldn’t even remember why he was there.

Jack looked at his hands again and saw the orange paint specks that dotted his fingertips. He should have been more careful, his parents were going to kill him.

When the officer walked towards him he knew it couldn’t be good. It was past noon now, he should be at home. He’d felt his phone going off in his pocket so many times but he didn’t have the energy to even pull it out.

“Son, where did you find that baby?” The officer’s voice was soft as he put his hand on Jack’s arm.

“They put him in the garbage.” He spoke barely above a whisper.

“Did you see who?”

“No, if I hadn’t been so paranoid packing up, maybe I could have caught them.”

“Then it’s probably best you took your time.” He paused and seemed to have to gather his courage before speaking again. “That child has been missing for a few days now, he was kidnapped from the hospital. His mother died having him and it seems… well, it seems someone decided to take him amidst all the chaos.”

“Is the baby okay?” The question was desperate though based on the look on the officer’s face, he knew the answer.

“There was nothing you could have done, he’s with his mother now.”

Silence passed between them as there was nothing else to be said. The tears were falling before he could even think about stopping them. He placed his head in his hands and he felt the officer’s grip on his arm tighten as he grieved for a child he didn’t even know.

He imagined his small crinkled face and his tiny delicate hands. He would never know his mother was dead and he would never know someone decided to throw him away, but at least for a moment, he had someone to cry for him. The thought remained on his mind even as the officer called after him and he began his walk home.