Theodore Rex

Pteetneet was a small, one-stop-light, kind of town before the tech industry discovered the peaceful solitude combined with the centralized distribution location. When Spy Hive, a major technology corporation, won their bid to build their corporate headquarters it was clear that there would be a housing boom along with major growth in all areas.

The police station was one of the first buildings to relocate. The Pteetneet Police had been located in a Queen Anne style Victorian house at the end of Keres Street for nearly as long as the town had been incorporated. The officers were excited to have an official building where they wouldn’t have to share awkward bedroom space like a group of teenagers. They spent a week boxing their desks and moving their offices and, with the move nearly complete, were celebrating the upgrade with one final party at the Keres Street station.

Kelvin hated the parties his parents made him attend at the station, but his father was Chief Spears and his mother worked at the reception desk, so they always had to make a big appearance.

Most of the kids his age thought it was super cool he got to hang out at the old place. They would ask all kinds of questions:

“Do you get to see the jail cell?”

“Have you ever seen a criminal locked up?”

“Where do they keep all the guns?”

“Have you ever been handcuffed?”

Kelvin just thought the place was busy, loud, and creepy. It smelled like stale coffee and the only other kids around were the Duru twins, who were a little older and a quite a bit mean.

“Thanks for coming,” Chief Spears shook hands with the mayor, “we’ll see you on Monday for the ribbon cutting.”

“Dad,” Kelvin tugged at his father’s suitcoat, “can we go home soon?”

The sun had already set and there was a handful of straggling attendees chatting and finishing off the spiked punch bowl.

“Stop it, Kelvin. Go play with the Duru boys,” Chief Spears brushed Kelvin’s hands off his suit and adjusted his tie.

Kelvin wandered away from his father and into the kitchen where he found his mother. She was busy filling a large black trash bag with empty red cups, plates of half eaten cake, torn streamers, and other discarded party detritus.

“Mom, when do we get to go home?”

“We’re on cleanup duty, Kelv, we’ll go home after everyone has left.”

“There’s nothing to do. I’m tired.”

“Didn’t you bring a book to read?”

“I finished it.”

“Why don’t you go explore? You’re allowed in all the forbidden office space now.”

“The rooms are all empty. There isn’t anything to see.”

“They haven’t cleaned out the basement yet. Oh, in fact, your father was going to let you go down and get one of the stuffies from the basement before we left. Do you want to go down there now and look through them?”

The station kept a variety of stuffed animals in the basement. They would give them to the children that came in with their parents during domestic disturbance issues or welfare checks to ease their anxieties and fears.

“The basement?” Kelvin wrinkled his nose and felt a lump in his throat.

“Kelvin, you’re old enough not to be afraid of the basement.”

“That’s where the jail cell is.”

“You can ask Oscar and Bryce to go down there with you so you aren’t alone. They can have one of the toys too.”

“No, mom, they don’t like me,” but Mrs. Spears barely heard his objection before she was calling out to the twins.

“What’s up Mrs. Spears?”

“Go with Kelvin into the basement. There are some toys down there and you can each pick one to take home before the movers come to empty it out. Just keep it tidy.”

“You got it Mrs. S; come on nerd.”

Kelvin gave a pleading look to his mother; she scrunched her eyebrows to the center in just the right way to be interpreted as, ‘I know you don’t like them, but just do it. The sooner I can clean up and get people out of here the sooner we can go home.’ Kelvin complied and followed the twins around the back portion of the station and to the basement door.

Oscar flipped the light for the basement on and the weak stream of light splashed up the rickety wooden steps. The twins barreled down them and out of sight.

Kelvin put a tentative foot onto the first step and heard it creak. He hated the basement. It was as stereotypical of a scary basement as it could get with bare brick walls, rusted pipes, cobwebs, and dusty shelving. The entire room was lit by one softly buzzing fluorescent light and in the darkest corner was the jail cell with a small sink and a seatless steel toilet. The only window out of the room was buried in a window well and only thin strips of moonlight could slip through the overgrown bindweed.

By the time Kelvin set foot on the cracked bare cement the twins were tossing stuffed animals this way and that, rooting through them without much regard. The toys had been piled up on a set of loose stadium seats near the cell door and now fuzzy elephants, large-eared bunnies, long-haired cows, and pink hedgehogs were strewn about the floor.

Sitting to the side was Theodore Rex, a 6-foot-tall teddy bear with a protruding soft belly. Theodore wore a policeman’s hat and had a goofy smile on his face. It was a staple of the station, more of a mascot than anything else. It was the first stuffed animal purchase before they realized they could afford to get individual toys. He was meant to ease the kids into feeling safe. Sometimes he was brought out for holiday parties and the kids would sit in his lap for photos.

“Should we take the big fat one?” Bryce pointed at Theodore Rex.

“It’s like eighty years old, think of all the snot that been sprayed into it,” Oscar sneered.

“Hey guys, my mom wanted us to keep it clean down here,” the lighting buzzed and crackled, and the twins paid no attention to Kelvin.

“Guys?”

“I want the shark,” Oscar held up a blue and white shark that was bearing jagged felt teeth.

“That’s what I wanted,” Bryce said, “I guess I’ll go with the hedgehog. These are going to look so cool when we blow them up. Do you think they’ll catch fire?”

“Guys, we need to keep it tidy.”

“Then you better get tidying,” the twins tucked their toys under their arms and headed for the stairs.

“Wait,” said Kelvin, “I didn’t get one yet.”

“Snooze you lose, loser,” said Bryce. Oscar flipped Kelvin the bird.

The twins ran up the stairs with Kelvin hot on their heels, but before he could catch up to them, they reached the top and slammed the door closed. They locked it with a resounding click. Kelvin pounded on the door, “Hey! Hey! Let me out!”

The twins laughed behind the door and ignored Kelvin’s pleas.

“Let’s go tell his mom he asked to sleep at our house tonight and he’s going home with us,” Kelvin heard Bryce say.

“No! No, don’t leave me down here!”

“Turn off the light too,” was the last thing Kelvin heard before he was plunged into darkness.

“Mom! Mom!! Dad! Help!”

Kelvin pounded on the door until his fists were sore and then started to kick with his feet. He kicked and hit and pulled at the door until his might gave out. He didn’t dare step one single step down into the pitch darkness of the basement. He pressed his entire body against the door and let the tears flow down his face. He listened for sounds of help.

No one came.

“Help,” Kelvin said weakly as he began to slump to a sitting position, pulling his knees up to his chest to keep his entire body on the first step. He let tears flow down his face and soak into the rim of his t-shirt.

“Kelvin,” came a distant voice. It was soft and he wasn’t even sure he had heard it.

“Mom? Mom!” Kelvin stood to attention and gave the door another hard pound with his fist, “Mom, I’m in here.”

“Kelvin,” the voice came again, but it was clearer now. The voice was muffled, but it certainly was not his mother. It also was not behind the locked door. The voice was coming from below him.

“Hello?”

“Kelvin,” the soft voice said a third time, “come down the downstairs.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m here to keep you safe Kelvin. Come down the stairs.”

“I can’t see you. I’m scared. Who are you?”

“Let your eyes adjust, Kelvin.”

Kelvin bunched his shirt up and used it to wipe the tears from his face. He saw the slivers of moon shine through the window as he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He snuffed a long string of snot down into his throat, “I don’t see anyone.”

“It’s me, Kelvin.”

The moonlight snaked its way across the bare cement floor and, just barely within his line of sight, landed on Theodore Rex.

“Theodore Rex?”

“It’s me Kelvin, I’m here to protect you. I’m here to make you feel safe. Come down the stairs.”

“I’m so scared,” Kelvin whimpered, but he already had his butt firmly planted on the top step and lowered one foot gingerly down to the second step.

“That’s it, Kelvin. One step at a time. Come to me without fear.”

Kelvin tentatively continued down the steps, sliding gently on his butt while he placed one foot after the other on the next step and the next. He kept half an eye on the doorway above him and felt a few straggling tears slide down his face.

“Theodore Rex, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared, dear boy. There are no monsters or ghosts. It’s just you and me. Take your time, one step after the other.”

Kelvin placed his feet on the basement floor and, standing up in a crouched position, he used a burst of energy to run into Theodore Rex’s giant lap. He pressed his face into the bear’s fur and wrapped his arms halfway around the bulging belly. He let out a half dozen sobs.

“That’s it, Kelvin, just let it out,” Kelvin squeezed the bear tight and let his tears flow. He felt safe and warm.

“There, there. You are safe now,” the voice of the bear was right in Kelvin’s ear as the bears arms lifted and wrapped him in a warm embrace. One bear arm clutched at his back and the other cradled the back of his head.

“Let Theodore Rex keep you safe,” the voice said as the bear squeezed Kelvin tighter, “nothing else will harm you when you are with Theodore Rex.”

Kelvin’s sobs grew muffled in the bears cotton-filled pillowy bulk as Theodore Rex squeezed tighter.

“Safe now,” Theodore said, tightening his grip even further.

Kelvin loosened his grip and tried to find purchase to push away, but his face only melted further into the cushiony soft friend.

“Nothing to fear, Kelvin. No more tears,” Theodore said, holding his embrace firm.

Kelvin’s feet kicked at the floor and dragged slower and slower through the dust as his heartbeat raced then slowed.

“Calm and safe in my embrace. You are with me now. Theodore Rex will always protect you.”

Theodore Rex squeezed tighter.

THE END