Epilogue
Dee found himself alone in the junkyard again. It had all seemed so real, but in the end his fantasies faded to whisps and nothing more. Ah well, he thought.
It was time to hang up his cape and return to the orphanage.
The walk back was long and lonely. He knew the junkyard like the back of his hand; he grew up there, among the detritus of society. Turn left past the Saturn 5 rockets, straight through the Merlin engines and old trains carts that used to ferry people across the country.
The orphanage was a little ways past the rows of cast iron coal heaters. Deftly he slipped back under the fences and back through the window. His footsteps were muffled by the damp, rotting wooden floor (though he didn't have to worry much about waking Annie, the elderly head nurse. She usually was able to sleep through anything).
Up the creaky stairs to the top floor, down the long row of empty beds. His was the third-to-last one on the right, next to the window. Another day, another disappointment he thought, throwing his helmet onto a bedpost and spreading his makeshift cape back into a blanket.
When he collapsed into bed, he was startled by a tiny shriek and rolled over, getting tangled in the mess of a blanket. Dee scrambled to get free and found himself face to face with a tiny green creature. Any other kid in his position would have screamed, but she seemed oddly familiar.
"Dee! Dee! Sorry about hiding under your pillow, but we need your help!"
"Is it Mr. Deleo?"
"yes! He's about to find the-"
Dee didn't let her finish. He whipped on his cape, threw on his helmet, and kicked the hidden trap door in the wall open. Dee grinned. He knew this would come in handy someday.
"Let's go!"
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