Rated T for violent scenes in later chapters. Read at your own risk.
Chapter 1 – A Grand Welcoming
Adam rose his head from looking at the legs below him to the window beside, noticing the thick and grey clouds he was above. Next to him was a seventy-year-old veteran, he found out, who actually wasn't so terrible as he thought he was going to be. The man wasn't much of a talker, or he was dealing with the same thing Adam was dealing with.
Adam wondered about if the disgusting thoughts in his head would ever leave his brain, or if they would stay inside like a persistent virus… slowly killing him until his last breath.
The plane descended suddenly onto the black tarmac, droplets of rain starting to pour. Adam shook his head, wondering where the thirteen hours had gone. With the thought, he stood and made his way from the airplane to the airport doors, noticing all of the people around him.
Each one had a specific place to be at a certain point in time, but nobody realizes the cost that it takes on their body. Adam looked at each one and carefully inspected their facial features: droopy eyes, cracked lips, enlarged pupils. The thought of people dropping to the ground from drowsiness came to Adam's thoughts, making him shiver. His hands started to get jittery as he remembered the times when he went to battle with his fellow soldiers, bodies dropping to the ground.
It was too much for him, Adam knew that now.
A tear left Adam's cheek as he couldn't help but see each and every one of his friends, his partners, his family members drop to the ground, covered in blood… all in such vivid detail, bringing a shock to his brain.
"Please!" The twenty-something boy yelled, the memory soon fading thereafter, leaving him with a room full of confused, staring people and his collection of tears. He tried to calm his hands from shaking so much, but couldn't find himself to have the means.
With the humiliation, Adam took his suitcase of practically nothing and headed out the double-doors of LAX. As he stepped out, he remembers his intuition to be correct. Rain poured down the entire city, not even an inch of the ground was dry. Today was not the day to not have a jacket or even an umbrella.
So, Adam ran all 15 miles to the special location in his formal Marines military uniform, not even stopping for a breath of air. He still managed to keep his hat on and gloves intact, despite the wind trying to blow him away.
As he approached this "special location," he reminisced about all the good times he had at this place before being called off to his first mission. He reminisced about the times he spent with his siblings, now all grown up with him. He reminisced about working for Davenport and spending time with him and Tasha, learning what it's like to be a man and taking care of his family.
He stared at his hands for a few seconds, a sliver of doubt creeping up behind him, a fear of the unknown hovering like death when he's out in war. His shaky hands were no match for his curiosity though, wondering what his family has been up to for the past couple years.
With no response from the other side, Adam sighed, as he knew how lazy his siblings were. He knew he could say one word and they'd be rushing to the door. However, the thought of making them get up sounded better than saying something… so, Adam reverted back to his old self for a few mere seconds and decided it would be the best thing to annoy the heck out of them.
He counted to three,
One.
Two.
Three.
On the count of three, Adam banged as hard as he could on the door without breaking it, probably scaring everyone inside. As he heard footsteps coming to the door, he couldn't help but let out a small smile. He stood up straight and took a few steps back, making sure the door didn't hit him when it opened.
This is it, Adam thought, this is the moment you've been waiting for.
The door opens with a quick movement, but the people standing behind it were not who Adam expected them to be. He didn't know who these people were, or what they were doing in his house. His family's house, the one they've had for over thirty years.
"Can I help you, sir?" The voice coming from the man standing was fairly deep, enough to recognize that he was, in fact, a man.
"Uh, yeah, actually," Adam nervously spoke, his right hand raised to scratch the back of his neck. "I'm looking for the Davenports."
"We're sorry," the lady behind her assumed husband said, "but the Davenport family hasn't lived here for at least five years."
No, you can't be telling me that.
"There has to be some misunderstanding here, my family wouldn't just move without telling me first."
"I'm sorry, son. They haven't lived here for a while. Would you like to come inside and we can talk about this whole thing?"
"No thank you ma'am, but I don't want to take any more of your time…"
"Please, I insist," says the man, reaching his hand out to Adam, "at least stay with us for supper. It's the least we could do."
A mental war was going on in Adam's head, he absolutely hated making decisions. His indecisiveness was, is, and always will be his absolute worst enemy. Nevertheless, Adam couldn't resist taking to offer, it might lead to finding out where his family might be.
"Okay then, I will stay," Adam forcefully agreed, "only for dinner though, I can't be in your guys' hair for too long."