Prologue
The setting sun cast a warm, loving glow over the small country neighborhood. The neighbors went about the business of their daily life; some playing, some doing chores, and some watching the scenery. Their houses were quaint and possessed no qualities that would be out of the ordinary, but the residents didn't mind. They were content with their life.
And at end of this small community was a small house that could house a family of five comfortably. Its backyard was a large field of tall grass with a huge forest of trees looming in the distance.
Sitting on the back porch of the house were the couple that had recently moved in. The husband was a man about 29 years of age. He had dark orange hair, fair complexion, and blue eyes. He wore an orange jacket with white stripes, dark brown trousers, and black sneakers.
Resting in his arms was his wife. She was two years younger than him, about 27. She had brown hair, fair complexion, and green eyes. She wore an orange blouse, blue jeans, and a pair of sandals.
They both were watching the sun set over the trees, enjoying and taking in the breath-taking scenery.
"Wow." said the husband.
"Mm…" replied the wife, smiling and closing her eyes.
"Wow…"
"Mm-hmm…"
"Wow…"
"Yes Marlin," said the wife, opening her eyes. "I see the sunset. It's beautiful."
"So, Coral…" said the husband, Marlin, in an excited tone. "When I said you were going to get a forest view, you didn't expect the whole forest, did you?!"
He got up, walked out toward the field, outstretched his arms and took in a deep breath.
"Oh yeah…" said Marlin. "A man can breathe freely out here." He turned around. "And did your man deliver, or did he deliver?"
"My man delivered." replied Coral, sitting up.
"And it wasn't easy." said Marlin as he walked back to her.
"Because a lot of other couples had their eyes on this place." said Coral as she got up. They began walking out of the backyard to the front yard.
"You better believe it. I had to fight like a tiger to get this place."
"Mm-hmm. You did good. And this neighborhood is Awesome."
Coral put her arm around her husband's and they watched the neighbors in their yards. Some kids were playing, one neighbor was mowing his lawn, and a young couple were experiencing a first kiss.
"So, you do like it, don't you?" asked Marlin, looking somewhat worried.
"NoNoNo, I do, I do, I do." replied Coral, trying not to panic him. "I really do. But Marlin," they both walked back to the backyard. "I know that this house has many great high qualities, but do we really need this much space?"
"Coral, honey!" said Marlin, his excited tone of voice returning. "These are kids we're talking about! They deserve the best! LookLookLookLook!" he opened the back door and went into of the house. "They wake up, poke their heads out and maybe see a deer! A deer, right by their bedroom window!"
"Shh…" Coral gently shushed him and kissed him on the cheek. "You're gonna wake the kids…"
"Oh yeah, right…" Marlin replied, his tone now hushed.
They both went into the house and went upstairs, to the nursery of the house. The room was painted blue and pink, it was dimly lit, and it had the usual things a nursery would have in it. In the middle of the room were three cribs; The two cribs on the sides had boys while the middle one had a girl.
"Aw look…" said Coral sweetly as the peered into the room. "They're dreaming…" she looked over at Marlin. "We still have to name them."
"You want to name all of them, right here and now?" asked Marlin. "Okay, we'll name him Marlin II." He pointed at the first boy, who was the oldest. "And we'll name her Coral II." He pointed at the girl, who was the middle child. Then he got to the final boy, who was the youngest. "I don't know what to call him though."
"How about Nemo?" asked Coral.
"Nemo…" Marlin said the name aloud. "Okay, fine. That'll work."
"I can't believe we are parents!" said Coral excitedly, but quietly as she hugged Marlin's arm.
"Yeah…" Marlin sighed. Something then crossed his mine he didn't bother thinking about. "What if they don't like me?"
"Marlin…" groaned Coral as she walked away from the nursery.
"No really, I mean it…" said Marlin.
"We have 3 children." replied Coral. "Odds are one of them is going to like you."
The went downstairs and into the living room. Coral sat down on a chair, but then noticed Marlin looking at her with a smug expression.
"What?" Coral asked.
"Remember how we met?" Marlin asked with a smug tone in his voice.
"I try not to." said Coral, smiling and getting up quickly.
"Well I remember." Marlin said excitedly. He then launched into a whole act about how he got a fishhook on his lip, then tried to kiss Coral, who playfully ran out onto the front porch. Marlin followed suit, but stopped when he noticed the whole neighborhood had gone dark.
"Where'd everybody go?" Marlin asked somewhat oblivious.
He looked at Coral, who was staring at the forest with a worried expression on her face. And then Marlin saw it, and he snapped out of his obliviousness.
Standing at the edge of the forest was a man who stood at 8 feet tall. This man had a mask on, so his face wasn't shown. His clothing made them realize he was asylum patient; White shirt, white pants, and no shoes. The man's left arm was torn up, and his clothing was shredded. On his right arm, he had a huge tattoo of a BARRACUDA. But the worst out of all of it was what he carried in his hands; He carried a machete.
"Coral…" Marlin spoke quickly and quietly, now worried. "Get in the house."
Coral looked and saw the back door of the house was opened; If that strange man got in, he would find the children and slaughter them!
"No Coral, don't!" Marlin continued. "Just get inside! Right now!"
But Coral was listening; she looked at the hulking psychopath and then at the back door. Then she made a choice that would probably cost her life; she ran for it. The psychopath saw her move and ran forward to attack, moving with the speed of a wild animal.
"NO!" Marlin yelled, racing towards the murderer.
He collided with the large man and they both fell to the ground. The psychopath quickly jumped up, grabbed his machete, and began swinging at Marlin. Marlin dodged the fierce slicing, jumping back and forth from the blade. He then landed a punch on the man's masked face, but it seemed to only annoy him. The man then swung around and nailed Marlin with the blunt side of the machete blade. It didn't kill him, but it did give him a concussion.
Marlin fell into the tall grass, hidden away from the psychopath, then dropped into unconsciousness. He fell asleep, away from the world and all its problems.
…
When Marlin awoke, the afternoon sun went down and it was night. The moon was out, the sky was full of stars, and the only sound in the air was wind hissing. After regaining his senses, Marlin remembered what happened.
"CORAL!" he yelled.
He climbed out of the tall grass and ran to his house. The once happy looking household was now decimated; apparently, that psychopath had done an absolute number on it.
Marlin walked in through the busted back door and went into the living room. The furniture was cut up and the whole room was smashed to bits. He was then met with a shocking sight; his wife was a crumpled heat on the floor, her body cut up and mangled looking. A horrid, fish-eyed look covered her face.
Marlin kneeled beside the corpse of his love. "Coral…" he whimpered, holding his wife's limp body. He slid his hand over her eyes and closed them. Then he began silently sobbing; it was all his fault. He had left the door opened. If he had remembered to close it, Coral would still be alive.
Marlin stood up and was about to call the police when… he heard a faint sound. It was in another room, and it sounded like crying. It was crying! It was the crying of an infant!
He suddenly remembered the children and ran to the nursery, which was also destroyed. To his shock and horror, the older boy and girl were killed in their cribs, with petrified looks now permanently their faces. Marlin then felt weak and faint, and he backed out of the room.
However, the crying of an infant got him out of his shock. He looked and saw, lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, the sole-surviving infant. Marlin knelt in the puddle and gently scooped up the baby into his arms, getting himself covered in blood.
"There, There, there…" he said silently, rocking the baby gently. "It's okay… Daddy's here…" The baby stopped crying and just whimpered, looking up at him with big, scared eyes. "Daddy's got you…"
Marlin then looked and saw the baby's arm; it was twisted and broken beyond repair. It would never grow the right way.
"I promise, I will never let anything happen to you…" He said silently, holding the baby close. "Nemo…"
