Chapter one: (Those) ten years…

October, 13th, 2007

Jason cried as he heard the screaming of the customers at Kenny's Barbeque. He quickly ducked under a nearby table and put his hands over his head.

BANG!

BANG!

Though Jason was only five he knew they were gun shots. He finally looked up, only to see dead bodies surrounding him, blood flowing out from their bullet wounds. Jason quickly looked back down when he saw the bodies. Then he looked back up.

There was silence. A weird silence.

Jason slowly got out from under the table, still crying.

"Daddy?" he said.

Then.

BANG!

Jason felt something, as if something went inside him into his stomach. Jason looked down seeing red. Jason then fell to the ground, motionless. He was shot with an AMT Automag III. The shooter, dressed in military clothes and equipment with a ski mask, walked over to his body.

"Don't worry, after all of this, I'll be your greatest friend." He said before a fist ran into his face knocking him back into the table Jason was hiding under.

As the shooter got up he was kicked back down making the gun fly out of his hand. He was then grabbed and punched again. The shooter then kicked away his attacker and got up to better see who's been beating him. It was a 30 year old man with jeans and a button up white shirt. The man then lunged at the shooter and grabbed him by the throat. The man the shoved the shooter into the wall in his grasp. The shooter was being choked by his attacker until he grabbed a military knife and swung at his attacker's leg cutting it. The man stepped back, groaning in pain. He looked back up and was pushed into the ground by the shooter and jumped for his handgun. The shooter then shot his attacker in the head, killing him. The shooter quickly grabbed the man's body and put it next to Jason's body and put the AMT Automag III in his hand.

"I see you faced the same thing me and my friends did."

"Who are you?"

"You'll find out soon."

"What do you want?"

"I want what you want. Vengeance, Justice, and love."

"Is that all?'

"No, I want to give you a second chance at life. Take it as a gift."

"Why would you want to help me? I'm a man of sin, someone who shouldn't have help."

"You're broken."

"And I'll fix you."

10 years later

Haiden sat on the couch in anger and annoyance.

"Alright kiddo, you ready?' said his brother

"Why are we doing this Gale?' Haiden asked his brother, glaring at him.

"Because you finally made friends in high school and its summertime." Gale said packing six flashlights in a small black bag.

"Oh, and you need to get in trouble more." He added.

"No you idiot, not that." Haiden snapped at is brother.

"I mean, going back to Kenny's. You remember that day right?' Haiden asked his brother.

Gale stopped packing his bag and sighed.

"Yes, I do but I try to forget about it because I don't want it to control my life, but you on the other hand let it control your life for the past 9 years." Gale said to his younger brother.

Haiden just glared at his older brother and growled.

"Why can't we just go to Freddy's?"

"Because there are no Freddy's in Texas and the last one was burned down." Gale answered.

Haiden just crossed his arms.

"Stop pouting and get in the car." Gale ordered his brother. Haiden sighed and slouched up and lazily walked to the car.

Gale just rolled his eyes at his younger brother's attitude and looked to his right. He reached his out to the brown cabinet next to him and opened the first drawer. In the drawer was a high standard .22 pistol.

"I'm going to need this." Gale said as he grabbed it out of the drawer and put the handgun in the bag, checking if the safety was on first of course. Though Haiden was mostly affected by the event at Kenny's that happened ten years ago, Gale was affected in his own way. Ever since Gale got to go to college and was on his own he's been at shooting ranges, hunting trips and went to gun shows. Gale looked at himself at a mirror above the cabinet.

"Don't worry dad, I'll protect Haiden."

Kevin sat at his desk with his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Ten god damn years and I'll still can't find or even figure out who's the shooter." He said.

"Maybe because the shooter's has already been identified." Said a brown haired man in a button up blue shirt and khaki pants who obviously overheard Kevin.

Kevin just glared at the man.

"The hell do you want, James?" Kevin asked James.

James walked into Kevin's office.

"I want you to stop Kevin, the case is over, get over it." James said to Kevin.

"It's not over, something is going on." Kevin said his voice slightly raising.

Kevin stopped.

"The shooter is not Caden."

"Kevin, he was holding the gun, his finger prints were on the gun, and he shot his wife two years before the shooting and was released on that very day." James counted on his fingers.

"But what about the knife?" Kevin asked James rhetorically.

James rolled his eyes.

"There was no knife." James assured Kevin for the millionth time in nine years.

"Then why was there a cut on Caden's leg?" Kevin asked James.

"Just drop it Kevin." James said to Kevin as he left Kevin's office.

Kevin scratched the back of his head and pulled out a picture out of the pocket on his shirt. The picture was a photo of a five year old blonde boy.

"How's your daughter?" Kevin remembered Caden asking him that every time he visited him in prison. The two will always share stories of their children and complained about their wives when they were together. Unlike many others Kevin knew Caden and knew he regretted what he did to his wife. The man just had anger problems that needed to be fixed and that's what Kevin did. He hired a therapist for Caden and when he was released 10 years ago it was like he was "cured". Kevin remembered his smiling face saying he wanted to take his son Jason to Kenny's barbeque and Kevin even remembered the strange question Caden asked him once.

"Can you get guards to come with my son and me to Kenny's so if I lose control I won't hurt anyone?"

"Sure." Kevin replied not too taken back by his question. He was used to Kevin's weird ways.

Those two guards are dead now unfortunately, shot in the chest ten years ago. Kevin then remembered the last thing Caden said to him.

"How's your daughter?"

A tear fell on the picture Kevin was holding.

"She's in college now." He said.

James saw this from his office across Kevin's and took in a deep breath. Though he truly believed Caden was the shooter he still believed Caden was at least somewhat of a good guy. For those two years he saw Kevin and Caden talk and be together and he would always smile seeing the two. It was probably because those days Kevin just became a detective and was kind of an introvert. He didn't really talk to anyone, he just focused on case after case. But when he met Caden, Kevin was actually social able. James missed that Kevin, he missed the smiling and social able Kevin. James looked up at the ceiling in his office.

"Man, am I an ass." James said.