I was sitting in my room, waiting for my mother to call me downstairs for dinner. There was a sudden blood curdling scream that came from my mother. I dove under my bed, shaking with fear. I was listening to my mother beg for her life. With one last scream, then there was silence. It was as if the whole house died. I heard footsteps. They were walking around downstairs, and then they grew quieter, finally fading and then they were gone. I crawled out from under my bed and ran downstairs. I saw bloody footprints on the floor and I followed them. They led me to my mother's body. She was lying there on the kitchen floor, not moving. I ran over to her and fell beside her, getting covered in blood.
"Mama…?" I asked softly. "Mama wake up…please wake up…" She did not respond. She was just lying there. I started crying and begging her to wake up, but she never responded. I lay next to her for about an hour before someone found me. A country I had not seen before…I was very scared. I jumped away from my mother's body and sat in one of the corners in the kitchen. The country looked at me. He had a white mask across his eyes and he was wearing a brown jacket, the hood up over his head. He knelt down beside my mother and put his fingers against her neck. When he sighed, I looked over at him, my brown hair covering my eyes. I whispered softly.
"Mama…" the other country came over and knelt down beside me. "Mama…" I said again, pointing to her.
"I'm sorry little one. Your mother is no longer with you." He said softly.
"Mama…I want my mama…" I cried.
"What country are you?" He asked.
"Greece…my name is Hercules." I answered softly.
"You are so young…you cannot live on you own. Come with me. You'll be safe" He said softly.
"Mama…my mama…" I cried again.
"Your mom isn't here anymore, Hercules." He whispered, lifting me into his arms and caring me to the door. I cried for my mother again, but she just lays there. I knew this other country was right. She was gone…
"Mama…" I whispered. The other country sighed softly as he walked out of my house. That was the last time I saw my house and my mama.
The country carried me back to the house. I had almost fallen asleep on the way, but I lifted my head off his shoulder as he walked into his house. I looked around, still scared to death. He carried me to the kitchen and sat me on the counter. I looked down, hiding my face with my hair. The blood that was on me had dried and I started crying again. I heard the country sigh again and he carefully took my chin in his hand, and tilted my head up. He was still wearing the mask but he had his hood down and he had a damp cloth in his other hand.
"Hold still, little one." He whispered, carefully wiping my face off. I twitched a little, but I didn't try to get down. He completely wiped off my face and hands.
"W-who are you?" I asked softly.
"I am Sadiq, the country of Turkey." He answered, lifting me into his arms again.
"Sadiq." I whispered. He smiled a little and carried me down the hall to a small bedroom.
"This will be your room. I'll bring you something to sleep in." He said, sitting me down. I nodded and watched him walk out of the room. I looked around, realizing that the room was a lot smaller than my old room. I sighed softly and walked over to the bed. I crawled up on to it and hugged my knees to my chest, crying softly. I didn't even hear Turkey come back into the room.
"Hey, here's a shirt." He said, walking over to me.
"Huh?" I asked, looked up at him.
"Something for you to sleep in." He said, handing me the shirt.
"Oh…" I said softly.
"It's late. Get changed and try to sleep." He said, walking to the door again.
"Okay…" I whispered. Turkey walked out of the room and softly closed the door. I changed cloths and walked over to the light switch. I turned the light off and crawled back on the bed. Lying down, I sighed softly and closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep.
About an hour later, I still hadn't fallen asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my mother and it kept scarring me. Crying again, I got out of bed. Quietly, I walked to the door and opened it. Looking out into the hallway, I saw that no lights were on. I started walking down the hall, listening to see if I could find Turkey's room. I stopped at one of the doors and put my ear against it. Behind the door, I heard soft breathing. I reached for the door knob and carefully turned it. The door opened and inside was another bedroom. It was a lot bigger than my room and it had a lot more stuff in it. I stepped into the room and quietly shut the door. I walked over to the bed and peeked over it. Turkey was lying there on his side, not wearing his mask. Carefully, I crawled up next to him and touched his cheek. He jumped and his eyes flew open. I yanked my hand back just as he sat up and looked at me. I still had tears falling from my eyes. He touched my cheek and softly sighed.
"Sadiq…" I whispered.
"What's wrong?" He asked tiredly.
"I'm scared and can't sleep…" I cried, starting to shake a little.
"Hey, don't cry. You're safe with me, I promise." He whispered, pulling me closer to him. I buried my face in his bare chest, still crying and shaking. He laid back down on his side, still holding me against him. Turkey pulled the blanket around us and ran his fingers through my hair. Slowly, I started to calm down and finally looked up at him.
"I'm too scared to sleep by myself…." I told him.
"You don't have to. You can sleep right here if you want." He said, touching my cheek. I nodded, lying my head on his chest again. I slowly started falling asleep in his arms.
"Thank you…" I whispered just before I passed out. He said something else but I didn't hear it. I kind of wish I did though.
Sometime the next morning, I woke up. Turkey wasn't next to me like he was last night. I kind of freaked out when he wasn't there and I suddenly fell off the bed, hitting the floor hard. I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. Just as I stood back up, Turkey came running into the room. I looked over at him and softly smiled. He sighed with relief and walked over to me. I hugged him tightly and he carefully picked me up, hugging me back.
"Are you alright, Hercules?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay…I'm still a little freaked out" I said softly.
"I don't blame you, kiddo. What you saw…yesterday may very well…scar you for life…" He said, hugging me tighter.
"I…left my cat…" I whimpered. I loved my cat, but I couldn't find her yesterday. She had disappeared.
"Don't worry, little one. We'll get your cat back. Actually, you will stay here and I will go back to your house for some of your things and your cat." He smiled. I sighed with relief when he told me that. I wanted my cat but I couldn't go back to my house, especially after what happened yesterday. I laid my head on his shoulder and he carried me into the living room. This country that I had never met until yesterday had taken me in and was letting me stay with him. I was a little worried about him leaving me here by myself while he went back to my house, but I was pretty sure I'd be safe. He sat down on the couch and held me against him. I actually felt safe with Turkey and because of him letting me sleep next to him last night; I didn't have a bad dream.
When I woke up, Turkey wasn't on the couch with me, but there was a blanket on top of me, and a pillow under my head.