Chapter 1 - Family

DISCLAIMER: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: a horizontal line indicates a scene change.


"Go to sleep for now, kid. When you see a bit more of the world, I'll be back to save you from it." are the words that still echo through my head. These... empty words. Spoken by that empty shell of a man...

Some may find it rather strange that I still remember those words. Because they were spoken to me when I was just a baby. But I remember them as if they were spoken to me an hour ago.

I can also remember the sound of blood squirting and bones crushing until with one final crunch, the screaming of my babysitter stopped. Naturally, these sounds made me cry.

"Quiet down, little guy... Or am I going to have to make you quiet?" the killer said to me as he got further away. That was the last I'd see from him for years...


I grew up like any normal kid. I went to school, had loving parents, and some fellow children had even accepted me as their friend, who remained as such during my years of elementary school.

However, during my first year in Junior High, I discovered that I was... different. I was not quite like the others. There was just something... strange about me...

I mean, I had absolutely no problem with absorbing the education taught during the classes... Even when they would have actually be meant for a University class. No, for some reason, I understood everything.

And this was not limited to theoretical classes, either. Physical education was no problem for me - even physical feats that the gym teacher himself couldn't do proved just a little challenge to me.

Because of these marvellous feats, the teachers decided to call upon the aid of high-ranking physicists, psychologists and psychiatrists to see what exactly made me do what I do.

But they couldn't find anything strange. As far as their professional opinions went, I was a normal teenage boy whose physical, mental and emotional fitness were at the peak of human perfection.

Unfortunately, my peers have quickly learned of this, and as such started to bully me. However, my psychological prowess was more than efficient to keep them at bay.

But there were times where that just wasn't enough, during which I had no choice but to rely on my physical prowess. This brought me into many brawls with my assailants... from which I always emerged victorious.

That was when they started to target other peers for their bullying... which was the last of their mistake, and the first of mine.

As soon as I saw my former bullies bothering the quiet and kindhearted Henry Winters, I immediately jumped at them, delivering punches that were both quick and heavy to their bodies...

Having delivered agonizing pain to them, I felt the hands of two adult males grabbing me from behind. I looked up to see the angry and disapproving faces of two teachers.

"We're disappointed in you, Jack." one of the teachers said "You had no reason to perform your violent act."

"What?! Yes I did!" I protested "I wanted to protect Henry! Right, Henry?"

But the quiet boy gave no response - he was too terrified by my sudden violent act to even look around as he stared off into space...

"Right. Let's see what the Principal has to say about this!" The other teacher blared "Lars! You're coming with us, too!"

One of the bullies moaned and nodded, slowly getting back up again.

Lars Block... He was always the one calling the shots, and delivering them when he saw fit... Surely, the Principal would know this and punish him for what he did... Right?


Wrong.

The Principal was just as blind as the two teachers. He acted upon what I did. It did not matter what Lars and his friends were doing to Henry. All that he saw was that I attacked them.

"And that's why you're suspended until they're recovered to optimum health, mr Teller." the Principal said "Unless mr Block has a better alternative in mind."

"No." Lars said "Your suggestion is fine."

"Very well, then." the Principal continued "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Jack. But then again, you have brought it upon yourself. And given your grades, I'm sure such a suspension would cause you no trouble. Your suspension starts immediately."

I growled at the Principal's words, but then sighed and nodded in acceptance - knowing there was no way out of it anyway.

I stood up and approached the door, ready to head back home as part of my suspension. I took one last look at the Principal, Lars and the two teachers, sighed one last time, and went back home.


After an hour or so, I arrived in the street of my parental home. However, what I saw was entirely out of the ordinary... Police cars and ambulances were parked in the curb, and two stretchers with large black bags were rolled into the ambulances.

'What's going on? What happened here?'

Several of those thoughts shot through my head. But of course I got no answer... until a Police Officer spotted me and approached me.

"Jack Teller?" the Officer asked me. I nodded in reply. The Officer took off his hat "I'm sorry to say this, but... your parents have been murdered."

These words struck me with a terrible sadness. Tears started to form in my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.

"I... I have this envelope for you." the Officer stuttered, handing me an enveloped with just my name on it. "Oh, and sorry for your loss..."

Sorry for my loss?! I became an ORPHAN on that day! At the age of only 13!

Regardless, with a deep sigh, I took the letter and started to read it...

"Hello, kid

You still have not seen enough of this world. But they have.
And you don't need them to see the world, now do you? So I saved them from it. It was fun, but I hope you'll entertain me more!

I'll see you soon!
Jeff"

Jeff? Who is this Jeff? Jeff Losser? Nah, couldn't be him... he's still in school. Then who could this Jeff- wait a minute...

FLASHBACK
"Go to sleep for now, kid. When you see a bit more of the world, I'll be back to save you from it."
END FLASHBACK

Those words... They look a lot like the words in the letter... Could... Could this Jeff be... No. No, can't be! That Jeff had been dead for years!

Or was he?

"Do you have any place you can stay?" the Officer asked, interrupting my thoughts. I nodded to him, mentioning my Uncle and Aunt who lived just a couple miles from there.

"Do you want me to take you there, Jack?" the Officer asked again. I nodded one more time, as the Officer took my hand to escort me to his vehicle.


"Where do your Uncle and Aunt live, Jack?" the Officer asked, making eye contact with me via the rear-view mirror.

"Colonial." I sighed "23."

The Officer nodded, and started the car engines, still feeling pity for me. But I knew his profession forced him to remain objective. So I didn't blame him for not talking to me during the rest of the 10-minute trip.


"Thanks." I said, as the Officer nodded to me and I got out of the car. He stopped the engine and got out as well, escorting me to the front door. He rang the bell, and Uncle Bill answered.

The Officer took off his hat again, explaining the situation and offering his condoleances. Though naturally shocked by this news, Uncle Bill was more than happy to take me in.

He thanked the Officer, who gave me one last quick smile and got back into his car, starting the engines and driving off again.

"You must be terrified..." Uncle Bill said, lowering himself to my eye-level "Come on in. The kids have the day off from their school. Nick's out at a friend's place, though. But maybe you can join David in his game on his X-Box."

David. My favourite cousin in the whole world, and the eldest of my Uncle and Aunt's three kids. The middle kid was Nick - whom David became best friends with. The youngest was their sister Lucy.
The siblings were 14, 12 and 10, respectively, and as close as can be. Of course the brothers were best friends, but Lucy still meant the world to them, and vice-versa.
The fact that their personalities were vastly different from each other only added to that; David was usually calm and collected, and the most honest and serious of the three. Nick, on the other hand, was outgoing and active, and a real prankster with a heart of gold. Lucy's personality was an effective combination of these traits; as calm as David, but as outgoing as Nick.

From that moment, however, they no longer felt like my cousins... but like my siblings.

Aunt Anne saw me walking in the living room door. Lucy was sitting at their dining table, reading a book. David was playing some obscure game on his console. He always had a fondness for things people didn't hear much about...

As I approached and hugged my cousins, Uncle Bill explained the situation to Aunt Anne, whose face showed clear hints of shock and awe. She then approached me.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Jack?" she asked.

"Yes, please." I replied, sitting down next to David, who smiled and gave me his controller.

END OF THE FIRST CHAPTER