Wow, I'll be honest I didn't expect this story to get so many likes and follows, now, I'm gonna talk real here, I never believed in things like good luck or bad luck, I always thought they were just excuses for someone to rationalize (I use the term loosely) something good or bad happening to him or her, I think things happen because it just happens, I don't think finding a quarter or walking under a ladder defines what happens to us. Now here we are, in chapter 2, where the family will learn of Lincoln's predicament, and of course drama and reality will ensue, hope you like it.

Don't forget to leave reviews.

Walking all the way from the town and to their neighborhood was definitely not the best way to go home, the Loud family couldn't have called a cab, mainly because they couldn't fit inside a single one, so walking was their only best bet, or worst being the appropriate word to use, Lynn Sr. was also having a dilemma, since the van was towed, the only way to get it back is if he went to the DMV, however that poses an issue since the people at the DMV are somewhat wary of any Loud member wanting to take a test due to the many accidents caused by one sister...*ahem* Leni, *ahem*, not to mention how much it would cost to get it back. So yeah, it was very safe to say that hey were not in high spirits during their walk back home, especially Lori since her phone ran out of power, which meant that she couldn't speak with her beloved boyfriend, Bobby, she wondered what he was doing right now, probably walking back home from a new job. "Okay, guys, our house is coming up." the patriarch told them. At least, now things could go back to some level of normalcy.

"I got the door." Luan walked up the stairs and grabbed the knob, which broke apart from the door. "Dang it."

"Seriously?" the twins groaned.

"Fear not." Lisa assured as she took out a device and aimed it at the door, it gave them a way in, but left the ddor completely destroyed, the parents glared at her for this. "Well, it was the only way possible."

"Oh sure, I mean the van was towed, I have to get a new license, and now I got buy a new door." the father pointed out. "Next thing you know, I lose my credit card." he exaggerated as the family walked in.

"Why don't we just watch some TV?" Rita suggested. They sat down and she picked up the remote as., but all they could see was static.

"Dang it." everyone grimaced.

The precinct at the Royal Woods Police department was busy like always, everyone was moving about, filing reports, giving reports, searching up on any leads for each individual case they were working on, one such individual we bring our focus to is a n adult male, he was tall and intimidating, looked like he was pushing up in his 50s yet still kept in peak physical condition, he was wearing a black trench coat and was wearing a gold badge, he had just exited from the elevator and was drinking a cup of coffee. He looked a little gruff and gave off a hardcore vibe, from the expression on his face it could be clear that he's seen a lot I his days in the force, most guys like him often do. His name was Detective Abraham Stone, he's been in the force for about 17 years now, and he's earned himself quite a reputation as a cop who doesn't take too kindly to criminals, especially if they abuse innocent children.

"Hey there Stone."

He turned to the left and saw a young man at his desk, he had short black hair and was wearing clothing similar to him, this was his detective partner, Matthew Brookes, he was assigned to him a year ago, at first they a few issues with each other, considering their differing ideologies on how to deal with perps. But, they've come to find some common ground. He was a good cop, that much can be certain, but sometimes he thinks antagonizing a suspect or perp will only make things worse, not just for the victim, but everyone involved.

"What's up Brookes, you gave the Captain our last report?" Abraham asked.

"Yeah, just a few hours ago." Matthew replied before muttering. "Even it was supposed to be you." however, it wasn't quiet enough so that Stone would hear.

"Hey, I was just getting some coffee, had a long night." Abraham defended as he sat down. "There hasn't been that much action for weeks, unless you count that burglar we snatched at the Franklin Avenue area, but for me it was every other Saturday."

"Eh, Royal Woods is a quiet place, Abe." Matthew shrugged. "It is kinda too much to ask for a case that's actually worthwhile."

"Stone! Brookes!" a commanding voice barked.

The two detectives looked and saw their precinct's captain, Nathaniel Jenkins walking over to them, from the tone of his voice, it sounded serious, they stood up at his presence. "Captain." Stone nodded.

"Something wrong?" Brookes asked.

"You bet your ass there is." the Captain replied. "I need you two to head to 25th street, reports came in about a mugging of a women's purse." then his tone turned grave. "Witnesses saw the perp shoot a kid."

Matthew's eyes lit up in shock, while Abraham's twisted into a furious scowl, wasting no time, the cops gathered their things and headed out. "Are ambulances already in the area?" Abraham asked.

"They got there as soon as they got the call."

It didn't take long for the detectives to arrive at the crime scene, people were in hysterics, a few beat cops were there to cover crowd control, while they saw the heartbreaking sight of the 11 year old child with white hair bein carried onto a stretcher, many were crowding to see if he was okay or not, a few news people were also on the scene, Stone was somewhat annoyed by this, he never liked it when the media would get involved in any police case, in his point of view, they didn't care about the victim, they just wanted a good story. They approached one cop who seemed to be in command.

"Detectives." he nodded, as he offered his hand, which Matthew shook. "I'm officer Turner."

"Do you have any idea what happened here, officer?" Stone asked, getting straight to the point, he wanted to waste no time in this incident.

Turner gestured them to follow him. "From what we've got from the witnesses, they saw some punk wearing a blue bandana going off with a poor woman's purse next someone said that he saw the bastard bump into the kid, then took two shots, one in the shoulder, and another to the right side of his chest. Little guy is lucky, if someone hadn't made the call, well, I don't even want to think it."

Stone could relate to that. "Who called for an ambulance?"

"That young one over there." Turner pointed to a Hispanic teenager, who was standing near the boy with an anxious look. "From what others have seen, he was trying to stop the bleeding as much as he could."

The detectives nodded and made their way to the teenager. "Hey, kid." Brookes addressed making him to turn to them. "I'm Detective Brookes." Matthew introduced himself, then motioned to Abraham. "This is my partner, Detective Stone, we were hoping perhaps you could answer a few questions for us, if you want to that is."

"O-Of course." Bobby replied, snapping out of his daze. "I'm Bobby. Bobby Santiago."

"Well, Bobby, mind telling us where you were at the scene?" Stone asked.

The teenager hesitated a little, but knew that he had to answer. "Well, I was walking back home from my job, then I heard a bang sound, I ran over and I saw-" Booby swallowed with an audible gulp, still reeling from the events. "-I saw Lincoln. Bleeding on the floor." he said the last part with a haunted look and was slightly trembling.

"Lincoln?" Brookes repeated.

"Yeah, that's his name, Lincoln Loud."

'You know him?" Stone inquired.

Bobby nodded. "He's my girlfriend's younger brother, and a good friend of mine. Look, someone need to tell his family, especially Lori!" he said with a dire tone.

"And we will." Brookes assured. "We just need to find out as much information as we can possibly. Look you must be tired, you should get on home, your folks must be worried sick, we'll handle everything, if you have any more information, let us know." he handed the boy his card.

The Santiago boy wanted to believe them, but it didn't felt right to leave him in this state, he couldn't call himself Lincoln's friend or most of all his big brother if he just left, but they were the police, they can handle this; hopefully. With some bit of reluctance, the teenager began to walk away, but not before giving one last look to Lincoln. With that, the detectives were now on the job. "Alright, all we have is that the perp was wearing a blue bandana, we might have to do a search around town."

"We'll get this bastard." Stone swore with a determined glare. "But what I want to know is, what the hell was a kid doing out here at this time of the our? Shouldn't he been at home?"

"Detectives!" they turned around and saw Booby run back to them, the look on his face seemed to imply that he just remembered something, something crucial. "There is something you should know!" he panted.

They both glanced at each other. "What would that be son?" Stone asked.

Bobby swallowed hard, almost afraid to answer the question something inside him told him that this was necessary. "While I was trying to stop the bleeding, Lincoln called my name, and he...smiled."

Both cops blinked a few times. "Smiled?" Brookes repeated, hoping he heard right.

The teen nodded. "And that's not all, he-he told me these exact words." he waited for one moment as the detectives waited, preparing themselves for what he was about to say. "He told me; "it's okay", the he just-" he choked out the next word. "he just went asleep!"

All the detectives could do was give each other a very, inquisitive glance, seems like there's more to this incident than just a kid being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was a momentous occasion, for the first time in 17 years since the parents decided to have kids, their house was actually quiet, since the television wasn't working, the family had nothing to do, the father remembered that he had a spare door to replace the one that his genius daughter destroyed, with that, most of the sisters were inside their rooms. "Where is it? Where is it?" Luna said as he went through her drawers.

"Looking for something?" Luan asked.

Her older sister sighed frustratingly. "It's my laptop, I thought I put it on my bed before we left for Lynn's game, but I can't find it anywhere, I recorded several new songs on it, and now I can't find it anywhere."

"Hmm." Luan rubbed her chin in thought. "Have you checked your lap?" she asked with a chuckle.

The rocker just glared at her. "Seriously, please, just stop." she laid on the bed, but then felt something, at first she thought that it was her laptop, byt it felt a little smaller, she reached under her sheets and found a photo album, she remembered this, when she was about 5 years old, Luna decided to make an album to commemorate every tender moment of the kids' childhoods, she nearly forgot about it. Opening up, she flipped through a few pages until she stopped I one that made her heart stop a little. It was of her and Lincoln, it was taken by their mother when her parents first took him home from the hospital, he was just so small and pure, she just couldn't keep her hands away from him. He was her baby bro, and she loved him...right?

Wait, why was she questioning that? Of course she loved her brother, I mean if she didn't love him then she'd be a cruel, monster who'd do something like kick him out of the house.

...

Wait a minute.

"Kids!" their father called. "You, uh, might wanna come down here!"

The rocker and the comedian both glanced at each other with a curious look, the tone of their father's voice sounded serious, he would only get that way if something seriously bad happened, it he sounded like he was in pain and they heard a faint sobbing sound, but that couldn't be possible, Lincoln was nowhere in sight, they both thought that and yet somehow they felt a little cringe. It was a feeling of remorse, of guilt, but they didn't know why, as they descended downstairs along with the rest of their sisters, as they reached down, they saw police officers, they were standing in front of their parents and their current state was...concerning to say the least, their father, he was holding his head with an expression that made it look he just lived through getting hit by a car, and their mom was sobbing uncontrollably, her mascara was running out, and she was leaning into her husband's shoulder, she didn't want to see her kids like this.

"Mom. Dad." Lori said with a concerned frown. "What's going on?"

Lynn Sr. looked to his girls, he had a look of complete and utter sadness, he almost didn't want to tell them the horrible news the cops just shared with him and his wife, but they had a right to know. "G-Girls." he sniffled, his voice trembling. "These policeman told your mother and I that just a few hours ago, there was a shooting downtown, a mugger shot a young boy, point blank."

Most of the girls gasped in shock and horror at this, such a thing was extremely rare in their town, the only thing coming close to an actual heinous crime was that whole burglar epidemic, yet despite this, the oldest child was curious. "Like, that is literally super sad and all, but what does that have to with us?"

The family patriarch clenched his fists tight, what he was about to say would greatly affect them all, he almost considered keeping it a secret, but he knew that would only make things worse. And so he made his choice.

"The boy who got shot..." the father trembled. "...was Lincoln."

Anything could have happened, the entire house could have right on top of them, one of Lisa's experiments could have blown up right at that moment and maybe killed them all, Mr. Grouse could yell out a them and give another one of his complaints about them and their never ending commotion, heck, why can't some drunk drive his car right into the house and run a few of them over? It could better than this, hearing their father that Lincoln, their brother, their only brother, was shot by some punk with a gun. Each of the sisters had a reaction. Lori shook he head, not wanting to believe this, tears were starting swell in her eyes, the eyeshadow she had was beginning to drip, and she dropped her phone, not caring if it got broken or not, for the first she was actually concerned about something other than that addictive device. Leni put a hand to her mouth, looking like she was trying to stop herself from losing her lunch, she knew what getting shot meant, it was one of the few things she actually understood, she's seen the scenes from movies and maybe a few newspapers, the though of her baby brother having been through something like that, she just couldn't bear to see it. Luna nearly lost her footing, the feeling inside that one that made her felt guilty before it was getting stronger, coupled with this news, se wasn't sure she could stand up, fresh tears were dripping from her eyes and she hung her head down with her eyes wide open. Luan couldn't think of a joke, how could she? There was nothing funny about this, a small part of her heart was beginning to break, she hoped, she prayed that this was all a joke, that her dad was just pulling on their legs and they would hate him for it, but it wasn't, this was real, this was all too real, and it was tearing her apart, and no amount of laughs were gonna fix it, maybe now she realizes laughing at things doesn't make anything better. Lynn stayed silent, she couldn't find the words, this was too much, she thought things would be better for her family with Lincoln not in the house, but no, she-she didn't want this, no, no things were supposed to be better! But she still lost that game even with Lincoln not being there, she backed away slowly and collapsed to the ground, she was starting to hyperventilate. and was beginning to cry. Lucy, as the goth of the family, she rarely ever shows emotion, she always pours her feelings out in her notebook full of poems, but she didn't have it, now the only way for her to express emotion was to actually do it for once in her life and shed tears. The twins, Lana and Lola, they had many difference, they had many fights in the past, but now they actually do have something in coming, shared horror, Lola nearly fainted, not like how she would do it just for being dramatic, but now it was actually for real, because this was something to faint about, Lana she was just speechless, her lips were quivering and she caught her twin for once they didn't fight, they just cried together. Then there was Lisa, the oh so gifted prodigy, like her gothic older sister, the little braniac could never express human emotion, she was super smart, why should she waste time in such trivial things like crying, smiling, or yelling out in anger, of course that's probably how she would put it, but now she wasn't holding anything back, her glasses became stained by her tears. Now little baby Lily, she was infant, she couldn't understand most things due to her age, but that didn't mean she wasn't capable of feeling sadness, now she didn't at first know why her big sisters and mommy and daddy were all sad, but it had something to do with her big brother, the words "shot" and "Lincoln" and she knew that crying was justifiable.

All the cops could was watch with sympathetic eyes, as the family took comfort with each other, but it wasn't enough to ease their shared pains, and they didn't know it, but soon, oh-ho very soon, this is just a taste for more heartache, more pain, and in the end the only ones to blame will be them.

If you think this was intense wait until next time.