I was 5 years old when my father died, our mother told my siblings and I that we were going to live with our grandparents in Virginia. She told us that they were one of the wealthiest families in the state, and their mansion had more rooms than we could imagine. Boy, were we wrong! I'm not saying the house wasn't big, it is just that there was no fun. Our grandmother, Olivia, was a bitter old woman who punished us for our existence, calling us "The Devil's Spawn" and other terrible things while we were locked in a room in a secluded area of the mansion. She even once stopped bringing us food, forcing us to resort to some unthinkable things. We were starving, and nearly dying, until one day Grandmother brought us some powdered donuts. They were delicious, except the powder wasn't powdered sugar, it was Arsenic. Somebody tried to poison us. I was the first to get sick. My older sister Cathy begged our mother to take me to a hospital. She took me out of our confined room, but she left me to rot in a secret room in the vast attic where my siblings and I would pass the time since we could not go outside. If it would have not been for a third cousin of mine who witnessed my mother leaving me to die in the attic, I would have never lived to tell you this story. He took me out of that small room, and secretly took me to a nearby hospital, where he made sure that nobody knew where I came from. All of this to protect himself from scrutiny, and above that, my mother.
The doctors worked vigorously to keep me alive, even though the Arsenic I had ingested severely weakened my Nervous system, and nearly destroyed my internal organs. My condition was so terrible, everyone was certain I would die. If it would have not been for Grandpa Arnold, a wealthy, elderly man who had just recently lost his grandson in an accident involving a drunk driver, welcoming me into his home, I would have lived the rest of my childhood and my adolescence as a disabled orphan. No one would want to adopt me, and once I was too old to be an orphan, I would have probably ended up homeless. It was Grandpa Arnold's generosity that kept me alive in a relatively better state. He spared no expense throughout my recuperation process. He purchased many different types of medical equipment, he hired physical therapists, and he even remodeled parts of his home to make it more accessible for me when it was even more difficult than usual for me to walk. I recovered that I could take small steps with the aid of crutches or Orthotic braces, but I could not run, my legs were just too weak. I felt depressed and suffered from night terrors for most of my life as William Arnold, luckily Grandpa Arnold noticed my state and hired a psychiatrist to help me process my emotions. Yet, during the time I spent separated from my siblings, I found myself questioning the purpose of my existence. I could only remember a few details about them, but I still felt as if they were the only ones who could make me whole again. I would have given up anything just to be with them again. I yearned every day to reunite with my family, until I finally did, in the oddest way possible.
One fateful day, I was approached by four people who referred to themselves as Dollangangers, and they were looking for help and my adopted sister, Clara Sue Sanders, and I were the only ones who agreed to help break into the very home that had tormented me for most of my life, Foxworth Hall. Now, the three of the four people who approached me and Clara Sue were not the Dollangangers whom you probably had in mind, they were the children of two of another set of three who introduced themselves later on as Christopher and Catherine. Even though I did not know who all these people were when I first met them, but no amount of knowledge beforehand could have prepared me for the insanity they would reveal to me. These Chris and Cathy claimed had come from the future, and from what they called the "real world", with their family, and some friends. I know, did I just say "future," the "real world," and "their family?" Trust me, I'll explain. They said that a wanted criminal presumed dead for over 20 years, from what they were told was World War III, named Alexandria Burromuerto had gone into "the Book" with another wanted woman who had just cheated death, Betty DeVille, the grandmother of the US President at the time, Jillian DeVille-Hong. Betty and her aging army of Anti-Consanguinity fighters crossed through something called "The "Creepypasta Machine" to reach my grandmother, a woman named Olivia, in order to gain funding for their unraveling terror group. Their goal was to rearm, retrain, and recruit for an all-out retaliatory attack on the New Consanguinatopian Empire, on the Moon, believe it or not, after they had destroyed the Betty's base of operation for the past forty years. Luckily the New Consanguinatopians found out about the plan and created a US-New Consanguinatopian coalition alliance to crush this foe.
As the US sided with New Consanguinatopia, Betty's group, the ACO, or the Anti-Consanguinity Organization sought help from America's classic enemy, the Soviet Union. The USSR sent armed men, weaponized vehicles, and other reinforcements to their aid, and as a token of good will, they sent a Chemistry and Politics/Intelligence student from one of Moscow's top schools, and a soon to be up-and-coming KGB agent, to help lead the Soviet forces, that man's name was Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, I have been told he is pretty important. Eventually both sides fought, just not how the ACO had planned. It took place on the grounds of Foxworth Hall. The fight raged on until the ACO and the Soviets were defeated, and Zack Burke, one of the many people who accompanied these Dollangangers, decapitated the Grandmother with his sword. The only bad part was that Garland, one of Chris and Cathy's sons, brought the head along with him as a friend. When the criminals were rounded up, and I had regained my full memory, after Carrie kissed me for my bravery in battle, everyone was ready to return home. Well, everyone but Carrie and I, who had not just been separated from each other for many years but had no idea what the "future" had in store for us. Chris and Cathy told us it would be tough to adapt at first, but they promised us that they would be at our side no matter what. After giving my farewell to Grandpa Arnold, Clara Sue, and all those who helped me in my time of need, I went into the "future" with my newly rediscovered family.
Now some of you might be asking to yourself, are you on crack? I have no idea what I'm talking about, I've been told it's a common expression in the "future" for my situation. Now, obviously, I'm not talking about the attic incident, I'm talking about the time travel and the fighting. Well, would you prefer my family's story to be one of just lust, revenge, betrayal, forbidden love, hate, and pure evil? Personal, I don't know anyone who would ever read that? But, then again, over 40 million copies sold would disagree. My new life with my family is the next chapter in my life story; my name is Cory Dollanganger, and this is my story.