Greg lifted his head to look into the patient eyes of his steadfast,
surrogate father. Dan smiled encouragingly at Greg. Feeling too unsteady
to relive the horror of it, Greg's mind switched over and he cleared his
throat to tell the facts, trying hard to distance himself from the memory.
"My dad opened the door and we stepped inside. As I recall, I raced down the hall to my bedroom. Mom had promised that I could play with the new matchbox cars I got in the living room. That's when I heard the screams."
Looking into the distance, Greg fought being sucked back into that moment and failed. He began shivering as he continued, once more living it in his mind.
~~
"Mommy?" Greg whispered, as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, shaking. His mom never screamed or cried. This sound was a scary sound. Like in the scary movie his mom and dad didn't know he saw with his friends last week, but even scarier. And these cries didn't seem to stop. His mom just kept screaming and screaming. And on top of that, he could hear someone yelling, and other sounds coming from the livingroom.
"Mommy!" Greg yelled, peaking behind the counters into the livingroom. His mom was laying on the ground, her hands over her belly, trying to keep him away from the baby. Then a groan caught his attention.
Near his mom, Greg could see his dad laying in a pool of blood, his eyes open and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Daddy!"
With an instinct only a child impervious to any thought of harm could have, Greg sprinted into action, running with all his strength. His small body flew on feet of wings and he jumped at the scary man standing over his mom.
"Leave her alone!" He screamed in a piercing shriek. "Leave her alone!"
The man, momentarily stunned by the surprise attack, wrenched away from Greg's mom and for the first time, Greg saw the butcher knife. Then Greg saw the snarl on the man's face. Looking into his eyes, Greg saw nothing. There was simply nothing in the man's eyes. No soul. Nothing. And the world went just as dark.
~~
The rest of the team sat back in shocked silence. To a person, they each knew what an attack like that would mean. As Greg looked up, tears streamed down his face and he said, "That night, Grace was born."
"My dad opened the door and we stepped inside. As I recall, I raced down the hall to my bedroom. Mom had promised that I could play with the new matchbox cars I got in the living room. That's when I heard the screams."
Looking into the distance, Greg fought being sucked back into that moment and failed. He began shivering as he continued, once more living it in his mind.
~~
"Mommy?" Greg whispered, as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, shaking. His mom never screamed or cried. This sound was a scary sound. Like in the scary movie his mom and dad didn't know he saw with his friends last week, but even scarier. And these cries didn't seem to stop. His mom just kept screaming and screaming. And on top of that, he could hear someone yelling, and other sounds coming from the livingroom.
"Mommy!" Greg yelled, peaking behind the counters into the livingroom. His mom was laying on the ground, her hands over her belly, trying to keep him away from the baby. Then a groan caught his attention.
Near his mom, Greg could see his dad laying in a pool of blood, his eyes open and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Daddy!"
With an instinct only a child impervious to any thought of harm could have, Greg sprinted into action, running with all his strength. His small body flew on feet of wings and he jumped at the scary man standing over his mom.
"Leave her alone!" He screamed in a piercing shriek. "Leave her alone!"
The man, momentarily stunned by the surprise attack, wrenched away from Greg's mom and for the first time, Greg saw the butcher knife. Then Greg saw the snarl on the man's face. Looking into his eyes, Greg saw nothing. There was simply nothing in the man's eyes. No soul. Nothing. And the world went just as dark.
~~
The rest of the team sat back in shocked silence. To a person, they each knew what an attack like that would mean. As Greg looked up, tears streamed down his face and he said, "That night, Grace was born."