"Damn it, Cobalt, just get the hell out of here! Now! Before I grab you by the neck and throw you out!" A loud male voice thundered

"Cobalt, leave now!" Little Cobalt's large round eyes searched his mother's face, hoping to find a sign that she really didn't mean that. He found none. He grasped his wooly teddy bear tightly around the middle and turned to the door.

"Mommy, I-"

"Don't you DARE ignore me, faggot!" The male voice yelled again, filled with rage. The solid red and black electric engine glared down at the small 3 year old with hatred. You would never guess this little boy was his own son. A silver passenger car knelt beside Cobalt and gave him a warm hug, tears in her eyes as she looked over her own pride and joy since he had been born.

"Cobalt, please go. Go take care of your sister…" Cobalt's eyes widened slightly, but he obeyed his mother, reached up for the door knob, and opened the door. His father stomped over and gave the boy a hard shove out. Cobalt landed hard on his hands and knees, his only teddy bear landing on the hard wooden floor a few feet away. Cobalt barely had time to look over his shoulder at his mother one more time before the door was slammed loudly in his face. Harsh screaming and sobbing came from the other side, filling Cobalt's ears with words that a simple 3 year old should not hear.

He stumbled to his feet, took another tight hold of his bear (his only toy since he was born) and tottered down the short hall to his tiny, closet-spaced room. Battered wallpaper clung to the walls, and a single torn certain was drawn tightly over the small window not even Cobalt himself would be able to fit through. The room was dimly lit, the light from the daytime outside being the only source to see by. In a corner lay a rusted, tattered mattress with an equally torn blanket and no pillow. On that lay a tiny baby girl, no more then 10 months of age. She wore a diaper and a thin blue shirt.

Young Cobalt sat down on the mattress next to his only sibling. He sat her up about half way and held her as she slept. More screaming was coming from down the hall, and then came the sound of a light bulb being shattered. Cobalt winced and hugged his bear closer then ever, and whispered words to his sister. It didn't matter much what he was saying, it just felt good to have someone – even if it was only a sleeping 11 month old – to listen to him.

Cobalt stayed there for a few hours, never moving. Not even an inch. Outside it was as black as night. More shouting. Cobalt could no longer hear his mother's sobs and wails of fear and anguish. Only his father was shouting. Cobalt heard the huge engine open the door, and stomp down the hall. Cobalt started shaking in fear. Fear of his father was the only reason the little electric was alive. However, Cobalt didn't have any idea that his father was much worse then that….

But Cobalt's door to his room didn't open. There was the sound of a slamming door, then complete silence. No screams. No wails. His father was gone. And his mother?

Cobalt didn't know for sure. He sat still in the dark, baby sister in his lap, still asleep. The house stood in total silence. Cobalt hardly dared to breathe, for fear his furious father would return. All the years of his father's brutal abuse to little Cobalt came flooding back to him. There had never been a day he felt safe. His mother had tried to protect him, but she too faced painful abuse from her alcoholic husband. She was too young to be a mother of two….just barely 19, and living in fear. It was terrible.

Still silence. Cobalt knew his mother wasn't coming in. Deep down, he knew she was finally gone. His father's rage had gone far enough, and that same rage made him a killer. One lone tear slid down Cobalt's cheek, but that was all. His future as he knew it was finished.