Transformers Galaxy Force: Thunder Storm
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers
Chapter 148
To say that Daniel Simmons was criminal would only be half right. Most of his criminal tendencies were from poor examples that were set for him. At the age of 10 he had found himself introduced into an organized gang that was notoriously careful at keeping activities secret. One of his friends' father ran the gang. Carefully planing drug runs, and gatherings. When drugs or alcohol were used by the gang, it was in very specific amounts, so that the effects had worn of, and the substances had left the body before anyone went home.
It was a gang that was so well calculated and controlled, that not even the police knew about it. Even Daniel's parents were kept in the dark, using calculated lies and planned ruses. As far as Mr and Mrs Simmons knew, their son just had a lot of friends. It also didn't help that Eduardo happened to work with the very same man who ran the gang, making the deceit practically foolproof. No one knew the truth, and everyone was threatened with death if they blabbed.
In a way, Daniel knew that what he was doing was wrong, but as time went by, he enjoyed it more and more. He slowly followed the poor examples he was shown, ignoring the examples his parents tried to give him. One of his friends often began to hang out at his house. This soon stopped when he found out his friend was eying his baby sister, Lori, and that Lori had a crush on his friend. In Daniel's mind, Lori wasn't ready to be involved.
Eventually, he met his girlfriend at one of the gatherings. By age 13, he was no longer a virgin. Then it all fell apart.
One night was all it took. One night without being careful, and his girlfriend was pregnant. Panicking, the gang leader killed her. It was, however, sloppily done, and soon, the police were hot on his tail. In a fit of rage at the murder, Daniel stole his father's hunting rifle and shot the gang leader. What erupted afterwards was called by the press as one of the biggest, most personal scandals and conspiracies in the city. Riots occurred, several were killed, and many more, like Daniel, were arrested.
For years, he had to endure therapy and prison. His parents visited him once a week, until an attack by a rival gang forced them to move away to another county before they were killed. Twice, he was almost killed himself. Prison slowly hardened him. When his parents sent letters, he tossed them in the trash. The only letters he was interested in were the hand drawn pictures Lori sent him, and then those stopped.
By the time he was released, his heart had become black, and by his own choice. He believed love had caused him the trouble he had had to endure, so he was determined to never love again. He felt a powerful hatred for his parents, whom he now believed had left him to rot in jail. When he returned home, he made it clear to his parents that he wanted to find a place of his own, and a job of his own. Because he was an adult now, they respected his wishes, and had been working with him to secure an apartment and a job. Unfortunately, they had been unsuccessful so far, and as time went by, his frustration grew.
The source of his frustration: Coby. He hated Coby from the minute he saw him. Daniel felt that Lori was the only one who cared about him. Now he knew otherwise. Coby disgusted him. When he saw how Coby looked at Lori, he knew they had been intimate, having used that look himself once. When he found out that they had been married early, his hatred increased almost to the breaking point. Now he had come home once more to hear what was going on inside their room, and his anger boiled over. Blinded by rage, he picked the lock to his sister's room and slammed open the door.
Coby and Lori both turned in time to see Daniel hurl into the room, grab Coby, and throw him against the wall. Daniel wrapped his hands around Coby's throat, intending to suffocate him, and ignoring Lori's pleas for him to stop. He noticed Lori double over in pain out of the corner of his eye, and increased his grip. Then, powerful hands tore him away, and he glared in hatred at his father. "You can't do this!" he roared. "You have no right to let this happen!"
"You have no right to stand between them whatsoever!" Eduardo growled back. Daniel tried to force his way past, but Eduardo put him in a headlock that prevented him from moving.
While father and son grappled, Coby grabbed a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around himself and Lori. "Are you all right?" he asked.
She looked at him in fear, and then grabbed his hands, placing them over her womb. Focusing, Coby was shocked to find that their child's life force was pulsing erratically in panic and pain. Any worse, and both Lori and their child could go into cardiac arrest. Keeping one hand on her stomach and wrapping his other arm around her shoulder, Coby pulled Lori closer, whispering consoling words in her ear as he tried to comfort her and their child. Eventually, he felt his wife respond, and then, together, they comforted their child, who filled them with love and gratitude as it's life force slowly calmed.
Breaking from the contact, Coby turned and glared at Daniel. "You almost killed her," he said angrily, stopping the fight between father and son. "You almost killed her and our child."
Daniel simply glared back, unfeeling, "I'll Kill You, Coby Rumble! I Will KILL You!"
"No, you won't!" Mr. Simmons said with finality. "Not as long as you live in this house."
His son stopped struggling, and Eduardo let go. Daniel gave Coby one last glare, and then turned and left the room. He passed by the doorway 30 seconds later, carrying his duffel bag and backpack. Coby then heard the front door slam, and knew that Daniel had left for good.
Mr. Simmons stood there for a while, and Coby knew that he was trying to deal with this latest blow. Lori's parents had hoped things would be different and better. Unfortunately, things were only worse.
Eventually, Eduardo turned to them, "Are you two all right?"
In spite of the tears on her face, Lori nodded, "Yes, Papa. All three of us."
"That's good," her father sighed in relief. Then he realized what she said. "Wait a minute, 'All three of us'?"
Slowly, a smile crept up Lori's face, "Against all odds, Papa, you'll have a Terraformer grandchild to play with in a year or two." With that, the dark atmosphere of Daniel's attack vanished, replaced by an atmosphere of hope for the future.
