《The Life and Times of Daniel West》 Chapter 1 ¡°Doctor Altman, I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. I wanted the best of the greatest and you were it. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± The young man in the suit was rather calm for someone in his situation. It was a bit unnerving to the doctor. ¡°However I feel I should warn you¡­¡± The man¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°If anything happens to her outside the expected risks that come with this operation I will hold you personally accountable. And we both know what that means.¡± Doctor Altman felt a chill travel up his spine. He knew that the man¡¯s words were no empty threat. He nodded his head and ran towards the staff area where his assistants usually were pre-surgery to warn them of the consequences. The man in the suit watched as the doctor ran off and pulled out his phone. As he sat down in one of the seats outside of the Operating Room he started to play a puzzle game on his phone. He was going to be waiting for almost twelve hours, might as well be entertained. However he couldn¡¯t concentrate on his puzzle game. His mind kept wandering off to the past. Thinking of nothing except her. He remembered the first time he had met her, all those years ago, and the series of events that led to their meeting. And he also remembered, both fondly and sadly, the set of events that led them to this moment. - As the heir to a billion dollar empire, Daniel West was set for life in every way imaginable. The best food, health care, cars, parties, and anything else he could want when he wanted it. But where a spoiled, pretentious pretty boy with the perfect smile and rancid attitude might have arisen, a proud, kindhearted young man with soaring intellect and quick wit stood in his place. Like his father and his father before him, Daniel was quick to the take about where he stood in life. And where he stood was above the rest of the world. But unlike his predecessors, Daniel thought himself to be, not the one who stands laughing at the struggles of the common man, but as the guiding hand that shepherds their ascension. Daniel was all too aware of the sins his family had committed to get to where they are. Underhanded tricks, lies, bribery, threats, and although he had no evidence: murder. The West family name has been synonymous with the word criminal for nearly a hundred and fifty years. Daniel had been seventeen when he graduated high school. Except that in the seventeen years he had been alive, he had never been more unsure of where he was headed. Yes, he was going inherit the Oil company once his father died, the rest of his family was nothing compared to him in the eyes of his father. Yes, he¡¯s intelligent enough to explore almost any field he could possibly have an interest in. And yes, none of this mattered because in the end he¡¯d still be filthy rich. At his graduation only his mother and his baby brother bothered to show up. His father never had any interest in things besides business, his two older brothers were away on an emergency trip to attend the funeral of a close friend of theirs, and his sister was too disgusted with the family to even consider celebrating with them. However she did meet with him for lunch the previous day to celebrate with him personally, and they were also meeting that day to have dinner. - His thoughts, as he rode home with his mother and toddling brother, had shifted to his foolish older sister. His sister Isabel had shown early on in life her shame of her family, sans Daniel who she knew shared in her beliefs but in a more subtle manner, and what they had done and what they allowed to happen. From middle school to high school she had grown from rebellious to out of control. From parties to drugs and to almost haphazardly selling her body if not for Daniel¡¯s intervention. And one day after her own graduation she had vanished into the night. No word was heard from her until about four years after she left, which was, much to his relief, roughly six months ago. Daniel had hired a private detective, three actually, to look for her and it took all of five days to find her. Turns out she had never even left the city. Isabel had been squatting in an abandoned warehouse near the West family penthouse the entire time. He¡¯d often wonder in the years to come if she was just waiting for one of them, her family, to go looking for her. From what the detective said after he found her, she was in pretty bad shape. She was skinny, pale, and walked with a noticeable limp. ¡°She looked like living death.¡± This terrified Daniel to no end. See, the fact of the matter wasn¡¯t that Daniel never bothered to look for his sister, it was that his father had assured them that he had his own people looking into it. And for three years he had bought into it. Until he didn¡¯t. Until he began to realize that the chances of his father even batting an eye at his daughter¡¯s disappearance were slim to none. Four years ago, Daniel had been thirteen. A kid who could barely leave his room without anyone noticing or questioning his motives.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. However once he had started his senior year he had more breathing room. The ever watchful eyes of his mother and father had lessened with his high school career beginning to end. The money he had saved up for emergencies, his rather large allowance, had come in handy with both hiring the private investigators and guaranteeing their absolute discretion and silence. When he had finally ventured to the hideaway of his runaway sister, after a few days of planning it just right, he nearly cried. He had to restrain himself from just breaking down right then and there. He felt sick to his stomach looking at the scene the private investigator had failed to mention. Where she was living, wasn¡¯t fit for even the maggots. There was trash and human waste everywhere and almost no visible floor in sight, the walls were covered in some sort of glistening yellow grime, and the smell, oh the smell, made his stomach churn something fierce. He had expected it to be bad, but this was nothing at all like he¡¯d imagined. His sister, his family living in this¡­this sickening hell¡­it was painful to think about. He did his best to ignore the smell and continued to walk towards the backrooms. The closer he got, the worse the smell became. It was without a doubt he worst smell he had ever had the displeasure of experiencing. He looked around in a narrow hallway filled with doors and noticed that one of them had the flicker of candlelight coming through the empty space at the base of the door. He pushed the door open and immediately lost the strength in his knees. In the back corner of the room lay his sister curled up into a ball and covered with soiled newspaper. Unmoving and unblinking he almost thought her to be dead were it not for the slight movement of her shoulders from her shallow breaths. He walked over to her and knelt down beside her not minding the sticky mess that now clung to the knees of his jeans. He hadn¡¯t even spoken before she grabbed onto him and clung tightly as if he were going to disappear. Daniel was taken aback, not at the hug but at the attempt to cling to him. She was so¡­weak. So tiny and frail. As if a gust of wind were enough to shatter her into tiny pieces. They stayed in that dirty corner for forty-five minutes as Isabel cried and cried into his shoulder. No words, just tears and attempts to burrow herself deeper and deeper into his chest. At the first sign of her calming down he had positioned her to lift her up and began to head out of the building. He brought her to his car and laid her across the back seat. He opened the trunk and took out two gym bags. One was full of several sets of clothing that she had left behind when she ran away as well as an extra set of clothes for him to change into and the other was full of food. All of which she desperately needed. But not before he made a phone call. Quickly and with caution he drove to his friend Sherry¡¯s house. Sherry¡¯s parents were retired doctors that owed him a number of favors. And for his sister he would gladly use them all. He pulled up into the driveway where Sherry was waiting for him. She looked angry. ¡°Danny what the hell was so important that you needed both of my parents and me to come? I¡¯m missing my classes because you said it was an emergency. And what is that smell!?¡± This is Sherry, Daniel¡¯s best friend. She¡¯s loud, brash, and quick to anger. But she¡¯s also smart, caring, and reliable when needed to be. ¡°It¡¯s why I¡¯m here, and quiet down, will you? She¡¯s over there in the backseat, get your parents. Quickly, there¡¯s no time to waste!¡± Sherry went quiet at his anger and turned to get her parents. As she was running she thought to herself ¡®If Danny¡¯s being serious about this then so should I. What could possibly put Danny in such a bad mood?¡¯ Soon after, Sherry and her parents came running down the driveway and towards Daniel¡¯s car. The smell had hit them immediately. Doctor Michael Singer and his wife Doctor Loraine Singer were skilled in many fields of medicine. Most of which were exactly what Isabel needed at the moment. ¡°Before you say anything, I¡¯m sorry for inconveniencing you like this but I trust you three with this far more than I do any hospital. I know you have a lab in your house equipped with an array of technologies and machines that could match any one of the world¡¯s finest institutes. I need your help, she needs your help. Please.¡± The Singers were confused. They looked to Sherry for an explanation but she had nothing to offer. Daniel saw their confusion and brought them to the car. ¡°Brace yourselves.¡± He opened the door. Almost immediately Sherry turned and threw up on the lawn. The Singers were visibly disgusted by the smell but had seemed to be less affected. Mrs. Singer was the first to speak. ¡°Daniel, what- who is that? And what in God¡¯s name is that horrendous smell.¡± Daniel was hesitant but ¡°This is my sister, she¡¯s been living like this for nearly four years. I just found her this morning. I came to you because you have the best equipment, the best and foremost experience and knowledge, and I trust you.¡± Mr. Singer cut in before anyone could say anything else. ¡°Sherry, go get three sets of scrubs and hazmat suits and get the quarantine room prepped. Hurry! Daniel, I need you to take me to where she¡¯s been staying while my wife and daughter get her settled in quarantine.¡± Seeing that leaving his sister was the last thing Daniel wanted, Mrs. Singer said ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear. Nothing¡¯ll happen to her while we¡¯re here. If you want to help your sister, we¡¯ll need to know what kind of place she¡¯s been living in. We¡¯ll be able to check for specific illnesses and infections that way.¡± Daniel lost any hesitation and readily agreed. Soon his sister would be better. He trusted the Singers to do as they promised. He wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. Chapter 2 Suddenly Daniel snapped out of his day dream and found himself at the sharp end of his mother¡¯s glare. She had been talking, but Daniel hadn¡¯t been listening. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry mom. What were you saying?¡± They had long since reached their destination but Daniel¡¯s mother wanted to stay and talk to her son before they went anywhere. She had been meaning to talk to him for a while about his plans after high school but never really got around to it. She figured that that day was just as good as any. She watched as Daniel suddenly got out of their parked car to take a walk around the lock with her. His mother never knew how, but it seemed he always knew when she wanted to have a talk with him. Feeling cheated out of her chance to catch him unawares of her desire to speak with him, she threw on a childish pout. ¡°Hmph! You have some nerve ignoring me Daniel Lee West. It may be a special day for you but it doesn¡¯t mean you can be disrespectful to your mother. I have half a mind to just-¡± She never finished her sentence as a nearby explosion knocked the limo onto its back and threw Daniel away from his open door and into another car¡¯s windshield. As Daniel regained consciousness he noticed a ringing in his ears that drowned out any sounds other than some muffled screaming and concrete falling from nearby buildings. He slowly and painfully peeled himself off of the car he had been thrown onto. As he moved to get up he could see a rebar rod sticking out of his side. But he felt nothing except the cool chill grasping him. As he began moving slowly and numbly to get off of the car he had landed on, he remembered his mother and little brother who were still in the limo. He couldn¡¯t remember if they were wearing their seatbelts or not. He prayed they were. ¡®No. no. no!¡¯ He found their limousine flipped upside down and the driver¡¯s area crushed by a fallen billboard. He moved as fast as he could, which was a slow limp to those nearby, to the back end of the car. But before he could get there he found himself growing dizzy. He felt cold and his body wouldn¡¯t move as he wanted. It took every ounce of strength he could scrounge up before being able to crouch down without screaming bloody murder. His eyes weren¡¯t working as well as they should have been as all he could see was blurry objects. He tried to speak but had long since been unable to do so, his last thoughts as he succumbed to the darkness was his family. - First Responders that arrived on scene had been combing the area for any survivors. Most of those they found had only been the bodies of people who didn¡¯t make it. Either crushed by falling rubble, killed by the explosions, or a sad combination of both. And even those lucky few, if they can be called that, who had managed to make it out alive were in horrible shape. The blasts had sent huge amounts of shrapnel into the general public and many people found themselves riddled with bits of concrete, glass, metal, and various other materials that made its way onto them. A responder, one Cynthia Lewis, had been asked to summarize the situation by a news reporter who had managed to make his her way past the blockades and into the danger zone. But before she could tell her to leave she noticed the cameraman. His face betrayed shock and horror. Following his line of sight she saw what could only be described as an absolute miracle. Slowly limping his way to a crushed limousine was a young man who by all means should¡¯ve been dead. The reporter, who had been trying to get any kind of information out of the first responder she could, had realized she¡¯d been ignored had gotten angry. Noticing her cameraman wasn¡¯t paying attention either, she looked at what they had their attention on and felt that this is what she had been waiting for. Seemingly unfazed by the abnormal sight she shook her cameraman¡¯s arm and got ready to go live. The cameraman, who had been so caught up by the sight, had come back to his senses. He put the camera down and walked away. He didn¡¯t make it twenty feet before he lost his breakfast. The reporter rolled her eyes at the weak willed man and set the camera up on some nearby rubble. She set it up so that what she filmed would be a live feed. This was her moment to shine, and it made no difference what tragedy laid before her. ¡°I¡¯m standing here today, October 9th 2015, amidst the devastation that is the aftermath of several bombs detonating in the downtown area. I must warn viewers that what you are about to be shown may be extremely unsettling to watch.¡± She picked up the camera and made sure to show the remains of crumbled buildings, crushed vehicles, scattered glass littering the streets, emergency workers digging through rubble, and then finally on the walking mess that was Daniel. All throughout America, people watching the news had simply stopped. Some cried, some threw up, some just stared. But with this one image it was clear to everyone just how bad things really were.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Arms hanging limply down at his sides, one foot dragging behind him, portions of the left side of his body burned to a red and black crisp, and a blood trail following him from the car he landed on. As if to put the cherry on top, a reinforcement bar, the ones they stick in concrete for support, was firmly planted in his stomach. Yet he limped. He limped with such purpose. Never looking anywhere else other than the limousine. The closer he got, the less balanced he became. It was around this time that Cynthia came back to reality. Calling out to any other nearby worker she ran towards him. Just as he collapsed near where the door on the limo was supposed to be. What happened next went undocumented as a police officer seized the reporter¡¯s camera and had her escorted from the area. - Daniel woke up in a daze. He laid there for a minute before it all came flooding back. His graduation, the ride home, the explosion, getting ripped away from the car, and trying to find his¡­¡¯Oh no!¡¯ But try as he might he couldn¡¯t move. With every movement he made the more he exhausted himself; and as a result he nearly passed out. The machines he was hooked up to were monitoring his heart rate. When he realized that he wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere and that he had no idea if his brother and mother were still alive he started to have a panic attack. The machines began to make a loud beeping noise that brought what seemed like hordes of people into his room. The excitement proved too much as Daniel once again fell prey to the soothing calls of slumber. - As Daniel calmed down from his episode, his mother stood over him with a hollow look in her eyes. The car they were in had a reinforced passenger area so she and her son were safe and in their seatbelts when the car flipped over on its back. Her Daniel, however, was anything but. She had watched as the explosion threw Daniel away from the limousine with horror. And she gave a soundless scream as she saw him trying to walk back over to them. For five and a half months Daniel had been in his room in a coma with various scores of private doctors examining him. They had done everything they could for him, but it wasn¡¯t enough. They managed to give him five extra months to live, but they just couldn¡¯t save him from the inevitable. His organs were starting to fail and it wouldn¡¯t be long before his body just gave up. She stared at where his left arm used to be. It had become gangrenous and needed to be removed before it spread. Not to mention the hundreds of shards of glass that imbedded themselves in and around his spine. His body was a mess. Slowly, his mother pulled out a vial of blue liquid. It was a risk, she knew that, but it was better than letting her son die. Daniel¡¯s mother, aside from being a rich man¡¯s trophy wife, was Juliana West, a geneticist. The best of her field. Though she only operated behind closed doors and with government blacklisted materials. Most of them failures from a lack of sophisticated technology; all except one. And even then, she kept her one success to herself. No one could know. Not even her late partner, Robert DeCastro. One of the hardest decisions she¡¯d ever made, but she knew Robert. She knew how large his hunger for wealth and fame was, as well as where his loyalties lied. He would¡¯ve stopped at nothing to be the face of that project. For the last twenty years she had been working on one particular project that was on a personal level. Unknown to Daniel, when he was two he had been diagnosed with something never before seen. Something that had no cure, no treatment, no anything. His cells were breaking down at a terrifying rate. They weren¡¯t replicating as they should have been and while it wasn¡¯t understood what would happen exactly, there was no doubt that it would have ended with the death of a child. Now how could a mother who, by the grace of God, had the only thing in the world with even a chance of helping her son not use it? The answer, she couldn¡¯t. Thus, she was now standing before him, with the most concentrated dosage she had given him. If it didn¡¯t kill him like it was likely to do, it would be the thing that saved his life. What Juliana didn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t realize until many, many years later was that she had not only saved her son¡¯s life, she had also created something that would change the world forever. For the serum work to its full potential, it needed to be injected via the eye. Unfortunately, for Daniel, this is exactly what his mother was aiming for. - Daniel had never been in so much pain before. He could barely think, it hurt so much. It went on for what seemed like days until it suddenly stopped. He felt tears running down his face in sweet relief. He felt awake now. Opening his eyes was a mistake. It was too much, too much light and too much color for him to handle. Slowly he tried to adjust his eyes to the bright lights until he could open them without the intense pain. It took much longer than Daniel felt it should have. ¡®Maybe there¡¯s something wrong with my eyes.¡¯ Once he could look around without much problem, he realized he was in his room. But it looked less like it had when he was last there. There were two couches now on either side of his bed. And several large machines surrounding him that were hooked up to¡­¡¯me? What the hell¡¯s going on here??¡¯ ¡°H---¡± His voice felt coarse and unused. Finally gaining some volume he called out ¡°Hey! Someone! Mom! Joey! Anybody!¡± Nothing. ¡®Maybe no one¡¯s home.¡¯ He felt too uneasy in his room and tried to move. It was then he noticed the leather straps that kept him trapped to the bed. He tried several times to move only to remain trapped. Getting angry he moved with all his might and finally broke free of the straps that should¡¯ve held him. Slightly scared from this feat he jumped off the bed and tried to run, forgetting that the machines that monitored him were still there. The plugs and tubes were ripped from his body and caused several gashes all along his arms. ¡°What. The. Fuck?¡± He watched as the wounds on his arm slowly began to close. He ran, looking all over the house for his family only to find them gone. He was alone. No one here and he was alone. He was scared and angry at the same time. ¡°Where are they!?¡± He began to throw vases and various glasses across the room. Soon he moved onto furniture. Flipping the couches and table and smashing the mirrors in the bathroom. But before he could further express his seemingly infinite rage he saw something in the mirror. He saw¡­himself. It was him, but he looked different. He looked¡­different. As if it were him but¡­better¡­in every way. Chapter 3 Isabel hadn¡¯t heard from her brother in almost six months. The first few days had her on edge. Daniel had made it a point to come and visit her whenever he could. Sometimes he¡¯d be able to stay the entire day, and sometimes he could only manage to stay for an hour before needing to leave. When she had first seen him she had thought that she was dreaming. She¡¯d long ago lost hope of her family bothering to try to find her. When she had first runaway she did so because she no longer wanted to be part of a family that could not see their wrongs. She had expected them to be worried, to file a police report, to send out some investigators, anything! But to her shock, it was as if she never disappeared at all. Feeling betrayed by the lack of response, the sought to make it on her own as a way of giving her family the finger. How wrong she was to think that she¡¯d have an easy time. She couldn¡¯t get a job no matter how hard she looked, no one would accept a high school graduate with no college degree. She tried and tried and tried, but was running out of the money she had taken faster than she anticipated. Her position was a dire one. She desperately wanted to go back but her pride wouldn¡¯t let her. She couldn¡¯t bear to let her father win. Stupid, she knew, but something she just couldn¡¯t do. Now that left the only option she had left for a woman living in the streets. She would just have to resort to eating from the trash and robbing drug dealers. Which she did successfully for the first year and a half. It had been going good until the dealers had begun to look for her. She had pushed them too far and now they were beginning to push back. For months afterwards she barely left her hideaway. She had been careful to stock up on non-perishables hat people would mistakenly throw away. But her luck ran out one day. She was followed back to her hideaway and given hell. When the dealers found her they tortured her for hours before she managed to break free and run as far as she could towards the police station. They left her alone after that. She had been thankful they were content to only break her bones rather than breaking her spirit. Sexual assault was something that she would not have been able to handle. Not physically nor emotionally. After that she moved closer to the police station and left only twice every three months. She lived like that until her brother had finally come to take her away from her hell. She didn¡¯t know how long she had been gone for, but it was long enough for her little brother to turn into a man. She often relived her meeting with him in her dreams. Seeing him opening the door and walking up to her. She knew exactly what kind of disgusting squalor she lived in and half expected him to leave before getting to her. When he found her she had been lying in her own mess, too weak to even move. But he didn¡¯t leave. He came closer and knelt down beside her. He waited and waited in her filth as she let out all of the sadness she had built up over the years. As she felt herself being picked up and carried, she felt small and ashamed. She was a twenty-two year woman being carried by her little brother. As Daniel had lain her down in the back of what she assumed was his car, she began to fall asleep. The soft material of the seat had her entrapped in a blanket of soft, warmth she hadn¡¯t felt in years. Oh how she hoped and pleaded that this not be a dream. And her pleads were heard as she woke up in a white room with no clothes on surrounded by people in hazmat suits. Scared, she tried to get up and run away but found that she couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid dear. We¡¯re friends of your brother Daniel. He wants us to take a look at you and make sure you¡¯re okay. Do you understand?¡± The taller of the two, apparently a woman, had spoken in a calm, reassuring tone. At the mention of Daniel Isabel calmed down. She hadn¡¯t dreamt it after all. Her brother came for her. Her brother hadn¡¯t let her down. She cried tears of joy as the morphine kicked in and put her to sleep. It took several days for the Singers to wash all of the filth, grime, excrement and muck off of her body. She slept through all of it. Lucky too, for it would have been painful. They needed to scrub hard and with a chemical wash that burned like hell when applied to the skin. It wasn¡¯t until a week after Daniel had found her that she had woken up. As she opened her eyes she saw Daniel nodding off in a chair next to her bed. She stared at him for a long time before shaking him awake. Daniel, who was only ever shaken out of his beloved sleep time by his sister, groaned and tried to meekly shoo her hand away. She chuckled at his attempts to stay sleeping. ¡®The same habits even now that he¡¯s all grown up. Kind of.¡¯ After several attempts to wake him, he finally began to stir. ¡°Hmmm. Izzy? That you?¡± The whites of his half open eyes were an intense shade of red. He was clearly not lucid. Even still. ¡°Hey there Dan-Dan.¡± He hated the nickname she had given him when he was younger. She had assumed that he wouldn¡¯t be too opposed to it seeing as it had been several years since he¡¯d heard it. He grunted in displeasure as the nickname registered in his head. ¡°I bet you were so happy to be rid of me, eh Dan-Dan?¡± She snorted in response to his mumblings of nonsense. He slowly reached out and grabbed her hand. With a frown he muttered between tired breaths ¡°I¡¯m sorry Izzy¡­..I¡­should¡¯ve¡­..found¡­..sooner¡­I¡¯m¡­.¡± he didn¡¯t finish as he began to snore.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She felt the tears threatening to spill. She felt the knot on her stomach coming undone. ¡°Idiot. You little dork¡­thank you¡­.¡± Nothing else was said for the rest of the night. Blissful silence reigned as Isabel laid back and reflected. But about six months after he rescued her, Daniel stopped showing up. No word from him or anything. ¡®The Singers hadn¡¯t heard from him either so something must have happened¡¯. That¡¯s when she saw it. ¡°DANIEL!!¡± Someone had posted a posted the video of a mangled Daniel at the scene of the bombings online. The Singers didn¡¯t like having television in their home so they didn¡¯t hear about the bombings until a few hours after it happened. Even Isabel, with the phone Daniel had given her, didn¡¯t use it for anything other than calling him. Which also meant none of them had seen him on the news. Hearing their guest scream in absolute terror, the Singers came running into the dining hall to find Isabel hunched over her phone crying. Sherry being the first to reach her took the phone and felt her heart sink. On the screen was the video that was causing uproar all across the country. This single image of Daniel, aside from the worry and heartache it gave his family and friends, acted as the face of the up and coming anti-terror movement. And it was this same image that people all around the world used as a reminder of the threats they face. - Juliana was coming back from a quick trip to the lobby to pick up the Chinese food that she had ordered. As she walked down the hall with their food in her arms she heard the sound of furniture being thrown around and glass shattering. Placing the bags on the ground she ran up to the door, fumbled with her keys, and managed to open the door. As she looked around she could see the couch and nearby table on their back and side, the vases and frames on the shelves thrown across the room, and the mirrors smashed to hell. Worried that this might be a break in, she went to the closet where her gun was. She pulled out her phone and dialed 911 before stopping. The door was still locked when she got there. So how could anyone have broken in? ¡­..Daniel! Running towards his room she burst through the door only to find the machines on the floor and the room empty. Running through her home she called out desperately for her son, terrified of what he may have done to himself. She had him tied down for a reason. He started to move around so aggressively in his comatose state after she gave him the formula, she had no other choice in the matter. Not a good sign, but definitely something. Enough for her to cling to. When it came down to it, Daniel was her favorite. The one who didn¡¯t disappoint her. He didn¡¯t run away from her, he didn¡¯t act cold and unloving towards her, he didn¡¯t require 24/7 attention and maintenance, and he was there for her when no one else was. Now don¡¯t get any funny ideas. Their relationship is strictly platonic, but that doesn¡¯t stop Juliana from being as close to her son as possible. The cold truth of the matter is she would, without a moments hesitation, give away any one of her other children if only to appeases her beloved son. However, she has yet to realize that. Finding Daniel in the bathroom had allowed her to release the breath she¡¯d been holding in. But that moment of relief had been exactly that. A moment. She found herself under the scrutinizing glare of her son. She felt intimidated and slightly scared of what he might do. He just looked so angry. His body was tense and his breath ragged, the Daniel she knew was nowhere to be found. Yet even with all of his outward signs and displays of obvious rage, she saw through it. His mother saw the hurt in his eyes. The panic that was quickly fading with her appearance was slowly being replaced with said outward anger. ¡®My poor Daniel. He woke up alone and to machines. No one there to help him understand.¡¯ ¡°Daniel, sweetie?¡± He took a step toward her. With each step forward she shrunk into herself just a little bit more. And eventually there he was, towering over her. Much taller than she remembered him being. What could she do? She couldn¡¯t run- wouldn¡¯t run from him. Never from Daniel. Closing her eyes she prepared for the worst. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time she¡¯d been beaten by a West. A slap to the back of the head, a titty twister with serious intent to harm, and even the occasional punch to the stomach/back. But she didn¡¯t receive any such beating. Instead she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Being drawn into his chest and held tightly. The two of them stood there in a silent embrace. Nothing needed to be said. Nothing worth saying, at least. - Daniel stared at himself in the mirror. ¡®I look good. I feel good. I wonder what¡¯s happening to me. This can¡¯t be normal, can it?¡¯ So many thoughts and questions began to cloud Daniel¡¯s brain that he almost didn¡¯t hear his mother standing in the doorway. Suddenly the anger and frustration came back. ¡®Where were you? You were gone for so damn long! You left me alone and hooked up to those fucking machines!¡¯ So many things he wanted to say and ask. But nothing came out. His queries died in his throat as he saw his mother¡¯s demeanor. She was scared, both for and of him. Looking at her, she seemed so small and fragile. As if the slightest touch from him and she¡¯d be dust in the wind. ¡®What the hell is wrong with me?¡¯ Slowly feeling his anger melt away he stepped forward and cringed internally as his mother ever so slightly flinched at his movement. Something that he wouldn¡¯t have seen previously. Any possible chance at remaining angry turned to nil. He kept his pace until he finally had her wrapped in his arms. The shame he felt when he smelled the Chinese food on her. She had only left to get food and he threw a tantrum that resulted in a trashed house. He felt like kicking himself. An hour later the mother and son duo sat at the kitchen counter enjoying their food and talking about what had happened. He was filled in on everything from the explosion to the coma. It was the next part that had him trembling. He had just found out the lengths his mother had gone to save him. Killing another person and wasting years of work on him based on a longshot chance of it working. Never had he imagined his mother going to such large lengths for him. At first he struggled to understand why she would even tell him any of this. But he soon figured it out. The answer was hidden in Juliana¡¯s new look. From the moment she finished talking, her body was sending out little signals and indicators of a weight being lifted. ¡®I couldn¡¯t even imagine carrying something like that all to myself for years on end. I¡¯d probably go crazy.¡¯ And not surprisingly, that¡¯s what happened to his mother. Not ¡®there¡¯s a monster tearing apart the side of the plane¡¯ crazy, but enough to develop an ¡®unhealthy¡¯ obsession with her son. Now comes the harder situation to deal with. What does he do about his newfound abilities? Several times since he¡¯s woke up, Daniel¡¯s been taking notice of things that haven¡¯t been present before the injection. His sense of smell has improved so much so that he can still smell the eggs that were cooked earlier in the morning, a good eleven hours beforehand. His body has also been showing signs of unnatural healing abilities. It seems that his mother was too enthralled in his safety and rehabilitation to realize that he had no wounds from the tubes that were recently in him. An unnoticed detail that would be a contributing factor to events yet to unfold. Chapter 4 Isabel sat on her bed in silence as she had since learning of her brother¡¯s death. Never saying anything or doing anything other than thinking. Her brother was dead. Her little brother. Gone. Forever. She just couldn¡¯t wrap her head around it. Even after half a year, it was still so confusing. They had just been talking about some new book that was coming out. Daniel had wanted to buy it for her but she said no. Didn¡¯t want him wasting any money he didn¡¯t have to on her. And now all she could do was wallow in a seemingly bottomless pool of regret and lament. What if she said yes to the book? It was a longshot sure, but you never knew. Even the smallest action can lead to the biggest consequences. The Singers had been nice enough to let Isabel stay exactly where she was. They hadn¡¯t expected anything from her other than to show up at mealtimes. They were understanding people, the Singers. Most other people would¡¯ve had her out on the streets for wasting so much time wallowing instead of moving past it and facing the real world. But then again, most people weren¡¯t the Singers. Most people hadn¡¯t seen the hell that Isabel was staying in before coming to the Singers, but they had. And most other people hadn¡¯t owed the young West as much as Sherry did. After all, he saved her life more than a thousand times over in their opinion. And if giving his beloved older sister a place to grieve was an option, even if it was for such an extended period, it would be considered the least they could do. What Daniel West did for the Singers would probably never be repaid. Isabel, who had still been sitting quietly looking off into space, suddenly found her attention being drawn to her phone. She didn¡¯t know why she even bothered charging it anymore. It wasn¡¯t like anyone who mattered would be calling her. The screen lit up with a short animation of a letter of mail swooshing onto a pixelated platform. She froze. Only four people had her number. Two were the sort of folk who only used their phones to make calls, one was Sherry, who¡¯d Isabel heard complaining not ten minutes ago of her ¡®stupid cellphone dying so quickly¡¯ The other person was her brother, who was supposed to be dead. But there it was. His contact¡¯s profile picture taking up half the screen. Her entire being reeled in confusion. ¡®How? The news articles say he died en route to the hospital. So who¡¯s¡­?¡¯ But she was like a moth to a flame even with that heart shattering fact hanging over her. Tenderly picking up the phone and reading the message she blanked. Open your door. This was the message she¡¯d received. Cryptic and not from Daniel. For getting her hopes up she was tempted to not do anything of the sort if only to spite whoever sent said message. But her curiosity got the best of her. Getting up from the bed with a slight creak from its aged metal springs, she walked to the door. She put her hand on the knob and pulled. Trying to walk out of the room she found herself bumping into a large something. But before she could try to get a better look at it, she felt a strong pair of arms wrapping around her and lifting her into the air. Confused and panicking she squirmed and writhed until she heard a voice speak to her in a scolding fashion. ¡°Now Izzy, is this any way to greet your brother? I came all the way over here to see you and-¡± But he was cut off as Isabel stopped struggling and started crying into him at the sound of his voice. He was alive! He hadn¡¯t died like the reports said and he was standing right in front of her. Daniel and Isabel stood there for quite some time as he held her shaking form, whispering soothing words into her ear. He thought of how devastated she must¡¯ve been when the only real family she had left was gone. Sherry, who was relieved to hear he had lived through the attack and his resulting injuries, had talked with Daniel beforehand to set up this moment. She¡¯d told him all about Isabel not speaking and the shut in lifestyle she re-developed. After comforting his sister and talking for a long time about nothing except him, she finally went to bed. He could see it in her eyes, the stress and exhaustion piled up and lying in wait. Much to his expectations, she put up a fight. A fight he won easily with his seemingly endless amount of energy. As he laid Isabel down on her bed he thought of his own fatigue. Physically he was fine, but mentally and emotionally, he was drained. From surviving the explosion, to talking with his mother about the months he missed out on as well as the issues and circumstances that resulted from his diagnosis, and then trying to comfort his sister after half a year of mourning. His head felt heavier and heavier with each thought and example, and soon he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was the convenience or his desire to sleep that had him lying at the bench at the foot of his sister¡¯s bed. Isabel¡¯s light, rhythmic snores was the last thing Daniel heard before succumbing to darkness. - Opening his eyes he felt his heart sink. This was not Isabel¡¯s room. It wasn¡¯t even the Singer¡¯s house. Had he been kidnapped? No, why would they leave him untied beneath a tree. Getting up he looked around and he appeared to be in a clearing surrounded by forest. There was no sign of anyone- ¡°Hello, Daniel.¡± He jumped higher than he¡¯d have liked to admit. What stood before him was¡­nothing. There was no one there. Confused, he looked around before hearing the same voice.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Hmhmhm. I¡¯m right here, dear.¡± Still, no one there. Now he was upset. ¡®Where are you? Why do you keep messing with me?¡± The voice¡¯s laughter rang out once again, behind him! He turned on his heels, suddenly noticing his lack of socks and shoes. But again, nothing there. Looking at the tree before him, he had a thought. Walking up to it he stared for the longest time before sighing. ¡°You¡¯re the tree¡­aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m more than just a single tree. I am every tree. Every bush, flower, river, and sea. I am everything.¡± The voice was laced in a swelling pride. If Daniel didn¡¯t know any better he¡¯d swear that he¡¯d heard a smile just then. Its good mood was infectious as Daniel found himself feeling less annoyed and more confused. ¡°So~ did you kidnap me? And if so, how? You¡¯re kind of a tree.¡± Daniel felt the air grow slightly colder. ¡°And every bush, flower, river, and sea!¡± He quickly followed up with. The air warmed. ¡®Pretty thinned skin for a tree, huh?¡¯ ¡°I have brought you here to talk. You are the first to speak with me since¡­.ever. None before you have ever heard my call. A call I have been giving since the first inklings of man came to be. Why have you answered only now?¡± The voice, Daniel was unable to determine its gender, spoke with a deep hurt. A hurt Daniel didn¡¯t understand at the moment. ¡°What do you mean? We have never heard any calls, not that I know of. What are you? And why have you brought me here?¡± Both sought answers to quell their curiosities. Daniel wished to know of his purpose under the tree and the voice wished to know the reason it was ignored for so long. How was he supposed to know? He was barely out of high school for heavens¡¯ sakes. But that wasn¡¯t something the voice should know. Should he mess up and say the wrong thing, make the voice angry, or screw up any other way, there was a sneaking suspicion that the warmth in the air wasn¡¯t the only thing that was going to disappear. Deciding to roll with dice, he took a gamble. A really, really stupid gamble if there was ever one to take. He got bold. ¡°I don¡¯t know why we haven¡¯t responded. In fact, I didn¡¯t know you existed until you whisked me away to this far away place. What are you? And I don¡¯t mean the trees and the like. I mean¡­are you God? Is this Heaven? I need to know exactly who or what you are before I even attempt to help you figure this out.¡± Like the voice said, he¡¯s the first and only one who had answered the voice¡¯s call. If he was such an important figure there was a low chance that anything deadly would be done to him. As previously stated. A really, really stupid gamble. ¡°I am not this God you speak of. I am what I am. I am the trees and the rivers and the-¡± Daniel cut the voice off. ¡°So you¡¯re, what, Mother Nature? The Earth? Better question, are you the ground that I walk on as well? The water I drink and the air I breathe?¡± The voice had given an irritated grumble at being cut off, something about rude children with no respect, but perked up at Daniel¡¯s deductions. ¡°By your understanding, yes, I am the Earth. I believe you Humans once called me¡­.Gaia. Mother Earth.¡± ¡°Gaia? Okay then, Gaia, how do you know what we call you if you don¡¯t know why we haven¡¯t answered you calls?¡± He was not trying to sound condescending, it was a question asked for curiosity¡¯s sake. ¡°When you answered my call, you opened yourself up to me. This has been the reason I was trying to call out to you Humans. You are the only ones left who have yet to answer my call. In essence, you are now a part of me and me of you, however we are still both one and of ourselves. Have no¡­worries¡­.¡± ¡°So I guess that means you can read my thoughts?¡± Silence. ¡®Caught red-handed, I see. Hehehe.¡¯ ¡°Wait, so does that mean that you know everything I do? Will it be that way for any others who answer the call?....Gaia?¡± Gaia spoke very dangerously, and then very softly seemingly from every direction at once. ¡±What- What is THIS!? What is the meaning of this? My beautiful lands....my sparkling oceans....my silent ones. How could they have done this to you? How- WHHYYY???¡± Daniel could feel her burning anger, the profound lack of understanding, and the hollow despair running rampantly between both of them. It was overwhelming and painful, and he nearly lost control of himself. Slowly kneeling on the ground closest to the tree he placed a hand on its trunk. ¡°G-Gaia¡­you need¡­..to calm yourself¡­please¡­.¡± Slowly the anger ebbed. Her lack of understanding only grew as did her despair. But these Daniel could handle. It was the anger that hurt, the anger at the suffering of her and her children. Daniel didn¡¯t need to ask what caused her to become so out of control with emotion. The answer was clear. When she spoke of them being one, it was established that a connection between the Earth herself and Daniel had formed thus allowing him to feel her pains and pleasures. But this also allowed her to reach into the deepest areas of his mind and explore. Now, even though Daniel had graduated high school a little less than a year ago, he was a knowledgeable young man. He read and wrote and practiced and studied with the best of them. Up to date, more or less, on current events around the world. This included economics, social industries, the latest in fashion, the latest in war, and of course¡­environmental issues. - Gaia, prior to Daniel¡¯s arrival, had no real sense of self or heightened senses of understanding. Up until this point it was more along the lines of her being instinctual in behavior and nature. This fact and way of life was uprooted once he answered the call and they became connected. While they were talking, Gaia had been filing through all of his memories, feelings, idea, thoughts, goals and dreams, everything. She was learning so much about herself other than what her instincts had made apparent. But it was when she got to the information and memories of ¡®current events¡¯ that things got heated. The discovery that not only were her children not responding to her class, they were ruining her. Slowly she was being killed. Her blue oceans and waters being ruined by these ¡®chemicals¡¯ and ¡®pollutants¡¯ had her breathless. Her lands being torn asunder in search for ¡®oils¡¯ and ¡®domination¡¯ robbed her of any jovial thought. What domination? They ruled nothing! This was her body, her temple and sanctuary and these vermin ruined it. Ruined her. Unforgivable. Intolerable! Completely unacceptable!! Then she heard him. He was calling out to her. Calling out to help her as he was, too, in great pain. She felt his hand touch the trunk of the tree in a desperate move to gain her attention. Gaia¡¯s rage slowly drained away if only for the sake of the child that lay in torment before her. She felt it. She felt the difference in him. If what she had seen and felt was correct, then he was the key to stopping any of this from reaching its fatal finish. She had only been truly sentient for a few short minutes, but she would not allow herself or her children with her to perish at the ignorant hands of Humans. Without another word, Gaia sent Daniel back into his slumber. He would be waking up soon, and then he would do her work for the good of her children. ¡®Yes. We¡¯ll rid my body of these pests. But first we must have certain questions answered and matters attended to. Daniel will need brothers and sisters to help him. This shall be the beginning of a beautiful new age.¡¯ She waited in anticipation for the days to come. It was happening all so quickly, but then again being slow would only kill her faster. Meanwhile Daniel lay on the bench drenched in sweat as he peacefully continued sleeping, not yet aware of Gaia¡¯s plan. Chapter 5 Daniel woke up the next morning facing the worst headache he had ever had. He got up and made his way to the kitchen to make some breakfast for him and Isabel. The smell of eggs made him feel sick, but they both needed to eat. Especially after that whole incident with Gaia. He¡¯d spent then next half hour cooking and thinking about the situation. ¡®Why would people not be able to answer the call? The only possible explanations that I can come up with are either we¡¯re too stupid to figure out what the call is, or we¡¯ve just never bothered to listen.¡¯ In the end he let out a sigh of frustration. ¡°I suppose finding the answer will have to be more than just a ¡®sit down and think about it¡¯ kind of thing. Booo~.¡± ¡°It is not all bad Daniel. It isn¡¯t as if you¡¯ll never find the answers I seek.¡± Hearing Gaia was the last thing he had expected. After staying firmly in place and definitely not jumping six feet in the air, Daniel spun around to look for any trees that may have sprouted up. Gaia laughed ¡°Daniel, I am not sprouting up through the kitchen floor or anywhere else. I¡¯m inside your head this time. Remember, we¡¯re connected now. Always.¡± Daniel¡¯s face burned in embarrassment. ¡°I keep forgetting that. So do I need to speak out loud for you to hear me or¡­?¡± ¡°In your head is just fine. And to answer your next question, yes I have been here the entire time listening to your thoughts. Bringing you to my plane of consciousness was just for our introduction to one another.¡± Daniel was silent as he listened to her speak. And sensing that he wanted more from her, Gaia provided. ¡°I have been thinking on how to best explain our relationship so that you might better understand, but I think showing you might be better. Brace yourself Daniel, this will not be a light journey.¡± Her voice disappeared and Daniel felt the air leave his lungs. All around him, colors and lights flashed and danced. Colors that he¡¯d never even seen before and bright flashing lights that out shined even those of the Sun. He felt varying degrees of hot and cold and at one point he could feel his body melting away from him. His skin peeling off and his muscles losing their grip on him. His blood had already dissipated and soon afterwards his bones began to turn into dust until even that had been blown away by the colors and lights swirling through and around him. He looked down and saw nothing, yet he still felt ground beneath his feet and his nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. The lights and colors vanished and in their place a nothingness that left him with an empty feeling on the inside. And suddenly the lights and colors were back with a vengeance. Their movements seemed angry and sharp. Daniel noticed they were becoming faster and faster until they were just barely visible. In a trance like state he took a step forward with a hand reached out. The voice in the back of his mind telling him to reach out and touch them too great to overcome. And step by step he found the distance between the lights and himself getting smaller and smaller until¡­contact. As if someone had turned on the lights, a brighter flash of momentary light blinded Daniel. Followed by a monstrous boom that shook him to his core. Only it was not a noise but a deep, resonating tremor that etched itself into his very being. Opening his eyes he could see countless amounts of tiny objects being thrown in his direction. For what seemed like eternity, the objects kept being flown into his direction. Eventually they slowed at a larger and larger rate but never stopped moving. And then Daniel watched as these objects began clumping together. Slowly at first, but the larger the clumps became the faster they seemed to grow. Daniel didn¡¯t know how long he had been watching, but it was long enough to reach a shocking conclusion. What he was watching, was the beginning. The formation of the Universe from the Big Bang to today. It was¡­beautiful. The Earth had turned into the lush and thriving place it was, before the development of Humans, after spending so much time as a lifeless wasteland. Something Daniel looked upon with a sense of familiarity. Even so, the beauty had slowly turned into decay as the modern day approached. The deaths of so many species before their times, the prevention of many more from existing in the first place, and even the degradation of the lands and waters that provided the necessities became ever increasing. All of this with one factor that never changed and always produced. Humans. People. How they had come to be so selfish, Daniel didn¡¯t understand. ¡®They? Since when have I thought of myself as separate from them?¡¯ As he was thinking and watching the various environmental atrocities that had taken place, he heard Gaia speak once more. ¡°Do you understand now, Daniel? Do you understand exactly what the nature of our relationship is? As I am the hand that feeds you, you are the one who protects me. You have seen the effects those things have had on me and my children.¡± The word escaped her with a disgust he had not expected her to willingly show. ¡°Oh please Daniel. Of course I speak of them with disgust. And they¡¯re not Humans. You¡¯re what a Human is supposed to be. They¡¯re abominations and they¡¯re just too revolting to even think about any other way. With my lack of understanding and awareness before our encounter I didn¡¯t know why they hadn¡¯t responded. It was only my instincts that kept me from not trying. Thankfully you did answer my call, otherwise I¡¯d have been unable to try and save myself. But now that I¡¯ve fully been through your mind I have a rough idea on what the issue has been.¡± This, much to Daniel¡¯s surprise, wasn¡¯t that hard for him to find a stance on. He completely agreed with what Gaia was saying about them no longer being Human. He had seen what they turned into compared to what they once were. Technically, what Daniel is is what a proper Human is supposed to be. Gaia went on to explain that somewhere along the way the Human body hit a genetic roadblock that couldn¡¯t be overcome with just its own natural capabilities. Instead of becoming what Daniel has become, they¡¯ve stagnated and become sickly. AIDS, and various other diseases that kill off a good portion of ¡®Humans¡¯ today wouldn¡¯t be a problem had they evolved like they should have. ¡°So is the plan to kill off the entire population of these so called ¡®abominations¡¯ or are we just going to try and work around them? We need a plan of action, and considering how you¡¯re all gung ho about their abomination-ness I would hope you have somewhere we can start.¡± Daniel was not interested in Genocide but he understood that this was literally the fate of the world being at risk. ¡°I know this must be hard on you Daniel. But you must understand that these creatures are killing everything in sight. They must be eliminated, or they will kill us all.¡± Daniel merely nodded his head. His face and thoughts betraying his reluctance to ending life on a massive scale. Reluctance was ever present, but not without understanding¡­and acceptance.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°We shall continue our conversation at a later time. It seems you have another pressing matter to deal with.¡± With that said, Daniel found himself laying on Isabel¡¯s lap in the Singer¡¯s guest house kitchen. A stark contrast to where he just was. Too tired to move or speak he could only watch on as his sister tried to keep him awake. Isabel was having a melt down over him and he could hear the faint voice of one of the Singers. He could only stay awake long enough to hear Sherry calming his sister down. - Isabel was on cloud nine. Daniel was alive and she felt better than she had in long time. These past few months had been like a constant shadow on her life. She couldn¡¯t sleep, couldn¡¯t eat, and worst of all she couldn¡¯t feel. For four years she lived in an ever present hell until Daniel finally pulled her out. He was her reason for living, she had decided to dedicate her life entirely to help him achieve whatever he might aim to do. Now this may seem a tad on the extreme side, but that¡¯s just how some people are. In her eyes, she was bound to die had she kept living the way she was. She was alone, and scared. Hurt that no one came for her. Her so called family had been so close by but still noticed nothing. Did nothing. But then came Daniel who appeared like an angel sent from Heaven. Her own Godsend who took her into his arms and raised her up from Perdition. And when she found out he had died, it was as if she had died with him. In this period of reflection and depression, Isabel had come to some conclusions about her life and about herself. And Daniel¡¯s return only solidified them. Isabel had not only dedicated her life to Daniel, she had also begun to walk the of fanaticism. Whether this would be a good or bad outcome, only time would tell. She had woken up in her bed that morning eager to see him and validate that he did in fact come back to her. But the smile on her face had slowly worn away. The smell of burning eggs and bacon was permeating the air. Jumping out of bed and rushing towards the door she noticed the smoke filling up the room on the other side. Opening the door she Isabel received a face full of smoke. Coughing and trying not to bump into any furniture, she made it to the double glass doors and opened them. The smoke quickly cleared from the kitchen while Isabel ran towards the stove to turn it off. The eggs and bacon were ruined so breakfast wasn¡¯t happening. ¡®Where¡¯s¡­¡¯ She tripped over something. She hissed in pain as she got up. The snapping sound was probably her arm, which had landed underneath her as she hit the ground. ¡®Fuuuck, that hurts! Dammit!¡¯ Getting up angrily, she kicked the object she tripped over. She kicked it as hard as she could three more times before hearing the moan. Her heart couldn¡¯t drop fast enough. Daniel lay on the ground violently shaking from what looked like a seizure. She wanted to do something, to help him, to do anything but she couldn¡¯t move. Her body frozen in place, her eyes watching her brother¡¯s trembling form, and her brain trying to get any part of her to do anything. It wasn¡¯t until the blood started gushing from his nose that she broke down and started crying for help. Isabel grabbed one of the hand towels that hung on the oven¡¯s handle to try and stop the bleeding. By the time she had finally gotten the towel to his face she was a mess. Daniel¡¯s blood covered most of her pajamas and a small pool of red was forming beneath them. Tears and mucus ran down to and off of her chin. The more she tried to clear it away the more blood got on her face. She needed help. - Michael Singer was on the balcony outside the master bedroom watering his vegetable garden, he had a distrust in the produce from local supermarkets, thinking of Daniel. The young man had had a rough couple of years. He remembered Sherry coming home after school one day and telling him and Loraine all about her ¡®awesome new friend Daniel¡¯. She had just started middle school that year and found herself under the thumb of several bullies. Every day she brought home a ¡®gifts¡¯ from her ¡®friends¡¯. And every night he would have to comfort his wife as they could only do so much as parents. They wanted to just have the little cretins suspended and be done with it, but they couldn¡¯t. Sherry made it very clear to them that she wanted to handle things her way. But her way was a very na?ve attempt at keeping her ¡®friends¡¯. And there was nothing they could do if Sherry wouldn¡¯t say anything to the school. It went on for nearly two heartbreaking years before Daniel finally stepped in. They didn¡¯t know that it was him who had done something, only that something had been done. Those ¡®horrid little parasites¡¯ as Loraine would so eloquently call them, just stopped messing with Sherry one day. And as a result Sherry was happier, she slept better, her grades improved, and everything just seemed so much brighter in the Singer household. It wasn¡¯t until the summer after Daniel and Sherry¡¯s junior year of high school that they found out exactly what had happened. And it wasn¡¯t long after that that they had found themselves in Daniel¡¯s debt. **** A voice called out from a nearby room. ¡°Sherry, sweetheart, could you come help me in the kitchen for a moment?¡± Sherry groaned at her mother¡¯s total lack of acknowledgement towards her hate of cooking. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Sherry walked away and left her father and Daniel alone with each other. Summer vacation had just started and Daniel and Sherry were relaxing with Sherry¡¯s family before their annual trip to some country they had chosen the year prior. They were leaving the next day so Daniel wanted to spend time with them before they left as they would be gone until mid-July. This was his escape. This was where he could feel normal. A family that wasn¡¯t fucked up. A family hat wasn¡¯t his own. It was silent until Michael saw his daughter leave the room. He turned to Daniel ¡°Daniel. I just wanted to say thank you.¡± He chuckled as he saw the young man¡¯s questioning expression. ¡°For being a great friend to my daughter. Until you showed up, she wasn¡¯t having an easy time making friends.¡± Met with silence he kept going ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you know, but up until she met you she was being picked on mercilessly by other students. I won¡¯t get into it, but I just wanted you to know how grateful we are to you. Thank you.¡± Michael had expected Daniel to say something, but was met with more silence. Daniel had leaned back into the sofa he was sitting on, his face somber and considerate. He had stared at the ground the entire time Michael was speaking. He didn¡¯t move as a rather loud silence settled over them. Sherry¡¯s father had opened his mouth to speak as the silence became too much but was cut off when Daniel spoke. ¡°I owe you an apology, Mr. Singer. Both to you and your wife. I had, up until now, assumed that you were aware of what actually happened that year. In hindsight this makes sense considering your nonchalance towards me when we first met.¡± Daniel talked quietly, telling a silent Michael the details of what had gone down between Daniel, the bullies, and Sherry. At the end of his story Daniel got up and made to leave. At the same time Sherry and her mother walked in. Loraine, who was watching Daniel put his coat on, called out to him ¡°Daniel, where are you going? I was just about to serve din-¡± Her sentence left unfinished as Michael got up and strode over to Daniel and delivered a strong right hook. Caught off guard Daniel stumbled backwards into a nearby table and crashed onto the floor, taking down both a chair and centerpiece in the process. ¡°Get out and don¡¯t come back.¡± Sherry ran to help Daniel up but her father held her back. Daniel was unable to regain his balance and fell to the ground once more as he tried to stand up. Seeing him about to fall again, Michael¡¯s punch obviously knocking him into next week, Loraine managed to get past her strangely upset husband and help Daniel up. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I was gone for fifteen minutes!¡± Sherry was shocked that her father had hit Daniel. He wasn¡¯t normally a violent man. Especially not to Daniel. ¡°I was just leaving. Sorry Mrs. Singer I won¡¯t be staying for dinner. Thank you for everything.¡± Daniel turned unsteadily to leave not even sparing Sherry a glance. He stopped at the door without looking back. ¡°Goodbye.¡± Sherry was struggling to get out of her father¡¯s arms. After finally managing to get free she ran out the door. Sadly, Daniel was already in his car and speeding down the driveway and into the street. After staring at the empty street for a few seconds she walked back inside. Her mother and father were arguing, not that she noticed. Their words sounded muffled and far away. She silently went to her room and closed the door. Laying in her bed she curled into a ball and cried. Daniel¡¯s goodbye was more than just a goodnight to the family. It was a goodbye to her specifically. She knew Daniel well enough to know exactly what he meant.