Stronger

chapter one

First chapter! Here we go...

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Colorful boxes of all types of cereal filled his vision. They stopped halfway down the aisle, and May questioned him about which type of cereal he wanted. Like every other twelve-year-old, the first thing that came to mind was sugary cereals like Cocoa Puffs or Lucky Charms.

"Can we get Lucky Charms?"

"You know those aren't healthy, Peter." She was about to continue, but when Peter's puppy eyes met her own, she couldn't help but let him get them. "Oh, fine. Just this once you can get them, but next time we're getting something healthy."

A smile immediately grew on the boy's face as he exclaimed, "Yay! Thanks, Aunt May! You're the best." The smile was contagious, and May caught it too.

He walked to get the Lucky Charms, but as soon as his fingers brushed over the box to grab it, an alarm rang out through the store. The box fell to the floor as a startled Peter looked to his aunt.

But May wore the same look of fear and confusion as Peter. The store's speakers were blasting out words–instructions maybe–but it was hard to hear the actual words being said. From what he could gather though, the store was on lockdown.

Peter ran over to May, who hugged him. Together, they went to a far corner of the store and hid. They'd only been there about five minutes when Parker Luck struck again and they found out why there was a lockdown.

A man with a gun ran past the aisle, but not without seeing the two huddled at the end. Without so much as a second thought, he shot.

He didn't really aim, making the split-second decision that the two innocent customers were not worth his time.

Yet it didn't matter. Because though it could've turned out fine, it didn't. Peter and May could've walked out of the store and gone home at the end of the day, fine if not a little shaken.

But no. That's not what the universe had planned for the day. It had decided that only one of them would walk out of the store, leaving the other one completely alone.

Yet the one left alive wouldn't be going home either. He would be going to an orphanage.

He watched the bullets enter May's body in her stomach and chest. He might've been young, but he was smart enough to know that those wounds were fatal.

A gasp escaped his lips as he scrambled to May's side and reached for her hand. Tears immediately started flowing down both of their faces, but May was silent and looked up at the boy.

"It's okay, Peter. You'll be okay," she choked out. Everything suddenly felt colder.

"I might, but you won't. We have to get you help," Peter sobbed. He didn't want to see his aunt go, there had to be something he could do.

"No, it's okay Peter. We'll both be okay. I need you to hide until the police find you, got it?" He could only manage a slight nod in response before she continued. "You can do so much good Peter, I know you can. Stay safe. I love you."

Her words hammered against his chest. They sounded like a goodbye. They couldn't be a goodbye.

"I love you too, Aunt May. Please just hold on. Please don't go." Tears blurred his vision and he couldn't control his breathing.

"It's okay, Peter. It's okay." She repeated it over and over, almost more to herself than to Peter.

He stayed there with her for as long as he could. He was unaware of the time, all he cared about at the moment was May. Peter felt her hand go limp in his. Slowly, he blinked the tears out of his eyes and they widened to see May's still form.