Manic

Episode One: The Beginning of the End

September 27th 2013, Silver Lake California.

A black SUV pulls into the driveway. Out comes a man who seems very stressed as he mumbles to himself. He opens the door, enters and walks up to his wife in the kitchen and kisses her on the cheek. He then walks passed the family room greeting his eldest son and daughter who ignore him as they are arguing over which channel to watch on the TV. Afterwards the man walks down the hall and greets his twin daughters, one who was setting up a tea party with her dolls, and the other one who was on her knees, duct taping one of her sisters toys to a chair and setting up a desk lamp in front of it.

He gently knocks on her door and gestures to a small green box, and walks to the end of the hallway and enters his study, slamming the door after him. The force of the slam was so blunt, that a family portrait on the wall crashes to the floor, shattering into tiny beads of glass onto the wooden floor. Everyone else in the house stopped what they were doing for a moment, but goes back to their business. The girl gets up from her floor and walks towards the box, picks it up and opens it. In it was an old badge, a camera and her fathers Yankee cap. "Thank you Daddy!", the young girl exclaims with excitement as she pins the badge to her slightly dirtied, olive green corduroy jacket. She places the desk light up against the toy and takes a picture, the camera flashes.

After a while, it's time for dinner. "Pizza time!", the mother, Angela calls from the dining room. The kids rush to the dining room table, scattering everywhere to grab at least a slice of the greasy pie, along with even cheesier garlic bread and chicken wings. "Oh April, would you be a dear, and take this plate to your father? He could use some cheering up.", Angela suggests handing a large plate to the young girl in the cap. "And come back for his soda ok?" "Ok momma", the young girl says with glee, as she hops off her chair and takes the plate down the hallway to her father's office. She's about to open the door when she hears- crying?

Where is that crying coming from. She presses her ear against the door when she hears her father sobbing somewhat quietly. She lifts her head up from the door and presses it again for more. She's listens for a little longer when along with the cries of her father, she hears a gun cock. She quietly gasps and listens more, her throat getting heavy and her eyes tearing up. "I can't fucking do this anymore, please make it go away.", her father mutters. "No, no, no, not like this.". April hears her father place down the gun and hears his chair squeak and creak. She calms down for a split second and opens the door. Boy, oh, boy, was she ever going to regret that decision. "Daddy?", April opens the door, "are you-". "APRIL!", her father stunned as he slips from the chair, and onto a noose he hung from the ceiling.

Everything is mute but slight ringing as the young girl drops the plate and onto her knees as she screams in terror, as the other family members come racing to see what happened. The brother, Vic witnesses his father's body, and picks up his crying sister and takes her back to the living room, and helps calm her down. More faint screams are heard from the hall as Vic rushes to his mother and sisters' aid.
Hours pass and cops and ambulances, along with nosy neighbors arrive as April is staring blank ahead of her, not bothered a single bit by the overwhelming flashing lights and sirens of the emergency service cars. "And who was the one who discovered the body?", a cop nearby asks Toni, April's oldest sister. "Um. My baby sister, April, she's over there. I don't think she'll want to talk to anyone right now." The cop silently walks up to her and kneels down to face the young girl, her face puffy, red and covered in sweat and tears. "Hello April, um do you mind coming down with me to the station so we can make a clear case of what happened to your dad?" April silently looks at him, then faces her mother, who was crying and struggling to answer any questions thrown her way. She notices her daughter staring at her then looking at the cop, she silently nods her head, telling her little girl it was going to be ok.