Misery | Peaky Blinders

prologue

Birmingham, 1914

The Great War had made a great mess out of everything. The men were sent away to serve their king, with the promise of a short victorious battle, that would have them back home with their families in time to celebrate the new year. The women were left heartbroken back home, without their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands, with only false promises of their safe return. The new year celebrations had to be postponed for a couple of years, and when the men did return, the celebrations had to be postponed for another couple years.

Those men who did return, didn't return as the same men they were. Big percentages returned with missing limbs, body parts, and multiple other life altering injuries. Barley any returned without physical scars, whether it be scarring from bullets, daggers, bomb shrapnel, and so on, forever reminding the men of their time at war. And none returned without mental scars, their trauma manifesting in a multitude of different ways, leading to insomnia, nightmares, dependency on substances, anxiety disorders, psychotic episodes, and in some cases forcing the brain to revert to a childlike being. While many men did return, a lot didn't, and most of their bodies never even made their way back, leaving widowed wives, fatherless children, and mourning siblings, with empty caskets, and funerals with no bodies.

The Shelby family was no exception, the three oldest sons, all volunteered to serve their king during the Great War. Risking their lives on the battlefront for their king, country, and family. Leaving behind their three younger siblings and widowed aunt, with false promises of their safe return by Christmas. Not knowing multiple Christmases would pass before they would return home, not knowing that as every Christmas passed their younger siblings gradually lost all hope of their older brothers safe return.

Thomas Michael Shelby, most commonly known as Tommy, was the first out of his brothers to volunteer. He was a heartbroken man without purpose, hoping a couple months away, fighting for his and his family's survival, would give him purpose. Any kind of purpose, anything to make life continue worth living, after the passing of his love. He knew that his family, his younger siblings, needed him to protect them. He knew they needed him to fight for their lives, they were too young, and he was their brother. Their brother. Their protector. Thomas also knew, for a fact, he would never let his family get hurt if he could prevent it. He knew that if he could do anything to protect his siblings, most of whom he even helped raise, from any harm, hurt, and sorrow, he would. Without a second thought. He would take on all their suffering if he could. He loved his family, and they deserved to live long, happy, lives.

Arthur Shelby Jr, the eldest Shelby sibling at twenty-seven years old, knew he had no choice but to volunteer after his younger brother enlisted. He knew he could not let his brother into uncharted territory alone. He knew that if his brother was to die fighting an enemy, he would die, stepping between said enemy and his brother. Punching, kicking, and unleashing all hell onto the very enemy trying to harm his brother. Arthur knew that he would never leave any of his on their own, alone and unprotected, when he could eliminate anyone who, even as much as looked at his family the wrong way.

John Michael Shelby, the youngest of the trio, always knew he would volunteer. He was terrified of leaving his family, terrified of what he was to experience, terrified of what the war would entail, and most of all terrified like any other nineteen year old would be. And when his older brothers also volunteered, he felt a little better, a little less terrified, and a little more protected. However, the father of three, soon to be four, always knew he would risk his life for his kids and wife. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on his beautiful Martha, that he would give his life for hers. And when he first felt the tiny kick of his unborn child, and every child from then on, he knew with absolute certainty that he would give his life and the lives of thousands for his children. No matter the circumstances.