Junk

16

July 19, 1962:

Life was good, Daniel had to admit. Moving to Boston, while one of his more spontaneous decisions, was also one of his best. What started as a simple week-long summer vacation resulted in his renting an apartment and living downtown for almost a year by this point.

He had never considered himself a romantic before, but Marie Brewster was the reason he had wanted to stay. The two were almost instantly fascinated by one another and became a couple shortly after meeting. The two of them, mostly Daniel, were teased about being together, but it never seemed malicious. It seemed like everyone teased one another in this city, but there was never any harm done. That's what he thought.

He was staring down at the flyer in his hand as he walked, hoping it would lead him in the right direction, but it only seemed to make him more lost. It was getting late, close to the 6-o'clock time written on the paper, but it only made Daniel that much more desperate to get there in time. He had said he couldn't come and he was excited to see her surprise when he showed to support her.

He was hoping that tonight might be the night he could get her a proper ring. He had already proposed, and she had already said yes, but Daniel couldn't afford a ring for her, so he made one himself. It was meant to be just a makeshift one, a placeholder until he had the money for a real thing. His plan was to take her to a jeweler and have her pick whichever one she wanted. He finally had the money.

Of course, things rarely go according to plan. It was late and he was already lost. He didn't even think he was still in Boston anymore. Still, he kept walking, hoping to find something.

"N-no, please," a voice cried, not too far from him.

Daniel frowned, getting a little closer to the scene. He didn't know why, but it felt like there was this cosmic force pulling him. His need to help and make the world right is how Marie always described it.

He frowned and got down, watching the scene through a chain fence. There was a man on his knees and a large group of people surrounding him. One of them pulled out a gun and placed it to the man's forehead. This only made the man cry more.

"P-please," he whimpered. "I'll do anything, I-I have a family."

Click.

"I'm afraid 'anything', just won't cut it, my friend," the man above him said. "Good thing there's a family who'll remember you, isn't it."

Bang! Followed by a scream.

It was the first time the almost 21-year-old Daniel Harper had ever heard a gunshot before. He heard them in movies and on tv shows, but it sounded so much worse than he could've ever imagined in real life. It was the first time he had ever even seen a gun been used. He did nothing as he watched the bullet fly and splatter blood, he couldn't do anything, he was too shocked and frightened. The man slumped on the ground, bleeding. Daniel quickly threw his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide in horror as he tried to hold himself back from screaming.

He took a shaky breath and tried to make it out, stumbling as he ran. At one point he fell, crashing into the fence, and he froze as the group approached him.

"Well, well, well," one said with a grin, coming around the fence to reach Daniel.

"An audience," another said. "How lovely. Did you enjoy the show?"

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He didn't even stop them as someone got behind and picked him up, dragging him deeper into the alleyway.

Get down," a voice ordered. Daniel frowned. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run, he wanted to call the police, do something, but instead, he was completely frozen in fear.

"I said get down!" He snapped and Daniel whimpered as he got onto his knees.

"Did you enjoy the show?" He asked with a sinister smile. Daniel only stared at the ground. "Kid, I'm afraid you're a long way home, so how's about you leave and we never speak of this again. What do you say?"

Daniel couldn't speak.

"I didn't want to have to do this," the man said with a sigh, pulling the gun from his pocket and placing it on Daniel's forehead. "But we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Daniel looked at him, tears filling in his eyes as he heard the click of the gun. This was it.

The next few moments were really a blur. Somehow, whether it be impulse or adrenaline, Daniel foolishly decided to kick the man in the legs and make a run for it. There was a sharp pain in his shoulder right then, but it didn't matter at that moment. He was a good runner and was able to make it to a local diner before he had been found. The diner staff was busy closing up but one waitress had given him a look and allowed him in.

It wasn't until he was sat down at a table that he had noticed how badly his shoulder really was hurting. He had been pressing the flyer against his shoulder as he ran. Pulling it off, he noticed how bloody it appeared and began to feel sick looking at it. He had been shot but that didn't even matter to him. A man was shot and killed and he had done nothing to stop it. He should've been killed too. He was supposed to be but instead, he was here. He couldn't remember the scene around him all that much. In his mind, he could only keep replaying those same few moments over and over again.

Suddenly, a hand was placed on his non-injured shoulder. He looked up and was met by a familiar face smiling down at him.

"Hi, Danny," Marie said softly.

Daniel was stunned. He didn't know where to start.

"H-how did you...?"

"I got a call," she said, taking his hand. "Rose, the waitress, is a friend of mine. She called me and asked me to come. So I came."

Daniel bit his lip and nodded, tears refilling in his eyes. He didn't know what to say or what to do, what to think, even. Still, Marie smiled and helped him up.

"Come on," she said, wrapping her arm around him. "Let's get you home, okay?"