Thin Blue Skull

Chapter 14: Breaking Point & Tragedy

~ Warning ⚠️ This chapter may depict Murder and some violence ~

Hunhow finishes the school day on a good note. He meets Crystal and the her friends after school and they all go out to eat after school. They all head to a nearby restaurant. They all drink and order food while having a good time until Hunhow realizes he has to go. He promised he would come home at 5 PM to help his mother. And now it was 6:27 PM. He rushes out the dinner and goes to get into his truck. He races home and makes it to his house. He pulls into the driveway and rushes to the doorway. He enters and is greeted by his mom and dad. And they are both not happy. "Where have you been" Jane says in a upset voice. "I was out eating with my friends" Hunhow says. "You were supposed to be home by 5 or earlier". "Your father and I were worried". "Mom relax, I'm sorry I forgot and just wanted to spend time with my friends". "Your job was to be home soon, not spend time after school going out to eat" Joseph chimes in. "I was deployed, watched my friend die and never got a day to have fun with friends". "But you expect me to bow down to your every need and show up to this Damm house"?!? Hunhow says angry. "Hunhow, dont rasie your voice at your father" Jane says. "He's not my father and your not my mother". They are both shocked by his words. "You were never my real parents, never my family". "You ruin everything for me". I can't even go out and enjoy being home without you both bitching and complaining about shit". " I've been bullied, went through countless rough times, watched one of my best friends die". I've had nightmares about losing Crystal, about the boy and his mother I shot, about Malcolm, about trauma. "All I've wanted is a time to myself and for it all to go away". "But your asses always find a way to ruin it". "Hunhow" Jane starts to speak. "We love you, we want you to be happy". "But we both need you here" Jane says. "You know what". "Sometimes I just wish you were never my parents". His words shocked them. "This morning I saw smoke and heard gunshots and explosions while driving to school". "I jumped out my truck scared and saw bodies". "But I quickly saw it wasn't real, it was all a hallucination". "But did either of you ever ask if I was or am okay"? "No, because you don't care" he says frustrated. "Oh, Sweetheart" Jane starts to hug and comfort him, we are sorry". "We never knew". "Exactly, you didn't". "Because Neither of you bothered to even ask" Hunhow says. He angrily pulls away from Jane and walks upstairs. "Hunhow??" His father ask. He ignores them and goes to his room. He slams the door behind him and doesn't come out.

~ Time Skip ~

Hunhow goes downstairs and walks out the house to the store down the street. He buys a dozen cans of monster energy drinks and walks back. When he goes to the front porch someone is waiting for him. It's his uncle. "You finally cooled down"? He asked. "What do you want" Hunhow says. "I'm here to talk to you but right now you owe your parents an apology". "Just do it for me" Uncle Maverick says. Hunhow reluctantly enters the house and apologizes to his family. "Sweetheart, you don't need to apologize" Jane says. "Hunhow sit down we need to talk" Hunhow sits at the kitchen table and together his uncle and parents sit down. His parents talk about how concerned they are for his mental health after trama of the service in Afghanistan. They also share his recent medical scan and it shows he has PTSD/ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. "Hunhow I know this is a lot to process but it's the truth" Joseph says. "We believe it is best you take some time off from the guard to focus on your physical and mental health". "Hunhow, we want you to be safe and loved". "It's okay to go take a break and step back". "We want you to be surrounded by your friends, have a good time, be with family". "I just don't want you to follow the path your father took". Those last words anger Hunhow. "And exactly what do you mean my father took". "My father loved me, gave his life to keep me safe, served in the armed forces and died for me and my mother". "What would he say if he could see your old weak ass now". "Keep his name out your fucking mouth" Hunhow says. "You tell me where is my dad and mom". "Did they really believe it wasn't their responsibility to be here and tell me this themselves"?. "Hunhow, I- I jus-". "I don't care, Uncle"!!!". "I'm leaving" Hunhow says angrily. "Where are you going" Jane asks frantically. "Anywhere that is not here". Hunhow grabs his phone, chargers, bookbag, clean clothes, his insulin and goes to the front door. Jane and Joseph try to stop him but he pushes them away and slams the screen door shattering the glass. "Babe, let's just leave him alone for a while" Joseph says in a sad but sharp voice. "I got to go find him" Uncle Maverick says. He leaves the house while stepping over the broken glass and goes to find Hunhow who is already driving away in his truck.

~ Hunhow drives to the city ~ He sleeps in his truck for a while until he is woken up by a call from Crystal ~

~ Hunhow answers and tells Crystal he is alright ~ She is worried and heard what happened ~ She says his parents called thinking he came to spend the night at her house ~ He tells her not to worry about him and that he is in a safe place ~ He hangs up reassuring her he is alright ~

~ Time Skip ~ 11:48 PM ~

Hunhow starts to feel hungry so he leaves his truck to go to a corner store. He orders old bay fries and a cheesesteak. However the order soon is canceled because it is midnight. This angers Hunhow but he realizes what his Father told him. Violence isn't the answer. So he buys a bag of chips instead. But as he is leaving a biker walks up to the register. He is upset about his order and demands his money back. When the cashier refuses he pushes over a cigarette stand and they fall behind the counter. The cashier is upset and goes to pick up the cigarettes. The biker however sees the cash register open and quickly grabs all the cash from it. He looks over to see Hunhow watching this. He tosses Hunhow some cash and a beer can. Hunhow node's his head as if to say thanks before the biker runs out the door. Hunhow walks out the other door and walks away. The cashier sees the money missing and runs out the door. He sees the biker running down the street. He asked Hunhow for help but Hunhow ignores him. He begins to chase the biker down the street yelling for someone to stop him before giving up. Uncle Maverick is walking in the direction the biker is coming from and hears the cashier's yells. The biker trips and falls and a gun falls from his pocket. The biker looks at Uncle Maverick and rushes to grab the gun and run. "HEY" Uncle Maverick yells and tries to take the gun from the biker. The biker tries to pull the gun away and aim it away to avoid shooting Maverick. The gun goes off and a loud BANG echos throughout the streets. Uncle Maverick is shot and the biker quickly realized what he has done. He begins to try and give first aid but fear and panic erupts and he is forced to run away.

~ Hunhow's POV ~

Hunhow hears the loud bang and jumps. He doesn't know if it was fake and in his head or real but rushes over towards the source of the noise. There he sees his uncle on the ground. He rushes over and starts panicking. "UNCLE"!!! He shouts. "Hun-Hunhow- I found you" his uncle says while struggling to breathe. Hunhow is doing CPR and Then 5 officers rush over. They heard the gunshot from 3 blocks away and rushes towards the sound. They begin CPR while Hunhow calls for a ambulance. The ambulance rushes Maverick to the hospital while Hunhow runs to his truck and begins to follow. By the time they get to the hospital, the paramedics are left numb and distraught. "Son, I'm so sorry". "He couldn't be saved" a paramedic tells him. Hunhow falls to his knees and sobs uncontrollably while the officers try to comfort him.

~ 37 Minutes Later ~

Hunhow's parents arrive and he delivers the shocking news. They tear up and begin to cry. Hunhow begins to blame himself and starts to punch the wall. His Father and Mother stop him and hug him tightly. He sobs in their arms and cannot fathom the idea of losing his uncle. He calls Crystal and delivers her the news. Her parents rush her to the hospital and she kisses and hugs him for a long time. He then is given a chance to see his uncle's body and sobs uncontrollably while being comforted by his family and Crystal. He stays at the hospital for the rest of the night. He says nothing as he is left numb and in a state of despair...