In a small, run-down house on the outskirts of a bustling city, a young boy named Caden lived with his abusive parents. His father, a man of monstrous strength and temper, worked as a laborer in a nearby factory, while his mother, a woman of meager intellect and boundless cruelty, spent her days drinking and gossiping with her equally unpleasant friends.
Caden was a small, thin child with large, fearful eyes that seemed to take up most of his pale face. He had mousy brown hair that was always in desperate need of a wash and a cut, and his clothes were little more than rags that had long since lost any semblance of color or pattern. Despite his wretched appearance, Caden was an intelligent and curious child who loved to read and dream of a better life.
But his dreams were all too often shattered by the harsh reality of his existence. His father would come home from work, drunk and angry, and take out his frustrations on his wife and child. Caden would hide under his bed, praying for the beating to end, listening to the sickening sounds of flesh on flesh and the gut-wrenching screams of his mother.
One day, Caden's father came home early, his face twisted in rage. He had lost his job at the factory, and he blamed Caden for his misfortune. The boy tried to run, but his father was too quick. He caught him and dragged him into the living room, throwing him onto the floor with a force that knocked the wind out of him.
Caden's father began to kick him, again and again, shouting curses and insults. The boy curled up into a ball, trying to protect himself, but it was no use. He felt his ribs crack under the onslaught, and he knew that he could not take much more.
As his father continued to rain blows down upon him, Caden's vision began to fade. He felt himself slipping away, into a dark and welcome oblivion. And then, there was nothing.
