The Town of Anton

Chapter One

It was the perfect first day of middle school for me. I was twelve at the time when all hell broke loose. I came home to find the house completely falling apart. The living room couches and chairs were flipped over, the newspapers on the coffee table were scattered across the room, and the pictures on the walls were crooked.

I was scared. More than scared, I was petrified.

Then my mom came running towards me. She placed a hand on my arm and all I could feel was her fear making its way to my heart. It was racing so fast that I knew by the way she looked that something was wrong.

"What happened here, mommy?"

"Honey, I want you to listen to me." Silence filled the room. "I want you to run upstairs and hide in my bedroom closet. And I don't want you to come out until I say so."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Now go!" My mom said, pointing towards the stairs.

Before I could say "I love you", she was already gone. It's been a long time since I said that to either of my parents. They've never been around much due to work. The work load put on them gave them less time to spend with my little brother and I.

My little brother was only six when tragedy struck. He was lucky to have been at our Aunt Cordelia's house. But with all that went down, a part of me wanted to be where he was.

Without hesitation, I opened the door to my parents bedroom where I noticed the closet at the other end of the room. Next to the closet was a collection of snowglobes all stacked neatly on a wooden shelf. The sun reflected on the glass made the room come alive during the day and I could only wonder what magic it made at night.

Footsteps sounded. They were close and heavy. I slowly made my way to the closet door and hid inside like my mother told me to.

The stomping of boots entered the room I was in. It was only a matter of time before he found me, because there was only so many places a kid could hide. But with everything I had, I managed to keep quiet and waited patiently for him to leave.

"I know you're in here, little one," a deep voice said.

I covered my mouth.

My heart beated faster.

I could see him through the crack of the door. He was looking under my bed. That was one of the places a kid could hide. Then he turned around. I couldn't see his face. There was a hoodie keeping his identity from being revealed. He was looking straight at me. Only to him, he was looking at another possibility...the closet. I wanted to scream. But screaming would let him find me. Oh, god, he already did.

Just as he was getting ready to turn the knob, I heard more footsteps coming. They were approaching quick. Quick and steady.

Appearing at the door was my dad. He was sweaty with blood all over him. But it didn't look like his blood. He gave such an angry look that I thought it would scare away the mysterious man, but he just stood there like it didn't have any affect on him.

My dad was the first to speak. "How did you find us?"

"It wasn't so hard," the man said. "I had a few of my spies locate you."

"But you can't be here. My daughter will be home any minute."

Didn't my dad know I get home at 3:15? But of course not. He never spent much time with me to know these things.

"Good, I would like to meet her."

"Get out before the cops get here!" At the time, I didn't know if he was bluffing or just trying to change the subject. But he sure knew how to piss someone off, because the man in the hoodie turned from eager to wanting my dad dead.

"I want the girl!" The man said, making every bone in my body tingle. And it wasn't the good kind of tingle either. This kind of tingle stinged and caused me to quiver.

"You can't have her!"

The man was denied and so he took things to desperate measures. He lunged at my dad and missed, slamming into the wooden shelf.

I watched as the glass from every snow globe shattered. But the man took the pain, rose back to his feet, and lunged at my dad again.

This time, they both fall to the floor.

"I should have killed you a long time ago," my dad said, gritting his teeth as he repeatedly punched the man in the face.

"You would have died trying. And now say goodbye." The man sounded hurt by the way his voice cracked. But as I was peering through the crack, I saw the man pull something from his pocket. But I couldn't see.

A shot fired. And my dad collapses to the floor. Blood spilled from his lower stomach across the floor and it made its way under the closet where blood soaked my shoes.

The man disappeared from the house, but he left behind his gun. I ran over to where my dad was lying on the ground, moaning in pain. I took his hand and squeezed it. I didn't want to let go after that, because losing my dad would break me. He was only trying to protect me and the least I could do was stay with him until he found peace in heaven.

"You're going to be okay. Just hang in there."

He took a strand of my hair, moved it behind my ear and said, "Find your mother."

"No, I'm not leaving you."

He cupped my cheek in his bloody hand. "You're going to have to, sweetie."

"No, dad. I can't do that." Then the time came when he stopped breathing. Tears filled my eyes as I shook his dead body. "Dad? Dad!" He wasn't moving and the tears started to flow twice as much. I couldn't handle the agony.

But somehow I must have eased his pain long enough for him to pass on, because he wasn't able to move or speak until I squeezed his hand. It was weird, but it felt magical like the snow globes.

However, I followed his one demand: to find my mother. The last I saw of her was in the living room with fear in her eyes. But when I came downstairs, I searched every room and found a body in the kitchen. I saw the legs and just then I knew it was her.

"Mom!" I screamed, kneeling by her side. She was already dead and appeared dead for almost an hour. Her body was decaying and so was my heart. Losing my dad broke me, but losing my mom only added to the suffering.

I lived with this torment inside of me ever since that day. The murder of both my parents made me easier to be found. And recalling what the man said, he sounded like he was after me. But for what reason? Why me? These questions needed answers and I was eager to find them at any cost. Soon after the death of my parents, I had to leave. I had to leave everything from my old life and start a new one. I had to make sure I wouldn't be found and I needed to make sure I remained hidden.

And this is where my story starts...