Heroica

Prologue

It might not have seemed tragic to those who weren't influenced by the event. However, for Ally, this was tragic. It doesn't help that she witnessed it happen. Her mother was killed, right in front of her. The cops said that Ally was in shock, and that her account of the event couldn't be taken into consideration; but, Ally knew what she saw.

It was 6:30pm, and Ally was sitting down with her best friends, Cayson and Sam. They had all been the best of friends for as long as they could remember. Cayson was talking about the fact that school would be starting back up in a couple weeks, and that they would be seniors in high school. None of them could believe that they were graduating, but all of them had plans. They were all going to the same college: Ally for History, Cayson for Computer Science, and Sam for Criminology. All three were ecstatic to be leaving high school and going into the adult world.

As they were talking about the events that would transpire over the course of senior year, Ally heard the door close. Her mother, Audrey, had just returned from work. Audrey came into the living room and greeted the boys, then hugged her daughter. She then walked into the kitchen to start dinner. "Have any of you seen Jay?" Audrey asked. Jay was Ally's step-dad, and was one of the kindest people Ally had ever met, next to her own mother. "He called about half an hour ago. He said he was going to be late for dinner, got held down at the office again" Ally said. Audrey thanked Ally and went back to cooking dinner. Ally and the boys started to play video games. Ally wasn't even paying attention as a man had entered the house and walked into the kitchen. Sam, however, did see, and was trying to get Ally's attention. Ally kept shoving him away, as she was getting the high score in bowling. Sam got up just as Ally heard her mother scream. All three got up and walked into the kitchen to see Audrey on the floor. A tall, dark figure stood above Audrey. The figure pointed at Cayson and muttered something uncomprehendable, then walked out the back door. Ally looked at Cayson and Sam, and then blacked out.

The police came quickly, took testimonies from Jay, Cayson, Sam, and Ally. They said that the descriptions they gave wasn't enough to start a search for a suspect. Sam tried to argue this, but decided it was best to stop before the cops sent him to juvie. They took Jay into custody, which left Ally to sit in the house with Cayson and Sam. She was trying to be strong, but as Sam and Cayson walked in, she couldn't hold the tears back. The boys came to comfort her. Ally felt as if life would never be the same. And it wasn't going to be.

Jay wasn't arrested for Audrey's murder, but the family attorney said that Jay couldn't keep custody of Ally. Ally was furious when she heard this, yelling at the attorney, as Sam tried to hold her back. After Ally settled down, the attorney continued, saying that because of Audrey's previous divorce, that Ally's father still had full custody of her. The attorney gave Ally and Jay a few minutes to say goodbye and let Sam stay in the room. The room was quiet for a while, but the Jay started to talk. "Look, Ally, I'm really sorry. Audrey never told me that . . . he still had custody of you. I guess they decided that against closed doors. And you know I would do anything for you, but you know that I don't have the money to fight for your custody. I'm sorry. I want you to know that I love you soo much, never as much as your mother, but I know that she would be soo proud of you." Ally had no words, but ran up and hugged Jay. "And I will keep my promise to you, I will make sure to come and visit you in college, and buy you that outfit you had been asking your mother about." Ally said thank you as the attorney came back in. She asked Sam and Ally to come with her into the lobby. There stood a man she had never met before, but he knew her, because he had the creepiest grin on his face. "Ally, this is your father, Nathaniel Burth. Nate, this is Ally and her friend, Samuel" the attorney said. Then the attorney said her goodbye and went back into the room Jay was in. Ally thought the name Burth sounded familiar. Burth was the science facility in town that worked on ways to improve the town's safety using new technology. Ally knew that Cayson would know more about Burth than she did. As Ally was thinking, Sam tapped her. She was zoning in front of this stranger. "Hello, Ally. It has been a long, long time since I have seen you. You have really grown. I am sorry that this is the circumstances that we would meet, and I extend my condolences to you. Your mother was a great person, but we just couldn't see eye to eye. And with the building and envisioning of the facility, I was too busy to become a father, which your mother understood--" Sam had to tap Ally again, she was zoning out again; Nate noticed this. "How about we go get some ice cream before I take you to see your new home?" Ally nodded, and excused herself to get her things. She had already packed, and left a pile and a note for Jay of the things she wanted for college and stuff that was junk. Nate grabbed Sam's arm and said, "Hey, kid. I just wanted to thank you for being here for Ally. I'm glad she has friends that care about her. I hope you don't mind, but I would like to spend some time with Ally and catch up." "No problem, Sir--" Sam yanked his arm and continued, "Have a good day" Sam walked past Ally and gave her a look of relief. She knew that he was leaving, and she smiled.

Nate's home was really big; mostly because he lived in the facility. Her room was an old observation lab that was cleared out. Two separate empty rooms with a glass panel in between. The lab must have been the size of a warehouse, huge ceilings and she had enough room to practice running the mile. Her bed was in the corner of the room, which made her room feel even bigger.

She wasn't even in her room the first week when her life changed.