Stories of Reformed Daniel

The Door

Daniel stood in his bedroom doorway at age four, giggling and looking down the hallway of his large house. His eyes were locked on a familiar navy blue door, the sound of two voices could be heard whispering from down the short, yellow hallway. The young blonde could make out his name, but that was about it. He giggled again, they were talking about him! After a few more minutes, the talking stopped and the blue door opened. Two figures exited the room, a man and a woman. Immediately, their eyes landed on the little head peeking around his doorway and they both smiled happily at him. Both adults approached the little boy, causing him to duck inside his room, standing up against the wall just next to the door. He listened to the two pairs of footsteps coming down the hallway, a grin spread across his face when they stopped just outside of his door. He stood against the wall for a few seconds, trying to stifle his little giggles, then he poked his head around the doorway again, only to come face to face with his smiling mother.

"Hello Danny." She greeted, causing Daniel to smile wider. "Hi Mommy!" The little blonde beamed at his mother, waving one of his little hands excitedly at her. She chuckled and scooped him up into her arms, causing him to burst into laughter. Daniel's mother was a beautiful young woman. She was thin for her age, seeing as she was nearing her thirties. She wore a long baby blue dress, drawing attention to her thin body. She had long braided golden blonde hair, her family had a history of having blonde hair. Daniel had continued this line, being born with a head of blonde hair, albeit much lighter in color. Her brown eyes looked up at her husband. "Look Daddy, I found our little eavesdropper!" Daniel's father laughed at his wife, smirking down at his son. "Hm, it looks like you did, my dear." He poked his son's cheek, grinning down at him. Daniel giggled, swatting his father's hand away. "Nuu! Nu pokes, Daddy!" Daniel's father chuckled softly. "Okay little man, no pokes."

Daniel's father was a very tall man. His skin was naturally pale, making him almost look like a ghost. His eye's were a shining blue and his fluffy hair was a shade of dirty blonde. Daniel's mother looked down at him and smiled wide. "Danny, we've got a surprise for you!" The little blonde boy looked up, tilting his head. "Surprise?" He asked. "Yes, a surprise!" Daniel's father confirmed with a smile. "Me and your Daddy saved up some money and we decided," She paused, watching her child stare at her in anticipation. "We're going to go see a musical performance in the theater!" Daniel's little blue eyes sparkled. "Fiddle?" His mother smiled softly. "Yes Danny, there might be a fiddle player there." Daniel threw his hands into the air. "Fiddle!" He cheered, making both his parents laughed. "That's my little musician!" His father ruffled his blonde hair lovingly. Daniel swatted his hands away, again. "Nu, dun touch my hair!" The little blonde puffed his cheeks out, pouting.

They truly were a happy little family.

Daniel stood in his bedroom doorway at age six, he was completely silent while looking down the hallway of his large house. His bright blue eyes were locked on the once navy blue door that was now painted a bleak white. It almost blended in with the pasty white walls of the house. The house was dead silent, no whispering, no talking, nothing. His home had been painted head to toe with white paint, as though all the colors had been drained from the place, leaving everything ghostly white and dull. The old furniture had been sold and replaced with white replicas. Even Daniel's clothes had been replaced with only white outfits, his old colorful one's having been thrown away. The young blonde had changed into his white polo shirt, jeans and shoes. It was his best outfit. Minutes passed without a noise, then the white door opened. Two figures walked out, male and female, one in a white dress and one a full white outfit. They approached the young boy, looks disinterest clear on their faces.

When they neared the doorway, Daniel stepped into the hallway, looking up at the two adults. They both stopped, looking over the small child. Daniel's mother frowned down at him. "Are you ready to leave, Daniel?" He asked, her voice lacking any emotion. He nodded his head. "Yes, Mommy." His parents exchanged looks, then they began to walk away. "Come along, then." Daniel obeyed his mother's command, following closely behind them. He reached out and grabbed his mother's hand, only to have her yank it out of his grip and glare down at him. Daniel frowned at his mother, but he did nothing else, he didn't want to anger her or his father, they hurt him when they were upset with him, so he simply walked behind her. He kept himself silent as they walked to the car. It was time to go to another meeting at the old church, it was time to hear about Zeemoog again. He really missed the love his parents once had for him. He didn't know what made them change.

But he would do anything to make them care about him again.

Daniel stood in his bedroom doorway at age eighteen, his white backpack still hanging from his back. His bright blue eyes stared at the white door down the hallway of his large house. His face as blank and unemotional. Quiet talking could be heard from the other side of the door, so soft that it was barely audible. Daniel's eyes trailed from the door to the knife sitting on one of the nearby tables. It was clean, shiny, obviously about to be used. 'Hm, Mom and Dad must have a job to do tonight.' He thought, wondering what they had planned for tonight. 'It must be a sacrifice to Zemoog.' He shrugged, walking into his room, pulling off his backpack and hanging it on his doorknob. He didn't have time to think about his parents, he had homework to do. Being a senior wasn't easy. He didn't want to go to college, yet all his teachers wouldn't get off his back about the subject. College was pointless, the cult was all that mattered. It made him happy, it made his parents happy, so why go to a place where he had to stop working and focus on something he didn't care about.

The sound of the white door opening caught his attention. Daniel looked from his notebook and out his open door. His mother stopped at his door, looking over at him with a blank expression. "Your father and I are going out, Daniel." The blonde teenager nodded his head and smiled. "Okay Mom, make sure to have fun." She nodded back, knowing what he was hinting at. Then she turned and left, the knife that was on the table was grasped firmly in her hand. It was obvious what his parents were going to do and Daniel wished he could've joined them, but he had to do his homework.

Still, it had been a while since he last helped someone ascend.

Daniel stood in the hallway at age twenty-two. His bright blue eyes locked on a familiar faded white door. The house was completely silent, no voices, no talking, no footsteps, nothing. The walls of the once bright and colorful house were now dull and faded. The blonde stood before the old door that he had stared at many times over the course his life. It was locked, the memories it held, trapped behind the chipped white wood. Daniel didn't speak, he only stared. Memories, good and bad, began to service. All the happy times he had as a child, all the times he ran into the room when he had a nightmare, all the games he play'd, they all came back to him. The two people that used to take residence behind that door... were gone. They were gone. Daniel felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. The two people that he actually cared for... were gone. The tears spilled from his eyes and he began to shake. His mom and dad were dead. They died! The cult had contacted him when the bodies were found. They had taken their own lives in order to ascend, they wanted to join their brethren in their new land of peace and happiness.

They left him. Daniel didn't hold back anymore. He began to cry, his body shaking violently as all his repressed emotions hit him at once, overwhelming him. "Mom!! -Sob- Dad!!" He cried out, wanted to only hear their voices once more. Happy memories clouded his mind. His mother's soft, sweet voice, his father's constant praising, all of it, gone. Daniel fell to the ground in front of the white door. "P-Please, come back!! I don't want to be alone!!" Daniel pounded his fists on the door. "Why did you leave me!? Why!? Why!? Why!?" He wailed, large tears rolling down his face. This was the first time Daniel had cried since he joined the cult. Actually, he couldn't remember the last time he cried. "I-I wanted you to love me again." The blonde didn't know how long he had sat crying in front of that door, but by the time he had finished, he had only one goal in mind. One goal that would be the driving force in his life for the next two years. "I made it my goal to make you both love me again... it was my personal challenge... a challenge that I never got to beat..." He squeezed his eyes shut tight. "Now, you've given me a new challenge... one that I promise you, I will beat..." He growled, like that of a dog about to protect his owner from danger. "I will continue where you both left off..."

"I will make a name for myself in your honor..."

Daniel stood in the middle of Camp Campbell at age twenty-four. His eyes wide at the question Harrison had offhandedly asked. "What are your parents like, Daniel?" It was an innocent little question, one that most people would be able to answer without a problem, but the question left Daniel frozen. The blonde hadn't answered, he merely stared at the young boy as his mind swam with memories of his horrid life. Harrison was staring back at him in worry. Daniel hadn't said a word in over a minute. Finally, Daniel snapped out of his fear-ridden daze. "I-I... I'll tell you another time, kid." He said weakly. He didn't wait for the child to answer because he excused himself and ran off. He didn't want the boy to know about what happened to him, it would scare him, make him upset. He didn't need that. As Daniel walked to the counselor's quarters, he felt his eyes sting as tears formed.

"I miss you..."