He's Taken

Chapter 1

It was a late summer morning in Shermer, Illinois, one of the more affluent Chicago suburbs. The air had started to cool in anticipation of fall starting later in the month. Yet, the trees were still showing their summer greenery. Shermer was exactly what one would picture when someone said the word "suburb." It filled with upper-middle-class families with the statistical 2.5 kids and 2 cars in the garage. It featured decent commuting time to Downtown Chicago and good schools. They had tight-knit communities complete with bake sales and 4th of July block parties. It was an almost perfect place to live.

On this morning, a brown Chevy pickup truck was crawling down the streets. Newspapers were flying out both windows. Charlie, the Johnson's golden retriever, followed the truck down the street. He barked at the papers as they went by him. He did this every morning. The telltale whack came a moment later as the paper landed on the stoop. A signal to the inhabitants inside that their daily paper had arrived. A newspaper hit the front door of the Singer household and the quiet of the morning shattered.

Bobby & Ellen Singer were college sweethearts. They married shortly after graduation. Within five years, Ruby came along with you a couple of years behind her. Ten years ago, Bobby had gotten a promotion to Junior Vice President at River Publishing. It was decided that it was time to get a nicer home. They had wanted to move to Shermer and his promotion provided the opportunity to do so.

Ellen had fallen in love with the red brick house at 3022 Payne Street as soon as she saw the listing. She told Bobby that it was perfect. It had enough space for everyone plus a little extra. This is where she wanted to raise their girls, Ruby and Y/N. Bobby agreed with her. So, they made Shermer their home. The family expanded since moving in with the additions of Adam and Joanna.

An obnoxious noise that sounded like a submarine alarm pealed throughout the home. Bobby Singer burst into the second-floor hall. He was already dressed for work in gray slacks and a white dress shirt.

He bellowed to the children, "Come on! Move it, gang! We've got relatives invading this afternoon!" He continued across the hall into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Ruby! Adam! Jo! Y/N! Come on, everybody up," Ellen cinched the sash of her robe and called out for the children. She descended the stairs. She was certain that the children would rise and get themselves dressed for their day ahead. She had to make breakfast and the children's lunches before the school bus arrived. She had to lot to do before the "invasion" as her husband put it.

Adam Baker was the first to appear. He stumbled out of his bedroom. He was in his customary pajamas of sweatpants and a large t-shirt.

He put a hand to his head, "I have a fever."

His little sister, Joanna, or Jo as everyone called her, came out of her own bedroom next to Adam's. She walked up beside him still carrying her teddy bear in her hand.

"You don't have a fever," she asserted as she brought a fist to her hip.

He turned towards his little sister and glared. "Shut your face," he said under his breath so only she would hear him.

Jo leaned in closer, "Make me." Adam raised his fist as if to hit her.

"DAD! Adam hit me!" She yelled down the hall towards the closed bathroom door. Adam took a step back since he knew what was coming.

"You liar," he said to Jo loud enough for his father to hear. Bobby opened the bathroom door and walked into the hall with a toothbrush still in his mouth.

"Adam, come on! We've got a wedding tomorrow," he pleaded with his only son. "Try to cooperate, huh?" Jo turned and walked back to her room with a smirk on her face that Bobby couldn't see.