Clock Tower: 74

Chapter 1

Daniel sat on the ledge of the cottage, looking over the glen. The subtle ice cold wind blowing against his shoulders and rustling his scruffy black hair, he knew of the awakening winter that was yet to come. He could barely see the town over to wide stretch of land, but he always narrowed onto the point of the clocktower, it being the tallest building he can always search for. The deserted little cottage he knew as his home has little to no neighbors, the Smith's living about one hundred miles away from his family's house. He lifted from the ledge easily, stepping very cautiously to the roof and down to the gutter, sliding easily down it with his limber body. He took note of the creaks the old and worn gutter made and had decided tomorrow he would find a new route to get down to leave the gutter at rest.
He landed on the mushy ground behind the house, still a bit damp from last night's showers. Daniel weaved through the trees, making sure every step wouldn't trip over a broken limb or root. He knew the trek very well, each tree and flower familiar to him. He slunk through the last bit of overgrowth to open up to the entrance of the house. He heard the slight muffle of people talking, and wondered why his mother was speaking with anyone. He was an only child and his father was out at work. She must be on the phone, he decided. He pushed through the door, listening in. The muffle became more defined as a cry, the phone leaning against her left ear. She hung up and put the phone on the table, sitting back in her chair as silent tears drained from her face. "Mom, what's going on?" She looked up from the phone, and with a only a single breath she could spare,  she spoke. "Your father." She needed no other words. Daniel stood in silence as he watched his mother put her gaze back to the phone. "The body was... was found as the edge of an alley. The officers had said that he had called them, but it was to late. He was shot seven times, and the culprit was nowhere to be found when they had got there." She did not dare lift her face to her son. He looked to much like his father, his figure and hair had resembled his dad the most. He'd not contemplate to question his mother. He'd leave her to settle, he needed to think about this for his mother and him.