Crowded

Above is Sam Greyfield at the time of this prologue.

Chapter One:

"Bye, Ben!"

I run from Ben (my best friend) out of the quiet grass plane and into the large woods in the direction of my old, large suburban castle (as I liked to call it) where my parents were waiting for me. My neighborhood was pretty quiet one, in fact, not much really happens on normal days. But on weekends there was quite a bit of picnics in the small park on the far end of the avenue that's used to enter the neighborhood. The main attraction; especially during the summer.

I finally reach the orchid field, which is our backyard, my mommy made. She always wanted to be a florist but she ended up being a nurse because she felt like they contributed to the world. I didn't understand what she meant then but now I do. I'm actually glad to call my Mommy a nurse because she helps people. I run up the big white, wooden gate which leads to the stone path which leads to the back door. Daddy's a big business guy so he makes a lot of money which explains why we have this house the first place.

I hear distinctive yelling when I reach the back door. I turn the knob slowly and enter the house. Mommy and Daddy are yelling from upstairs; the second floor. I sneak up the stairs, sure not make a sound. I was always good at that. Being quiet.

"Daniel, we have to go! They're not joking! This is serious."

"Don't you think I know that?! We can't keep running Sarah. Someday we're going to have to face him."

When I try and take the step up the stairs, it creeks. Crap. Mommy spins around and faces me, eyes wide and wet, like she was crying.

"Sammy. When did you get back?" She says, her voice shaky; nothing like how it was seconds ago. "Me and Daddy are just talking. It's alright go to your room, I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"But why? What's happening? I didn't do anything." I come up the stairs.

"I know, I know," She says, kneeling down to my level. "It's okay. There's something going on right now, so I need you to stay in your room for a while. You're not in trouble. Okay?"

I look at her for a moment. Her eyes are red and wet, crying. She has circles under her eyes, like she's tired and her hair's a little messy. The kitchen doesn't look like it's been walked in at all and it's almost dinnertime, so I know something is wrong. But I nod, nonetheless, and start to go up to my room. On my way, I look back down and lock eyes with Daddy. He seems worried yet angry. He nods at me and I run upstairs to my room.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to think when I see my parents like that telling me everything's okay. So I stay in my room like they told me. For about 20 more minutes, there's continuous yelling and shuffling down there. But then I hear other voices, a door opening, loud banging, and Mommy screams. I sit up in bed and exit my room. Quietly I move towards the long stairwell and climb down the stairs. I peek to see what is happening and I see men I do not recognize but I can't see my parents.

I, surprisingly, sprint, while ducking, behind the couch in the living room.

"We warned you. My boss isn't very patient. Where. Is. The. Money?" I hear one man say.

"L-Look. We know what you guys want and we are on it, okay?" Daddy says.

The man laughs.

"He-he. I'm afraid that's not good enough." Another says.

I crawl under the couch and try to get a peek at what's happening. But by the time at get to the edge, there's is loud shuffling, yelling and screaming, and the sound of punches being thrown. I scoot back under only to hear my Daddy scream and a gunshot. A man falls back against the couch and slumps down to sitting position. Not moving. I know it's my dad because of the clothes he's wearing.

I hear my mom scream and two more gunshots. My mom falls to the floor next to the couch and I can see her. She's shot. She looks at me, still alive, taking quick short breaths. She looks at me for a while until she slowly closes her eyes.

The men are still shuffling around the house.

"Come on! Let's go!" I hear some men exit the house but one still remains. When I think he's not looking, I reach from under the couch to get to my mother. Unfortunately the man sees me and grabs my hand.

"Hey there, kid," He says, hoisting me up to eye level. "Sorry about your parents. They were in a lot of trouble. But now I can't have you telling the police what you saw."

He suddenly drops me onto the ground, causing me to hit my head on the ground. Hard. He takes out his gun and points it straight at me. He begins to cock his gun and I shut my eyes tight. I sit waiting to die. But I don't. All I hear is the man yelp out in pain. I open my eyes and see why. A pointy object has stabbed him right in the chest. It looked like the one that was on the table right next to him. He falls to the ground. I quickly scoot over to my mother, still dizzy from the fall.

I lie down next to her and I must have passed out because I wake up in a bright room.

When my vision clears up, I look up at a white ceiling and someone's face comes into view. My aunt.