Читать книгу Chronicles of the Second Realm - Curtis Reid Edgett - Страница 6

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. The sound of a fading heartbeat, another soul about to leave this earth. In the middle of a dimly lit sidewalk in Edgefield, South Carolina, was a body sprawled out on the sidewalk. A man’s face was lying on its side against the cold, hard pavement. His body was unable to move. Air was no longer reaching his lungs, and he began gasping for air. He didn’t look a day over twenty-five. He had a well-built body and thick, black hair and was dressed in a blue button-down shirt, black slacks, and dress shoes. The three bullet holes in his back were pulsing with blood that dripped down his sides. A crimson pool surrounded his body.

“Hee-hee!” The child giggled. “Higher, Daddy! Higher!”

“Earlier that day the man was pushing his son on the swings at the local park. The park just so happened to be right across the street from his work place. His wife and son would often visit him while he was on lunch break, affording them time together in the middle of the day. When he got home, his wife asked him to run and get some groceries from the store right down the block. Before he left to run the errand, he went upstairs to say good night to his son.

He walked into the room to find his son with the bed sheets pulled up tight to his face with eyes just peeking over.

“Daddy, I saw a monster under my bed!” the boy exclaimed. He checked under the bed, for his son’s peace of mind, only to find nothing there. “I must have scared it,” the man said to his son, “but I’ll make sure he never comes back.”

He picked up a teddy bear and handed it to his son. “This is Mr. Fluffanutter; he’s here to protect you. If you ever get scared, just hug Mr. Fluffanutter really tight and he’ll get rid of the monsters. OK?”

“Uh-huh,” the boy responded.

“Good night, son.”

The man kissed his son on the head, walked out, and closed the door behind him. He headed out the front door of the apartment building and down the street to the local convenience store. They lived in a small town where the crime was almost nonexistent and the people were average, middle-class Americans. To have someone caught up in a drive-by shooting was unheard of in Edgefield, South Carolina. The news reported that the intended target of the shooting was a teenage male who had recently left his gang and made off with huge amounts of drug money. A couple of members from the gang had been searching for him and finally found him. They tailed him to the local convenience store around nine o’clock at night and waited for him. He walked out of the store, Yoohoo in hand, without knowing that he was being followed.

There was another man exiting the very same convenience store, his hands full of groceries, walking in the same direction as the teen. A Jeep rolled up alongside the man, just out of sight of the kid. Guns were raised and pointed at the teenager. Without a second thought, the man behind him dropped his bags and rushed up to the boy. He shoved the kid down a narrow alleyway as bullets began to fly. However, in an attempt to rescue the kid, the Good Samaritan got caught in the crossfire. A few moments later, the shop clerk ran out and started popping off shotgun rounds at the Jeep. The Jeep sped off and out of range.

The victim of this unfortunate series of events was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was identified as Michael Adler. He was twenty-seven years old. He was survived by his wife, Lauren, and Owen, his five-year-old son. Now, the actual target of this attack managed to get away; but the car was later identified, and the attackers were apprehended by the Edgefield Police Department.