Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 - Shifted Heart

That morning, I awoke to the beautiful songs of the birds outside. It was like I was in the Garden of Eden. I felt peaceful and content, despite the troubles of my family. Mrs. Samuel, our neighbor, was a lovely woman with two children, Gideon and Larry. They were lively and curious boys, always up for an adventure. I was happy to have them as friends, even though I was younger than them. I decided to try to have my breakfast. Mrs. Samuel made me a simple meal of bread, tea, and eggs. The eggs were oddly shaped, and the yolks were in the middle, instead of spread out. I thought it was strange, but I was too hungry to worry about it. I sat down at the table and started to eat. Mrs. Samuel was soon heading out for the day, though I didn't know where she was going. I could only hope she was going to visit my mother at the hospital. Mr. Samuel stayed with me for a few hours, entertaining me with games and stories, but soon he was yawning and looking quite tired. I was left alone once again in the sitting room. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gideon and Larry, laughing and panting as they burst into the sitting room. "Gideon! Larry! What are you doing?" I heard Mr. Samuel say as the boys ran into the sitting room, laughing and shouting. "We're playing pirates!" Larry yelled. "We're sailing the high seas, fighting off sea monsters!" "And we need a cabin boy!" Gideon added. "We need someone to do our chores and give us snacks." He looked at me. "We need you, little Benny!" I felt a bit nervous. These boys were older and bigger than me, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be their cabin boy. But I didn't want to be eft alone again. I decided to play along, just for a little while. "Okay," I said, trying to sound brave. "I'll be your cabin boy." "Excellent!" Larry said. "Now, we're sailing on a pirate ship, and we need to find some treasure! But there are all sorts of dangers out at sea." "That's right!" Gideon said. "There are krakens and sea serpents and terrible storms." "But our ship is strong!" Larry said. "And our crew is brave!" "And our cabin boy is quick and clever," Gideon said with a sly grin. "Now, the first job for our cabin boy is to go down to the galley and get us some snacks!" "What kind of snacks?" I asked. "Whatever we want!" Larry said, laughing. "That's what cabin boys are for, silly!" I wasn't sure about this. It sounded like they were just going to boss me around. But I didn't want to be left alone again, so I decided to go along with it. I went to the kitchen and looked around. There was a lot of food, but I wasn't sure what a pirate would eat. Finally, I decided to make them some sandwiches. I got some bread and some meat and cheese and some lettuce and tomatoes. I made them each a big sandwich, cut it into triangles, and brought it out to them. "Excellent work, cabin boy!" Larry said. "But we're still at sea, and we need you to help us fight off the kraken!" "A kraken?" I asked, my heart beating faster. "You mean a giant sea monster?" "That's right!" Gideon said. "But we're not scared. We'll fight it with our swords!" They each grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen and held it like a sword. "Charge!" they yelled, and they started running around the room, swinging their "swords" and making swishing sounds. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure if they were just playing or if they were really mad. But then I saw Gideon trip and fall, and he started laughing. I realized they were just playing, and I felt a little bit relieved. "You okay?" I asked. Gideon sat up, still laughing. "I'm fine!" he said. Before I knew it, we were at the backyard garden close to their vicious dog's cage. The boys introduced their dog to Benny. The boys were laughing, while the dog continued to nuzzle them affectionately. I had to admit, even though the dog gave me the creeps, it seemed like a friendly creature to the others. I noticed the boys were talking and heading off towards the garden, leaving the dog behind in the yard. The dog began to run after them, but then he stopped. He sat down on the grass and looked directly at me. His eyes seemed to bore into my soul, and I couldn't look away. Suddenly, he began to growl, low and deep. A shiver ran down my spine. As the dog continued to growl, I noticed his hackles raising. His eyes were cold and intense, and I began to feel a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. My heart began to race, and I broke eye contact with the dog, feeling as if I were in danger. He continued to growl, louder and louder, and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I felt frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do. Then, the dog began to move, slowly at first, but then faster and faster, directly towards me. I was terrified, and I couldn't move. I could hear the boys laughing in the distance, but it felt like they were a world away. All I could focus on was the dog, getting closer and closer. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen. Suddenly, I felt a wet nose on my hand, and I opened my eyes in shock. The dog was standing right in front of me, wagging his tail and looking at me with eager eyes. He had brought me a stick, and I guess it wanted to play…SYKE! Just as I first predicted, this dog was a vicious monster, it bit my leg! I was in pain as tears welled up in my eyes. "Argh!", I finally screamed out as the dog started pulling my leg. The two boys finally looked at me and was in total shock, the only thing which was stopping the cold-blooded beast from completely devouring me was its chain. Just when I thought all hope was lost, Gideon and Mr. Adam burst through the back door. Gideon must have seen the dog attack me and run to find his father. With one single whistle the Dog turned and began to slowly run to the direction of his master Mr. Adam, without waiting for the Dog to reach him, Mr. Adam ran to me and lifted me up to his hands to take me inside, "LARRY GET THE FIRST AID KIT!" He shouted to Larry while trying to drop on the bed, Larry ran quickly towards the shelf in the sitting room to get their First-Aid box. Mr. Adam then called the ambulance but my bleeding had stopped thanks to the white bandage Mr. Adam had used to tie the wound, I turned my head to the right, and saw Mr. Adam and Larry standing side by side. On the other side, I saw Mrs. Adam and Gideon standing together. As I caught my breath, I tried to piece together what had happened. Mrs. Adam had come home after we set for the backyard. "Who is home ", Mrs. Adam had called out, Mr. Adam came out of his room to welcome and hugged his wife who was smiling in excitement "Honey, are you going to tell me why you're so happy?" Mr. Adam asked staring at his wife, then. "Honey guess what?", Mrs. Adam said. "You know am not good at guessing" Mr. Adam answered with a smirk on his face "I Am PREGNANT!!" Mrs. Adam shouted, Mrs. Adam didn't know when he jumped in excitement and his hands were swinging above his head praising God "That's a very great news" Mr. Adam said placing his two hands on her waist "But what about Mummy BENJAMIN's condition…" Mr. Adam asked his wife "Honey, you didn't allow me finish my sentences. The doctor said she didn't sustain any internal injuries so if she could relax and just rest, she should be okay within a week" Mrs. Adam said "That's Good" Mr. Adam said as he felt like everything was going well in his life. Suddenly Larry ran into the sitting room shouting "DADDY, DADDY THE DOG, BACKYARD, THE DOG AT THE BACKYARD!!!" Now we are here in the hospital, only Mr. and Mrs. Adam that were there now I figured the children must have been dropped off at their uncle or auntie's place, the doctor came in and gave Mr. Adam an X Ray of my leg bone and he said the leg injuries The injuries weren't life-threatening, but they would delay my learning how walking. Just when I thought things were finally looking up, I had another setback to deal with. At the hospital, my mother finally drifted off to sleep, her brows smoothing out as she rested. Grandma sat nearby, keeping watch over My Mum, then a call came in through Grandma's cell phone, it was Mrs. Adam calling to give Grandma the bad news but the mistake Grandma did was to receive the call in my Mum's presence, As my mother heard the story of what had happened to me, she stirred in her sleep and sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with fear. She murmured "My son, my pride, my only son, my only son, please help, help my son" Grandma tried to hold her saying. "BENJAMIN will be fine, NURSE!! DOCTOR!!" My mummy tried to get up but the Nurse rushed in and injected my mum with a sleeping medicine so she would gently doze off. I was lying on the sofa in the sitting room, having been confined to bed rest for two weeks. I had to avoid putting any pressure on my leg to allow it to heal properly. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. I heard the deep voices of strangers yelling outside. I tried to focus on the voices, but it was hard to make out the words. I felt a sense of dread as I saw two men enter the room, both wearing expensivelooking jackets. The men pointed their guns at us and started shouting. "Your hands on the ground!!", "Hands up Dummy", after hearing this words I knew they were criminals, I thought they would have pity on me because of the bandage that were neatly tied on the edge of my leg, but they didn't pay any attention to me, they shouted at Mr. Adam but he didn't show any sign of fear, he just answered them and did what he was asked to, soon they were prepared to leave but instead decided to tie us all so we wouldn't be able call the police while they make their get-away, As one of the robbers tried to tie Mrs. Adam's hands, he started to make inappropriate comments and advances towards her, Mr. Adam couldn't stand and let this happen so he gave the robber a kick to the groin, causing him to double over in pain. The robber couldn't stand the pain so he removed his mask to feel more comfortable. Mr. Adam didn't waste the opportunity, he found the robber's face familiar and tried is best to remember where he had seen him before which he later did, Mr. Adams saw his chance when the second robber dropped his gun, and lunged to grab it. But the first robber was quicker, spinning around and aiming his gun at me before Mr. Adam could even reach the weapon. My heart was in my throat as I saw the bullet ready to fire, knowing it would hit me if Mr. Adams didn't do something to stop it. Larry and Gideon who had been in the room closed their eyes and faced the wall crying. Just then, I saw my mother in the doorway, still hooked up to an IV drip and bandaged from her hospital stay. It seemed miraculous that she had made it back so quickly, and I wondered how she had managed to escape, my mother's face was flushed, and she was panting like she had just run a marathon. Her hair was disheveled, and she had a look of terror in her eyes. Her clothes were rumpled and stained, as if she had just rolled around in the dirt. Yet despite her disheveled appearance, she looked determined and fierce, like she was ready to do whatever it took to protect me, with a wild, primal scream, my mother charged at the robber like a lioness protecting her cubs. Suddenly, a loud gunshot rang out, the sound deafening in the small room. I could only see a cloud of red mist, and I prayed that no one had been hurt. I couldn't bear to think of what might have happened, as the red mist cleared the room slowly, I saw my mother...DEAD