Chapter 2

Arrian woke-up a couple hours later. He untangled himself from the mass of limbs, that were his mother and sister. He quietly made his exit from his mother's bedroom to the stairs. Walking into the living room, he sat in a beautiful forrest green couch.

He looked at, the fire place opposite him, above its red brick layout, was a picture of Derek Michaels, in his marine uniform. Underneath it, was the murumasa, Arrian had been given. Arrian stared at the sword and then at his father losing himself in the most painful of his memories.

FLASHBACK

Helen was driving Arrian and Kailynn home after a long day in the mall. Arrian relented to go, after a plethora of begging from his little sister. The back seat of the SUV, was a rainbow of bags from different stores.

"You're father is going to blow an artery, when he sees your new skirt Kailynn." Helen said.

Kailynn burst into fits of giggles and replied "It's okay mom, I'll just tell him Arrian bought it for me."

Arrian turned to Kailynn and shrugged his shoulders before turning back.

Helen looked at her son and asked "And when will you bring a girl home for us to meet? huh big guy?"

Arrian blushed every shade of red before stammering a reply. "I... ummm... well... there's this... girl... umm... she..." He placed his hands over his face and mumbled out "I hate going to the mall!"

Helen and Kailynn roared with laughter, Arrian just blushed more and tried his best to ignore them and their fits of giggles.

Helen made a right turn into the driveway of a very beautiful town house. She parked behind Derek's BMW.

"Kailynn go get dad, I wanna see his face when he realizes you singlehandedly put him in the poor house!" Arrian said.

Kailynn meekly stuck her tongue out at him and ran out of the truck and into the house.

Arrian, made his was to the back to help his mother unload things.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

Arrian dropped the bags and ran into the house. Following the stream of Kailynn's screams, leading him to his father's office.

The sight before him was horrible. Kailynn was on the floor pointing at a body near the wall. He looked in that direction, and he felt all the feeling in his body leave. There next to the desk was Derek Micheals. Dead. Covered in blood, filled with bullet wounds and pieces of flesh torn off his body. The study itself was turned upside down, glass covering the floor.

Arrian turned around just in time to witness his mother walk in and see the carnage that was the study. She let out a blood-curling scream before trying to rush over to her husband's body. Arriann grabbed her and Kailynn and lead them out of the study. He pulled them to him and hugged them as tight and hard as he could. Kailynn clung to him, like he was the light that wards off the dark, while Helen fought him, to go back into the study.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. 3 numbers later, an emergency operator answered.

"9-1-1, what your emergency?"

Arrian spoke, as calmly as he could. "My father has been killed!"

No longer able to hold his own tears back he began sobbing along his sister.

"he's dead... he's... he... he... blood... everywhere... who... who did this?..."

"Sir, a police vehicle has been contacted and should be there soon"

Arrian, dropped his phone and fell to his knees. Helen quickly escaped Arrian's grip and ran into the study to attempt to revive her husband.

"Wake up baby... please... you can't do this... you promised... always... you can't leave me!" she repeated over his lifeless body. Blood staining her clothes more and more.

Sirens could be heard, is the distance. Paramedic's and police officers made their way into the house following Helen's incoherent wails of pain.

Officer Jared Peterson, walked into the study after bypassing Arrian and Kailynn.

"Jesus Mary and Joseph!" was all he could say.

The paramedics walked in moments later and due to their experience in police matters, the site of the dead man and crying woman, didn't really have an effect on them.

"mam' please, we need to..." said the first paramedic. Before he could finish Helen cried louder and threw herself over Derek's body and held on as if her very life depended on it.

Arrian seeing this, release Kailynn and walked over to his mother and pried her of his fathers body. He held her as the watched the paramedics place him in the breaded black bag. Kailynn rushed the bag when it was placed on the stretcher.

"No!... no... you can't take my daddy!" she yelled over and over between sobs.

Arrian reached over and pulled her to them. Then watched as the body was wheeled out.

"I'm sorry for your loss" Officer Peterson said. "I'm afraid that I'm going to ask you to leave, the house until forensics gets done with this room and determines the cause of death." he said rubbing his face, obviously disgusted with the site.

Arrian held his family together. His Family. He lead them out of the study and house and over to his mother's SUV. He let them into the back seat. He leaned on SUV and watched as a parade of police officials walked in and out of his house. Then watched as the forensic team walked in.

I have to take care of them now. Dad said if anything ever happened to him, they were my responsibility. Dad, what happened to you? Who would... or could do this? You were the best fighter I have ever seen.

Arrian's mind ran with these thoughts, dealing more with what was ahead than what was happening at the moment. So into his thoughts he was that he didn't even feel when Kailynn got out of the back seat and pressed herself against his chest.

He felt her as she was placing his arms around her.

Around this time Officer Peterson came out. He saw the family near the SUV and walked over to them.

"I'm afraid we are going to ask you folks to stay at a hotel, forensic teams says it will be a long time before they finish their work. So we're gonna put you up in a local hotel for the next couple of days" he said.

Peterson looked around and noticed a crowd already gathering around the house and vehicles.