It was a sunny April morning , As I awoke . Oh right, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Markus Danzano. I am 16 and live in Ocala, Florida. Ok, now where was I? Oh right, I awoke and got up. It seems like any normal monday morning, awful. I pulled myself from the sheets that held me like a mother holds her newborn child. I rubbed my eyes and ran m hand through my hair feeling it fall back down and tickle my head with it. I begin to get dressed. The house is so silent it is almost eerie. My mom would usually be up around this time fighting with my little brother Joe to get up. I didn’t think much of it as I brushed my hair and my teeth and made my way downstairs. Everything seemed completely normal downstairs, except for the fact that my mom was nowhere to be seen. I know what you are thinking, wow Markus you must be very paranoid; you are overreacting. Well trust me, I told myself the same exact thing and to this day I still wish it were true.

I grabbed a bowl and cracked open my box of Cap'n’ Crunch and some milk, As I was eating my cereal, I sat there thinking why isn’t my mom up? Should I go and wake her? What about Joe? He is going to be late to school. I thought maybe Joe had an early doctors appointment or something. No, she would always schedule us in the same week so she doesn’t have to worry about us separately. I tried to ignore and push down my feeling of panic, and finished my cereal. I sat on my couch, waiting for my mom to come downstairs, not wanting to wake her. But as time went by, I began to realize that I am only 15 minutes away from being late. I call up a friend and they pick me up. As I am waiting for my friend to get here, I write a note telling my mom that Ieft with a friend because it was getting late.

The school day went by slowly, probably because of the thoughts surging through my head like electricity through power cords. The one thing that did brighten up my day was Sylvia Hubbardford. Long, blonde hair, bright blue eyes, perfect body and perfect curves. I have known her forever. We have been friends forever, and she is the only girl who actually acts like I exist, even as a friend. Little does she know that I want to kiss her and imagine a kiss that picks us up and bring us among the clouds. I only saw her once during lunch. She looked stunning with her blonde hair in curls that seemed to dance whenever she took a step slowly approaching where I and my friend Rob were sitting, and sat down next to me. Rob was short and kind of chubby with a rosey red cheeks. He liked Sylvia as well, but got jealous when she talked to me, and has been ever since me and her danced at our semi formal.

“She likes you,” he always tells me.

“Yeah right, me and her are just friends, “ I chuckle back. As Sylvia sat down next to me, Rob sighed and got up and left the cafeteria.

“What’s his problem?” Sylvia asked.

“Must not be feeling well, “ I replied, not telling her the real reason. She shrugged and began to eat her salad, while I was eating the strange meal that was said to be meatloaf by the lunch ladies. After we finished eating, we hugged and said goodbye and as she walked away I couldn’t help but stare and smile at her hips moving and her curls bouncing while she walked.

The rest of the school day flew by and I hadn’t been thinking about the fact that I hadn’t seen my mother or brother the whole day, until the bus. I was on the bus, on my way home, and I heard on the radio that there was a strange vehicle that had been seen driving down my street at 5 AM, and was later seen speeding and ran from cops at a rapid pace and the whereabouts of this van are unknown. This freaked me out, what if that van has something to do with the fact that I could not find my mom or brother this morning? But why my family.. I don’t know I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong. I counted every telephone pole until I arrived at my stop. I managed to count 56 telephone poles. I hoped this would distract me but it did not work all too well. I got off the bus, looked at my house and was shocked to see that everything looked …. NORMAL. The cars were there, the lights were on, there was noise from the TV on. I smiled and sighed with relief. Of course I worried over nothing. I grab my keys and get ready to unlock the door, but when I touch the doorknob, the door creaks open. Hm , I must have not shut it all the way this morning. I walk in, the house was exactly how I left it this morning. This is strange, I thought. I did not have much time to think to hard about it, as I looked at the time and saw it was 3:24. Jeez, I am going to be late picking up my brother at his bus stop. I walked down there and made it there at 3:29, and waited for the bus to arrive , and when it arrived finally, at 3:31, I watched as all the kids flooded off the bus, all except my brother. I saw Jake, my brother’s friend and asked him if he had seen my brother, he said no he was not in school at all today. I walked back home and opened the door, and this time the TV was on with a still frame of a dark figure, a bulky middle aged man. I sat down and stared at the screen and figured out it was a DVD. I grabbed the remote and hesitantly hit the play button. The figure sat there blankly for a moment.

Then in a deep growling voice, said “Markus,”

I didn’t know what to do I thought about running, but that wouldn’t help my family out any. So I sat there staring and waiting for the next words. But nothing could prepare me for the next words, which pierced through my chest like a knife, leaving me helpless.

“Hello Markus, “ came a sweet voice that sent chills through the lowest bowels of my soul.

“I am fine, but you need to listen to him honey,” she said, trying not to let me hear her sobbing. There was no doubt in my mind that it was my mothers voice.

“No!”the voice screamed and I heard a faint scream, and my heart dropped when I realized the source of the scream. They were taking Joe away from my mother. I heard a noise that sounded like something smashed off the floor and heard my mom whimper, and try to gain her composure back. I know they had to have hit her, This enraged me. My mom told me to respect all women, and my mom is the most caring woman I have ever known. All she did was try to protect her child. I punched the wall in anger, feeling very little satisfaction as my fist crashed through the drywall.

“If you want to see your mother and brother again, alive, listen to me carefully,” the man said. My heart felt like it stopped beating for a second which seemed to last hours, while waiting I was covered in a cold sweat.

“Get us $1,000,000 and this will be over, everything will be fine. You have exactly 2 weeks to acquire this money, or your families safety cannot be guaranteed,” the tape ended suddenly.

I froze, not knowing what to do next. Where would I get $1,000,000? It’s times like these I wish my father was still around so he could help. He died before I was born. My mom never told me much about him, she had said he was a secretive and reserved man. Even his brother, my Uncle Andrew could not tell me much and was also secretive and secluded. He was that one relative that we all have that somehow always knew what you wanted for your birthday or christmas, and no matter how much it was or how hard it was to come by, he always found a way to get ahold of it. I contemplated what to do now, and remember my mom telling me to read the back cover of her favorite book, The Davinci Code, for if I had an emergency. I grabbed the book and swung it open to the back cover, and saw the letters 249. I sighed and turned to that page. The words were written over, It said call this number in any case of emergency Markus. I grabbed the phone and dialed the number, and got more anxious with each ring.

Finally, a man with a deep soothing voice said “Hello, How can I help you?”

I stuttered and said “Uh... Hi it’s Markus Danzano.. I - “ I was cut off by the man saying he was on his way. I was confused and scared. Who is this man? The 20 minutes I waited for him to get there felt like hours. Finally I heard a knock on the door and opened it to find my Uncle Andrew standing there. He approached me and hugged me, and I couldn't hold back the floodgates any longer, I quickly covered his shoulders with my liquid sadness. He then proceeded into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, motioning me to come along with him. I followed slowly, not sure what to think. Without saying a word, my Uncle pulled a floorboard of my kitchen floor. I was about to ask why he was destructing my house, but then I saw a large briefcase. He grabbed it and put in the code and unlocked it and opened it. What was inside really confused me. Inside was an M9 with well over 500 rounds, some grenades,a manilla folder, and some other devices that I could not put a name to. He asked for me to show him exactly what happened.

I stood up and slowly walked towards the living room, as he followed closely behind. The TV had a grey, grainy image and was making a statis buzz which almost soothed me slightly. I restarted the DVD and hit play and tried to ignore the horrors on the screen trying my hardest not to breakdown. He watched and listened without a visible emotion being shown. At the end, he sat there, staring at the grainy grey screen. Finally he got up and walked to the kitchen and grabbed the briefcase, closed it up and motioned for me to come with him in the car, which I followed. He threw the briefcase into the back seat and told me to jump in shotgun and he pulled out a small case, about the size of a novel, and gave it to me and as my hands went to open it,

“No! Do not open this until I tell you to!”he screamed. I dropped it to my lap and sat staring around me, my mind disattached and far off from my body. I imagined breaking into a abandoned factory, and fighting off men with clubs and knives along side my Uncle and freeing my mom and brother. My day dream was cut short by my Uncle taking a sharp turn suddenly.

I jolted up. “What’s going on?!” I asked.

“Keep your head down.” he replied, with a calmness to his voice that soothed me.

That calming feeling was gone in a second when the bullet burst through the rear window, grazing the top of my seat, just about where I was leaning down. I began shaking, and my eyes began to sting as the well started to let loose. My Uncle said hold on, and as soon as I put my arms onto the seat, he swerved and the ride became bumpy.

I looked out the window next to us carefully, and saw were driving on gravel, and then I looked ahead and saw us heading directly towards a brick wall. I held my breath, waiting for impact, but without a second to spare we turned and I felt a wave of heat behind us and in a split second hurt the cause, a large boom rocked through the air, shaking and rattling the car. I was shaking uncontrollably, my Uncle parked and told me to stay low. I hid down sinking lower and lower, waiting for him to come back. i heard a clicking sound next to me, and saw my Uncle with a strange metal shell. It looked similar to a spam container, but was a bit more rounded and had not way to open it. I looked at him, puzzle, as he slide his fingers around the edge, and I heard a crack and the shell opened.

Inside the shell was a piece of paper, with my, and my families names written on it along with my Uncles, and an address. My Uncle put the shell in his pocket, and hopped into the drivers seat and sped off. I wasn’t sure what was to come next, maybe me and my Uncle will have to fight off all the bad guys single handedly and save my family. I don’t think it will be that simple. I was nervous and unsure as to where we were going, and it frightened me to think of what horrors we might find as we arrive there. I felt nervous, and after what happened, I was always looking around and I jumped whenever I saw another vehicle. My Uncle took a random turn into an alley, and got out of the car and told me to get out also, and grab the small case that he had given me and bring it with me. I did as told, not sure what was going to happen now.

He grabbed a map out of the manila folder, and put it on the hood of the car. It was a map of the city. He took a sharpie and circled a place on the map. That place was the alley we were in now. Then, he circled a building a block away. That building he said was where my family is.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“I can’t say, you will find out eventually. Just know that your father wanted you and your mother to be safe...” he said.

I waited for instructions from him. “This is not going to be easy or fun, but it is the only way to save your mother and brother. That case I gave you, that never leaves you no matter what. You understand?” he emphasized.

“Uh, yes sir. “ I stuttered.

“Good, now here is a cell phone, it is programmed to only make calls to me. You are not going to open the case unless I tell you to. We are going to break into this building, if anything goes wrong I want you to forget about me and run back to this spot and hide in the back seat,“ he said in an authoritative tone.

“Yes sir, “ I said.

“Oh and, this is for emergencies,” he said, handing me a knife that extended to about 3 feet.

“Let’s go,” he said, walking down the alley.

We approached a building, and headed around the back. The smell was terrible, it reeked of feces and death and the smell of pure terror. I cringed as we walked through the putrid smelling abyss.

Uncle kneeled down near a grate.

“Here is where we can enter. I want you to go first, and search it in there and tell me if there is any other ways in that would be easier for me. If you see anything, I want you to hide and try and stay unseen at all costs. If not, you will need to use what I gave you. If that is the case, wait until the rear a corner, and cover their mouth and run the blade across their neck. Then tie a rag to stop the bleeding as to not leave a trail, and drag the body into the nearest crevice or hole that you can find. If you can find a way in for me, call my phone. Either way, we meet back here in exactly one hour and forty-five minutes. Got it? “ he said

“Yes sir,” I said, trying to hide my fear. I am not a fighter, I don’t know what I am going to find down there. What if I get caught and can’t kill them. As my Uncle handed me a rope, and lowered me down the grate. The rope reached it’s limit, and my feet were not on the ground, I let go, tryin to make as little noise as possible, but crumbled as my feet folded in on each other from the impact. I looked around, expecting someone to come in and shoot me, but there was no noise at all, except for the scratching of the rats claws on the ground. I sighed with relief and pulled myself off of the ground.

The place had a musty smell, like you would expect from an old abandoned basement. The smell radiated throughout the building. I tried to cover my mouth, but to no avail. It seems the smell had become me. I looked around and saw a fairly large unfinished basement. There was many rats scurrying around, some bigger then I would like to imagine. I followed the room and found a path. I decided to follow the path. I saw a light at the end of the path, even though rooms branched off it, I decided to follow it to check out the light. I heard a noise, I stopped dead in my tracks. I heard footsteps and voices coming towards me. I quickly hid in the nearest room, behind a bookshelf and forced my body against the wall and bookshelf. The voices came closer and passed. I looked out the corner of the bookshelf and saw a man walk into the door. I sunk back in as quickly and quietly as possible. The man stepped closer and closer to the bookshelf. I got the weapon ready, in case he found me. But I really don’t know how to do it. I mean grab him from behind and cover his mouth and cut his neck seems easy, but in reality it’s very nerve racking and difficult. I held my breathe as he approached to the edge of the room, looking at the other book shelf, I was shaking trying not to let my breathe loose. He stopped, and turned his head slightly towards my direction. Then, he turned turned around to another voice, and headed out the room. I sighed, but waited a minute or two just to make sure they weren’t coming back.

I slowly got up, and looked around the bookshelf and saw nothing. I got up and walked towards the door, and peeked out both ways and saw nothing. I began walking towards the light again. The hallway seemed to last forever. I finally made it to the source of the light. It wsas a sliver of light that seemed bigger from afar. I realized it was a door, but could not seem to find a handle. As I was reaching around for a handle to open the door, I found a small indent. I pushed my hand into it, and the door made a metal grinding noise. The door opened with a noise that sounded like bones scratching against each other. I closed the door and heard the grinding noise again. I found the nearest room, and hid the best I could and called my Uncle.

“I found a door, but it has no handle. I found a indent in the door and pushed my hand into it and the door unlocked and opened,” I said.

“Good, come back to the grate. Be careful please, “ he hung up.

I walked out of the room and headed the opposite direction of the door. Everything seemed quiet. I walked for what seemed like hours, and finally I reached the room where I started, but as I walked in so did another person. He ran after me, he was wearing a mask of all black, and had a hood on. I ran but could not outrun him. He came up to me and kicked me in the back. I fell to the ground with a thud. I grabbed the knife but he was already on top of me striking blows at my head. The world seemed to be developing a red tint. I somehow got the energy to bring the blade to him, but only grazed his neck as he knocked it out of my hand. He continued to punch me, and I closed my eyes and prepared for death. I was seconds from passing out when I heard the crackle of a gun go off, and the weight of the man fell ontop of me. I couldn’t breathe with the mans full weight on me. He was pulled off in seconds, and there was nothing but black as I sat there in pain waiting for death or safety.

I had sat there staring at what I believed was the ceiling. I lost my consciousness and woke up in the car, with my Uncle sitting there.

He turned around and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I think so.” I sat up and felt a rush of pain surge through my head.

“Don’t sit up so fast!” he said, noticing me wincing in pain. I lay back a bit, keeping my head elevated.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He almost killed you.. I had to find a way to save you, I got in through the grate, although it wasn’t without a price,” he said motioning to his leg. I looked and saw a blood soaked white shirt wrapped around his leg.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Just got caught on a sharp piece of the grate, the important thing is I saved you...” he said, with a voice that was shaky, and his eyes seemed to be welling up. This was the first time since we left the house that he showed any bit of emotion. Why is he so upset about me? It’s not like me and him were that close. I tried to sit up completely again and this time the pain was bearable.

“So are we going to continue?” I said.

“You sure you’re ready to continue this?” he asked.

“I am not ready for any of this, but I have no choice and I am going to save my family, so yes I am ready physically,” I said, feeling confident and sure of what I must do.

“Alright, let’s get going.”he said.

“You remember the location of the door?” Uncle Andrew asked.

“Of course I do, it’s this way,” I stated. We walked for about 2 minutes which seemed to go by a lot faster then when I was walking through the building. We reached the door but ran into a problem. The indent was not on the outside of the door, only the inside.

“I will go back and unlock it from inside!” I stated.

“No, that’s to dangerous,” he said, sounding worried.

“I need to, I will do anything to save my family,” I said, with a fire glowing in my eyes.

“Okay.. please be careful,” he begged.

“I will,” I said with a nod. I headed back to the grate and climbed down. In the corner of the room was now a pile of pine needles which were splattered with drops of blood. That must have been where I got attacked. I walked towards the light again, it was quiet this time. I made it to the door and opened it to find my Uncle getting attacked, his briefcase on the ground in front of the door. I grabbed the briefcase and grabbed the M9. I cocked it back and aimed it at his attacker. He was wearing the same hood and black mask as the guy yesterday, only this guy was bigger. I started shaking as the attacker held my Uncle so if I shoot him then I have a good chance of hitting my Uncle.

“Do it and run!” my Uncle said.

“I can’t,” I said and stopped aiming at him. He then threw my Uncle and tackled me.

“NO!” I heard my Uncle scream. As he was on top of me I waited for a perfect moment, and pulled the trigger. I heard a boom and a gush of blood on me as his body went limp. I pushed him off of me and got up, shaking. I just killed someone. I felt hollow and empty inside