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Okay just a quick note before I post. This first chapter is pretty depressing but it's not how the whole fiction is going to be. It's just that I needed the first chapter to be like that because it's necessary back-story. Anyway I hope you enjoy and please comment. xXx

Anything but Ordinary

Chapter One- Dealing with the Past

The first thing that came to mind when he stepped outside was how dark it was. The house was alone, surrounded by a large forest under the gloom of the Great Smoky Mountains. Normally he loved to stop and stare at the vast expansion of mountain range, in awe at the beauty of creation. These were not exactly normal thoughts for a seven year old boy but Wallace Rudolph West wasn’t exactly normal. For one thing no other seven year old would be outside in a forest at midnight, clambering over tree roots just so that he could catch a glimpse of the moonlight shining off the lake. The deep water thrilled him in so many ways and he was often drawn to its banks, just sitting and watching as the water lapped gently against the sides that contained it. Wally liked be alone. Away from the shouting, the violence and the tears that followed. It was easy to sit out here and pretend that nothing was happening. Pretend even if only for a few minutes that he didn’t have a drunken cruel violent b*****d for a Father.

His Mother had promised him that it was all over for them now. They had moved here to this quiet lonely location where the nearest neighbours were two miles away. She had promised him that he wouldn’t find them. That they would be happy here, they could start again. Just the three of them. Wally, Mary and Kevin, her new husband who Wally had finally given his approval to. For three short and blissful weeks that peace had settled in, finally getting the sort of live that all three of them deserved. Wally had known it was too good to be true. Rudolph West was not the sort of man who gave up his possessions without a fight. So it had started all over again. The frequent trips to the hospital, the well rehearsed lies about how clumsy mother and son were. Sometimes Wally wasn’t sure who he hated more. Rudolph, Kevin or himself. His Step Father never seemed to be around when it mattered most, some business trip always came up and then a few days later /he/ would show up with the cruel smile that chilled him down to his bones. It was a never ending circle and nobody ever came to save them, save him from the horrors that they faced.

He brought his chilled knees up to his chest and wrapped his thin bruised arms around his knees, resting his chin on them as he sat silently by the water’s edge. The wind had picked up a little, yet he seemed to not feel it. His dull green eyes were fixated on the water. It called to him, sending a gentle breeze that lifted the strands of bright red hair and moved them silently. In all the time that he had been here Wally had yet to step one foot in that lake. He still didn’t know how to swim and Kevin hadn’t yet found the time to teach him. Maybe this summer he would make time but Wally didn’t count on it. Promises were made to be broken.

The sound of a shot being fired brought him back from his thoughts and he glanced nervously around for any sign of what could have caused such a noise. The bushes to his left rustled violently and Wally scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over rocks in his haste to get away from whatever lurked there in the darkness. That something had a gun and Wally was old enough to know what that meant. He trembled with fear, bare feet slipping on the wet cold rocks in an effort to make his way back home but he was too late. Two dark shapes forced their way through the trees and one was struggling violently. As they could closer Wally could hear the sound of strangled sobbing and his eyes closed briefly. How much more could they endure?

“You killed him. You b*****d, you killed him. Why?” The question rang through the air and Wally shivered under the tone that sounded so helpless. His Mother was a strong proud woman and this is what he reduced her to. A blaze of hot anger swelled quickly in his young chest and for a moment his green eyes glowed with repressed emotions. It vanished though as soon as he heard that cold cruel tone. The voice that taunted him in his dreams and terrorised him while he was awake.

“You know why. This could have all been prevented Mary if you had only behaved as you were told to.” She hit the floor like a ton of bricks, her head hanging over the edge of the water. There was no where for any of them to hide.

Wally tried to say something, do something. He had taken to taunting his Father, trying anything to get him away from her. He would gladly take anything that Rudolph threw at him if he would only leave her alone. She didn’t deserve it, he did. Right now though his mouth didn’t seem to be working, he was frozen to the spot with fear. Kevin was dead; he would never see him again. The one man who had been like a Father to him, who had worked hard to earn Wally’s trust. No matter how angry he was at him for letting this happen, Wally had wanted him to stay.

He raised his small chin slightly and over the trembling form of his mother he locked eyes with the man whom he hated more then anything in this world. He fell over backwards over some sharp stones, slicing his palms as he put them down to protect himself from the fall.

“No! Leave him alone. Damn it Rudolph he’s just a child. He’s your son. Don’t hurt him. I’ll do anything but don’t hurt him.” Mary had staggered to her feet and was rushing over to push him away from Wally. Her eyes blazing with the kind of protective love that was welled up deep inside her.

Something must have snapped in the drunken man’s cold green eyes. There was a rage there that hadn’t been there before, all trace of amusement gone now. His eyes darkened murderously and his thick hands wrapped around her neck and squeezed. She clawed desperately at his hands, trying to release herself. Trying desperately to cling on to her life, the basic survival instinct that resides within every living creature on the planet. It was too little, too late. Within the next few moments it was all over, she was dead.

“No!” It was the first and only word that Wally had spoken tonight. Tears streamed down dirt covered cheeks, making tracks down the sides of his face. His red hair was plastered to his forehead with his own sweat, mixing with the salty tears that fell. He felt cold, numb almost. It was as if he wasn’t here, that this was just another one of his terrible nightmares and it would all be over soon. Any fight that had been in him earlier on had simply vanished and he swung loosely in his Father’s hand as he was picked up and held over the dark water. He stared with distant green eyes, tears still leaking silently. He refused to say a single word to this monster, for no human being could be capable of committing such an act. The hand tightened ever so slightly before pushing him under the surface and holding him there, the sound of high pitch laughter filling his ears.

The cold water was like a sharp kick to the gut. He had heard tales of how cold the water was this time of year but nothing could prepare him for the physical pain it created. He struggled widely against the hand, the cold unyielding pressure crushing his lungs. He wasn’t sure for how much longer he could hold on for. He was so very tired and the water really was so very cold. Maybe he could just go to sleep. Sleep seemed like a nice idea. Maybe it would be all over when he woke up. If he had been more alert he would have heard a new voice that cried out in the night. The hand that had been holding him let go and he was floating. There wasn’t a need to struggle anymore it was over now, he had lost. He didn’t feel anything as something took hold of him and dragged him out of the water, laying him down by the side of the bank. The black had already taken him.