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October 16, 2013; Franklin, Indiana

“Good morning, Indiana! I'm Nancy Marian here with my co-host, Bob Stanson. Say hi, Bob”

“Hello, and good morning! Welcome to Indiana State News.”

“Thanks, Bob. Unfortunately for today, our top story requires that we put aside the cheerfulness of the morning for now.”

“Indeed, Nancy. Last night, an Indianapolis lawyer named Ruben Wolfgang, cousin of Abstergo Industries CEO, Natasha Wolfgang, was found dead last night.”

“That's right, Bob. Police reports say that they found the man's body in an alleyway. He was apparently stabbed to death by an unknown weapon. The killer surprisingly left almost no traces except the body itself, and something peculiar. Something that revealed something startling about Mr. Wolfgang that already has half the city actually celebrating his death.”

“That's right, Nancy. The police found a small video camera at the scene of the crime. Taped to it was a small piece of paper with a drawing of an eagle pattern. The police have yet to fully decipher the meaning of this, but they are working towards it. Once they reviewed the footage on the camera, they found something startling. It seems Mr. Wolfgang was not everything he appeared to be.”

“The footage was comprised of recordings from several different cameras from several different times in Indianapolis. They revealed a darker side to Mr. Wolfgang. The man, it turns out, was secretly working with the corrupted, violent gangs of Indianapolis, paying them off to terrorize the city to help bring himself, as well as possible followers, to power. The police are currently interviewing his cousin, Natasha, to see if she can reveal any further information. We'll keep you updated once we have more information.”

------------

Good God, I hate the news. It's always either really dark, or really dull. Just once I'd like to hear a news story about rainbows and sunshine over a meadow or something. I would've changed the channel, but Mom only had a crap antenna to broadcast shows to the TV. We only had 10 channels. It was either the news, channels only spoken in a foreign language, or a bunch of those religious preaching channels.

Those channels always annoyed me a bit. Even though I was Christian at one point, I was never much for the preaching and ceremonies and all that. I was always kinda in my own little category of the religion. But hey, if you're into that, more power to ya. I ain't gonna judge you. It just personally wasn't my thing. My concept of religion heavily shifted around that time, and I was fully agnostic by the time this whole situation ended. I soon came to the conclusion that no book or teacher could give me the answers on life or death. I had to figure them out for myself, through observation, not blind faith. So whether or not God and an afterlife exist, I can't say either way. I won't know til’ I'm dead, and hey I'm okay with that.

We'd actually just gotten back from Mom’s church, back from some ceremony planning thing that Mom was attending or something. Mom liked taking us to this little church in town that her friend helped run. They were all about preaching and singing and ceremonies too, so I didn't care for it. I tried to look like I liked it out of respect, but it was pretty difficult, truth be told. It didn't help that Mom always made us dress up in the most uncomfortable formal clothes ever.

But like I said, we'd just gotten back to the house. I instantly got rid of my formal clothes and put on something comfortable. That's when I turned the TV on. I wasn't even really watching the news that was on. I was thinking. Mom and I had gotten into another argument the night before, and it was still fresh in our minds. I couldn't even remember what it was about. I didn't remember a lot of things. Half because of all the drugs that Mom filled me with, and half because I just didn't care to have another painful memory taking up space in my head.

But, there is one thing I always remember, and still do. One point in my life that I remember so clearly, how it felt, how it looked, how it sounded. There's one moment in time that's been engraved into my head. It's what happened that morning after the church thing. It's what happened while I was semi-watching the news. It's what happened that officially changed my life forever. It was my liberation.

It started out seeming like a normal Wednesday. We were off of school that day for fall break, and it was around noon-ish when there was a knocking at the door. Mom stood from her desk to answer it. We both already knew who it was. It was the CASA official that the court had assigned to our little conflict, Lee. She had scheduled a meeting for today to check up on what the living conditions were in the house, to see if Mom was a suitable guardian, which she wasn't of course. She lied and lied. I was so obviously miserable, and it was so obvious that it pained Lee to see me stuck in the situation I was in. I had a feeling this meeting would be as sucky as the others.

But when Mom opened the door, and Lee's eyes met mine, I could see how frantic she was. Something instantly told me she wasn't here for a meeting. She gave Mom a hurried greeting and rushed into the house. She came up to me and Braden, who was sitting next to me on the battered old couch. “You two need to go upstairs and pack what you can,” she said frantically. I raised an eyebrow. “Wha?” I said. “What do you-?”

“No time to explain, just go pack! Grab whatever you can!” Suddenly, I saw a few police officers walk in. Mom was starting to freak out a little. I was confused, but I did what Lee said anyway. Braden and I went upstairs and started shoving as much of our stuff as possible into trash bags. Lee came upstairs to try and hurry us up as the police officers stayed downstairs to keep mom out of the way.

Then suddenly, it hit me. The gears in my head finally clicked. Oh my God... I thought. As I was packing, I turned to Lee, who was still frantic. “Wait, we won?” I asked, hoping I wasn't dreaming.

“Yes,” she said quickly. “We won. Now hurry! Your dad's waiting and we don't have much time!” I stood still in shock for a second before going back to packing and kicking up my pace.

Braden was freaking out at that point. Remember how I said that Mom liked to try and poke at the worst parts of our autism, especially Braden's? Well, that made it so that Braden's environment had to have nothing go wrong or different from his perspective or else he'd flip. And on that day, his world was turned upside-down and inside-out. He didn't understand what was going on. How could he? He thought we were just going to visit Dad early, and since that wasn't part of his natural schedule, it made him go into a tantrum. Lee tried her best to calm him down, but it wasn't doing much good. Thank God he's doing so well nowadays. That version of him seems so far gone now, and we're so happy for it.

But, at the time, I didn't have the luxury of stopping and helping to calm him down. I tried a bit, of course, but I wasn't able to say much. I just kept packing. I wasn't able to grab everything, and a lot of my stuff wouldn't be back into my possession for another two years. But, I grabbed the important stuff. My art supplies, my favorite books, some knick knacks that I've grown attached to, etc.

After about five minutes of packing, we rushed back downstairs with Lee. Mom was in full panic by now. Again, you might think it was because she was upset that her children were being taken from her. Hell, maybe it partially was, but for the most part, it wasn't. I knew it wasn't because the one thing she kept saying to the police officers was, “You can't take them now! Carter has an appointment tomorrow!”

She was more worried about my appointment than me. Go figure. The whole thing is kind of a long story, so I'll sum it up really quick. I was having problems with my esophagus at the time (most likely due to all the pills that Mom stuffed me with) and Mom scheduled a special surgery for me to see what was wrong. A surgery, I later found out, that was quite controversial and had a good chance of becoming lethal. The worst part is, she was planning to schedule one for Braden too, and he didn't even have the condition. We'd gotten out just in time.

But yeah, we grabbed our stuff and started taking it outside. We loaded it all in the trunk of Lee's car. While that was going on, I rushed to the backyard. There was no way I was leaving without saying goodbye to my girls. All three of my dogs rushed up to me and licked at my face as I hugged them all. “Thanks girls,” I said, “for everything.” Lee appeared in the doorway. “Carter, I'm real sorry, but we have to go now,” she said. So I stood. I looked at my girls one last time, and I followed Lee to the front yard. I still miss those dogs with all my heart.

We went to the front yard. A bunch of police officers, some with the hoods of their jackets up, were waiting by their cars. Braden and I got into the back of one of them, and the officers got into their own cars. I saw Mom on the front patio, bawling and going on about my appointment. I stared at her as the officer started up his car and Braden was freaking out. I watched her as the car started moving away. I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel angry. I didn't even feel happy. I literally felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. It felt like this weird combination of emptiness and relief. There was only one, single thought repeating over and over and over in my head: “It’s over. It's finally over. I'm free.”

The cop car drove away from that awful place. We drove out of the neighborhood, out of the town. Braden was still crying and freaking out, and I felt numb. The officer driving the car seemed to notice. “You seem to be taking this pretty well,” he said to me. I just kind of shrugged. “Guess so,” I said. The officer said nothing else. Nothing else needed to be said.

After about fifteen minutes, we arrived in front of a court building. I saw Dad's car parked in front of the building. He and my stepmom, Misty, were standing out in front of it. The policeman parked his car and so did his men and Lee. He got out of the car and opened the door for me and Braden to get out.

I stepped out, took a few steps, and the next thing I know, my dad is right in front of me. And he hugged me like his life depended on it. He was shaking like a little puppy, tears of both joy and guilt running down his face. He was hugging me a bit too tight, but I didn't care. Neither of us were willing to let go. “It’s okay, son,” he managed to sputter out through his crying. “I've got you. You're safe now. It's over.” I nodded. I felt a few tears roll down my face, but I still felt that nothingness. I knew I was happy, but I couldn't feel it. I'd gone numb.

Braden got out of the police car, still crying his lungs out. Dad managed to let go of me for a moment and rushed over to comfort him. He talked as calmly as he could to him and had him relatively calmed down in a matter of minutes. Misty walked up to me while Dad talked to Braden. She put a hand on my shoulder and smiled, trying to stay calm as well. “Hey kid,” she said. “How are you holding up?” I shrugged. “Okay, I guess,” I said. Misty nodded. She offered for a hug, and I took the offer.

After that, we got to the business of putting everything we packed into the trunk of Dad's car. We talked with Lee for a moment, Dad hugged me again, and then Braden and I got into the car with him and Misty. We drove off, leaving Lee and the officers behind.

Dad and Misty tried to talk to me and Braden as we drove to Dad's apartment. But I was still in that state of numbness, so a lot of the words went over my head. They were so happy. And even though I couldn't feel it, I was happy too. We'd been fighting for almost two years to get me and Braden out of that awful place, and it finally happened. Now, I'd be living with people that loved me without a doubt. People that cared for me and inspired me to be the best I could be. I still hoped I wasn't dreaming.

After about twenty minutes, we made it to the apartment complex Dad and Misty lived in, right in the suburbs of Indianapolis. We grabbed our stuff and dragged it into the apartment. We kinda just tossed it into a room. None of us were up to actually unpacking it. We all just wanted to enjoy the fact that we were together now. We all just sat on the couch and talked.

The apartment was pretty small. It only had a few rooms and one floor, but that didn't matter. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was home. That's all that mattered to me. The next summer, we eventually moved into a much bigger, even nicer apartment in the same complex. Either way, it felt like home. That's all I cared about.

About half an hour later, when a good chunk of the shock had worn off, the door knocked. Dad got up and went to see who it was. He looked through the peephole and instantly opened the door. And in walked Dad's cousin, Angie, and her kids. In Angie’s arms was Levi, her baby son. The girl beside her was her daughter, Chelsea, who's only a few years older than me.

Chelsea is like the big sister I never had. She and Angie were always there for me whenever I needed them. They helped Dad and Misty with their war against Mom, and they helped with my own battles as well. They worked for some anti-bullying/suicide-prevention groups that help kids and teens in Indiana through the tough times in their lives. They both have big hearts, and it always pains them to see anyone get hurt that doesn't deserve it.

As they walked in, we all stood up to greet them. Chelsea came up and hugged me tight for a moment. “Hey, Squirt!” she said, clearly happy for the change in my life.

“Hey, dweeb,” I said jokingly. We love to tease each other like siblings do.

“So?” she asked me. “How are you?”

“Great,” I said. And I was.

“I take it you're happy to finally be out of that god-forbidden place, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

“You're in a safe place now, Carter. You've got people around you that love you.”

“I know.”

“No matter what, we're here for you. If you ever need to talk about things, just give me a call and we'll be right over.”

“Thanks, Chels,” I said with a smile. She smiled back and hugged me again.

“Say,” she said. “What would you say to going somewhere special to celebrate this little victory?”

“Like where?”

“I don't know. What's a place you've been wanting to go lately?” I thought about it for a moment. I actually didn't know that many places around Indianapolis, but I eventually managed to think of a place.

“How about the State Museum?” I said. Chelsea thought about it and nodded. “Alright,” she said. “I can arrange that. Now, grant it, if we go there, it's gonna be a while before I can budget it in.”

“That's cool. Whenever you're ready.”

“Alrighty then.” We nodded at each other, sealing our agreement.

After that, we all sat down and talked. Everyone was smiling and happy. Things were finally starting to go right for once. If I hadn't been emotionally drained at that point, I would've cried waterfalls.

We all hung out for a more few hours until eventually Angie and Chelsea had to leave. We said our goodbyes and they left the apartment.

By then, it was getting late, and everyone was really tired. Braden and I unpacked enough stuff to get ready for bed. Once we were ready, we fell onto the mattresses that Dad and Misty laid out for us in our new room. They said goodnight, and told us how much they loved us and how happy they were that we were there. Then they closed our door and let us sleep.

Braden fell asleep in a matter of seconds, but I couldn't. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. The feeling of a comfortable bed was unfamiliar to me at that point, but I enjoyed it. At least, I would have if my mind wasn't finally catching up with the events of the day. I sat there in the silence of the dark night, thinking. Everything that happened that day, all of the emotional impact it had, it was all starting to rush into my head.

I was finally free, I realized. I was never going to go back into that god-forbidden pit of despair that was my mother's house. I was in a great place, with great people. For the first time in a long time, I was home. And on that night, as I laid in bed, it finally happened. For the first time that whole day, I cried. I cried my quiet tears of joy and relief. I ended up crying myself to sleep, but not the same way I did at Mom's. I knew that I could finally sleep soundly.

And it felt so good knowing that.

Everything was peaceful at that moment. Everything seemed right with the world. I savored that moment while it lasted. I knew it wouldn't remain that peaceful forever, but I didn't care. The worst was behind me. Little did I know that things would soon take a turn down a very different, but equally rough road. A couple months later, when Chelsea took me to the museum, I fell into a whole new conflict, a whole new war, a whole new world, and a whole new Creed. And it was going to change my life forever.

Description
October 16, 2013; Franklin, Indiana

“Good morning, Indiana! I'm Nancy Marian here with my co-host, Bob Stanson. Say hi, Bob”

“Hello, and good morning! Welcome to Indiana State News.”

“Thanks, Bob. Unfortunately for today, our top story requires that we put aside the cheerfulness of the morning for now.”

“Indeed, Nancy. Last night, an Indianapolis lawyer named Ruben Wolfgang, cousin of Abstergo Industries CEO, Natasha Wolfgang, was found dead last night.”

“That's right, Bob. Police reports say that they found the man's body in an alleyway. He was apparently stabbed to death by an unknown weapon. The killer surprisingly left almost no traces except the body itself, and something peculiar. Something that revealed something startling about Mr. Wolfgang that already has half the city actually celebrating his death.”

“That's right, Nancy. The police found a small video camera at the scene of the crime. Taped to it was a small piece of paper with a drawing of an eagle pattern. The police have yet to fully decipher the meaning of this, but they are working towards it. Once they reviewed the footage on the camera, they found something startling. It seems Mr. Wolfgang was not everything he appeared to be.”

“The footage was comprised of recordings from several different cameras from several different times in Indianapolis. They revealed a darker side to Mr. Wolfgang. The man, it turns out, was secretly working with the corrupted, violent gangs of Indianapolis, paying them off to terrorize the city to help bring himself, as well as possible followers, to power. The police are currently interviewing his cousin, Natasha, to see if she can reveal any further information. We'll keep you updated once we have more information.”

------------

Good God, I hate the news. It's always either really dark, or really dull. Just once I'd like to hear a news story about rainbows and sunshine over a meadow or something. I would've changed the channel, but Mom only had a crap antenna to broadcast shows to the TV. We only had 10 channels. It was either the news, channels only spoken in a foreign language, or a bunch of those religious preaching channels.

Those channels always annoyed me a bit. Even though I was Christian at one point, I was never much for the preaching and ceremonies and all that. I was always kinda in my own little category of the religion. But hey, if you're into that, more power to ya. I ain't gonna judge you. It just personally wasn't my thing. My concept of religion heavily shifted around that time, and I was fully agnostic by the time this whole situation ended. I soon came to the conclusion that no book or teacher could give me the answers on life or death. I had to figure them out for myself, through observation, not blind faith. So whether or not God and an afterlife exist, I can't say either way. I won't know til’ I'm dead, and hey I'm okay with that.

We'd actually just gotten back from Mom’s church, back from some ceremony planning thing that Mom was attending or something. Mom liked taking us to this little church in town that her friend helped run. They were all about preaching and singing and ceremonies too, so I didn't care for it. I tried to look like I liked it out of respect, but it was pretty difficult, truth be told. It didn't help that Mom always made us dress up in the most uncomfortable formal clothes ever.

But like I said, we'd just gotten back to the house. I instantly got rid of my formal clothes and put on something comfortable. That's when I turned the TV on. I wasn't even really watching the news that was on. I was thinking. Mom and I had gotten into another argument the night before, and it was still fresh in our minds. I couldn't even remember what it was about. I didn't remember a lot of things. Half because of all the drugs that Mom filled me with, and half because I just didn't care to have another painful memory taking up space in my head.

But, there is one thing I always remember, and still do. One point in my life that I remember so clearly, how it felt, how it looked, how it sounded. There's one moment in time that's been engraved into my head. It's what happened that morning after the church thing. It's what happened while I was semi-watching the news. It's what happened that officially changed my life forever. It was my liberation.

It started out seeming like a normal Wednesday. We were off of school that day for fall break, and it was around noon-ish when there was a knocking at the door. Mom stood from her desk to answer it. We both already knew who it was. It was the CASA official that the court had assigned to our little conflict, Lee. She had scheduled a meeting for today to check up on what the living conditions were in the house, to see if Mom was a suitable guardian, which she wasn't of course. She lied and lied. I was so obviously miserable, and it was so obvious that it pained Lee to see me stuck in the situation I was in. I had a feeling this meeting would be as sucky as the others.

But when Mom opened the door, and Lee's eyes met mine, I could see how frantic she was. Something instantly told me she wasn't here for a meeting. She gave Mom a hurried greeting and rushed into the house. She came up to me and Braden, who was sitting next to me on the battered old couch. “You two need to go upstairs and pack what you can,” she said frantically. I raised an eyebrow. “Wha?” I said. “What do you-?”

“No time to explain, just go pack! Grab whatever you can!” Suddenly, I saw a few police officers walk in. Mom was starting to freak out a little. I was confused, but I did what Lee said anyway. Braden and I went upstairs and started shoving as much of our stuff as possible into trash bags. Lee came upstairs to try and hurry us up as the police officers stayed downstairs to keep mom out of the way.

Then suddenly, it hit me. The gears in my head finally clicked. Oh my God... I thought. As I was packing, I turned to Lee, who was still frantic. “Wait, we won?” I asked, hoping I wasn't dreaming.

“Yes,” she said quickly. “We won. Now hurry! Your dad's waiting and we don't have much time!” I stood still in shock for a second before going back to packing and kicking up my pace.

Braden was freaking out at that point. Remember how I said that Mom liked to try and poke at the worst parts of our autism, especially Braden's? Well, that made it so that Braden's environment had to have nothing go wrong or different from his perspective or else he'd flip. And on that day, his world was turned upside-down and inside-out. He didn't understand what was going on. How could he? He thought we were just going to visit Dad early, and since that wasn't part of his natural schedule, it made him go into a tantrum. Lee tried her best to calm him down, but it wasn't doing much good. Thank God he's doing so well nowadays. That version of him seems so far gone now, and we're so happy for it.

But, at the time, I didn't have the luxury of stopping and helping to calm him down. I tried a bit, of course, but I wasn't able to say much. I just kept packing. I wasn't able to grab everything, and a lot of my stuff wouldn't be back into my possession for another two years. But, I grabbed the important stuff. My art supplies, my favorite books, some knick knacks that I've grown attached to, etc.

After about five minutes of packing, we rushed back downstairs with Lee. Mom was in full panic by now. Again, you might think it was because she was upset that her children were being taken from her. Hell, maybe it partially was, but for the most part, it wasn't. I knew it wasn't because the one thing she kept saying to the police officers was, “You can't take them now! Carter has an appointment tomorrow!”

She was more worried about my appointment than me. Go figure. The whole thing is kind of a long story, so I'll sum it up really quick. I was having problems with my esophagus at the time (most likely due to all the pills that Mom stuffed me with) and Mom scheduled a special surgery for me to see what was wrong. A surgery, I later found out, that was quite controversial and had a good chance of becoming lethal. The worst part is, she was planning to schedule one for Braden too, and he didn't even have the condition. We'd gotten out just in time.

But yeah, we grabbed our stuff and started taking it outside. We loaded it all in the trunk of Lee's car. While that was going on, I rushed to the backyard. There was no way I was leaving without saying goodbye to my girls. All three of my dogs rushed up to me and licked at my face as I hugged them all. “Thanks girls,” I said, “for everything.” Lee appeared in the doorway. “Carter, I'm real sorry, but we have to go now,” she said. So I stood. I looked at my girls one last time, and I followed Lee to the front yard. I still miss those dogs with all my heart.

We went to the front yard. A bunch of police officers, some with the hoods of their jackets up, were waiting by their cars. Braden and I got into the back of one of them, and the officers got into their own cars. I saw Mom on the front patio, bawling and going on about my appointment. I stared at her as the officer started up his car and Braden was freaking out. I watched her as the car started moving away. I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel angry. I didn't even feel happy. I literally felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. It felt like this weird combination of emptiness and relief. There was only one, single thought repeating over and over and over in my head: “It’s over. It's finally over. I'm free.”

The cop car drove away from that awful place. We drove out of the neighborhood, out of the town. Braden was still crying and freaking out, and I felt numb. The officer driving the car seemed to notice. “You seem to be taking this pretty well,” he said to me. I just kind of shrugged. “Guess so,” I said. The officer said nothing else. Nothing else needed to be said.

After about fifteen minutes, we arrived in front of a court building. I saw Dad's car parked in front of the building. He and my stepmom, Misty, were standing out in front of it. The policeman parked his car and so did his men and Lee. He got out of the car and opened the door for me and Braden to get out.

I stepped out, took a few steps, and the next thing I know, my dad is right in front of me. And he hugged me like his life depended on it. He was shaking like a little puppy, tears of both joy and guilt running down his face. He was hugging me a bit too tight, but I didn't care. Neither of us were willing to let go. “It’s okay, son,” he managed to sputter out through his crying. “I've got you. You're safe now. It's over.” I nodded. I felt a few tears roll down my face, but I still felt that nothingness. I knew I was happy, but I couldn't feel it. I'd gone numb.

Braden got out of the police car, still crying his lungs out. Dad managed to let go of me for a moment and rushed over to comfort him. He talked as calmly as he could to him and had him relatively calmed down in a matter of minutes. Misty walked up to me while Dad talked to Braden. She put a hand on my shoulder and smiled, trying to stay calm as well. “Hey kid,” she said. “How are you holding up?” I shrugged. “Okay, I guess,” I said. Misty nodded. She offered for a hug, and I took the offer.

After that, we got to the business of putting everything we packed into the trunk of Dad's car. We talked with Lee for a moment, Dad hugged me again, and then Braden and I got into the car with him and Misty. We drove off, leaving Lee and the officers behind.

Dad and Misty tried to talk to me and Braden as we drove to Dad's apartment. But I was still in that state of numbness, so a lot of the words went over my head. They were so happy. And even though I couldn't feel it, I was happy too. We'd been fighting for almost two years to get me and Braden out of that awful place, and it finally happened. Now, I'd be living with people that loved me without a doubt. People that cared for me and inspired me to be the best I could be. I still hoped I wasn't dreaming.

After about twenty minutes, we made it to the apartment complex Dad and Misty lived in, right in the suburbs of Indianapolis. We grabbed our stuff and dragged it into the apartment. We kinda just tossed it into a room. None of us were up to actually unpacking it. We all just wanted to enjoy the fact that we were together now. We all just sat on the couch and talked.

The apartment was pretty small. It only had a few rooms and one floor, but that didn't matter. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was home. That's all that mattered to me. The next summer, we eventually moved into a much bigger, even nicer apartment in the same complex. Either way, it felt like home. That's all I cared about.

About half an hour later, when a good chunk of the shock had worn off, the door knocked. Dad got up and went to see who it was. He looked through the peephole and instantly opened the door. And in walked Dad's cousin, Angie, and her kids. In Angie’s arms was Levi, her baby son. The girl beside her was her daughter, Chelsea, who's only a few years older than me.

Chelsea is like the big sister I never had. She and Angie were always there for me whenever I needed them. They helped Dad and Misty with their war against Mom, and they helped with my own battles as well. They worked for some anti-bullying/suicide-prevention groups that help kids and teens in Indiana through the tough times in their lives. They both have big hearts, and it always pains them to see anyone get hurt that doesn't deserve it.

As they walked in, we all stood up to greet them. Chelsea came up and hugged me tight for a moment. “Hey, Squirt!” she said, clearly happy for the change in my life.

“Hey, dweeb,” I said jokingly. We love to tease each other like siblings do.

“So?” she asked me. “How are you?”

“Great,” I said. And I was.

“I take it you're happy to finally be out of that god-forbidden place, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

“You're in a safe place now, Carter. You've got people around you that love you.”

“I know.”

“No matter what, we're here for you. If you ever need to talk about things, just give me a call and we'll be right over.”

“Thanks, Chels,” I said with a smile. She smiled back and hugged me again.

“Say,” she said. “What would you say to going somewhere special to celebrate this little victory?”

“Like where?”

“I don't know. What's a place you've been wanting to go lately?” I thought about it for a moment. I actually didn't know that many places around Indianapolis, but I eventually managed to think of a place.

“How about the State Museum?” I said. Chelsea thought about it and nodded. “Alright,” she said. “I can arrange that. Now, grant it, if we go there, it's gonna be a while before I can budget it in.”

“That's cool. Whenever you're ready.”

“Alrighty then.” We nodded at each other, sealing our agreement.

After that, we all sat down and talked. Everyone was smiling and happy. Things were finally starting to go right for once. If I hadn't been emotionally drained at that point, I would've cried waterfalls.

We all hung out for a more few hours until eventually Angie and Chelsea had to leave. We said our goodbyes and they left the apartment.

By then, it was getting late, and everyone was really tired. Braden and I unpacked enough stuff to get ready for bed. Once we were ready, we fell onto the mattresses that Dad and Misty laid out for us in our new room. They said goodnight, and told us how much they loved us and how happy they were that we were there. Then they closed our door and let us sleep.

Braden fell asleep in a matter of seconds, but I couldn't. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. The feeling of a comfortable bed was unfamiliar to me at that point, but I enjoyed it. At least, I would have if my mind wasn't finally catching up with the events of the day. I sat there in the silence of the dark night, thinking. Everything that happened that day, all of the emotional impact it had, it was all starting to rush into my head.

I was finally free, I realized. I was never going to go back into that god-forbidden pit of despair that was my mother's house. I was in a great place, with great people. For the first time in a long time, I was home. And on that night, as I laid in bed, it finally happened. For the first time that whole day, I cried. I cried my quiet tears of joy and relief. I ended up crying myself to sleep, but not the same way I did at Mom's. I knew that I could finally sleep soundly.

And it felt so good knowing that.

Everything was peaceful at that moment. Everything seemed right with the world. I savored that moment while it lasted. I knew it wouldn't remain that peaceful forever, but I didn't care. The worst was behind me. Little did I know that things would soon take a turn down a very different, but equally rough road. A couple months later, when Chelsea took me to the museum, I fell into a whole new conflict, a whole new war, a whole new world, and a whole new Creed. And it was going to change my life forever.