There was an eerie silence that filled the room inside the ranch house tonight.  The stillness after the events had become a welcoming invitation to solidarity.  Everyone had left and it was quite a pleasant scene.  Cassie lay asleep in one of the upstairs rooms.  It was a familiar setting, a room she had only spent her summers in as a child.  Amongst all the empty rooms, she was brought up to that one by her father.  It was the room where all her happiest memories were born. Times before hitting the road for events; the times spent writing letters to her mom and dad after riding the horses and playing the princess in hopes of finding a prince for her own little fairytale.  She knew she had a King, in Hunter, but she wanted to be loved by a prince, like her mother.  No matter what, Daddy would always be there.  Through the stormy nights, through the darkest of clouds.  She knew her King would be by her side.  As she grew older, those times would change. The boys would come, the boys would go and those who tried to stay, were chased the fuck off by the evil guardsman, best known as Colton.  Those were the fairytales of an innocent young girl.  

 Hunter walks down the stairs, shutting off the lights as he goes.  He looks around the place, admiring Summer’s work.  He takes notice of the tiny details all around as they mimic Cassie’s fairytale home she always dreamed of.  “Nice job, Punk.”    As Hunter reached for the door, he stopped one last time. He lets out a sigh of relief and a warm smile becomes apparent on his face. “Welcome home, Princess.”   Hunter shuts the door and begins to head home.

Summer rests on the sofa waiting for Hunter to pull in.  The room’s only glow came from a small candle that burns on a small table next to her.  She sits patiently with a bottle of wine and two glasses which sit next to the candle.  Her mind drifts to one of the of thousands of places still searching for peace.  The night’s journey was a downward spiral of events to say the least.  Happy for the most part, but a devastating end to the day.   

Everything in life moves with a series of events.  Life can take you to happy places, jolt you to the sad, swing you to highs and plumet you to lows, but what life doesn’t do is give you the directions to choose which path.  You are left alone, blinded, and scared.  You make decisions out of panic and frustration, never grasping the concept of haste or the consequence.  Simple human instinct, right? You live your life through trial and error, leaving everything up to chance.

Summer’s eyes were getting heavy, the night’s event had taken its toll on an already uneasy mind.  Things were supposed to be perfect, a happy and joyful event with family and friends.  How did something so carefully planned go so tragically wrong?  Summer, startled by the sound of a rattling door, she opened her eyes for a mere moment.  Finally able to relax her body and mind, knowing Hunter had made it home.  It did not take long for her to fall into a deep, oblivious sleep. 

The rattle became more intense, this was not the sound of a familiar patron entering his own home.  The ruckus of the front door smashing into the frame of the inside wall, had awakened Summer.  She leans up from the sofa.  “Hunter?” she called out, but no response was heard.  The faint sound of men talking led Summer to believe he was on the phone with the speaker on by mistake.  Her eyes grew heavy once more as she began to lean back once again.  From out of nowhere, Kita could be heard growling fiercely in the background.  Summer jerks herself up as a hooded figure could be seen standing by the front door.  Summer leaps to her feet as it startled the figure by the door.  “Dom, you said no one was home!”  The hooded figure shouts just as Kita lunges over the sofa, sending Summer backwards, hitting the back of her head on the sharp corner of the table beside her, rendering her unconscious and knocking the candle over while the wine spills into the flame from the broken bottle.   Seconds pass as the alcoholic flames now ignite the white faux rug that accented underneath the coffee table.   The synthetic material now ingulfed in flames, sends a thick cloud of smoke that stretches across the living room.  About a mile up the highway, Hunter notices the smoke coming from the direction of his home.  “What the hell?”  Frantically, he shoves his foot against the pedal screeching the tires as he drives on.  Hunter begins to feel for his phone, never taking his eye off the road ahead.  Nervously he knocks it down the floorboard and he slams his fists to the steering wheel in anger.  His truck barely comes to a rolling stop as he jumps from the driver’s seat, running up to the front porch.  Smoke and flames have blocked his vision, as he uses his foot to break down the door.  As it was already open, it causes Hunter to roll into a summersault into the front room of his home.  Coughing he begins to shout, “Summer!!” He did not get a response.  He slides the neck of his shirt up, covering his mouth and nose as he begins to feel his way around the room. 

Seconds pass as sirens can be heard screaming down the drive.  Hunter, still coughing, manages to feel a body lying on the floor.  He begins to scoop up the limp figure and finds his way through the smoke infested room and out of the door.  Firefighters rush in, scooping Summer’s body from Hunter’s grasp and begin to take her outside and lay her upon the gurney out by the ambulance.  In total disbelief, Hunter stares in shock as the paramedic loads Summer into the back of the ambulance.

Snapping himself out of the daze, a police officer and paramedic come to check on him.  They begin to examine him; he immediately shoves the two from his face as he makes his way to the ambulance just before they shut the door.  He watches as the young man cups her mouth with oxygen, pumping the bag with his bare hand. “Mr. Hurst!!”  The voice of the officer is heard as Hunter stands still, watching as the ambulance is about to drive away.  “Mr. Hurst!” He calls again only as Hunter slowly turns in his direction.  “Mr. Hurst are you hurt?” Oblivious to the blood that was apparently clear on his shirt and left arm, he answered.  “NO!  Do I look fucking hurt to you?”   He storms past the policeman making his way to his truck.  “Sir, your arm.”  Hunter looks down, not thinking clearly, “It’s not mine!!”

Not realizing for the moment that it was Summer’s blood that he had all over him.  He looks down upon his arm, where the blood fits perfectly into the crease of his elbow, right where Summer’s head had rested.  He wails out a monstrous yell as he slides down the side of his truck, leaning against it as he sits on the ground, lowering his head into the palms of his hands.  He slings his right arm back, sending the side of his fist into the rear fender.  He stands to his feet, looking on as the fire is completely put out.  The fire chief walks over to him and kindly speaks.  “Mr. Hurst, we contained the fire, it did not go past the front corridor of the living area, the rest of the house is fine, I’ve had the electricity shut off, for safety precautions.  My guys are opening all the windows and screened doors to eliminate the smoke from inside.  I would not advise you to sleep here tonight, as the smoke inhalation can kill you. “Hunter lifted his head up glaring at the man. “Do you honestly think I would stay the night in this house while an ambulance just escorted my wife to the hospital?”  “No sir, I do not.”  The chief replied.  “Good!, Now if you don’t mind, call my son, tell him what has happened and where I will be. I am going to be with my wife!”

Hunter steps into his pickup.  He sits, gripping the steering wheel with both hands causing his knuckles to turn white. He tries to breathe slowly; he must remain calm; he will need to be the strong one. Once again, the weight of the family he must carry, rests upon his shoulders.  Weakened, and alone, he must walk his family through the raging storm.  How much more can one man endure?