The Rising Shadow

Book 1

Chapter 1

A tragic beginning

9/10/01  

I woke up that morning from a nightmare it felt so real but yet I could not make sense of it. I looked at my alarm clock, it was around 5 am the alarm was set to 8 I began to think about the dream, it really made no sense to me I really had no idea what it was about but then again I guess it wasn’t too uncommon to have it in The city that never sleeps. Again I thought to myself maybe the sounds of the city was the cause of how my nightmare was formed. That seemed to make a little sense but I was still unsure of it at the moment. So I shrugged it off and started my morning like any other new Yorker. I made my bed and then I headed to the kitchen turned on the light  got a bowl out grabbed a box of cereal pored the cereal into to bowl I then got out the milk from the fridge and pored it into the cereal and started eating.

I was about half way into finishing my cereal when my mother walks in she looks at me and then the window and then back to me again she then says in her morning voice “James what are you doing up this early school doesn’t start till 8 am”. I nodded and replied “I had a nightmare and I really didn’t feel like falling asleep again”. My mom smiled came to the table and sat right next to me she asked “would you like to talk about it”. I thought about the question a bit I mean she was my mother after all maybe my dream would make more sense to her then it did to me. So I nodded and told her. “Here is what I can remember, the dream starts out dark  and then I hear what sounds like an explosion at a huge proportion, it starts to get very hot like I was in a furnace or oven then the darkness starts to clear all of a sudden, but then all I can see is fire it surrounded me, after I see the fire I start to look around and that’s when I saw you mom, and dad was next to you. I start running towards you when what looks like rubble or debris falls in front of me and then it all goes silent and that’s when I woke up. My mom looks at me funny and asks “were you watching your father’s horror films again”. I looked back at her and I said “no I didn’t”. My mom then again smiles and then says “well James at least it was a nightmare”. My mom then says “well since you’re up I guess I’ll wake up your father and we will all get ready early maybe it was a good thing to have that nightmare”. What she said brought me back into thought I forgot to tell her that the dream felt so real. My mother then said “oh you know what I have a meeting over at the world trade center so I’ll go get that ready as well”. Soon everyone was up and we enjoyed our time together till 8 am and then waited for the bus.

my school was to the north west of the trade center so after school my mom would pick me up and take me home my dad would usually be home late because he works 10 floors above my mom. I didn’t know why it was like that maybe it had to do with my mother being a manager on the 75th floor.  That was the last day I spent time with my parents before that fate full day. 9/12/01

It had been an entire day since the attack. My parents remains were never found so an empty grave was dug and pictures were placed on their graves. The thing is that my fear was not the attack, heck even my father predicted another attack but nothing this extreme. My parents were all the family I had. My one true fear was to lose everything and that fear was made true by the attack. I was 5 years old at the time I really had no experience with my family’s problems that they never told me about. I lost my home my life as a child and everything else so basically I was homeless. Every night I camped beside my parents graves because my fear got the best of me I had no one to go to for help or food I basically wanted to die like my parents did.

9/20/01

It had been 9 days since my parents died and only 10 days till my birthday before this happened I only wanted one thing for my birthday it was a policemen costume I always wanted to help people but as I thought a bit more I decided against it and wished for something new I wished that I could become someone to look up to someone who was always there to save the day to sum it up a super hero, a tear rolled down my face as I thought about the fact. Right as I opened my eyes a hand fell on my left shoulder I was startled at first but when I turned around I looked at the persons face and then I took a good look the individual was a male adult in his 40’s the man knelled down and said “I’m sorry you had to go through this no child like you deserved this” he looked at me as I did to him,then he says “you look hungry would you like something to eat”. I thought about the offer and said in my head heck what do I have to lose. I nodded and agreed. He took me with him, when we exited the cemetery the man’s car came to view it was a custom made 1970’s black dodge challenger. He started the car and I got in and we drove off. while on the ride there I asked him what his name was he replied “David but said just to call him Dave”. when we arrived I got out of the car and took a look around where we were I could see the entire outline of new York city I gazed at amazement and awe Dave then said “I like to stay out of the city it’s just too much noise for me” he then walks to the door of his house and says “boy, are you coming”. I shook my ahead as if waking up from a trance and followed him in. once inside my jaw dropped goose bumps started to come over me when I realized I was in the house of the most renowned navy seal of his time. It was to laugh and cry over the irony of the same person I did a report on in school. I could tell that things were going to change for the better; boy did I ever feel so good about how right I really was.