The cereal looked gross. I was just sitting there long enough that each of the marshmallows started to soak in the milk. I could not even eat a single bite of it with so much going on in my mind. Penny probably sat at her house thinking the same thing. But since last night, I wish I had the guts to tell her how I felt. It sucks when everyone else is around you while you wait for the right moment to ask her out. I played with the marshmallows and ignored my mothers calls.

"Gumball," Nickole spoke. But i was too occupied on the cereal to even acknowledge my own mother existence.

"GUMBALL!" She screamed louder, scaring me out of the chair. "Good, so I'll need your help to clean up the house today before you do anything with anyone. You got it?" I nodded, still wide-eyed from the sudden scream. "Good. After that earthquake last night, I wanted to fix any damages there were."

Darwin watched as i picked myself up off the ground. My mother has plans to clean the house and make sure it's ready for the small party we're having this week. "Just pick up the glass from the picture frame and mop the kitchen. Then after that, clean the living room...around your father." She eyeballs him, giving Richard the chills.

"Okay, but what about Darwin's fish bowl?" Anais asked.

"I'll go out and buy a bigger and better fishbowl." She pinched her daughters cheek. "Than I'll make you guys something special for cleaning up the house." She smiled, sitting down next to her husband with a bowl of cereal.

"So, for us, clean up the glass and our rooms, and we can leave?" I asked. She shook her head, and i sighed, picking up the glass piece by piece. Getting a good look at the family picture and how young we all looked with our smiles and small little child-like hands. Anais was still a baby in that picture, but she knew how to smile instead of cry when the camera snapped.

"Anais dear. Do you have everything packed up for the next two weeks?" My mom called out. She yelled back all the things she packed up while dragging down a bag full of her belongings. "Gumball, while I'm gone, I need you to take care of the house until I'm back. I know your father is out cold on the couch. But, I need you to be the responsible one for just today." I nodded my head.

My eyes glanced back at the picture once more before placing it on the table next to the couch. Dad's snoring, and mom is struggling to take Anais bag out the door. The only other damage the earthquake did was knock over some other pictures up the steps and a few plates out in the kitchen. The wall by the steps had a small crack, but that's been there for who knows how long.

I watched mom drive off and turned to see dad still asleep, giving me a chance to walk upstairs to my room where Darwin was in his fosh bowl.

"Hey bro. Mom put me in charge until she gets back. Until then, what do you wanna do?" He glanced over at me as I grinned.

"So, you're telling me that mom put you in charge and didn't think twice about it." My grin fell. "This house is gonna burn down within an hour."

"Oh, come on, Darwin. Nothing is gonna happen. Plus, we could sneak out and get ice cream real quick. Dad's asleep, and mom is away." I nudged him a couple of times.

"Fine. If we get caught. You're the one who has to explain to her." Darwin pushed my arm away in a quick motion. "Plus, did you finish what mom asked you to do? I did my portion."

"Yes..." I lied. "I did clean the glass off the stairs." That was true. I didn't want to step on glass, cutting my feet and getting blood everywhere.

"OK, well, let's go then." We stepped down the stairs quietly and slowly. Only small creeks had made our father move just slightly.

Darwin pushed the door open slowly as I looked back at dad, praying he wouldn't wake up. "Dude, let's go before dad actually wakes up." Darwin pulled me out the door while slowly closing it.

"By the way...where are we going?" I slid past the Robinsons house, hoping mom didn't tell them to keep an eye out on us.

"That ice cream store that just opened up down here. I snuck out money from dads wallet for this. And maybe Penny will be there."

"Don't get your hopes up." Darwin kicked a rock, hitting me on the side of the leg. "And, stealing money from our parents is low, especially for you." I hissed not at the rock, but at the word's Darwin said to me.

"You think Mrs. Mom will find out?"Darwin asked. "Like, she always finds out when we least expect it. Plus, I think this time will be the last time we'll ever see the outdoors until school starts up again."

"If mom finds out. We'll have to persuade her into doing some chores around the house. So, I have no worries about it." I swung my body around, looking at Darwin with a small grin with my hands up shrugging.

"Oh, come on. You are the only one in this family that gets either me or Anais in trouble. You end up with a slap on the wrist, and that's it. Like, what am I even saying. I could just turn around and go home while you get in trouble." I stopped walking; looking down in a puddle to see my reflection and who I am as a person. I didn't care, I turned back, looking at my brother.

"Okay. You can turn around and go back. But I'm getting something to eat." I stepped one more step, tripping over a small rock that was conveniently placed on a sidewalk. Darwin turned, looking at me, then at a man all dressed up in a light brown trench coat and a top hat.

Darwin reached out, trying to grab my arm that stretched out towards him, only to miss. I felt myself fall on top of this man, and at the same time, Darwin came down with us, falling on the ground next to me. We both looked at each other and then at the man who groaned in pain. The sound of glass breaking and a gun being crushed by a car that drove by had caught both of us off guard.

Darwin looked at me as the man looked at him, then at me. "Dude, get up!" Darwin mumbled as he grabbed my wrist.

"Why you little -" I felt the sudden grab of my shoulder as he swung me around to get a better look at my face and felt my brother's hand disappear. "You better pay for that!" He yelled. I gave a look of shock as this man yanked me towards him, face to face. "Are you listening, kid? Do you know how hard that was to stea-" He paused. "You know what. How about I teach you a lesson." At this point, he forgot that Darwin was right there. Even I did out of fear for my life.

I squirmed and kicked as the man dragged me by my shirt towards an alleyway. At this point, I don't even know where Darwin went. I was more focused on the man pinning me to the wall than my own brother. Hopefully, Darwin ran to get help sense we don't have phones to dile 911 or call for help.

"Pl...please. I don't mean to....I...I I... tripped on a rock... I'm sorry." He looked at me up and down.

((Warning. Gets gruesome right here.))

"Oh, so you're making up excuses now. I don't take kindly to lires." He dug into his left pocket while still pinning me to the wall by my throat. I was more focused on his eyes, glaring into my soul instead of the knife slowly gliding across my stomach.

"Do you know how hard it was to steal what you just broke. That is worth millions of dollars that was gonna pay for my son's college and the debt my family is in." I felt the knife slice through my clothes, not yet cutting my bare skin. A cold chill ran down through my body as I felt the knife slowly twisting and turning near my belly button. He stopped, getting a closer look at my face.

"Look, kid, do you have the money? Or do I have to end your life right here right now?" I whimpered, grabbing his arm as I squirmed at the grip of his hand around my throat. "Come on, kid, do you have the money or no!"

I whimpered a no.

I felt a cold, sharp pain towards the lower end of my stomach. I jolted, kicking him in the stomach as i fell gasping for air. I crawled on the ground, holding my stomach as the blood covered my hand with the knife around my fingers. A trail of blood covered the floor as I slid slowly towards the road. Crawling desperately towards the opening.

I could hear him mumble something under his breath before feeling his cold hands grab my legs. He dragged me all the way in the back of the alley as my blood left streaks from my body. I hollered. Only to have my face covered by his hand as he grabbed his knife, slowly sliding it to the side as I screamed through his bloody hand wrapped around my mouth.

The tears flowed down my cheeks. He pulled the knife out of my stomach and proceeded to stab my leg. I turned to crawl my way out of his grasp. But what was even worse was the sudden burning sensation in my lower back. The sudden urge to throw up kicked in. And indeed, I threw up all over the floor. Kicking his hand away with my feet hitting his face. Leaving a small mark on the side of his cheek as he hissed out in pain. It's just not enough pain that he inflicted on me.

He turned me around, looking in my eyes while my mouth was covered in vomit. He screamed, grabbing my shirt as he picked me up off the floor and proceeded to slam me against the wall several times. I hit my head in the process as he threw me on the hard, dirty floor covered in trash and boxes of cardboard piled on each other.

I felt numb. Nothing but tears and the feeling of his body on mine. Pinning my arms up above me as he screamed in my face.

"Look at me!" He yelled. "I said, look at me!" He turned my face to look at his. I felt his cold, sweaty fingers sting my side of my face from the cuts and bruises I had. I just felt abandoned. Darwin left me here to defend myself. But that isn't like him. Maybe he's getting help?

I slowly lifted my bloody hand up towards his face, trying to pull his hoodie off of him for a better look. But, I was too weak. I only smeared some blood on his trench coat and face to reveal a small scar on his left cheek.

I felt another sharp pain in my other leg. This time, he pulled it out and slammed it back into my stomach. The knife slipped and scratched the side of my arm I had up in defense.

"G...get...get off of...me." I whined at the sudden pinch in my leg. He stabbed me again and again. My mind roamed, screaming inside of me to fight. But I was too weak. I was going numb at this point that I just didn't care if he just stabbed me right in the heart.

"Please." I pleaded out. "Please. For the love of God. Please let me go. I won't tell anyone. I prom-" He slammed his hands against my mouth, smiling a wicked smile. His fingers dig into my cheek as I whimpered.

"Man, I forgot how much fun this is." He laughed. My hands grab his arms as I squirmed underneath him, begging for him to get off of me. I watched in horror as his arm slowly lifted up in the air with the knife pointing directly at me. And I mean at my head.

"You know what, kid. You made me feel alive again. Do you know who you're messing with?" He didn't slam his knife down on me. Instead, he slowly moved the knife across my neck with an unpleasant smile. I whimpered, feeling the cold metal across my neck slowly glide in an uncomfortable feeling. "You're messing with the wrong type of person." His hand grabbed my hair, yanking me up as I hissed out in pain from the sudden burning sensation going through my scalp.

"Now." He lifted the knife up, "Now I-" He was cut off by the sound of siren's stopping right at the front entrance of the Alley. His hands shook with a small smile when he glanced back at me.

"Ahhh! fuck."I felt the knife squeeze through my clothes into the side of my leg. The sudden feeling of his body lifted off of me as he stood over my small body slowly curling up into a ball.

Turning to the side to see a small orange figure kneeling down beside me while what looked like officers pinning the man to the ground as they cuffed him and dragged him towards the car.

"Darwin, is that you?" I whimpered, reaching out to him. "I thought you left me to die." I could feel him hugging me with small cries escaping his mouth. His warm touch and cold tears hit my messed up face, and he rocked me back and forth slowly.

"I got the police. The ambulance is on its way...just...oh god...hang in there." He noticed the blood covering my clothes. "Holy fuck he did a number on you." I could feel my eyes twitching as they closed slowly.

"Oh fuck! Somebody, anybody. Help, he's fading away. Please!" All I could hear was a faint voice in the distance. Like an echo.

Nothing more than the sounds of shuffling around me as people's voices hollered out. The sound of guns clicking and men yelling "GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!"

My heavy breathing was all I could hear now. Nothing more than the feeling of coldness took over my body as I felt my body going numb.

Nothing but darkness.