You Wouldn't Believe

Part One: An Everyday Kid, Living an Everyday Life

It was a brisk November evening, the weather seemed nice and Gerard wasn't working for once so he decided to take a quick walk around his neighborhood. He would watch the dying leaves get picked up by the soft wind and the sun set behind the grotesque and wilted tree limbs. He paid attention to the weather, noticing how the sky was a light orange and yellow concoction, the hues of a bright ending illuminating the town of Belleville, New Jersey. He had just moved here with his brother, mom and dad. By now, they had already lived in Belleville for a month or so, slowly starting to get used to the town, beginning to really move in and make it feel like home. They had lived in New Jersey their whole lives but they moved over a town to Trenton because Mr. Way had scored a good business opportunity in Belleville . And of course, the crime has always been out of hand, that was just Jersey. And no matter where you went, you always had to walk with great caution. Even walking on the sidewalk seemed like a death wish. He recalled the one time at his old house a complete stranger - mind you, in the middle of the day- had yelled, "we shoot motherfuckers like you!" while he was walking down the street to go get a candy bar at the corner store. Gerard clicked his tongue as he reminisced on that stupid altercation that took place not even a year ago. Time sure does fly. Oh, and he couldn't remember that one time he got held at gun point when he was 15. Embarrassingly enough, even though he was on the brink of death, all he could think about was how it would bum him out if he couldn't finish Doom Patrol. He really did not fear anything.

He hugged his jacket closer, feeling as if it was getting colder and colder by the minute. But thankfully he was beginning to be near his favorite spot, a quiet little spot, hidden in the back of the neighborhood park, tucked away behind the tall trees. As he looked around, he noticed that there wasn't a soul on the play ground or near the pond. "Yes," he whispered as he walked to the way back part of the park. You really wouldn't even call it a park, though. The town didn't have enough money to support a new park with decent swings and not a slowly deteriorating bench that sat next to the pond covered in bird shit, so they got to suffer with a piece of trash "park" that was also littered with homeless people who would offer to do God knows what for a chunk of change. You could say he lived in a pretty good neighborhood, given he had only lived there for a month.

He looked at his watch, watching the hour hand now strike the nine. He had another hour or so until he had to be home on time, him definitely wanting to keep that in mind. He knew for a fact that his mom would be bitching up his a storm if he was a little bit late, especially when he has a curfew. He grumbled to himself as he slipped into the woods, trying to keep the crunches of the leaves to a minimum, cringing every time he heard a loud crackle under his foot. He paused for a moment, nervously glancing around his surroundings before carrying on. A few seconds later, he finally made it to his little hide out, setting down his backpack and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.  He began digging around to find his flash light. He turned it on, sitting down on the log he had recently dragged over there, because the idea of walking home everyday with mud on his ass did not seem like fun, especially with the snow that will start falling soon.

"God damn, it's so fucking cold," he shivered. Gerard heard a slight crunch to his right, making him pause suddenly as he was beginning to reach for his bag. The crunch was quickly silenced, making him suspicious but also scared to death. His heart pounded against his chest, him hearing the blood rush through his ears as he tried to figure out what to do. Panic quickly set as he tried not to scream and run for the hills. But then another loud crunch echoed through the small forest, causing Gerard to pick up the torch and quickly aim it into the thick bush surrounding him.

"I have a weapon, I am not afraid to use it!" He warned into the silence, sheepishly knowing that his only weapon was the small flashlight clutched in his hands.