There comes a time in every boy's life, where he must begin his transition and become a man. This is never an easy task, there is always much to learn. I'm going to tell you the story of one young boys journey to manhood.

It was a cool summers eve, a young boy no more than ten years of age laid peacefully in his bed fast asleep, his room filled with toy's, posters litter his walls with pictures of his favorite music groups, his window slightly ajar letting a cool breeze into his room. The young boy's name is George, George Knottle Jr. young George smiles in his sleep, living his fantasy in his dreams, he is a tall strapping young man boxing against the champion for the title! George twitches and clenches his teeth while he sleeps, bracing for impact from the next blow coming from his opponent, he dodges and counters, left hook, dodge, right hook,step back...uppercut! His opponent hits the mat! The stadium erupts with cheer and applause! The count has begun! 1..2..3 his opponent doesn't move..4..5..6..7 George prays this is it, ...8..9..10! He has done it! George is the new champion! The fans roar louder than ever! George looks around the stadium and sees his mother and father in the crowed cheering and waving at him, his father looks so proud, Georges heart could never be happier.


George rolls around in his bed, the excitement of his victory apparent in his little smirks while he sleeps, such a care free and happy young boy. The night grows ever colder and while moving in his sleep George has wriggled free from his blankets warm embrace, he begins to stir. Feeling the cool draft chilling his body his eyes begin to open. George climbs out of his bed and heads toward his open window, he reaches for the handle and peers outside into the dark street. A large black vehicle with dazzling headlights comes around the corner of his street and slowly cruises down the road parking outside his house. The doors open and three men in black suits step out of the car, then men looked very suspicious indeed. They wore black bowler hats, long black over coats, leather gloves. Very suspicious, George begins to pull his window shut and clicks the lock.one of the strange men begin to walk into the garden.

George slowly begins to close his curtains, he knows something is wrong. He creeps across his bedroom and reaches for the door handle, he needs to wake his father and tell him about the strange men in the garden. Just as George opens the door there is an almighty bang and crash at the front door, George can hear muffled voices shouting downstairs and footsteps coming from below. George turns down the hall and walks quickly towards his parents door when it springs open, his father has been woken by the noise and came to check it out. His father hears the commotion down stairs and then grabs young George under the arms and whisks him into his bedroom sitting him down on his bed, he kneels before George and places his hand under his chin lifting his head to meet his eyes. Georges father looks him dead in the eyes for a moment and then speaks to George in a quite voice. "George, I need you to listen to me son and do exactly as I tell you. I want you to hide under you're bed and stay there..can you do that for me son? You have to be brave now George, you have to be strong. You have to stay under that bed no matter what you hear are you listening boy? Daddy needs to get these bad men out of the house. So you just stay here and stay quite!"

Georges father beckons George to slide under his bed, he does so. Georges father gets to his feet and reaches around his waist to the back of his sleeping shorts and pulls a revolver from the waist, He walks towards George's bedroom door switching the light off as he exits the room and pulls the door shut. George stays under his bed quite as a mouse, He hear's the voices getting louder and the footsteps on the stair's. He hears his father shout to his mother, Telling her to get back into the bedroom and hide. The footsteps near the landing, The voices have stopped. There is only silence, It feel's like an eternity has passed for little George, Hiding under his bed scared stiff. He hears his father's voice once more,  "You filthy swine! You think this is how you're going to do me? Breaking into my house in the middle of the night!" *BANG BANG BANG* three shot's are fired in the hallway, George jumps at the sound and fight's back his tear's. Terrified George pushes himself further under his bed, scrunching himself into the corner. *BANG BANG* more shot's are fired and suddenly George's bedroom door flies open, One of the men who he had seen in the front garden has come crashing through the door. The man's fine black coat is covered with blood, George see's him roll around in agony, Blood pouring from his chest and neck. The man struggles a little more and then becomes rather still, George see's the life fade in his eyes as his head flops to one side facing Georges bed.

George look's to his open bedroom door and see's his father slumped against the hallway wall clutching his arm, Blood seeping between his fingers. He has been hit in the shootout, He look's back at George with a grimace expression on his face. Before their gaze is broken then is another shot fired *BANG* George see's his father's night shirt begin to turn red at his lower abdomen, His father face screwed up with pain, Blood begins to trickle from his fathers mouth. One of the assailant's steps into view and forces the revolver from George's fathers hand and tosses it down the halls way. He turn's to the other remaining assailant and says "You watch him, I'll go sort the bitch out." and with that he head's to Georges parents bedroom, He kicks down the door and find's Georges mother huddled in the corner of the room with streams of tear's rolling down her face. The man look's at her and sigh's, He point's his gun at her and says "I'm sorry lady, This is just the way it is" *BANG*.

George can see his father's head beginning to fall, He has lost a lot of blood and has began to lose consciousness, George can hold back his tear's no more and they begin to roll down his cheek's, He let's out a little sniffle. One of the assailant's has heard George and steps into his bedroom flipping the light switch on as he does so, He look's around the room and see's it is empty, But he know's he heard something. George place's his hand tightly over his mouth and hold's his breath as he see's that black leather boot's of the assailant moving around his bedroom, He closes his eyes and wishes he could wake up from this nightmare. When George open's his eyes he is startled, The assailant has got down on all four's and is now looking straight at him under the bed. George tries hard to push back further under the bed as he panics, The assailant watches him struggle but does not alert the second man in the hallway. He look George in the eye, Bring's a finger up to his lips ... "Shhhhh" .. The assailant get's back up to his feet and return's to the hallway, He look's at Georges father now struggling to breath and says to the second man .. "Finnish it" .  He then turns down the hallway and begins to descend down the stairs. The second man come's into sight with his gun pointed at Georges father's head. *BANG*.

George stay's under his bed and cries, He is still frozen with shock and fear. It take's him several hour''s to calm down enough to venture out from beneath the bed. He steps over the dead assailant in his bedroom trying hard not to look at the bloody mess, He steps out of his bedroom and see's his father's body a crumpled bloody scene the light's of which nightmares come from. He walks toward's his parents bedroom  door but stops in his tracks as his mothers bloody bare feet come into view, He doesn't want to see what they did to her as well. His little cheeks stained with tear's, He look's down and see's he has his father's blood on his sock's, He must of stepped in a pool of blood on the landing. He turn's back down the hall and enter's his bedroom. He lays on his bed and cries himself to sleep.

​Now it would be suffice to say that out little boy George would be quite traumatized after losing his parent's in such a manner.  I'd like to tell you that the police came and took care of him, Sent him to a foster family and life returned to some form of normality for the young boy.  But unfortunately the world we live in is not always so kind. In the next chapter we will find George a few year's older. Living in the street's of Chicargo. Hang around and keep an eye out, I'm sure there is much more to tell.