Everything seemed to be tranquil; the only noise you could hear were the trees blowing in the wind. Sebastian could probably pretend that the previous events were some kind of bad dream, that is if it weren't for the stench of smoke coming off his clothes. As he was sure he was safe he out of nowhere he heard someone speak with a southern accent.

 “What are you doing in mah farm?” 

Sebastian looked up to see a middle-aged man whom he assumed was the owner of the farm. The man held a shovel covered in rust, in his other hand was a plastic bag. Standing up quickly Sebastian hastily spoke “I was just passing through “

The farmer man appeared more irritated with him.

 “Passing through is more like stealing my crops.  Get out of here boy before I give you a whooping that would even make the toughest man cry. “ 

Sebastian didn’t want to bother the farmer, he picked up the book off the ground and ran off while saying “Yes sir. Sorry, sir. “

 As he ran off, he could hear the farmer grumble, “And tell your no-good friends to take their trash with them!”

He ran out the huge technological doors of the farm that were wide open for anyone to walk in, as he ran out the doors slammed closed behind him.The loud noise made him jump, he turned around seeing the once blue doors and walls, now red, signifying they were now locked. As he walked off, he could have sworn a “click” of a camera turning on. Above the door was a sign saying “Meadowgrove farms.” 

Soon Sebatsian was at the main part of Florest, the city was enormous and ear-splitting . He took a stop from walking home to look at cakes at the window of a bakery. The cakes were beautifully decorated as it wasn't done by human hands. He could smell something sweet cooking from inside, making his mouth water. But he didn't have any money with him to buy one.

A bell rang from beside him, bringing him back to reality.

He turned his head to see a curly redhead girl walking out of a flower shop. His eye caught a bouquet of orange flowers in her basket, and her hair, which appeared to be something shiny, was waving at him.  

I'm going mad, he thought to himself.  

As Sebastian walked down the street to his home he noticed how ordinary everything was, the usual click of a camera, the Koshers outside tending to their yard. He heard that their daughter was supposed to be coming home soon.

“Sebastian!” Called out Miss Monge,a short old lady who spent her life making sweaters and keeping her cat out of mischief.

Sebastian walked towards her, she kept pointing at a twisted pecan tree,pecans hung on the branches waiting to fall down. “Oh I’m so glad that you came by! Mewmew is stuck on that tree again.”

Sebastian walked towards the tree, already understanding what she wanted from him. He looked up and saw the crabby old siamese cat hissing at him from a branch.

He picked up a basket that Miss Mongel used to pick up the pecans with. “Do you have some robe nearby.” He asked.

“Yes, Mewmew just adores playing with rope.” Miss Mongel replied. She walked inside her house and shortly arrived with some long rope. 

Sebastian tied the rope on the basket handle and threw the basket around the branch, the cat hissed at the basket and scratched it. “Oh dear please be careful, Mewmew doesn't like to be scared.”

The cat climbed into the basket and Sebastian lowered it down and went to pick up the cat but as he did that old Siamese scratched him. “Oh dear you startled him, that's all. Mewmew doesn't normally scratch people.” 

Actually it was known that Mewmew didn't like people who weren't Miss Mongel and was pretty mean but Sebastian didn't tell her that.

Sebastian went back walking, and walked towards a pretty expensive looking apartment building, passing the rather snooty people he walked into the  apartment building. He was greeted by the warmth of the heaters. He walked into a small elevator which had a little old lady inside. She always gave cookies to Sebastian ever since he moved there 3 months ago,although he never learnt her name.

“Hello, sad little boy, you seem sadder than usual.” She spoke to him with an accent he couldn't quite  make out where it was from. He stared at the floor, he said “It was a rough day at school." 

The elderly woman placed her hand on his cheek. “You’ve seen death. I can see it in your eyes, the first sign of grief. “

She sighed. “I have seen it as well, shame when young people experience such sadness.” 

Because of her warm words He turned to the old woman, tearing up and hugged her. 

Choking up on his words he whispered out “I’m scared."

Hearing the elevator doors open he let go of the old woman and left the elevator before she could say something else to him. 

He wiped his face, removing any signs he was crying. 

Before the elevator doors closed he could hear the old woman saying “I'd be scared if I had that monster living with me.” 

Sebastian walked all the way down the hall stopping at his apartment door.

He twisted the silver knob for surely it was unlocked but no matter how much he tried the knob tragically was locked. He knocked on the door and dreadfully waited for whoever heard to greet him. The door started to open up and his mother greeted him at the door holding a crying baby. Orange hair draped on her shoulders, her eyes were puffy and red as if she was crying. Immediately she went to hug him. “I thought you-” 

Sebastian laughed although she could hear the pain in his laughter “I’m fine “His mother gasped and touched a bruise on his head. “Mom, really I'm fine, let's go inside.”

They both went inside that apartment and sat down on a red sofa, his mother wiped her face with a tissue. “When we heard of the fire, I was so scared, and when you didn't come out of the buses, I thought you were-” His mother started to weep again. 

“Well, I'm fine so uhm...” How was one supposed to act when your mother is crying? Sebastian didn't know. Was he supposed to hug her? Say something? What? “What did Giancarlo say?”

“Oh your step-father said I was being too emotional and that you're man enough. But look at you, my poor baby who hurt you?” She touched the bruise on his head again.  

Sebastian frowned “I just fell,I’m alright. Is he here?” 

“Your step-father is working in the study.” 

His mother handed him the baby. “Watch her please.I gotta go make dinner “ As she handed Sebastian the little baby she left the room immediately “Man, you are one ugly baby,” Sebastian said, looking at his half-sister. 

Strange noises came out of the infant's mouth as if she was trying to speak. “Come on beastly, Let’s go to my room.” 

Being in his room felt safer than being out in the open, anyone could walk by, ask him questions. insist he talks to people,or insult him. Yeah no, he did not have the patience to deal with that today.

His bedroom was small and cramped with gray walls and white trimming, the room was cleaned recently more than likely by his mother. He knew his step-father wouldn't clean anything, that was a woman's duty so to speak.On his door was a poster saying vote for Sebastian for class president, it was drawn by Charlie while Noah did all the marketing, he didn't win however,some girl named Elizabeth something won the election, he couldn't remember why. Then again it was middle school so how important could it be.

He sat on his bed, laying the infant next to him. She grabbed a toy squid with button eyes from the bed and started to chew on the fabric leg.He took  the notebook out from inside his school  jacket, he also took off the smelly jacket and threw it into a white laundry basket. 

It's strange to think a book could cause someone's demise. How could a simple small object hold Sebastian's interest for that short time? Sure, he was called a nerd but seeing this book and knowing what events it has caused was like some kind of Grimm fairy tale. For a split second, he thought he was the chosen one; this was his destiny to figure out the mystery of the sacred notebook of death. 

No that was stupid and sounded like something Charlie would make up. 

He looked at the notebook in the dim yellow on his lamp, the silver vulture.

A silver vulture was the symbol of Erel. Apparently, it meant resourcefulness and opportunity, the two things needed to survive in the world. Well, there were actually three, Constant vigilance and something else, he slightly forgot the lessons his father would tell him when he and his brother were little. 

Fear took over Sebastian's rationality, what if he didn't want to open the notebook up? What if he wasted Noah and Will's Life for absolutely nothing? But again, the whole effort of opening the notebook would have been wasted if he never opened the darn thing. 

He opened the book cover with every intention to read when abruptly he heard heavy thundering footsteps near his door. That wasn't his mother. He quickly slammed the book close and it under his blankets before the door slammed open with his stepfather storming in his room. 

“So, you're alive I see.” he spoke in displeasure. 

Sebastian didn't speak a word, and just stared at the floor. His stepfather looked at his bed and saw that the baby was laying there, he quickly grabbed the baby and harshly spoke  “And what are you doing with her?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he heard this a million times.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me boy!”

It felt like whatever Sebastian did or said to Giancarlo it was an act of defiance, he thought when Nora was born his stepfather would have been happier, but he only seemed to be even angrier at Sebastian. He wasn't even sure why Giancarlo hated him so much, although he had to suspect his grandmother didn’t help with Giancarlo liking him.

Three years ago Sebastian's grandmother visited him, she saw how Giancarlo was treating him and his brother so she did the most unlikely thing and slapped Giancarlo. Unfortunately that only landed her in a nursing home where she died peacefully the next year.  

“Mom gave her to me, she's busy.” Sebastian murmured. 

His stepfather shouted, “Your mother knows full well that she can give Nora to me!”

“Maybe if you weren't so much of a jerk she would.” He muttered “What did you say boy!” And with that his stepfather slapped him in the face.

He heard his stepfather leave the room, slamming his door behind him, and collapsed on his bed. 

It was the same old thing over and over again. “Maybe I should have ran away when I had that chance.” He mumbled. He rubbed his cheek and took the notebook out of the gray bed sheet. He stared at it before putting it under his pillow, it didn't seem smart to read it with Giancarlo around. 

Not when he can just walk right in and snatch the notebook from him. He’ll probably accuse Sebastian of being a criminal and send him somewhere far away. 

“Sebastian,dinner.” his mother yelled out from the kitchen.

Sebastian stood up and walked out of his room. 

He walked into the  kitchen, the wallpaper was a bright yellow with brown cabinets. The glass dinner table was in the middle of the room,Nora was sitting on a baby chair chewing on a plastic fork, his step father was sitting down ignoring his daughter, he was reading something on his laptop while his mother was giving food to someone. He didn’t see who it was,but he had a hint on who it was.

“Rain?” he asked .