Hereditary Decision

By Allen Laycock

There are lots of things in the world that go bump in the night. Some just bump a little harder than others. Most we know about or at least have heard about but there are a few that are less known.

Greg is an average boy but he is faced with an impossible decision. Furthermore no one will tell him what the decision is or when he must make it. As he gets older he is haunted by visions, manipulated and pushed to the brink of losing his mind.

With numerous hints that lead nowhere Greg tries to forget about the decision and move on with his life. He meets Gen and finds a traveling family but the decision inevitably comes back to haunt him again.

When he is finally pushed to far Greg snaps and makes the decision that has been plaguing him most of life without realizing it. His life changes and he has to come to terms with what has happened. Will he be able to overcome and persevere or will his world come crashing down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312065635

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Hereditary Decision

Hereditary Decision

Allen Laycock

Copyright © 2014 by Allen Laycock.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying form without written permission of the author, Allen Laycock, Graphic Designer Matthew Laycock, or the publisher, Cerebral Diversion Publishing.

This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, business establishments, events, locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by: Cerebral Diversion Publishing, Anderson, Indiana

Interior and Cover Design by: Matthew Laycock

Editing by: Virginia Laycock, Nicky Shatto

ISBN: 978-1-312-06563-5

-Dedication-

This book is dedicated to those who have inspired me and continue to inspire me. You may be unnamed but you know who you are. You are the reason for this book and why it is possible. Thank you for all you do.

-Introduction from the Author-

I could give you a thousand reasons why you should read this book, but I’m sure you’ve probably heard them all already, so just one will have to suffice.

This isn’t just a book. It’s a book of images that’s without pictures. It’s both fictional and nonfictional. It has more than just entertainment wrapped up in its pages; it contains a piece of me—parts of my life and of my memories. It’s a part of who I have become and who I used to be. Even though some of the characters, places, and events are fabricated, they are still a part of me, a part of my mind. Even though there are a few things that seem farfetched at times, part of me wishes I could be a part of its imaginary world that came from within my head. Will this book change your life? I hope so, not because of the plot, but because of the joy a good book can bring when you are either alone or with someone, lonely or well-liked, it doesn’t matter. What really matters is the experiences you share with the characters, with the writers themselves. As you read this, you will almost get a one-on-one with the person that brought this story to life, me. Hopefully, after you are done reading it, you can say you read the mind of a loving, compassionate, artistic person with a mind that may be similar to your own.

Thank you for reading my mind.

Chapter 1

-Departure-

I remember when the first person I cared about left. It was the middle of the night and she came to tell me goodbye. Brandy was thin with blonde hair and green eyes. Even though she was in her early twenties, she was my best friend.

She woke me up and tried to explain, to a seven year old, that she was leaving and not coming back, but that it wasn’t my fault. It was dark, but I could still see her face well enough to know she was trying to not cry, but she just couldn’t hold it back.

All I could do was ask why and if I would ever see her again, but even as young as I was I knew the answer to that question before I asked it. Half asleep when she woke me for this conversation I was now fully awake, and in tears just as she was. Still not understanding why this was happening to me, Brandy said, It’s time. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead, turned and walked out of my bedroom. I heard more crying and then the front door opened, then closed and she was gone.

Still crying and laying there, I started to wonder what had I done wrong to make her leave and never want to come back. My mom walked through the door to my room crying just as I was. She came over to my bed and gently sat down as I asked, What did I do?

She grabbed me into her arms and held me tight and said It’s nothing you have done, baby boy. It’s just her time. I asked what she meant by her words. All I can say now is when your time comes, you will understand. Until then try not to be angry with her, and left it at that.

Mom sat with me all that night, holding me and patting my back, as she rocked me to sleep.

When you’re that age, anything and everything feels like it’s either the end of the world or you have the world in your hands. There is no in-between and there’s nothing that can prepare you for either one.

Chapter 2

-The Visit-

Over the next couple of months I had this empty feeling. That’s what I called it. Not really knowing what it was, but I knew how it felt. I tried to forget, but didn’t really want to. I had mixed emotions which is another thing I really knew nothing about at that age.

One day a friend of mine named Bobby and I decided to go to the park and go swimming. After asking mom if I could and her saying yes, we grabbed some towels and walked to the park.

Talking back and forth about what boys that age talk about, we came around the corner to the park. Smiling and laughing as we walked through the entrance, I noticed a woman at one of the picnic tables.

In that instant, I had this feeling, hard to explain, but all I wanted to do was run to her. It was like having every good emotion hit you all at once. All I kept thinking was, Its Brandy! I know it’s her, I just know it! I started yelling, Brandy! Brandy! I turned to look at Bobby with a big smile on my face. I started to tell him who she was, but when I looked back to where she was, she was gone.

Bobby said, It’s who? I don’t see anyone, Greg.

I said, Brandy! She was sitting right there! I pointed to where I had seen her.

I didn’t see anyone. There isn’t anyone there. He replied. The smile left my face and the feeling of happiness I had when I thought I saw her again was gone. The feeling of sadness  returned.

I turned back to him and said, But she was just there. I pointed. She was sitting on that table. Where did she go?

He asked again, Who?

I said The woman with the blonde hair! With further frustration in my voice, She was right here! Thinking he was lying to me and upset over what had just happened, I turned and ran home leaving Bobby there.

Where did she go and why was he lying to me? The more I thought, the harder I ran. When I got back to my house I was out of breath.

Seeing the tears falling down my cheeks, mom asked me what had happened. When I told her the story she started shaking and looked frightened. With fear in her voice, she told me to get in the house. When I asked why she said, Don’t argue! Now go!

Scared and upset, I started towards the house. I looked back at mom as I went in. She had a look of pure terror on her face as she looked around in every direction. When she made it into the house herself, she quickly slammed and locked the door. She grabbed me by the shoulders saying, Are you sure it was her? Brandy? Don’t lie to me, Greg! Her voice and motions were frantic, being in tears.

I cried out, I’m not lying, mom, I swear it was her! I didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

I started crying thinking I had done something wrong. She held me in a tight hug and said gently, with rising calm in her voice, I believe you. She was still shaking a bit and sniffling when she asked if I had talked to her. I told her no, that she was gone before I got a chance to say anything. She held me even tighter and said, Everything is ok. You don’t need to cry. I’m not angry with you.

That was the first time I had seen Brandy since she left. Bobby forgave me for calling him a liar and running off like I did. Life seemed to go on again, but, I would see Brandy at least four more times within the next year. Mom gave me the same reaction every time which I never understood.

Chapter 3

-Neil, the Weird Guy-

Not long after my eighth birthday, mom started dating a guy. I didn’t like Neil much at first but, he tried getting me to do things with him like playing catch, just to get me out of the house and be a kid. We would go to the park or just go for walks to talk about whatever was on our minds at the time.

He always told me I could talk to him about anything, and said, When you get older Greg you can be anything and do anything you put my mind to. He then would repeat the phrase and have this weird, creepy grin on his face as he said it.

Mom told me it was just how he was when I told her about it and said, There’s nothing wrong with being a little weird. She had a big smile on her face.

After about a few weeks of being around Neil, I realized she was right. I got use to him and he treated me like his son. If I did something wrong I got scolded or grounded. If I did something good, I got a prize from the store when we went or I got to stay up longer to watch television. Mom and I were happy, I had almost forgotten about my lost friend Brandy.

Neil always told me that if I ever had anything I needed to talk about; that he would listen and that there wasn’t anything we couldn’t work out. We just needed to talk about it.

Everything in my life was going so well that most of the time I walked around with a big smile on my face. Yep life was good again,

or so I thought.

A month before my ninth birthday, I got a call from my real father. We had never met. It took me a few minutes because I was nervous but, I got on the phone with him.

Neil was the only father I knew up to this point so I was a little scared. Mom and Neil had to talk me into speaking with him. After a while of talking, I started to open up. I talked a lot about Mom and Neil. He said, It’s perfectly fine to talk about your mom, Liz, and Neil. I’m just glad to be talking with you about your life, and that made me feel a lot better.

He spoke about his other kids- my sisters and brother. That they had said they wanted to get to know me one day. After an hour or so on the phone, he told me he loved me and that he would call back as long as Mom and Neil said it was ok. They agreed to more calls and we spoke a few more minutes and hung up.

I gave the phone to mom and ran to tell Neil all about the conversation. After looking through the house for him, mom said, Maybe he is outside, so I headed for the front door. Once outside, I saw him over by the edge of the woods talking to a woman. Not thinking anything of it I started running and yelling, My dad called! My dad called!

He had this look on his face that I didn’t think about at the time. He looked at me then gazed back at the woman he was talking to. He started walking towards me and after meeting him halfway across the yard, he picked me up.

Smiling, he said, That’s great, buddy, what did you guys talk about?

Before I started telling him about our conversation on the phone, I wanted to apologize for interrupting him and his lady friend.

When I said something about her, he gave me a weird look and said, What woman? I pointed to where I had seen them talking and saw she had gone. It was like she had vanished! He smiled and said, I wasn’t talking to anyone, buddy.

So excited about my phone call I didn’t think any more about it. I started happily telling him everything that was said. That night I headed to bed thinking this was one of the greatest days ever. I gave hugs and kisses to both mom and Neil, hopped into bed, and went straight to sleep. This was the first night the nightmares began.

Chapter 4

-The Hearse People-

The dream started with a knock at the door. I opened the door to a man in the front yard but no one on the porch. A black hearse with darkly tinted windows was in the driveway.

The man asked if my mom was home. Saying yes, I turned to see her sitting on the couch and told her someone was here for her. When she got to the door and saw the man, she started shaking! She pulled me away from the door and placed herself in front of me, then told the man to leave.

As he laughed, the doors to the hearse opened up. Hearing the sounds, I peeked around mom’s arm. People with black clothing and covered faces got out. It looked as if around fifty people got out and it reminded me of a clown car at a circus. The sky started to change colors, yellow to orange and then fading to red. I could still see the clouds but they looked different. They were faint but still there.

The first man pointed at me and with a strange voice said, One day you will have to choose.

Wide-eyed with fright and completely confused, I looked at my mom for answers. She said nothing to me but held me close. She raised her right hand and aimed it in the man’s direction, splayed her figures out and said, In the name of the Lord God leave this place! The man just cackled at her! She then started speaking words I didn’t understand. The people did and it seemed to anger and scare them at the same time.

The man angrily told my mom that I would have to choose one day and until I did, they would be waiting. They got back in the hearse and drove away.

After what only felt like seconds, there was an explosion and where the car would’ve been on the road it looked like a mushroom cloud filled the sky. Everything went back to its normal color. After watching the sky transform back, I turned to mom and asked what the man meant by what he had said. Still looking scared, just as she opened her mouth to answer, I woke up.

Sweating and scared, I started crying and yelling for help. Neil came running into my room asking what had happened. I tried to tell him but was still so shaken that the words just wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t stop crying.

He came over to sit on my bed. He put his arm around me saying, Everything is going to be ok. You can stop crying, I’m here. After a few deep breaths I was calm. Able to form the words now I was able to tell him about my dream.

When I was done he smiled and said, It was only a dream buddy, no worries. You’ve got me and there’s no way I’ll let something hurt you. I promise. Now try and get back to sleep. I’ll be right out there in the living room, ok bud?

As he tucked me back under my blanket, he kissed my forehead and left my room. He wasn’t gone long before I started to hear whispering.

I couldn’t quite make the words so, being curious, I got out of bed and went to the side of my bedroom doorway, staying in the shadows. I heard mom ask, Is he alright?

Yeah, replied Neil, he just had a bad dream, Liz.

How bad was it? she asked.

It was pretty bad. He returned.

In a low, frightened voice, I heard her say It’s started hasn’t it? She then started to cry.

I don’t think so, Neil said, It was just a bad dream. No need to worry, honey, he will be fine. We’re here to protect him and that’s what we are going to do, okay? he said reassuringly as he started to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Okay. she said with half a smile on her face.

Let’s just go back to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day. he said with a smile.

I hurriedly climbed back into bed hoping I wasn’t going to get caught eavesdropping. I couldn’t help but feel a little scared about the conversation I had just over heard. If it was just a dream why was mom scared and crying? Why did I feel so sick to my stomach?

Chapter 5

-The Swimming Hole-

I woke up the next morning and acted as if nothing ever happened. Mom asked me how I felt. I told her I was fine.

Good. She said with a smile and added, I’m glad. Oh, yes, she continued, Bobby is waiting for you outside. He said the two of you were going to go walking today and wanted to know if that was still the plan.

I said yes and she asked where we were going. I answered, smiling, Just around town and lunch at his house as long as it’s okay with you, mom.

She said, It sure is but stay away from the woods. You know you’re not supposed to go in there without me or Neil with you. I agreed as I gave her a hug and walked outside.

Hey Bobby, are yeah ready?

He said, Yeah, Greg, let’s go.

The town isn’t really big and there’s not much to do. It has a small arcade in the movie rental store, a post office, small grocery store, and a bar. Most kids like to go and hang out at the park and maybe go swimming while they were there. That was the best.

Walking around town didn’t take long and before we knew it, we had walked the whole town. We went to Bobby’s for lunch and were on our way to the park to go swimming in the lake.

By the time we got there, it seemed to us that half the town had the same idea. Man! There’s a lot of people here today!

Bobby said, Yeah.

Not to be discouraged by the crowd, I said, I’m not going home without swimming first! Laughing and pushing each other we raced to the water and dove in.

My fun was dampened after only a few minutes of being in the water. I started to feel a little sick. One of the adults there asked if I had just eaten. I said yes and with a knowing look, he said, Just go up to the picnic tables and sit down for a few minutes, you will be ok.

He was right and I started to feel better as I laughed and joked with some of the other kids that were playing nearby on the swings.

I started to look around just having fun watching everyone splash around in the water. In the next second, I started feeling nauseous again but it seemed different this time. It was as if I getting stabbed in my stomach. As the seconds ticked by the feeling got worse and worse. It got so bad that I grabbed my stomach.

Looking out over the water at the crowd swimming, trying to take my mind off the pain, I saw what looked like a figure in the water. Trying to focus on what I was seeing, my stomach got even worse. Now it felt like someone was trying to tear me apart from the inside. I couldn´t seem to tear my gaze away from the figure in the water, no matter how bad it hurt. I also felt like something had a hold of me and I was frozen. All I could do was stare, my eyes were locked on the creature in the water. It was out too far away and under the water just deep enough that no one could see it.

The longer I looked at it, the more its eyes came into focus, they were bright red and almost glowing, they were staring right back at me like they could see through me. Not being able to move from either fear or my stomach pains, all I could do was stare back at whatever this was.

I heard a familiar voice of a woman. I couldn’t place it but it seemed to me that whatever was in the water and myself were the only two who could hear it.

All of a sudden, the pains were gone and I could move again!

When I turned around in circles, to see where the voice had come from there was no one. I turned back to the water to see that the creature had left.

Scared it may come back, I ran to the water’s edge making sure I didn’t step in and started yelling, There’s something in the water! There’s something in the water! Get out everyone! Fear had started to take over my voice by the second time I started to speak.

One of the adults came running over asking, What is it? What did you see? Where is it? Being so scared all I could do was point to where I had seen the being before it vanished.

Bobby came rushing up to me and I said I wanted to go home and asked if he would walk me there. He agreed and we left.

When we got home I was still so shaken that Bobby had to tell Neil and mom what happened.

I tried to make sense of what I had seen in the water but, a small part of me didn’t want to figure it out.

After telling them the story, Neil thanked Bobby and told him that he should head home stating that his mom may be worried about him. Reassuringly he told Bobby not to worry.

He said, I’ll see you later, Greg. and walked out the door.

Neil came over and sat down on the couch next to me asking what I saw. I thought I’d get in trouble or that they wouldn’t believe me so instead of the shadowy creature with red eyes, I told him it was a big fish looking at me.

With concern in his eyes he said, Must’ve been a pretty big one to get you freaked out like Bobby said you were.

Yeah, it was huge. I replied with a shaky breath unsure of what he was thinking. Then my stomach reacted so strongly to my mind’s running of the event from start to finish that