Helios Beginnings (The Helios Chronicles #0.5)

Prequel to the Helios Chronicles

HELIOS

Beginnings

By

T.M. Witko

Copyright All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2016

ISBN (ebook) 978-0-9861133-8-3

ISBN (Paperback) 978-0-9861133-9-0

Tampa, Florida

Copyright © 2016 Winyan Press, LLC

Cover Art © Alex Marin

This book is dedicated to all the folks who have endured suffering and survived it.

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read this novella and to my friends Corinne, Brenda, Rachelle, Carrie, Tamara, Michele, Leeanne and Amanda for being my original Helios Girls. You’re input in all things Helios has been instrumental in making this happen. Love you ladie
s


Thank you as always to my partner in crime, Mindy, for just, you know, everything and to Alex for making all my beautiful covers and basically bringing Helios to life for me through your illustrations.

This story was written so that readers would get a chance to meet Helios before he becomes Helios. I won’t lie, his path is difficult. It is wrought with tremendous pain and suffering. In fact, there will likely be aspects of his experience that will make you uncomfortable and possibly challenge any preconceived notions you might have about people and the world in general. I do ask that you keep an open mind while reading this and remember that nothing in life is as simple as black or white, right or wrong, all or nothing. Life is a beautiful mix of good and bad events that shape the people we become.

With that in mind, let’s get a glimpse of how Andrew Harrison became the man he is now.

CONTENT WARNING

Please be advised that this story contains graphic language and scenes of violence and abuse that are not suitable for younger audiences.

Table of Contents

DEDICATION

PREFACE

Eclipsing the Sun

Descent into Hell

A Prison Tale

New Beginnings

Author Note

About the Author

CONTACT INFORMATION

Detroit, Michigan

“This horse is way too slow. We will never win the race on it,” Dad says, laughing as he jumps off and runs to another one, quickly straddling it.

He winks at me, and motions with his head at the horse next to him. So I slide off and run over to it, jumping on. He touches my hair that is long and all over the place and then smiles.

“Let’s beat Mommy, okay?”

I nod and turn around, “We’re beating you, Mommy.”

“Oh, no, you’re not,” Mom yells, giggling.

“Come on, son, let’s get a faster one,” Dad says sliding off and taking my hand in his.

Andrew startled awake. He quickly looked to the side to see if his dad had noticed that he’d
nodded off. It didn’t appear that he did. Andrew turned towards the open car window. The smell of waste and exhaust was all over as he and his dad drove through the projects of Detroit. The smell was so bad that Andrew wanted to roll his window up but then the heat would be scorching in the vehicle. The poor and destitute littered the streets as their vehicle slowed, entering the parking lot of what looked to be an abandoned building.

Drew parked and lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke in the car versus out the window. It circled around Andrew’s face but he held back the cough that was tickling his throat, not wanting to upset his father. Andrew wanted to ask if they were going inside, but he knew better then to speak before spoken too. He glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye as he didn’t want to be caught looking directly at him.

Drew was tapping his long fingers against the steering wheel, his thick eyebrows practically pushed together in a frown. He was a big man, with broad shoulders and strong arms. His high cheekbones were slightly sunken in and his jawline was feathered with light blond hair that matched the hair on his head. He was a tall man. Andrew didn’t know how tall his dad was because he had no concept of things such as that, but his father towered over people, including his short, petite mother. People often said that they looked alike, but Andrew didn’t think so. He could recognize the resemblance in the face, but he had his mother’s sharp hazel eyes that stood in contrast to her pale skin and dark, almost black hair. He also had her long eyelashes that curled almost like a girls, and unlike his father, Andrew’s body was small, skinny, and almost frail, definitely not the foreboding presence Drew was. Of course, who knew what would happen when he grew older. Perhaps more of his father’s features would come out then.

Andrew turned his head to gaze outside again; there wasn’t much to see. A few people lingered across the street. They were like him and his family, homeless. Of course, at the moment they had a roof over their head, which was better than the men hunched by the wall near the liquor store. Andrew ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit he had. It was something that drove his father crazy, well, crazier than he already was. He dropped his hand and tilted his head toward the building. The windows were boarded, but Andrew noticed that occasionally he could see light pass through the cracks. Someone was moving around inside.

“Son, you can’t trust people,” Drew said as his eyes moved to the window that Andrew had just been looking at.

Andrew turned to his father. Drew shifted his eyes from the window to the door of the building. He was watching as the people walked in and out. They had been sitting in their car for a while now. Drew took a long drag of his cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke into the car again before turning to look at his son; Andrew swallowed reflexively. His father looked upset, already indicating that this day would likely not end very well.

“You have to take what you need or people will take it from you,” he said, the underlying anger seeping out.

Drew made his eyebrows move closer together, making him appear more menacing than he normally did. Andrew nodded. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that. Drew stared at Andrew for a long moment before scowling. He grabbed his son’s face and twisted it left and right, then back and forth several times. It was as if he were studying him. He then dropped his hand and his eyes appeared to be darker than they were only a few minutes ago, which frightened Andrew greatly.

“You’re going to be real pretty, Andrew, way too pretty for a man. You need to use that as an advantage to fuck others or you’ll end up getting fucked yourself,” he stated angrily.

He then turned back to the window, lighting another cigarette.

“The problem is that you’re weak, Andrew.” He blew out another cloud of smoke while he continued to speak without looking in his son’s direction. “You need to toughen up or people are going to hurt you. I’ve tried to make you strong, but you’re still too fuckin’ soft. That will get you killed; it will get us killed or even worse, arrested.”

“I’m tough,” Andrew started to say but was stopped suddenly when Drew turned and pushed Andrew’s head forward roughly, causing him to hit the dashboard. As much as Andrew didn’t want to, he teared up instantly.

“Like I said... weak,” his father muttered as he turned to the building once again.

Andrew stifled his tears as he lifted his head, wiping the wetness from his face onto his shirt sleeve. He touched his forehead and could feel the swell of a bump forming. He quickly dropped his hand again, not wanting his father to see that he had checked his wound already. He took a deep breath, trying to muster up some much needed strength.

“There he is. Come on,” Drew stated excitedly as he stepped out of the car.

Andrew quickly followed suit and came up next to him. His father glanced at him and pushed the wayward hair out of his son’s face, smiling brightly at him. It was as if he hadn’t just hurt him moments before. He placed his strong hand on Andrew’s shoulder lovingly, just like a father was supposed to do and in spite of everything, Andrew smiled back at him.

“Tonight’s gonna be a good night, son. I can feel it,” Drew said with a playfulness that was rarely in his voice.

Andrew smiled wider. He sure hoped that was true. His family needed a good night, a night where his parents didn’t toss and turn in their sleep, where there was food in their bellies, where Andrew didn’t have to walk on eggshells, worried about what would happen next. Yes, a good night was definitely in order.

Andrew followed his father inside, keeping his head down as to not make eye contact with anyone. His father entered a room with no door on it and told his son to wait for him against the wall. Andrew had done this many times. They were there for no more than ten minutes and then his father was escorting him outside gleefully.

The drive back to their ‘place’ which consisted of an old abandoned trailer with no windows and a rickety screen door was considerably more cheerful than the ride up. Drew pulled up to the trailer and hopped out the vehicle, chipper and energetic. Maybe his dad was right, this was going to be a good night.

“Kimmy,” Drew shouted as he entered the room. “Kimmy, come out here, baby.”

“Did you get some,” she asked with fierceness.

Drew patted the front of his shirt with a smile. She immediately draped her arms around his neck. They kissed as she ducked her fingers inside his shirt pocket, pulling out the packet of white powder. He chuckled against her and pulled her closer while their kiss intensified. After a few moments he pulled away, his hand against her rear as his free hand fished into his pocket. A wad of crumpled bills came out.

“Andrew.”

Before his dad could say his name a second time, Andrew approached. Drew set the cash in his hand, folding his fingers around it.

“Go get some food, bring it back here.” He turned to Kimberly. “What do you want baby?”

“It doesn’t matter, you decide,” she purred before jiggling the plastic bag in front of him.

His eyes grew dark as she backed away from him playfully taunting him with the bag. He stepped towards her and she screamed in delight as he grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up. He started walking her back towards where their mattress was. They fell on top of it, him directly over her, his legs straddling her hips. They had already forgotten about the ten-year-old boy standing in the same room with a wad of cash in his hand. Andrew quickly turned and walked away.

Helios, Age 11

“You stay here and watch. Do you hear me?” Drew asked quickly.

Andrew noticed that his dad’s eyes were wild and crazy, so he simply nodded. He watched him go into the building and shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing nervously in both directions. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to watch for. Was he supposed to look out for other people, for the police? Andrew was confused and worried. He hated when his father didn’t tell him exactly what he wanted because when that happened, no matter what he did, it wasn’t going to be right. Andrew instinctually ran his hand over his shoulder, not looking forward to going home.

Andrew kept focused as he watched everything, and nothing. There was no activity, which was somewhat surprising. He glanced towards the door.  His dad had been inside the building for a long time and he was extremely hungry. He had only had some crackers, but that was yesterday morning. The tightness in his stomach made him flinch, but it also forced a decision on him. He glanced up and down the street before getting out of the car. He dashed into the alley near the building his dad was in. He immediately headed towards the trash cans, quietly removing a lid. Andrew rummaged through it in search of something that wouldn’t make him sick afterwards. After checking all the cans he let out a frustrated sigh. He crept towards the front of the building and slunk inside as quietly as possible. A lot of times the guys his dad dealt with left food lying around. All he needed was something, not a lot, just something to ward off the ache in his belly.

Andrew walked slowly down the hall on the first floor, watching his bare feet so he didn’t step on anything he shouldn’t and snuck into a room that had the door unlocked. He remained quiet as he made his way into what looked like the kitchen. There was a half-eaten bag of potato chips lying in the waste basket. Without any hesitation, he snatched it up quickly, practically inhaling the contents. He didn’t care that they were stale, it was something. Andrew dumped the now empty bag in the trash and started going through the cupboards to find something else when he heard loud yelling coming from another room. Heavy footsteps pounded the ground as whoever it was ran down the hallway. Andrew looked around quickly, panic setting in. He needed to find a place to hide. Whipping his head around his eyes settled on the cupboard underneath the sink. It was with difficulty, but he was able to maneuver inside just as the yelling got louder and louder. His ears perked up when he heard his dad cursing. Frightened, he made himself as small as he could. He didn’t know what was going on and had no desire to find out.

Andrew stayed under the sink, until he couldn’t hear any movement or voices what so ever, then he gently peeked out of the cupboard. His eyes scanned the environment, trying to decide how safe it was. He tiptoed to the door, glancing up and down the hallway. There was no one in either direction; the house was deserted. Andrew briefly wondered what happened and where his dad was, but his fear took hold at the thought of how angry his father was going to be that he wasn’t in the car waiting for him. Thinking he better get to the car, that maybe he would get lucky and get there before his dad found out, he made a mad dash towards the exit as a man walked into the hallway and hollered for him to stop. Andrew had no intention of stopping and ran as fast as he could. Unfortunately the man grabbed his arm roughly and spun him around to face him. The man looked angry and then suddenly, his features changed. He looked almost friendly as he released his hold on him.

“Aren’t you Drew’s boy?”

Andrew stared back at him and a hint of recognition crept into the back of his mind. He slowly nodded.

“Where’s my dad?”

“The cops picked him up. You and your mama better lay low for a while.”

Andrew’s heart raced as he nodded once again. His mind was all over the place as he ran out of the building and all the way home. Home for the moment amounted to an old abandoned store. About a month ago his father had been able to break through one of the windows and got them all inside. The rest of the windows were completely boarded and the ‘For Sale’ sign, which was falling apart, hung loosely on the front door. Andrew knew they would need to move soon. Owners generally checked on their properties at least once every four to six weeks and he was sure they had been there for at least that long.

When Andrew walked inside he could see his mom pacing back and forth, mumbling, with her fingers tapping her mouth nervously. When she heard him, she looked his way and then past him towards the door. She pushed her son out of the way and swung the door open wide, franticly looking up and down the street. She turned back to Andrew, confused and angry.

“Where’s Drew?”

Andrew shrugged. “I think he went to jail.”

Her hand moved quickly, slapping him across his cheek hard. “You were supposed to watch for the cops. How could you let this happen?”

“I didn’t see anyone,” Andrew stated between his tears.

Kimberly Harrison stared at her only son. The tears started flowing immediately but Andrew wasn’t sure whether she was crying about hitting him, which he doubted, or about his father being arrested, which was more likely the case. He carefully stepped away from her and dropped down on the dirty mattress on the floor. When she got that way, it was always best to stay out of her way. He watched her pace the small room. She was muttering about his dad, and about needing money. Every time he started to get up she yelled at him to sit back down and keep still, that she needed to think. After several hours, Andrew finally laid down and tried to sleep knowing that it would not only help him forget how hungry he was, but also forget about what was happening with his parents. He also thought that maybe, just maybe, his mom would feel better when he woke up.