He runs, childlike laughter and shrieks filling the air. His best friend, Jaxon, is beside him and they're playing hide and seek with each other, while the adults look on indulgently. He's five years old and turning six soon, a big boy, he thinks to himself proudly, his parents also watching him with keen eyes from a distance.
"I beat you, I beat you" Jaxon crows and Gabriel scowls at him.
"No fair" he mutters "now get out of that tree before you fall", he adds, feeling confused. He could have sworn he'd seen Jaxon fall already, his arms spread out as he screamed but at the moment, he was smiling smugly down at his friend and laughing at him.
Gabriel began to climb, steady and sure, something inside of him screaming to move before it was too late. He feels dread pooling in his gut an
