[Soule]

3:00PM.

A boy gets home from school, drops his bag on the floor and shuts the door,
runs into the kitchen, screaming "MOM!" across freshly mopped boards,
then runs to her room repeating "MOM!" once more.

He quickly realizes he's alone, lays on his bed to rewind the day that's passed,
hits play with a smile on his face, winning a game of Dodgeball in gym class.
During lunch, his friends and him watched videos as they grinned and laughed,
and the girl he likes smiled in the hall...
he didn't say a word, but that smile was like Church Glass.

Puppy love. Innocent and sweet like the chocolate drink he consumes all week.
He stares at the ceiling fan, his stomach making a sound like bullfrogs in heat.
That Louisiana humidity shining through blinds as he grabs some cash from his piggy bank,
leaves a note for his mama so she doesn't think he's been gobbled up by a croc or icky snake.
Running down the street, kids playing catch but he's on a mission in a day dream,
blazing through the Ruins of Civilization, zombies chasin' him into safety.

He walks straight to the coolers in the back, grabs a Gatorade and some snacks,
puts them on the counter with his cash, the clerk smiles and says "how's your dad?"

The boy replies "he's fine" with a sparkle in his eye, "how's school?" again, the boy replies.

"I'm passing all my classes, so I guess alright." The clerk smirks and steers his attention outside...

"Tell you what... these are on the house if you get home fast..." but the boy says "NO SIR!"

The boy shakes his head, "mama told me that the best things in life are earned."

The man smirks again, takes the money and sends the boy on his way,
but as the boy approaches the door, you can see the horror in his face.

A man with his hood up, sunglasses and a mask... a shotgun cocked and loaded,
the boy wet himself but was too paralyzed to notice, staring at a demon with no emotion.
The man kicked the door in, bruising the boy's eye and shattering his nose,
aimed the gun at the Clerk who begged him to just take the money and go!
The boy watched in tears from his grave on the floor, "EVERYTHING IN THE DRAWER!"
"it'll be okay, son." the clerk lied as he pulled the bills out and took buckshot to his core.

The boy gasped... the smell like a combination of copper and a lit match,
as the man stuffed his pockets he turned his attention to the kid fast...

Put two more in the barrel, cocked it, shouldered it and sighed...
"Sorry, little brother, but you shouldn't have been here tonight..."

BANG!!!

4:00PM

A mother gets home, lets out some grief from a sixteen hour rotation,
"Baby! Mama's here!" her soft, pained voice carries across the salvation.
She walks into the kitchen, repeats her announcement and spots the note,
"Mommy, I went to the store, no monsters gobbled up my soul."
She smiles for the first time today and then looks out the window.
As the reds and blues flash pass, her heart climbs into her throat.
The worry escalates the faster she runs down the street towards the store,
where a body is pulled out but much too big to be her little bundle of warmth,
but the second body drops her to both knees, it erupted the storm.
That beautiful boy who blessed her dreams, now a bloodied corpse.
The entire town heard her screams, her husband broken by the sight,
as his badge caught the corner of her eye, she further lost her mind.

"BRING HIM BACK! PROTECT AND SERVE, HE'S OUR SON!"

A plea that rumbled the streetlights like a Banshee on the run.
He wrapped his arms around her, she continuously punched him in the gut.
He fought the tears until he couldn't anymore and opened the flood.
Watching his little boy, in a bodybag cocoon, covered in blood.

That little boy was their golden ticket, to a life of love and joy,
and without him, the factory might as well crumble, destroyed.

Children are our golden tickets to a better life, without them, we might as well say goodbye.