The Sniper of Vlopolis

Chapter 1: Christmas Presents

December 15, 2089

      "Mercury, come over here, Uncle Kaz got you an early Christmas present!"

        "Coming mom!" Mercury responded. Mercury Wolverson jumped down from the treehouse ladder, landed with a big thud on the ground, and ran into the house. Her mom was opening a box with a kitchen knife, but very slowly as if she didn't want to hurt an animal that was in the box. When mom finished opening it, she revealed to her daughter what she was trying to get out of the box. It was a silver bracelet with five small diamonds around it. Mercury held it as if it was going to break if she held it too hard. She put on the shiny piece of jewelry and closed the clasp to it. "It's beautiful. Tell Uncle Kaz thank you." Mom nodded her head and went to the drawer where all of the silverware was stored and placed the kitchen knife in the plastic tray. 

        Mercury ran to her dad's bedroom, where he was laying on his bed watching an old X-Men movie. "Dad, look what Uncle Kaz got me for Christmas!" Mercury held out her wrist for her dad to see.

        Her dad's eyes opened up in surprise. "Uncle Kaz got you this? It's beautiful," he beamed.

        Mercury smiled and skipped to her room. She placed the bracelet in her glittery, purple, jewelry box and ran back into the living room to play outside again. 

        Before Mercury opened the front door to go outside, her mom stopped her. "Don't go outside, it's too dark now and we are going to grandma's house for a party. Put on your fuzzy coat and Uggs." Mercury did so and waited by the door for her parents to get ready.

          "It's time to go?" Mercury's dad asked. 

          "Yes," her mom answered with a tired sigh. When Dad finished putting his black coat on, they went out the door. 

        Dad locked the door with his keys and they all walked to his car across the street. His car was a hovering black Toyota Tacoma with dark tints on the windows. It was hard to see at night. 

        He unlocked the car with his fingerprint and they all opened their doors and sat in the leather seats. Dad turned the car on and placed his hands on the steering wheel. He backed out of the parking space, drove to the stop sign, stopped, and started driving on the road. He turned the radio off as he drove towards downtown Vlopolis. Grandma's house was in downtown Vlopolis, near a food market. 

        In the back seat, Mercury was looking out of the window, counting all of the cars she saw, and noticing the pretty lit-up skyscrapers of Vlopolis. Her mom took out her red Mac lipstick from her black Micheal Kors purse and re-applied it to her lips, then she fixed her long, dark brown hair into a ponytail.

        During the whole car ride, it was quiet, except for the sound of cars passing by. As they drove downtown, the sirens of several police cars caught Mercury's attention. She pressed her face against the cold glass window to see where the police cars were. The sirens made her mom look out of the window too. "That sounds like a lot of police cars," Mercury mumbled. An older white Cadillac Escalade and six police cars came around the corner behind the truck at lightning speed.

        "Zaiden!" Mom said worriedly. Seconds later, the white Cadillac slams into the rear of the truck, making it flip over. As the truck flipped over, Mercury formed a purple shield bubble around herself, protecting her from the hit. It continued to tumble on the road until it finally came to a stop feet away from where it was hit, laying upside down.

        Mercury dropped her shield bubble and opened the door. She crawled out of the upside-down truck and opened the driver's seat door. When she opened it, she saw her dad, blood coming out of his mouth and nose as his face lay on the airbag. Mercury pulled his head up and placed two fingers on his neck.