It is late in the evening, around just after sunset, in late July at the Nashville International Airport. Large crowds of people are hurriedly travailing in and out of the terminal building. One man is sitting alone on a bench outside of the building. His name is Gary King, and he is waiting for his two younger brothers to pick him up to drive him to their father's new home. He has light brown hair that reaches down to the middle of his neck. His ice blue eyes, that shine against his fair skin, quietly scan his surroundings observing every detail. He is wearing a light blue button-down shirt under a dark grey coat and black slacks. He pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket takes one out and lights it with a gold Zippo lighter with an intricate engraving of a heart on the front. He returns the cigarettes and lighter to his pocket, then pulls a phone from his pants. Checking the time, he sighed,
"Fifteen minutes late... Where are those idiots?" He quietly said to himself. Another ten minutes pass and he begins to lose hope. Just as he stands to go call a cab, a large Dodge truck pulls up in front of the bench he was at. "Impeccable timing as always." he thinks as he lets out a small chuckle as he looks at the large truck. The driver steps out of and walks toward him.
"Gary! Long time no see, bro!" The driver, Michael King, exclaims. His voice is loud and has a very noticeable Southern accent. He is well built with tan, olive toned skin, tar black, short cut hair, and brown eyes. He is wearing well worn and torn blue jeans and a light yellow t-shirt. On his head, there is a camouflage ballcap with two fish hooks, one silver, and the other pink.
"Hey, Mike. Its been too long if you ask me." Gary responds as Michael gives him a quick hug. Gary's voice contains a slight Southern accent but also has a slightly refined tone to it as well. "Where's Danny?"
"Right here!" says a third man who had just stepped out of the passenger seat, His voice is also lightly accented but lacks the refinement that Gary's speech has. "You sure that eye surgery worked?" says Danny as he enthusiastically hugged his older brother. Danny has hazel eyes and dark blonde hair that is cut short. He is wearing a purple polo shirt with khaki cargo pants. Danny like Gary has fair skin and is tall, but has a slimmer build like his other sibling. Micheal is the shortest and thinnest of the trio but also has the most defined muscles. Gary is the tallest at even 6 feet. He is fit, but not as toned as Michael and is also fairly thicker in build. Danny is slightly thinner than Gary and is just about as toned as his oldest brother.
"Haha. Real funny." Gary responds sarcastically. Gary was legally blind since birth, but he received laser corrective surgery on his twenty-first birthday and has only needed glasses for reading since.
"So how's the Southern Gentleman been lately?" Danny says as Gary loads his suitcase into the truck bed. Danny only calls his brother that when they first see each other after an extended period of time apart, or whenever one of them is leaving for a while. He also has a similar name for Michael, calling him "Country Boy." Given their personalities, the nicknames are quite fitting. Gary was always polite and formal except around his closest friends, he was also pretty smart, according to many friends, it was hard to find someone smarter. His personality was almost like a liquid that would shift and change to fit every situation best. Pinning down the real Gary was hard, but his brothers knew him well, he had a kind heart and strong will, always ready to do the right thing no matter the personal cost. Gary always tried to be the epitome of a gentleman. Michael was almost the exact opposite, he was polite and kind, but was never one for formalities. He was kind and caring, just not formal or sophisticated. If one word was used to describe Michael it was 'redneck'. He, unlike Gary, always loved the South, hunting, fishing, big trucks, and country music and was always very strong and athletic, but was just below average in intelligence. He wasn't stupid just not incredibly smart. He was simple and straightforward, what you see is what you get. Some would view this as plain or shallow, but they miss that being caring and strong is a lot more than most people have. Danny was a sort of median between his two brothers. He was fairly athletic and decently smart. He was smarter than Michael but not as athletic and was more athletic than Gary but not as smart. His personality was also an even mixture of two. He was kind and was formal when necessary, but generally casual. He had Gary's flexibility, albeit less extreme, and he still had a more grounded side like Mike. The closer someone got to him, the more they'd see the grounded side, as Dan would often stay rather reserved until someone got close.
Danny enjoyed a few sports and a few classes but wasn't sure what he wanted from life yet. Michael was always interested in having a simple life, with a job working with his hands as his goal. Gary, on the other hand, did whatever interested him at the time until he grew bored and quit. In high school Gary spent months learning magic tricks, then guitar, then programming, then French. He never stuck with one hobby for very long, he was the jack of all trades, master of none.
Even as kids, the trio had their own clear roles among themselves. Gary was always the brains and the leader. He was always calm and serene no matter the situation. Gary seemed to just radiate an aura of intelligence and serenity, and he was versed in the gift of gab and was always ready to make a sacrifice for the sake of others. All of which made him a natural leader. Michael was always the muscle. He was always the strongest and if you needed him to do something he would gladly oblige. Danny was always a follower. He was strong and caring, and he always loved being a helper, which he found easier with someone to guide him. If you needed help Danny was there.
Danny climbs into the middle seat as Mike climbs into the driver seat and Gary takes his place in the passenger seat.
"What's in the bag?" Danny says pointing to the small duffel bag on Gary's lap.
"Just those books that you said you wanted, so I thought I'd bring them for you," Gary said with a smile as Mike drove away from the airport. "I went ahead and brought the book I just got published as well."
"Sweet, thanks, man," Danny responded grinning like an idiot.
"So you finally got a book published. What else has been up lately?" Mike suddenly spoke.
"I just got a job as a reporter, it's been nice so far and I just managed to get a new apartment in Brooklyn," Gary responded happily. "You still working in that auto shop in South Carolina?"
"Yep! I'm loving it too. Just got promoted to manager so it's been good." Mike said with a smile. He was happy to hear Gary had settled down for a while. Gary hadn't stayed in one place long since he graduated from college. He had served a short term in the Army National Guard to help pay for college. Danny had just graduated High School, while Gary had graduated college two years prior and Micheal got a trade school certification four years prior. Gary had a bachelors degree in English. Michael, however, went to a tech school for two years and had been working as an auto-mechanic in South Carolina since.
"What about you Danny? Do you have any plans since you graduated?" Gary asked looking at the youngest brother. "Sorry I missed it by the way."
"No worries," Danny responded sincerely. "And honestly, not really. I think I may just serve a term in the military and then decide what to do from there."
"Sounds good bro, seems like a plan if you ask me. You definitely have more of a plan than I did." Gary responded with a smile. Mike continued driving down the road until he suddenly turned off to a small clearing onto a small dirt road through the forest. "Woah! Where are you going? The road is back there."
"I'm pretty sure this is a short cut.." Mike responded enthusiastically. "I want to get back quicker so dad can have a few hours to talk with you before tomorrow."
"Okay, but forgive me for questioning your methods. We've only driven here a few times," Gary sighed. "It's hard to believe dad turns fifty tomorrow."
"Makes you feel old, huh?" Danny said as Gary lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Really though, Dad is really glad you came too, it's been a while since anyone's seen you."
"I know dude," Gary said patting Danny's head. "Travailing the world does that." After college Gary managed to get a considerable amount of money that he used to travel to various places across the world.
"Where all did you go?" Danny asked curiously.
"Let's see, most of Europe, and a lot of places near the south of China," Gary responded as he recalled his travels.
"Which place was the best to visit?"
"London and Berlin were both beautiful cities and were very interesting." Gary said to his curious younger brother. "India and Tibet, though, were also great and really got me thinking about life, you know?"
"Sounds great. Any other place that you want to visit?"
"Not at the moment, but if I get the chance to visit some far off land, believe me, I will." After that the next few minutes were spent in silence as each brother was content to enjoy the night sky and the serene forest.
Suddenly there was an earsplitting crashing noise and a sudden bright flash. Danny instinctively ducked as Mike dove over to cover him and Gary reached over to cover his two younger brothers There was another sudden flash and then there was darkness.