MONTANA

CHAPTER 1

Growing up in the same area all their life, Blake Montana wondered about other areas where his travels could continue. Traveling was a part of his life; it showed a new world he never seen before and people that are different than he expected. The best part was that he got to share it with his three other brothers: Bryce, Connell, and Maxwell. His favorite trip happened to be in "Height Lights", a city in Fort Ridge where lights surrounded the city everywhere, and is visible to see 10 miles away. It is a place he dreams of constantly.

Although, that is the same area where the unthinkable happened: his parents getting arrested. It occurred on the last day of their vacation, and were just about the enter the airport, when security guards came out of nowhere. They seized the parents and took them somewhere while the boys were brought to a random office. It didn't make sense why that happened in the first place, but were released hours later. The police put ankle monitors on them, making sure every move was recorded.

But Blake already knew that his parents worked for the Ridgewood Police Department. Both were detectives, and the children planned to go into a field of investigation. Learning things was their passion, creating more questions for them. A few days later, it was revealed that a computer breach occurred at the time and their job accounts had involvement in it. They were accused of hacking the system to try and take over the entire government. The case went on for almost a year with nonstop news reports and updates, but ended when a judge ruled in favor of the parents. The family went back home on a full-paid ticket and other things not asked for. It gave them hope, but Blake was still scarred on the inside.

It was a major event in his life that shattered him. For a while, he couldn't sleep at all. Everytime he closed his eyes, the frightening images appeared. There were days he didn't feel tired either. It messed up his life the most and affected it to a higher degree. His normal life changed, resulting in bouts of anxiety. He had no idea of what to do, only not telling anyone at all. On the night of the Back to School meeting in September, he stared at the wall, thoughts running through his head.

Connell came to his room and sat at the bottom of his bed. Bryce and Maxwell joined soon after until their parents came. After entering the house, they heard a flowing conversation and went upstairs to join them. Blake explained how he felt towards the situation, asking for support in this shackling recovery. Doctor appointments were made the next day, and weeks of therapy followed. Life was starting to get back to normal, and things started to open up more once he entered school after the end of Christmas vacation.