Harsh Beginnings

PROLOGUE

Alternate universes have been a part of fiction for a long time. In each of these alternate universes is an earth identical to this one, and on those earths there is a person who exists on every single earth as a kind of doppelgänger or twin or triplet or whatever you want.  In other words, you or I would exist on each planet living a life dependent on what the actual properties are on that planet.

I decided to try and write several stories set in different universes but with the same basic character.  Matthew Joseph Skylar, is a character that I have developed while working out story ideas over the past few years, and has become my favorite character.  What I hope to do is simply take him and put him on different earths to see what his life would be like on each one. For my first attempt I begin his life on a planet where werewolves or wolf shifters secretly exist and few humans are aware of that.  Of course, there are other paranormal creatures that coexist, and some humans who spend their lives searching out and destroying any of those they feel are "evil".

I can't guarantee that you'll see any unicorns but I do hope that you come to like Matt Skylar.

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Sister Mary Alexander, of St. Joseph's Church, was in the main church making sure each row had enough hymnals when she paused.  It sounded like an infant was crying just outside the church doors.  She went to investigate.  Upon opening the main door she found a small infant wrapped in a receiving blanket.  Tucked in the blanket was his birth certificate.  She scooped the child up and brought him into the church.

The child's crying brought several nuns to check on the disturbance.  One called 911 while another hurried off to find material to fashion a diaper.  Sister Mary asked one of the nurses to check the birth certificate.

"It says he was born at St. Matthew's Hospital two days ago.  His parents are listed as Jane and John Doe.  He's simply listed as Baby Doe."

The nuns were heartbroken that the child had no name.  After a quick discussion they came up with Matthew for the hospital and Joseph for the church.  Sister Mary Alexander then gave him her maiden name O'Brian, from before she became a nun.

When Child Services came to pick him up, the nuns insisted that he should have the name Matthew Joseph O'Brian.  The courts agreed and his birth certificate was amended.  He was then taken to the local orphanage.

Matthew was not at the orphanage very long, since there was a high demand for infants.  He was adopted by James and Leoan Harris after several weeks.

Matthew Joseph Harris was smart, happy, beautiful, and gentle.  The blue eyed blond skipped grades, leaving behind the children that were his age, and found himself the target of bullies much older than he was, who hated him because he was so much smarter than they were.

He spent most of his high school life being locked in his locker or held upside down with his head in a flushing toilet.  His food would be taken, or his tray dumped on the floor.  He told his parents, but they felt he needed to understand that this was normal. He was different from the other children, smarter, and would continue to surpass them throughout his life.  He basically needed to just deal with it.

While he naturally excelled, his parents continued pressuring him to do better.  When he exceeded their expectations, they pressured him more.  Depressed with a school life consisting of no friends, and constant taunting and abuse, he wasn't even allowed computer games or other gaming consoles to relieve his loneliness.  His parents allowed him the use of their computers under strict supervision and for learning purposes only.

He worried that one day the bullies would go too far.  He asked about self defense training, but was told it wasn't scholarly.  He started hearing voices in his head.  Well, one voice, telling him to hang in there.  He held on to that.  It was more encouragement than he got from either parent.

And then he was chosen to be valedictorian.  As much of an honor as it was, he tried to turn it down.  He was terrified at how he thought the older teens would react to having a 10 year old valedictorian.  James and Leoan were upset when they were contacted by the principal, and assured him they would convince Matthew to step up and embrace the honor.

And they did convince him.  He agreed to write and give his speech at graduation.  It WAS an honor, and since his parents would be there, along with a plethora of other adults, he decided it would probably be fine.

But he'd been wrong before...