Prologue

On a cold winter night in Burgess Pennsylvania, a 14 year-old boy was sitting on a street corner in the snow. He was wearing brown pants with holes in them, a brown, faded jacket, and no shoes. His short brown hair was rustling as the cold winter air blew around him. His blue eyes stared at the concrete. He was holding an old, faded, wooden guitar, the only memory he had of his father. He strummed the worn strings softly, creating a beautiful soft, melodic tune which floated in the air which carried it through the nearly empty streets of the city. At his feet stood a rusty metal can containing a few coins, not enough to buy even a pack of gum. However, tonight a particular man was roaming the streets of Burgess, and lucky for the boy, this particular man noticed him.

This man was tall, had pale blond hair, and was wearing a white casual suit with matching shoes. Quite a strange sight indeed, but so was a 14 year-old sitting in the middle of a street at night, with a guitar no less. Jack paid no attention, assuming this man would pass him by like everyone else does. However this was not the case. The man walked in front of the boy.

"Excuse me young man, what is your name?" The boy looked up at him, then looked around. Seeing no one else, he finally realized the man was talking to him.

"wait, you mean me?" He asked.

The man chuckled. "Of course I mean you!"

"Oh, yeah sorry, it's just, usually people don't really notice me, even if no one else is around."

"Well, thats not the case today, now what is your name boy?" He inquired again.

"J-Jackson, but call me Jack, please."

"Last name?"

"I had one,"

"Now Jack, what are you doing out so late, and alone?" The man asked.

Jack shrugged. "Just playin for tips, gotta make money somehow right?"

"Wait hold on kid, how old are you? Where are your parents?"

"I'm fourteen, and my mom's in a hole in the ground, and dad went out to buy scratchers. I guess he won, cause that was six years ago." The man was taken aback buy this.

"And you just shrug this off like it's no big deal?"

"It isn't a big deal." This was even worse.

"Well, don't you have any family?"

"I had a sister, sure did a helluva job protecting her." He said sarcastically. "Died in a fire two years ago."

The man was now rendered speechless. "O-Okay then."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "So, why you so curious about me?"

The man smiled. "Well kid, I notice you have quite a way with the guitar. I do very much enjoy the tune you were playing."

Jack blushed. "T-Thanks, wrote it myself."

The man looked impressed. "Well Jack, my names Manny, I'm an agent, and I'd like to offer you a deal."