30 years since the acceptance of his family’s lifestyle… the day AJ sealed his fate with his father… the day everything changed. It has been a whirlwind of emotions, mental anguish, redemption, and happiness. Within those years so much has happened and so much is set forth by the order of the rules of the tradition. “When do we start?” The last naïve thing AJ said to his father and only at 16. Within five years of that question, AJ not only lost all gullibility when seeing the truth about this world, but he grew a hard shell to the reality of the bad that can come from it. Now, the biggest obstacle that his father taught him was that all evil can not be washed away from this world. They are only human and only can do so much. However, it is what they do to take out those evil doers that can hopefully set forth a domino affect of good in the future.

Five years… from 16 to 21, AJ learned the true meaning of the shadow. How to watch, listen, feel, hear, react to the prey. Watching his father, a master at hunting those evil doers, months of watching, months of honing in the skillset to figure the perfect time, months of proof of why this prey is the one to take out. 4 kills a year is the norm. All different styles, to not attract attention of a form of serial, all reasons justified later when the news breaks on who that prey really was. Decades of this tradition and media has still not picked up on the fact that it is this family’s tradition unfolding. The outcomes always the same… “one less evil in society…” However, as the years gone on from AJ’s grandfather to father, there has been a shift in the world. The world has become more endearing to humans as a whole. While there are prey that deserve what’s coming to them, there are people out there that believe in redemption. There are groups that have formed to say it should be the courts decision and not someone else deciding that death is the option. AJ’s grandfather saw how the next generations could start feeling the same way and upset the pattern and rules of their tradition. The last rule… the hardest one to comprehend for the new generation, but after you retire from the tradition for your child to take over, you see it is a blessing in disguise.

After AJ’s first kill, the hardest one as anyone can imagine, he put his five years worth of training to good use. When his father retired, he knew that AJ was going to be special. Once he saw the way AJ studied the first prey, he knew that the family tradition would be in good hands. AJ revolutionized the tradition rule book and made it even harder for the media or anyone else to figure out who he was, or who his family was. Following in his father’s footsteps he became a professor of History at NYU. Once a year he would test his students to see if they can find or create a pattern between the 4 random kills that were publicized. Each year, without a doubt, no one came up with anything near the true answer… their professor and his tradition.

It has been 10 years since the first kill… 40 kills, and a regular life being led by AJ. A professor and married now by day… the Tradition keeper by night. His wife and her family have never suspected anything. His wife is a night nurse at NYU Langone. Perfect scenario for AJ to complete his Traditions. While his own mother was gone when his father completed the traditions, AJ was hesitant to keep the traditions going. He fell in love with his now wife when she was in school with him at NYU. His father had no idea back then, as it was year 5 of their training for AJ to take over. AJ kept it quiet and knew it would be hard to juggle. How could he give up one or the other? He knew it would be tough and one day he was going to let his father know his dilemma. The same day he was going to speak with his father, AJ’s future wife extatically explained that she is going to get here dream job as a night nurse. AJ hesitated for a second and burst out in excitement. As he grabbed her and spun her around, the excitement he really felt was completing his training and taking over the family traditions. Can he really have the best of both worlds?