“Brother, brother! Come and catch me if you can! Haha!”

“Take it easy, Violet,” I said, jogging behind her. “I don’t want you to get hurt. You know that, right?”

She slowed down, giggling. “Yeah, I can go slower. I like that you’re worried about me. But you have to take it easy too sometimes, okay?”

“I know,” I said, catching my breath. “But I can’t stop worrying about you. You’re my little sister.”

She looked up at me, more serious now. “And since Mom and Dad died… I worry about you too. You’ve had so much trouble, and you’re the one taking care of me.”

I kneeled down and held her shoulders gently. “Violet, listen. I will always protect you. Always. Because I’m your brother—and because I love you.”

Later that night, after she had fallen asleep, I sat by the window, watching the broken world outside. Cities crumbled. The sky was a sick shade of gray. And out there, somewhere in the shadows, were the monsters—some human, some worse.

Violet asked me yesterday if she could go outside. She'll ask again today. But it’s too dangerous. I can’t let her go. Not into that chaos. Not yet.

But… maybe there's a way.

If I clear the area... if I remove the threats nearby... then maybe, just maybe, she could step outside for a little while—be free for once.

Yes. I’ll make it safe for her. Even if I have to kill everything that stands in her way.

“Violet!” I called from the door. “I’m going out for a bit. I’ve got a surprise for you when I come back. I think you’ll love it.”

“Okay, Brother!” she called from the floor, where she was drawing. “I’m just going to keep working on my cat picture!”

“Have fun,” I said, smiling. “I’ll be back soon.”

The streets outside were cold and empty. On the right, a pack of human-monsters roamed, their eyes glowing faint yellow, their movements jerky like broken puppets. On the left, a group of regular monsters huddled near a collapsed building—clawed, hunched, drooling.

I had to choose.

“Twelve human-monsters… seven beast-monsters… hmm.” I whispered. “Guess I’ll deal with the humans first.”

I stepped forward, but a scream caught my attention.

Down the road, I saw a group of men. Four of them, standing over a child—maybe seven years old. Same age as Violet. The boy was bruised, shivering.

I clenched my fists.

“Hey!” I shouted, walking toward them.

One of the men turned, sneering. “Who the hell are you? Got something to say?”

“Yeah,” I said, voice tight. “Stop hurting the kid. Can’t you see he’s already hurt?”

One of them laughed. “He’s my son. I can do what I want.”

The kid didn’t look up. He just stood there, silent and afraid.

I looked at the father… then at the boy… and I hesitated. This was the world now. Broken. Twisted. And I couldn’t fix every piece.

“…No, sir,” I said quietly. “I was just checking. I’ll be on my way.”

“Damn right,” he muttered as I turned away.

As I walked off, I thought, I’m glad it wasn’t Violet. If anyone ever touched her like that… they’d be dead before they took a breath.

Back to the hunt.

The monsters were already moving, sensing me. The human-monsters groaned, their bodies bloated and half-rotten, arms twitching like they'd forgotten how to move like people.

I readied my bow.

“Let’s do this.”

I leapt onto a low rooftop, drew three poisoned arrows, and fired them into the crowd. One monster screamed. Another dropped, foaming. The rest charged.

They surrounded me fast.

“Damn… Okay. No running now.”

I drew my sword.

They were hideous—twisted things that once were men, burned and eaten by the darkness they served. Their eyes glowed, their jaws snapped. And they hated the light.

I jumped again—higher this time—landing on the back of the largest one. With a cry, I drove my blade through its neck. It screamed, falling hard to the ground.

When the last one fell, I stood over it, panting. The sun was rising.

The beast-monsters nearby caught fire the moment sunlight touched them, burning to ash. But the human-monsters… they only twitched. They hated the light, but they could survive it.

Why is that? I wondered.

But I didn’t have time to think too long.

Violet would be waking up soon.

“I have to get back,” I said aloud. “She’s probably waiting. And she’ll love the surprise.”

A safer world. Even if just for today.

In Jake and Violet's house:

La la la (Violet is singing) Ding dong.

"I'm coming! I think big bro is back. I wonder what surprise he has for me. Ahaha!"
She opens the door.

"Hello, little girl. Have you seen a boy about this tall, wearing black and grey clothes, with a bit of blue? He has a red ribbon around his neck and carries a sword."

Oh no! What do they want with my brother? They just described him perfectly... These four men don’t seem like the good kind. I better do something.

"Umm… no, I haven’t seen anyone like that."

"Oh, I’m sorry, little girl. It’s just that you look a lot like him."

"Hey guys," one of them whispered, "I think she’s messing with us. She looks just like him."

"Okay then, if there’s nothing else, I better get going."
She tries to close the door, but one of the men is faster and stronger.

"You little girl, don’t think you can mess with us just because you look like a stupid little kid," said one man.

"Let’s go inside. She might have pictures of her family—maybe the boy’s in one of them," said another.

Oh no, what do I do?
"Don’t go through my stuff! This is not your home. Get out!" said Violet, scared and afraid.

"Why are you talking back to your elders? Haven’t you learned any manners?" one said as he struck her across the face.

"Boss, I found the boy in one of the pictures!"

"You little liar!" the boss yelled. "You were hiding him! I’m going to teach you some manners. You two—tie her to a chair and don’t let her go."

"Yes, boss," the others replied.

"Let go of me! Get out of my house!" Violet cried.
One man grabbed both her hands, slapped her as he dragged her upstairs, tied her to a chair with tape, binding her wrists and mouth.

"Good job, guys. Now we just have to wait for her brother."

Meanwhile, back to the brother:

"Ooooh, I see the house! I'm always happy when I see our home—me and Violet’s—because I know she’s there, safe and sound," he said, giggling.

He began running toward the house. But as he reached it, something felt… off.

"What is this feeling? No, I can’t think about it now—I need to go inside."

He opens the door.

"Violet, I’m home!" he called out cheerfully.
But something was definitely wrong. Violet didn’t come when her big brother called. He rushed upstairs like lightning and tried to open her door—but it was locked.

"Violet? Is something wrong? Please open the door!"
Violet was taped up and couldn’t speak properly.

"Violet, are you okay?! Open the door, please!"
"Mmmhhmm!" she tried to cry out.

The boss whispered, "Make her quiet. Now."

Out of nowhere, one of the men pulled out a syringe and plunged it into Violet’s neck. Drowsiness hit her like a wave—her limbs went heavy, she couldn’t move, her eyes shut. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Jake was trying to break down the door—bam! bam! bam!—until the door crashed down.

He was shocked to see his sister unconscious on the floor, and the man he had met before standing over her.

"VIOLET!"

"Stop right there!" the man shouted. "If you don’t, your little sister won’t have a pulse anymore."

He grabbed Violet, dragged her up to his side, pulled her head back, and placed a knife against her neck.

Jake froze.

"What do you want?! Let my sister go, or I will—"

"Or you’ll what? Kill me? Ha! Don’t make me laugh. Don’t you know your sister’s life is on the line?"
The man smirked.

What do I do? I have to help her. I promised I'd protect her… and now this? I’m useless…
But the man was staring intensely at him.

"I have to say something..."

"So… what do you want?"

“What do I want, you ask? I want you to kneel down so I can cut your head off,” he said, smiling at me.

“WHAT? What do you mean by that?” I asked, shocked and barely able to hear myself speak.

“You heard me. Get down and kneel.”

“But why?”

“Didn’t you want to protect your little sister? Or did you lie? You can tell the truth — she can’t hear you right now.”

Oh no. I have to protect her. I have to get Violet away from these men so I can fight them with my sword and make sure they never bother us again. Violet is only seven years old — so small and fragile. If I leave her here, lying beside my broken body, she won’t survive. This world is too dangerous and broken for her to survive without me.

“I didn’t lie about protecting, my sister.”

“But the only way for her to survive is if you’re dead. So what’s it going to be — you or her?” He tightened his grip on the knife and held Violet even harder.

“Let her go, right now!”

“Why? Have you made your choice yet?”

“Yes, I have. I will always protect my sister, no matter what.”

“Well then, kneel.”

I knelt down slowly.

“Grab his sword. He doesn’t need that anymore,” the man ordered loudly.

One of his men ran over, took the sword from me, and quickly ran back. Another man raised his sword, ready to strike me down. The boss slipped the bindings off Violet and stepped slowly toward me.

“This is the moment for you to—“

He didn’t get to finish.

Now’s my chance, I thought. I pulled out a pocket knife and slashed through his legs. He collapsed to the ground. One of his men grabbed Violet, while the others rushed to help their boss.

I looked at the man holding Violet. “Let her go right now.”

He froze, shocked. But still held a knife to her neck.

“If you make a move, I’ll kill her — just one cut.”

“Just let her go, and no one gets hurt.”

“So? I have your sister, and you better get down on the ground.”

He looked as shocked as I felt — probably the youngest in the group.

“I’m going to kill you now!” He lunged with his knife.

I dodged fast and turned towards Violet — the man holding her was about to slit her throat.

“No, you don’t!” I yelled and threw the pocket knife at his head. He fell dead.

The two other men charged me, but I grabbed the sword lying on the ground and took them both down with a single slash. They screamed in pain and died.

I rushed to Violet, tore off the tape, picked her up gently, and carried her to my room. I laid her carefully on my bed and locked the door. Then I ran back to where the boss was lying.

I grabbed him by the collar and shouted, “Why did you do this!? Why come here? Why put my little sister in danger?”

“Why do you ask? You don’t even know why?” he said, irritated. “This was just a waste of time trying to get her.”

“Answer me now, or I’ll kill you.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. I did this because I thought I had to kill you two kids — because of your parents.”

“What do you mean ‘because of my parents’?” I shouted, angry. I pulled a knife from my pocket and pressed it to his neck. “Tell me!”

I forced myself to stay calm — I need answers.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. But please, put the knife away.”

I lowered the knife.

“Your parents tried to stop me. They thought what I was doing was wrong, and I got angry. When I saw you, you looked just like your father. I went to your house, saw your little sister— she looked like your mother. We searched your room, found the family pictures. Your parents are our enemies. We had to kill you both so you wouldn’t follow in their footsteps.”

“What happened exactly?”

“I don’t know what else to say. I beat up any kids who stood in my way. Your parents tried to stop me, and became my enemies, so I killed them.”

“So… you killed my parents?”

“Yeah, and it was pretty fun,” he said smiling.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed my knife and stabbed it through his heart.

I was in shock.

“So this guy killed my parents… what am I supposed to do now?”

I dragged the four bodies to the their trunk, then drove to the nearest high cliff. One by one, I carried them out and threw them off the edge.

“Here, they can stay—far from my parents’ sight, and far from me and Violet.”

I left the trunk behind and started running toward the house. The drive had taken an hour and a quarter, so running back would take even longer. But I had to get back to Violet.

“I am coming home Violet, I promise.”