One move, one life

“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.”

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