Prologue: Of Iron and Blood
"Fa. . . ther. . ." I mumbled as his body fell in front of the bed at the sharp sound of a bang. Swiftly, my mother tightened her hand over my mouth, ordering me to stay silent. Her warmth was the only thing that told me what was happening in front of my eyes was real. Yet, I couldn't understand the situation.
The tips of my fingers and toes shook and tightened, my body wrapped in my mother's embrace while laying on the floor. With the curtain half-opened, a streetlight curiously peered in, revealing vague human silhouettes in heavy clothing.
My heart almost seemed to leap out of my throat as my mother's warmth left me in the dark room. I lifted my chin to witness my mother with her own gun, much like the one my father had taken out from the vintage console radio near the door. The one she joked was too old to have in the house anymore.
My parents became total strangers. More than the hardened expressions I had never seen; not the ones they put up during a conference in front of the company's associates. It was the display of illegal possession of firearms punished with at least a year in prison.
A flash of light illuminated the room, the man who had shot my Father falling down. But as the sound receded, like a crescendo, it was her who fell.
I drew my legs closer, cowering back as the two remaining men destroyed the sanctity of my parent's bedroom. I looked down at my mother and screeched as I saw a hole in her head and a void for eyes.
"No. . . No. . ." My voice shook, squeaking as the lights went back on.
My sanity snapped at the unfathomable scene, the piercing smell of iron, the sound of heavy boots, and the smell of sweat. And the realization that my life was nothing more than a candle that can be easily sniffed out.
I flinched at the sound of metal against metal, lifting my eyes to meet the void that swallowed my mother's life.
If I had a drop of composture left, it evaporated under the heat of certain death.
I let out a scream, tears pouring out of my violet eyes as if I was a baby who had barely gotten out of my mother's womb.
Published: January 1st, 2017
Rewritten: January 15th, 2019