Young Writers Society

Yes, it is him, the man with the silver eyes. He’s tall and imposing, intimidating in the least. His shaggy mane of hair was a sickening brown. He inspired fear to the most people, yet the thing that fears me most though, is the long sword that gleams in the firelight. The one that impaled Michael.

I should have been the one to get speared. Everything was my fault. Because of me, my whole family was in mortal peril. I had already lost a friend so close it felt like my heart had stopped beating along with him. Now along with all my convictions, I have guilt tearing at me from the inside. The man keeps my family away from me. In a room that is so small, you can not sit down. It was all because of my greed.

The man has thus far kept me alive, why I don’t know.

“So much fear, these last few days,” the man said, his voice rasping at my bones. “I can smell it, but not from you. I’ve killed your love, and will surely kill your family, and yet you do not fear me?”

“Hate overrules fear,” I spat at him. It was true. I felt no fear, only hate and pain. My wrists were worn through where the chains cut them. My arms were aching with effort.

“You hurting pretty one?” he said. No compassion, just amusement. He fingered my black ponytail. I kicked him away with as much strength as I could muster.

“You always were stubborn,” he said turning away.

I looked around the red cave again. Torches spat light, casting shadows deeper than the pool on the right. It’s the pool he threw Michael into after he’d killed him.

There was no escape. Two guards in ebony cloaks stood in front of the only exit. They had dressed me in an ivory colored tunic before they strung me up. It was all part of his sick game.

“Since you were little, your will was out of control,” he said. I didn’t know what he was talking about. How could he know what I was like when I was little?

“You never did what you were told, always running off to your little friends,” he went on.

I was still looking for a way to escape; any opening, any rift.

He walked to one of the guards and pulled out a dagger, and threw it straight at me. I ducked my head just in time.

“Ah, there it is,” he said. “The deepest fear, fear for one’s life.”

“The only reason I want to live is to make sure you don’t lay a finger on my family!” I yelled at him.

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t lay a finger on them. No, that sort of thing is beneath me. I’ll let my guards take care of them,” he rasped.

At this my anger increased to a level that made me feel as though I could rip the chains right out of the wall.

“Why are you doing this?” I screamed. I couldn’t get my voice to a normal volume, neither did I want to.

“Because you were supposed to be mine!” he yelled back, making the cave tremble.

The guards jumped forward, as though to protect him.

“Leave me, it’s nothing,” he told them.

The guards left the room.

“What do you mean; I was supposed to be yours?” I asked.

He looked at me puzzled, and then he looked amused again.

“Your parents didn’t tell you?” he asked with a bitter smile. “Trying to protect you were they?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked again.

“Your father owed me his life, but the sniveling coward drew back at the last moment. He promised me his first daughter instead,” he rasped.

“My father isn’t a coward,” I said, every word filling me with hate.

“He is. When the time came to hand you over, he made another bargain. All his wealth and possessions. It was a fair bit, but it wasn’t enough. So I bided my time, until you came to me, and to my amusement, you are just as power hungry as I was,” he went on. “So I set up a plan, one to lure you into my midst. I knew your parents wouldn’t agree if you came to such a place. I just didn’t count on your little boyfriend.”

“What did you want with me then?” I asked.

“I wanted a daughter of my own!” he said. This made no sense.

“Why didn’t you just get a nice little wife and make a monster like you?” I spat.

“Because your father killed my nice little wife and turned me into the monster that I am,” he said this with a bitter smirk.

“So adopt! Just let me and my family go,” I begged.

“You’ll have to pay the price of your father’s mistake,” he whispered in a dangerous voice. By now the guards had come back. “I’m tired,” he told them, “Take care of her.” With that he left the room.

“Now, amuse me,” one of the guards said walking over and undoing my chains.

I rubbed my wrists. My arms felt numb from having them strapped up for so long.

“You try and make an escape, if you can get past me, you’re free to go,” he threw a sword at my feet. The guards were obviously looking for a little fun.

“You expect me to fight with this?” I asked, playing for time.

“It’s rather light,” he said lazily. “You should be able to pick it up, unless your parents raised you a weakling.”

I picked it up and ran at him. He struck my sword out of my hand in one blow, and punched me over my face. I fell to the floor, tasting blood in my mouth.

“Get up weakling,” he said taunting me.

I got up and aimed a punch at his stomach. I hit it, but he hardly flinched.

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to get past me missy,” he said, and aimed another blow at my face. This one threw me flat on the ground again.

I glanced around. My sword was laying a few feet away from me. I measured up the distance and decided I could almost reach it. I heard him coming nearer. I waited until the opportune moment, groped for my sword and thrust it upwards as hard as I could.

Cold metal pierced his stomach, making him fall backwards. His sword had been raised, ready to strike. Blood poured over me, staining the ivory tunic crimson. I stared at the (now dead) guard, hardly believing it.

Then I turned and ran.

I ran straight into the spear of the other guard.

“We will have our revenge,” the guard said. My blood now mingled with the guard’s. I was afraid to look down, but when I did, I was relieved, if you could call it that.

The spear had only pierced my left arm.

I was at a point where I didn’t feel pain anymore. I forgot about my wrists, my mouth and my arms. I was numb, numb with hate.

I pulled the spear out of my arm. The guard was taken by surprise at this, and with a sick smile on my face, I turned and thrust it straight in his heart.

He sank to the ground.

I hurried through the unending red corridors and hallways. Torchlight flickered creating eerie shadows that made me think he was right behind me.

I followed the screams toward another dungeon.

Then I saw my family; my mother and father holding my little sister in their minute cage.

I rushed to try and free them, but I guard came out of no where and put a spear on my shoulder.

“Freeze,” he said dangerously.

“Or what?” I spat. What did I have to lose? I didn’t feel any pain anymore.

“Or your parents and dear little sister will never see your pretty little face again.

“See, that’s just the thing,” I said taking the spear’s point in my hand, and clutched it so hard my hand began bleeding. I heard my mom give a sob. “I don’t care if anyone ever sees my face again.”

With this I took the spear and slashed the guard over his neck. He fell to the ground, clutching his death wound.

I searched his robe for the keys, and found them.

“These guards sure are full of themselves, aren’t they?” I told my family.

My mother cried freely now. She hugged me and then my father did the same. Then we heard an angry yell, one so loud the rocks crumbled.

“I want her found! No excuses this time, she a girl for God’s sake!” the man shouted. He was just outside the dungeons.

“Through here,” my father whispered pointing to an almost hidden door. “I saw one of the servants use this door.”

We followed him out into yet another passage. My father was carrying my little sister.

Moments after we’d left the dungeon, we heard yet another scream of rage. This one was loud enough to make the whole cave crumble.

And sure enough, a few light rocks started to fall at first. Later accompanied by heavy ones.

We ran through the passages, searching for light. Finally we came out onto an open stretch. I saw the bridge the guards had hauled us over when they brought us to this hell hole.

I looked back and saw him leading his guards through the dark tunnel. My family hurried over the bridge to safety.

There was a load crack, and a rock suspended over the bridge broke off, crushing my only escape.

I looked back once more, just in time to see the entrance to the tunnel give way, killing about three guards who were trying to get out. The tunnel was completely ruined.

He was the only one who’d managed to get out in time.

“So you escaped?” he asked, rage drenched every syllable. “Your father raised you better than I thought.”

“He was the best father I could hope for,” I spat at him.

“We’ll see about that,” he said a smile twisting his lips. “Your father didn’t by any chance teach you how to fight?”

“I don’t need to be taught,” I said.

He swung at me. I ducked, suddenly knowing what to do. He took another swing, but missed.

I was a lot smaller than he was. He was fat and heavy. He tired pretty quickly.

He took swing after swing, and I ducked most of them. I aimed a few kicks at his face, but only connected once.

I tried to punch him, but he sidestepped it and grabbed me from behind.

He was fumbling in his pocket for something with his loose hand. The other one was around my throat. I looked down to notice that we were only a few feet away from the edge of the cliff on which the cave mouthed out. If I could only get him off the cliff, there’s no way he’ll survive that, even though his fat provided lots of padding.

“How does it feel to know you’re about to die?” he whispered in my ear. He was holding something in his hand. I couldn’t see what it was, but found out soon enough as something tore into my stomach, rupturing my organs.

“I don’t feel anything,” I whispered back.

I drew my remaining strength and flung him over my shoulder. I rolled from the effort, but ended just before the cliff did.

I looked down the cliff.

He was hurtling toward the ground, sounding one last furious scream, before landing in a jagged rock.

I winced.

I glanced down at my ruptured stomach. A silver dagger stuck in my flesh. Fool, I thought, silver only strengthens me. With that I let go.

Feeling seeped into me again like paint on cloth. I felt the searing pain in my stomach, I felt the hate towards him coursing through my veins. But most of all I felt the immense relief, in knowing my family was safe at last.