And Then... They Fell

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Asher

My dad rushed me into the tunnels. The king was on a rampage again meaning he ran out of his pills. I knew where to get them. Dad used to go with me to get them but now that I am seven, I was old enough to go alone. I should have been excited that I could go alone, that he trusted me and knew that I was growing up, but this is the only time in my life I wished he would still see me as a little boy and come with me. I knew better than to voice this though and I ran to the tunnels and took the pack I had prepared for the trip. I ran the whole way out of the tunnels, as fast as I could.

My legs were throbbing when I reached our pile of rocks marking the halfway point, but I didn't slow down or stop. The last time I didn't get back quick enough dad kept me in the dungeon with the other prisoners and the guards were instructed to treat me as one. That was enough to make me run the entire way because no matter how much my legs hurt they never hurt worse than what happened to me down there. Dad made sure of that.

By the time I finally reached the end of the tunnel the sun was going down, and my legs could barely take another step.

Dad always said to stop and watch at the tunnels end, 'you don't want to run into the wrong people out here' he always told me. I was so exhausted I couldn't even think about my surroundings as I headed straight for the rock at the edge of the forest. I sat for a moment trying to gain my strength for the next stretch.

"Well, 'ello, boy!"

I snapped my head around at the sound of a new voice. Behind me was a man, stumbling slightly towards me. I quickly stand back up, my adrenaline and fear allowing me to forget about the pain in my legs as I start to slowly back away. As I back up I look at the height and enormity of this man and my jaw drops at how big and scary he looked.

"Now 'ere you think you're goin'?" His attitude quickly changes to one of anger as he sees me backing away. My back hits a tree trunk a second later and I was filled with terror. I look around but he is in front of me now. There is nowhere to go.

"I-I was ju-just—" He cuts me off by grabbing me by the shoulders roughly.

"I think you're sayin' you wanna come with me," He slurs, somehow still having a firm undertone as he smiles at me with a mouth that is missing teeth and seems to have never been cleaned before. As he finishes talking he turns around, pulling me forcefully to walk along with him, his fingers digging painfully into my shoulder.

I don't know what to do so I start to cry silently at the helplessness. My dad isn't very nice but he would have helped me. At the thought of my dad, I remember what he told me to do if anyone ever gave me trouble. The big man isn't expecting it as I suddenly turn around and kick him in the shin with all my might. I don't waste time watching him grab his leg because as soon as he releases my shoulder I pull a knife out of the waistband of my jeans dad gave me, with one hand and with the other I reach into my left boot and grab the much smaller knife. I hold it the way I have been taught every day for years, as they become familiar in my hands. I look up at him to see he is bent over hopping on his good leg as he curses at me before reaching out to grab me again, not noticing the metal lengthening my arms. I am filled with fear, freezing for a moment in shock of what comes next, of what dad made me promise to do next.

My hesitation allows him to lunge forward to grab me again but as he goes to grab my arm I twist using my other hand and shove my knife into where his heart is. He seems shocked as he registers what happened. He looks down and touches his wound, blood covering his hand. He looks back at me slowly as he falls to the ground, as I look into his eyes and see his life fading.

By the time I register what I have done he is lying lifeless on the ground, eyes still opened, with a puddle of blood forming beneath him. I start to cry again, this time from the fear of what I've done.

I remember running back to my dad after that, not thinking about the punishment I would get or how bad my legs felt. I ran and cried and when I reached the castle again I went to find my dad. I found my mom lying in their bed looking almost as lifeless as the man had been. Her blankets were pulled up to her chin and tears were falling, but her face was expressionless. My dad was sitting on the end of the bed bent over crying silently with her.

My dad saw me, and I explained what happened and the first thing he asked was if I got the pills. I felt fear again, which seemed to have been a continuous thing that day. He didn't yell or scream, he just guided me back to the tunnels and sent me off again, finding me a lighter as I left.

I burned the body, got the pills and when I brought them back I was met by my father who didn't yell or scream as he guided me to the dungeons.

I remember realizing where we were going and screaming and crying and fighting him but he grabbed me by the arm and said 'you shouldn't have come back' as he handed me off to the guards with the same instructions as last time.

I never knew if he meant before I retrieved the pills or if he meant that I shouldn't have come back to the castle, to him, or at all. Just the one phrase that has been running in my head for years now, you shouldn't have come back.