Darkness falls - English version

Subject to change

>>Broken like me by Citizen Soldier + Better days by OneRepublic<<

Cardiff Crown Court - Courthouse, Room 3 (No one's POV)

"Julie Morgan. You're 15 years old and you go to high school here in Cardiff. Is that correct so far?" The blonde girl just nodded. "Your father was Andrew Morgan, your mother was Laura and you had an 2 years older brother, Aaron?" The girl nodded again. "Would you please tell us, what happened in your house on the night of June 14-15?" 

The girl looked up at the prosecutor with the friendly voice. Everything in her was reluctant to talk about it. Not even the therapist, they'd forced her to visit, was getting much out of her by now. Everything still hurt too much, the emotional wounds and the loss more than her physical injuries.

"Julie. We are here to find out the truth. Only then can we bring justice to your parents and brother," the judge now sympathetically turned to her.

"No justice in the world will bring them back to me," she murmured in embarrassment and looked down, trying so hard to hide the tears that start to broke out again."Not that, but we will punish whoever is responsible," the prosecutor objected again and the girl's gaze met that of the accused man. He grinned arrogantly, but still narrowed his eyes and clutched his neck. A gesture that looked casual, however, made it clear to her, that he was threatening her. No one saw what he was doing because all attention was waiting on her. She clenched her fists in her lap and took a deep breath. This guy had taken her family away from her. He had to pay for it. He would be judged and she would never have to fear him again. Or so she hoped.

"My dad came home late that night. I overheard him telling my Mum that they finally solved the case."

"What kind of case was that, Julie?" the prosecutor asked again.

"Dad never talked much about his work. He always said he wasn't allowed to talk about it. All he said was that they busted the Gang and foiled a billion-dollar drug coup."

"That's why the most thanks for that deserves your father, wasn't it Julie?"

"I don't know that. There are more cops in town than him."

"Which is of course true, but he was undercover in the Gang for a few weeks and was able to get the informations, they needed to access it." The girl just looked at him helplessly and he nodded smiling. She looked at the Jury taking notes and she understood that he hadn't thrown it out there to explain something to her but more to the jury. "Go on, Julie, please."

"Aaron and I went to bed early that night because we had school, but Mum and Dad were still watching TV. At some point I was startled because I heard a loud bang. Aaron and I ran out of our rooms to see what was going on because Mum was screaming. Dad was fighting the man. The t-shirt he was wearing that night was covered in blood", she explained, pointing to her chest to show where she saw the blood on her father that night. "I heard dad yell at my mum to get us and leave with us. Mum came running up the stairs but she suddenly stopped and fell forward. In...her back was...a knife...A big one...with a white handle with...strange patterns. The man passed her up the stairs. He said something about how sad it was, that we saw all this and that we have to die because of it too. Aaron pushed me back and...hit the man with his...field hockey stick. But Aaron...wasn't strong...enough. He grabbed Aaron and...cut him with his...knife...Here." She pointed to her throat with trembling fingers. The sight of her brother sinking to the ground, eyes lifeless, was burned into her mind to this day, as was every other image of horror she'd seen that evening.

"I'm very sorry Julie. You're almost done here," the prosecutor gently objected, who, like everyone else in the room, could see how upset she was. He put a hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder."What happened then?"