Enchanted Tale

The Enchanted Tale of Jack and Phillip

"Jack! Jack wake up!" I opened my eyes to my older brother David. He looked scared and was frantic.

"We have to go!" He said pulling me up.

He dragged me out of my comfortable place in the leaves hidden behind bushes. I don't know what he was so afraid of but I trusted that it was important. We ran as far from my comfortable spot as my little feet could take me. We were hidden behind a line of houses. We were running a path in between trees and village homes. I saw the sun peek above the horizon.

"Da-David! Wh-Where are we going!?" I panted.

"There he is!" I heard behind us. It was a man chasing after us with two other men by his side.

David looked back with my wrist still tightly gripped in his hand. "C'mon!"

We ran between two houses into the village. There weren't very many people out at this time. A few owners were setting up their booths.

"Stop those boys!" The man shouted.

One owner we were running passed tripped me.

"Ow!" I shouted as my leg scraped against the gravel. David was still moving very fast and had dragged me on.

"C'mon Jack! We can't stop! Not now!" David pleaded.

"David please!" I cried. "My leg hurts! I can't move!"

David stopped and just grew anxious. The men were catching up to us. David quickly picked me up and struggled, running back through the houses and into the woods.

We thought we had gotten far but the man suddenly jumped out from a tree and tackled David. I rolled into another tree which really hurt my stomach.

I felt really dizzy. Everything was moving. I managed to lift my head and get a look at the man. He had David pinned up to a tree. His feet were dangling. The man was choking David!

"Please! I'm sorry!" David cried.

"Da-David!" I tried to shout. But it all just came out as air.

"Keep that one quiet!" The man demanded. His accomplices picked me up and lifted my head so I could see what was happening to David.

"You stole something of mine, boy. I want it back!" The man said.

"I-I don't have it!" David choked out.

"You're lying!" He shouted through gritted teeth. He then started to take something out of his pocket. "You know what the punishment is for taking something that doesn't belong to you?" He was pulling out a dagger!

"No! Please! Don't hurt him!" I pleaded.

"I said keep him quiet!" He hissed.

One of the men punched me in my already wounded stomach. My dizziness was back.

"Now. Where is my gold?" The man asked.

"I-I don't have it! I didn't steal your gold! Aghh- ahh!"

The man started choking David more.

"You were in my shop! You broke my merchandise! If I were you, I wouldn't say another lie." The man brought the dagger up to David's face.

"Please! Please! I just want to buy a meal for me and my brother!"

"I should take your hand for this, but vermin like you deserve a sweet release from the pressures of this world. You can't provide for both you and your little brother." The man said, menacingly.

"D-Don't hurt him!" David demanded.

"Oh I won't hurt him, I can promise you that. You on the other hand."

The man retracted his hand that held the dagger.

"Nooo!" I shouted.

He then stabbed my brother in his torso and twisted it. Both me and my brother screamed.

The man dropped my brother to the ground and his friends did the same with me. They ran off. I crawled to my brother.

He was gasping for air. Blood started to pour out of him.

"D-Don't leave me David!" I cried.

"L-Listen Jack. You have to get out of this life. Do better for yourself. D-Don't live the rest of your life as a sweeper." He said.

"I c-can't do it without you." I cried.

"Pr-promise me, Jack. Promise me you'll do better for yourself than I was able to."

I couldn't stop crying. I could barely see David through my tears. "I-I can't."

"I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm sorry that I couldn't get us in a better situation."

"It's not your fault, David!" I said. He started coughing.

"B-Be strong, brother. I-I love you." His eyes then rolled back into his head.

"David!-- David!" I cried.

That was it. He was gone. My brother was gone. I was alone in the world.

I was alone.