An Unjust Life

A Forbidden Life

I never really liked the rain; it always had a way of making me feel even more sad and depressed than I already am. Of course, I tried my best to suppress those feelings in front of my little brother Aiden. This life that my brother and I were born into... I hate it so much. It doesn't feel like a life worth living. We are no different from nomads; constantly moving from place to place almost every day. From traveling during the day and always keeping one eye open at night, our life was a routine with a boundless end. No one knows where they came from, but they were spotted in the direction south of our country. Our country is a remote; isolated place, so I wouldn't believe our military was the strongest out there. We never worried about strengthening our military because we never had any reason to. When they came, every one was ruthlessly murdered; whether you were a woman or a child. After Aiden and I lost our parents, we would frequently endure days without eating. I know that if they ever caught us, they'd kill us without any hesitation. I don't think my heart could take seeing Aiden die right in front of me. I'd rather die the most painful deaths a thousand times than for him to die. There have been countless times we nearly gotten killed hiding but shockingly saved by the screams of our people in the distance. Why did these people decide to regulate this country, why not another? Guilt quickly overwhelmed me at the thought of wishing this life on someone else. I snapped out of my daze as I hear a familiar voice shout my name to the heavens. "Ava, Ava!" he yelled. Why is he being so loud, I've told him so many times before that we have to stay quiet. "Ava!" my brother yells even louder. I desperately grabbed him and forced my hand gently over his mouth pulling us behind the tree. Aiden was too loud; I know they heard him. Slowing my breathing, I listened for anything in the distance. Footsteps came storming in like a hurricane. Rain was not the best mixture with the freezing air of January. Both my ears and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off. "It came from over here! This way!" one of the guards yell out. I peeked my head around the tree we were hiding behind to check the distance between us. They were about six meters away from us give or take. "Shawn, move your ass man, or else the kid is going to get away"! "Jason, wait up, the others aren't even close to us," Shawn said. "Well, you can just stay here if you want to stay the same rank forever," said Jason. "Alright fine. I'm coming, he says with a big sigh." I could feel that Aiden was as terrified as I was with his constant trembling. "You have to stay quiet", I whispered to Aiden. It was a good thing we were in the woods because there were rocks and sticks for days, even if they were cold and wet. "Hey I'm gonna go check this way, he couldn't have gotten that far", said Jason. He was getting closer and closer to our hiding spot. I panicked and grabbed the first rock I can find. Clutching the rock in my left hand, I threw it as far as I can in the opposite direction. "Heard that," Jason asked aiming his gun where the rock landed. "I know I heard something just now". I started trembling after just thinking about what they'd do to my brother if he were ever caught. "Let's just forget about it, besides, a child wouldn't be a threat towards the military anyway. Plus it's freezing out here". A feeling of relief came over me after hearing that. I slowly looked back around the tree just in time to see the disgusted look on Jason's face. "We didn't come to this country killing everyone in sight because we thought they were a threat. We came to this country because we want it. It's as simple as that. Survival of the fittest.", Jason says with an angered look. "There is no difference between woman or child, if we let him live, then later, he could become a threat. You haven't gone weak on us, have you?" "Are we really going to kill the child after we find him". "I'm going to kill him just like all the other waste in this country. Or better yet, maybe I'll let you do the honors". I thought to myself as I quickly realized, this is the first guard I've seen who cares if any of us live or die. Can we trust him if we escape? "It's just one kid, just let him go". Shawn yelled out. Jason came and punched Shawn in the face. His nose began leaking blood."You have grown weak". Shawn rubbed his nose and came back with a punch of his own and speared him to the ground. More footsteps came crashing in. I counted at least six more of them before bringing my head back behind the tree. All but one of them looked panicked and ready to intervene when they notice the situation. The guy in the middle who I just assumed was the leader was surprisingly calm. All these years and now he wants the killing to stop? A few minutes of scuffling on the ground went by before Shawn pins him on the ground. "I said just leave him", he yells exhaustedly. Finally, the leader calmly steps forward and pulls out his handgun. Boom! I instinctively dropped to the ground covering Aiden's entire body. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest with fear. When I looked back around the tree, all of the guards were even more shocked than I was. Shawn, who was fighting to keep us alive was on the ground dead with a gruesome headshot wound. "You were right", the leader said to Jason. "There isn't a difference between a woman or a child. All of you scour the area, and if any of you happen to run into the child, kill him on sight". My chest got tight after hearing what I just heard, but I knew it wasn't the time to have a panic attack. I started thinking desperately about how are we going to get out of this situation. "We need to leave now", I whispered to Aiden. I grabbed his arm to lead the way. "What's wrong?", I say to him after seeing him begin to cry. That was a stupid question, I thought to myself, especially considering what we've both heard and witnessed. "It'll be okay, I promise I won't let anything happen to you", I tell him. He gave me a half-smile with tears still in his eyes as he embraces me tightly. This moment right now; I wish it would never have to end. I pulled apart from the embrace remembering that we don't have much time before they find us.