"Yeah, Mom. I need five college ruled notebooks." I was school shopping with my parents at the Arkham Mall. Not the most glamorous mall, but it did what it was supposed to. We'd already bought clothes and a backpack. It was now on to actual supplies. "Alright, now, I guess we'll need to drop by another store on the way home for that and the rest of your list. The list is so long this year!" My always cheerful mom said. My mom is an average sized woman, with curly brown locks down to her shoulders. She's very pretty. "Well, she is in her senior year, darling." My dad said. He's average sized too, but he has short, messy, blonde hair. Their names are Lance and Julienna. I'm named after her. But it's just Julie, not Julienna. "I know! I can't believe our little sweetheart's all grown up!" My mom exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and Dad pulled me into an embrace and noogied me. "Dad!" I yelped. He laughed and let me go. Mom chuckled.
We were walking towards the exit door when it happened. My vision went white as I heard a loud crash and Dad yelling for me and Mom to hide. I tried to move, but my body felt numb and I still couldn't see. I heard a gruff shout to 'get over there' from someone, and then felt someone pick me up and then lay me down somewhere else. My dad's voice grunted, "Stay here." Then he left. My vision slowly creeped back. I was on the floor, looking up. The whole ceiling was gone, completely. Or rather, it was all over the floor.
"Do you want money? I can give you money. Just let us go." I heard Dad say. I silently pushed myself into a sitting position. I had been lying behind a bench, away from searching eyes. I peeked over the top. I saw a big, buff guy holding the backs of my parents' shirts. In front of them stood a tall, skinny man in a purple pinstriped suit, with a green vest, and blue shirt. He had bright green hair, and clown makeup. White face, over exaggerated red lips, the whole deal. He twirled a knife in his hand. He let out a snicker. "Please. I have all the money I need. What I need, is pain, and suffering. Blood." He let out a howl of laughter, and his henchmen join in. He stepped towards my parents.
Without thinking, I leapt out from behind the bench. "Don't hurt them!" I yelled. The clown's head turned in my direction. "Julie! I told you to stay behind the bench!" Dad yelled with a pained expression. "Oh, shut up!" The clown growled as he kicked Dad in the side. He began swaggering towards me. I stepped back…straight into another big guy with clown makeup on. Not as elaborate as the man in the suit, but still weird. "Julie. That's a very pretty name, for a very pretty young lady." He put the tip of the knife to my throat. I cringed. "Touch a hair on her head, and I'll personally kill you!" Dad yelled. The man rolled his eyes. "The name's Joker." He said to me. I was silent. "Ah, silent treatment? Cute." He said sarcastically and turned back to my parents. My mom caught my eye, and we exchanged wordless messages. 'I love you.' "Well, who first? The idiot…or his idiot wife?" He grabbed the nearest man's gun and pointed first at Mom, then Dad. "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe."
The gun landed on Mom. She stood tall, brave. Dad tried to say something, but the henchman slapped the hand he did have on Mom over his mouth. His eyes desperately shot from Mom to Joker. My mouth was dry. "Bye, bye." Joker said in a sing-song voice. Three shots. Her body convulsed for each one, but she made no noise. Blood splashed on Dad, who was right next to her. She slumped to the ground, lifeless. Dad made a muffled cry, and tried to get to her, but the henchman held him still. I finally found my voice. "No! Mom!" I screamed. "Let them both go. I wanna see tears." Joker said with a laugh. Me and Dad's henchmen immediately obeyed. Dad crawled over to Mom and kissed her forehead. My legs were numb, and I sat there, unmoving. Tears stung at my eyes, but I wouldn't give Joker the satisfaction.
"You monster. You deserve to die. "My dad said, his eyes shooting daggers at Joker. He snorted. I couldn't take my eyes off of Mom. She looked so…peaceful... I turned to Dad. Joker put the muzzle of the gun to his head. "Say goodbye to Daddy, Julie." Joker spat out with a sneer. Joker shot me a devilish grin. Keeping eye contact, I heard more than saw him pull the trigger. Joker laughed and I pulled my gaze away from his. I looked at my dead parents. Not even five minutes ago, they were alive. And now… I stood up, walked over to them, and sat next to them, grabbing their cold, limp hands in my own warm ones. "You gonna kill her too, boss?" One of his men asked. I caught Joker's eyes and stared into them, almost daring him to try. "Nah, let her suffer." He finally said. He walked away, and his men followed. As soon as he was gone, I let a few tears slip through the walls I had built. I unclasped the necklace off of my mom's neck, a locket I had given her four years ago. One side had a picture of me and her. The other, a picture of her and Dad. I put it around my neck with shaky hands. I sat there for what seemed like hours. I vaguely heard screams and hysteric laughter from the other parts of the mall. They never came back. Eventually, the police busted in the door. One walked up to me and said, "Honey, are you alright? You're okay now. Nobody's gonna hurt you. Just come with me." I stood up, not saying anything, and walked with him as he led me out of the mall, away from the life I'd known forever. I didn't even glance back.