Screams.
Screams rung in my ears,
And my terrified eyes reflected fire.
Massive raptors swooped from the sky,
Killing left and right.
Bloody wolves lurched about,
The stench of death
Hanging in the air like
A red ghost.
And there was my father.
Garten Longtreader
Stood in the midst of it all,
A wicked,
Satisfied grin
Lingering on his twisted face.
A sword covered in
Blood
Hung at his side,
And eyes full of untameable
Hunger for power
Bored into me.
Behind him,
My Uncle Wilfred
Was tied to a stake,
Anger burning
All over his face,
Fear for me,
Just behind it.
"Why?"
His voice was full of pain,
Anguish,
And heartbreak.
"Why, Wilfred?" Garten's evil eyes
Turned on him,
Making him flinch.
"Why? Because Jupiter is
Weak, brother.
Because Morbin
Will come back.
He will die either way.
Betrayal is just a faster route.
Wilfred's eyes filled with tears,
Falling onto a ground already wet with
Blood,
And he said nothing,
Face burning with shame.
"Come, Sabine." Garten's voice calling me was brisk,
As though we were
Leaving the market.
I stared at the
Monster
I had once believed
Was
My father,
And choked out
One word.
"No."
That was the final straw.
He lunged for me,
Hatred and rage
Burning into my face.
A glint of steel,
My Uncle's scream,
And all
I could feel
Where my right eye
Should've been
Was
Blinding pain.
"An eye for an eye," Garten hissed,
Before strolling,
Almost leisurely,
Past My Uncle,
Cutting his bonds
As he did so.
Uncle Wilfred
Fell to the ground,
Limbs numb.
But instead of
Pursuing My Father,
He crawled to me,
Wrapped me
In his strong arms,
And held me,
My blood
Soaking into his tunic.
As I fell unconscious,
He kept on
Whispering words
Of love,
His arms
Shielding me,
If only
For a moment,
From all the world's cruelty.
When I woke in a hospital bed,
He was sitting next to me,
Holding my
Tiny,
Eight-year-old
Hand in his larger one.
In The End,
The doctors told me,
They had to pry
His fingers away from me.