Six Will Stand (First Draft)

Prologue

The boy opened his eyes to see darkness in front of him. The only dim light came from a single candle burning in the center of the room. The boy tried to move, but he soon noticed the shackles on his wrists that held them high above his head. Now conscious of it, his arms started feeling sore, as if he had been there a long time. He moved his arms slightly, making the chains rattle. He heard a voice from the darkness. "You okay?"

The boy tensed for a moment, then he relaxed as he recognized the voice. It was one of his older brothers. "Yeah. I'm fine," he answered quietly. His eyes adjusting to the light, he realized that his brothers and sisters, all awake and looking weary, were around him, chained in the same way as he was. Looking around, he saw they were in some sort of jail cell....

Suddenly, the events of the previous night came rushing back to him. The fire, the murder, the battle.... He swallowed, wishing he could forget it again. Doing a quick head count, he sighed in relief. The youngest three had gotten away. The oldest brother had figured out about the attack beforehand, so the siblings had come up with a plan to try to get away. When it had been clear they wouldn't be able to escape as planned, they had sent the youngest three away first, hoping to join them soon. Unfortunately, that part of the plan had gone awry, and he had woken up here.

The boy wasn't sure what day it was, what hour, or how long they had been here. He called out. "Is everyone else okay?"

The answer came from next to him. "Yeah, you're the last to wake up." The feminine voice sounded both tired and in pain. The boy wanted to reach out and comfort her, but the shackles prevented him from even moving his arms.

The group heard footsteps from the hallway. Another voice, the oldest brother, by the sound of it, broke through the silence. "Stay strong, guys." No one else spoke after that, and, after a while, three men entered the room.

"So, children. I assume you know why you're here." The malicious voice echoed through the jail cell, and the man looked eerie in the dim light. Silence ruled the jail cell.

One of the other men lit a torch, and suddenly, the siblings could distinguish each others' faces, as well as their captors. The first man spoke again. "You don't have a choice, you know."

"There's always a choice, Alregon." The oldest brother spoke, his voice tired, but firm. No one argued with him.

Alregon looked at him with mock sympathy. "Not this time, son. You either agree, or we force you to." No one responded to that. The siblings had spoken earlier. No one gives in to him, no matter how tempting it may seem.

"Father wouldn't let you do this." One of the girls spoke, one of the younger ones here. She was only seven.

Alregon raised an eyebrow at her. "You're father is dead, dear. But I assure you, he would be in full support of this. He wanted you to fill his big shoes." He paused, looking at each kid individually before saying, "Last chance to agree willingly."

"We'll never agree to this." Another girl spoke, one of the older ones, nearly sixteen.

Alregon turned toward her. "Well, sweetie, I think you just volunteered to be first. Gentlemen?" The other two men beside Alregon extended their arms.

Alregon stretched his arm toward the girls, and she let out a scream. The other siblings all shouted, horrified. There was a bright light, and when it dimmed, she was no longer conscious. Alregon looked at the others. The siblings were all breathing heavily. It looked hopeless. They just had to trust that their younger siblings would one day set things right.

Alregon came right up to the boy. Lowering his voice, he asked menacingly, "Where are the youngest three?" The boy pressed his lips in a thin line. At least they weren't dead. They could fix this in the future. "I guess you're next then."

The boy heard shouts of "No!" coming from his siblings, but when Alregon stretched his hand out, pain exploded behind his eyes, and he screamed. He took one last look at his family, who could do nothing but watch helplessly, before the darkness washed over him.