Dead Beat (❌)

Chapter Four

Trying not to direct my anger towards the only one keeping me alive right now, my eyes finally zone in on my only hope and pump myself up for the next move.

"Not gonna say anything, eh?" Yuenno scoffs, clearly becoming a bit ruffled as he slowly works his way closer and closer to my dad, who keeps his eyes locked on him.

Feeling the tension in the room build to dangerous levels, I bite the inside of my cheek and snatch the large, solid frying pan from where it is airdrying beside the sink and chuck it towards the intruder, praying that my decision didn't make things so much worse.

To my horror, Yuenno elegantly sidesteps out of the way and the pan collides with the wall behind him, chipping the wall before banging to the ground, having accomplished nothing at all.

I feel myself die from the humiliation before anything else, wondering why I thought that would work in the first place. When I tear my eyes away from the pan, I watch as Dad takes advantage of the situation, Yuenno having been caught off guard and distracted by the object now on the ground.

Dad doesn't hesitate to lunge for one of the man's arms and twist it behind his back. A sickening crunch follows along with Yuenno crying out in pain.

"You never learn, do you?" Dad taunts with clear anger before swiftly yanking a knife from the man's own belt and pressing it against his throat.

"Hahaha, it's no use!" Yuenno laughs through groans of pain, each struggling movement making Dad twist his arm at an even more unnatural angle. "You let yourselves believe his words! You dumb animals let emotions dictate your actions, and now look where it's gotten you!"

Just then, we hear noise from upstairs, something that resembles metal, or at least an impact of such, sending my mind wild with concern and worry. My siblings and mother are upstairs, what if some men made it up there, too?!

When I hear the noise I look upwards at the ceiling, but when silences follows, I look back at my father who doesn't seem bothered by it.

Not seeing any shared concern on his face gets on my nerves, my jaw clenching at his lack of a reaction.

"You're not taking them."

With Yuenno still attempting to break free of Dad's hold, my world immediately slows as I watch in disbelief as Dad releases the slightly shorter man just long enough to yank his head back by his hair and drag the blade across his throat, a cascade of thick, scarlet liquid quickly running free from the sliced flesh.

A watery, gurgled cry leaves Yuenno's parted lips that quickly begin to leak blood as well, his body twitching and his hands frantically reaching for his neck, all of us knowing there's nothing he can do to save himself.

Falling to his knees and collapsing onto his side, his wet sounds getting louder, I fight the instinct to rush over to him, forgetting that this man had just tried to kill me.

Warm tears gather in the corners of my eyes, displaced guilt, denial, and confusion mix all together, making me lean on the counter for support.

I don't know what I was expecting to happen, but to see a man--a man I know the name of slowly dying in front of me?

It makes me want to scream.