Long Live

Chapter 24

Hey, guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter and happy reading!

He could feel himself trying to open his eyes, but he just couldn't. Instead, he turned to his hearing to figure out what was going on. And what he heard didn't sound good. At all.

He could hear the crackling of a raging fire and splintering wood. He could feel the flames licking at his body. And those screams. Those screams of terror sent chills down his spine.

"Jack?"

Someone was calling him. If only he could call out, make a move to signal that he was alive and okay, anything to take away the worry in the person's voice.

"Jack? Are you there? Wake up!"

Jack cursed himself and tried to open his eyes, but it was like a ton of weights was on them because they wouldn't open.

"Come on, Jack! Hurry!"

Jack's eyes flew open and sat straight up. He looked around him and realized that he didn't know where he was. He tried to remember where he had been earlier prior this, but his mind was too foggy to get a picture. Still though, this place seemed all too familiar....

"Jack!" the voice cried out again.

Jack whipped his head around, trying to find the owner of the voice. His eyes landed on a girl who looked around to be nine who was waving at him frantically from across the room.

"Jack! We have to get out of here!" the girl said.

Jack didn't know who she was and where he was, but he felt that he could trust her with his life.

He looked around him and realized that they were in a burning house. He looked up and down, left to right, and realized that the place was going to crash down soon if he didn't make a move already.

"Hurry, Jack!" the girl cried out frantically.

Jack nodded quickly and looked around him again. His eyes fell on a rope. Grabbing it, he swung it so that it attached to a piece of wood supporting the house. Praying that he could make it in time, he held on to the other end of the rope and swung himself a few times until he felt like it was enough. At the final swing, he let go of the rope and flung himself to the other side of the room to where the girl was.

"Jack! I'm so glad you're okay," she said, hugging him tightly.

"I'm glad you're okay too," he found himself saying, although he still couldn't place a finger on who she was.

"Now come on! Mom and Dad are waiting for us!" the girl said, grabbing his hand and running out of the house. "Hurry!"

Wait. Jack thought. She's my sister?

He didn't have time to mull it over in his mind as he was pulled out of the building. As they ran out of the house, the house collapsed in on itself and Jack was thankful that they hadn't stayed there a second longer.

"Mom and Dad are waiting for us by the stream," the girl, who he guessed was his little sister, said. She pulled him towards the woods and continued running, their feet barely making any sounds. Jack looked behind him and saw all the chaos and turmoil the village was in. Everywhere, houses were on fire, people were screaming and crying for their loved ones, and people were getting beaten to death by a group Jack guessed was nothing but danger and trouble. They finally reached a point in the woods where there was a small stream bubbling peacefully, like it didn't have a care in the world.

"Mom! Dad!" the girl whispered. Two figures emerged from behind the trees. In the moonlight, Jack could see that it was a man and a woman. The man was lean and lanky, much like him. His brown hair and mustache looked familiar, although Jack had no idea how he could forget his own father. The woman was petite and skinny. Although she looked worried, Jack could still see a hint of hope and warmth in her eyes. Her face expressed nothing but gentleness, and it made Jack feel safe.

"Emma! Jack!" they both said, embracing them in a warm hug. Jack didn't know what was happening, but he could feel all of his fears melt away when these people hugged him.

Their mom and dad let go and looked at them.

"We have to get out of here right now," their dad said. Him, his wife, and Emma started running. Emma had taken hold of Jack's hand again and made him run as well.

It seemed like hours before they stopped. Jack stood there, furiously panting.

"W- What are we running from?" he asked breathlessly.

"We're running from  the Blood Daggers," his dad said solemnly. "A very dangerous group who will stop at nothing to get what they want.They've attacked and ransacked other towns before and now they're attacking ours. It's very important that we get as far away as possible from them.

"Now come on, we need to start moving again," his dad said, already running.

It was about three hours later did they stop again.

"I think we're safe for now," his dad panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Are you sure, Dad?" Emma asked.

"Yes, I'm sure-"

"Freeze!" a rough voice shouted. Out from the trees, a group of men jumped out, weapons in their hands.

"Dad?" Emma's voice whispered, frightened.

"It's okay, Emma. Be brave and be calm," their mom said.

"Put your hands up!" the man said, a shotgun in his hand. They did as they were told. The man went to their dad and snarled, "Bend your knees and kneel down." Their dad did as he was told and was met with a harsh kick to his back, sending him to the ground. The men laughed and that made Jack boil with anger. He dared not to do anything though, to make anything go from bad to worse.

"I think it's time to show you what we do to runaways," the man sneered. He looked to his group of friends and they snickered. He stepped close to their dad, and everything seemed to happen too quickly after that.

Jack heard a gunshot and a gasp and a cry come from his mom and his sister. He could only stare in horror as he witnessed his father get shot in the head.

"Weakling," the man laughed and the other men guffawed. "Now, who's the next volunteer?"

"How about the boy?" one said.

Jack could feel his heartbeat race so fast that he thought it would burst out of his chest.

"No! Please don't do this!" his mom pleaded. "I'm begging you!"

"You're right," the man said. He looked Jack up and down. "He seems to be fit. After this, we can take him under our wing. You never know, he might turn out to be quite handy with a weapon."

Jack could only look at the man in rage.

"Fine, we'll spare your son," he kicked his mom to the ground. Jack and Emma cried out for her. "But we'll need someone to take his place." And another gunshot rang through Jack's ears.

He could hear Emma crying beside him, looking at their mother's body.

"Stop crying!" the man said. He kicked Emma to the ground.

"Stop!" Jack screamed. It was as if something in his mind clicked. He had experienced this before. He remembered. The memories of his family all came flooding back to him. The people he could depend on, the people he could trust with everything in his heart. This was the night he wished he could forget, but try as he might, he couldn't. And now it was like time was in reverse. No, this coudn't be happening, not again.

"Say goodbye to your sister, boy," the man grinned wickedly.

Emma's eyes filled with pleading, frightened tears was all Jack could see. Her hand tried to reach out for him until it fell limply to the ground. Dead.

"No!" Jack cried.

And that's when he woke up.

AN: Wow, this seemed to flow out of me much easier than the other chapters. Yeah, I know it's a really depressing chapter, but this is needed, I promise. Anyways, thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!