𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄
𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 6𝘵𝘩 1899.
" The Start of Never Ending Hell. "
Their windows are tightly locked, but the coldness from outside is still able to seep through them, making everyone in the house put on their sweaters and long pants. The sun is nowhere in sight, but the moon is high and bright, shining down on Russia, and their little home. All the doors in the house, minus the front and back, are open, allowing what little heat they have to circulate throughout the whole house. The young girl, Polly's, eyes struggle to stay open, continuously shutting and opening again, forcing herself to stay awake despite it being way past her bedtime. She sits in the family room, wrapped in a single blanket, dressed in all her winter clothes, sitting on their beat up, messy couch. The little girl's eyes stay fixated on her mother and father who are standing in their kitchen, the couple hold each other in their arms, swaying back and forth, slow dancing together; a tradition the two are able to do on Kirill's birthday and conveniently on their anniversary, the only day of the year he gets to leave work early. Lev sits at the family's broken piano, a gift that their grandmother gifted them before she passed, only years before Polly was born. His fingers gracefully go over the keys, playing their parents favorite song, the song that was playing 37 years ago when they first met at an underground bar; Alina worked there, trying to get any money she can, while Kirill was dragged there by his friends, them forcing him to have a night out from his birthday. Lev also watches his parents dance in awe, wishing he can one day find the love that they have for each other. Maxim is fast asleep in his makeshift crib, only a thin wall away from them all.
Once Lev finishes playing the song, Polly rapidly claps her hands together, applauding her older brother's talents. The two parents slowly end their swaying back and forth, finalizing their moment with a sweet kiss before releasing each other from their arms; Kirill allowing Alina to walk towards her son, she bends down and plants a small kiss on the top of Lev's head, thanking him for taking his time to play one song for her. Hearing a tiny 'awe' come from across the room, Alina turns towards her only daughter, almost instantly noticing the large smile that's now plastered across her face, the mother knowing how much Polly enjoys being able to stay up and watch her family instead of being forced to go to sleep. She quickly walks towards her, and scoops the little girl into her arms, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around her body. Lev, who's watching the sweet moment between the mother and daughter, begins to allow his fingers to run across the piano keys again, this time playing Polly's favorite song; all of them love watching the smile on her face when she's happy or excited. Still holding her, Alina places many small kisses all across her daughter's face, making sure to softly touch her nose to Polly's nose, knowing exactly how to make the 4 year old giggle.
Alina happily dances around the semi-large room they're in with Polly still in her arms, making the little girls giggles echo through their house, causing both Lev and Kirill to smile at the adorable sight. The mother, who notices the father watching her in admiration, begins to make her way towards her husband, dancing around him so she can hear him laugh — which he does. After a moment, she notices Polly reaching her hands out to her father, wanting him to hold her instead of her mother. With a small chuckle, Kirill takes the little blonde girl out of his wife's hands, and sways back and forth with her; the eldest man not being too fond of dancing as much as Alina is.
No more than five minutes after the young girl was passed off to her father, a loud bang comes from across their house, more specifically from their front door. Almost instantly, Kirill stops swaying back and forth, causing Lev to stop playing the piano, and Polly to stop giggling. Both Alina and Kirill glance at each other from across the room, the two of them knowing that the crime rate in their town has recently been going up. As they all stand still, staying as quiet as they can, another loud bang comes from not only the front door again, but this time one from the back door too, causing them to whip their heads at both doors, at least one person keeping an eye on each door.
Due to the loud noises and the look on Alina's, Kirill's, and Lev's faces a small frown forms on Polly's face, unaware of what's happening or why everyone looks as scared as they do. She reaches her hands up and tightly grabs onto her dad's shirt, her eyes staying focused on her mom. While Kirill tries to keep Polly calm, Alina quietly rushes towards her son.
She crouches down to her knees, "Бери сестру и иди в спальню." She whispers to Lev, glancing behind them at Polly and Kirill. "Не будите Максима, а возьмите его и спрячьтесь вместе." She nods towards their bedroom, telling Lev what to do, slowly and clearly so he understands.
[Translation 1: Take your sister and go to the bedroom.]
[Translation 2: Do not wake Maxim, but take him and hide together.]
Lev nods at his mothers words and begins to slide out from sitting under the piano, while he does that, Kirill whispers a few words to Polly and places a soft kiss on the top of her head, he then sets her down on the ground, encouraging her to go towards her brother. Lev meets Polly halfway, and wraps his hand around her tiny hand. With tears in her eyes, Lev begins to force Polly away from the two doors, but before the two kids can make it far, the front door gets kicked off its old rusty hinges, slamming back to the wall closest to it, making the old door crack. While Lev manages to hold his fear in, the 4 year old girl — who's never endured anything this scary — lets out a loud shriek, expressing her fear. Alina, who's the closest to the two, jumps back and blocks her two children from the commotion, using herself as a shield.
"Идти!" Kirill yells to his wife and children. He takes a step forward, so he's now closer to the front door, he glances behind his shoulder for a moment, and gives Alina a nod, reassuring her, knowing she'll do whatever it takes to protect their children.
[Translation: Go!]
Alina, who doesn't want to leave her husband alone, turns back towards Lev and Polly. She grabs onto both of their wrists and pulls them away from the front door, leaving her husband alone to deal with whoever is breaking into their home; the home Alina and Kirill worked so hard to get, despite it not being a mansion. With tears now in Lev's and Polly's eyes, the two children follow in their mothers footsteps. The three run past what little furniture they have, and go directly towards the bedroom, where the youngest is sleeping. Before either of them can even open the bedroom door, the closed glass window, that's directly next to them, gets a large brick thrown through it, making all three of them drop down to their knees. As the glass shatters and falls to the ground, Alina pulls her two children closer to her, covering them from the glass shards, rather having herself getting hurt than them. The back door that once got banged on, now has an axe half way through it. Whoever is trying to come in, has gotten tired of kicking and hitting the door and has now moved onto the easier option, ripping it down.
While still on their knees, Alina reaches a single hand up and twists the door knob, opening the bedroom door. She slides to the side and allows both Lev and Polly to crawl into the room before her, but instead of following behind them, she doesn't move, she stays planted on her knees, outside of the room. Both Lev and Polly give her a confused look, while encouraging her to come into the room with them, doing what their father wanted her to do, but instead she shakes her head.
"Будьте в безопасности, мои маленькие." She whispers. She quickly leans forward, and places one small kiss on both Lev's and Polly's forehead, staying there for a moment longer than she should've. "Не выходи, пока я не скажу." She quietly adds, her hand lingering on both their cheeks. She softly pushes them further into the room, and shuts the door, hoping they won't leave.
[Translation 1: Be safe my little ones.]
[Translation 2: Don't come out until I say.]
Listening to what his mother said, Lev grabs onto Polly's wrist and forces her further in the room, keeping her as far away from the door as he can, using himself as the middleman, he willingly chooses to stay closer to the door. While keeping his eyes on the door, he manages to scoop Maxim up in his arms, he crouches down to his knees and gently places the youngest into Polly's arms, whispering to tell her to make sure to be careful. He leads the two youngest towards the back of the room, where their tiny closet is located, he opens the door and nudges Polly into it, knowing she understands what he means.
While Lev manages to take care of his two youngest siblings, Alina, who's on the other side of the door, turns around towards the area where she left her husband. As her eyes see the back of his head, she notices a man in an all black suit standing in front of him, with an already bloody machete raised in the air. The man swings his arm down, and slices Kirills neck, making him drop to his knees in an instant. Alina let's out a loud cry as she watches the love of her life die protecting his family, unaware if they've made it out of the house or not. As tears blur her vision, she slowly begins to carefully step away from the front entrance, her eyes stuck on the man who's continuously slamming his machete down into her dead husband's body, watching Kirills body jerk only when the man rips the machete out from his body. The back door, that was once standing strong, finally gets axed down, allowing more men to invade her house. Before she can even turn around to see what's happening, an arm aggressively grabs onto the back of her hair, forcing her to the ground, making another scream rip out from her throat.
She reaches her arms back, and tries to scratch whoever is holding her, trying to get the man to let go, but it's no use, the man who grabbed her refuses to let go despite her struggles. As she tries to stand back up, without much effort, the man starts to walk back towards the door he came in, pulling Alina with him, not caring if her hair is ripping from her scalp or not.
There weren't many people who lived in the small town they did, the closest neighbor was over a mile away. The men wearing the suits must've known that, or else they wouldn't have risked taking her outside of her house, screaming at the top of her lungs, and kicking everything that's in her reach.
Not knowing that their father had already been murdered and their mother was soon to be too, Lev keeps himself and his two siblings quiet, hoping no one will come looking for them. Polly sits with Maxim in her arms, behind Lev, who's now blocking her from the closet door. The little girl rests her face on her older brother's back, trying to hide any small whimpers that are escaping her lips, truly terrified from everything that's happening.
Maxim, who was sleeping only a second ago, begins to squirm in Polly's arms, looking up at her with a quivering frown, telling her he's about to cry. Her eyes widen, not knowing what will happen if he does cry, but before she can grab Lev's attention to tell him, Maxim lets out a loud wail, screaming for his mothers attention. Just as Lev turns around in a panic, Polly roughly places her hand over Maxim's mouth, just enough to silence him but not suffocate him. It only makes him cry more, though instead of crying loudly, he cries against her palm, muffling his cries so no one besides them can hear him. Despite being squished against the wall, she pulls Maxim to face her, while gently rocking him, hoping if he's able to look at her face, he'll calm down. Thankfully, he does. His cries begin to fade away, turning into small whimpers again, causing Lev to let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Polly was able to quiet him as quickly as she did.
After a while of hiding, all the commotion stops. They didn't hear crying from the other side of the house, nor did they hear screams. The banging on the windows stopped, and the sound of glass shattering ended. For the first time since Kirill and Alina bought the house, it's silent. As silent as it's ever been. Even just the three children breathing in a closet sounds too loud, almost like it's echoing through the entire house.
Lev stays still for a moment, before carefully turning his head back to look at his little sister. "Оставайтесь здесь, я вернусь." He quietly whispers to her, making sure to stay quiet.
[Translation: Stay here, I'll be back.]
A frown forms on her lips and tears form in her eyes, "Мама сказала-" She starts, but doesn't get the opportunity to finish her sentence.
[Translation: Mom said-]
"Все в порядке, я вернусь. Все в порядке."
[Translation: It's alright, I'll be back. Everything is fine.]
Lev carefully pushes himself off the ground, and while staying on his knees, he slowly and quietly opens the closet door, planning on leaving his 4 year old sister and 1 year old brother alone, needing to check on his parents. Before he steps out of the closet he turns back to Polly, "Не выходи, пока я не скажу." He whispers, using the same words his mother used.
[Translation: Don't come out until I say.]
Lev hesitantly turns back around, and steps out of the closet, making sure to shut it behind him. Not knowing what happened or if it's completely over, Lev leaves his little sister completely terrified, scared of everything she's heard but hasn't seen.
She and Maxim sit in the dark, quiet closet by themselves for what feels like hours — which was actually no more than 40 minutes, waiting for Lev or their mother to come back and get them. But neither came back. Just as the one hour mark comes around, she begins to get antsy, unable to sit still for any longer. She takes her time to think about what she plans on doing, neither Lev nor her mother, or even her father had come back for her, meaning it must be dangerous; but that doesn't stop her.
Following in Lev's footsteps, she slowly stands off the ground, while still carrying Maxim, and pushes open the closet door. Their only bedroom stands unharmed, not a single glass shard lays on the floor, nor is there an axe mark in the door. Polly tiptoes towards Maxim's crib, and using what little strength she has, she quietly pushes it into the closet where she was hiding, and places Maxim back down, knowing the boy is tired and will fall asleep within minutes.
She leans down and places a kiss on his forehead, "Молчи, маленький Максим." She whispers against his forehead, watching the young boy peacefully shut his eyes, falling asleep again.
[Translation: Be quiet, little Maxim.]
Doing as Lev did to her, she quietly shuts the closet door, leaving Maxim to sleep. Taking in a deep breath, she walks towards the bedroom door, she lifts her shaking hand to touch the door knob, and twists it open, revealing the home she grew up in, now destroyed. All the windows she could see were smashed, leaving glass scattered across the floor. Chunks of wood, from their walls and doors, are out of place, in random spots, spots they don't belong in. Blood is also splattered across the walls and floors. Their tables and chairs are broken, and out of place, thrown across the room, from previously being used for self defense. As soon as she turns right, the last place where she and her family were happily together, she sees her fathers body lying across the floor. His body is sliced and torn apart, barely recognizable, while her mothers body is in the backyard, and her brother nowhere to be seen.
She takes her time walking towards her fathers body. Once she gets to him, she crouches down to her knees and takes a seat next to him. Her eyes scan across his body, landing on his hand. She reaches forward and wraps her tiny hand in his blood filled hand. The watery feeling in her eyes finally drop, causing tears to slide down her delicate skin.
Hearing a pair of footsteps come from behind her, assuming it's her brother, she speaks through her cries, "Куда ты ушел? Кто сделал это с папой?"
[Translation: Where have you gone? Who did this to dad?]
She doesn't get a response, instead she feels a heavy warm breath breathe down her small neck, making chills run through her body. A hand gently gets placed on her shoulder, and before she can turn around to see who's truly standing behind her, she feels a small prick in her neck. Almost instantly, her vision begins to blur, and her balance tumbles away. Her petite body collapses onto the wooden ground. A pair of large hands wrap around her arms, and pull her up, making sure her head doesn't hit the ground. She tries to speak to the man who's above her but no words come out, instead they come out as a groan. She weakly reaches her hand up, and touches the man's face. Just as quickly as her vision went blurry, her vision went black, leaving her body to go limp, her hand sliding away from his face, and down the sleeve of his black suit.
"Вам будет хорошо." The man calmly states, looking down at the young girl whom he just drugged.
[Translation: You will be fine.]
No one knew, but on this cold December night, the young girl's whole life would change.
Polly Young's life will never be the same.