I rush to the wooden stairs of my home as fast as my legs can carry me. A thousand thoughts race through my mind—who made that scream? What in the world is happening? My brother's door is open. He must have heard it too. Something terrible is happening.
By the time I hit the bottom step, a cold night wind punches me in the face. The front door is wide open. I step outside, my heart hammering in my chest and my eyes wide.
Outside, chaos. Flames flare in the distance where the village lies, and screams pierce the air. We are being attacked. My parents stand frozen in front of a towering, armored figure. My brother sits paralyzed a few meters behind them.
My father grips a hoe in his trembling hands, while my mother holds a kitchen knife. I've always seen Father as a giant, but the man before him dwarfs him completely. The figure grips a massive axe, taller than a door, in his right hand. His upper armor is gold, carved into the shape of a hawk, and the helmet covering his face is shaped like a human skull.
"Who are you?" Father shouts, his voice shaking. The man says nothing. He just steps forward.
I can't move. My body is frozen, legs trembling, heart pounding in my throat. Fear holds me in place.
The man draws closer and swings his axe with one hand, aiming to cut my father in half. Father blocks the strike, but the force of the attack sends him flying. Mother rushes to him, pulling him to his feet. The armored man keeps walking, slowly and deliberately, like a lion.
"Run, you fools!" Father screams at us as he gets back on his feet. His voice cracks in desperation.
My legs refuse to move. Tears blur my vision as the man swings again, his axe crashing into Father's defenses. This time, it is too much. The overhead blow cuts through, and Father collapses. His legs give way, unable to bear the force of the attack. Mother screams and lunges with her knife, but a single punch from the man sends her crumpling to the ground beside my father.
The world tilts. My parents lie at the man's feet, defenseless. I can't breathe. My mind screams at me to move.
"Run!" Father's voice echoes in my mind. Finally, my legs obey. I grab my brother's arm, cursing at him to move. We run north into the darkness.
We sprint into the fields. My brother's small legs struggle to keep up with me. He wavers behind, but I don't slow down.
As I look back, I see the man gripping his axe in both hands. With a single horizontal swing, he slices both my parents in half. I gasp for air at the sight. My entire body begins to ache, as if a piece of me has been destroyed and tossed into the abyss. I'm enraged, but also terrified. I want to fight, but all I can do is run. "It isn't real!" I scream to myself. I'm running, but I can barely see through the tears. I hear my brother behind me, but the sound of footsteps grows closer—he's coming for us.
I fight the urge to look back, but I glance anyway. My heart stops. The man tackles my brother to the ground. My little brother throws his hands in the air, begging for mercy.
Mercy doesn't come.
With a single swing, the axe splits my brother's skull. A scream rips from my throat, but I don't stop running.
The monster gallops like a horse toward me. I'm half a field away, but he's gaining fast. His footsteps thunder like a storm. My legs burn as I push harder, faster. Then, a horn blares in the distance.
The man stops in his tracks. His head turns toward the sound. He looks back at me one last time as I disappear into the night.