Arden and Zoe are baffled. Arden furrows her brow; she can feel the wheels turning in her brain working overtime to try and comprehend what had just happened.

“Maybe it was a blessing that we were adopted by our families!” As she speaks, Arden’s gaze falls upon Zoe’s shadow. She feels chills that have nothing to do with the temperature of the room. As she looks at Zoe, she notices a strange blank expression on her face.

“Zoe, we need to escape! We can’t allow our past to demolish our future. Joffrey cannot take that away from us again,” Arden says.

Zoe contemplates the magnitude of the situation. In that moment she can feel her heart beating, she can feel the blood flowing through her body, she can feel every part of her that works so hard to keep her alive and she knows she will do whatever it takes to get out of here.

“Hazel and Hailey, it’s time!” Joffrey’s voice floats through the door and it is impossible for him to mask the anticipation he is feeling. Through all those years he had endured the abuse by his parents and grandparents. Even when they took a cigarette to his face, he had learned to carry himself through it.

“Hazel and Hailey, you must be wondering why I have brought you here and why I disposed of our family all those years ago. I think it is time you know everything. I wouldn’t want you to die not knowing why.” Joffrey feels the adrenaline already starting to course through his veins; this is the last link to his past. After this he could start over and nobody would ever dare to humiliate him again.

“When I was five years old, our parents lost their company. They were one of the richest couples of the time and they couldn’t bear the resentment they felt towards the world for taking it all away from them. They began to drink and take drugs, at first it was once a week and then it became a habit. Their daily routine was waking up, getting high and drunk and then taking out all their frustration on the fact that their ‘treasured’ son acted more like a daughter.” Joffrey stops for moment to light his cigarette. Zoe and Arden can feel the hatred pulsating through him while he looks at them.

“The first time he caught me wearing a dress, I was left with the taste of blood in my mouth that lasted for two days. After thirteen years, you two were born and mother and father were so happy. They would never dream of mistreating their two angels, while I had to endure their abuse and neglect for years. They had to be taught a lesson and that’s why I chose father’s gun. It served him right that the same gun that ended his life was the one he threatened mine with for so many years.”

“I spent years in a psychiatric ward listening to doctors commenting on my mind, saying that I was imperfect. They were wrong! I am perfect and I did not belong there. One day a new nurse was recruited. I’ve always thought they were pitiful people. She dropped her access card and I was able to walk out of there a free man. Once I was out, I knew that I had to erase all memories of my past and that included you two. I took my time, watching you both for months. Just like our parents, you were oblivious to my presence.”

Joffrey stands up and Arden and Zoe can feel the manifestation of all Joffrey’s hatred, anger and jealousy reach them before he reaches Zoe. She feels herself being pushed against the wall and she sees his hands reaching for the barrel of the gun, but it was surreal. Zoe saw her life flash before her eyes, and she thought of her favorite memory, when her mother had taken her and her brothers to the park for the day and bought them ice cream.

“No!” Zoe hears Arden scream as she feels the pressure of the gun being lifted off her chest. Arden pounces on Joffrey as she attempted to reach for the gun.

“Bitch! Get off me!” Joffrey fights more than just Arden as he pushes her off him. He fights all his demons as her punches her, he fights all the hatred he felt his whole life as he kicks her and he fights all his memories as he takes her life.

Arden’s ears ring with the sound of the bang. She feels the pain gripping her before she feels numb; and before everything goes black she seeks her sister’s eyes, the sister who she will never have the chance to know.

Zoe takes a moment to feel her grief before adrenaline kicks in and she starts to run through the door that Joffrey has forgotten to lock. She runs through the darkness without any direction. She can hear Joffrey’s heavy breathing as he follows her.

Finally she sees light bursting through the darkness and, without a second thought, she runs towards it. Before she gets to the window, Joffrey grabs her arm.

“Not this time!” Zoe uses all the strength left in her as she fights back. Joffrey eclipses Zoe in weight, but her petite size provides her with the advantage of speed. He could easily overpower her, but before he can take action he sees the diminutive figure reaching for the gun.

Zoe points it directly at Joffrey’s head, and the weight and magnitude of the last few days come rushing over her.

“Don’t you dare come near me, Joffrey,” Zoe yells, as her hands begin to tremble.

Joffrey begins to laugh hysterically at the thought of his sister being more like him than he could have ever imagined. He did not expect Zoe to fight back, but rather to be crushed under the weight of her secret past.

Joffrey’s laughter fuels the fire burning within Zoe: “How dare you come into my life, our lives, and destroy everything we knew to be true. Nothing will ever be the same again. You destroyed the last little shred of happiness that I had left in my life, the love for my family. Or rather my so-called family.”

Zoe begins to edge closer to Joffrey, guided by the pistol in her hands.

Joffrey, noticing the seriousness in Zoe’s eyes, lunges at her but before he can grab the gun, Zoe’s fingers, working of their own accord, pull down on the warm trigger. The bullet pierces Joffrey right between his perfectly shaped eyebrows.

Zoe takes one last look at the repulsive figure lying on the cement floor, before she turns away and begins to look for an exit. Zoe heads towards the light and she uses the still warm gun to break the glass. She is in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the woods.

She knows that she has a long journey ahead of her until she reaches some sort of civilization or someone to assist her, and at the same time she knows she has a long road ahead of her to adjust to her new identity.

Zoe casually tucks the gun into the waistband of her jeans as she continues walking down the dirt path. In that moment, she knows that the apple does not fall far from the tree. She plans how she is going to use the remaining three bullets in the chamber on her so called “family”. She hates being lied to, and she will see to it that justice is served.

***

Tell us: Do you think someone should go to jail for defending themselves against someone who is trying to murder them?