MERIDA'S POINT OF VIEW
Eleven years ago...
I was early home from school and as I approached the house I called my home, I heard gunshots and my mom's voice, screaming for help.
I knew that going inside of the house would only add fuel to the fire_ dad always told me to hide if anything wasn't normal inside. Consequently, I hid myself by the back door as my dad had always told me to. I didn't like going against his advice. Dad was always right.
Then all of a sudden, there was no sound coming from the house. My curiosity got the best of me and I crept to the front door not wanting to catch the 'intruder's' attention.
As I faltered to the front door, I was interrupted by the sound of trees rustling in the breeze and that of the front door being forced open.
My hair stood straight on end and I didn't move an inch_ that was the only way of making it out alive_ I contemplated. I wondered if my parents were okay, not good, just okay.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by thundering footsteps. I didn't know a lot about the situation that was in hand but I knew one thing: those footsteps didn't belong to one person.
On instinct I peeked at the front door and saw four figures, all dressed in black business suits.
I thought my eyes were deceitful because I couldn't bring myself to believe the scene that was being unraveled before my eyes.
Everything was pure Alice in Wonderland.
My dad's friends were creeping out of my parents' house with pistols in their hands when just a few minutes ago, I'd heard my mother's miserable wails.
The truth was inevitable: dad's friends had betrayed him.
It was the four of them: Mr. Kenton, Mr. Parker, Ms. Walton and Mr. Greene.
They all hurried to a black SUV that was parked across the street and drove off on full speed.
As soon as they left, I went inside of the house and went straight into the lounge. I was welcomed by an extremely blood-curdling sight.
There were twelve bullets shot into my father's chest_ he was motionless. I wanted to throw myself in his arms and sob so that he would comfort me.
"Adversity time isn't the time to be licking your wounds Merida Klein. Hold your head high and face everything like the strong woman that you are, you can always cry in the aftermath." I recalled the advice he'd give to me every time I was on the verge of tears.
I couldn't continue to stare at him any longer... there was so much blood, I felt like puking.
I blinked back a hot surge of tears and approached the dining room. My steps altered, as I caught a glimpse of my mother's lifeless body. She had a bullet blown right through her skull.
The sight was traumatizing and the whole place was covered in blood_ so much blood.
I knew that the longer I stayed in the house, the more chances I had of getting caught. During judo practice, dad always told me to act oblivious in 'risky' situations.
"Act like a fool to fool that thinks they're fooling you Rida" he'd always instruct me after I lost a round to him during practice. No one had to know that I knew they were dead, that much I knew.
I put on a smile, no tears in my eyes and hurried out of my house then headed to Mary's house. She only lived a few blocks away from me_ getting there was not a problem.
As I'd expected, I got to Mary's house in fifteen minutes and asked her mom if I'd stay over and do my home-work with her. Mrs. Stone didn't object. Mary was my bestfriend, she always loved having me over.
Mrs. Stone tried giving my mom a call but was answered by someone else whom I'd like to believe was a cop.
I stayed over at Mary's house for a couple of days. All Mrs. Stone told me was that my parents had left the country for business and I wasn't allowed to go home and stay on my own.
If only she knew how much I'd known, she wouldn't have fed me those lies.
Sarah_ my dad's older sister_ came to get me from Mary Stone' s house eventually.
All she told me was that I'd be staying with her because my parents didn't want anything to do with me. I didn't drop my act either, I pretended to believe her and went with the flow. I did what every normal six-year old would do when they were told that their parents had abandoned them because of how odious they were: I cried.
Sarah wasn't particularly fond of me so life with her was definitely not a bed of roses. I turned a blind eye on all the bad she did to me and a deaf ear to all her spiteful words.
I had a revenge plan up my sleeve I wouldn't let my emotions get the best of me.
I quit day-to-day schooling and became home-schooled. nine years passed in a blur and not once did Sarah not remind me of how odious I was.
I dropped a lot of things that I liked doing with dad, judo wasn't one of them, however. I was particularly gifted in martial arts.
I like the environment that Sarah raised me in. I think she did it to spite me, pity mush, all her efforts were in vain, for I like having my own space. I dislike crowded places_ they make me sick.
I had my first kill at fifteen years of age.
I have a unique way of torturing people.
I don't like it when they struggle, bleed or get hurt.
I abhor blood. It makes me remember...
I like it when they die with a smile on their faces.
And every single time a person laughs_ they smile.
So that's how I do it.
I tickle them to death.
And its fun, especially if they have a hilarious laughter, I end up sharing the joke with them sometimes.
The first person for me to kill was my aunt. I was fed up. Fed up of the lies she kept on feeding me about my parents so I decided to eliminate her.
I had just gotten home from town when she yelled at me for going out without her permission. For some weird reason, she didn't like it when anyone knew who I was... I don't know why.
She hit me with a slap.
I had heard enough. That was it.
Right at that instant, I slammed her head on the floor, which knocked her out. Then I tied her up. Once she woke, I...
I...
I...
Well she met her fate that way.
I...
...tickled her, her laughter was very annoying, so I took no pleasure in murdering her. I was bored. It took her approximately 45 minutes to run out of energy and eventually die.
Took her long enough!
Tickling her altered with her breathing until a point where she wasn't breathing. Well, we all know what happens when a living-thing stops respiring.
As she took her last breathe, I let out a cocky smirk. It was time.
I took a black refuse plastic bag and put her corpse in it.
Then I took an enormous three legged pot she had bought when she was in Lesotho, Africa, over two decades ago from then. I lit a fire outside and place the three legged pot there and half-filled it with water and let it boil. I was as cool as a cucumber as I awaited the water to boil. Once it boiled, I dragged her body out of her beaten house and took it outside where I lit the fire. I lowered her corpse inside and let it boil for about 10 minutes and turned the fire off.
I cooled the water with ice. I needed to act fast. True, We lived in an isolated place or rather area but there was a chance of having someone snoop around our property.
Once the water was warm enough to touch, I took her body out and buried her in our back yard_ twelve-feet underground.
I couldn't afford anyone finding her.
I wouldn't struggle financially, that much I knew. Dad used to tell me that there was never a time in my life that I'd need money.
He had given me a locket when I was five and told me to open it at the time of my greatest dismay.
After burying Sarah, I searched her up on Google and what I found was rather_ weird.
What's weird about Sarah is that Wikipedia said that she had died nine years ago in a car accident. It further stated that she did not die alone. She died together with her brother, his wife and_ me.
Wikipedia said that I'm dead. I'd been dead for nine years to be precise and it was only then that I knew about it.
It explained a lot...
After reading articles about my 'death' I knew that it was time to open the locket.
In it, I found a note that had an address written on it followed by the words: Use the locket as a key to open the gate.
I drove to that address in Sarah's old Mercedes.
The place was also very isolated and found an abandoned but good-looking apartment. The gate's lock had a shape that could fit my locket. I did as the note instructed and opened the gate.
I got inside and locked it again.
The front door was unlocked and I went inside. The interior of that house was identical to that of my parent's house. On instinct, I headed straight to the training room because that's where dad and I held our meetings.
I was welcomed by a folded sheet of paper on the floor. Only after unfolding it did I see that it was a letter addressed to me.
It read:
Merida, if you're reading this it means I'm long gone and you've run out of options. I'm glad that you kept the locket, it will help you through a lot of things. I always told you not to cry but today you can. I have a lot of assets written under your name and they worth £5 000 000 000 after tax. I don't know how you're taking all of this but I advice you to recall all my lessons and stay away from all my friends_ especially Parker unless you know how you plan on dealing with him. This is your house. It looks exactly like the house you grew up in. Your mother and I adored that house, just like we adore you. You'll be finding more letters from me. I may be dead, but my memory lives.
~Love Dad
~~~
Hi there, I hope you enjoyed the prologue, I'll be uploading the first chapter soon.
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