“Let me go, please.” She cried out, struggling in the ropes wrapped around her wrist like an animal about to be slaughtered.

 

 

The smirk found its way to my lips as I watched her, eyes fastened on her small form, my ears enjoying the pleas and cries that she made. She wouldn’t stop trying to get what she wanted - she never seemed to learn. I wasn’t going to do what she asked, I never was. I found comfort in knowing that I was the one in control, that she had to plead and beg to get what she wanted. If I let her go then that would make me seem weak. And I wasn’t weak. Far from it. 

 

 

I walked over to her, crouching down by her side until we were face to face. Her eyes widened in fear and she forced herself with whatever strength she had left to increase the distance between us. She could try all she wanted but she couldn’t get away from me, her pants growing louder in the air as I leaned even closer, able to straddle over her quickly.

 

 

I ran my fingers through the short dark tufts of her hair, my lips brushing against her ear. “And why should I do that?”

 

 

I grabbed a fistful of it as I yanked her head upwards. Her lips released a short cry of pain. She was forcing back the tears, shaking furiously, but she didn’t say anything. Not a single curse word. No more cries or pleas. Just pure silence.

 

 

I wanted to hear her beg. I wanted her to call out my name in her pleas. I wanted to see her cry as she did so. I wanted to aggravate her so that she would lose control over her emotions and let her fury surface, allow the cries and screams to escape her lips so I could punish her for it and show her her worth. She was mine, my little toy after all.

 

 

She kept me entertained.

 

 

“You don’t have anything to say, do you? You just want me to let you go,” I tugged even tighter, trying to force the tears out of her as she tried her best to hold them in. “I have no reason to do so.”

 

 

The tears spilled out onto her cheeks, muffled cries filling the air just the way I liked it as she bit down on her lower lip, drawing a few drops of blood which painted her lips crimson. I climbed off of her and took a few steps back, watching my masterpiece unfold as she shivered, obviously still frightened. Her eyes were forced shut and she was mumbling something, chanting words to herself as a cool breeze entered the room and the thin fabric of her clothes rustled along with it.

 

 

She stayed there like that for a few moments, not moving a single inch, not opening her eyes to stare up at me with those wide doe-like eyes in that vulnerable way she normally did when she was trying to plead with me, and I was growing bored with her. What use was playing with a toy that wasn’t going to work or do what you wanted it to?

 

 

I crouched down by her side and loosened the ropes around her arms before her thin wrists slipped out of them. I stepped back as she fell forward and pushed herself back up, not daring to take a single glance in my direction as she walked towards the door and pulled it open, disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

 

 

“I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

*****


The sound of gunshots erupted around me, screams ringing through my ears as I struggled to open my eyes, the surroundings remaining as a blur as if there was some lens covering over my irises. A vile stench wafted through my nose in an uncomfortable manor  as I lifted myself up until I was in a seated position, the fuzziness gradually disappearing until everything became visible.

 

 

My eyes widening at the sight of the lifeless men who lay limply by my side. Dead. My uniform was soaked in blood from the pools that surrounded us. I felt like I had seen this place before but the place that I had once known was now the funeral, the burial grounds for many men.

I scurried and leapt to my feet, finding myself at the centre of a battlefield, a war zone. Knowing that I had been in the presence of a battle field on previous occasions, I shouldn’t have been scared but I was shocked by the sight before me. The field was covered in dead bodies, the blood sinking through into the soil. I didn’t know where to go, where I would be safe.  I slowly tried to step through the field, crawling over bodies of men who I had seen before but couldn’t place a name to as the gun shots continued to fire, missing me by half an inch as the opposition tried to kill me. I had to get away. I couldn’t be killed. There was so much that I wanted to do, that I wanted to live for.


I raised my head slightly, unaware of the obstacle in my path as I tripped over it and dropped to my knees. Crawling backwards in fright, eyes wide in shock, I couldn’t believe the massacre that had occurred before my eyes. Not only had a group of my men died. But Millions. Millions had risked their lives to fight. Millions were suffering from the consequences of putting their trust into the army. And I, one of the men they looked up to, had found them all. Dead.
 

I felt sick to my stomach as my eyes caught sign of the wounds they had suffered from, gashes and scars that graffitied their faces, that had become crusted by old, dried blood, fresh drops of the red liquid forcing itself out from beneath it .Tears coursed down my face as I could see nothing but the familiar faces of the soldiers who had greeted me daily, smiling as they had past even though they lived in fear of me, despite the fact that I had never given them any response. The smiles were wiped clean from their faces, replaced with shock and fear.

 

 

I needed to get away. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I tried to escape before anything could have happened to me. I tried to force myself to leave and let go - there was nothing I could do anymore for them, they were gone. I was the General. No way would I let any mediocre soldier’s death sadden me and let me forget what was really the prize. I was in the war to win, not sympathise with weaklings. 
 

 

“Forgetting about us are you?” a hoarse voice asked as I found my movements restricted.

 

 

I glanced down to find one Lieutenant  stare at me angrily, his bloodshot eyes full of venom as a very visible wound where his ear should have been was dripping with blood. He had a firm grip on my leg, his sharp fingernails piercing into my skin as others stared up at me with the same hatred within their eyes


“Just going to let us die are you?”


“Saving yourself with no care for us?”


“I guess a bastard will always be a bastard.”


“I think our General here better be shown how the rest of us are suffering pain,” another said slyly, rummaging through his pocket as he pulled out his gun. His fingers inched towards the trigger as he aimed it directly at me. My eyes squeezed shut in fear.
 

 …….

 

 

The pace of my breathing increased as I shot up, each breath heavy and strained as I tried to calm myself back down. I pressed my hand to my forehead, where I had just been shot, but there was nothing wrong, there was no damage done. It was a dream, just a dream. I was safe, back in my quarters where no massacre had occurred. Eyes wide, I fell back to the comfort of the mattress, agitated and tired, wanting to go back to sleep.
 

I spent an hour like that, restless and tired, thinking over what had happened in the dream as it replayed in my mind again and again, and I couldn’t understand why it had/ why it was affecting me as much as it did. I wasn’t one to be scared from death - out of all of those men out there, I was the one who had control, the strongest of them all. I had been trained so much that they couldn’t kill me - I was invincible. And dead comrades - I had never liked them in the first place and if they weren’t strong enough to survive then they were not worth any grief.

 

 

I slowly rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom, my face itself in my hands as the alcohol from the night before took its toll on my body, getting the better of me. I sometimes thought that I was consuming too much but the alcohol was the only thing that kept me sane most nights.

 

After searching through some drawers and cupboards, I swallowed some aspirin, washing it down with an ice cold glass of water, which gave some relief from a splitting headache, before splashing some on my face, my eyes widening, fully refreshed. I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I cleaned myself up, images of Victoria flashing into my mind from the night before, her hair tangled and messy, pale cheeks stained with tears. She was a weak and foolish one. She never seemed to understand that I was still showing her my better side, still showing her some sympathy. The worst was still to come.

 

 

That little had hardly experienced anything yet.
 

I sauntered out of the bathroom to dress, reaching for my dress shirt as a sudden pain soared through my head. My blood was pulsing in my veins, head thumping with an uncontrollable fire burning inside of me. I struggled to see what I was doing, my vision blurry, the pain unbearable as a disgruntled groan escaped from my lips and I staggered forward, grabbing the bed frame to hold myself up. Legs wobbling like jelly, I felt I was no longer able to hold myself up, dropping down to the floor.


I squeezed my eyes shut, giving me short term relief but I was growing late and I was a busy man who had things to do, people to control, not just lie there like a ing child who couldn’t handle the pain. My fingers drummed against the bed, still weak as I waited patiently for someone to arrive to check up on me. I was not going to ask for help. A General never asked for help. They’d think I was weak and I was nothing but weak - I was a ing god compared to them. Those bastards were probably too stupid to realise that I wasn’t even there.


My stomach grumbled in hunger as I realised that time was passing by quickly. In a while, they expected me to stand in front of the newbies and convince them to go out to the frontlines, inspire them to be like me, strong and admirable. If we were ever to win the war, the idiots would have to go out there and wish to be like myself, a General who could have anything he wanted, and who was happy because of it. I was nothing like that General. I wasn’t happy. I didn’t have anything I wanted, but for the army to succeed I was to pretend that I did and was.

 

The door shot open a few moments later and a head of obnoxious blonde hair peeked through before Lieutenant Taecyeon let himself in uninvited.

 

 

“Your speech is due in 10 minutes sir,” he said, his face blank but eyes frantically scanning around the room.

 

 

My teeth gritted together in anger. Did he think I was stupid? Did he not think that I would already know that? My glare grew dark as I looked up at him. “I know that, you idiot,” I growled.

 

 

“Are you okay? Why are you slumped over like that, not dressed yet?” He asked, slowly stepping over the floorboards as he made his way towards me, his eyebrow raised questioningly at my slouched stature.
“I’m fine.”

 

 

I tried to lift myself up but ended up failing miserably, unable to support my weight and dropped back onto the bed. I looked up at Taecyeon, his blue eyes laughing at me like he had wanted to see me fail. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he did - the idiot had always been jealous of me.


“Go call the doctor. I’ll help him up.” Taecyeon turned in the other direction and it was only then that I noticed Commanded Chouji who stood by the doorway and rushed away at Taecyeon’s order.

 

 

Taecyeon’s eyes returned to watch my uncomfortable figure, a scowl lingering upon my lips as he rushed to my side. He laced his arm around me and tried to hoist me up from the floor as the sound of Chouji’s frantic steps echoed in from the hallway. I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration as I watched him run back and forth in the wrong directions before he finally decided to go the right way.


“I don’t need your ing help, Taecyeon. I told you I was fine,” I growled angrily through gritted teeth, trying to pull away from his firm grip on my arms.


“Of course you don’t,” He replied, a hint of sarcasm within his voice. He heaved a sigh of annoyance as he pulled my shirt of my grip and helped me pull it on. I felt so ashamed of myself in that state, ashamed that I couldn’t do the simplest tasks by myself. Ashamed that someone like him needed to help me.


*****
 

20 minutes, an argument with Taecyeon and a Doctor’s visit later, I found myself in the soldier’s glistening eyes as they stared and awaited my speech, Taecyeon still firmly gripping onto my arm from behind me. I scanned over the crowd in front of me, unimpressed with the group of men they had managed to find. These puny men, who tried to call themselves ’soldiers’, wouldn’t last one minute out in those battlefields - they’d be shot down before they even took one step. And this was the future of the South  Korean Army? A whole battalion would be wiped out before they even had their rifles ready.

 

 

There was an eerie silence making me grow uncomfortable. They all stood so silently, faces blank of any emotion, mouths zipped shut. I could hear nothing but the chirping of birds as no one made a sound, a flash of lightning flickering in their eyes as we awaited the crack of thunder and downpour of rain. At least they knew how to keep themselves quiet.


“As you all know, more and more of our men are suffering out there on the front lines. Resources are almost limited, and we’re losing more people everyday,” Fear flashed onto their faces, eyes looked down, sweat matted their foreheads. “Our army is suffering out there and the only way we will reign over the others and succeed in our fight is if more men are sent out there. That is where you all come in.”

 

 

Another strike of lightning flashed against the skies, as feet inched backwards, men wishing they could get away. But no one was safe.

 

 

“So, who will be the first to step out?” I asked, the speech coming to an end as rain dropped down from the dark, overcast skies above us, blurring my vision.

 

 

They watched me in fear, trying to shrink down into the ground. I could sense that they wished that they were somehow invisible so that I would not be able to see them and they would therefore not be picked on. That wasn’t possible. I wasn’t going to leave, even if it was torrentially raining, until every single one of those little bastards stepped forward and got ready to move out to the Capital.

 

No one dared to move forward and I was starting to grow impatient, tapping against my watch to signal to the other Lieutenants that I was growing more and more infuriated by the second. I turned to them, waiting for them to step forward and grab people out of the crowd but not a single one moved from position, my glare growing darker. If no one would have moved forward and the Lieutenants were too lazy then I was just going to have to choose for myself.

 

 

After patiently waiting for another few minutes, I got down from the stage and searched for some worthy candidates who could have done us well in the frontlines, men who were stronger and would survive longer - at least then they would have been of some use. Lifting them up by their collar, I smirked as I stared into their eyes before shoving them aside into the growing line of soldiers who would be departing, picking them out one by one and enjoying the fear and shock within their eyes.

 
“I can’t go sir. What if I die? I have a wife and a child left behind,” One argued, tears dangerously capable from falling from the brims of his eyes as he shrugged my hand off his arm and slowly backed away.

 

 

I could see the anger and sadness in his dark orbs as they met mine, pleading with me to pity him, as jaws dropped in shock. I couldn’t hold in my fury, my infuriation with this bastard, trying to suppress it within me as his words replayed in my mind. He didn’t deserve to say that. He had no right. There had been many men in the past that had families and had died in the war. What made him so special, what made his situation different from the rest. 

 

I took a step towards him, my large stature towering over him as he cowered down in fear.

 

 

“You’re fighting for your country. It shouldn’t matter if you die or not,” I spoke, my teeth gritted together, face burning red in anger.

 

 

“I can’t die, sir.” Sweat was dripping down his forehead, his body trembling, fingers curling into a fist.

 

 

I wasn’t going take no for an answer.

“Oh really. Is that true?” He sent a single nod in my direction. I knew then what had to be done.

 

 

“Well then, this man can’t fight on the front lines.” Even I could sense he sinister quality in my voice as I said those words, thinking over my next movements. I turned to Taecyeon who stared back at me with wide eyes as I held my hand out behind my back. I could feel the hesitation in Taecyeon’s movements as he placed the object in my hand, the cool metal briefly numbing my palm.
 

“We’re just going to need to do something else with him.” 


 I pulled out the gun from behind my back, firmly gripping onto it as I held it to his head and pulled the trigger in one swift movement. The explosion of the gun sent the bullet whistling through the air, the gunshot echoing as the bullet shot through him, burying itself deep in his body. I could see it, the life draining out of him, eyes wide as his body relapsed in shock and he dropped to the ground, the blood dripping from his new wound and pooling out around him, dying his hair red. The endorphins surged through me.

 

 

Once again the silence returned to the air around us, the tension hanging thick in the air. Wind swept around us, the rain sharply crashing into our bodies as water mixed with blood, a red river flowing around our feet. I lifted my hand and signalled the other Lieutenants to drag him away as a crowd circled around us, their mouths dropped in shock, eyes trained on me in fear, the fear that they were next. They seemed hesitant to place their hands on him, slowly crouching at his side before pulling him upwards and setting him onto one of the stretchers, carrying him away as his eyes remained wide open, lifeless.
 

 

“That teaches you what happens when you don’t listen to me bastards.”
 

 

A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips as I stepped away smugly, knowing that I had taught them all a fine lesson. They wouldn‘t dare to mess with me again. I loved the power that I had, the fact that I could bring fear to everyone around me. I was in control.

 

 

Taecyeon ran over to me, his panting breaths heavy in the air and disturbing my ears. He held an umbrella over my head, sheltering me from the storm’s onslaught, small raindrops dripping from the strands of hair matted against my face. A group of Lieutenants were calling for the others to return to their posts, trying to reduce the chance of any more ‘unnecessary‘ deaths that morning with my infuriation increasing second by second since I had first awoken from that stupid dream.


“Sir, you shouldn’t have done that,” Taecyeon mumbled quietly as we walked side by side. What did he just say?

 

 

I froze in my steps, halting to an abrupt stop as Taecyeon tripped and almost fell face first into the vast expanse of soaked vegetation in front of us. He had no right to say anything like that to me. He didn’t have any power of me; I was the one who had the power - not him. I didn’t work so ing hard to have someone like Taecyeon think that he could criticise me and get away with it.

 

 

I watched him at that moment as he stared at me, confused and almost frightened. My anger had reached boiling point and I wanted to do nothing but launch myself towards him and tighten my hands around his neck, squeeze the life out of him as he begged for forgiveness in choked, bated breaths. I wanted to see the life drain out of him as his face turned white, losing his bright tan, blue orbs bulging out of the sockets that encased them.

 

 

I couldn’t force myself to do it, though. I would be made to feel so guilty for the bastard’s death. I bit back the anger and turned away from him, my feet shifting my weight away from the previous death scene as I replied nonchalantly, “I did what I had to do. When you don’t obey the rules, you’re a traitor.”
 
 

Taecyeon sighed and there was a resounding silence between us, a silence that I enjoyed, before he decided to open his mouth again. “That was Commander Genma Shiranui, 25 years old. His wife just gave birth to their son a few days ago,” He explained, trying to make me feel some kind of sympathy for killing him and bringing sorrow to his family.

 

 

I couldn’t force myself to feel any regret or care, I couldn’t force myself to worry about the wife and son that he had left behind. Death happened. It was a normal part of life and he understood the consequences for his actions - or at least he should have. Whatever happened to his family in his absence was nothing to do to me. The bastard should have been blamed for his own death.

 

“I don’t ing care, Taecyeon.”

 

*****
 

I sauntered through the crowds of prisoners around me, my eyes following every movement they made as I carried my weight forward through the large room. Somebody had to make sure they were doing their jobs correctly as I watched them stumble in their steps, scrambling for their work my eyes as I made myself present. They were making fools of themselves, dirt and dust covering their cheeks as sweat hung on their foreheads. They looked thin, skin hanging on bare bones, faces sullen and dark, but I wouldn’t pity them. Some people were just less fortunate - it was part of life. We could never be equals.

 

 

Standing tall and proud, I looked for any faults in their work, to give myself an excuse to punish them. I had the authority and I was going to use it. If they weren’t punished, they never would have learned, they never would have done anything properly. Enforcing the rules made sure that everything was done the way we, the way I wanted it to. People needed to be taught that there were consequences to their actions.
 

 

I spotted one man in the distance, standing there, just standing there like he had nothing to do. The rest of them were working diligently as if they had been there long enough and seen enough deaths to know what would happen to them if they didn’t do as instructed, sharpening the blades of swords and welding kunai knives to be used against their own people out on the battlefields. This one had obviously arrived in the same delivery as Victoria, his eyes hadn’t seen the lifeless faces and pools of blood, yet. And he hadn’t seen me either.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” I asked, calling out to him as the others shuddered in fright at the sound of breaking silence. The thundering sound of my footsteps echoed off the walls as he scanned his eyes quickly over his surroundings, shock washing over him as he noticed my presence.

 

“Uh-uh sir I-I-I’m erm…” He stuttered in his speech, hesitatingly looking up at me in fear as he grew terrified off his current situation. He looked meek and miniscule, like a small boy, his eyes darting around the room as if he was trying to avoid me. He was nothing against me, compared to my large stature as I stood before him in intimidation.

“You what?” I spat angrily in response, cutting him off. I felt everyone else’s eyes burn holes in my back as they turned to face us, blades left discarded as machines whirred to a halt.
 

“I uh I…”

 
“Spit it out!” I roared, the hair blowing away from his face at the impact of my voice. “You haven’t been doing your job right, have you? Is there some kind of problem with you or your job? Do you need us to fix that for you?” I asked with mock sincerity, shoving him back as if it would ignite some kind of response from him. I almost expected someone to run over to us and try to come up with some kind of excuse for the boy’s sake but no one did - everyone only cared for themselves and I knew I would be exactly the same.


“Sir I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’ll do it properly. I’ll do what you want. Please forgive me. Please don’t hurt me,” I wrinkled my nose in disgust as he got down to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

 

 

A ghost of a smile appeared across my lips as I watched the tears slide down his face, making a fool out of himself in front of me, in front of my soldiers and in front of all his peers. He pressed his head against the ground and kept it there, his body shaking violently as he grew frightened for what was to come.
 

“You’ll do what I want?“ He managed a small ‘yes’, lifting his head and dropping it again as if he was nodding his head, trying to avoid death. “Shoot yourself in the foot. It will remind you that there are consequences for not doing what I say.”

 

 

His jaw dropped as he looked up at me, eyes wide with confusion. He pushed himself up into a seated position as everything dropped to a completely silent state that we could hear each single drop of rain into the vast puddles around layers of dirt. This was going to be amusing, I could already tell. He seemed just like another Victoria.
 

“I- I can’t do that sir.”


“Why not? Are you scared?” I asked as I mocked him, receiving laughter from my soldiers who had gathered to watch. I took a single step towards him and crouched in front of him, lifting him up with a single hand by his collar. He spluttered and coughed, choking for a breath of air as a dark crimson grew across his cheeks, the anger becoming evident within his eyes as he struggled within my grip.


“You know what; I’m not going to do what you tell me. You’re a stupid bastard who thinks that he can treat us all like and bully us since he has all this power. I’m can’t take all of your ing crap anymore!” He shouted, heads turning almost instantly, men gasping in shock. “Just shoot me!”

A sinister grin lingered upon my lips. “With pleasure.”
 

It didn’t take any second thoughts or hesitation to kill that son of a on the spot - I did what he asked. My gunshot spiralled through the air as it pierced into my target’s forehead at a breakneck speed. He fell back just as Genma had, his back hitting the ground with a thud as the blood poured out of him. The screams disturbed my ears as the others gathered around his body, tears dripping down from their faces as I rushed away from the scene. I couldn’t help but find it funny that none of them had helped him earlier, when he had needed it and now, they were all mourning his death and talking about me as if I had already left.

 

 

“He’ll kill us all one day. He enjoys seeing us all suffer and die, the bloody masochist.”

 

 

That one had me right down to a tee. I was a masochist, a person who found pleasure from bringing others pain. And I didn’t care if I was.

 

*****

 

 

It was twenty minutes to ten when Victoria had decided to ‘grace me with her presence’, gently shoving the door open as the soldier released his grip on her wrist which was still burning red against the pale white of her skin. There was no use shoving her in when the little would wince and complain about the wounds and bruises on her palms and knees as she fell to the ground. This way was better for the two of us.

 

 

She stood by the doorway, alert, eyes wide as if she was ready for anything that I would throw her way. Her stupid dark hair starkly contrasted with the white of the walls as her eyes darted around the room, resting on me briefly before she looked down at her shoes.

 

 

“Sit down.”

 

 

She shuddered as if she hadn’t expected me to speak, emerald eyes meeting mine as I pointed towards the bed. She nodded her head once as she dragged her feet towards it as I stood by the chest of drawers and reached for the decanter of whiskey. I poured out a large glass, knowing that she was still watching me, before following her over and settling down by her side. She was like a dwarf against me, small and fragile - I towered over her and that only made her seem more weak.

 
“I’m in the mood for some entertainment. Tell me about yourself and make a story of it. The bastards round here can’t tell stories for ,” I commanded as I turned to face her, taking a sip out of my glass. My nose wrinkled at the bitter taste on my tongue.


“I grew up in North Korea,” She squeaked, hands linked together as she held her head down, trying to avoid my face.

 

 

“And? I ing know that already.”

 

 

“I was happy with my parents and friends. I had everything I ever wanted in our mansion,” She stared out at the wall as if she could see it in front of her. “When my Father moved us, everything went wrong, and your soldiers kidnapped me,” She spat, the venom seething through her voice.

 

 

The anger flashed in her eyes as she lifted her head and glared at me as if she thought I wasn’t watching. I knew she would say those things, somehow I just knew that she was going to blame me for all of her misfortune as if it was my fault. Perhaps it could have been said that this was somewhat my doing but that little deserved everything she was getting. Scum would always be scum.

 
 I let out a low chuckle, my nails scratching down against the wall. “So it’s my fault that you aren’t happy anymore?”

 

“Who else would be at fault other than you? Since I stepped foot in this place, I’ve received nothing but hostility and anger from the soldiers and yourself when I haven’t done anything.” Her voice raised until it almost seemed like she was yelling at me, her brows knitted together, teeth gritted against each other.

 

 

She was acting like I was some kind of monster. They all did, everyone thought the same and I agreed, I couldn’t find any way to blame them. It wasn’t like I wanted to be called monster though. I never had, and if you had told me five years earlier that I would be the way that I was now, I would have told you that you were lying. No one, not even myself, would think that the youngest Horvejkul brother, Nichkhun, the most shy and conservative of all the Horvejkul would be running a camp for war prisoners and shooting them dead everywhere I turned.

 

 

I couldn’t say that I hated my job. I enjoyed the authority, I enjoyed the fear, that flash of fright that sparked in everyone’s eyes as they saw me. I didn’t care if they hated me, feared me, insulted names behind my back  - they would all be dead soon enough that it shouldn’t have mattered. That was enough retribution for me. If I had to be hated to be as powerful as I was then I would make myself as hated as possible. It kept me alive.

 

 

I gripped the board at the end of the bed tightly, trying to suppress my anger into it before I launched myself forward and strangled her. That would have kept shut. But there was a part of me that wanted to see her alive a little longer, that told me not to kill her just yet, no matter how much I wanted to, now matter how much the mouthed out about myself and the other South  Korean soldiers. And besides, I liked being able to control her, toy with her emotions, see her in pain.

 

 

“You know what you did,” I idly replied, my eyes focussing on the glare that she was sending me, the darkness she showcased in her bright eyes.

 

 

“What, fight for my beliefs? Since when has that ever been a crime?” She asked, her fingers curling into her palm until she formed a small fist. There was no brightness in her eyes anymore, just pure darkness, her anger evident, though the emerald of her irises continued to glisten beneath the light in the room. “You people think that the slightest opposition is threatening and shoot your opposition dead and I hate-”

 

 

“It may not have been a crime in North Korea but it’s a crime here and you will be punished accordingly,” I cut her off, responding almost instantaneously as I stared her in the eye.

 

 

That shut her up and she stayed silent for a few moments, hanging her head down as if she was trying to find a way to rebut my words. She was annoying like that, so painfully annoying, the fact that she wouldn’t give up trying to argue her case. She still wanted to be that stupid little girl in her huge mansion, who could have everything she wanted when she complained to her mother and father, wrapped up in layers of fur coats and luxury silk. At some point, she was going to have to face reality and give up on thinking that she would ever go back to parents in one piece, still alive. When I finally killed her, I’d chop her into tiny pieces and send her piece by piece, finger by finger, her blood coating her fine flesh. That would make up for her stupidity and the anger she brought me.

 

 

I wasn’t even finished with her yet.

 

 

“Do you think we’re the same just because we’re both human?” I tugged at her wrist, feeling the bone writhing beneath her skin as I forced her to face me. She was taken aback, her face flushed deep red as she leaned back, trying to avoid any contact with me. “No, I’m superior, we’re superior, and you prisoners are the lower class scum who deserve everything they get.”

 

 

“How dare you!” She hissed. With her free hand, she threw her fist forward and channelled her anger into it, smacking it against my chest as if she could make me curl up in pain. She was pathetic.

 

 

“You can’t win an argument against me so quit trying. Get out!”