HIS PRISONER
1385 Words
Alessandro’s jaw was clenched so tight it hurt as the car drove through the massive iron gates of The Ruthless Reapers’ headquarters. The dark memories refused to leave him alone. No matter how many years passed, the images still played in his head like a never-ending nightmare.
**Sixteen Years Ago**
Ten-year-old Alessandro ran home from school, grinning from ear to ear. He had gotten the highest score in his class and couldn’t wait to tell his parents. They had promised him a new bicycle if he did well. In his small hand, he carried an ice cream cone for his one-year-old brother — the baby he loved more than anything in the world.
But the moment he turned onto their street, his smile disappeared. A group of dangerous-looking men surrounded their house. He quickly hid behind a parked car, heart hammering in his chest.
He recognized one face immediately, Doctor Antonio Argento, his father’s friend who had visited their home twice. Another man wearing a black face mask seemed to be the leader. He was speaking calmly while his men held Alessandro’s parents down.
His baby brother was dragged forward roughly. His parents screamed. One of the men injected something into the little boy’s arm. The baby groaned once, twitched violently, and then went completely still.
His mother cried out and tried to reach her son, but a gunshot rang out. She dropped dead with a bullet in her forehead.
Alessandro covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming. Tears blurred his vision as he pulled out his small phone with shaking hands and started recording everything.
When his father saw his wife and son dead, he fought like a madman. But he was overpowered. Doctor Antonio Argento stepped forward and injected him with a clear liquid. Alessandro watched in horror as his father’s skin began to peel off. Smoke poured from his nose, mouth, and ears. Before he collapsed, his father looked straight toward Alessandro’s hiding spot and mouthed:
“Run, Alessandro… Run!”
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
When he returned later that evening, the house had been burned to the ground. The police called it a tragic accident. Everyone believed it. Everyone except Alessandro, who still had the video saved on his phone.
He was sent to an orphanage, where he watched that video almost every night, crying silently. He didn’t know the masked man, but he would never forget Doctor Antonio Argento’s face.
One day he decided to take the proof to the police, and….
“Sir, we’re here,” Reaper said, opening the car door.
Alessandro snapped out of his thoughts and stepped out, his face dark with barely controlled anger.
---
“Hey! Wait!” Harmony shouted, running after him.
The compound was huge and terrifying. Armed men stared at them from every corner. The air felt thick and dangerous. She was so scared she could barely breathe.
She grabbed Alessandro’s shoulder. “Why are we here? Please, I don’t understand. Can we just go back home?”
Alessandro turned around slowly, his gray eyes burning with rage.
“Let go of me,” he said coldly.
“But……”
“You hear me” he snapped angrily and she moved back startled by his outburst.
Hardin stepped forward angrily.
“Don’t ever speak to her like that again,” Hardin warned, voice low and angry.
“Lock them up,” Alessandro muttered.
“You can't just do this to us,” Hardin said.
Alessandro ignored him and continued walking. Hardin suddenly broke free from the two guards holding him. With surprising speed, he lunged forward and sent a powerful kick toward Alessandro’s side.
Alessandro dodged the kick easily, moving with deadly grace. In the same second, he countered with a brutal kick of his own that connected hard with Hardin’s face.
Hardin stumbled back but didn’t fall. Blood trickled from his lip. Instead of backing down, he wiped the blood away and charged again, throwing punches wildly.
The compound went quiet as several gang members stopped to watch the fight.
Hardin was fast and determined, but Alessandro was on another level. He blocked every punch with ease, then grabbed Hardin by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall.
“Please let my brother go” Harmony begged in fear.
“You’re brave,” Alessandro said coldly, his voice low and dangerous. “But stupid.”
Hardin struggled against his grip, eyes filled with fury. “Let my sister go! She has nothing to do with whatever this is, "he said.
Alessandro’s grip tightened. “She has everything to do with it. Both of you”
Before the situation could get worse, loud noises came from the center of the compound. Two men dragged a badly beaten prisoner forward. The man was covered in blood and bruises, barely able to stand.
“He’s a spy,” Reaper announced loudly. “We caught him sneaking into the storeroom.”
Alessandro released Hardin roughly, letting him drop to the ground. He turned his attention to the prisoner, eyes blazing with fresh anger.
“Who sent you?” he asked, voice ice cold.
The man coughed up blood and begged weakly,
“Please… I have a family. I didn’t have a choice—”
A single gunshot rang out. The bullet tore into one of the man’s eyes. He screamed in agony.
Alessandro didn’t flinch. “I asked you a question. I don’t want stories.”
The man continued pleading, sobbing.
“I can't tell you, they will hurt my family if I do, please spare me” Alessandro raised his gun again and fired multiple shots into the man’s head until he stopped moving completely.
“Dispose of the body,” he ordered calmly, then turned and walked away without looking back at Harmony or Hardin.
Harmony stood frozen in place, her eyes wide with pure horror. Her whole body was shaking. She had never seen someone killed so brutally and without any emotion.
*What have I done?* she thought, feeling sick. *I saved a monster… a real devil.*
Guards quickly grabbed both her and Hardin again and dragged them toward a building. They were pushed into a fairly large, well-furnished room. The heavy metal door slammed shut and locked behind them.
The moment they were alone, Hardin pulled Harmony into his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice shaking slightly even though he tried to sound strong. “I promise I’ll protect you, Harmony. I swear on my life.”
She wanted to ask him so many questions, why he carried a gun, why he seemed to know about this dangerous world, but she was still too shocked to speak. The image of the man getting shot repeatedly in the head kept replaying in her mind.
“Are you hurt?” Hardin asked, pulling back to check her face and arms like she was a little child.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “But you… your face… He beat you so bad”
“It’s nothing,” he said, forcing a small smile even though his lip was swollen and bleeding. “I’m okay as long as you’re safe.”
He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head, eyes cast down. “No.”
“I am sorry” she suddenly said.
“For what?” He asked.
“For bringing this fate to us, none of this would have happened if I had just ignored him last night instead of saving him,” she said.
“It's not your fault, not everyone can ignore a bleeding man so stop the tears” he said and she nodded, cleaning her tears.
They sat together on the edge of the bed in heavy silence. The room looked comfortable, but it still felt like a prison.
Harmony hugged her knees to her chest, her mind racing with fear and confusion.
Why does he hate me so much? What did my father do to him?
She had no idea that the man she had saved that night was now planning to destroy her life, all because of a past she knew nothing about.
- Writer
