Echoes Of Our Hearts

Anything that you cannot sacrifice pins you. Makes you predictable, makes you weak. –Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns

~.~

The dark night sky turns into burning red as ashes and flames razed across the land before two opposing armies. A heavy-built man in a vicious-looking armor stood in the middle of the field.

“You don’t know what sacrifice is until you are faced with decisions you don’t want to make,” the menacing man in the middle of the field says. “If you really want to have a life, you wouldn’t have come here. You wouldn’t even have chosen this path. Now fight me or lose everything you’ve ever fought for!”

Alice rushes at the man, her sword drawn before her. She aims her sword at his heart, and before she knew it, she feels a squeezing sensation. Her airways are closing in on itself and she feels her body weakening as she collapses to the ground.

Bright red flashes before her and she sees a tortured young man before locked away in a secluded area. ‘Help, please…somebody!’ the man begs.

A guard comes into the view and draws a dagger. He slams it into the sides of the weakened man. ‘This will help, scum!’ the guard says. He gave the weakened man a sharp kick on his wound and let him stumble over.

‘No one will know you are here,’ the guard laughs as he makes his way out.

Alice’s vision flashes back to the battlefield. Before her stands the vicious warlord. “How disappointing, isn’t it? You’ve given up so many things only to find yourself in the losing end. I have told you again from time and time again to go home, to give up. But you are just so stubborn!”

He raises his broadsword and it glows orange at first, then red hot. He was about to bring it down when a loud noise vibrates across the space. Alice’s vision fades out and she finds herself slowly waking up to her own world.

Greying skies. Wet days. Dull routines. These are nothing new to 18 year old Alice Watson, who lives in Ashby City, England. Lying in bed, Alice slowly wakes up from her slumber as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. Her eyes dart across the room to a brown digital clock on her dresser. It’s half past six in the morning. Alice shares a small 2-bedroom flat that her sister, Julie, rented.

Life has been rocky for her and Julie. Her dad is an alcoholic who was in and out of rehab for many years. Their relationship between their father, mother, and both of them sisters have been a rough one.

Having a drunk dad means you’ll never know when he will lose his anger and start being violent with anyone within 5 miles of being near him. It wasn’t helping how their mother is volatile too. Every time their father has a drunken episode, he would have a violent bout with their mother, who reacts to everything their father says and do.

When their father has lost his job and was sent to rehab, that’s when their mother lost it. It started with drinking in small amounts. Then she’d move the bar up. She’d drink more and often. Whatever money they have left, she has squandered it all towards alcohol. It’s once violence following after another for both Alice and Julie.

Alice rolls out of bed and head off to the bathroom. After a quick wash-up, she changes into her college uniform.

When she got to the kitchen space, she saw her sister making breakfast. The usual: sandwich and tea. It’s the same all week, all month, all year. As much as Alice is bored of it, she can’t complain. Her sister makes minimal wage enough to pay rent and bills. Alice has only make enough to cover for some of the food money.

“Good morning to my favorite sister!” Julie chimes as she set down a cup of tea and sandwich before Alice on their small kitchen table. Alice sits down and let her eyes wander over the breakfast set before her. Minutes later, Julie sits down at the small kitchen table with her set.

“Dig in, Alice. If you don’t eat now, you will be late for your classes,” Julie chides. As much as Julie is trying her best, Alice wishes that sometimes things can be a lot better… It can be better if they have more money. It can solve a number of the problems they are facing.

They can buy a bigger house. They can afford nicer foods. They can afford to be further away from everyone to be safe.

Alice starts eating her breakfast sullenly. “I wish we can have a change in breakfast food sometimes,” she says morosely.

“I understand, dear. But you know we don’t make much. And our parents have wasted all their money on stupid shit that did not benefit anyone at all,” Julie says.

Alice nods her head in agreement. She knows there is no use fighting back when there isn’t much she can change. Not for herself nor her sister.

Their mom ended up committing suicide just 2 years before. Her family wants nothing to do with their problematic mother and her kids. That’s when Julie took it upon herself to work multiple jobs to make sure she can afford the basics they need. Alice has also taken up odd jobs here and there during her school holidays to help with their finances. Anything to keep themselves fed and taken care of.

Julie takes one quick look at Alice and notices how tired she is. “Bad dreams again?” she asks.

“Yes… It’s the same dream every time. The same malicious man, the same…victim. What does it even mean?” Alice says.

“I wish we can afford a psychologist for you but we don’t have that much money,” Julie sighs. “Can the college counsellor do anything and be useful?”

Alice shakes her head. “We’ve talked about this before, Julie. Mrs. Smyth is useless.”

Alice quickly finishes off whatever is left of her breakfast and grabs her backpack. She makes for the door. “Take care Julie. I’ll see you tonight!” she calls over her shoulder. The door slams shut as she makes her way to her college 15 minutes away from where they stay.

~.~

It’s Alice’s second and final year doing her GCSE A Levels at St. James School, and she’s absolutely not enjoying it. She’s walked into her school hall and is immediately greeted by a strong smell of anti-sceptic and anti-bacterial scent.

Every day, without fail, the college’s cleaners will thoroughly clean the hallways and classrooms with anti-bacterial formula. The smell is so strong it’s sometimes overpowering. It makes the college feels more like a hospital than it does a proper college.

College kids filled the hall way with hustle and bustle. She can see smiling college mates who are busy trying to get their books for their very first class of the day. Some others are just college rejects, always by themselves or their own gangs.

On some days, Alice loves seeing life in school. Some other days, she wish the school will just collapse and burn down on its own. She made it to her locker and keyed in her pin number.

Just before she can open her locker, she felt a huge force slamming her locker door shut. She felt herself yanked backwards and fell to the floor. Everyone within a few meters of the perimeter stopped and stare at Alice. Standing before her are 3 boys – James, Ryan, and Daniel. James is the biggest in size among the three boys, so naturally he’s the pack’s leader.

James stepped forward menacingly, a smile spreading slowly across his face. “My… Look, it’s Alice. The school’s misfit, all alone in this school.”

Alice tries to stand up but Ryan shoves her back down. Daniel laughs away like an insane hyena while James watches in amusement.

“Do you take pride in picking on people weaker than you? Is that your favorite past time?” Alice fumes as she scowls through her teeth.

“Ooh spicy!” Ryan chortles as James leers at Alice.

“I love a spicy girl. God knows what they are capable of!” Daniel larks.

James was about to say something when the school discipline master, Mr. Lyle, shows up. “Am I interrupting something here?” he asks. His eyes falls on Alice sprawled on the ground, her bag in a heap besides her.

“Alice, what are you doing on the ground?” Mr. Lyle gives Alice a quizzical look. “And most importantly, why are you boys here? Shouldn’t you all be in class?”

Mr. Lyle’s face darkens. “Nobody wastes time. Alice pick yourself up and go to class. And you three boys head to class too. No dawdling!”

Alice picks herself up and makes her way to her homeroom, which is just towards the left of the end of the hallway. Its problems like these she’s facing every day. Nobody seems to want to stand up to school bullies anymore. Everyone lacks a spine and any integrity at all.

She finds her seat and settle down. In school, she’s invisible to everyone except to James and his bully cohorts. No one dares to stand up to James and his co. If you cross him and his 2 goons, you’re good as dead.

The last time a lower sixth student stood up to James for knocking over his lunch. The very same guy ended up in the hospital. James got a 1 day suspension and all is back to normal for him and everyone else.

Alice lowers her head into her hands and lets out a defeated sigh. She can never overthrow James and his cohorts. It is one person against three giants, it’s impossible for her.

Her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Doyle enters the class and starts checking off the register for attendance. Her voice drones on and Alice hopes that it will all be over soon.

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