Judas

Nora stares blankly at the image of her with her parents as memories spent in their embrace and running through the house in the past years float through her mind. Closing the heart-shaped locket she looks up at the scene before her, her large, childish eyes blank to the commotion. Her parents scream out for help, begging to be released. Though Nora can no longer hear them, she can read their lips. "Why? How could you do this to us?" Nora looks up to her right where the commander watches the scene, his face stoic and unmoving while his hand rests on her opposite shoulder, almost in a caring, fatherly way.

Soldiers stand behind them as they kneel on the ground, hands cuffed behind them. When the soldiers attempt to lift them to their feet and guide them away, the fear in Nora's parents' faces suddenly shifts to anger as they endeavor. Where before their mouths were agape, faces sweating profusely, and pupils dilated in fear, now their pupils have constricted and their teeth grinding and gnashing as they fight back.

The scuffle doesn't last long as they are two unarmed civilians faced against heavily armed military professionals. The soldiers quickly incapacitate them with a bash to the skulls. The commander turns to Nora and squats down to see her eye to eye, for the first time he smiles and the crow's feet beside his eyes turn his stern face into that of a kindly and affectionate man. For all her life Nora had been taught these were wicked, despicable men who would kill her for so much as looking at them wrong as she passed them on the street, and yet here she is confronted by him and he smiles.

The commander speaks to her, but Nora is still unable to fully comprehend what is being said to her. Despite having the gift of hearing, sound still seems to forsake her, but she can just tell that he is reassuring her for the service she has provided and that The State is proud of her courage.

Reassurance. That's something Nora was never given growing up. At the age of 9 years old she may be too young to quite vocalize this feeling, but she is certainly in tune enough with herself to understand that her childhood was lacking something. She knows that her parents care for her and only wanted the best for her, that's why they would try and scare her into submission, but their fear of the government was the very thing which lead them to their demise. Maybe, if they would've instead shown her the love and reassurance she needed growing, everything would've turned out differently. Maybe then she wouldn't have had to turn them in for their treasonous ways.

Another soldier approaches and shares some information with the commander. His face suddenly hardens again and the smile that went all the way to his eyes vanishes, leaving a dead stare similar to the one Nora currently wears herself. Almost like a robot being switched off, all the affection which he was showing before leaves him as he stands and turns toward the door, leading Nora along with him.

Nora believed that what she had done was the right thing, but for some reason the sudden change in the commander's demeanor leaves a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something about the commander's sudden change in demeanor told Nora she had made the wrong decision, but it's too late now to go back and change her mind. As the commander steers Nora out of the house, two loud shots can be heard ringing out. The sound of these two blasts echo through Nora's mind for the following weeks and consumed her thoughts. The endless abuse and neglect she experiences in captivity are nothing in comparison to the mental anguish she experiences. The commander's soldiers prod her for more information on her neighbors and other family, but the sound in her head rings louder, blotting out their words and assaults. Several days later Nora is set before a firing squad, where she hears that sound once again for the very last time.