A Little More Time

A Little More Time

A Story by Imara
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A father is faced with a choice. Does he sacrifice himself and his daughter to save the people of the world or does he die along with the rest of the world and get just a little more time with her?

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A simple kitchen. His kitchen. It still smelled like the egg sandwiches he had made that morning for him and his daughter. Now the tle was filled with broken glass from a shattered window, the table was shot full of holes like swiss cheese, overturned broken in the corner of the room and three big burly men, with guns trained on him. Faces covered not because they were wearing masks but because his right eye was swelling shut and the other was blurred by tears.

The man in the middle held a black twisted piece of metal to his daughters temple. She was half crumpled on the floor. Her midnight skin dripping in salty sweat and tears. A million and six pin sized braids hung from her head down to her back, big doe eyes begging for only one thing. To live for one more day, just a little bit longer.

No one smiled. There was no joy in such tension. Such cruelty cannot bring even the most evil joy. “Please,” Said the man with the gun to his daughters head, “Don’t make this hard on yourself. She doesn’t have to die. Just turn on the satellite, we’ll take care of everything else.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You can, we know you can. Just turn the damn thing on.”

The armed man made it all sound so simple. That with a simple flip of a switch he could turn on what can only be described as a real life death ray and then this would all be over. He would have lunch afterward with his daughter, not here of course in the bullet filled kitchen, but down the street at their favorite coffee shop.

“Daddy please.” Said the girl.

But what if these terrorists were caught after he turned it on. He would be fired, dishonored and thrown in jail. He might as well be dead then and same to his daughter who would be in foster care.

“We’re not f*****g around man, turn it on or we’ll f*****g kill her.” Said the man to the right of his little girl.

If the organization for whom these men worked succeeded then they would be dead anyways. Everyone would be. But at least he would have a few more weeks with her. Just a little bit more time.

A click. A boom. A scream. Blood.

He leapt for his pride and joy so that he could hold her like when she was five and, wof the boogey man and only he could make the evil go away. But his arms weren’t greeted by his child, instead a boot welcomed his face and pushed him back onto the floor.

For a second the room spun and he wasn’t sure that he could get up. But he did and called out his daughters name. His right eyes was now completely blind but through his good eye he saw that the men had only shot her in the leg. She lived. Through sobs, gritted teeth, and tears she replied, “Dad?”

“Don’t worry baby we’re going to get through this.” The girl nodded.

He would would protect her just like he had from the boogey man and the thief who tried to mug her on their vacation.

“Of course you can get through this, as long as you turn on the satellite.”

“Dad.” Said the child. She swallowed a hard and dry, “Don’t do it. If you do millions will die. We’re not worth it. I love you. Please.”

The father knew this. But all those who would be saved by their sacrifice were not his little girl. They would not be the sweet daughter who would be going on summer break in a few weeks and turning thirteen a month after that. Old enough to wear a two piece at the local pool.

“I am getting impatient doctor.”

“Daddy no.”

There were only three men in the world who knew how to turn it on. These terrorist may have already killed them or maybe another would turn on the satellite making his sacrifice worthless.

His daughter had so much left to do. She wasn’t in high school, yet to recieve her first F in a class and struggle to bring it up, yet to get a boyfriend and allow her father to scare him away. They had yet to fight over the rules and bedtime. She had yet to go to college, have her heart broken, get a job, fall in love see the world and give him grandchildren. The father cried. He had planned to take her to Disney this summer, and build her a tree house to play in with her friend and teach her how to make a robot. He could fit in all that within a few weeks. That’s all he needed. Just a little more time to be with her. That’s how long it would take  these terrorists to kill all the people in the world who were part of their cult.

“Alright. Go get my laptop from my bedroom.” One henchman left and soon returned with the slick piece of technology. The cold hunk of plastic and hardware was dropped into his lap.

“No dad.” She cried with what little strength she had let. The tile floor was painted in all the blood that her dress hadn't soaked up.

“I love you.” He said eyes begging for forgiveness as the machine hummed to life. Several clicks and pass codes later he sighed. “Done.”

“Thanks.”

Click Bang. “Daddy!” She screamed trying to pull her crippled body to her father.

“What do we do about the girl?”

“She’ll bleed out in another minute or so. Let’s go.”



© 2013 Imara


Author's Note

Imara
Do you like it? How is the flow? Thank you for reading!

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Featured Review

Gripping story. I bet the whole scene took 20 seconds to play out, but you drew out the last moments of their lives as long as possible just like the father was doing in his mind. I like how no one except the daughter has an identity. She is really the only innocent one. The terrorists and the father have no discernible names or identity, much like evil.

The questions I'm left with is: Were the terrorists acting out of self-interest? Was the father acting out of selfishness? Which is more evil? Did the father commit a worse crime than the terrorists?

I like the ending too. I feel like the complete story was told.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you so much for the kind review! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I'll leave you to come to th.. read more



Reviews

Gripping story. I bet the whole scene took 20 seconds to play out, but you drew out the last moments of their lives as long as possible just like the father was doing in his mind. I like how no one except the daughter has an identity. She is really the only innocent one. The terrorists and the father have no discernible names or identity, much like evil.

The questions I'm left with is: Were the terrorists acting out of self-interest? Was the father acting out of selfishness? Which is more evil? Did the father commit a worse crime than the terrorists?

I like the ending too. I feel like the complete story was told.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you so much for the kind review! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I'll leave you to come to th.. read more
Wow! Absolutely tragic! I read through the whole story with bated breath. Being an optimist and a sucker for happy endings, I was hoping for as much in the end. But I can see why you ended it this way. Those terrorists were cruel and desperate people and in their eyes, the value of human life is zilch. The girl and her father were just tools that would have been a hindrance if allowed to live. It would have been impractical for them to have been saved by some miracle.

Also, tragic endings create a larger impact than happy ones. Your writing was without doubt, brilliant. I could catch only a few minor mistakes here and there that can be corrected in a single edit. Very good. Thank you for sharing this.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. So many people wanted this little girl to live, I feel b.. read more
B******s! Please write more on this to where the girl doesn't bleed out. Evil must not win......

Posted 11 Years Ago


Imara

11 Years Ago

Haha but evil almost always wins~
If it helps I don't imagine that their scheme to take over t.. read more
A really cruel story. I liked it immensely, very entertaining.

Posted 11 Years Ago


Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you :)
I liked it a lot! It had a lot of great detail and I really hope you continue this story. It was great.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Oh thank you for your kind words! I don't think there much to continue though haha they died XD
I loved it, I'm glad you didn't kill the girl (in the story anyway) you scared the s**t out of me with the clickbangblood thing, that was very clever. I loved the set up to the kitchen in the beginning and I loved the flow of the story and the dialogue. It definitely kept me guessing, I didn't see his death coming that's for sure. I liked how you added in his hopes for his daughter, getting the reader attached to the girl in such a short time. I think it was a perfect story.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Oh thank you so much! I'm so glad that you liked it so much. I'm glad that you really got attached t.. read more
This is a very distressing story. The flow is good and so is the dialogue.

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Yes I was very sad writing it. Thank you so much for the review :)
Wow deep write, you kept me hanging on.
Really nicely written

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you so much :)
Wow,what a beautiful writing,loved it :-)

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

Thank you!
WOW! You kept me hooked until the very last minute. What can I say I am lost for words, it is a brilliant story. You had some good details , i really thought that I was standing in that room feeling the tension. Are you going to continue it ? What happens with the girl? Does she die or does she make it to the phone and call an ambulance! Great work keep it coming :)

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Imara

11 Years Ago

I'm really glad that you liked it so much! This is a short story so I wasn't planning on continuing.. read more

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Added on April 25, 2013
Last Updated on April 25, 2013
Tags: A little more time, Imara, terrorist, love, father, daughter

Author

Imara
Imara

Cranston, RI



About
My Name is Imara, if you couldn't already tell, I'm currently in High school and completly unsure what to do with my life. I've been to a few places in America, which I try to incorporate into my writ.. more..

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