1 Murder

BANG!

The gun shot reverberates through the shabby one-bedroom apartment that Felicity Winter shares with her eight-year-old daughter, Mint. 

Mint falls to the floor, the searing pain in her right thigh slowly clears the angry haze from her mind. She looks around the remains of the living room. Bodies and dismembered body parts are strewn haphazardly and blood drenches every surface.

"A…a…are you lucid?" Felicity asks her daughter in a shaky voice.

Mint looks up to see her mother still holding a gun in her shaky hands, the familiar look of fear and rejection on her face.

"Yes," Mint answers calmly and turns her attention to her thigh to evaluate the gunshot wound. The blood is flowing so quickly she realizes the bullet must have grazed the femoral artery. 

"Can you find something for me to use as a tourniquet?" she asks her mother. 

Felicity takes a few shaky breaths before setting down the gun. She walks gingerly towards the bedroom, carefully stepping around the dismembered body parts. 

"Will this work?" Felicity asks, handing a belt to her daughter. 

Mint nods and starts to wrap the belt around her leg.

"Can't you mend the wound with your psionic powers?" Felicity asks. 

"I don't have enough psionic energy to repair the entire wound," Mint answers, "but I've already sealed off the artery and stopped most of the bleeding. There's no urgency to treat the wound now."

"Can you absorb some of my psionic energy?" Felicity asks. 

Mint shakes her head and applies pressure to the wound. 

"You know your psionic energy has always been low. If I absorb any, you'll fall into a coma. I'll call a few subordinates. I think four of them should be able to provide enough psionic energy for my needs without causing them any harm." 

Felicity shudders in fear at the child who just killed seven men and is now calmly talking about her subordinates as if they are food. 

"What should we do now?" Felicity asks, looking around the blood-soaked room. 

"I'll call Nathaniel. He has experience disposing of bodies and cleaning scenes" Mint answers, naming one of her subordinates. "Then we can go see Natasha so she can patch up this gunshot wound." 

Felicity stares at Mint's calm demeanor. 

"You just killed seven people," Felicity says in a shaky voice. "How can you only think about disposing of bodies and treating wounds?" 

Mint tilts her head in an adorable manner. She has always been a beautiful child with honey brown hair and large gold-green eyes that she inherited from Felicity. But for the blood splattered all over her, she would look like a charming angel. 

"What should I think about?" Mint asks. 

"Aren't you the least bit upset about their deaths?"

"They were going to gang-rape you and then murder both of us," Mint answers in her sweet childish voice. "Why should I feel bad about their deaths?"

"They're human beings!" Felicity snaps, her voice becoming shrill. "Even if they are horrible, they're still human beings. You should feel something when you kill them."

"Are they still humans? Their psionic energy feels more like rabid dogs to me, and we're suppose to euthanize rabid dogs?"

"They only feel like rabid dogs because you used your psionic power to compel them to fight to death like rabid dogs," Felicity says.

"It's a reasonable punishment."

"The legal system punishes people," Felicity answers. "You don't get to make the decision as to who lives or dies."

"So we're supposed to die horrible deaths and hope that the corrupt legal system will punish the people who killed us?" Mint asks. 

"That's not what I mean," Felicity retorts angrily. 

"I don't understand," Mint answers. "They broke into our house and attacked you because they were bored. They laughed when you cried in pain and begged them to stop. They played rock, paper, scissors to decide who will get the pleasure of killing us when they're done having fun with you. I know you always tell me to keep my head and not cause trouble, but shouldn't we defend ourselves at some point?"

"You don't think there's anything wrong with using your psionic powers to compel seven men to hack each other to death?" Felicity asks dully. 

"Any eye for an eye," Mint answers. "They wanted to torture and then kill us for fun. I think I was rather measured just having them kill each other quickly."

Felicity's heart freezes as she listens to her eight-year-old daughter casually discuss the murder of seven people.

She has always made excuses for Mint because she believed that her daughter had a lot to deal with because she was born with special psionic powers. These powers allowed her to do amazing things like read minds, compel others to obey her, move things with her mind, and heal, but the powers come at a price. Mint's body craves the psionic energy that is present in all life forms. She needs to absorb this energy from nearby plants, animals, or people. If she did not absorb enough sufficient energy, then she would feel intense hunger. 

To satisfy her hunger, Felicity use to take Mint to parks, forests, and fields when Mint was a baby. The plants would wither and die soon after their visits so Felicity was always looking for new parks to take Mint. When Mint was three, Felicity discovered Mint killing insects, spiders, and mice by absorbing all their psionic energy. Felicity shivered in fear when she watched her chubby toddler bury mice, squirrels, and insects in mass grave in the back of their house, but she convinced herself that Mint's actions were rational since Mint's body needed the psionic energy and these insects and rodents are routinely exterminated as pests anyways. 

When Mint turned five, she started building her "network" of subordinates. She found homeless people with debilitating mental disorders, drug addicts, degenerate criminals, and other people who have given up on life and then used her psionic powers to compel these people to "live in a manner they would be proud of." The compelled people were forced to clean up their lives and strive to live better. Felicity had been shocked when she discovered Mint was using her powers on people and demanded Mint undo the compel. Each of the compelled people, however, desperately begged Mint not to undo the compel. They showed fanatical loyalty to Mint and expressed tremendous gratitude for her help. So much gratitude, in fact, that they all willing participated in a schedule to come by Felicity's home to allow Mint to absorb some of their psionic energy. Felicity rationalized that Mint's actions because Mint had good control so no one was ever hurt when she absorbed psionic energy, the compelled people wanted Mint's help, and the arrangements was mutually beneficial. 

When Mint turned seven, her psionic powers developed to the point where she could acquire another person's knowledge through a simple touch. This knowledge included everything the person could remember about his life as well as his abilities. Mint used this new power to learn computer programing, investing, medicine, and various life skills. Before long, Mint was earning a reasonable income by programing small applications online and building a small savings through investment. Felicity was ambivalent about allowing Mint to invade other people's privacy and steal their hard earned knowledge, but she ignored her misgivings. She reasoned that Mint did not hurt the people from whom she acquired the knowledge. 

Watching Mint shrug off the killing of seven people, however, Felicity could no longer deny the fact that her mind has long known. 

"You're a monster," she whispers, burying her face in her hands. "A monster who enslaves people, steals their knowledge, and kills without remorse." 

Mint normally does not read her mother's mind without explicit permission, but she can always sense the direction of a person's thoughts. She sighs a little sadly as she feels her mother's revulsion. Felicity has never said it, but Mint is aware that her mother deeply regrets giving birth to her because she believes the world would be better without Mint.

"Would you like me to call the authorities and turn myself in?" Mint asks as Felicity struggles to control herself.

"Would you really do that?" Felicity asks back.

"Yes," Mint answers. "I've always listened to you."

Felicity takes a deep breath and raises her head to look at her only daughter. Love and fear war in her eyes for a few moments before love wins. 

"What if I ask you to stop using your powers?" Felicity asks.

Mint blinks in surprise and scrutinizes Felicity's expression. 

"I will stop using them if you want me to," Mint answers quietly. 

"Then I want you to stop using your powers and hide them from the rest of the world," Felicity tells Mint. "If you can, forget you have powers and live a good life."

"What do you mean by live a good life?" Mint asks. 

"Go to school, respect your teachers, and get along with your classmates," Felicity answers. "Worry about getting good grades, play a sport, and maybe win a few prizes. You have so many subordinates who listen to you because of your compel powers, but I want you to have friends. People who don't know anything about your powers and are not forced to obey you. They choose to spend time with you simply because they like you. 

"You act and speak like an adult because you believe you are an adult just because psionic powers can have copied the knowledge and experiences of many adults. You don't understand that the only think you have acquired is knowledge. It's like being taught that snow is cold. You will never truly understand how cold snow is until you have a chance to touch it. In the same way, you will never fully understand the knowledge you acquire, let alone the wisdom to use it properly, until you have experienced life yourself."

Mint frowns at her mother's strange and unexpected request. 

"I want you to forget about things like retribution," Felicity continues. "Learn to turn the other cheek when people hurt you, even if that means they will never be accountable for their actions. Always remember and repay kindnesses. If you an opportunity to do some good, or help a few good people, then I hope you help to the best of your ability."

"Why are saying goodbye?" Mint asks seriously, a hint of anxiety can finally be heard in her voice when she suddenly feels the separation in her mother's thoughts.

"Seven people died in our apartment tonight," Felicity explains. "I know you can bury the bodies and clean the scene but to do so, you will have to sink deeper and deeper down this dark world. To avoid a life of crime and continue living in the light, we need to report this matter to the authorities and accept the consequences for our actions." 

"I was the one who killed them men," Mint argues, clinging to her mother's arm. "If you want to report the matter to the authorities, shouldn't I be the one punished?"

"You are an eight-year-old child, and I am your mother," Felicity answers. "I watched you make one morally ambivalent decision after another but never stopped you or guided you to the correct decision. I am rightfully punished for any crimes you commit."

"How will you explain the method of murder without revealing my powers?" Mint shouts.

"No one will believe you able to hack apart seven grown men."

"I'm going to shoot all of the bodies and then put my fingerprints on a knife. The blood will be on me and my fingerprints on the knife and gun will be enough to implicate me. A forensic expert can probably find problems with crime scene, but they won't be able to come up with another reasonable explanation. No one is going to suspect you because you're only eight years old and your fingerprints are nowhere to be seen. You've also been shot so you will be considered a victim."

"I've learned a little about the law through acquiring a criminal lawyer's experiences last year," Mint continues to argue. "Killing seven people is not a trivial matter and the consequences will be very serious." 

"I'll say I shot everyone in self-defense," Felicity answers. "They've broken into our apartment after all." 

Mint shakes her head. 

"Maybe shooting a few, or even all these men, can be considered self-defense, but how do you explain hacking them to pieces? You could even face the death penalty!" 

Felicity frowns in thought. 

"Do you have a suggestion?" she asks Mint. "If not, I'm willing to accept life in prison or even the death penalty." 

"If you insist on involving the authorities," Mint argues, "We should tell them the truth and let me accept the consequences. I'm a minor so the penalty will be much lighter."

"Absolutely not," Felicity says firmly. "You agreed earlier that you will do anything I ask of you. I'm asking you to think of plausible explanation for this scene and then live a good life." 

Mint clings to her mother silently, a rebellious expression on her face. 

Felicity firms her heart to push her daughter away, knowing that Mint can easily feel the difference between empty threats and serious intentions. 

"Whatever you decide, this will be goodbye for us," Felicity says. 

Mint's eyes widen in shock when she realizes her mother is serious. 

"If you obey me and live as I've requested, we will say goodbye for now, but I will come find you when I'm released from prison," Felicity continues. "If you insist on handling things your way, then we can go our separate way now. With your psionic powers and the knowledge you acquired this last year, you are already able to live without me. I would rather leave now than watch you sink deeper into this darkness."

Mother and daughter cling to each other silently in the midst of the indescribable carnage. The room grows steadily darker as evening turns to night, but neither of them move to turn on the lights. 

"Without revealing my powers, the only plausible reason for these men to hack each other apart is that they were fighting over something," Mint says finally says. Her voice dripping with reluctance. "They broke into our house to assault you because they were bored. The authorities can confirm the truth of that fact by examining their phones and their activities today. They assaulted you which can be confirmed by a medical examination. We can tell the authorities that one of the men dropped something during the assault. The other men saw it and became agitated. They started fighting over the item, hacking each other to pieces in the process. Since they broke into our apartment, assaulted you, and then killed each other, we remain the victims and neither of us needs to go to prison.

"I'll still stop using my powers like you asked and live the live the way you want me to, but you can stay by my side and make sure I get it right."

Felicity frowns, her resolution to leave Mint waivers slightly.

"What could they be fighting over?" Felicity asks. 

Mint thinks for a moment before looking towards the bedroom. 

"Get the silver thumb stick from the top drawer of my desk. It's encrypted file that contains evidence of the embezzlement that led to the bridge that collapsed last year. Hundreds of people were injured or killed."

"Why would you have something like that," Felicity asks in shock. 

"I asked one of my subordinates to get it," Mint answers. "The file was created by someone else, and I haven't had a chance to access it yet so nothing will tie it back to my computer. Just wipe the thumb drive carefully to remove fingerprints and then press a few of their fingerprints on it to make the story believable." 

"But why would they fight for something like this?" Felicity demands, her voice becoming shrill. 

"Why would we know that?" Mint answers somewhat impatiently. "They may want to bribe someone, hide the evidence, or something else entirely. Let the authorities run around trying to figure it out. We just have to maintain that we are the victims and have no idea why they started fighting." 

Felicity thinks for a moment and then shakes her head.

"Even if we plan everything well, I still fired a gun," she says. "There's a bullet hole in the floor and your blood is all over the place. How do we explain that? For that matter, why would the men fight with our rusty kitchen knives when one of them has a gun?" 

"The gun belonged to the first man who was killed," Mint answers with a shrug. "You saw it, but the other men didn't seem to know about it. You pulled it to defend against the last man and accidentally shot me. You may have killed someone, but you won't be punished since it's self-defense." 

Felicity shakes her head again. 

"I know you are more familiar with the law since you absorbed that criminal attorney's knowledge, but you are naïve if you think we can both walk away."

"Why?" Mint asks with a frown. "Criminal statute 4.01-270(d) clearly states that a person will be exonerated for homicide if she was defending herself or someone else from bodily harm."

"The law is clear, but the legal system comprised of people," Felicity answers, pointing at a body that collapsed against one of the walls. "They dared to commit assault and murder because that man is the only son of one of the most powerful men in this city. They will insist on someone taking responsibility for his death, even if there is irrefutable proof that they were in the wrong and then killed each other." 

Mint frowns, a strange glint appears in her eyes. 

"You promised not to use your powers," Felicity warns. Mint takes a deep breath, and the glint slowly fades from her eyes. 

"We're going to need my powers if you want to convince the authorities of my narrative," Mint says.

Felicity closes her eyes for a long moment before looking at Mint again.

"I can agree to use your narrative of events and to use your power one last time," Felicity says sadly. "But this is the last time I will condone the use of your power. From now on, we will both live within the law, even if the result is very unfair to us. Agreed?"

Mint bites her lips in resistance but reluctantly nods her agreement. 

Felicity sighs in relief and then rises to retrieve the thumb drive Mint mentioned.

Holding back her nausea, she carefully wipes the surface then presses random bloody fingers against it. 

"Good," Mint says when Felicity shows her the bloodied thumb drive. She points to a one-armed corpse on the couch. "Put the thumb stick in his pocket and then stand against that wall with the gun."

Felicity fearfully slips the thumb drive into the man's pocket and then quickly retreats to the far wall. 

 "Stand up and walk over there," Mint says, a strange resonance underpins her voice. 

 The man groans weakly, clearly near death, but he still rises and obeys Mint's command.

"He's still alive?!" Felicity screams, falling against the wall

"Of course he is," Mint says in surprise at her mother's shock. "I ordered them to hack each other to death so naturally there would be one person still alive. He will die of blood loss soon, but we'll have to make him walk to the right location to further our narrative." 

Felicity watches in horror as the man, who looks more like a corpse, follow Mint's commands mindlessly. She bends over and vomits violently. 

"You should shoot the gun once from that location to avoid any loopholes," Mint tells Felicity once the corpse-like man reaches the right spot. "You don't have to shoot him if you don't want to, just make sure there's gunpowder residue around that spot."

Felicity takes a few shaky breaths before raising the gun and shooting the corpse-like man. The bullet hits the man in the head, and he falls backwards, finally dead.