You Want To Be A Leader?

I looked around, waiting to see an adult appear, anybody at all, from the darkness. The only thing around me was a bunch of dead zombies on the floor. Dad, Papa, Jason, and Uncle Brandon had all taken out the zombies, but where they went remained a mystery.

As I noticed my surroundings, I ran around the side of the school. From where Korin was dropping the hunks of venison onto the ground for the zombies to group up, I followed the drops until I got to the Eastern portion of the school.

Around this area was a parking lot, fit to hold around two hundred cars, and a large blacktop for kids to play a bunch of sports on. The yellow and blue for the parking spots were slowly waning away with all of the rain and lack of maintenance.

I ran around that side of the school, peering ahead to the bushes and destroyed fence that Niko said he would attend to, only to find more zombies slowly turning their heads toward me. Niko must've left too...

It was starting to feel like a nightmare, one that would never end. All of the adults were gone, missing from the entire equation. I was left injured and running for my life from a man who would willingly feed me to the zombies. It felt so hopeless, and so scary, that I had no idea what to do from this point.

With no options left, I knew that the gym was my last hope. I turned around, quietly going back to the front of the school, and waiting for Korin to show up out of my worst fears. I knew that I would be in so much trouble, yet it was the only thing I could do. My legs were shaking, like I crashed the car, and my dad was the one I had to tell. The fear of his thundering voice was equal to the fear of Korin finding me.

I ran around the corner, and as soon as I did, Korin grabbed onto my shirt, punching me in the face and sending me to the ground.

He picked me back up, rigorously shaking me around and pushing me against the brick wall. I didn't notice at first as he rapidly moved my body around, but he was holding my knife in his mouth, the handle in, and the sharp part pointed at my face.

"I will not get beat up by a little kid and be fine with it! I finally realized that... the way I can get Charlie to adjust to this world, is to take something very important to him... the most important thing I can," Korin shortly said.

He took the knife out of his mouth and stabbed me in the arm. It cut deep in, and I felt the flesh cut through all other things, but I think the adrenaline was the one thing to keep it painless.

He ripped the knife out of my left arm and I started to scream, trying to understand what just happened to me. The motion of being stabbed was quick, but what ensued after was one of the most terrible things I've ever felt. He pushed me back up against the wall while I was too busy screaming my head off, and Korin started to laugh.

"Hahaha! Now you finally understand my pain..." He kept up with his stupid act and smiled while getting close to my face. I was absolutely disgusted, and filled with such a volatile pain that I almost wanted to throw up on him.

Korin wrapped his arm around my neck and jumped behind me as soon as he could right after I took a breath to get another scream in, and held the hot knife to my throat. It wasn't cutting, but it was scraping lightly. I was utterly terrified, even losing the courage to open my mouth and scream.

"KORIN!" Dad's thundering voice rang out in the middle of the street, with his gun raised, and pointing at Korin behind me. I was lost in a mix of adrenaline, unable to move, and helplessly staring at Dad for him to solve this. I failed my mission, through and through, and now, he had to pick up after me.

"Charlie! You finally understand... that's the fear... that's what I felt when I lost my sister. Let me ask you something, it changes you, doesn't it? It completely shifts the way you look at this world. It's traumatizing, isn't it?" Korin asked Dad. I felt Korin's blood drip down to my shoulders, and slide down my back.

"Is that what this is? You're trying to justify your behavior to me?! I'm the only one who saw your true potential! I fought for your residence in this school, and this is how you repay me? You claim to be ruined, and tattered by this world... but what have you done to fight that?" Dad asked Korin. He was sincerely talking to him now... not that he had any other options, but I was surprised to see that Dad had such a clear mind.

It was right after he began to talk that I started to realize the situation... my life could end here. It's a strange thing, thinking it might happen, and knowing it will. It's not peace you feel, but a sort of relieved feeling, thinking that you won't have to fight in a world that will punish you so hard, just for living.

"You didn't get it. I told you, this world ruined me. You didn't believe me... but you sure as fuck do now, don't you?" Korin asked him again.

"What the hell does that have to do with you being ruined?! You just get to put people in danger because you're 'ruined'? Is that how you feel? You feel that you get such a high privilege for being ruined?" Dad asked Korin. He stood silent, while slightly letting go of the knife from my throat.

"It's not... putting people in danger. I'm trying to help you see the things you need to be a good leader, so you don't end up like me. Yeah! I'm doing this for your sake. I'm trying to help you out... but you haven't understood my messages, no matter how much I pleaded with you these past six months. You turned me away, and you ignored me, so now... you won't ignore me, will you?" Korin said. He put the knife closer, returning it to its original position by my throat.

That was such bullshit. I was going to be killed by a theater kid let loose, all for the overdramatization of his stupid, terrible life. While I was forced to remain silent, I had my first terrible thought.

It was an inkling of a thought, and yet something that scared me.

I remembered, looking up at Korin's nervous, shaking eyes, and thinking:

'It should've been you that died to Vincent, not your poor, helpless sister.'

I was absolutely stunned by my mind's capabilities to think something so terrible... yet not exactly dismissive. It's what I was thinking in my last moments, a complete and utter repulsion by Korin.

"I heard you, loud and clear every time. And now, all I think of when I listen back is the same question, 'you want to be a leader?', because right now, Korin, you're nothing like a leader. You're a detriment, but that doesn't mean that we've completely lost hope. Put the knife down, away from my son, and we will talk ourselves through this. Here and now, and we will recruit you into our forces. Do not be afraid of us, just please, don't make a rash decision you will regret," Dad proclaimed.

He got Korin, he slowly let the knife down to my chest. I felt his head nod through his other body movements behind me, and his grip got weaker.

Dad, moving to grab the gun on his hip, had lied to Korin. I'm partially glad he did, and I caught on before Korin could.