Kneel

=JULIA

"Kneel!"

As he commanded, I knelt in front of him. I didn't hesitate to do so as I knew I deserved it. I had to pay for what my sisters had done to him.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. I am really really sorry." I said apologetically.

At this moment, I had an urge to cry, but I tried my best to hold it inside as I didn't want to annoy him with my tears. Worst of all, I believed I had no right to show to anyone I was hurting.

He suddenly turned at me with a scary expression. His eyes were blazing with fury. His gaze yelled danger. "Sorry? Tell me then? What have you done wrong? Hmm?" 

"For your parent's death! I'm—"

"Shut up!" His rancor exploded in his entire system, and so, he strangled me. "Shut.. up!!! What do you think is happening here? A movie film? Will your apology ease the pain and hatred in my heart? Will your fucking sorry could bring back my parent's life?"

"I know—"

"No, you're not! You don't know anything! You know nothing, Julia! You understand? You know nothing!" He chuckled, a kind that made me able to feel his sorrow and enmity. "So you should, just die! You know why? When I see your face, it is killing me. Not just once, but over and over again!"

Ethan's grip tightened drastically. It was starting to break my neck. It made me feel so uncomfortable. 

I thought to just let him do it without resisting. However, as I began to grasp for air, I couldn't stop myself from struggling. 

I looked him in the eyes, hoping for some miracle. But I found nothing more there as our eyes met, only deep hostility that I could consider as beyond normal.

He was desperate to end my life.

I shut my eyes close as I waited for my death. I already accepted that our fate would end this way.

"Lord, please, forgive this man." I solemnly prayed in my head. "This is not his fault."

After that, I waited for my death. A second of waiting felt like forever for me. As I decided to open my eyes, a gunshot resonated in my ears.

I jolted terribly, but along with it, the hand that was strangling me loosened.

Coughing, I opened my eyes and was astonished to find myself still in the bus.

So, was it just a dream?

"Storm, she's awake!" I ran my eyes in the direction of the speaker, where I found a man in an old coat standing ahead of me with a gun pointing on the roof of the bus. Following it, I noticed several bullet holes on the roof. He must have shot them which woke me up.

But for what? Just to wake me up?

My eyes knitted.

"What's with that look of yours? Did we just disturb you? Do you know how hard it was to wake you up, young lady?" The same man earlier said again. He sounded irritated by me.

"W-what just happened here?" I managed to ask although I felt edgy on my seat, especially as I couldn't see traces of fear or panic in other passenger's faces. Their expression was too odd, it seemed like they were merely watching a thrilling show on TV, it seemed like they were already anticipating this to take place like a normal phenomenon. This confused me a lot. "Why?"

After I woke up from that dream, I felt weak and vulnerable. But it didn't stop me to attempt to stand while taking support from the seat in front of me.

Before I was able to stand, I sensed a hard thing poking on my temple. So I froze halfway in a squatting position. 

I didn't need anyone to inform me what it was. I was not that completely ignorant. I'd long figured out what was truly happening at the moment— They were robbing us.

"If you don't want to get hurt, sit back." He ordered me in a deep voice. His tone carried mystery but still I found it alluring.

I shut the man who was pointing a gun on me with a sideways glance and bravely asked, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Life is the payment for an answer. Now, do you still want to hear it?"

He talked using that similar voice. It was very natural, but the way he stared at me when our eyes met made all my hair stand on end.

I was petrified for a moment while fixedly staring at his eyes. Not because I was imagining the face behind his mask. Not also because his threat had worked on me but due to a reason that I just realized something so odd. His eyes seemed similar to the man that I was searching for and I couldn't stop myself comparing them in my imagination.

His eyes were perfectly alike…. That's impossible!

"Miss, just listen to them. So you won't endanger yourself." An old lady suddenly spoke up to me, breaking me from my stupid thoughts. "In fact, they won't really hurt you as long as you just give them your valuable belongings."

Wait, what did she mean? Just surrendered everything and that was it?

The situation was getting weirder. I knew the bus was being held up. But why were these thugs only targeting me even though there were more or less ten people passengers with me? Even the driver was still calm.

Confused, I glimpsed at her. "Granny, why did you say that? Are these people often doing this kind of thing?"

"They—"

"Enough with your nonsense conversation! Give us your things! Now!" The man in black coat earlier shouted and rushed towards me. He harshly snatched my backpack from me and rummaged through my stuff. Inside, he found my phone that I just bought. He took it and robbed the money in my wallet as well. 

Afterwards, he flung my backpack back on me and I caught it. At that moment, he spotted the necklace I was wearing around my neck. "Your necklace. Give it to me as well!"

"No! Not this one!" I slapped his hand that was trying to reach out for my necklace and immediately hugged myself. The fact that there was a gun pointing on my head had completely lost in my mind. I glared at him, "This is mine. You can take everything I have in my bag, but not this. This thing is nothing more than a memory. It isn't worth the money."

"If that's not costly, then why did you care a lot for it? Don't make us fools! Give that to me!"

"No!" I felt like crying, but I would never do that. They didn't deserve my tears. "This is the only thing my sister left me. I can't give this to you."

"Damn, you motherfucker! Do you want to die?" 

He attempted to charge on me but out of the blue, a big hand intercepted him by his chest. As I checked who it was, I found that it was the masked man again while his other hand was still firmly pointing that muzzle on my temple.

"Let me." He calmly said but with a tone that carried an undeniable authority. So, that aggressive man could do nothing but obey him.

Suddenly, he cupped my head with one hand and forced me to turn my face on him. His gun was still aiming at my head, but strangely, his gaze at me gradually turned gentle. It was hypnotizing and capable of softening my knees.

Due to that, I couldn't resist myself to sit down again, with my eyes still fixated on him.

He leaned forward a little, bringing his face closer to mine. That aroused an indescribable yet pleasant tension in my body. 

Unfortunately, that tension had disappeared when he raised his hand, wherein I thought he would hit me or whatever, making me close my eyes. Nevertheless, he did another thing which was I never foretold.

He gently caressed my face, causing me to open my eyes again in speed faster than the lightning. It was a kind of shame to feel this for a stranger, but as his warm hand touched my skin, it sent an overwhelming spark all over my body.

Was he trying to seduce me?

That thought made me furrow my brows. "And what do you think you're doing?"

"You're pretty brave." He whispered. "Congratulations, you got my interest."

I clenched my teeth. "And what does it have to do with me, huh? G-get your hand off me!"

"Why? Doesn't it make you feel great?"

"Pah! You bunch of criminals. Your hands are filthier than those animals digging their own shits. So how would I love being caressed by you? You're pathetic."

"Is that so?" He whispered in a seductive manner.

"You've got a sharp tongue, bitch! I should kill you right now!" Yelled by the same hot-headed guy earlier as he dashed towards me. Before he could reach for me, he was stopped once again by his companion— the masked man. He unexpectedly stood off, blocking his friend's rage out of my sight.

"Leave." I just heard him commanding his friend.

"Huh?" I could tell the confusion from the hot-headed guy's response, but eventually, he listened to that masked man. Afterwards, they got off the bus in a hurry. They entered the woods and disappeared like dust being swept away by the wind.

I immediately roamed my eyes around and inquired, "Are you guys alright? Has anyone got hurt?"

My inquiry made me feel I was a fool, because no one ever responded to me. Literally, no one. They just looked at me as if I was some alien who was weird which in fact it was them who were behaving indifferently all along. Of course, I was still glad that everyone looked fine. So eventually, I just ignored their suspicious behaviour.

"Thank God, nobody was hurt." I whispered as I tapped my chest. I breathed deep when the bus finally moved forward.

I couldn't calm myself down so quickly. So I kept patting my chest to help me ease from the irritation and nervousness I was feeling. 

And when I thought that everything was already okay, I was once again alarmed when I realized that I could no longer feel the knob of my pendant under my dress.

How could…?

"No! My necklace!"