"Cmon, Arthur! We’re going to go mess with some shop keepers today!"

"M-mess with shop keepers? Why should we do that?"

"Because it’s fun! What, are you scared or something?"

"N-No! I’m right behind you!"

Arthur was a fourteen-year-old boy who grew up in the outskirts with nothing to his name except his family. He was extremely thin from malnourishment, but he would steal food whenever he needed to. His parents worked hard to provide him everything he wanted. His best friend, Jacob, was his like his mentor.

He was the only person in the world who made him happy. He would teach Arthur things, such as how to steal, how to not get caught, or how to blame it on someone else.

As Arthur followed his friend into a small hardware shop, there was a gentleman behind the counter tinkering with a small device. Jacob pulled Arthur to the side and whispered into his ear.

"Hey, just sit back and get ready to run!"

"What are you planning on doing?"

"Just watch!"

Jacob pretended to be looking at all the different tools that littered the shelves. The man behind the counter noticed him and called over.

"Do you need help finding anything, young man?"

"Nah, I’m just skimming around."

Suddenly, Jacob seemed to pocket some things in his clothes. Then, he grabbed an expensive glass object. Walking over to the counter, he pretended to slip, which sent the small glass flying into the wall. It shattered immediately on impact.

"Oops. Sorry old man."

"Hey! You have to pay for that, you know!"

"Pay for my butt!"

Jacob started throwing the random items he stored in his pockets at the wall, trying to break them. The man jumped over the counter and tried to grab him.

"Run Arthur!"

The two of them ran out the door as fast as they could. Hanging on the entrance to his shop, the man called out to the crowd.

"Stop those kids!"

Jacob and Arthur continued ducking under arms and around people until they thought they escaped. Eventually, they ran into a dead end. Some guards slowly started approaching them.

"Damn kids. Leave the shops alone for once."

Jacob tried kicking one of their shins and running away but the other guard caught him immediately.

"You’re going to pay for that, brat!"

The towered over Arthur and Jacob cracking their knuckles.

"Which one will it be? Jail time or a beating right here and now?"

Jacob stared up at the guards with anger.

"Leave him out of this. I was the one who did everything. He tried to talk me out of it."

"Oh. Then it seems you can get his punishment as well then!"

"Just get it over with, you pigs."

The first guard punched down on Jacob, causing a tooth to fly out of his mouth. The other guard picked him up before throwing him against a wall and kneeing him in the stomach. The guards threw a few more punches before backing off.

All Arthur could do was cry and watch as his best friend was mercilessly beaten. After the guards left both of them, Jacob slowly got up and spit blood on the ground.

"Take a good look Arthur. I hope that memory of yours works. Do you see what just happened here? Do you know why that just happened?"

Arthur did a few sniffles, then wiped his nose with his arm.

"N-no."

"It’s because we’re weak. When you’re strong, no one will be able to bother you like that. We’ll be strong one day. I just know it."

Jacob walked Arthur back to his home. As they approached the door, he could already hear the screams coming from his mom through the door and glass break. Jacob looked down at Arthur who clearly didn’t want to go back in.

"Want to sleep on the streets with me tonight?"

Arthur’s face turned serious.

"No. I have to try and stop him again."

"If you were strong, you wouldn’t need to worry about trying. You just would."

Arthur looked up at Jacob.

"What does it mean to be strong?"

Jacob looked away from him.

"Being strong is a lot more than just protecting yourself. It’s about protecting the people you care about. That is the privilege of the strong. That is something they are capable of that weak people will never be able to do. Make sure you never forget that. Okay?"

"I promise."

"Good. We’ll meet by our usual spot tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

"See you tomorrow. Please be careful."

As Arthur opened the door, he could already see his father’s bright red face and his stained shirt. He was on the opposite end of the dining table trying to reach over at his mom.

"Come over here you bitch. Who said you could take my drink away from me?!"

"Please dear. You’ve had too much. I’m just trying to help you!"

There were already bruises and marks over his moms. She was desperately trying to avoid being on the same side of the table as his dad.

"You’re dead when I catch you!"

"Leave her alone, dad." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Arthur’s expression was serious and stern. He looked his father in the eyes with malice.

"What’s with that look, you brat? You want a piece of me? It was your mother who is in the wrong."

"Come and try it, asshole."

"Where?! Where did you hear that word you asshole?! I’m going to beat that word out of you! Come over here."

Arthur walked further away. His heart was beating widely in his chest, sweat started dripping off his brow, he was scared, but he was ready to dodge.

His dad took a swing at him. The first punch landed right on his cheeks, sending him flying to the floor. He slowly rose to his feet.

"I never said you could move."

His dad grabbed his arm in an iron grip and sent another few punches into his stomach. His mom jumped in between them to stop him from continuing.

"Please stop, honey! That’s enough!"

His father looked at him with disgust.

"You lucked out brat. Looks like someone else is taking your punishment."

Arthur’s heart rang through his body again. He could feel his blood clearly. He wasn’t about to let this disgusting behavior continue. As his mom screamed, Arthur ran to the kitchen and grabbed a large cleaver.

His mom looked at him with desperation in her eyes as his father was preparing another strike.

’Be strong’

He took a step forward.

’Be strong.’

He started running toward his dad.

’Be strong.’

He threw the cleaver down with all his might. It slid right through his dad’s head, causing him to go limp.

Arthur’s heart was pounding at an extremely fast rate. Slowly, blood started spilling all over the floor around his dad.

’The strong should protect the weak... I stopped it...’

Arthur kept panting. He let out a scream and held his head. His mom screamed and ran out of the house with blood on her shoes.

Arthur looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood, just like his shoes. He tried cleaning his hands on his shirt. That made him look even worse. Arthur knew what was going to happen to him if he stayed. Therefore, he decided to run for his life.

He ran and ran through the streets as fast as he could. He finally stumbled across his friend Jacob sleeping in a small alley. Arthur walked up to him and shook him awake. His friend looked at him in horror.

"Arthur... what the hell... what did you do?!"

"He was about to hurt my mom again. I was sick and tired of it. I protected the weak, just like you told me!"

Jacob started rubbing his head and looked at the ground.

"This is my fault. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have told you that. Of course you would have taken it a different way."

"Did I do something wrong? Why do you look scared?"

Jacob was shaking slightly.

"Arthur. We have to turn ourselves in. This isn’t right."

Arthur looked at him with shock.

"Isn’t right?! What do you mean it isn’t right?! He was going to hurt my mom!"

"I know Arthur. But this wasn’t the right way to go about. Strength is about protecting, not killing. You didn’t need to kill your father. That was wrong."

"What if he was going to kill us? What then?"

"Arthur, you knew he wasn’t going to kill you guys. Killing is wrong in every form. Even in self-defense. Please. Let’s just turn ourselves in."

"But... I was just trying to save my mom. I had to stop it."

"It’s okay. If we tell the guards the full story, they may be able to help us. We may get a lighter sentencing."

"Why do you keep saying we, Jacob? I was the one who did."

Jacob grabbed his shoulder and started walking with him towards the nearest guards.

"It’s because I’m not leaving you behind. We’re brothers. Let’s face our punishment together. The murder was just as much my fault for not being clearer about what I said."

Arthur began to sniffle and cry. Jacob leaned down hugged him before walking the rest of the way.

"It’s going to be okay. I’m still here. I’ll always be here for you, Arthur."