The Purge

Nari had no time to cry. Crying in that moment wouldn't do anything good for her and she knew that, so she promised herself that she wouldn't cry, as long as she was alive. She began to prepare for to the nights purge, the one filled with blood and gore. With her she had her fathers old shotgun and her moms pistol. And in the gun cases, she only had 3 rounds left for the shot gun and 5 bullets for the pistol.

Crap she thought as she tucked the pistol into its holder.

It was now 6:12 pm and the purge would start in an hour. With nothing else to do in that hour, Nari continuously thought of how tonight would be. Would she die, or live to see another day....another purge. Or, maybe if she died, she'd finally get to see her lost family again. She would get to tell stories of things that happened while they were gone. Like when Mrs. Ahn and Nari baked pies together and Nari accidentally added salt into the pie instead of sugar, or that other time when she babysat for the other nice lady who lives above her and the kids were little devils hidden in angelic bodies......or the first time she applied to college. She got rejected, but the fact that she applied without her mother there to wish her luck.....it really, in her words sucked.

In thought of all of this, she just found herself almost in tears. She sniffed and wiped them away before the could even think about falling. She promised herself she wouldn't cry. So she wont. Well, she'll try.

"Well...let's shower, it might be my last" she told herself as she hopped up off her bed. Perhaps it would be her last shower, but that's left to be determined.

"But first....maybe a cookie?" she said as the eyed the plate of freshly baked cookies. She probably couldn't trust Mrs. Ahn right now, but the cookies never hurt anyone.She grabbed one and stuffed it down her face before making her way to the bathroom.

She got to the bathroom hoping the warm soothing water would help her forget everything- like everything. Right then in that moment she didn't want to think. Nari just wanted her mind clear of any possibilities or in general, thoughts and worries of the purge.

She didn't want to think of any of it.

The hot water hit her skin and steam rose up from her like the mist from a waterfall. She soaked her hair in the water, lathering it with the lavender shampoo she had brought a week before. Her whole bathroom smelled of lavender then. The best smell to her, it was her favorite smell in the entire world. She would sometimes envision herself living in a field of lavender, lying in the purple stuff while watching the sun go down, shining an array of colors onto her and her small wooden house she would live in. She would run around in the flowers all day long, taking in it's forever refreshing smell that would never diminish because it would always be there with her. And she would never pick the lavender because it it simply to beautiful to be picked.

In a place with no one but herself. A place she could be alone and didn't have to think about the next minute, next hour or day. A place she could just be, and that would be enough for her.

As she opened the bathroom door, all the steam and the smell of lavender leaked out into the rest of her house. She took a deep breath and hurriedly got dressed. She wore a regular black shirt with some gray joggers.

It was now 6:45 pm, 15 minutes before the purge begins......Nari plopped down on her bed looking up at the fast spinning ceiling fan. "What's gonna happen...to me?" she thought. The thought she couldn't help but think. Pretty sure everyone else was thinking it too, i mean who wouldn't. This is the night you could lose....everything.....doesn't matter who you are, if you're caught up in the cross fire, you're dead.

Nari closed her eyes for a second, feeling a tired feeling wash over her. She began to drift off, she knows she shouldn't sleep, but she couldn't help but feel a bit drowsy. Why did she feel like this... Why was she falling asleep when.....

The cookies..... she ate one of them.....

"I'm gonna die like this, huh?" she smiled as she drifted away. She fell into a deep sleep....those cookies, what did that old lady do to them? Was it poison? or maybe.... she added sleeping medicine to it....an anesthetic ?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Nari!" a voice called out to her.

She looked all around her for that voice but couldn't find him.

"Hongjoong!" she called back to him, but found herself wondering.....who was he?

Who is Hongjoong? Who is this name she's been calling unknowingly. And why does she feel like she knows him. This sense of familiarity and the way she feels at ease just by his voice....why is this?

"Where are you?" she said in a hushed voice, almost as if she's been looking for him desperately and now that they're close, she needs to grab him and hold on tight to him. Why is she looking for him? And who is he to be looking for her? This could all just be a figment of her imagination..... or then again, could he be someone real?

Nari fell to the ground, holding herself, wishing she could see him. She just wants to see his face, whoever he is. Maybe she thought she'd recognize him if she did.

"Nari-ah" he called her from behind. She felt warm hands graze from her neck to her shoulder and knew it was him. She turned quickly jolting up from the ground, turning around to see this man she continues to call out for, but as soon as she does....he's gone.

Nari looked around the dark empty space for him only seeing nothing but black in front of her.

"Stop it! You can't do this to me" she screamed out.

"You said you would be there for me.....you said you'd protect me and the others....you can't do this to me, Hongjoong!" she wept, tears already streaming from her eyes.

Stop crying Nari.....what did you promise yourself..... you said you'd never do it again!

"Sweet Nari, I will protect you. You have to be patient" she heard a voice behind her. She whipped around and still found nothing. "Get out here, now!" she yelled at the top of her lungs

I guess you could say she was angry.....and she doesn't even know why herself.

"Nari! I said be patient. I will always be there for you....just like I promised" Hongjoong said.

Then it fell quiet. Everything was silent and in that moment, Nari knew he was truly gone.

"Hongjoo-"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There was the sound of that siren that woke her from her dream...

It was the one that signified the start of the annual purge, then a woman's clear robotic-like voice could be heard blasting from speakers placed all over the city.

This is not a test, this is your Emergency Broadcast System. Announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the South Korean government in partnership with the U.S government. Weapons of class four and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity and shall not be harmed. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime (including murder) will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, and Emergency Medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. When the purge concludes. Blessed be our new founding fathers and America... A nation reborn. May God be with you all.

Her eyes shot up at the last warning siren. The stumbled out of the bed, still drowsy from her sleep. She picked up her alarm clock almost dropping it a few times as she attempted to read the time. Her eyes, still blurry, could only make out the time 7:06 pm. She gasped and dropped the alarm clock.

"It's really started...." she said in a hushed voice. Her heart pounded against her chest so violently, she didn't know what to do. Did she lock the door? Did she chain them? What about her guns, they were in the living room when she went to shower, but she's to scared to go in there.

All of Nari's panicked thoughts were interrupted by a loud boom that knocked her head into the side of her bed. Everything was extra blurry and Nari felt as though she just needed to give up here. But it's only the beginning. She struggled up onto her feet, feeling a few more booms from underneath her as she made her way to her living room where the guns were. You could hear screams from outside and from around her walls.

He moms pistol was her target. She was almost there and she almost grabbed it when another boom went off causing the whole building to tilt side ways, eventually throwing Nari's TV off the stand and onto her side. She yelped in pain as she held her body. She reached in front of her, reaching for that gun that was right in front of her face...

Then her front door was kicked open. Three figures walked in and stood before Nari. She couldn't see their faces at all. She thought she was at her life's end, she couldn't think of anything else.

"Jongho! Didn't I say not to use the explosives, it's not allowed!" one voice said.

"Oh, shut up. It helped up find a treasure didn't it. Look at her" another voice said.

"Guys....let's leave her alone. Look at her, she'll probably die anyway. I think it's best we don't take her with us" a different voice argued.

"Yeosang, who asked you. Why are you even here?" the other voice said.

One of the boys bent down and pulled Nari up by her hair. He examined her face seeing her blood and tears run down it. "Hey, Mingi....We could give her to boss. She's a pretty one" he said with a smirk. The other boy called Mingi bent down and looked at her face, then nodded his head.

"Do whatever you want. you can have her. We just need to do what we came to do then leave" Mingi said.

The younger looking boy called Jongho picked up Nari and threw her over his shoulder. They walked out of the apartment complex.....that would probably the last she would see of it.

By the time Nari and the three men had gotten to the car, she knew she was gonna die. She had no strength to fight back or protest, and as much as she wanted to live, she had no strength to do that either.

"The purge has really begun" she managed to get out as they slammed the door shut.

"Ah! It spoke"