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The Guardian was an assignment to write a Hemingway style short story, as part of a contest. All the class's stories were judged by other teachers, and a winner was chosen, though I did not win. I wanted the story to be so much more, I wanted it to be a bit of an outlook of what I thought about power and a human spirit entrenched in such power. It isn't all that great as a story or as a piece of writing.

A Journey

The Guardian

It was a night like any other in a rather remote town. But it was not calm. A patrol of sentries were always out, surveying the neighborhood. They had just separated after their shifts were over and were on their way back home. One of them never made it home.

The next night. The murder of the sentry had been investigated, but no murderer found. However, the guardian, the sentry of the highest rank, knew who had killed the sentry. He had seen the murder, and seen where the murderer had fled to. And now it was for the killer to pay for what he had done.

The guardian had silently come up upon the murderer. "You fool.", said the guardian. "What! Who~", exclaimed the murderer.

"You killed a man. Why?"

"Wh-Who are you?"

"That does not matter. Answer my question."

"� No."

"Fool!", said the Guardian, who then pulled out a weapon. "You are a fool. A man of a depraved mind." The murderer tried to shrink away, but was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the Guardian�s stare.

"Stop! You can�t kill me!", shouted the murderer.

"Why not? Are you more worthy of life than the man that you killed? Do you have a better reason to live than he did?"

"You can�t kill me, you will have killed a man� just like me!"

"Of course. But my actions are justified."

"No, I won�t die at your hands!"

With that, the murderer jumped up and tried to get the weapon. But the Guardian pushed him down.

"Mercy! Please!", the murderer cried.

"How many have begged for mercy at your feet, yet you killed them? Mercy? Never."

"No, I can�t die�I will never die�"

"Heh. Can�t die eh? What a mistake that is."

There was a shot, and the murderer was dead.

"Only I will never die. I am�"

He looked to the black, starless sky, as if that is what led him on.

"Invincible."

He started laughing, as if the thought of death were something of an overrated joke. He walked away leaving nothing but the dead, lifeless body of the murderer. A cold breeze blew and seemed to make the Guardian fade into the blackness from which he came.


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