Liana's Choice

Liana's Choice

By: Laura Schneider

I can feel my breath going away. My heart is thumping wildly in my chest, on the verge of exploding. My fists are clenched so tightly that I can’t move my hands anymore, even though they’re still trembling. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to close my eyes. But I can’t. I’m forced to watch.

I’m forced to watch my uncle die.

Immediately, I run over to him. He’s lying in agony on the ground, with his eyes half closed and his breath heaving. The tears haven’t even come out yet, but they’re about to. It’s not just because he’s in this much pain. It’s because he, my uncle, the only family I have left in the world, is dying right in front of me.

I can't watch. I can't, I can't, I can't.

Carrie is right beside me, tugging on my arm. “Come on, Liana. We have to go.”

“No!” I cry. She tugs on me again. I try to pry her off of me, but she’s a lot stronger than I am, so it doesn’t work.

“We have to go, Liana. Now.”

“I’m not going! We can’t leave him!”

I don’t look at Carrie, even though I really want to. I want her to see the conviction in my eyes. I want her to see how much I want to get us all out of this alive. I want her to see how desperate I am to save this man who loves both of us with all of his heart.

Suddenly, I hear a little sniffle. I finally look up at Carrie. She looks just as desperate as I am to save him, but devastated that we’re stuck in the middle here. “We don’t have a choice, sweetie.”

Despite his weakened state, my uncle looks up at me, squeezes my hand, and smiles. “Liana...please...go.”

“I can’t, Uncle Richard.” The tears are coming down really hard now.

“You...h-have to, s-sweetie. I need…” he coughs, looking strained. “I need you and...C-Carrie to l-leave so...y-you can be s-safe. I-I n-need you and C-Carrie to be safe.”

“But you need to be with us, too.” I protest. I can’t leave him here to die. I just can’t. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself ever again if I did.

Uncle Richard doesn’t even seem to care that my hot tears are falling all over him right now, because he squeezes my hand even harder and sits up a little. I wrap my arm around his back to keep him supported, and he looks directly into my eyes.

“Please, honey. Please. I-I’m...begging you. P-please g-go with Carrie. D-do it...do it for me. Do it for me...my sweet little girl. I love you.”

I lean down and kiss him on the cheek. “I love you too, Uncle Richard.”

Suddenly, there’s another explosion. Then the booming, shouting, and pattering of feet on the floor above us. There’s no denying it now.

“They’re coming.” Carrie breaths, almost reading my thoughts. “Liana, we really, seriously have to leave. Now.”

Looking down at the suffering man in my arms, I’m left with an overwhelming choice. Do I drag him along, keeping him alive but risk all of us getting kidnapped?

Or do I save myself and leave him there to die?