“Who Will Stop Me?”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand

“And who exactly is going to stop me?” I smirk.

“I am.”

The voice booms over the plains. Two simple words that somehow send shivers down my spine. Finally, a real challenge.

“Who’s there?” I yell. “Show yourself!”

There’s a pause, and then the voice says, “First, we must talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Your actions.”

I let out a long groan and roll my eyes. “Do you seriously think that talking about my actions is going to make me stop? I love wreaking havoc on defenseless villages. I mean, what else do you expect me to do in my spare time?”

“You are powerful, Havanaret Cholskra,” the voice says. “Do you really wish to waste it all on meaningless raids? Or do you want your name to go down in history?”

“My name will go down in history!” I roar. “I will be remembered as Havanaret the Destroyer! I chose the name myself!”

“If you continue to destroy, you will not be remembered,” the voice says, eerily calmly. “You will not be given a funeral when you die. You will not have family or friends who will want to honour you. Your name will be erased from history. It will be as if you never existed.”

“Hah! That’s a good joke. But let me remind you that pioneers are always remembered. Ygrandir of Tortre, Kil of Opahin, Nirastra of Heiv. They were the first of their kind. I am also the first of my kind. I am the first to destroy rather than create. I am the first to conquer what has never been conquered before. I am a pioneer, so I will be remembered.”

The voice chuckles. “Do you truly believe that you are unique? Do you truly believe that you are the first to destroy? Or have the others before you simply been erased from your history?”

Final Comments: I kind of want to write a story from the POV of the bad guy now…

Overall Rating: 😂