ximena wright / nine.

Dad got run over by a tank engine.

I shouldn’t laugh when I say that, but I do. Every damn time. I honestly don’t think that I can help it. I mean, how absurd is that? My dad got run over by a tank engine.

That's not something that just happens. That’s not something that happens by accident.

Somewhere along the way, that's a choice you make.

He stood his ground, gun popping off with shot after shot as he aimed at the hulking things glass windshield. I got to watch as it happened, stood in the trees with my eyes wide in horror, mouth literally hanging open. I didn’t scream, didn’t cry, didn’t do anything except stand there, stock still, as my father took out the guy in the passenger seat and then the driver. He just forgot to give himself time to duck away.

Or he did it on purpose. I’m not really sure. I never got the chance to ask, but with the Keepers inside dead it meant we had a tank engine we could use for our side.

We just had to lose a man to get it.

One little life.

When it's one life in exchange for being able to take a hundred of theirs, maybe more, doesn't it seem worth it? Personally, I've never been able to answer that question, but my captain asked it when the shock wore off and I started screaming and she had to calm me down somehow. Making me think about sacrifice seemed to her, somehow, as the most effective method.

Looking back, I think I'd have probably been better off with a fucking hug, but you know.

You win some you lose some.