Five minutes to convince him. Five minutes to save my life. Was I ready? That didn’t matter now because ready or not here I go.

I looked the psychopath in his eyes. I’ve always been able to see the good in everybody— and that includes him. In his eyes I saw hate, anger, but I also saw fear and hurt. I took a deep breath. “Why?” I mumbled, “why do you hurt those around you, those who have done nothing to you?” He looked a little suprised but quickly put on an evil grin and shook his head. “Because,” he paused for a second the proceeded, “because many people have hurt me, I was innocent, but to them it didn’t matter.” As soon as he said this I knew what to do.

“What happened, who hurt you?” I looked up innocently, “who has hurt you so badly that you hurt others?” He frowned. “Well, kid,” he began, “since your not going to live anyway, I suppose I’ll tell you, but I’ll make it quick so I can go ahead and kill you.” He tightened his grasp around his long crooked blade.

“When I was ten, I got jumped by and gang of teenagers, around your age.” He looked up and I noticed a scar on the upper right side of his forehead, had that been caused by the gang? “Well, I went back home and told my father,” he turned his gaze away from me, “he wasn’t happy about what happened and went to confront the leader of the gang.” There was sorrow in his eyes. I almost felt sorry for him. Well, would have if he wasn’t trying to kill me. “They didnt like that, they killed him. And they got away with it, unpunished, and un justified.” He looked up, “that what you wanted? It better be, because now you die.” The expression on his face hard as stone. A sad song he had sung, but that was _exactly_ what I wanted.

“Wait,” I pleaded, “you said five minutes, it’s only been three.” He released the grasp on the blade as too tell me to continue. “You want to kill me bause you have been hurt, but what about those teenagers?” He looked me in the eyes, he was confused, I don’t blame him, his rage kept him from facing the facts. “Those teenagers, what if want happened to you also happened to them? What if they had been hurt and wanted to hurt someone else?” I took a deep breath, so far so good. “It’s a never ending cycle they hurt you, you hurt me, some else will hurt someone, and no matter what people do the cycle will never end, so kill me if you want, but know nothing will ever change.”

He looked up at me and a single tear rolled down his face. “You are so young, but know a lot.” He looked down and pick up his blade. “Too bad I have to kill you, you know to much now for me to let you free, you’ll tell the police an-“ he didn’t get to finish because the sirens of a police car drowned out his voice.

An officer broke through the door armed with a gun. He emedently put his hands high in the air. He was arrested. I had called the police earlier, I just needed to stall until they came. Deep down in the guy, below all the fear and hate, was a good guy. He wasn’t all bad, no one is. But still, he was a psychopath who need to go to jail for kidnapping and attempted murder. But I meant every word, him hurting me would just be an addition to a never ending cycle.