Brothers

I ran down the road, my heart pounding in my chest. Sweat and blood mixed together on my face. My feet sent stabbing pains through me every time I took another step on the hard gravel. There were footprints, I knew there were. Bloody footprints that would lead him right to me. But there was nothing I could do. All I could do was keep running, trying desperately to get away.

The highway, and freedom, loomed tantalizingly, deceptively close ahead of me, the lights from cars casting strange shadows among the trees. Shadows that reminded me of the cage, of the days he'd kept me in captivity, in the darkness.

A sob threatened, but I forced it down. Any extra noise would help him find me. All I could do was keep running. 

All my instincts told me that he was coming, to keep running, trying to ignore the pain in my feet, my side, my legs. Adrenaline was pumping through me, enough that I barely felt the pain of what he’d done. 

I could see the edge of the forest now. Already, the trees were thinning, getting shorter. These were young trees, grown since the highway had come through.

“Please,” I gasped out, begging. There wasn’t anyone close enough to hear me, so I offered it to whoever was listening. 

Five steps from the road, four, three...

The crack of a rifle shot rang out, just before a searing, burning pain in my knee. Unable to believe it, I looked down in shock as blood spurted from my leg. A blink later, I was facedown in the dirt, my fingertips inches away from the edge of the road. Tears of frustration squeezed out among those from the pain.

A man approached, coming the same way I had. His clothing was all black, so he blended in with the darkness. “Nice try,” he muttered, lifting me over his shoulders. 

I fought with all my strength, I really did. But he was as unbending as the huge trees around us, those silent witnesses to our passage.

“Please,” I whispered, once I’d tired myself out. “Please. He’ll kill me. Please.”

“You deserve it.”

“Do I? What have I done, other than oppose him?”

The man stopped, setting me down. I grunted with the pain from my knee. “You don’t understand, do you? He’s doing this because he loves you.”

“He tortures me because he loves me?”

“If you were anyone other than his little brother, you would be dead by now. He’s trying to get you to join him. Agree, and the torture will end.”

“He should know that I can’t.”

The man didn’t reply, just picked me up again. He was rough, drawing muffled screams from my throat. They were only muffled because his hand was over my mouth.

“Don’t worry, little hero. He won’t break you. He’ll push you until you think you’ll break, and then even farther. But he’ll never let you break completely.”

“And how do you know?”

“Because, no matter what he’s done and what you think of him, he’s still your brother. And he still loves you.”

“He doesn’t love anyone, least of all me.”

“Like I said, you’re wrong. If he didn’t care for you, you’d be long dead. He would’ve killed you when you first opposed him, back when you were an inexperienced bumbling idiot.”

I had no response. Michael had overpowered me, in that first battle. He had the opportunity to kill me, but had turned away. Wondering why he’d do such a thing had kept me up at night.

“Did you find him?” My older brother could be heard shouting at his men, his voice almost frantic.

The man holding me replied, though I couldn’t really hear what he said. The pain was taking over, making black spots fly into my vision, blocking out the world like dark clouds block the sun.

Then I was dropped on the ground, and white hot pain restored me to consciousness with a scream.

“What did you do?”

“Took out his knee, sir. He won’t run again.”

The horrible, familiar sound of metal striking flesh split the air, making me flinch. Above me, my hunter grunted with pain and took a few steps back.

“I ordered that he be brought back unharmed,” my brother hissed, his voice low and dangerous. 

“He would’ve reached the road, sir. There was no other way to stop him in time.”

“Get out. If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

The man turned and walked away, slowly, like a kicked puppy.

My brother bent over me, pulling my arm around his shoulders. “Come on, little brother,” he said, so quietly only I would hear, “Let’s get you patched up.”

Confused, I limped along, wondering what had brought on the change of heart.