Family, Love, And Friendship

BROTHER NO!!!!

We finish our ride 3 hours later, and head home. When we get close, we hear screaming, crying,  then gunshots. Me and Kei stop, hide in the trees, and wait until the gunshots stop, then sneak back  using the darkness and trees as cover. We put Stardust and Lighting in their stalls, still fully geared  up in case we had to leave quickly. I climb the ladder to the hayloft, and open the secret hatch behind the wood panels, I grab the gun, ammo, and the holster, I put the holster on, and load the gun, putting it on safety, before holstering it, covering it with my shirt and climbing back down. I knew how to use the gun, I’ve been trained in how to use it since I turned 7, it was an emergency only gun in case our family is in danger, or if we have predatory animals show up, we can either kill or scare them off “Kei, stay behind me” “understood” Kei didn’t know how to use a gun, or even any self defense, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him when I didn’t yet have all of the facts for our situation. I walked carefully ready to draw the gun and shoot at any moment, while we got closer to the house. I decided to go around back, and sneak in through the back shelter, which led to the house, as it was beneath the house, and lead to the basement. From there I can sneak up the back steps, and enter the main area of the house “stay here in the shelter for now, and call for help with your phone. I’ll go check it out,and see what’s going on” “ok, just promise me you’ll be careful”  “I will, I promise” he stays in the shelter and calls for help while I sneak up the back steps, my hand on the holster ready to draw and fire. I open the door from the steps and enter the main area as quietly as I can, I go slow through the hallway then I see my family on the floor in the living  room. My little siblings including Ezrin and Maiko are there, as well as my parents. I hide using the  wall for cover, and listen to the 4 men holding my family at gunpoint. Thankfully from this angle it  doesn’t look like anyone is hurt. Father is trying to figure out why the men are here “What do you  want from us? we have never done anything to you” “Where is he? Where is the man named  Al?!!!!” Al, what do they want with him “Al, Al, sorry nothing comes to mind” “he is the older  brother to a boy named Kei who is now your adopted son, So where is he?!!!” “he’s not here, but  what do you want with him?” “He owes us money, he joined us, stole $950,000, then disappeared” that must be money he stole to pay for his mom’s treatment, he never told us, or his parents what his job was, just that he had one and it paid extremely well. “well sorry to have to tell  you this, but he is dead, he died from injuries he sustained while serving in the military, as for Kei  yes we adopted him, but only because he doesn’t have anyone else” “ well then since you have the boy, and he’s all that remains, the debt falls on him to work off, that is unless you pay us the full amount right here” “we.. we don’t have that kind of money” “then hand over the boy, and he can work it off” “ work... work it off how?” as a child prostitute in our gang” “child prostitute, that’s illegal” “and?” that’s when I saw Ezrin put his head down as if in deep thought, “what…  what about a teenager?” The leader then looked to Ezrin, an evil grin formed on his face, before he walked over to him and grabbed him by the chin. My brother was kneeling the same as the rest  of my family. The leader looked him over with his eyes and his smile grew larger “STAND  UP!!!” “yes sir” he stood up without any hesitation and the man looked him over again with his  eyes top to bottom “ARMS OUT AT YOUR SIDES!!!” “yes sir” “TURN AROUND!!!” “yes sir” “SPREAD YOUR LEGS” “yes sir” the man looked at him top to bottom once more, before  reaching out and touching Ezrin’s butt. I looked away, I couldn’t watch any further, the authorities  still aren’t here, what’s taking them so long? I want so bad to shoot that man and his followers, but I can’t risk my family getting caught in the crossfire, and the moment I shoot I lose my cover, and  any element of surprise I may have now. The man continues to feel up my brother and check out  his body, arms, legs, teeth, everything, and the sounds he’s making as he does so, send shivers of  disgust down my spine. My skin is covered in goosebumps, this is so disgusting, when the man  finally finishes touching him “you my boy are a valuable piece of meat, and you’ll have that debt  paid off in no time, so long as you put that body of yours to good use” “understood, sir” Ez looks  at the floor a look of anguish on his face. Ez no!! don’t do it, don’t ruin your life because of a debt  that doesn’t belong to you “now are you going to come willingly? or do I have to have my men  drag you out?” he keeps his gaze to the floor and goes silent, “time’s up boy’s grab him and put him  in the car” “yes sir” the other men grab Ezrin by the arms and drag him out of our home, the look  on Ez’s face is 1 of fear, but also of deep suffering. I’m forced to watch as he is dragged away, and  I can’t do a thing to save him, even with this stupid gun holstered on my hip. I feel the tears  forming, as anger builds, but I do nothing but conceal my presence as they drag him away. “Ez”  sniff, sniff, I say it so quietly even I barely hear it. I wait hoping and praying that the authorities  arrive in time to save him, but they don’t, the men drive away with my brother, it’s only 4 minutes  later that the authorities show up. I slide down the wall and cry. Kei comes up a few minutes after  the authorities arrived, the same way I did, he finds me crying against the wall, while the authorities talk with my family, unaware that I’m here. “Sion what happened?” “Ez, they took Ez, and they’re going to make him work off the debt that belongs to your brother, with his body in bed, sniff, sniff,” “wait, what?” “when your mom was ill Al had a job right?” “yeah” “it wasn’t a normal job, he was in a gang Kei, and he stole a lot of money from them then disappeared. They wanted Al, but because he’s dead they told mother and father that they either pay the full amount right away, or you are taken to work it off the same way they are going to do with Ez. But we don’t have that kind of money, so Ez stepped up and they took him away, they dragged him out by his arms, he clearly didn’t want to go, because he kept looking at the floor and not speaking when asked if he would go willingly or not,  when he didn’t respond, the leader of the men told him times up, then ordered the other men to drag him away and put him in the car, the cops only got here, 4 minutes after they were gone” I said all this in tears, Kei pulled me into his arms and held me, it was after the cops finished talking to my family, and went to take care of some other things in our home that they noticed me and Kei. They questioned Kei about what happened since I was too upset at that point to talk. He told them what happened when we came home, and what I had told him, then they left after putting out an alert. We didn’t see Ezrin again for 5 months, until he was finally brought home, but by then he had changed greatly, he no longer cared about his appearance, and his grades at school were horrible, he was no longer outgoing, but instead he was quiet and rarely came out of his room, he no longer wanted to help out either, and he never wanted to talk or listen, he changed completely into the opposite of who he was before, but he would never talk about what exactly happened to him while he was with that gang.