Only Time Will Tell (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 33- A Final Standoff

Luca and Alberto were slowing down by the second. Swimming and running for that long had completely exhausted them to the point where they could no longer move without feeling immense muscle cramps and pain. Luca fell to his knees, grasping his chest tightly as he started to cough. Alberto put a hand on his shoulder but was too out of breath to lend more of a supporting hand. The two boys were completely drained of all their energy.

And unfortunately, Bruno was not.

Racing up the massive cliffside even further, the man noticed the blinding light of the sun shining down upon him. He raised a hand over his eyes to shield the light, cursing under his breath. He could slightly make out someone kneeling down in the distance.

"Alberto my boy! Is that you?"

At this point, they were at the highest point of Portorosso; it was what the town called the "Deadly Outskirts." Nobody ever really ventured off beyond the hills that were used for farming, because it wasn't a pleasant place, nor did anyone ever live up there. If you were fearless, you could go up to the very top where the weeds were thick and the wind was strong, before looping around again. That was what Alberto and Luca were trying to do, although they were unfortunately not able to make it anywhere past the very top.

Bruno had heard about the outskirts before, but never really knew why people referred to them as the "Deadly Outskirts." He soon got his answer, however, as he looked down at the ocean below him. At the bottom was a long strip of sharp-looking rocks, close by where Luca and Alberto had originally fallen. Even Bruno winced at the sight of them, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. Not until he found Alberto.

Bruno wheezed heavily, "Alberto- is that you?!"

He saw the person's head turn back quickly. He couldn't make out the person's facial expression, but by the looks of it, they seemed startled. The mystery person turned around once more to reveal another person laying down on the floor.

Bruno nodded slowly, a wide grin spreading across his face. "That's my boy alright.."

Bruno started to march up the terrain in a very menacing way. Just his stature alone was enough to intimidate someone.

Alberto could see Bruno was approaching once more. His eyes filled with panic, and his heart was beating at what felt like a million beats per minute. He looked down at Luca, who attempted to stand up, but he quickly fell back down to the ground again. Alberto watched helplessly as Luca tried to stand up. He was so exhausted that he couldn't even do the most mundane task of standing up.

"Alberto.. I—"

Alberto frowned, looking back and forth between Luca and his father. It was like he was being pulled by a rope in two different directions.

"I can't go any further.." Luca coughed hoarsely. "I can't move my muscles.."

Alberto didn't respond, and instead only took in a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"Luca.. I'm not sure what to do... but—"

Luca looked up at Alberto, who was standing above him. The boy felt like he knew what Alberto was about to say, and it wasn't good at all.

"It's me he wants, not you. I.." Alberto paused and winced at the words that were coming out off his mouth. He didn't want it to come to this, but what other choice did they have?

"I can't let him hurt you. Maybe I can think of.. something."

"No.. no no no.."

"Luca.."

"You can't, Al! You can't do that!"

Alberto frowned. He looked behind him again and saw that Bruno had almost reached them.