BROTHERS

Chapter 17

Bill had been gone for more than an hour. Concern started to rear its head in my mind as I looked at the clock. I forced myself to believe that Bill had gone to meet Georg and Gustav, but as the minutes passed, I found it impossible to resist getting up and leaving the room to search for him. Georg didn't answer the door when I knocked. I went to Gustav next, but he didn't respond either. I pounded on the doors and yelled, "Georg, Gustav, open up." It had been remarkably silent.

I grabbed the doorknob to Georg's room and turned it. It surprised me by opening. Georg's stuff was all gone when I walked in. The space appeared unaltered. I raced straight next door to Gustav's and saw the same thing—immaculate and undamaged. "Fuck" I yelled as I hurried to the elevator and quickly pressed the button for the first floor. I started to think; were they downstairs? Maybe they were downstairs? Why am I so concerned?

My eyes scanned the area when the doors opened, but none of them were in my direct line of sight. I then flew over to the public facilities and vending machines, but I couldn't find any of them there. I hurried up to the front desk, "Have you seen three men wandering by here?" I remarked, nervously tapping my foot, "One has shoulder-length brown hair, one has short blonde hair, and one looks exactly like me."

"No, I apologize," the woman uttered. I muttered, "Check your cameras," in frustration. "I'm afraid only security can do that..."

"Then fucking call them!" I smack my palms against the counter and shout out. "Sir calm down..."

I shot back, "No, don't tell me to calm the fuck down." She reached for the phone and remarked, "I'm going to have to call security..." I wouldn't have cared under any circumstances. But from the minute we boarded the plane, Felix had told us not to cause any trouble.

"I'll leave. But if I find them with so much as a scar on their cheek or forehead, I will find and kill you and your whole family." I said, walking away. I stepped out, trying to compose myself. "Breathe, breathe. Calm down or you'll lose sight of yourself" I reminded myself, slowly breathing in and out. I turned my gaze over to an alleyway, a forest behind it.

Like some sort of magnetic draw, I found myself walking towards it. Unaware of what I was going to find, I began to pick up my pace. The closer I got to the forest, the more I began to hear the whines of a familiar voice. "Bill..." I said under my breath. I sprinted towards the forest, following the cries. "Bill?!" I shouted out. The cries grew louder and it had unexpectedly gotten darker outside. I looked up, and the sun began to set.

"Bill!" I shouted out once more. "Over here!" He said, directing me with his voice. I ran to where his voice led me, but... "Coffins" Gazing down at four white coffins, I said. There lay Bill, Georg, and Gustav in each of them. And a vacant coffin in the center. "What's going on?" I exclaimed in a panic. I sensed hands reaching up to my shoulders and grabbing hold of my feet. "Tom, why didn't you protect them? you were too weak and unable to defend them. They died because of you." A whisper in my ear said. "You'll be next," it yelled.

I groaned in pain, holding my ear. Bill sat up in his coffin and exclaimed, "How could you..." "Tom, how did you manage to do that? I believed you would protect me. You lied!"

"I-"

"How could you Tom? Tell me!"

"Bill I-"

"Tom, Wake up!"

My eyes snap open and I remember the coffins and the crying so clearly that I start to shake. I look down, my body drenched in sweat. I feel my heart hammering against my chest. I scan the room with suspicion and paranoia, thinking the horror might have followed me. "Tom, are you okay?" Bill spoke as he stood above me. Casting a puzzled glance at him, I attempt to bring myself back to earth. "Y-yeah," I muttered as I was having trouble standing.