Varni

t w e n t y - f o u r

We made our way out of the Russian compound, the night air cold against our skin. The battle behind us had left a heavy silence, punctuated only by our hurried footsteps. My brothers, battered but victorious, kept a tight formation around me, their eyes scanning for any sign of danger.

Levi walked at the rear, a shadow of his former self. The man who had been our protector now walked with the weight of his betrayal hanging over him. I kept my eyes on Verenzio, his determined gaze forward. We were almost safe.

Then, as we crossed the threshold into a seemingly abandoned warehouse—a temporary haven we had scouted earlier—Levi's demeanor changed. His steps slowed, and a cold, determined expression settled on his face. Before anyone could react, he drew a gun from his jacket.

The first shot echoed through the empty space, striking Verenzio in the back. He fell with a look of shock and betrayal. The brothers turned, but Levi was swift, firing again and again. Ramirez went down next, clutching his chest, blood staining his shirt.

"Levi, no!" Marlon shouted, but it was too late. The twins, Marlon and Mason, fell in quick succession, their cries cut short by the deadly accuracy of Levi's shots. Ricario tried to charge at him, a primal scream of rage and despair tearing from his throat, but he too was cut down.

Romeo, the youngest, managed to fire a shot that grazed Levi's arm before falling to the ground, clutching his side, his breaths shallow and labored.

I stood frozen, horror gripping my heart as I watched my brothers fall one by one. The man who had once sworn to protect us now stood over their lifeless bodies, his eyes devoid of remorse.

Levi turned his gaze to me, his face twisted with a mix of regret and resolve. "It should have ended with your parents," he said, his voice a hollow echo. "But now, it ends with you."

He moved towards me, his gun discarded, hands outstretched. The intent to kill was clear in his eyes. I backed away, my mind racing, but there was nowhere to run.

His hands wrapped around my throat, squeezing, cutting off my air. Panic surged through me as I struggled against his grip, my vision darkening at the edges. I couldn't let it end like this. I had to fight. I reached up, clawing at his hands, my nails digging into his skin. He tightened his grip, a cruel smile playing on his lips. But my hand brushed against something cold and metallic at my side—Romeo's fallen gun. 

With a last, desperate effort, I grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, deafening in the confined space. Levi's grip slackened, his eyes widening in shock. He stumbled back, a look of disbelief on his face as he crumpled to the ground.

I forced myself to move, to check on my brothers, even though a part of me already knew the truth. But it couldnt be true. They can't just die. I kept telling myself how much I hated them but none of it was true. I love them. They are the only family I still have left.

I crawled to Verenzio first, my hands trembling as I touched his shoulder. "Verenzio," I whispered, my voice breaking. His eyes stared back at me, unseeing, his body lifeless. A sob tore from my throat as I moved to Ramirez, hoping against hope that he was still alive. But he, too, was gone.

Each brother I checked was the same—Marlon, Mason, Ricario, and finally Romeo. Their faces were etched with pain and betrayal, their bodies still warm but void of life. My heart shattered with each discovery, the weight of my grief almost unbearable.

When I reached Romeo, I couldn't hold back the flood of tears any longer. He was the one I used to love the most, the one we all protected fiercely. His life cut short by the man we had trusted most. I cradled his head in my lap, rocking back and forth as sobs wracked my body.

"No, no, no," I cried, my voice echoing in the empty warehouse. "Not you too, Romeo. Please, not you too."

But no amount of pleading or crying could bring them back. My brothers were dead, and I was alone. The pain was suffocating, an all-consuming darkness that threatened to swallow me whole. I screamed, a raw, guttural sound that expressed all the anguish and fury I felt inside.

Levi's body lay a few feet away, his blood pooling on the concrete floor. I crawled over to him, my grief morphing into a cold, vengeful rage. He was still alive, barely, his breaths shallow and labored. I grabbed the gun again, the weight of it heavy in my hand.

"You did this," I hissed, my voice trembling with anger. "You took everything from me."

Levi's eyes fluttered open, his gaze unfocused. "Yawa," he croaked, his voice weak. "I'm... sorry."

"Sorry?" I spat, pressing the gun to his forehead. "Sorry doesn't bring them back. Sorry doesn't erase the pain you caused."

He tried to speak again, but I didn't let him. I pulled the trigger, the shot echoing through the warehouse. His body jerked once, then went still. I dropped the gun, my hands shaking uncontrollably. The deed was done, but the satisfaction I thought I would feel was absent. Instead, there was only a hollow emptiness, a void where my family used to be.

I collapsed to the floor, my body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me and held me in a tight hug, before an angelic voice spoke to me.

"Glad you killed yourself now, didn't you dear?"

•FuFu