I never understood the differences between Night and Day, no matter how hard , or how much someone tried to explain it to me, I just didn’t understand. I guess that’s one of the reasons people think I’m crazy. They might be right! So, let me apologize now if somewhere during all of this I get them mixed up. I mean really, why is it that when it’s dark outside, it’s night, and when it’s bright outside, it’s day. Who made up those definitions? Why can’t it be the other way around, but anyway, my name is Mathias. Well that’s the name my parents gave me. No one but my brother calls me that. Everyone else calls me Nickel.
Don’t ask me where they got that from, they told me that on a scale of one to hundred, of who got the better smarts, they said that I would register a five. Hence, the annoying nickname Nickel. I’m not stupid or anything, I just tend to do some really weird things. Like starting at the end of a story. You’re probably wondering why I’m starting it like this way. Well let me tell you. After everything I went through the outcome of all of this, is all I understand, nothing else makes sense to me. Especially how this all started. That’s the one food thing about me, I always stick with what I know and understand.
It was late in the day when I decided to leave. The moon had been out and brightly shining for about an hour, when I finally made my way home. I loved the feel of the wind on my tanned skin, as it tousled my short green hair. Green hair? Am I being Serious? Yes I am, it was what really set me apart from everyone else. It’s what gave them a good reason to say what they say about me. This was the latest I had ever come home, not that anyone really cared about what time I returned, to call it a night and go to bed. One of my favorite hobbies at night was to go to the bars. I had always found them to be interestingly funny. That’s got to be the weirdest thing you have ever heard, right? I mean really who goes to a bar to watch people?
Just ask anyone, they’ll all say, well Nickel surely does. It just kills to be so predictable to people. I was walking down the broken cobblestone streets, watching the drunks stagger and fall as they tried to make their way home. This was the life, oh to be free to do what you want. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my brother about the happenings tonight. I’d be lucky if he didn’t pass out form laughing, once I was through.
Brother? Did I forget to tell you about that? Oh yeah, I have a brother, a twin actually. His name’s Dyconis. I got the better name, don’t you think? Well anyway, he is the total opposite of me, except for the looks. We are twins after all, identical twins. We differ in very huge ways; People think I’m psycho, but they aren’t afraid of me, well not really. Dyconis though, they fear. I mean, pee your pants fear. I mean, run and hide when you see him walk down the street fear. I mean…well I think you get the point.
I loved my brother though, I never understood why people were afraid of him. He was really nice, especially to me. He took care of us after our parents died in an car accident. Getting the food, paying the bills, and most importantly teaching me to defend myself. Defending myself by using my “gifts”. That’s a laugh right? I would call them my abnormalities. In a world where everyone was so, so…human, that’s what they were, abnormalities.
I really did love my brother. Did I say that already? You’re probably wondering why I’m getting so sentimental as I talk about him. If that little voice in your head is telling you that something awful happened to my brother, you’d be right. Something did, and I’ll tell you what it was in a little while, but let me continue. So where was I… Ah yes, so there I was, walking down the street to my house, singing to myself as I imagined my brother’s face after I told him what I saw in the bar.
It was then that I heard a piercing scream. It sounded like my brother, but it couldn’t have been him right? My brother would never show that much weakness, by screaming a blood curdling scream. He would never give his assailant the pleasure, but that little voice inside my head was telling me that I was being delusional. My hearing was excellent, being that I was a good distance from my house, and yet I knew that the screaming was coming from there. So I knew that I wasn’t imagining things. I knew that I heard my brother scream. I raced towards my house not stopping for anything. I ran through bushes, knocking down trash cans as I passed. I had to get to my brother’s side.
