Twisted Choices

Chapter 4

Hero had escaped from his home. Again. With his brother. Their father would return very late and besides, they were dismissed from school quite early. Hero sneaked past the officers on post at the wall and took out a few loose bricks. He pushed his brother out and went out himself. He put back the loose bricks slowly then pulled his brother up.

"This is the forest."

Markus gaped in awe at all the colors that seemed to melt into one another. He gripped his brother's hand. "This is so cool! You've been in there before? Did you see a creeper? A giant spider?"

He gasped. "A... Zombie?"

Hero laughed as he quickly pulled his brother into a bush as the officers on post might see them. "I've seen a spider and a creeper. Guess what, zombies and skeletons burn in daylight! They never taught us that in school."

Hero pulled out a leather notebook and quill from his satchel. He flipped through the pages and showed his brother a tiny sketch of a skeleton and zombie under a moon. An arrow pointed from the first picture to the second, which shows the skeleton and zombie burning under a messy sketch of the sun.

"That's so cool! What else?! What else?!" asked Markus.

Hero didn't reply as he was trying to pry off a piece of an old wooden fence. He grunted once he managed to lodge it from the ground and swept off the dirt.

He smiled, "I'll tell you back at home. I need this to knock out a few monsters if we bump into one."

Markus gripped his brother's shirt, he would not want to get lost. The two explored the forest. They encountered one spider, but it was a safe distance away, in the shadows. Hero decided it was time to go home and jotted down a few things he studied in his notebook.

"Hero! Look!"

Hero quickly put away his notebook and quill. He held up the broken wood fence, staring right at a creeper. He was so close he could see the ridges of its rough skin and the piercing gleam of its black eyes. He gasped, his grip tightening around the broken fence. Markus trembled behind him, watching intensely. It was silent. The creeper hissed before crawling away, leaving horror-stricken children. Hero grabbed his brother and ran back to the wall.

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Hero led his brother across the room, trying not to wake their father, who had passed out on the couch. They made it outside and made their way to school. They passed by a few students in Hero's class, who sneered and talked among themselves about him. Markus ignored those bullies and muttered, "They don't know that my brother can escape the-"

"Markus, keep quiet."

The younger boy huffed and once they made it to school, Hero braced himself. He put up his poker face along with large walls that protected his privacy and gave him self-control. Markus didn't really need that. He was liked at school. The classrooms are pretty small and the school was not that big but the students there really adore him. Hero turned and said, "Markus, remember, if anyone hurts you, verbally or physically, tell me. They will never get away with it."

Hero held out a fist, where Markus bumped it with his and the two parted ways.

○

The teacher was scolding some kid who flipped her off. Hero stared out the window. The teacher screamed at the kid and dragged him outside to speak even louder but it was no use, you can turn deaf even if she were miles away. At that point, boys from the other side of the class began crumpling up some notes and began throwing the balls of paper at Hero and a few girls.

Hero just covered his eyes and watched as chaos wrecked the classroom, which seemed like an old dump. He sighed. Education in Minecraftia was messy, loosely based off America, even though they incorporated Russian lessons in because of the country being ruled by Russia. It was difficult and irritating, really.

○

Hero was walking his brother home. It was rather quiet that day. Markus was not sharing about his school experiences this time, like he normally would. Hero knew that Markus was thinking hard, and he should prepare himself for a difficult question.

"Big brother?"

"Yes, Markus?"

Markus looked up at his brother with eyes that yearned for knowledge. "What happens when you die?"

Hero looked away with a sad look. He turned back and closed his eyes as he continued walking, "You forget everything."

Markus gasped. He asked once more, "Even you?"

Hero smiled and looked at his brother with warmth, "Yes. Even me."

Markus's eyes were filled with sorrow and horror. Hero knew the boy did not want to forget everything. Hero said, "You can never avoid it, unfortunately."

Those words rang in Markus's ears as they continued walking in silence. One look at his little brother and Hero knew, Markus was afraid of dying. He smiled, "Markus, you should not worry about that. You've got a long life ahead of you, I can smell it."

Markus stared at him before smiling softly. The two laughed before Markus started his school experiences, Hero listening attentively.

○

Hero pulled himself up the stairs, his sprained ankle slowing him down. His father had passed out, which was a miracle on the older brother's part. He finally unlocked he and his brother's bedroom door and fell over when someone tackled him. His brother sobbed in his shirt, while Hero groaned in pain.

Hero slowly dragged his brother to the room and calmly asked, "What is it?"

Markus pouted and said, "The rainstorm! It was so scary a-and I couldn't find you."

Hero rolled his eyes and carefully settled down on his bed, he does not want to cause further damage to his ankle. He lifted the covers and Markus joined him, snoring extremely loud while Hero stayed awake. He could not stop thinking and staring into space. He started resenting his father, and wished his mamma was back home, alive and happy. Her happiness would then spread to his pappa, and they would all be one normal family.

Hero shut his eyes with a frown.