LIVING SOULLESS

Chapter II

All I saw was darkness. I was alone and scared. Though I would never admit it, I was very frightened. Where was I anyway?

I then heard shuffling noises. A gloomy sigh and sniffing, like someone had a runny nose. Only then did I realize that I had my eyes closed, when I saw a sudden blurry dim light in front of me. Almost immediately, I felt a slight burning sensation in both my hands and a throbbing pain in my head like a drum line was inside my head. Pretty sure I went street fighting again.

Wincing a bit at the pain, I felt a warm hand gently place itself on my arm. Opening my eyes slightly more, a blurry figure appeared above me. A deep, warm, yet concerned voice spoke, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. My vision slowly cleared, and I saw not one, but two figures. I saw them switch places, then one started getting a little too close to me. I think he wants to say hi  to my fist.

Thud. The figure collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"Don't touch me", I growled as I stood up, but quickly fell back down to...the couch?

I held my aching head, but was startled when another hand was placed on my shoulder. I flinched, readying my other hand to meet another face.

"Woah, hey, it's me!", a voice echoed in my head.

I glanced up to see my all time serious, funkiller of a brother, Sebastian.

I was about to remark at how some random stranger was getting too close to me, but then I realized my bandaged hands. How did that happen? I don't really remember much, in fact nothing at all. I looked up at Sebastian, but I suddenly realized that someone else was missing. 

"Uh, where's Marco?", I asked, realizing that he was not in the room.

As I was looking for him, I saw how horrible the room was. Wood pieces littered the stained carpet, the furniture was flipped over, the walls had dents in them from the size of a ping pong ball to a bowling ball. The shattered windows were boarded up with the tattered red curtains, with a few sunlight rays coming through the cracks, making the dust visible. A brown coffee table had cracked frames with pictures of a family of four. The door was scratched up pretty bad, but it had several locks still intact. A chandelier seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, with its crystals dangling like rain drops on a leaf. Wine glasses littered the counter along with a few splotches of the red liquid. I was probably at a pretty wicked party last nigh-...wait what's today? I don't even know. But there was no sign of the annoying troublemaker.

I turned to my brother Sebastian who had been calling my name.

"Lex, you okay?"

"Where's Marco?", I asked, darting my eyes across the room.

"Don't worry, he's fine. He'll be happy to see you awake", he replied.

He glanced down at the figure unconscious on the ground.

"I should probably wake him up", Sebastian said as he was crouching down to the teenage boy.

I had forgotten about him. He had his eyes closed, dark brown hair that reached his eyes, and a bruise slowly forming on his forehead. Oops. A black tattered shirt covered his upper body. His ripped jeans revealed a few minor scratches and his what looked like once white and red shoes were covered in dirt. I also noticed a black beanie by his left arm. Must have fallen off his head.

He groaned and mumbled something like, "Five more mittens, Mr. Unicorn Man."

Sebastian sat him up as the boy rubbed his head. He opened his eyes lazily, showing his ocean blue eyes. He looked up at me, then back at Sebastian.

"That's your sister?", he asked, gesturing me.

Sebastian nodded his head. The boy blinked a few times, knitting his eyebrows together and pursing his lips.

"Yea-no. Not gonna die, today!", the teenager said as he quickly grabbed his beanie and stood behind Sebastian.

"So, who won?", I asked, nervous, but excited at the same time.

Sebastian squinted his eyes and crossed his arms, staring at me like I was unbelievable.

"'Who 'won'? Don't you remember anything that happ-?"

"LEXI!"

I saw a small black blur coming towards me and slam into me. Though it was not enough to make me fall, it did make me stumble a bit. I realized that the blur was hugging me a bit and, me being the awkward person I am, I didn't know if to hug back or not.

"Uh...hi?", I said, hugging back awkwardly.

The person loosened the hug, but still didn't let go. He glanced up at me with an emotionless face tears in his eyes. Tears of worry? Joy? Both? Yeah, I hate emotions. Then I realized that it was my dorky little brother. I gave him a crooked smile.

"Miss me, doofus?"

Marco hurried his face into my stomach and started bawling rivers. He has never been upset like this. When I would come back home from a fight, I would have a few bruises and rarely a few cuts. Marco would always smirk and make a joke out of how my opponent would've looked like. But now he was storming up a lake. He hugged me like if I had come back alive or something. That was worrying me.

I crouched down to his level and hugged him back without hurting my hands. He buried his head into the crook of my neck.

"Hey buddy, what got you all worked up?", I softly said.

"Y-you really don't remember, d-do y-you?", Marco said in between sobs.

I then heard a muffled growling sound that sounded close. Sebastian turned to the teenage boy with the beanie, both with a concerned look.

"Max, get the others. We gotta move. Now."