The Culling - Anarchy

A Brother's Mystery

'Galio, I know it's been a long time. Dinner tonight? We have a lot to catch up on – Xander' read the text on the phone of Galio Graham. The text that sent his life on a winding road. 

 "Galio!" 

 "What, Emily?" Galio stood tall at 6'1' but still had to look down even by his standards at the 5'1' Emily Nightingale. 

 "Why aren't you going? How long has it been since you two talked?" 

 "Three years, two months and three days. No, wait, 4 days. My mistake, forgot the leap year. And that's why I'm not going." 

 Galio waved off a woman handing out the big issue and tried his hardest not to give in, knowing she wouldn't say a word until she got an explanation. 

 "We've never got on, Emily. Xander and I, there was always some kind of friction that I could never put my finger on. He doesn't want to just talk. He wants something from me. But I'm done with his little police games." Galio took a deep breath and waited for the derogatory comment.

 "Okay, fair enough," was the simple reply she gave. 

 Galio almost tripped over his own foot. "Wait, wait, wait. What?" 

 "I'm literally your only friend, Galio. I know what things are like between you two." 

 Galio scratched his head through his wiry Black hair and readjusted his glasses with Emily almost mesmerized by his bluey grey eyes. 

 "Right, well... Thank you, I guess." Galio got back to walking, glad that the topic was out of the way. 

 "You're welcome. But if you don't go I'll smash your spectacles." 

 Galio never understood why Emily tried so hard to get him to make up with his brother but he knew there was no way to stop her. "Fine, but you're coming too."

Torrential rain poured onto the streets on London, thumping every umbrella and clinking every taxi. The busy street ants trying to find shelter, hiding from the paranoia-induced stalker in the shadows. Everyone always thinks they'll die on the rainy nights. 

 Galio and Emily were hunkered under an umbrella on such a London street. Galio had angled the umbrella perfectly, not a spec of water lay on either one. Except for the dot on Emily's leather shoe that Galio used to prove the point of the umbrella's placement. Galio was in his favourite suit – not because he wanted to be but Emily insisted on dressing for the occasion. Emily wore a simple dress that matched her light brown eyes and her short fringed hair that reached the bottom of her neck in waves. Galio thought she has put a lot of effort in just to see Xander.

 Reaching the small flight of stairs to Xander's London house, Galio stopped dead in his tracks.

 "What is it? Galio?"

 "Take this," he told her, handing the umbrella. His leather shoes splashed on each of the five steps before he came face to face with the coloured-glass window fitted in the door. There was a man sitting at a table at the far side of the house. He looks the same as he did when I left. Galio stepped back for a second, skipping the doorbell and knocking on the door. 

 "Umm, Galio. There is a bell."

 "It's broken. You can see where he's tried to fix it," Galio proceeded to demonstrate by flicking the plastic rectangle and Emily watched as it popped from the wall, hanging from a singular wire. "Besides, he can hear me from there." And sure enough the figure got up from the table and made for the door.