The alley was deathly quiet. The weight of the loss was pressing down on the two brothers. Lucian continued to kneel near Rebecca's body, embracing her as though reluctant to let her go.
For Alex this was heartbreaking - his heart aching and his mind muddled with confusion and grief. But looking at the silent Lucian, he knew his brother was feeling even worse.
He silently approached his brother and stood beside him. Placing his hand in silent support, Lucian didn't even acknowledge the gesture as he picked her up with the utmost care as though her body was brittle and could break anytime.
Seeing his action, Alex stood back and watched him pick her up and continued to leave the alley without uttering a single word. This hurt Alex even more, but he understood that his brother needed some time alone. And so, he didn't follow.
But unknown to him, that was the last time he would see Lucian as Brothers.
----
The streets were eerily quiet with the sky heavy with clouds, as though ready to burst with rain. You could smell it in the air, the rain was coming.
Lucian carried Rebecca's body all the way to the orphanage without stopping or caring about anything else. His eyes devoid of any spark that was once present and his face cold and emotionless.
He could feel the world around him getting darker, not knowing if that was just because the sun was setting or something else completely. But right now, Lucian didn't care.
Upon arriving at the orphanage, Lucian didn't go inside. Instead, he walked to the now-repaired shed and stepped inside.
Placing her gently on the floor, Lucian looked at Rebecca's still, smiling face and for the first time tears started to fall down his face. He had just lost the light in his dark world and for the first time tonight, he truly felt the pain of losing her. He shed tears silently, alone and isolated once more.
After, he got up and prepared a simple coffin for her inside the shed. After he was done, he went outside toward a huge tree that stood at the back of the orphanage. He looked at the place he used to spend time with her and proceeded to dig.
In her office, Mother Terrisa heard faint sounds coming from outside. Curious he peeled back the curtains to see what was happening.
Seeing Lucian digging, she was confused for a moment. But when she spotted the box near the tree with Rebecca's body inside, her eyes widened in surprise—before immense sadness clouded them. She went back into her office; she chose not to disturb Lucian and instead began to pray.
Finishing with digging the hole, the rain started to pour down as if it was mourning the loss of her with him. Lucian went to Rebecca and kneeled once more, brushing the strands of her hair. He looked at her and spoke in a voice that was filled with so much emotion,
"My light will always be tied to you.... My Love."
With those last words, Lucian buried her, and with the final patch of sand, his last light vanished from the world.
----
Time passed after that incident, and things were never the same for Alex. He felt abandoned all over again, his best friend and brother left without even a goodbye, his friend died, the only saving grace being Mother Terrisa who still checked up on him from time to time.
For Alex those interactions with her were his lifeboat in the seas of darkness that was threatening to swallow him. But you don't spend that much time staring at the darkness without it changing you. And for Alex, it changed him.
Becoming distant, colder and more ruthless but never going over a certain line set. A tiny spark of hope still lingered in his heart. Hoping that Lucian will come back and spend time together like old times.
He knew that it was impossible for that to happen, but that hope still lingered.
Four years after Rebecca's death, Alex moved out from the orphanage but still visited from time to time and donated some money to help.
After leaving the orphanage, Alex didn't continue with the underground betting but instead decided to open an underground high stacks casino. Creating his own small team and running it, it worked for him and was comfortable.
The winds howled and the rain poured, Alex and his crew stood on one side of the empty and incomplete building floor. Looking at the group of men wearing suits leaving in their cars, his crew couldn't help but be excited.
"Damn…that's a lot of money right there boys." One of the men spoke with a deep but excited voice while looking at the two cases filled with stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
"Close your mouth old man…. You're salivating, for God's sake." Steve responded.
The crew continued to talk and laugh with each other as they closed the briefcase carrying around $1.2M combined.
Alex stood as he watched all this and couldn't help but think to himself,
'That was easy.... too easy…'
He frowned slightly as he had a bad premonition. And as if on cue.
*BANG* *BANG*
Shot rang out in succession and so fast that his men didn't even have time to react properly before they were all shot and killed. Alex looked at the source of it all and was frozen as he saw someone, he hadn't seen in four years pointing a gun at him with a cold and stoic face.
"Lucian...?"
Immediately after he saw him pull the trigger of the gun yet still couldn't get himself to move out of the way as though his body couldn't believe that Lucian would kill him.
*BANG* *BANG*
Two shots rang out once more and he stumbled back and fell, warm blood pooling down underneath his body. Disbelief, shock and confusion written all over his face. He never thought that his reunion with his brother would be like this.
Honestly Alex expected him to be cold if they ever met, but betrayal, that stung more than he cares to admit, and it infuriated him even more as he saw him pick up both the cases and leaving without even sparing a glance or even a word at him.
'Does our bond mean this little to you Lucian…?'
'Lucian'
'LUCIAN!!!'
Alex screamed in his head as rage consumed his thoughts.
Slowly losing his strength. Alex looked at Lucian's shadow vanishing from his sight and he closed his eyes losing all the strength in his body, accepting and embracing his incoming death.
But just as he was about to fade away, he heard a sound.
[Ding!!]
[System Activated!!]
[Host in critical condition...Initializing Life Protocol...…..]
And then he lost consciousness.