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Everything We Had

 

“I can’t do this…” His voice was laced with apprehension, his eyes darting from deep within the shadows to the convoluted city streets of which he had a strong fear of. The sheer desperation of his green eyes was animalistic, wild…fearful. There was something out there that he did not want to face.  His steps were heavy, shuffling along on the ground and his face showed a clear fear that what was going to happen, there was only one thing that could happen. His light green eyes were fixed firmly on the ground in front of him watching as his feet shuffled onward even as his weight tilted backwards  his body shrinking further and further back from the street corner that they were headed to instead of heading towards it with courage like the man in front of him.“You know that this is illegal.” He muttered.

 

 There was a sudden light jerk on his hand and he snapped his head up, his eyes moving over the man that was trying to lead him out. “Bratya…I can’t go out there…” He whispered softly, trying to make his brother understand that there were things out on that street that he wasn’t ready to face yet. Still though, he tried to take a deep breath, feeling the air move into his parched mouth and down his dry throat before settling like lead in his lungs. He tried to shift closer to the street, his left foot sliding out slowly till he was near to the end of the shadows that he was hiding in before he shrank back with  a strong note of fear to his actions.

 

“There are Officers down that way!” He cried out, his voice loud enough to startle the people walking down the street and watched in fear as they only walked faster, as he tried to back away, pulling in vain on his brother’s hand, trying to tug him away from his quest and towards where it was safe, back to the other side of the city. “Why couldn’t we stay back with Khrystalav and Redemption?” He asked sadly, that was a good time in history, Alcion was still in power, the world was only moderately dangerous but the freedom, people were allowed to have freedom.

 

His light green eyes darted from side to side, his fingers fisting into his black military coat, a throwback to days gone by when it was permitted to wear coats that spoke of loyalty to one country instead of to the world. Of a desire to stand united, to stand strong, never backing down…but then fear reigned and people forgot what they were descended from. They became like Sheep…Sheeple as his brother called them.. He fell back further against the wall, seeing the shadowed form of his brother shrink back with him. A tall brown haired man walked by, dressed entirely in white down to his slippered shoes and the white baton that he was carrying. People instinctually got out of his way, their eyes lowering in respect as the Officer to the Elders walked by.

 

He tightened his hand on his brother’s before he peered up at him, having to crane his head all the way back in order to see his face. “Alecuian….why didn’t we stay there?” He asked again, his young, seven year old body was slender and tall for his age yet his body was incredibly lean and spidery, his fingers long and slim, more like a woman’s than a child’s. He was nearly swallowed in the black military coat that he wore,  as the relic to days gone by fell down over his knees, hiding the fact that he owned no pants, nor could afford them if he ever saw them being sold.

 

His brother finally looked down at him, golden eyes that were reserved only for those descended from the Immortal Shand staring out from long blonde hair that fell haphazardly over his sculpted face. Alecuian kneeled down, his eyes dulling in color when he saw the fear and worry on his little brother’s face. “We couldn’t stay there because while it’s a good place to visit, a nice place to see and cherish as a dream, there is nothing there that is ours. We were born into this time, this era and we have to make the best of it. Khrystalav…Khrystalav can’t handle having so many people around him, he’s too skittish because of his pregnancy and Redemption would hurt us if we hurt his beloved.” He explained, his voice carrying slightly before it faded down into something that only his brother could hear.

 

“I know that you are scared…” He said softly as he trailed a hand through his brother’s soft hair, “but everything is going to be okay Connie, I promise.” He said before he straightened and smiled down, his battered guitar resting against his back as if it was reminding the older man why he was there that day.

 

“Now we’ll be fine.”  He promised, his  cajoling voice was as firm as the hands that had come down and rested on top of smaller shoulders.  The handsome blonde man stepped out from the shadows and grinned down at the younger man that he was trying to coax out. “Constintine…please?” He begged quietly, white teeth briefly flashing across a tan face as a smile settled on his face, seeing if maybe a smile, even a false one would set his brother at ease. He reached out with a slightly calloused hand and drew it down the young man’s face, trying vainly to assure him that it would be alright; “They won’t hurt you, I won’t let them.” He assured but to his mind, he didn’t think that one person could get in trouble for sitting on a street corner and playing a guitar. He refused to allow his brother to be hurt, not for his cause.

 

“If you can’t do this, than how can I?” He teased quietly, though there was an underlying edge of sadness to his voice. He lifted his head and watched as people in drab clothes walked by, their faces drawn and fearful, and their steps heavy even as they sought to make no sound, trying not to make a mark on the world. “If you can’t stand by me…how can I stand alone?” He whispered sadly,his golden eyes genuinely grieved at the nature of what was happening, as he continued to gently tug the other out from the corner haven that he had.

 

“Read the sign Bratya! The sign!” Connie pleaded as he pointed out the heavy sign that was placed  on every wall, for every literate citizen to read.

 

Aleucian looked at the sign behind him, his lips forming the words: No Standing, Loitering, or Conversing on Any Street Corner. Consenquences Include Imprisonment and a Total Withdrawal of all Citizen Rights. He sighed softly as he rubbed his hands down on his worn pants, trying to erase the nervousness that he felt. He knew what he was doing; he knew the crime that he was committing and the broad range of punishments that could be inflicted on him. Yet he merely wanted to sit on the corner and play his guitar; he wanted to bring some music to people’s lives, wanted to make them happy.

 

 It had been the longest time since anyone had heard music as it had been outlawed since Alcion’s assassination. The Elders had convinced the world that the first World Ruler had been killed because his lover had listened to music that had swayed the young man’s mind. Which Alecuian knew was a load of bullocks. He wanted the music to be brought back; their world had so little color with the cities rising to greater and greater heights. The skyscrapers lengthening and expanding till they made the sky weep from the pain of penetration, the sun was blocked, no longer able to cut through the smog infested skies.    The world is too dark, the sky is graying, and the people are losing their hope. My brother is losing his hope…Someone has to try and change it. Even if it is just through music…

 

 “It’s not that hard…you just move over to the corner, bend your knees and wait till your rear connects to the ground.”he assured as he did what he had explained to Constintine and sat down on the curb, rearranging his beaten up tan ranch coat around his lean, denim clad hips before he once again tugged at his smaller counterpart, he had to try at least one last time till he let him go completely. “Alright, I won’t force you out here.” He said softly before he reached behind him, and with hands that were calloused on the fingertips, he started to gently pull at the beaten strap that was worn across his chest as he settled the guitar into his lap and plucked a few strings before he winced. The weather was wrecking havoc on his guitar, causing the chords to fall out of tune faster than he would like or even faster than he could tune and fix.

 

“A tad outta tune there, my brother.” He called over his shoulder to Constintine before he laughed gaily, though it was false sounding, as if at any moment he would sit back and scream in rage at what the world had come to. He sat and tweaked with the tuning pegs  his fingers continued to strum, warranting slight melodies till he heard the correct pitch and with another laugh he sat back. His eyes widened then before he coughed violently into his handkerchief trying to surpress it as best as he was able. He saw worried glances from the people that were walking in front of him. Noticed how their gait moved faster, their hands moving to warily cover their face just in case he carried a disease that they didn’t know about. As if he was one of the Bio-Weapons even though he was far too old to do such a thing.

 

Even a cough is scary these days…it’s the pollution here that gets me coughing… He thought forlornly as he looked down at the blood spattered handkerchief. He was not dying, not yet. He did not have tuberculosis, though the illness had many of the same qualities of the diseases and while he had seen more and more people that were living on the streets and those people were increasingly those that were carrying such dangerous diseases that at one time had a cure but were later reintroduced as a means to kill off the human population to a more ‘sustainable level.’ . He was suffering from the smoke and the smog, the degradation of the city as it strived to be like the other cities that were rapidly building up and up.

 

None of the Elders were moving into these cities, these cities had bars on every window, desolate people walking as though spiritually dead and no longer fighting against what they thought was inevitable. though no one knew what for and no one asked. He stifled back another cough as he shoved his handkerchief, he looked down at the phlem that he had coughed up and folded the ruined cloth in disgust. Black plghem, how much more disgusting could it get? He asked himself before he shoved the used hankie  into his pocket and looked over his shoulder.

 

“I am missing my shadow…” He called back, using the fond nickname that he had always used in reference to Constintine, way back when he had first found him his voice was soft and warm, when the attack eased, yet still carried to the person that it was meant to, despite Constintine’s obvious reluctance, he was still trying to get his brother out and sitting next to him, if more people were brave enough to proclaim that they needed their rights then the government would have to listen. Regardless that one-hundred thousand people were in power…four hundred and ninety-nine million could still make their mark. If they would just raise their voices.

 

“Never mind…I’ll do it myself.” He said softly. Maybe one voice will strike a chord with another and that person will affect another… He thought, his voice enlaced with hope as he reached into his interior coat pocket, his fingers sliding through a hole that seemingly expanded as the days went on but he fought to ignore it as best as he was able. Complaining about it would do nothing. He did make a  mental note to see if Cosmo would mind sewing it for him when they arrived back at their end of the city. A new coat is hard to come by these days He thought, his inner voice melancholy as he looked over his city thinking of how it had been for Khrystalav and for Redemption and in that century from then to the present…it had changed.

 

 It used to be thriving; busy…the people didn’t have that rushed look, the uncaring look…at least it was’t as pronounced. He thought as he looked heavenward at the skyscrapers that the government had desperately wanted to build and he winced sadly. I can no longer see the sky…I can barely feel the sun… He thought before he looked down and his golden eyes widened as his face lit up. “AH-HAH!” He announced happily as he pulled out his brown fedora hat and pulled it snuggly over his head, tilting it down so that it obscured his strange colored eyes and he heard his brother groan. He loved that hat, did his best thinking with that hat on and swore that he would never part with it.

 

The brown hat fell farther over golden eyes as the hat was slightly too big on him. Long fingers continued to play with the strings, tweaking still at the tuning pegs and trying in vain to get his beloved guitar in tune. He stretched his legs in front of him, eying the worn denim that was starting to fray, but he didn’t have the heart to throw them out, he wasn’t sure where he would get another pair.

 

“Alecuian! You look like Indiana Jones but with feathers!” Came the miffed cry. Constintine hated that hat, and at times he would try and take it from his brother and throw it into the polluted lake that their city was perched by but every time, Alecuian would snatch it back and place it back on his head. It was his signature item.

 

Alecuian could only laugh heartedly as he strummed a few more chords and gave thought to what it was that he wanted to play. “Connie…Indiana Jones was decades before our time.” He had to remind his brother though again, his voice was slightly sad, they hadn’t seen a new release of a movie for nearly a decade and contented themselves with incredibly old movies that were outdated and had no social reference points for himself and his brother to understand, but they did their best to imagine a time when people could go out and make those movies, they tried to imagine what life must have been like for those people.

 

“I like the feathers…” He said as he let go of the neck of the guitar with one hand to fondly touch the feathers that were falling out of his hat.

 

“Why?” He asked, his voice suddenly full with fake alarm. “You don’t think that...that they look…completely governmental?” He asked which would be the worst thing for him to ever have to deal with. If he even thought that he looked like a government agent, he’d completely change his look. He shrugged as he allowed his hand to drop to his lap before he lifted it again and started to strum the guitar, for the moment doing nothing but that.

 

“Sir…sir…You cannot be here!” Came the sudden fierce tone, a tone that assured the listener that he was used to getting his way and that there was no one that would stand up to him. A man that was dressed all in white glared down at the man that was sitting at the street corner. His body was poised for a fight, his hands tense as if all he wanted to do was wrap them around Alecuian’s neck for daring to deviate from the normality that the government had put down. His left foot, clad in a white slipper-like shoe tapping the ground in an irritated motion and Alecuian laughed quietly and strummed along with the beat that the officer was setting.

 

A soft, sly smile crossed over Alecuian’s face and with the tip of one finger he pushed his hat back so that his eyes could be seen. He looked up at the man, un-pulsed to have to stare up at him. He took in the body that was standing in front of him before he smiled brightly up at the light haired individual and his angered brown eyes. “Officer, if you state to me the reason behind the law, I will gladly move off of this corner.” He assured even as his long fingers curled tighter around the guitar’s neck as if ready to make it into a makeshift weapon.

 

“The Reason?! You want to know the Reason behind the Law boy? What…you attended some fancy school that makes you think that you deserve to know the reason why I am able to move you from this spot?”  The officer said, his voice livid at the mention of Alecuian knowing anything about the law. Only the Elders and those of higher rank knew Why the laws were put in place and it didn’t matter if it made sense to the public.

            “You don’t know the reason.” Alecuian murred softly as he looked up at the officer with mocking eyes before he shrugged though he still made no move to stand up, instead he seemed even more certain that he was going to be staying there and not be like the rest of the Sheeple and follow the orders of the man that was in front of him. He made a soft noise as he lowered his head and continued to softly play on the guitar.

 

That…is pathetic, what times do we live in, in which the Government has such control over her people that not even the officers know the laws that they are supposed to uphold? He thought to himself before he caught a blur of movement from the corner of his eye but it wasn’t enough time to brace himself as the officer’s baton caught him sharply underneath one cheekbone, sending him sprawling on the ground. In a state of stunned disbelief he brought his fingertips up to gently lay over the already swelling bruise that he received. He lifted his head, his hat slipping forward till it fell off, landing on the ground as people continued to walk around him, and averting their faces as what they were seeing wasn’t there, they didn’t want to see Alecuian sprawled on the ground, they didn’t want his face on their conscience.

 

He braced himself as he saw the officer’s foot fly at him, catching him in the midriff and knocking the air from his lungs with a strained: ‘oof’. He moved to curl in on himself, he knew that it might have come to that but he was hoping that the officer would have some sort of morality left and not strike at a man that had no intention of doing anyone any harm. He was only playing the guitar…

 

“Alecuian…Alecuian lets go!” Constintine cried out in fear as he darted from his hiding place and gripped his brother’s arm tightly, trying to tug him away from the officer that was lifting his baton up to strike the blonde man down again.

 

Alecuian winced, now the officer knew his name…

 

“Alecuian? Strange name for a strange fellow…” The officer said as his baton caught Alecuian sharply on the back of his head stunning him. “That name shouldn’t be too hard to remember.”

 

Alecuian shoved his brother away and took the next blow with an audible cry of pain before he panted out: “No…No, I’m not leaving, not until I know the reason. When he tells me…I’ll leave.” He promised as he raised his head and stared at the officer, yellow eyes meeting nondescript brown eyes.”Tell me the reason  Officer.” He whispered, nearly begged, as if asking for some sort of sign that the government had some humanity left.

 

“Alecuian…lets just go okay? This isn’t worth dying over!” Constintine continued to beg, pulling on his brother’s arm.

 

The golden-haired man snapped his head around and leveled a glare on his brother, causing the young man to recoil. “Then tell me Brat, what is worth dying for?” He asked before he registered the true fear on his favorite brother’s face and he forced himself to grab his hat and stood up, smashing the hat back to a crumbled, yet reasonable size and he shoved it into his pocket. “Fine…we’ll go.” He whispered as he reached out his hand, reaching for his brother’s and waited till he felt Constintine wrap his hand in his before he looked back at the officer and inclined his head. “So sorry to disturb your “work” Officer. I’ll be on my way now.” He promised before he fixed the strap that was holding his guitar and allowed Constintine to disappear back into the shadows before, after taking one last look at the disappearing sky, he joined him.

 

 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Constintine murred quietly, looking down at his feet as he stepped down the broken stairs, descending lower and lower into the bowels of the city till they stopped and both men looked up. “I can’t…what would happen if you died? What would I do without you? None of our other brothers would come here and stay with me, they are happy in their time.” The younger boy asked as he looked up at his brother. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t, it wouldn’t be good if I was left alone. I’m sorry that I used your name Alecuian, I got scared.” He finished softly and ducked his head farther.

 

Alecuian stopped when he heard his younger brother’s fearful words and he sighed before he pulled the young boy close to his chest and held him close. “I know Constintine, I just…I can’t stand how this world is turning out to be. I wish those people that walked by would stop and do something, anything…even laugh a little at my expsense, I wanted them to show that they had some emotion left. But they are like sheep getting herded to slaughter. They are willingly giving up their freedom and unless they fight then I can’t fight for them. Unless they find their voice they are going to be mute forever.” He explained before he gently shoved Constintine away from him and smiled slightly. “Besides, the officer didn’t hurt me too badly…”

 

The man sighed and continued walking; they were walking the old subway lines. “I miss the trains, I rode one once…” He said softly as he ran a hand over the wall and winced when he heard the deranged screaming that echoed around them. The underground trains had long since stopped running and were homes for the poorest of the poor, they were disease ridden and depraved. Alecuian’s golden eyes flashed in displeasure over the fact that he was forced to bring Constintine down that way, but it was the lesser of the two evils. They walked quickly, their faces averted from the suffering. They knew better than to try and help, the diseases had been engineered to be contagious by touch which was why these people were housed underground; the Government hoped that they would die off before they sent in the Cleaning Crews.

 

The Cleaning Crews… Alecuian thought sadly as he continued to herd his brother till one person reached out for the delicate blonde and he immediately grabbed his brother, hoisted him onto his hip and walked faster before breaking out in a crisp jog. They used to be doctors, scientists, now they are nothing more than killers hiding behind officer masks. “We’re getting out of here Constintine.” He promised firmly as he darted for the stairs and ran up them, taking them two at a time before he shuddered and burst back out to their section of the city, the part of the city that was closest to the forest, to their freedom that Alecuian was still afraid to reach out and take.

 

The forest…if I could only take my men and Connie into there, we’d be safe enough to plan, to rebel…but as so far…we haven’t figured out if the forest is even able to be inhabitated I’ll talk to Day, I’ll see what he thinks, we’ll take a vote if it is annoymus…we’ll move. He thought to himself, that day was the last straw for him. There was no redeeming their government and Alecuian and his men desired a change.

 

 

Everything We Had

“I can’t do this…” His voice was laced with apprehension, his eyes darting from deep within the shadows to the convoluted city streets of which he had a strong fear of. “You know that this is illegal.” He muttered even as he tried to shift closer to the street and then shrank back with increased apprehension. His light green eyes darted from side to side, his fingers fisting into his black military coat, a throwback to days gone by. His body was long, lean, and built much like the man that was standing next to him. “Let’s just go back.

“Of course you can.” Came the soft cajoling voice as firm hands came down and rested on top of smaller shoulders. A handsome blonde man stepped out from the shadows and grinned down at the younger man that he was trying to coax out. “Constintine…please?” He begged quietly, white teeth briefly flashing across a tan face as a smile settled on his face. He reached out with a slightly calloused hand and drew it down the young man’s face, trying vainly to assure him that it would be alright; one couldn’t get in trouble for sitting on a street corner and playing a guitar. “If you can’t do this, than how can I?” He teased quietly, his golden eyes dancing in mirth as he continued to gently tug the other out from the corner haven that he had.

He knew what he was doing; he knew the crime that he was committing and the broad range of punishments that could be inflicted on him. He merely wanted to sit on the corner and play the guitar; he wanted to give some music back to the world. He wanted to give it some color.  The world is too dark, the sky is graying, and the people are losing their hope. My brother is losing his hope…Someone has to try and change it.

 “It’s not that hard…” he assured as he sat down on the curb, rearranging his beaten up tan ranch coat around his lean, denim clad hips before he once again tugged his smaller counterpart, he had to try at least one last time till he let him go completely. He reached behind him, pulling the beaten strap that was worn across his chest before he settled the guitar that he had been carrying onto his lap and plucked a few strings before he winced. The weather was wrecking havoc on his guitar, causing the chords to fall out of tune faster than he would like.

“A tad outta tune there, my brother.” He called over his shoulder to Constintine before he laughed gaily and tweaked with the tuning pegs and continued to strum till he heard the correct pitch and with another laugh he sat back before he coughed violently into his handkerchief but suppressed it as best as he was able when he caught the worried glances from the people that were walking in front of him. Even a cough is scary these days…it’s the pollution here that gets me coughing… He thought sadly as he looked down at the blood lined handkerchief. He was not dying, he did not have tuberculosis though many people he had seen living on the streets were suffering from it. He was suffering from the smoke and the smog, the degradation of the city as it strived to be like the other cities that were rapidly building up and up though no one knew what for and no one asked. He stifled back another cough as he shoved his handkerchief into his pocket and looked over his shoulder.

“I am missing my shadow…” He teased when the coughing attack was over, his voice was soft and warm yet still carried to the person that it was meant to, despite Constintine’s obvious reluctance, he was still trying to get his brother out and sitting next to him.

“Never mind…I’ll do it myself.” He said as he reached into his interior coat pocket, ignoring the hole in the first pocket that his hand went through but made a mental note to see if Cosmo would mind sewing it for him. A new coat is hard to come by these days He thought, his inner voice melancholy as he looked over his city. It used to be thriving; busy…the people didn’t have that rushed look, the uncaring look… He thought as he looked heavenward at the skyscrapers that the government had desperately wanted to build and he winced sadly. I can no longer see the sky…I can barely feel the sun… He thought before he looked down and his golden eyes widened as his face lit up. “AH-HAH!” He announced happily as he pulled out his brown fedora hat and pulled it snuggly over his head, tilting it down so that it obscured his strange colored eyes and he heard his brother groan.

The brown hat fell over golden eyes. Long fingers continued to play with the strings, tweaking still at the tuning pegs and trying in vain to get his beloved guitar in tune. He stretched his legs in front of him, eying the worn denim that was starting to fray, but he didn’t have the heart to throw them out, he wasn’t sure where he would get another pair.

“Alecuian! You look like Indiana Jones but with feathers!” Came the miffed cry. Constintine hated that hat, and at times he would try and take it from his brother and throw it into the polluted lake that their city was perched by.

Alecuian could only laugh heartedly as he strummed a few more chords and gave thought to what it was that he wanted to play. “Connie…Indiana Jones was decades before our time.” He had to remind his brother though again, his voice was slightly sad, they hadn’t seen a new release of a movie for nearly a decade and contented themselves with incredibly old movies that were outdated and had no social reference points for himself and his brother to understand, but they did their best. “I like the feathers…” He said as he let go of the neck of the guitar with one hand to fondly touch the feathers that were falling out of his hat. “Why?” He asked, his voice suddenly full with fake alarm. “You don’t think that...that they look…completely governmental?” He asked which would be the worst thing for him to ever have to deal with. He shrugged as he allowed his hand to drop to his lap before he lifted it again and started to strum the guitar, for the moment doing nothing but that.

“Sir…sir…You cannot be here!” Came the sudden fierce tone, a tone that assured the listener that he was used to getting his way and that there was no one that would stand up to him. A man that was dressed all in white glared down at the man that was sitting at the street corner. His body was poised for a fight, his hands tense as if all he wanted to do was wrap them around Alecuian’s neck for daring to deviate from the normality that the government had put down. His left foot, clad in a white slipper-like shoe tapping the ground in an irritated motion.

A soft, sly smile crossed over Alecuian’s face and with the tip of one finger he pushed his hat back so that his eyes could be seen. He looked up at the man, un-pulsed to have to stare up at him. He took in the body that was standing in front of him before he smiled brightly up at the light haired individual and his angered brown eyes. “Officer, if you state to me the law, I will gladly move off of this corner.” He assured even as his long fingers curled tighter around the guitar’s neck as if ready to make it into a makeshift weapon.

“The law?! You want to know the Law boy? What…you attended some fancy school that makes you think that you deserve to know the reason why I am able to move you from this spot?”  The officer said, his voice livid at the mention of Alecuian knowing anything about the law. Only the Elders and those of higher rank knew anything of Law and how it pertained to the people that it governed.

            “You don’t know the law.” Alecuian murred softly as he looked up at the officer with mocking eyes before he shrugged though he still made no move to stand up, instead he seemed even more certain that he was going to be staying there and not following the orders of the man that was in front of him. He made a soft noise as he lowered his head and continued to softly play on the guitar.

 That…is pathetic, what times do we live in, in which the Government has such control over her people that not even the officers know the laws that they are supposed to uphold? He thought to himself before he caught a blur of movement from the corner of his eye but it wasn’t enough time to brace himself as the officer’s baton caught him sharply underneath one cheekbone, sending him sprawling on the ground. In a state of stunned disbelief he brought his fingertips up to gently lay over the already swelling bruise that he received. He lifted his head, his hat slipping forward till it fell off, landing on the ground as people continued to walk around him, and averting their faces as what they were seeing wasn’t there.

He braced himself as he saw the officer’s foot fly at him, catching him in the midriff and knocking the air from his lungs with a strained: ‘oof’. He moved to curl in on himself, he knew that it might have come to that but he was hoping that the officer would have some sort of morality left and not strike at a man that had no intention of doing anyone any harm.

“Alecuian…Alecuian lets go!” Constintine cried out in fear as he darted from his hiding place and gripped his brother’s arm tightly, trying to tug him away from the officer that was lifting his baton up to strike the blonde man down again.

Alecuian shoved his brother away and took the next blow with an audible cry of pain before he panted out: “No…No, I’m not leaving, not until I know the law that I broke. When he tells me…I’ll leave.” He promised as he raised his head and stared at the officer, yellow eyes meeting nondescript brown eyes.”Tell me the law Officer.” He whispered, nearly begged, as if asking for some sort of sign that the government had some humanity left.

“Alecuian…lets just go okay? This isn’t worth dying over!” Constintine continued to beg, pulling on his brother’s arm.

 The golden-haired man snapped his head around and leveled a glare on his brother, causing the young man to recoil. “Then tell me Constintine, what is worth dying for?” He asked before he registered the true fear on his favorite brother’s face and he forced himself to grab his hat and stood up, smashing the hat back to a crumbled, yet reasonable size and he shoved it into his pocket. “Fine…we’ll go.” He whispered as he reached out his hand, reaching for his brother’s and waited till he felt Constintine wrap his hand in his before he looked back at the officer and inclined his head. “So sorry to disturb your work Officer. I’ll be on my way now.” He promised before he fixed the strap that was holding his guitar and allowed Constintine to disappear back into the shadows before, after taking one last look at the disappearing sky, he joined him.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Constintine murred quietly, looking down at his feet as he stepped down the broken stairs, descending lower and lower into the bowels of the city till they stopped and both men looked up. “I can’t…what would happen if you died?” The younger boy asked as he looked up at his brother. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t, it wouldn’t be good.” He finished softly and ducked his head farther.

Alecuian stopped when he heard his younger brother’s fearful words and he sighed before he pulled the young boy close to his chest and held him close. “I know Constintine, I just…I can’t stand how this world is turning out to be. I wish those people that walked by would stop and do something, anything…even laugh a little. But they are like sheep getting herded to slaughter. They are willingly giving up their freedom and unless they fight then I can’t fight for them. Unless they find their voice they are going to be mute forever.” He explained before he gently shoved Constintine away from him and smiled slightly. “Besides, the officer didn’t hurt me too badly…”

 

The man sighed and continued walking; they were walking the old subway lines. The underground trains had long since stopped running and were homes for the poorest of the poor, they were disease ridden and depraved. Alecuian’s golden eyes flashed in displeasure over the fact that he was forced to bring Constintine down this way, but it was the lesser of the two evils. They walked quickly, their faces averted from the suffering. They knew better than to try and help, the diseases had been engineered to be contagious by touch which was why these people were housed underground; the Government hoped that they would die off before they sent in the Cleaning Crews.

When they started their ascent back to the surface, they were in a whole other section of the city, still polluted, the sun still hiding itself but at least…they were relatively safe. At least, that was their hope.