Church

Kothur and Reohn stood in the cold wearing dark suits with their usual gloves. Even though it was dangerous for Kothur to be out right now, the two brothers had decided to visit their old church that they used to go to as a family long ago. It was located deep within the small town they grew up in. A lot had happened to them, and they wanted to pray over the souls of the recently departed, Soline and Sibelle. Maybe it would heal their hearts just a little bit as well.

After a long trek, they saw the small church in the distance. It was never much to look at, but it seemed especially dead and empty today. A notice on the large door told them it moved locations a while ago and this place was scheduled for demolition soon. A stark reminder that both of them hadn’t visited their hometown in years. There had been no reason to with no one waiting for them.

The pair went inside anyway seeing as the door was unlocked. The main worship center could only hold around fifty people at max. The room only had left what was bolted to the floor; the wooden benches in rows and the podium covered in a white sheet. A stained-glass window behind it let in a bit of light in the dark revealing many dust flecks in the air.

Kothur and Reohn sat on the bench in the front as it creaked under their weight. They bowed their heads with their hands together to pray. They sat there in the cold air for a while in silence even after they put their hands back down. The only sounds came from the building moving from the wind outside.

Reohn swallowed and quietly started to talk. “Kothur, I never asked you what you think of me, knowing what I did. I was afraid that you think less of me.”

Kothur quietly responded. “I never thought less of you; we’re all imperfect. You just didn’t want dad’s life to go to waste. I forgive you, Reohn.” He thought about the life he let die as well as what will become of the kids in his class when they graduate. He felt he understood his brother’s guilt a bit.

Reohn had a pained expression. “Did they tell you how Sibelle died?” He looked at Kothur who shook his head. “I asked her if she wanted me to be the one that shot her. She agreed and the officers agreed as well after a lot of arguing. I told her ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t make your dream come true.’ and she said ‘No, you have. I got to spend the rest of my life with you.’” He sighed. “For some reason I thought I should do it since I’ve done something like that before, but that was a mistake. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. What am I supposed to do now?”

Kothur opened his mouth to try and comfort his younger brother, but both of them turned to look at the white sheet sliding off in front of them. Their eyes wide at the sight of the familiar man that stood up from underneath the podium. He wore a thick brown coat against his pale skin. He also had a mop of dark hair and black sunglasses. Both of those were new; they didn’t remember their older brother looking like that.

Fehram casually leaned against the stand and smiled at them. “That was a damn sad story, Reohn. Let me play you a sad song on that piano over there. That should make you feel better. Oh, I guess it’s not there anymore.”

Reohn stood up and furiously reached inside his coat. He pointed his gun at his long-since-seen older brother and unlocked the safety. It was one of dad’s, an old-fashioned model without any dael on it.

A bullet flew past Fehram’s head and struck the wall behind him. He didn’t even flinch. Reohn looked in shock to Kothur who had moved his arm before he shot. “You... traitor.”

Taking advantage of their shock, Fehram knocked Reohn down from behind and handcuffed him to the bench. Kothur took a few steps back in surprise. Reohn’s gun traveled across the floor to Kothur as he yelled and growled angrily. Reohn kicked and struggled as best as he could, but Fehram effortlessly held him back. Kothur stared frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere. Don’t you worry now, I’ll be back for you.” Having finished securing Reohn, Fehram started walking towards the entrance. He stopped a few steps past Kothur and turned to say, “Come on, Kothur. You’re needed elsewhere right now.”

“Kothur! You still have a chance to make things right! Pick up the gun. You don’t have to kill him. Just shoot these handcuffs off of me and I can do it! If you do that, I won’t tell anyone about the traitor thing.” Reohn yelled while glaring at him.

Kothur shakily picked up the gun by his feet and held his finger by the trigger. He was breathing heavily. He looked at Reohn and then to Fehram who was still standing there waiting for him. Fehram looked as if nothing crazy was happening right now. How could he be so calm? Reohn just tried to kill him.

Reohn shouted at him again. “Listen to me! Everything's his fault! It all started with him! He’s a traitor who needs to die. Don’t let the life dad gave you get thrown away. He gave his life so we could be safe! I know you. You would be dead out there without that!”

Fehram shook his head and spoke up. “His gave his life so you could have a choice.”

Kothur gasped. He grit his teeth and turned towards Fehram, taking the gun with him in his coat pocket. Reohn yelled at him as they left; he was furious. His voice echoed as they exited.

“You traitor! You coward! You’ve always been a fucking worthless coward, Kothur!! Without me, you would be fucking dead!!”

Kothur looked back at the closed doors and Fehram patted him on the shoulder. “Kids say some pretty hurtful shit when they’re upset. Best thing for tantrums is to let them tire themselves out. We have to hurry though, or you’ll miss your chance.” In the sunlight, Kothur noticed Fehram’s eyes behind the sunglasses. They were cloudy, practically all white. What happened to his eyes? He gave Kothur’s shoulder a small shove and started briskly walking with his hands in his pockets.

“Chance at what? Where are we going?” Kothur said as he followed him. His legs still feeling shaky from all the tension earlier.

“Don’t really want to ruin the surprise. We’re going to our old house to pick something up first.”