No, no, no, no, no...
He repeats is as a mantra.
It's the only thought in his head now.
No. This can't be happening. Not again. Never again.
His hands, covered in his brother's blood, slip as he presses uppon the wound.
Trying to stop the inevitable.
He lived through this once. He can't do it again. Doesn't want to.
So, he repeats the mantra.
No. Please. No.
But he knows nobody's listening.
They're alone.
He's alone.
So he just keeps thinking No as if that alone can stop his brother from dying.
Because there is nothing else that he can do.
Yes, there is
It's just a whisper, a light wind against his ear but he hears it. And he grabs onto it.
Just say yes and your brother will be whole again.
Just say yes and you will never have to feel this pain again.
Just say yes.
He watches his brother take his final breath.
And the hole inside of him grows, it overtakes him and it doesn't matter anymore if he's alive or dead. There's nothing left of him now anyway, except for one thought.
Yes.
He closes his eyes and lets the devil in.