"Fratello?"
"Right here, Feli."
"I had a nightmare..."
"Come in my bed, then."
"Sorry for bugging you."
"It's okay. Was it zombies again?"
"No! ...Yes."
"I told you you're too young to watch those movies."
"Am not!"
"Sure."
"Fratello?"
"Right here, Feli."
"Ti amo, Lovi."
"Ti amo, Feli."
Feliciano woke up from his nap, stretching. He lifted his arms up, letting the blood rush through. It had been a while since he had dreamt about that night. Feliciano pursed his lips into a pout.
"I was not young," he protested to the ceiling. "It was a scary movie!"
The ceiling only hummed with the electricity of the fan.
"I wasn't scared, though," huffed the Italian. "It was Lovino who was scared!"
Again, the ceiling hummed. Feliciano sighed and sat up, shaking his head. He glanced at the clock, fidgeting with anticipation. The tomato clock read 10:28, and Feliciano whined in disappointment. He had hoped an hour had passed when he took his nap. He was so impatient when it came to waiting for his older brother to come home from work.
"Why does Lovi have to work the night shift?" Feliciano asked his pillow, squeezing it. "It's so boring without him!" He sighed, flopping back onto the couch.
Again, Feliciano thought back to the night where he had slept with the other Vargas brother. It had been quite a while since then, about ten years now, and Feliciano missed when he and Lovino were close. The two used to speak in unison, and Lovino used to smile a lot more. But things tend to change.
"Just another half hour," murmured Feliciano, closing his eyes again. He fell asleep to the low hum of electricity, a soothing sound, and it lulled him to sleep...when it stopped. Feliciano sat up, his eyes widening slightly at the sudden silence. He didn't like the silence. It terrified, to not be able to know what was going to happen next.
Feliciano stood up from the couch, his muscles already starting to lock up, causing him to shake. "Lovi?" he called out. Was his brother home early? Had he accidentally hit the power pole again on the way in? Feliciano didn't hear a car pull in, though... "Lovi, are you home?" Feliciano left the living room and peered outside from the kitchen window.
The entire neighborhood was dark, not even the street lights were on. No cars passed by, adding onto the thick blanket of quiet. A blackout, then? It seemed most reasonable, but for the entire neighborhood to have been affected? Feliciano decided to call Lovino to ask him to come home early.
The small Italian grabbed the home phone hanging on the wall and dialed his brother's work number. To his disappointment, but not surprise, the line was off. "Damn it," whined Feliciano. He set the phone back on its holder and grabbed his cell. Dialing Lovino's cell number, Feliciano paced the kitchen floor, glancing outside every moment or so. Was someone moving out there? It couldn't be. Probably his imagination.
"Ciao, it's Lovino Vargas. I can't reach my phone right now, so just leave a message and I'll get back to you." The beep sounded, and Feliciano sighed. Lovino's phone was always on. Where could he be?
"Hi, fratello, it's Feli. Come home soon, please. The power's out and it's scary here. Not that I'm scared! Just...yeah...come home soon! Bye!" Feliciano ended the voicemail and started to gnaw at his nails, a habit he's repeatedly tried and failed to stop. He decided to go upstairs and go to sleep. Lovino would be home soon, and Feliciano wanted to wait for him, but he had exams tomorrow, and it was already 10:35 p.m.
"Fratello..." Feliciano glanced outside the window one last time, starting to turn away, when something caught his eye. He leaned over the kitchen sink, squinting out into the darkness outside. Someone was definitely moving out there, just outside the neighbor's fence. Was it Lovino? Feliciano smiled weakly and was about to go outside, but something told him it wasn't his brother. The movements were too...jerky, and the person was walking with a limp. Feliciano opened the window, leaning out a bit.
"Hello? Hey, stranger! Do you need help?" The person stopped and turned their body to the window. Feliciano waved them over, smiling cheerfully. The person stood still, then started to limp towards Feliciano, until they broke out into a sprint. It startled Feliciano so much that he didn't have time to close the window as the person lunged at him.
Feliciano screamed, falling backwards, as the person tried to claw their way through the small opening of the window. Feliciano scrambled up, dashing upstairs to his room. He slammed the door and locked it, trembling. Whatever was downstairs, it wasn't a human, at least not anymore. Feliciano reached into his pocket for his cell, clutching it as he tried to call Lovino again. Again, there wasn't an answer.
Feliciano stared at the door, shaking badly as he started to cry. He was so confused, he just wanted to go to sleep. Maybe it was a bad dream, and when he woke up, Lovino would be sitting on the bed next to him, passed out from a long night at work. Even as much as he wanted to believe that, Feliciano didn't want to go to sleep alone, not with that...thing lurking the house now. His only option now was to just wait it out.
Lovino huffed as he flicked off the radio. "Damn brother," he grumbled. Feliciano had left in the tomato song CD and taken out the rest. The radio stations were nothing but static as well.
Lovino checked the time on the radio. 11:24. He was running late. Just great. He was irked that his boss had made him restock the pasta aisles, but he was also worried. Feliciano was never home alone this late. Lovino hoped his younger brother was safe.
Traffic seemed to stretch on forever, and Lovino drummed his fingers against the wheel with a groan. At this rate, he'd be lucky enough to reach home at midnight.
The brown haired Italian rubbed his eyes, when he heard honking. "What the hell?" Lovino looked up. Traffic was to a complete stop. He scowled and rolled his window down. "Hey, what's the problem up there?"
"Police cars," came a reply from another car. Lovino glanced over to a young woman smoking a cigarette. "My ma is up there, and she just called saying there's a blockade right now."
"What? But I need to get home right away!"
"Got a lover waiting?" asked the woman, flicking the ashes out the window.
"No," answered Lovino. "My brother."
"I see. How old is he?"
"Eighteen. I'm nineteen. We live alone, and I'm the worker during the weekdays. He works the weekends." The woman smiled at Lovino.
"Older brother, eh? So you take care of him?" Lovino nodded. "Seems like a waste of time, money, and patience."
"Maybe to you!" snapped Lovino. "But to me it's the best thing in the world." He stared up at the starry night sky, lost in thought as he spoke. "I get to go home every day and see the smile on my fratello's face. I get to wake up and hear him sing. He's my little brother, and I wouldn't trade him for anything else in the world."
"I did not think you were the caring type," said the woman, snapping Lovino out of his trance. "You seem more of a 'screw-the-world' type of guy. Well, let me give you this one piece of advice, kiddo." She leaned out her window, crushing the cigarette onto her car door. "This isn't a very pretty world. Grab your brother, and hold onto him every day like it's your last. Got it?"
"Understood," said Lovino, rolling his window back up. He closed his eyes, starting to doze, but it was nearly impossible with Feliciano on his mind. Lovino finally decided to message him, to see if he was okay. His home screen showed zero missed call and messages. Strange, thought Lovino. Usually he'd have at least four messages from Feliciano about random things. He got his phone out and sent a text to his brother.
Feli, you okay?
Lovino waited for a reply, tapping the gas pedal.
Feli?
Feliciano, damn it, this is no time for games. Answer me.
You idiota, if you left your phone at school again...
Lovino frowned when he didn't receive a response. Usually Feliciano would answer right away if his phone was on. Maybe he was asleep. But Lovino doubted it. Feliciano refused to go to sleep without the other Italian. It was a nightly routine of them going to their rooms, and the same four sentences would be exchanged.
Fratello?
Right here, Feli.
Buonanotte, Lovi.
Buonanotte, Feli.
Even if Lovino came home at two in the morning - something that he had done before - Feliciano would be sitting in the living room in wait for his big brother.
But tomorrow was exam day for Feliciano. He couldn't afford to be up so late. Lovino tried to call him.
"Come on, pick up the freakin' phone," he muttered. Unfortunately, voicemail ran through.
"Hello! You've reached Feliciano, that's me! I probably left my phone somewhere, or am having fun with my fratello! Please leave a message after the beep!"
Lovino groaned as the loud beep sounded. "You idiota, you left your phone at school again, didn't you? I'm going to call our home phone. You better pick up!" Lovino hung up and dialed home. Three rings in, and he got voicemail.
"Ciao! You've reached the Vargas brothers! I'm Feliciano! Lovi, say hi!"
"Feli, I am trying to do my work. Wait, is that recording? Feliciano, maledetto idiota!"
"Oh boy! Please leave a message after the beep and we'll get right back to you! Fratello, calm down!" The voicemail ended, and Lovino smiled slightly.
"Alright, Feli, you haven't picked up, I'm assuming you're asleep. You better be. I'll be home really late; I got caught in traffic. See you in the morning. Ti amo." He hung up and banged his head against the seat. Damn traffic, damn police, damn everything. It was one of those nights.
There was just a moment of silence before a low, faint screech was heard. Lovino opened his eyes, leaning forward. Up ahead, people were starting to get out of their cars. Lovino did the same, curious. The woman in the other car closed her door, leaning against the hood. "Sounds like a quite a commotion," she said. Lovino nodded, tilting his head to the side with a frown.
There was another faint screech, and what sounded like gunshots. "Something's happening over there," muttered Lovino.
"Yeah...Best if you get to your brother." Lovino glanced over to the woman. "If you back up and head out the I-4 route, you should be able to link back to the highway past the blockade."
"Alright...Thanks."
"No problem, kid. I lost my twin at a young age. I didn't appreciate her. Make sure you appreciate your brother." Lovino nodded and got back into his car as the woman lit another cigarette. He started the engine and backed up, careful not to hit the car behind him, and turned right, driving into I-4. He looked over at the backed up traffic on the road. People were getting out of their cars, standing on the hoods, trying to see what was happening.
As Lovino passed the blockade, he swore his heart jumped into his throat. Police officers were gunning down people at the front, moving down the lines. What were they doing? One of the police officers saw him and pointed, shouting something. "Shit," he muttered. But it wasn't him the officer was pointing out.
"Stop the car!" shouted another officer. Lovino did, though unhappy about it. He had to get home! "Close the windows, now!" He raised an eyebrow, absolutely confused as he rolled up the windows. Just as they closed, a hand slammed against the windshield. Lovino yelped, gripping the steering wheel with wide eyes.
Someone slid off the top of the car, crouching on the hood now. Lovino tried to calm himself down as bloodshot eyes peered at him. The man on the hood of his car let out a low guttural noise, far from human. He must've jumped down from the highway when Lovino had driven past.
The man screeched, then he was shot off, tumbling off the hood of the car. Lovino slammed his foot on the gas pedal, tearing down the road. He had to get home. He needed to get to Feliciano.