Candle in a hurricane
Would you kill to save a life? If that life turned out to be many thousands of lives? Most people would say yes to that in an instant. But what if the one you had to kill was your own brother? Part of the web of family that made you whole. Could you do it then?
We knew he had you, knew it for a long time. But none of us could bring ourselves to believe it. I don't think anyone could handle the idea that their own brother was slowly being taken over by someone bent on destroying the world. I think we all knew really long before any of us actually acknowledged the fact. All those times you disappeared off without warning, and then having no explanation for where you had been. You could never lie well, and when you said nowhere really I could see you really meant it. You had no idea where you had just been did you?
I finally worked out when he took you. That rescue in Brazil, where we ran into him and nearly all got killed by his stupid schemes. I lost sight of you for about five minutes, I think everyone did. Never thought anything of it until recently. Now I know, he found you in amongst all that smoke and fire and somehow implanted some of his own mind into yours. Over time his mind invaded into yours, slowly taking you over until you had no idea which way was up, let alone who you really were. You should have said something when the blackouts started, maybe we could have done something, maybe we could have helped. But you always were the quiet one, never did say when something was wrong. Maybe I should have noticed sooner.
It was the little things that finally made me realise what was happening to you. Dad managed to convince himself that you had some illness, something fixable with medicine and doctors. But those little pieces of destruction and sabotage, those small yet vital components going missing gave it away. I followed you once, when you decided to walk off, and that's when I knew for sure. He was in your head, and he was never letting you go.
Took me a while to convince the others what was happening. No one wanted to believe that something like this could happen, especially not to one of our own. But even they had to admit something wasn't right, and I eventually had all the proof I needed. By then of course it was too late, and you were no more than his puppet.
It's been killing all of us these past few weeks. Locking up your own brother and listening to his screams day after day as some second mind destroys his own piece by piece; I don't think even the hardiest and coldest of people could live with that for long. And we can't do it any longer.
Some people would say what we did was barbaric, inhumane. Most would call it murder. We called it mercy. Not that a word makes it any easier, makes what we did any better. Every single person in this house wakes up crying still from the memories of that time. He succeeded more that he will ever realise when he took your mind. Not only did he destroy you, he destroyed this entire family. He forced our hand, forced us to destroy ourselves. We had to kill to save a life. Not just yours, but so many other thousands of people. If you had ever escaped the island, he would have used you and your knowledge to rein destruction down on the world, and we couldn't let him do that, to you or the world.
When the time came we were all there. I think you knew that somehow, even though he was there, screaming and spitting at all of us. So many tears were shed that day, and so many more since. Except mine. I haven't cried since that night. It's like the tears won't come, like they've dried up and left me empty and cold. I'm supposed to be the strong one, the one who looks after all of the others. But I don't know how anymore.
I'm glad of one thing though. I looked you in the eye the whole time, and right before the end he left you and for the first time in what felt like years I knew it was you looking right back at me through those eyes. And you looked relieved.
So this is goodbye to you my dear brother. I hope that you can understand and maybe forgive us for what we did. I know we never will. I hope you're happy, wherever you are. And one day, who knows, maybe I'll see you again.