Through Time & Space. Another Dimension. XXXX
At first, he didn't even know he was running.
He started when he hit the ground - legs struggling to support himself up from the after the impact of the fall. The window he'd jumped from was farther from the ground than he thought. Trembling, he managed to make his thin legs peddle him up and forward, straight into the rushing crowd, the force of their panic pushing him back with the intensity of a raging flood.
As he ran, he felt his breath come in short, uneven gasps, pointy elbows and sharp ends knocking the wind out of him as he slowly, painfully, made his way through. The mass of struggling bodies surrounded him, their eyes watching in disbelief and horror as he ran in the opposite direction and towards chaos and hellfire growing in the near distance.
A few distinctly familiar voices cried after him, pleading for him to stop - swearing he'd be killed.
He ignored their desperate calls, their bemused stares.
He did not have time to listen.
Nor did he have time to worry.
He had to find his brother.
Ignoring the pain growing in his chest, the limp in his step, he continued his struggle till he found a break in the crowd, releasing a breath of relief as he reached the back of the fleeing mass. As he made his way closer towards the growing heat and smoke, he barely avoided being burned by the leaping, searing blue flames engulfing an abandoned home, devouring everything precious it still held inside. As it moved to the next home, he kept on the cracked asphalt path, the family neighborhood turning more and more into a burning ghost town by the minute.
He had to find his brother.
Here, in the middle of Tutus Lane, there were only a few stragglers of the throng left, bleeding wounds and crooked limbs causing them slow and quickly fall behind the rest. Their voices shouted for the crowd to wait for them - to slow down and help them.
Not a soul turned to help and neither did he, rushing towards the one thing he had on his mind.
Brother. Home. Brother. Home. Where's my brother? Where's my home? Dear God, where are they?!
That's when he spotted it. The flames - the body. It was understandable how he almost passed it by, with the bellows of fire and smoke merged together as one in the blood-violet sky.
Home...
It was surreal, to see the massive mess he once called his home. All that was left of the wooden two-story Victorian home was its collapsed and charred skeleton, any security his family had built around him, surrounding him and his brother with love, dead and gone.
His eye quickly scanned the scene, taking in the desolation and destruction of the ongoing inferno. The charred front door was the only thing left standing of the house, the thick wood busted in and desperately clinging onto the one remaining hinge on it's crumbling frame. He stepped forward to reach out and touch what remained but, before he could, it creaked and fell with a heavy thud, stirring up the blue embers laying beneath.
Lowering his hands shielding his face, he stared, fighting back the sudden lump forming in his throat.
Gone... Gone... Gone... Was the mantra that played on repeat as he fell to his knees, heavy tears falling to the ground.
He rubbed his eye, a choked sob threatening to escape his mouth. He shook his head, viciously wiping the streaks rushing down his cheeks with the back of his hand.
No, no, no! I can't cry, I can't - !
Wait.
He blinked.
Who's that?
He leapt to his feet in a flash, eye wide and wet with unshed tears.
That's him! It's him! Brother!
Indeed, the silhouette on the top of the distant hill by the old oak tree resembled the shape of his twin brother and, instantaneously, he felt his heart soar.
Rushing from the spot, he ran through the fluttering embers and up the beaten path leading to the near-distant crag, passing the still burning trees, their black trunks snapped like twigs in the wind. In his hurry, he did not stop to question why the crag and lone oak tree resting atop it was unaffected by the carnage of the wildfire or why there were random patches of grass, spared by the flames.
He only cared for one thing alone.
My brother! My brother! My twin brother is alive!
He was out of breath when he reached the top of the steep hill, stumbling up the last few feet before sprawling on the dusty path with a yelp of pain.
Chest still burning from the lack of oxygen, he opened his mouth to shout his brother's name but, as he raised his head from the ground, he felt the words leave him.
Back turned, the figure before him was effortlessly levitating several feet off the ground, handsomely dressed up with a top hat and a jet black cane. From his vantage point, he looked out over the destruction raging around them. Just noting his presence, the entity turned, an amused chuckle escaping his lips.
"Hello, brother. What do you think?"
He felt his heart leap in his throat.
Once his brother stared at him with one unblinking eye, squinted with a smile, he felt all hope flee from his chest. The sibling's eye was unnaturally red, the iris black as dark liquid streamed down his cheeks, dripping to the ground with soft, gentle plops.
The figure indeed was his brother, albeit barely recognizable with his change of dress and appearance. However, the way he held himself so tall off the ground, was unlike him, and as his brother watched him bring himself to stand up again, he felt his legs briefly falter.
No! He would never hurt me. He's my brother... He's my twin...
He opened his mouth to speak, to ask where had he been, what had happened but, instead, he only produced a small squeak and, in turn, his brother snickered.
"So much to take in, right?" He giggled, wiping a black tear from his face, "Man, if only I had a mirror! I haven't seen you look this dumbfounded since last year's spelling bee!"
He felt a pang in his chest but, he shook his head, face flushing.
"B-Brother?" He stuttered, finding his voice again, " Where have you been? What..." He paused, eye widening in horror, as his voice was brought to a throaty whisper, "What happened to you?"
His brother smiled, the wide grin pulling the corners of his face.
"Change, my dear twin. Change is happening..."
He watched as his brother circled him, still levitating off the ground.
"I-I don't understand..."
His twin chuckled, swinging his cane as he leaned in close, "Ah... poor baby brother. So young. So... naive." He stopped his swinging, "I'm not gonna lie. I don't expect you have the brains to."
He glared, fists balling at his sides.
His brother was unfazed.
"Forget it! Have you seen Mother? The house... it's... I-I haven't seen her since... this..."
With an unreadable expression, his brother turned, his eye fluttering over the smoking shiloette of the city, the capital flickering like a distant dying star. His brother remained silent and leaned heavily on his sleek cane.
"Where's-?"
"Let me make this as clear as I can..." His twin cut in, back still turned, "The world you knew ... it's finished."
"What?"
"Your home you held so disgustingly dear - destroyed."
"I saw but, I -."
"Whoever you knew before - gone."
"W-Wait."
"The rules - the bonds you knew and accepted - out the window!"
"B-But, why...?"
"I've decided to make a new world! A better world! A fresh start for a new life with no rules! No boundries!" His brother gave a short snort, "But, man, who knew getting rid of this one would be so damn easy?!"
"You..." He breathed, ogling over the smoldering remains of his former world, his home, "You did all this...?"
"You sound surprised." His twin sniggered, cocking his head.
"It's... impossible! How could you do something as... hideous as this?"
"Ah, au contraine my friend," His twin retorted. He stuck the end of his cane against his chest, "You can accomplish great things if you have friends in high places..."
Looking down at the cane leveled with this torso, realization dawned on him. He felt his body go frigid.
"Oh, no."
"Oh, yes."
"It can't be! Not... Not..."
"SAY IT."
"The Dark Ones..."
The sound of a hundred whispers came from behind and he felt himself turn ashen as he turned to face the source of the noise.
His twin gave an amused look at his trembling brother as he absently adjusted his bowtie, now prodding the stick against his thin shoulder, "Speak of the Devil, Brother, and he will appear..."
He looked desperately at his relative, quivering hands clutching at the thin shaft.
His twin stared unblinkingly at him, the bloodshot eye narrowing. He lurched the staff from his clammy grip, causing the younger twin to fall forward in an ungraceful heap. Gasping, he backpedaled away from his kin, watching as his brother's lips curled into an unearthly grin. The gathering monsters crept closer, their mauls dripping as they pushed his brother back further and further still. It didn't take much for him to reach the crumbling edge, shuttering as he felt the rush of open air beneath it.
"You!" He squeaked, every fiber trembling, "You wouldn't!"
"For this opportunity, Brother, I would."
There was the sound of snapping fingers and the mass surged forward, the screams of terror drowned by the growls and roars from the attacking horde.
Casually, his twin lowered his body to the damp earth, the flowering weeds crunching beneath the weight his black heel. His brother's footsteps were stiff as he made his way to the crumbling edge of the hill and absorbed the immensity of the discourse growing around him.
Still smiling, the triangle leaned heavily on his cane.
And, quietly, he watched the world burn.