Eternal Darkness

I unfortunately don't own the G-boys; if I did I would be much happier, wallowing in money. But I don't so don't bother suing; I don't have anything, I'm a poor college student people! Unless of course you want a couple blood thirsty dust bunnies....I got plenty of those. Comments are always appreciated....craved actually. REVIEWS!!! I NEED REVIEWS. Uh...sorry....I'm ok now. So please, review; let me know what you liked, what you didn't, the good, the bad and the ugly basically. However flames will be laughed at, so I wouldn't even bother.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alrightly folks this is Duo's past. I'm going to mainly write this in italics since most of it is Duo's memories. The parts that are in 'normal' text are when they are in the present talking. Hopefully that won't confuse anybody.


Chapter 11

Shortly after fleeing our foster home; Phil and I wandered the streets. Phil would snatch food off the vending stands occasionally for us but mostly we lived out of dumpsters. It wasn't great; and I missed Shirley, but I had Phil there with me. As long as I had my big brother I was happy. We had left the town of Spotswood where Shirley and Greg lived; and were traveling down the back country roads to wherever our feet took us. One afternoon we stopped by a wooded area, Phil tossed me some of the scrapes that he had taken that day off of old man Frederick's food cart.

"Joe...we're not really the same people that we were when mom and dad were alive are we?" He asked softly; playing with the half loaf of bread in his hand.

"Whatcha mean? We're still us..." I muttered around a mouthful of food. I swallowed the mouthful and looked at Phil. Compared to most; Phil was exotic; most people took one look at him an immediately added "dangerous" to his image. I dunno why; Phil was one of the nicest people I knew. His hair was unruly, and hanging in his face; he was constantly pushing the white mass out of his eyes. His eyes were what most people found unnerving; they were yellow. They were technically hazel; the type of eyes that changed between green to brown to a true yellow depending on his emotion. However, they were usually yellow. It was strange; we didn't look really anything alike, since I had brown hair and dark blue eyes. But, I knew he was my brother and I didn't care what he looked like.

"I mean lil bro, that we aren't exactly the same two kids that lived with mom and dad. I mean, if we was livin' with mom and dad, do you think that we would be stealin' food and all that stuff?"

I thought about that for a moment. "Course not silly...then mommy would have got stuff for us."

"Exactly...we wouldn't need to steal food....but we do..."

I blinked;" But...if we're no us, then who are we?"

Phil didn't respond for a few moments at first. Then, "I think that we should choose new names, names that will suit us now."

I looked at him; I loved my big bro, but sometimes he didn't make much sense at all. "Like what?"

"I dunno..."

Phil decided to stay in that secluded wooded area that night since there appeared to be a storm approaching. He pitched a makeshift tent that he had found and we sat outside listening to the coming storm. I always loved storms; I loved everything about them, the wind, the thunder, the lightning, even the scent of the storm. I sat above Phil on the branch of a tree watching the storm and absently swinging my legs back and forth.

"You know lil bro; if it wasn't for you, I'd be all alone now. If you hadn't pitched such a fit for that one couple; I would be on my own now. I couldn't've stayed in that orphanage. There wouldn't've been any 'demonic duo'" Phil said, he laughed softly. I looked down at him; he looked so sad. "I would've been forced to fly solo...huh...solo...I kinda like that." He glanced up at me, and gave me a tired smile. "That's what my new name will be; Solo."

I grinned, "What's my name then big bro?" Phil...Solo stared out at the storm for a few minutes. "How 'bout Duo?" He said finally; I looked at him.

"I'd be the Duo to your Solo?" I said, Phil...er...Solo nodded. I grinned, "I like it!"

"Then that settles it; from now on were the brothers Duo and Solo. Joseph and Phil Richardson died with their parent in that car wreck." I nodded my head. Though it would be hard not to call Phil...er...Solo Phil...er...Solo...I mean...I ...er....


A year later found my bro and me in a large city called Waynesboro. When we got there my bro took no time in finding ourselves a hidey-hole to sleep in. It was in the basement of and old abandoned house in the middle of town right next to a movie theater. It was a nice place compared to some of the places we had stayed in. There were plenty of places to hide and explore. Waynesboro was one of those towns where there were definitely three distinct social classes; the very rich, the middle class, and the very poor. It did not take long before Solo had recruited other kids into our lil group. It started off with Switch; she was a bad ass down to the core. She was around fourteen with blonde hair and blue eyes; she looked scrawny, but she could handle a knife better then any adult I had ever seen. Later came Patch, Scud, Kat, Thorn, Rose, Jet, and several more. What had began as a duo had turned into a gang. We weren't the only gangs in the area either. There were two other gangs; one of teenagers, and one that was half and half. WE were the only one with a group of young kids. It didn't stop us. After a while we had carved out our own rep in the lower city slums. WE didn't rob banks, or threaten people, or even bust up cars. No, we were more subtle. We were thieves. We preyed on the people; doing acts in the streets while others of our band picked the audiences pockets. At night, we would hit the roof tops; picking locks and taking things from the houses of the rich folks. Solo refused to hit any of the middle class or the poor folk.

"Da poor folk ain't got nuthin' any how, tis why they are poor. And da middle class folk are so close to bein' poor it ain't any use to hit them." Solo said one evening when Switch asked him; within day of arriving here Solo had adopted the native slang language. Mother would be appalled. For a year we lived in our own little paradise. It wasn't much but we had food to eat, a roof over our heads, and friends who loved us. It was home.

One evening half the gang was in our den, getting ready for that nights lift. Suddenly Thorn and Jet come barreling through the doors as if the hounds of hell were on their heels.

"Solo!" Thorn called, "SOLO!!"

Solo pulled the curtain back from his 'room' and hurried forward. It was very rare for Thorn to get worked up about things, being a naturally calm girl.

"What's the matter?" Solo asked, coming to stand by his 2nd and 3rd in command.

"There's...something...goin' on...outside." Jet panted, he paused and drew in a deep breath. "Hawk and Switch are on the roof, keepin' watch."

Solo nodded once and headed upstairs; the rest of the gang on his heels. WE quickly climbed the rafters to the hole in the roof that acted as our 'Watch Post'. Outside, the wind blew grit up into our faces; Switch and the sharp eyed Hawk stood gazing into the south. "It looks like a fire, boss." Switch said, her voice was devoid of emotion.

"It don't look like they gonna be able to stop it. It's moved to three houses in da last five minutes." the older boy's voice seemed to growl; when Hawk was younger he had been injured and now his voice was raspy.

"It looks to be about a half block away, boss." Our newest member, Ice stated.

"I noticed dat; looks like it'll be here soon. Everyone, back down stairs. Grab only what is vital! Then gather outside! NOW!!!" Solo barked.

There was a flurry of movement as we all raced back down to the ground level.

I raced into the room I shared with Scud and Rat. I snatched up my old travelin' bag and shoved a change of clothes, a couple trinkets that my makeshift family had given me, and the walkman I had lifted plus a hand full of CD's. Then I ripped the fleece throw off my bed and tied that to the top of my bag. I helped my friends finish their packing and we dashed out of the room and out into the street. By now the roof had caught fire; black smoke billowed into the streets. The last of our gang tumbled out of the now burning building. Solo quickly counted the heads of his gang and makeshift family.

"5..6...7...we're missing one. "He stated; "Where's da Runt?!" Everything seemed to freeze. We looked around; the youngest of our gang, Runt, was no where to be found.

"Kat!" Ice called, "Wasn't lil brother with you?"

"He was right behind me when we left...I dunno where he coulda gone." I glanced at Solo; my brother was starring at the burning building. Fear clenched my heart...Solo had that LOOK in his eyes...the one that said he was about to do something very stupid.

"Solo?" I said softly; as if on cue a small voice rang out; "IRMÃO!(1)" Even over the roar of the fire I could hear the fear in that small voice. Solo didn't hesitate; before anyone could react much less stop him, Solo was rushing towards the door, Switch close on his heels.

"SOLO!" I shrieked, true fear gripping my heart; I rushed forward only to be held back by my 'family'. It felt like an eternity, I watched the flames praying to God that my brother was alright. Suddenly a figure stepped out of the flames; a small bundle held in their arms. We all rushed forward, the figure; Switch knelt down in the middle of the street, laying Runt onto the cement. She then tilted his head back and put her ear to his lips. Her eyes got wide and she began to swear; he then took a deep breath and put her lips to his. "Breath damn you breath!" She swore. I turned my head back to the fire; Solo had yet to come out.

"Where's Solo?" I asked, staring into the flames. "He's still in there..." Switch said absently, still trying to get Runt to breathe. Suddenly it felt like shards of ice were flowing through my veins...Solo was still inside?! Without thinking, I raced into the burning building; I cared little for the flames that licked my arms and legs, I cared only about finding my brother. I paused inside, the smoke burned my eyes and throat, I pressed my shirt to my mouth in an attempt to stop the smoke.

"SOLO!!!" I screamed; my voice competed with the roar of the fire. I moved further into the building, searching the rooms. Either God or instincts led my feet, for as I rounded a corner, I saw him. Solo lay on the floor, a large burning piece of wood across his back. I suppressed a scream and ran to him. He wasn't moving... I wrapped my small hands around the wood and shoved with all my strength...it didn't budge. I did everything I could, I pushed, I pulled, I lifted and I tugged...but the wood remained unmoving. I collapsed next to Solo's limp form, coughing. All around us the building burned, confident in its knowledge that we were trapped. I heard a loud groan over the fires roar. Another part of the building was about to collapse! I wrapped myself around Solo's head, trying to protect him like I knew he would protect me. I starred at the area the noise was coming from....I coked again, eyes watering. I couldn't breath; my throat burned; the edges of my vision darkened. I saw a shadow move beyond the wall of flames...then I knew nothing but darkness...


AUTHOR"S NOTES:

1) IRMÃO means brother in Portuguese...at least according to the on-line transaltor it does...

inthefire2002: Well, I'mm lookin' forward to writing the chapter with that meeting...thats coming up here pretty soon.

makeyourselfduo: again?? have i made you cry already??? i guess that might be a good thing.....uh..... :-S

Precognition74: lol....well, I think I answered your question, no??? You asked for Solo...I give you Solo...

anissa32: Yes unfortunatly poor Duo's gonna have to be put through a lot...however you ARE just gonna have to wait and see...nanny nanny nanny :-P

Windy River: Your wish is my command....though this did take a bit longer then I would have liked...damned school.....

There...I think that's all that reviewed for the last chapter. Thank you all for the reviews...now if you would be so kind....review again...perty pwease??????