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Dante shouts orders and I check to make sure all of my weapons are fully loaded, then I peak around my slice of cover and start firing. My brother jumps behind the upturned car as his guards return fire.
I’m forced to flee for more cover as their bullets rain down on me even harder than the tropical storm that rages around us. White lightning strikes and orange fireballs light up the night as the revolution approaches these downtown outskirts.
It can’t come quickly enough. Dante’s armored truck is like a clown car of enemy combatants. Half a dozen heavily armed men volley constant fire in my direction. There’s no room to breathe...
And then I hear a familiar chant.
Through the rain and the wind and the fire comes a wave of my people.
Revolutionaries.
Each and every one of them is armed to the teeth. Dante’s men quickly have more than they can handle. Their firepower is trained away from me as the oncoming crowd fearlessly descends upon them.
I’m finally able to step out from behind the flat iron.
There’s no time to thank anyone; as much as I appreciate their help, I need to get to Dante before they do. Nobody is allowed to kill my brother but me.
“Revolutionaries!” I yell, fist held high as thunder erupts around me. Those of them who aren’t busy taking out Dante’s men turn to see me standing in the rain. A roar washes through the crowd, followed closely by a massive strike of lightning. The bright flash of light is enough for me to spot my little brother fleeing up a fire escape in the alleyway behind the swarmed car.
I immediately take off after him.
The people cheer for me as I make my final lunge for freedom.
The rails of the fire-escape are slippery and the steps are soaked, but I’m determined. Dante flops through the rain far more than I do, and by the time he’s pulled himself onto the roof, I’m close enough to take a shot.
It catches him in the foot.
Even through the storm, I can hear his curses.
I jump after him, and am immediately met with a flurry of bullets from Dante’s own gun.
Somehow, the only one that hits me just barely nicks my shoulder. Dante was never a good shot...
That doesn’t keep him from pulling the trigger over and over again—but soon enough, there are no more bullets left. His last ditch is to throw his empty gun my way, but that’s easy enough to dodge.
“You bastard!” he screeches at me as heavy rain pours down over our heads.
“Me!?” I shout back, incensed. “What did I ever do to you!? After mom and dad died, I saved you from the streets. I gave you the life of a prince!”
“I wanted to be king!” Dante hisses. A silent strike of lightning cuts through the clouds ahead.
“Well, you got to be king... for a while. How was it?”
He scrambles backwards on his ass, blood pouring from his wounded foot, as I step closer and closer. Dante looks away, unable to answer truthfully.
“That’s what I thought,” I grumble, filled with a heavy shame. A blast of thunder shakes the world and I stare down with a heavy pity at my crawling brother. “You took my son...”
A small primal part of me desperately wants Dante to beg for forgiveness. If he gives me the opportunity, then maybe I can forgive him...
“I took more than you know!” he shouts through the rain. “And I should have had that fucking whore before you ever got your hands on her...”
“What the fuck does that mean!?” I growl, my sympathy quickly evaporating.
“You’ll never know,” he smirks, a final cruelty. “I had my men go get her and your bastard son on the roof. They had orders: shoot to kill. They’re both probably long dead by now...”
With those last words, Dante lunges for his injured foot. I spot the hint of an ankle holster beneath his pants and I hesitate enough to let him get his fingers on the small pistol inside.
This is my brother, the last of my family; can I really kill him?