Story [Issue 31] Remnant - Part 4

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

Part one is here. Part 2 is over here. And the third part is over here. I recommend that you read those first if you haven't already.

 

Part 4

Remnant

 

Months, and soon years passed by since Alex witnessed his brother's apparent death. He had crawled home bitter and weary. He never told anybody about what he saw, and his parents searched for Dmitri during the day, finding no evidence. They gave up after a very long time, presuming that if he wasn't dead that winter night, he would be now.

 

Alex had developed a dark and cynical personality since that night. His parents never figured out why he had changed so much. He was no longer the adventurous young boy he was before his brother's disappearance. Now, he always had a troubled expression on his face, and often traveled to the town square to do nothing but think.

 

"They took my brother away from me that day", he thought. "I'm going to make sure they pay with every ounce of blood in their bodies. They don't know what kind of pain they caused. Yet. I'll make them feel it. Every bit of it."

 

A few days after his 16th birthday, Alex traveled to the town square at night to think once more. It had been 4 years since his brother died. He rode on his new bike, constructed from spare parts found around town. It was cold and windy like usual. The same thoughts ran through his head. Revenge. Suffering. Payback. He contemplated for a while, looking at the moon and stars. The sky was unusually clear, and covered with the delicate tapestries of stars. "The war certainly solved our light pollution problems" he scoffed.

 

He was about to leave when a broken piece of tile fell from a nearby building. "That's odd." He entered the derelict entrance to the building. It had once been a hotel. The desk in the lobby was still intact, with deteriorating pieces of paper and a few rotted pencils. Alex drew out a hunting knife and a flashlight as he slowly walked up the stairs. The walls were crumbling away, and the cold air rushed in from the various cracks in the ceiling. When he reached the second floor, he readied his knife.

 

All the doors were open, except one. This one was a deluxe room when the hotel was still in operation; it had more space than any other room in the building, in addition to a large balcony and plenty of insulation. "Perfect place for someone to camp in." He approached the door and reached for the doorknob, but his heart rate spiked. He had heard a creaking sound.

 

"I should probably turn back now. Something's not right." He turned around. "Wait, I'm going to turn around just because it's creepy? When have I ever done that? OK, let's just get this over with." Alex walked back to the door, readied his equipment, and kicked the door open with a loud bang. The sound echoed through the room, but it appeared empty, save for a worn-out backpack and a few rags. The door to the balcony was open, and there was a pile of debris there. "That explains why that chunk of tile fell off", he thought to himself. "The question is, why did it fall off? Was it because of the wind? Was someone here?"

 

"Hmm, looks like nobody's around. Might as well give that backpack a look. It could have something useful in it." He approached the backpack slowly, and unzipped it. "This thing better not be booby-trapped." To his relief, it contained only some food and a few spare batteries. "I could really use some extra batteries. It takes a college education to charge them manually." After pocketing his loot, he walked towards the open door again, ready to leave, but it suddenly slammed shut.

 

He instantly raised his knife into a defensive stance and pointed his flashlight at the door. A mysterious stranger was standing there, dressed in camouflage fatigues and a balaclava. The stranger's hands were grasping a pistol, and Alex knew better than to attack. They stared at each other for a while.

 

The mysterious person then spoke in a woman's voice. "You are Alex, are you not? We have been searching for you. I will escort you back to our base. There's someone there waiting to meet you. He's been waiting for a very long time."

 

She gestured towards the door, and Alex walked through it very slowly. "Escort? Heh, more like kidnapping. I certainly didn't sign up for this", he thought. He didn't look backwards, but he knew he was still being held by gunpoint. They walked out of the building and into the cold night. A hole in the wall surrounding the square became visible, and they proceeded through it. "Ugh, I've gotten myself into quite a mess", he contemplated. "I'm probably not going to go home for a while. I wonder, though. Who's waiting for me? Who are these people? Where am I even going? Let's hope I'll sort this out when we arrive."

 

---

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[doduobird 315]

Nice story :3

[Penguin40 1,714]

I guess the two brothers are going to meet after five years  :)

[fa2Lemuelm2 8]

Keep up the good work!
I sense a rebellion here :3

[Penguin40 1,714]

I'm thinking the men who "killed" Dimitri are doing something important, else why would they keep the two alive?

[deadtoyou 2,502]

Can't wait for part 5. :D

[retinazer 0]

Awesome as usual.keep up the good work!:D

Edited February 10, 2015 by retinazer

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Nice!