29. Brother

Ash's POV

He finished telling his story, and I finally understood. He was frightened of losing me for a second time, so he was desperately trying to hold onto my mother and I with everything he had.

"I see where you are coming from, but I can't not love Alex. He's the light of my life, and nothing you say will ever change that!"

He burst into tears, his eyes leaking pure emotion. He seemed to be fighting a losing a battle against his inner consciousness, but I didn't know what it was. He swayed on his feet once or twice before collapsing into a heap on the floor with his shoulders shaking. I crouched down out of pure concern, gently lifting his head so that it wasn't on the cold ground. He looked like a hot mess, with a small train of snot down the center of his face.

"I don't want to be like this," he wailed loudly all of a sudden.

I rubbed a gentle hand over his shaking shoulders and asked as calmly as I could, "like what?"

"This monster I've become. Ever since you left I... I've lost everything I used to know! I was kind and humble and empathetic, but then it happened again and I was filled with hate for them. Whenever I see one, especially if they're close enough they could betray trust, I just shut off! The inner part of me snaps and I end up hurting them!"

I sat down next to him and hugged him tightly. I was a bit shaken; I had never seen him cry before, but I was okay. "I understand... It's just that I love him far too much."

"I know," he whispered quietly.

He suddenly swapped moods, switching back to the man that had stolen Alex.

"But that doesn't mean that I will allow him to live, does it?" he added with a sinister laugh at the end.

"I will find him," I resolved, looking him dead in the eyes. I was shocked at how quickly he was changing emotions, almost as if he was a different person.

"Whatever. Start it!" Jackson shouted. I wondered what they were speaking of... Little did I know.

***

Alex's POV, the next day

I yawned, my body still completely sore from sleeping against a wall on cold concrete. I sat up without a thought about it before I realized... I couldn't sit up yesterday without falling over. I guess the paralysis wore off overnight. I looked down when I felt movement in my lap and saw Ally snoring softly. He must have migrated there at some point in the night. I ran my hand slowly through his knotted hair before getting lost in thought.

Last night was quite a bit rough for him. The girl he had been holding the first time we met had apparently been down here for over a month. Ally had learnt to trust her; as she did him. They had become as good of friends as they could in a dirty, dark, cold basement. He had told me tales of laughter between the torture. The only time I had ever seen him smile was with her.

However, all good stories must end. Late last night, she had died in his arms. Being down here was too much for her weak body to handle, so it just gave up. He had been awake until insane hours of the morning crying in pure anguish over the dead girl while I tried to calm him.

I snapped out of my thoughts with my fingers still grazing through his hair. The room was much brighter around me, so I assumed about two hours had passed. I placed my arm by my side just as he began to wake up. His deep blue eyes popped open and began to slowly drift around the room. Before I could stop him, they landed on the one person he had trusted.

"I thought it was a dream," he thought aloud.

"I-I'm sorry, but it wasn't," I murmured sadly.

He burst into the saddest tears I had ever witnessed, so I began to sympathize with him. The one person he could trust in this cold, dank basement was dead and there was nothing I could do about it.

He got up off of my lap and went back to his old spot. I got a good glimpse of his tattered clothes just before I slipped into an uncomfortable, uneasy sleep.

I awoke with a start, but I wasn't where I thought I would be. There was an expanse of completely blank air shimmering around me, and everything was so white that my eyes hurt a lot. I slowly stood up before turning around and feeling my heart stop. Ash was sitting there while also looking rather confused.

I took steps that made zero sound over to his hunched over form. He turned around in time to see me approach before opening his mouth, yet no words came out. He produced an awkward expression of sadness and relief before gripping my arm and pulling me down. I lay down on his lap while he stroked my head. I could smell his pleasant odor of vanilla and fresh leaves. He was gentle with his fingers running through my hair, and I found my heart longing for him even more. I wanted to taste his lips and hear his soft, flowing voice sing me to sleep. Suddenly, a dark force invaded my perfect dream and plucked me out of his embrace. I tried to fight it, but it was too strong; and I was too weak. The last thing I saw before being jarred awake was Ash fighting to reach me.

I awoke with a very frightened Ally shaking my shoulder. "Y-you looked like you were having a terrible dream, so I woke you up."

"Thank you, Ally. It wasn't a bad dream until I got to the end."

"What was it about?"

I told him about it. He smiled in the beginning, but at the end his expression was grim. "I'm sorry it ended that way. I used to have a good relationship with my family. My mother was sweet, my father was a bit strict, but we all knew he still loved me. I also had a twin brother. We had a relationship better than most before I was taken away. I miss him, and I would do anything to see him again. I used to have dreams like that right after I got taken down here when I was 5 twelve years ago. I guess I finally got over them."

"When was your birthday?" I asked, suddenly hopeful that my suspicions were correct.

"Uh... October 7th, I believe."

I remember life before the war... It sounded like his. I distantly recall having a brother that I loved more than myself. He looks like the opposite of me, but still a mixture of my parents... "Allystar, I think you're my brother."