Everything We Had (Tenebre Series Pt. 1)

Everything We Had
“I can’t do this…” His voice was laced with apprehension, his eyes darting from deep within the shadows to the convoluted city streets of which he had a strong fear of. “You know that this is illegal.” He muttered even as he tried to shift closer to the street and then shrank back with increased apprehension. His light green eyes darted from side to side, his fingers fisting into his black military coat, a throwback to days gone by. His body was long, lean, and built much like the man that was standing next to him. “Let’s just go back.

“Of course you can.” Came the soft cajoling voice as firm hands came down and rested on top of smaller shoulders. A handsome blonde man stepped out from the shadows and grinned down at the younger man that he was trying to coax out. “Constintine…please?” He begged quietly, white teeth briefly flashing across a tan face as a smile settled on his face. He reached out with a slightly calloused hand and drew it down the young man’s face, trying vainly to assure him that it would be alright; one couldn’t get in trouble for sitting on a street corner and playing a guitar. “If you can’t do this, than how can I?” He teased quietly, his golden eyes dancing in mirth as he continued to gently tug the other out from the corner haven that he had.

He knew what he was doing; he knew the crime that he was committing and the broad range of punishments that could be inflicted on him. He merely wanted to sit on the corner and play the guitar; he wanted to give some music back to the world. He wanted to give it some color. The world is too dark, the sky is graying, and the people are losing their hope. My brother is losing his hope…Someone has to try and change it.
“It’s not that hard…” he assured as he sat down on the curb, rearranging his beaten up tan ranch coat around his lean, denim clad hips before he once again tugged his smaller counterpart, he had to try at least one last time till he let him go completely. He reached behind him, pulling the beaten strap that was worn across his chest before he settled the guitar that he had been carrying onto his lap and plucked a few strings before he winced. The weather was wrecking havoc on his guitar, causing the chords to fall out of tune faster than he would like.

“A tad outta tune there, my brother.” He called over his shoulder to Constintine before he laughed gaily and tweaked with the tuning pegs and continued to strum till he heard the correct pitch and with another laugh he sat back before he coughed violently into his handkerchief but suppressed it as best as he was able when he caught the worried glances from the people that were walking in front of him. Even a cough is scary these days…it’s the pollution here that gets me coughing… He thought sadly as he looked down at the blood lined handkerchief. He was not dying, he did not have tuberculosis though many people he had seen living on the streets were suffering from it. He was suffering from the smoke and the smog, the degradation of the city as it strived to be like the other cities that were rapidly building up and up though no one knew what for and no one asked. He stifled back another cough as he shoved his handkerchief into his pocket and looked over his shoulder.

“I am missing my shadow…” He teased when the coughing attack was over, his voice was soft and warm yet still carried to the person that it was meant to, despite Constintine’s obvious reluctance, he was still trying to get his brother out and sitting next to him.

“Never mind…I’ll do it myself.” He said as he reached into his interior coat pocket, ignoring the hole in the first pocket that his hand went through but made a mental note to see if Cosmo would mind sewing it for him. A new coat is hard to come by these days He thought, his inner voice melancholy as he looked over his city. It used to be thriving; busy…the people didn’t have that rushed look, the uncaring look… He thought as he looked heavenward at the skyscrapers that the government had desperately wanted to build and he winced sadly. I can no longer see the sky…I can barely feel the sun… He thought before he looked down and his golden eyes widened as his face lit up. “AH-HAH!” He announced happily as he pulled out his brown fedora hat and pulled it snuggly over his head, tilting it down so that it obscured his strange colored eyes and he heard his brother groan.

The brown hat fell over golden eyes. Long fingers continued to play with the strings, tweaking still at the tuning pegs and trying in vain to get his beloved guitar in tune. He stretched his legs in front of him, eying the worn denim that was starting to fray, but he didn’t have the heart to throw them out, he wasn’t sure where he would get another pair.

“Alecuian! You look like Indiana Jones but with feathers!” Came the miffed cry. Constintine hated that hat, and at times he would try and take it from his brother and throw it into the polluted lake that their city was perched by.

Alecuian could only laugh heartedly as he strummed a few more chords and gave thought to what it was that he wanted to play. “Connie…Indiana Jones was decades before our time.” He had to remind his brother though again, his voice was slightly sad, they hadn’t seen a new release of a movie for nearly a decade and contented themselves with incredibly old movies that were outdated and had no social reference points for himself and his brother to understand, but they did their best. “I like the feathers…” He said as he let go of the neck of the guitar with one hand to fondly touch the feathers that were falling out of his hat. “Why?” He asked, his voice suddenly full with fake alarm. “You don’t think that...that they look…completely governmental?” He asked which would be the worst thing for him to ever have to deal with. He shrugged as he allowed his hand to drop to his lap before he lifted it again and started to strum the guitar, for the moment doing nothing but that.

“Sir…sir…You cannot be here!” Came the sudden fierce tone, a tone that assured the listener that he was used to getting his way and that there was no one that would stand up to him. A man that was dressed all in white glared down at the man that was sitting at the street corner. His body was poised for a fight, his hands tense as if all he wanted to do was wrap them around Alecuian’s neck for daring to deviate from the normality that the government had put down. His left foot, clad in a white slipper-like shoe tapping the ground in an irritated motion.

A soft, sly smile crossed over Alecuian’s face and with the tip of one finger he pushed his hat back so that his eyes could be seen. He looked up at the man, un-pulsed to have to stare up at him. He took in the body that was standing in front of him before he smiled brightly up at the light haired individual and his angered brown eyes. “Officer, if you state to me the law, I will gladly move off of this corner.” He assured even as his long fingers curled tighter around the guitar’s neck as if ready to make it into a makeshift weapon.

“The law?! You want to know the Law boy? What…you attended some fancy school that makes you think that you deserve to know the reason why I am able to move you from this spot?” The officer said, his voice livid at the mention of Alecuian knowing anything about the law. Only the Elders and those of higher rank knew anything of Law and how it pertained to the people that it governed.

“You don’t know the law.” Alecuian murred softly as he looked up at the officer with mocking eyes before he shrugged though he still made no move to stand up, instead he seemed even more certain that he was going to be staying there and not following the orders of the man that was in front of him. He made a soft noise as he lowered his head and continued to softly play on the guitar.

That…is pathetic, what times do we live in, in which the Government has such control over her people that not even the officers know the laws that they are supposed to uphold? He thought to himself before he caught a blur of movement from the corner of his eye but it wasn’t enough time to brace himself as the officer’s baton caught him sharply underneath one cheekbone, sending him sprawling on the ground. In a state of stunned disbelief he brought his fingertips up to gently lay over the already swelling bruise that he received. He lifted his head, his hat slipping forward till it fell off, landing on the ground as people continued to walk around him, and averting their faces as what they were seeing wasn’t there.

He braced himself as he saw the officer’s foot fly at him, catching him in the midriff and knocking the air from his lungs with a strained: ‘oof’. He moved to curl in on himself, he knew that it might have come to that but he was hoping that the officer would have some sort of morality left and not strike at a man that had no intention of doing anyone any harm.

“Alecuian…Alecuian lets go!” Constintine cried out in fear as he darted from his hiding place and gripped his brother’s arm tightly, trying to tug him away from the officer that was lifting his baton up to strike the blonde man down again.

Alecuian shoved his brother away and took the next blow with an audible cry of pain before he panted out: “No…No, I’m not leaving, not until I know the law that I broke. When he tells me…I’ll leave.” He promised as he raised his head and stared at the officer, yellow eyes meeting nondescript brown eyes.”Tell me the law Officer.” He whispered, nearly begged, as if asking for some sort of sign that the government had some humanity left.

“Alecuian…lets just go okay? This isn’t worth dying over!” Constintine continued to beg, pulling on his brother’s arm.

The golden-haired man snapped his head around and leveled a glare on his brother, causing the young man to recoil. “Then tell me Constintine, what is worth dying for?” He asked before he registered the true fear on his favorite brother’s face and he forced himself to grab his hat and stood up, smashing the hat back to a crumbled, yet reasonable size and he shoved it into his pocket. “Fine…we’ll go.” He whispered as he reached out his hand, reaching for his brother’s and waited till he felt Constintine wrap his hand in his before he looked back at the officer and inclined his head. “So sorry to disturb your work Officer. I’ll be on my way now.” He promised before he fixed the strap that was holding his guitar and allowed Constintine to disappear back into the shadows before, after taking one last look at the disappearing sky, he joined him.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Constintine murred quietly, looking down at his feet as he stepped down the broken stairs, descending lower and lower into the bowels of the city till they stopped and both men looked up. “I can’t…what would happen if you died?” The younger boy asked as he looked up at his brother. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t, it wouldn’t be good.” He finished softly and ducked his head farther.

Alecuian stopped when he heard his younger brother’s fearful words and he sighed before he pulled the young boy close to his chest and held him close. “I know Constintine, I just…I can’t stand how this world is turning out to be. I wish those people that walked by would stop and do something, anything…even laugh a little. But they are like sheep getting herded to slaughter. They are willingly giving up their freedom and unless they fight then I can’t fight for them. Unless they find their voice they are going to be mute forever.” He explained before he gently shoved Constintine away from him and smiled slightly. “Besides, the officer didn’t hurt me too badly…”

The man sighed and continued walking; they were walking the old subway lines. The underground trains had long since stopped running and were homes for the poorest of the poor, they were disease ridden and depraved. Alecuian’s golden eyes flashed in displeasure over the fact that he was forced to bring Constintine down this way, but it was the lesser of the two evils. They walked quickly, their faces averted from the suffering. They knew better than to try and help, the diseases had been engineered to be contagious by touch which was why these people were housed underground; the Government hoped that they would die off before they sent in the Cleaning Crews.

When they started their ascent back to the surface, they were in a whole other section of the city, still polluted, the sun still hiding itself but at least…they were relatively safe. At least, that was their hope.