•<Us Against Them>•

Said it's just a dream
Hunters' gathering
Did we save the wounded soul? Oh
~
Digital Daggers

  •<>•

The man loudly exclaims, "What do you think you're doing?!" Drawing the attention of everyone around us.

He is slightly shorter than me and well-built. Unlike the other man, who made this illicit meeting conspicuously obvious, the man standing before me is dressed simply. He wears no sunglasses, no cap, and certainly no leather jacket.

As he stares at me intently, his irritation is evident even at a distance, and I am overcome with fear. Holding onto my phone tightly, I cautiously take a few steps back, attempting to defuse the situation. 

"Look man, it's not what you think," I repeat. However, my words seem to fall on deaf ears as he continues to glare at me, taking threatening steps in my direction.

"Ethan what the fuck are you doing here?!" Eric scowls at me, irritation evident in his voice.

"You know him?!" The man in the cap directs an angry question at Eric

"Please don't do anything to him, he, he's my little brother." Eric pleads.

"Bollocks. What d'you mean he's your brother?! How do I know you're not working together?!" The man growls as he pulls his gun out and points it to Eric in a split second, his action changing the atmosphere immediately.

"Believe me, we're not," Eric says softly, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I had no idea he'd be here, but I'm sure he means no harm. Right, Ethan?"

Unable to find my voice, I simply nod. My eyes are wide with disbelief, and my mouth hangs open due to the shock.

"Nah man, I don't play games. You got that?! Something's not right," the man in the cap says, sounding unconvinced. "D'you think we're schewpid?! Hey, Smokes take his bloody phone away and make him regret coming here!" He orders, and the so-called Smokes who's standing before me doesn't hesitate to carry out the given order.

Overwhelmed with dread, I take a step back as Smokes inches closer. He smirks at me, his menacing eyes scanning me as if he's sizing me up.

In an instant, he charges at me and lands a solid punch on my cheek, causing a sharp, throbbing pain to shoot through the right side of my face.

This violent action triggers something in Eric. "Hey fucking bastard, leave him alone!" he shouts angrily. Just as he moves to defend me, a deafening sound erupts, causing me to cover my ears.

Though my ears are covered, I can hear the high-pitched ringing sound echoing in my head, and it's unbearable.

Muffled voices suddenly emerge, making it hard to understand what they're discussing. It sounds like a dispute between the two men. As I slowly uncover my ears and let my arms fall to my sides, I finally grasp what they're arguing about.

As fear courses through my veins, its paralyzing effect creeps into my muscles, hindering my ability to move or even blink.

"Fuck!" the man in the cap shouts in frustration while the other man who's standing feet away from me is standing still. He hasn't responded to the other man, instead, he's looking past me, his eyes seem to have been captured by the sight that's behind me. A sight I can't bring myself to look at, knowing so well what has happened, but too scared to confirm it.

After what seemed like a tormenting forever, I finally will myself to move...my head to be specific. My heart is racing, my mind is already prepared for the worst, even though a small part of it is hoping that it's not true. This can't be. Eric has not been shot.

Eric has been shot.

Seeing him kneeling on the ground, his face contorted into a painful expression while he's holding on to his bleeding right shoulder as he groans in pain, time immediately seizes to move and my surroundings suddenly blur. The angry voices that were loud and clear are suddenly muffled, and for a moment, I feel like I'm in an empty space, a space where neither sound nor anybody else exists.

Like a heart undergoing defibrillation in an attempt to restore its beating, that's how I feel at this moment. Slowly, my whole being is being resuscitated, and as the defibrillator presses hard against my chest once more, I hear the lub-dub sound of my heart echoing from a distance, and shortly after, it emerges from the darkness like one emerging from the deep waters.

With a sudden awakening, I'm back to life...facing my reality, my painful, heartbreaking reality.

"Eric!" A desperate, and raspy voice emerges from the depth of my chest, its strong force awakening my sleeping bones and pumping adrenaline throughout my body which in turn gives me the ability to run to his aid. However, immediately I start running toward him, I'm suddenly tackled to the hard ground by a strong, and heavy force.

"Just take his fucking phone, and let's go before anyone sees us!" The man in the cap yells from
a distance.

Fueled with anger and adrenaline, I don't surrender to what they want, and a struggle ensues between us.

I'm not about to let these men get away with this.

After a few minutes of resisting to give in to what they want, the man who has pinned me to the ground and is constantly causing pain to my face with his raging fists overpowers me and rips my phone from my hand in anger before fleeing the scene with his friend.

Without hesitation, I rush to my brother, who is now lying on his back, bleeding profusely and appearing to be weak.

He's more important than my phone which could have easily sent the bastards to prison.

Kneeling down, I slip my hand behind his back and use my other hand to maintain his consciousness by gently tapping the side of his face in a repeated motion.

"Eric, stay with me. Please, don't fall asleep—I'll get us help," I urge, my voice trembling with fear, desperation, and the near-overwhelming emotion of impending sorrow.

After digging his phone from his pocket, my fleeting stroke of luck evaporates when I realize the phone is dead. To make matters worse, there is no one else in sight.

He's losing a lot of blood with every second that goes by, he is intermittently losing consciousness, and it is only a matter of time before his condition deteriorates further if help does not arrive quickly.

Lyrics

Nothing's come to save us
Nothing's come to save us from ourselves

AN
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