“We have to go Aaron!” Nate spat out his plea as his brother was continuously looking back behind them. He dragged his little brother by a hand, hoping that would be enough to get them out of there. The dark, crimson liquid stained the forest floor, and the rain spread it around the area in little streams, seemingly chasing them. Aaron was not guilty of this murder, yet the remorse followed him just as heavily as it did for Nate.

After hours of running both boys collapsed from tiredness. Their bodies and minds aching. Wanting to rest at least for a while, an hour would suffice. Nate kept on standing, leaning against a tree while Aaron still in deep shock was on his knees looking down at the ground. He was still processing everything that happened, but the thoughts that hit him first were all the dead bodies. The stench, the blood, the lifeless eyes. Those images replayed themselves in his head.

Meanwhile, Nate did not even think about that, he had cut those memories out of his mind already and he could only think about his brother sitting on the forest floor, shivering. As he glanced at his younger brother he saw realisation hitting him - hard. Nate knew that Aaron wasn’t thinking only about the dead bodies left behind, scattered around the forest floor but also about their father. His death. New tears formed in his brother’s eyes and then Aaron scrunched up in a ball and looked up at Nate asking “Why…?”

Just one word was enough to make him sick to the stomach. He started to throw up violently trying to reject everything he witnesses from his body.

Nate watched him closely, knowing full well what Aaron just went through. He himself had the same reaction when he was training and had to kill. Despite his age, he started early on. He looked his brother in the eyes saying “I don’t know.” Those words hung in the air like a guillotine, just waiting for the headsman to appear and end it. They were one of the biggest lies Nate ever said, and he knew the consequences would be dire later on, but at this point, he did not care.

Aaron shook continuing to throw up as Nate added as if he spoke to himself from years before “Don’t stop it, Aaron, it is better to get it out of your system.”

Aaron panted and looked up wiping off his mouth. He was about to ask his brother about his statement but he stopped himself seeing Nate’s face, which showed hatred, disgust and regret in his feisty eyes. That made Aaron rethink his question.

Nate looked behind and sighed finally sitting down “I doubt they will follow us. But we can't afford a long rest.”

Aaron nodded scrambling to his feet and sitting next to Nate. Once again tears forming in his eyes as he asked “Nate…? There is no going back, right?”

Nate shook his head “No, lil bro. After what happened there is not. I am a monster now so you won't be safe there either,” he then chuckled humourlessly, “monster…? A rightfully deserved title for someone like me. Maybe Father was right in the end.”

Aaron frowned and was about to ask but Nate beat him to it by pointing at his right eye, where a dark tattoo mark was going over his eye. The mark stretched from above his eyebrow towards his cheek bending sharply just under his eye. “This is a mark of an assassin. This class is born with it and hated by everyone. Father wanted to make me a zerk but it would not have worked no matter how hard I tried. So a monster is a very fitting name.” Nate explained. His words stoic but behind them, there was a hint of regret.

Aaron nodded saying “I thought that this was what that mark meant, but Father always told me off when I asked about it.”

Nate patted his little brother giving him a smile “Don’t worry, I am used to the idea now.”

“But I thought assassins work under their families…” That last word gave Aaron a higher pitch, but he stopped himself before his voice broke.

Meanwhile, Nate replied quietly, “They do. And that is what I did and will do, you are my family. I have to protect you.” Nate murmured the last words and they were lost on the quiet wind, he had to convince, not only his brother but himself as well. Then he added, “What happened…” He trailed off not wanting to remind his brother of the gore anymore, “I am not surprised that my mark is on my face. A fitting punishment.”

Aaron frowned, but there were no words he could say that would help either of them. He looked back with tears in his eyes.

After a bit of rest, Nate said: “From now on we need a new name.” Aaron nodded looking back at Nate who asked: “What is the name of this forest?”

Aaron scratched his head “Raven’s nest, I think.”

Nate stood up offering a hand to Aaron saying “Hmm, then from now on we are Nathan and Aaron Ravenwood.” Aaron took his hand and got up taking a deep breath. He was still shaking, still unsure of what has happened.

Nate knew Aaron tried his hardest not to burst into tears once more. He, himself, wanted to curl up and cry. However, he knew better than that, he knew that this won't do anything for either of them. Looking at his scared brother Nate mumbled “Leaving is hard. I know. But we can’t stay here.” He said it to himself more than anyone. Then they headed off in a new direction.

*

As they travelled for few hours Nate noticed that his brother is slowly realising the situation they are in, not just a shock from the gore and deaths but an understanding of what happened and that now they are all alone with nowhere to go. He started to cry again, a lot. It was absolutely normal but Nate was worried, not just about him but also about the control over his powers. Aaron did lose control from time to time, and it was never a pretty sight. He always had that problem, especially when it came to negative emotions. They would just burst out of him without a warning and destroy everything in the area and since he was quite the delicate child those were common emotions for him. During those times when he was sad or angry, Nate would make Aaron direct his power at himself in order to alleviate the younger brother’s pain and to minimalise the damage done to everything else. He would do that every time, ever since Aaron was born. So it was normal for him to be hit by an energy wave, pushed by a blast, burned by a flame or to be frozen over from blizzard. This was, however, good training for his dodging skills.

Aaron fell on his knees crying out once again. He was never in so much pain before and the power he held in started to escape which looked like a blue fog seeping from his little body. Nate turned to him and tried to calm Aaron down but in vain. His pleadings were wasted and in the end, Nate shouted resorting to the method he knew would work, but would hurt them both in the process “Get a grip of yourself, Aaron! We can't turn back time!”

Aaron shot his head up at his brother in anger and a huge wave of energy was released which threw Nate away, nothing new but this time the boy was not as lucky. His back hit an old tree where branches were broken. One of the unlucky sharp edges pierced through his back making him squeal in agony. Nate moaned trying to get himself off, as he was hanging midair with the branch inside his back. He coughed up blood as he tried to wiggle off of the dead tree.

Aaron looked, terrified, at his brother and rushed to him.

Nate grunted in pain as he reached behind him, towards his back where the branch was. Feeling his, already, blood-soaked clothes he grimaced.

Aaron cried “Nate! I am so sorry! I didn’t…” Aaron trailed off.

Nate smiled “Don’t worry. I am fine.” From the corner of his mouth, which was turned slightly upwards to reassure his brother, a stream of blood started to flow while he whispered: “Help me get off.” He reached a bloodied hand towards his brother who took it. Then with a bit of struggle, Aaron managed to take his brother down. After which Nate immediately passed out.

The darkness was the most unpleasant from this whole experience. It was coolly greeting him, taking him in. Nate sat in it for hours not wanting to move. Small shadows swarm around him in the form of little bubbles, wanting to take him away, promising something good in return. Nate, not trusting anything, didn’t react to the beckoning.

Then a deep voice called to him after hours “So now you will just sit there you monster?” Nate twitched and he lifted his head in terror as the voice continued “You murdered so many and yet when it is your time all you can do is sit and do nothing? Pathetic.”

The voice mocked him and Nate screamed: “You are dead!” He shot up from his place and looked into the darkest part of the tunnel he found himself in “I saw you bleed to death!”

Voice laughed “Indeed. And you are just as dead, now.”

Nate looked at the shadows floating around him and he realised that they had faces, faces of the men he killed. He shivered “No!”

The voice laughed once more and emerged from the darkness “Too late to scream 'no'.”

Nate watched the ghostly figure in front of him, his father didn’t resemble his human self in the slightest bit, he was covered in wounds from a knife but his voice was the same. A voice which scolded Nate all his life, which shouted at Aaron, which growled at their mother. A voice which ruined them all. Nate glared at the figure his eyes catching a new light of revenge. He reached to his belt and took out a knife screaming “You are tricking me! But if I have to I will kill your ghost!”

Then he slowly stepped towards the destroyed ghostly figure, however, he started to move away, smirking. Nate followed suit, his hatred growing with each step and the ghostly shadows followed him, happy he was moving.

Then a faded scream resonated behind “No…” It faded as quickly as it came. A woman’s voice, the one which used to lull him and Aaron to sleep. Nate stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head around. The voice must have been in his head, he couldn’t hear it, he must have imagined it as if the only sane part of his head was warning him not to follow his father's ghost. He realised that the tunnel was brighter on the other side, still dark and gloom but somehow more welcoming. It was foggy in the opposite direction. Thoughts swirled in Nate’s head and after a short moment, he laughed. The sound echoed through the tunnel, like a pleasant melody and he looked back at the ghost of his father still chuckling.

The father frowned and Nate asked, “So even when I have a choice of living or dying you still drag me down?” Father grunted and Nate hid his knife “I don’t deserve heaven or whatever the hell it is, so my only choice is hell, right? So, the other, foggy, way must be life then.”

The father growled and lunged at the young boy while Nate smirked and once again took out his knife and stabbed the ghost. He then whispered feeling the ghost in front of him fading “I will come back for you once more, your soul cannot rest. But for now, I have someone to take care of and protect.”

The ghost disappeared along with the shadows which swirled around him. Nate then turned around and walked into the foggy area and after a while, he collapsed.

*********************************************************************

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