The Lesser of Two Evils

Another Short story from Shift of RikuCorpz, owned by BrotherCorpz. Enjoy!

His face was blackened from battle, and the smell of death filled the air. An eerie mist floated about, obscuring his vision. He looked down as he began his walk up the hill in front of him. His hair fell past his eyes, hiding the single tear that fell. Every step carried the weight of his past and memories flashed in front of him.

Two boys running through fields, the elder helping the younger get up a hill. Their eyes are filled with the love of the other, living off the life of the other.

His eyes wrenched shut as more tears came. Armor clinked as he took another step.

The elder brother now a man, yells at his parents, with the younger watching.

The weight was almost unbearable to him now, and the smell of the battlefield had begun to affect him. He drew closer to the top and the smell was replaced slowly, gently, by the smell of roses, of flowers, of life.

The younger stares horrified as his brother sits upon the mantle of the Empire, surrounded by dark spirits. His parents hanged from the gallows. The elder looks at his younger brother with a feeling of regret and love. The younger brother turns and runs.

The smell of death was almost gone now. His steps became lighter, but his heart became heavier. Tears were flowing steadily down now. The eerie mist below had begun to fade.

The sun had stopped shining, and an eternal darkness wrapped around the earth. His mind had been lost amidst the carnage of battle. Suddenly, the army parts directions, and the younger brother fins himself alone with his elder. His elder brother’s face spells the very sorrow of the world. The younger, forcing his heart into the deepest parts of his body, roars and runs at his elder, blade held high.

Almost to the top of the hill, his footing faltered. The body in his arms shifted and nearly fell from it. He didn’t stop, it was the only thing he could do…for what little time the body had left.

The skies were covered in dark clouds, the armies lay dormant, quiet, feeling the peace of the earth. The younger is kneeling on the ground, hair covering his face and body blackened from the intensity of the battle; a battle for the ages. It begins to rain slowly, cleaning the fields, that he had once played in, of the blood of an army.

At last he stood atop the hill. He finally looked up and shook his head, brushing his hair to the side. His bloodshot eyes are revealed, tears running down his face. And slowly, upon his face, there appears a heartbroken smile, one of sorrow, of despair…of joy and guilt. The smell of Roses fills his nostrils completely and he breathes it all in, the smell of life. He looks down upon the battlefield and sees th victorious army already cleaning the dead, and nature starting to grow again. It took over the forsaken grounds like a hungry beast. He shifts the body in his arm so that the, now peaceful, face overlooks the fields.

“Look Elder Brother…Look at the beauty of the world, long forgotten. This precious gift from the gods is one we tarnished so quickly…and now it is right again, but with a price…and that price…” He wiped the tears away. “That price was your peaceful reconciliation.”

He lifted the dead body’s face to his and wept aloud. All the memories of his childhood, of his loving brother filled his mind. The body in his arms turned to dust and was slowly whisked away in the winds of fate. He fell to his knees, unable to control himself. The people below him turned to the east, and were filled with amazement and awe. Their faces turned to sheer joy, as the younger brother continued to cry out in agony…


And for the first time in decades, the sun broke the horizon and swept away the darkness of the world.

Author's Note

Short story written by Thomas "Shift" Rivet after listening to
Groove Addicts-Fire and Ice
advisable to listen to it while reading :)

Reviews

[ebrown30]

This seems like a story idea to me; I can see you really expanding this. The relationships between the brothers and how each came to take such different paths. Great concept.

For what you have here though I like your discriptions they are origonal and powerful. My favorit was "forcing his heart into the deepest parts of his body."