Blood Brothers To The End

'kaboom!' the sound of an explosion rings through the room. The speakers crackling slightly as the bomb goes off.

"Damn it! Not again!" cried the teen. "This game sucks!"

He threw down the controller as he launched himself off the bed towards the bedroom door. The sound of the game over screen ringing through the hallway as the teen dropped down the stairs two at a time.

" I need food, now..." he said out loud.

"Then get some you big dope.." came an all too familiar voice.

"Shut your trap William! I wasn't talking to you!" shouted the teenage boy.

"Too bad Lewis, you cant pretend your brother doesn't exist! I have too much sway on you!" came a smug reply from William.

" I hate you William..." Yelled Lewis.

"Whatever." Came the nonchalant reply. Lewis reached the bottom of the stairs and passed through the living room into the kitchen. There was a note the kitchen counter that read 'Dear Lewis, i left some food in the oven, just turn it to 180 degrees and leave it for an hour, love Mom' Lewis had seen the note the moment he had come home from college.

He had come home and kicked off his shoes, and immediately gone for a drink when he had noticed it. He wasn't hungry so he simply decided it wasn't the time to eat. But now it was, and damn was he hungry.

"5 hours without food really does a number on you." he thought to himself as he twisted the nob on the oven to 180.

"I really hope its chicken this time, i do not want steak again. i don't think my lower jaw can handle it." Within seconds the oven was glowing and he could faintly make out a chunk of meat in a small pot within the oven.

"Good." he thought to himself as he walked back through the living room towards the stairs.

"Hey, get me a drink will you?" yelled William.

"Screw you, get it yourself!" replied Lewis, his voice raised just enough for his brother to hear him.

"Fine then, ass-hat, i'll get it myself." retorted William, with his voice cracking ever so slightly. for a 14 year old, his brother had quite the mouth on him, but only when their mother wasn't there. otherwise he was a perfect little angel, though he couldn't fault his brother, he had to be angel too if he wanted to avoid incurring the wrath of their mother.

"maybe you should tone down that language." Said Lewis as his brother passed him.

"Maybe you should tone down your face!" Came the rather cleverly thought up reply.

"Wow a five year-old could've come up with a better response than that, and probably quicker." replied Lewis, a faint smile tracing his lips. Though they rivaled constantly, they were still brothers. Well, sort of. They were both orphaned at a young age, William at 4 and Lewis at 8. At the orphanage, the two found companionship in each other, Lewis being the guardian, despite his wiry frame and William being the ever curious child he was born to be. The two gravitated towards each other, and after just a few months, a bond was formed.

After 5 years together at the orphanage, a woman came by looking to adopt. She was watching the children play in the garden when she observed the two of them, hands clasped tight to each other, fingers crossed at the end of the garden. They had seen her come in, just like they saw the rest, and just like with the rest, they prayed they were chosen.

"My, my." said the woman. "Who are those two at the back there?" she asked the owner of the orphanage.

"Those two are Lewis, aged 13, and William, aged 9. why? do you think they might be the ones?" replied the owner with curiosity.

"Perhaps. are they related?" said the woman in thought.

"No they aren't, but they are like brothers to each other, if you wish to take one, then the other will follow you home. they are bonded like that. its strange, they do look remarkably similar, if you didn't know any better, they could be mistaken for brothers!" exclaimed the owner, her mind drifting to the memories she held of the two. "if your looking for loyal children, then these two are perfect!" she said, hope shining through her voice.

"Alright then. i will trust your judgement. i would like to adopt them both please. And if possible, i would like to take them back with me right away!" said the woman, joy creeping into her voice.

"Of course! i will let the boys know right away!" said the owner, and with that she ran out to tell the boys the good news. Of course that was 5 years ago, and the two had since lived good lives in the care of their new mother.

knock, knock . the sound of the door being rather violently hammered came rushing to Lewis's ears, shaking him from remembering the story his mother had told him about how she met them.

" who is it?" came Williams muffled voice, the shuffling off the food in the fridge covering his voice slightly.

"dunno." replied Lewis.

"Then find out!" yelled William, his head poking round the corner of the door frame. "Yeah, yeah whatever." Lewis replied " who is it?" he said, opening the door slightly.

"Delivery!" came an unknown yet, oddly cheery voice.

"Delivery of what?" asked Lewis, curiosity peaking his interest.

"Just a few books, my good man!" replied the, still, oddly cheerful voice.

"Well alright then, pass 'em here." said Lewis, his voice automatically tuning itself to his regular greeting and response format as he opened the door.

"Of course, of course, here ya go my friend!" said the man. With a clear look at him now, Lewis could see the man was obviously in his 50's, his grey hair and beard showing under the standard company cap.

"thanks very much sir." said Lewis, his voice coming out automatically, his mind barely registering what he was doing.

"No problem young man, and because you got such good manners, i wont even charge ya!" giggled the old man, his bubbly-ness only overshadowed by the strangely satisfactory grin on his face.

"Weird..." Lewis thought to himself. "Thank you very much sir."

"not a problem young man, have a nice day!" and with that the old man trotted down the stairs to the door, a spring in his step.

"That didn't feel right." thought Lewis. why was that guy so cheerful? he seemed so pleased with himself. so strange.

"Oh well!" he thought, "Might as well see what these books are for." Lewis thought to himself.

Just as he was about to open one of the books, William came crashing into him at full speed, knocking Lewis off his feet and into the sofa behind him.

"OWW! What the hell was that for?!" yelled Lewis, his voice hoarse from the impact.

"For not letting me choose a book! i was watching the whole time and you didn't even bother to ask if they might be mine!" William harrumphed in triumph.

"OK then, are they yours?" asked Lewis.

"Nope." replied William, a smile on his face "But i do want to choose the one we are going to read together!" Lewis' face dropped.

"Together?...  Really?.." he said, his face looking more and more like a wet pillow with every syllable.

"Yep!" replied William, a grin adorning his features "I want to read this one! The Art Of Magic" he said, his voice becoming more curious as he considered the title and what may lay within the Pages.

"Fine, but i'm holding it!" said Lewis, defiance in his tone.

"Whatever, just hurry up and read it!" squealed William in delight. "Well alright then.." Lewis thought to himself. "Lets see what this is about." and with that he opened the book.

A bright flash filled the room and then darkness. Lewis blinked but couldn't see, his eyes enveloped in darkness. He moved his hands but couldn't feel the sofa beneath him, in fact he couldn't feel anything at all. This was wrong, so wrong. Was he dead? Was there a bomb in the book? Had he died of a heart attack? All these thoughts and more crossed Lewis' mind as he seemingly floated about in space, stuck and unable to move.

"William!?" he shouted in fear. "WILLIAM ARE YOU THERE?!" panic now taking over. "Shit.." he thought. "what is happening to me?" he said, fear gripping his body. Suddenly a voice that could only be described as unnaturally loud, boomed through the silence, causing Lewis to twist his head in all directions.

"DO NOT BE AFRAID BOY. I HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE FOR A REASON. A REASON SO IMPORTANT, THE FATE OF A PLANET HANGS IN THE BALANCE." the voice bellowed.

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" screamed Lewis, his mind jarred at the thought that there was something else here with him.

"FRET NOT CHILD, FOR I HAVE BROUGHT YOU NO HARM, THE SAME WITH YOUR SO CALLED BROTHER." Brother.. the thing just said brother.

"William was alive!" Lewis thought. "Thank god he was alive!" now Lewis' thought turned to the matter at hand, what came next? This thing, this grand voice, had plucked him from his sofa and dragged him into what seemed like space, and all for some important reason? What was happening?

"Who are you?" shouted Lewis at the top of his lungs.

"I AM NO-ONE DEAR BOY, BUT YOU ARE SOMEONE IMPORTANT. I AM SENDING YOU TO A PLACE YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE COULD EVER EXIST. BUT YOU MUST TRUST ME."

Trust? Trust it with what? His life? before he could continue his train of thought, the voice spoke again.

"NOW THEN, BESIDES THE BELONGINGS ON YOU, I AM BESTOWING UPON YOU A SATCHEL. THIS SATCHEL IS AN INFINITE VOID IN WHICH YOU CAN STORE ANY AND ALL OBJECTS YOU DEEM NECESSARY. BEYOND THIS I WILL GIFT TO YOU POWERS YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN, AND THAT THE WORLD I AM ENTRUSTING YOU TO HAS NEVER SEEN EITHER, BUT I ASK YOU THIS, IF YOU WERE TO TAKE ONE THING WITH YOU, WHAT WOULD IT BE?" the voice said, its words echoing in Lewis' mind. One thing. One thing that could make or break whatever the fuck was happening.

He didn't need much time to think, even with all this new information being thrown at him, as he had already chosen. Mustering up all he could in his lungs he said...

"I choose my brother..."