Bilateral

Andre was laying down in his dorm room, desperately trying to fall into the dark, soothing abyss of a nap. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, but he was still unable to fall asleep. After a while, he gave up, exasperated, and sat on the edge of the bed. He gazed into the mirror in front of him and softly brushed his hair forward with his hand, contemplating on the lessons he had been taught.

He attended an educational institution simply known as “the Academy”. Naturally, academic subjects were taught to the students that went there, such as Math, English, Science, etc. However, other subjects were compulsory, and these were known as ‘active subjects’. These were subjects not quite suitable to be taught by regular schools. They ranged from tying knots, fishing and hiking to more unorthodox subjects, such as hacking, self-defense tactics and gun firing, the latter of which Andre had participated in that day.

He had never held a gun in his hands before, much less knew any of their names. So when he was handed the Glock 19 training gun by his instructor, Mr. Hugh, he was completely in the dark. He had enough sense to know not to point the barrel at anyone -- especially not himself, but that was entry-level knowledge.

He learned how to improve his form -- how to position his body, how to keep his hands straight, how to remove the safety... and before long, it was time for the students to do target practice. All of the students (20 of them) that attended the Academy were in the same class, and of course that included Dion, his older brother. Dion wasn’t necessarily the smartest in the class, but what he lacked in intelligence, he made up for in ambition.

That day, Dion got the highest grade in the class for marksmanship, and as Andre started to come back to his senses, he wondered how and where Dion could have learned to shoot a gun so well-

knock knock knock knock

Andre, realizing someone was at the door, slowly got up and walked over. He glanced through the peephole to see an expanded version of Dion’s face looking back at him.

He chuckled to himself, and opened the door.

Dion stood there in the hallway, his glasses not on his face, but clasped in his right hand. He wore the Academy uniform, a simple white T-shirt with blue stripes on the sleeves, blue uniform pants, and black shoes. Andre was a bit thrown off to see Dion’s worried expression. Dion was almost never worried.

“Hey, bro,” Andre started.

“Hey,” Dion replied, glancing around as he did so. Andre could have sworn he heard his voice crack, but maybe it was just the tiredness seeping in.

“Can I...” Dion started, knocking Andre back into a sense of alertness.

“Oh, sure,” Andre blurted, stepping to the side so Dion could enter. Dion quickly walked inside and stood in the middle of the room, looking back at Andre as he closed the door.

Andre went back to the bed and sat at the edge, and as he did, he could hear Dion sigh and visibly relax.

“So, what is it?” Andre asked.

“Well,” Dion started, his voice low, “since you’re my brother, I know I can trust you with this information.”

Andre furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What in the hell could he be talking about?

“Now,” Dion continued, “the Academy has been teaching us a lot of things, and I am appreciative of that. However... I feel like I -- we -- could be more.”

Andre still had his eyebrows furrowed.

Dion went on, his voice getting a little louder. “Don’t you feel like the Academy is keeping us from achieving a lot more than we are able to? Don’t you feel like they’re... restricting us?”

“Well,” Andre interjected, “that’s usually how institutions like this are. They don’t teach us everything; they only give the basics.”

“And that’s the problem,” Dion argued. “That’s the problem with their system. What if the basics aren’t enough for some? Are they just going to hide behind the excuse that ‘it works for the majority’, and watch the ones who want to excel scramble to find something that meets their expectations? I don’t think so. Not for me.”

At that moment, he pulled out a small device from his pocket. It took Andre a moment to deduce that it was a flash drive. Dion stared at the flash drive for a moment before turning his attention back to Andre.

“This is no ordinary flash drive,” Dion continued. “This has some very important information stored inside.”

Andre almost told him to stop talking. He didn’t want to know what was on that USB.

“This contains every single file stored in the Academy’s database. All of it. And that’s not all...” As Dion said that, his face grew into that of a smile. Andre recognized that smile, as Dion would only smile like that when he was really excited about something.

Andre had heard enough. He stood up and tried to take the flash drive from Dion, but as brotherhood goes, Dion was much too fast for him. When stealing the flash drive from him failed, Andre just stood there. “Listen, Dion,” Andre said, “this plan of yours is sick. First off, how did you get that information in the first place? And how are you so sure it will work? And what will happen to you if you fail?” He started to shout. “It’s not right, none of it!”

“I’m not finished yet,” Dion spat, and the venomous tone of his voice made Andre step back. He was hurt, hurt that his brother had spoken to him like that. Sadness clamped his mouth shut.

“I intend to give this flash drive to Umbra.”

Andre almost hadn’t heard the words, but as they registered, he was horrified.

Umbra was an institution just like the Academy, except it was more ruthless and lethal -- and despised the Academy with a passion. It wasn’t so much the students, but the owners. They had a falling-out on how to bring up students, and they went their separate ways, always instigating something between each other.

If Dion actually gave Umbra the Academy’s sensitive files... who knows what could happen?

“No...”

Andre struggled to speak.

“No?” Dion frowned. “Why not?”

Andre sat back down on the bed, hiding his face, with his hands.

“They’ll kill you,” he said, barely above a whisper. He sniffled, desperately trying to stop himself from crying; however, his attempts were futile and he broke down. In a moment, his entire world had flipped upside-down, and he wished for some sign, for Dion to burst out laughing and say he was joking, or for him to wake up and realize it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t a joke; it wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare...

...and it was real.

“No.”

Andre looked up, his eyes red and full of tears. But he was no longer crying; instead, he was utterly confused.

“What...”

“I won’t die,” Dion grinned mischievously. “You see, in life, to get to the top, you need to be acquainted with certain people. And I... am very much acquainted with someone in Umbra. We have grown to be great friends, and as she is the most influential and important student there, she’ll vouch for me.”

“No!” Andre yelled and ran at Dion. “You’re crazy!” Dion stopped him and held him by his shoulders.

“And you’re limiting yourself. Whether I succeed or not, chaos will ensue, and I will be known by everyone.” Dion hugged Andre and whispered in his ear:

“I’m going through with my plan, whether you like it or not.”

He let him go, and stared at him for a moment more. In that moment, Andre looked in Dion’s eyes for any sign of humanity, some shred of kindness in him...

There wasn’t any.

Turmoil.

That was what Andre would’ve said if he was to describe the next day in one word.

At least it started off decent.

“Heyyyyyy.”

Andre smiled at his phone. He was on a call with one of his friends who, unfortunately, was stationed in a part of the Academy that he didn’t have access to. However, they had met in gun class and hit it off surprisingly fast. They kept contact ever since.

“Hey, man,” Andre responded. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I’m chilling with the few minutes I have before class starts,” he stated. “Can’t believe we have... weapon-making for first period.”

“Well, you need it. You couldn’t make a bazooka a weapon for shit.”

“Wow...” Andre could hear the sarcasm through the screen. “You’re right.”

Andre chuckled. “I know I am.”

“Nah, but you wanna know who’s crazy at weapon making?”

“Who?” Andre asked, although he most definitely knew the answer.

“Your brother.”

Andre quickly remembered that events of the night before, and started to feel a bit upset. He knew Dion would act on anything he was ambitious about. However, he still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Dion had orchestrated something so sinister, if he went through with it, it would cause-

“Dre?”

“Shit, my bad,” Andre quickly answered, shaking the thoughts out of his head. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, he is great at that... he’s great at almost everything.”

There was a pause. “Don’t sound so bummed out about it,” his friend reassured. “Yeah, your brother excels at everything he does, but he can’t be you. You can actually socialize with people, y’know... you understand people. You’re like...” His friend chuckled. “You’re like his better half.”

“As he is mine,” Andre replied, smiling. “Such is brotherhood.”

“Amen.”

All of a sudden, the alarm began to blare.

And at that moment, the turmoil started.

Andre quickly stood up from his bed, phone still in hand. Following protocol, Andre dashed for the emergency exit located in his room.

“What’s going on?!” his friend asked frantically. “What’s the alarm for?”

“Not sure!” Andre replied, opening the emergency door. “But I don’t want to find out!”

He stepped through the emergency door into the clearing, which was a decently-sized field with a glass dome surrounding it that encapsulated anyone inside. All the other students were in the clearing, surveying the school and each other. Everyone was okay...

Wait.

Not everyone was here.

The most concerning absence was that of Dion’s. He would never miss an important alarm such as this one... so why did he? Andre pondered briefly if Dion’s foul plan was actually coming to fruition before his eyes...

“Hey!”

Andre’s attention was drawn to a shout coming from his friend on the phone. But he wasn’t talking to Andre...

He was talking to somebody else.

“Who the hell are you?... Hey! Get the fuck ou-”

His yell was cut off and only a snapping noise was heard.

He didn’t speak again, and the call cut off.

Andre stared down at his phone in silent shock. He had enough training to know that the snapping noise was, unmistakably, someone’s neck.

His friend’s neck.

Immediately, he was in survival mode. “Everyone!” Andre yelled to get the other students’ attentions. “We’re under attack!” He didn’t know that for sure, but if Dion really was behind this, he wouldn’t put it past him.

“What?” one student questioned, glancing around anxiously. “Who’s attacking us?”

Andre thought back to the night before, and then remembered:

“Umbra.”

As soon as the word left his lips, an explosion erupted from the building behind them. Andre watched the events unfold in slow motion, almost as if he was in a film: the glass dome shattering, everyone ducking and running for cover...

As time sped up to normal, Andre quickly headed for the main hall, where the others were heading. There was no doubt in Andre’s mind anymore; this was all the work of Dion. He was really living the nightmare that had previously existed as a dark fantasy world from his brother’s imagination...

He had won, after all.

As they entered the main hall, they began to search for cover so they could think of a plan as quickly as possible-

The guy in front, leading the group, suddenly stopped running. Everyone stopped with him for a moment, confused as to his abrupt change of mind.

“Why’d you stop?” a student asked.

He slowly turned around, as if to answer...

...and the others realized why he had stopped.

He had been shot in his neck, and blood was spouting from there and his mouth.

He fell forward, revealing a boy.

The boy was around their age, with an agile body shape, hair cut low, Umbra’s signature purple uniform...

...and of course, a gun with a suppressor attached.

The Umbra boy wasted no time, and proceeded to fire at everyone in front of him. One by one, streaks of red filled the hallway as students fell to the ground, some clutching their chests in pain. At the end of the day, none of them wanted to die. They were just kids, they had a future ahead of them... but it wasn’t their choice to decide when their time was up.

All of them laid there, staring up at the ceiling, some of them at each other, patiently awaiting the frightening, but final, release of death.

All but Andre.

He was ducking, going back the way he came, but as soon as the shots ceased, he stopped running. He stood still for a moment, which seemed to drag out for eternity... waiting for the bullet to tear through his body, leaving him in agony.

But it never happened.

He slowly turned to the boy, not wanting to look down at his dying, or dead, peers. The boy lowered his weapon and simply stared dead at Andre.

And then it clicked.

“You tell Dion... that he will live to regret this,” Andre breathed out.

The boy tilted his head slightly to the side, before uttering a single phrase:

“You tell him yourself.”

He began firing at Andre, causing him to continue running away, although he knew none of the shots would hit him. He knew deep down Dion would never want to hurt him; he cared about him too much.

He was wrong.

One of the shots nicked him in his left arm, and he cried out in pain, but that only motivated him to run faster. Eventually, he left the main hall and back into the clearing. Since the glass dome was no more, the Academy’s exterior was now easily accessible. He dashed for the outside world, just as the boy exited the hall. The boy began to fire, and another shot got him in the foot. Andre grimaced and stumbled forward, tears beginning to form, but he continued to limp to his freedom.

The boy, who had completed his task, let out a brief sigh... and then turned the gun on himself.

As a singular shot rang across the clearing, Andre stopped in his tracks, letting out a stifled cry. How could Dion even think of doing something like this...

A few minutes later...

As he continued to limp, he made it outside of the Academy’s campus. He realized he had never been this far away from the Academy before, and he had had no idea what the outside world looked like... he was in some sort of forest-desert hybrid environment. The sand was dry and red, and somehow, luscious trees of all kinds sprouted from the ground, rising high above his line of vision. Andre was distraught, but also in awe of the world that existed just outside of his reach.

“I was surprised, as well.”

Andre swiveled around to see Dion, admiring the scenery as well. Although it had only been less than a day since last they talked, Dion wasn’t the same person at all.

Tears flooded Andre’s eyes again, but he was too angry to cry. All he could see was red.

“...Why?” Andre spat.

Dion flicked his eyes from the trees to Andre. In a monotone voice, he responded, “For us.”

“You killed... so many people...”

“And now it’s just us,” Dion replied, placing his hand on Andre’s good arm. “Now we make the rules.”

Andre grunted, his wounds getting more and more painful by the second. Amidst his pain, amidst his sadness and anger, he managed to say one thing.

“Fuck off.”

Dion was taken aback, and removed his hand from Andre’s arm.

“You had me SHOT... and you expect me to...” Andre moaned, the pain getting unbearable. “...to FORGIVE YOU?!”

“I have bandages; you’ll be fine,” Dion blurted out. “Okay? I’m sorry for having him shoot you, but you couldn’t escape unscathed.” He removed a roll of gauze from the jacket he was wearing, and began applying it to Andre’s wounds. All Andre could do was watch in silence as the brother who planned a massacre bandaged the wounds that he had caused.

So many emotions flooded his mind; he was angry, he was sad, but most of all, he was scared. Scared of what Dion would do next.

Scared of what lengths he would go to in order to get what he wants.

Scared of his own fucking brother.

“Alright, that should hold,” Dion spoke, finished with wrapping Andre’s wounds. “I know you’re angry with me now, but one day...” Dion hugged Andre, being wary of the bandages. “One day, you’ll understand why I did it... and you’ll understand that I put you first... over all else.”

BOOM!

Dion let go of Andre, taking a step back. He slowly looked down to find, to his shock...

...blood.

He clutched his chest, looking back up at Andre, as if to ask what had happened to him. That was when he noticed the gun in Andre’s hands, with smoke slowly floating out of the suppressor. As it turned out, Andre had gone back for the gun the boy had used, the tool of chaos now in his possession.

Dion looked into his face in confusion, but all he could find was his lifeless eyes, his neutral facial expression...

He looked just like him. A spitting image.

He fell back, gasping for air, as Andre towered over him, almost in a poetic fashion.

“The one thing...” Andre spoke in a low voice. “The one thing... you forgot to factor into your plan... was me.”

Slowly, Dion began to realize the irony of it all. And finally, for the first time in a long time... he began to chuckle, then laugh, then cackle as much as his blood-filled lungs would allow him. Andre continued to stare down at his deteriorating body, but deep inside, this was affecting him negatively. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, but he physically couldn’t. He was pushed past the point of no return.

He was fully desensitized.

Andre began to limp away from his brother, not knowing where he was going exactly, just knowing that he needed to be far away from here.

And all he heard was the sound of Dion’s maniacal laughter, then deafening silence.