Lies in the Fog
4
Jeremy, I suppose afraid for his own life, knocked his brother to the ground in a motion so swift I barely noted it until Josh was already on the floor. The gun, knocked a few feet away. I was petrified, my body frozen in a moment that felt utterly surreal. Things like this only happened in the movies, not to us.
“You bastard! You would have me sent away, wouldn’t you?” I watched as Jeremy’s stone cold fist came down on his brother’s delicate face. I was crying again; begging them to stop. Jeremy’s gaze was cold and distant. He had somehow been lost in the lies left in the fog at Mackenzie Lake. This wasn’t him.
“You’re a fucking mess, Josh. Get a hold of yourself,” he demanded bitterly, kicking him one more time before he backed up, sitting on the floor next to his brother, chest heaving in and out, sweat trickling down his forehead.
His brother’s awkward sobs carelessly filled the barn in a haunting manner. He repeated the same lines over and over. We should’ve done something, we should’ve done something. Look at us… We’ve forgotten who we are. This isn’t real. It can’t be real. I can’t DEAL with this anymore!
At that moment, everything turned surreal; time had stopped. I looked up at Ben, whose gaze turned to the gun on the floor. My gaze turned to Josh, who reached out for it, and sat on his knees in front of his brother. I watched as Ben’s body, aware of what was about to happen, jolted from the chair to his friend. I could’ve done something. I could have at least moved…
By the time his body knocked Josh to the floor it was too late. A shaking hand holding a gun, made its way to Josh’s head, instead of his brother’s as we might have assumed. The screaming, my screaming, was blood-curdling, nearly covering the sound of the shot. Josh’s body laid limp in Ben’s arms.
My mouth opened for a moment, hesitant to start the story. They would send Jeremy away. They could send all of us away. Officer William was attentive; warm, dark eyes fixed on me, a pen and paper in hand. I looked over at Ben, who nodded, and suddenly the words were no longer trapped.
“It all started a year ago,” I begin.
It was the summer after graduation when Josh died. His death was unnecessary. It left nothing but a bad story behind- not by choice, but by destiny. As it was my destiny to unravel the truth.
“You bastard! You would have me sent away, wouldn’t you?” I watched as Jeremy’s stone cold fist came down on his brother’s delicate face. I was crying again; begging them to stop. Jeremy’s gaze was cold and distant. He had somehow been lost in the lies left in the fog at Mackenzie Lake. This wasn’t him.
“You’re a fucking mess, Josh. Get a hold of yourself,” he demanded bitterly, kicking him one more time before he backed up, sitting on the floor next to his brother, chest heaving in and out, sweat trickling down his forehead.
His brother’s awkward sobs carelessly filled the barn in a haunting manner. He repeated the same lines over and over. We should’ve done something, we should’ve done something. Look at us… We’ve forgotten who we are. This isn’t real. It can’t be real. I can’t DEAL with this anymore!
At that moment, everything turned surreal; time had stopped. I looked up at Ben, whose gaze turned to the gun on the floor. My gaze turned to Josh, who reached out for it, and sat on his knees in front of his brother. I watched as Ben’s body, aware of what was about to happen, jolted from the chair to his friend. I could’ve done something. I could have at least moved…
By the time his body knocked Josh to the floor it was too late. A shaking hand holding a gun, made its way to Josh’s head, instead of his brother’s as we might have assumed. The screaming, my screaming, was blood-curdling, nearly covering the sound of the shot. Josh’s body laid limp in Ben’s arms.
My mouth opened for a moment, hesitant to start the story. They would send Jeremy away. They could send all of us away. Officer William was attentive; warm, dark eyes fixed on me, a pen and paper in hand. I looked over at Ben, who nodded, and suddenly the words were no longer trapped.
“It all started a year ago,” I begin.
It was the summer after graduation when Josh died. His death was unnecessary. It left nothing but a bad story behind- not by choice, but by destiny. As it was my destiny to unravel the truth.