The Bullet of Truth

Tw: This story has mentions of blood/gore, bodies, guns and fire.

I snapped open my eyes, dazed. 

Who am I? Was the first thing that ran through my head.. 

I was blinded temporarily by the bright sun. I blinked slowly until my eyes adjusted to the brightness. By the time my eyes adjusted I was able to see that the sky was a darker shade of gray. 

Wasn’t the sky supposed to be blue, not gray?

That was a good sign at least I remembered something. Actually now that I thought about it, I knew many things. But nothing that connected to me or how I got there. Even though that was technically a lie, I knew one thing: Arin. My name, but I couldn’t remember my last name. 

Everyone has a last name. So what is mine? So many questions ran through my tired mind. It felt like my head was going to explode if it tried to process one more thing.

My hands touched the damp grass. The water droplets popped as soon as they came in contact with my hand. The field I laid in had many blooming flowers, giving the air a sweet and fresh smell. On the edges of the field a dense forest began. It was too thick to see past the first rows of trees. 

I looked around trying to find any kind of landmarks. The only building in sight was an old looking house that was just barely in my eyesight.

Is that my house? It was a good question. But if it was then why was I asleep in this field instead of in my bed? It just didn’t make sense. 

But was I really asleep? I didn’t know for sure. But something was definitely going on. I should probably check it out. Maybe it’ll help refresh my memory and if it doesn't at least I’ll know.

I pushed myself off of the ground with a soft grunt. I had to figure out who I was, what kind of person I was. Did I have a family? I wanted answers, and I was going to get them, one way or another.

I began to walk closer to the house, despite the fact that every step I took the more dense the atmosphere got. 

Why do I feel like I need to turn back? It’s just an old house that looks to be painted black. 

Just an old house.

The closer I got the more I could make out the shape of the buildings. It wasn’t just an old house, it was a town.

Maybe someone can help me. I thought, picking up my pace.

As I drew closer, I began to faintly smell smoke. The smell made me realize that the old house wasn’t painted black, it was burnt. It had been on fire. I stopped and blankly stared at it. 

Sighing, I walked closer to the house, my brain was buzzing with different questions.

Is it just this house? But what if it’s not just the house?

Suddenly I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to enter the town.

I shook my head. If I was going to get answers, I should start in the only place of civilization. Well at least the only place I’m aware of.

A twig snapped under-foot making me jump. This place was starting to give me the chills. I looked around, having a sense that I was being watched as I walked into the town. But nothing was in sight.

I looked around and froze with horror at what I saw. Everything was a charred black, not just the one house. Rubble was scattered around, littering the roads. I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone was crushed underneath it all. Some of the buildings had caved in, others were just walls. A few houses were even still on fire.  

“Hello?” I called. 

There was no response. But I wasn’t really expecting one, by the looks on the place. If anyone was still alive they were far away from here by now. 

So, why am I here? How in the world am I still alive? Why was I left in an open field, alone? Did someone leave me for dead? Am I just dreaming?

I walked among the rubble of the town, trying to find out anything I could. About what happened here, but more importantly about who I was. 

The destroyed building stopped abruptly as I reached the center of the town. To my horror there were bodies piled on top of each other, some of the piles were even on fire. 

That’s when I realized it. Someone was still there, there had to be, nothing else would explain. 

But who and why? Were they the one who did this and was just burning all of the evidence? Or were they just simply burning the dead as a sign of respect?

“Arin?” A hoarse voice asked, almost afraid.

I turned around to see a man stagger into view.

“Have we met before?” I asked. The man looked oddly familiar, it almost scared me. The fact that he looked more familiar to me than I did to myself, did scare me. 

Maybe it was his jet black hair or his hollow gray eyes and the way they looked at me. Was it his young looking face with the scar across his cheek or the way he limped?

Whoever this was, he must be important, or I would probably forget him as I did myself.

“You know who I am, Arin, don't play dumb.” His voice was shaking. 

“Okay, what if I said I for some reason said I don’t remember you, and have no clue where I am.” 

“That’s a lie, Arin. You could never forget what you did.” 

What I did, what does this man mean? I did nothing, at least that nothing that I remember…

“Why did you come back?” He snapped, out of nowhere, making me flinch.

“I don’t know man! I don’t even remember who I am, where we are or who the crap you are!” I yell back.

“Oh Arin, you aren’t lying are you.” He whispered, taking a shaken step closer to me.

Tears stung my eyes, but I held them back. “Who am I? Who are you?”

“I’m your brother, Arin. It’s Max. Please say you remember.” 

Max. It didn’t sound familiar, then again nothing did.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you, Max. But I must admit you look familiar.” I utter.

Max looked heart broken, “Nothing?” 

I shook my head, I felt bad for him.

“What about that stupid promise we gave each other when we were ten? Please say you remember something about our brotherhood.” Tears filled his eyes. I looked at him solemnly.

“Arin?” He whispered.

I give him a look of regret. “Nothing, Max. Nothing about you. Nothing about me. Nothing whatsoever.”

He took another shaky step closer to me, he looked like he was about to fall to his knees and cry. He was now close enough that I could smell a strong scent of gunpowder on his clothes. But I ignored it, I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted to have a brother who cared about me. No, not even a brother, I just wanted to believe someone knew and cared about me. But one thing bugged me.

“Max?” I asked.

“Yes, brother?”

“Who am I?” 

He looked at me, he opened his mouth to speak, but he seemed hesitant. I looked at him. Was he going to be able to answer the one question that bugged me the most? Max closed his mouth and looked at the ground.

“Can you tell me?” I asked, though I already knew his answer by the way he acted.

Max looked at me with hurt in his eyes. “I’m afraid I can’t help you as much as you want me to. But I can say this, you are a man who has made some mistakes.” 

What was that supposed to mean? I wondered. 

“Where are we?”

“The remains of a town called Urver.” Max replied, softly. I could barely hear him over the crackling of the fires around us.. “It was destroyed a few days ago.”

A few days. Wow, how long have I been out? Or do I just not remember what happened in that span of those days? It was hard to keep track of anything when you lost your memory. I didn't even remember my own brother.

“What happened here?” I asked, unsure if I was ready for the answer.

Max looked at me. “I’m not sure you’re ready to know.” 

This didn’t help my confidence. I let out a sigh, I wanted to know what killed all these people.

“I want to know. Please tell me, brother.”

There was a tense silence, it went unbroken for a couple of minutes.

“You happened, Arin.” He responded, gravely. His hollow eyes became rougher. 

I happened, I thought, as my stomach dropped, what did I do? Why did I kill so many? Is Max telling the truth? Or is he the killer?

“How do I know it wasn’t you Max?” I asked carefully. 

“Even when you don’t remember anything, you still accuse me!” He cried, making me feel bad. A few minutes ago he was yelling at me and now he was in tears. I had no clue how I could help him.

“I don’t mean to!” 

“You don’t have to mean it. No one ever means what they say after it’s already slipped out of their mouths. Arin, it still hurts if you mean it or not.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just unsure how much I should trust you.”

Suddenly Max seemed to change. He looked up at me with a cruel smile. 

“You never really did trust me, Arin, and you never should've for one second. If you didn’t you would have realized I was the one who drove you to kill everyone.” In a blink of an eye he had a gun in his hand, with two bullets in the chamber. My blood ran cold.

This isn’t happening!

“What did you do to me?” I asked, eyes wide. I watched the gun, and shivered as it was pointed in my direction.

“I did what I do best, Arin. I wear a mask and drive my enemies to their own undoing. You were a lot harder to get into. But I succeeded in the end. The town of Urver is now a pile of rubble, and everyone is dead.” He spread out his arms, showing the pile of bodies. “And you, Arin, are the one to blame. By now you probably are wanted for mass murder and no one will be able to connect me to it. Never.”

I backed away from Max, “I thought we were brothers!”

“It was a test to see if you really did forget everything. After I had confirmed it I decided to play with you. It’s always fun to trick my enemies, especially when they’re at their most vulnerable time. In fact my name isn’t even Max, Max is just a name I used to deceive you, and it worked way before you lost your memories. My name is actually Rafael. Rafael Laurier.”

I froze and my heart rate sped up. My instincts told me that Rafael Laurier was a bad person and to get away from him.

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

He gave me an innocent look. “I want nothing from you. I am done with you. You can leave,”

I knew this was a trick. He wouldn’t just let me off the hook and act like we never saw each other. Would he? 

“But I can’t, you said it yourself, I’m wanted for mass murder.” 

A smile crept up on Rafael’s face, “Which is why I’m allowing you to leave. No matter what you choose Arin. You will end up dead, or even worse. Run off now and someone else will kill you, stay and I’ll finish the job I started.” He flicked the safety on his gun to off.

I staggered away from him. The gun was trained on my heart, I wouldn’t be able to escape it. One quick move and he could drop me.

Even if I wanted to, I knew he would’ve never let me leave. Even if I vowed my loyalty to him. I’m just another enemy in his eyes, another obstacle in his way. He’d want me gone as quickly as possible. 

 Tears stung my eyes, and this time I let them come. 

I’m going to die and I’ll never really know who I am or who my family is, if I even had one. The worst part is that there is nothing I can do.

Rafael’s finger gripped the trigger and without any hesitation, fired. 

But even after all that had happened I had known one thing. I was long dead before the gun was even fired. 

I had died the moment I saw his eerily familiar face. The bullet that killed me was the bullet of truth, not the bullet from the gun. It had killed my confidence and my spirit. It hurt to think I had killed many and I didn’t even remember why I did.

I locked eyes with him. His gray eyes showed no feeling whatsoever. He didn’t seem to have a problem taking another man's life.

“I hope you never forget what you’ve done, Rafeal Laurier.” I spat. 

The bullet struck me in the chest, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground…