The Brotherhood

Tim fumed as he dusted the dark, dank attic of his family’s two-story home. It was only 1:00 p.m. but you couldn’t tell up here with the lack of windows. The only light for the entire room was a shaky lightbulb hanging from a chain. That left a lot of dark corners and shadows that wreaked havoc with Tim’s vivid imagination. But right now, thankfully, his anger drowned out his fear. 

“This family sucks,” he muttered. His sister tormented him daily, his mother made him clean here despite telling her many times it scared him; and his father just told him to “face his fears.” Even though he was always at his job at the hospital and never had to clean the attic himself. Soon Tim found himself incessantly replaying scenes with his family over and over again in his mind. As he contemplated his revenge against all of them, a small mouse poked its head out from behind a box he was dusting. 

“Yaaahhhh!” Tim screamed, jumping back. When he did he bumped against a two-by-four in the wall. Something black fell from the ceiling above his head and landed right before his feet. Tim fell to the ground and scurried back. But the black thing just sat there. It took Tim a moment to realize the black thing was a book. He crawled towards it, picking it up off the ground. 

It looked old. Like, older than his parents, heck, his grandparents old Tim thought. The only thing on the cover was a sideways 8. Only the 8 was made out of two snakes, eating each other. One was black, one was red. He opened the cover. The only thing on the first page was a red-ink stamp with the words ‘Top Secret,’ like out of some old spy movie or something. He turned another page and read aloud: 

“The Codes and Oaths of the Brotherhood of the Black Snake. The following pages are for member’s or initiate’s eyes only.” Tim paused, this seemed interesting. Whatever it was, it seemed like the author or authors didn’t want a lot of people to read this. He turned another page. 

“The Brotherhood of the Black Snake is for those who’ve been trodden upon and molested by the forces which seek to put some men above others.” The writing seemed old-timey, but Tim thought he pretty much knew what everything meant. “If you have been betrayed by those you thought friends, abused by those you counted as peers, and dismissed by those closest to you, then you are apt to join our ranks.” Tim definitely felt like those things right now. So he read on. “As one who has experienced such exploitation, if you join us and swear our oaths, we can mold you to become a warrior against the ultimate enemy, The Fraternal Order of the Red Snake.” 

Fraternal Order of the Red Snake? Tim flipped to the cover again, saw the symbol with the two snakes eating each other. He had to know what this all meant. Tim poured over the pages, losing track of time. Although the language was cryptic and outdated, Tim discovered that the Brotherhood of the Black Snake seemed to be a group of men who met in secret, made secret plans and never revealed their identity to anyone outside of the group. They seemed to be hell-bent on defeating this other group they called the Fraternal Order of the Red Snake, which the book said was a group of the most evil sort of people imaginable and who was bent on world domination. They said this other group was also secret, and had infiltrated many levels of the government. 

But what really intrigued Tim, was a page that said brothers help take care of problems or “problematic characters” in each others’ lives. Tim would love to have a group of guys who would take care of the “problematic characters” in his life. He hoped that meant make his family nicer. To his delight, he saw a note scribbled on the corner of one page with an address, day and time. The meeting was tomorrow! In order to be let into a meeting it said, you had to memorize certain phrases and swear certain promises. All of these were written in the book. Tim stayed up all night learning them by heart. 

****

Tim’s GPS told him the meeting place was about a 30-minute walk from his house. He was surprised at how easy it had been to fool his parents into thinking he was meeting up with friend. 

The female voice told him he had arrived at what appeared to be a laundromat that looked like it had been closed for years. But just as the instructions in the book had said, the door was open. Once inside he had to hold his nose for the smell of mold that burned his nostrils. He looked for the washer that had the design of a black snake around the edge of the circular glass door, and put in a quarter as the book instructed. 

A loud click sounded, making Tim jump. And instead of the washing machine turning on, the glass door began to rotate. The black snake slowly slithering in a circle. Until eventually, the door popped open to reveal a large hole in the wall behind it. Tim climbed through, fear and curiosity mixing in a weird sensation. He crawled out into a simple room lit by several dim lamps. In the middle was a group of 8 men, sitting around a circular table, all staring at Tim. 

Tim gulped loudly, way louder than he had wanted to. 

“I’m here for the...meeting?” he squeaked. All these men looked way older than him. Half of them looked white and the other half seemed to be of other ethnicities. A finely dressed man in a dark suit finally addressed him. 

“Do you come prepared for our task?” Tim remembered the next line from the book. 

“I come as one who…..who….has been trodden under the weight of the Red Snake’s belly!” The fancy man cocked his head thoughtfully at Tim, then shot glances at the others around the table. Some returned his glance with slight nods. 

“Are you prepared to mutually support and aid your black-scaled brethren in whatsoever they stand in need of?” This is the part where I swear loyalty or something like that, Tim thought. 

“I am, and pledge it on my honor,” Tim said as solemnly as he could. 

“Are you prepared to do whatever is necessary to sink the fang into the belly of the Red Snake?” The black-suited man asked. Tim felt a shiver when he accented the word “whatever.” But he really wanted their help. 

“I am,” Tim said, his mouth growing dry. “...and pledge it on my honor.”

“What is your name boy?”

“Tim...Timothy Robinson,” he choked out. 

“Rise Tim! Repeat the sacred Oath of the Mark, and become forever a brother of the Black Snake.” All of the men stood up, Tim was already standing so he couldn’t really “rise,” but he tried to stand on the tip of his toes. All the men rolled up their sleeves, showing a tattoo of the same mark on the cover of the book Tim found. The Black Snake and The Red Snake eating each other’s tails in what Tim now knew to be the infinity symbol. Then they said aloud together:

“Just as the two snakes in our mark eternally consume each other, so do we eternally do battle with the forces of those who would subjugate men beneath them. Brotherhood before all.” They sat down. Then the fine dressed man gestured for Tim to sit at the table. Tim sat cross-legged in the chair to look taller.  

“Now Tim…” Tim perked up. This was the whole reason he was here, he didn’t believe in any conspiracy about Red and Black snakes, he just wanted a way for people to respect him. “...how can the brotherhood remove any problems or problematic people distracting you from The Cause?” 

Tim took a deep breath, and proceeded to vomit his life story on these men. He held nothing back, talking about his Mom and her never having time to spend with him, his Dad always telling him to toughen up but never showing him how, his sister always tormenting him and the bullies at school who made him live in constant fear. He kept expecting one of the men to tell him to shut up, or to look bored or annoyed. But none of them did. They all seemed to listen intently to Tim. Then at the end, miraculously, the fine-dressed man started making assignments to the others. Each was given a task to help solve every one of  Tim’s problems. He listened gleefully, seeing how each one of them somehow had a connection or knew someone who could help. “Riker, your position at the hospital will prove well to influence the boy’s father…” and so on.

Then after it seemed there was a plan in place to take care of everyone who was a problem in Tim’s life, the well-dressed man turned back to him. 

“Tim, once these obstacles are removed from your path, the Brotherhood needs you to do your first task.” Tim gulped. He hadn’t expected an assignment so fast. In fact, he had planned to never come back after they took care of all his problems.  

“You’re in 6th grade is that correct?” Tim nodded, surprised by how well the man had guessed his age. 

“Take this vial Tim,” he produced a small glass vial full of black liquid from out of a suit pocket. “Once we have freed you from your problems, pour the contents of this vial into your 6th grade teacher’s coffee.” Tim froze. Did they really want him to kill Mrs. Langstron? 

“I...I don’t want to hurt anyone…” Tim said, looking away. 

“Brother,” the well dressed man started, “we have no intention of harming your teacher. She may feel some discomfort after drinking this, but you have my word of honor that she will recover and go on to teach many more bright pupils such as yourself.” Tim looked around. All the men were looking at him expectantly. 

“Your task is of vital importance Tim. For the Red Snake has infiltrated the highest levels of governance, and your assignment will help us strike right between its eyes,” he seemed deadly serious.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Tim said as he grabbed the vial from the man’s outstretched hand.  

****

The next 7 days were the best week of Tim’s life. 

His father actually started being home while Tim was awake, even giving him hugs and cracking jokes with him. His mother started actually spending quality time with him and his sister helped him clean the attic. And the bullies, oh man that was the best part! Tim promised himself he would never forget the looks on those bullies’ faces when one of the Brotherhood rode up on the biggest motorcycle Tim had ever seen, grabbed them by their shirt collars, and told them if anyone ever messed him again, they’d have to answer to him. Tim never felt so important. He didn’t know how they did it, but the Brotherhood of the Black Snake had really lived up to their promises. Tim had carried the vial with him everyday to school, but he was so scared of what might happen if he followed through. But that night at dinner he saw his family laughing at something he said. Not laughing at him, but with him. That’s when he decided he would do it. 

****

When he got home that day he felt relieved. After he put the black liquid in Mrs. Langstrom’s coffee, he had watched her closely. She didn’t seem to react at all to the stuff. And Tim walked feeling like a weight had been lifted off him. Maybe nothing would happen to her at all, maybe it was just a test from the Brotherhood. Well if that’s what he needed to do to satisfy their conspiracy theories then so be it. It was worth the reward. 

But that all changed when Tim’s father got home that night from his shift at the hospital.

“Can you believe that?” Tim’s dad said as he walked into the kitchen. It looked like he had been talking to his mom and sister. 

“Believe what?” Tim asked, wanting to be included. 

“Oh, hey Tim!” His family had stopped calling him Timmy last week. “I’ve got some troubling and kind of fascinating news son. You know your teacher Mrs. Langstrom?” Tim nodded, feeling his stomach start to sour.. 

“Well she got sick this evening, her husband rushed her to the emergency room. And we can’t figure out what the hell is wrong with her.” Tim felt cold. 

“And here’s the crazy part, I’m not supposed to tell anyone this, but she’s the President’s sister! Who knew? So he’s flying in tonight in a chopper to visit her in case she doesn’t make it through the night,” Tim’s dad finished, with a look of wonderment on his face. Tim stared blankly at him. It was too much to process. His dad’s expression changed to concern. 

“Oh I’m sorry son, I got so caught up in the fact that your teacher is related to the President, I didn’t realize how much you liked her,” His father mistook Tim’s shock for concern. Tim was trying to piece it all together. Tim’s task from the brethren wasn’t an inconsequential test, it was a way to get the President to come to his town. But why would they do that? What would the Black Snake want with him? 

Words from the secret meeting started to echo in Tim’s mind. 

“Riker, your position at the hospital will prove well to influence the boy’s father…”

“Your task is of vital importance Tim. For the Red Snake has infiltrated the highest levels of governance, and your assignment will help us strike right between its eyes…” 

Oh my God, Tim thought. I helped a plot to assassinate the president. 

Tim’s mind snapped back into focus. His parents were speaking to him but he hadn’t heard them. 

“Dad, what room is Mrs. Langstrom in?” Tim asked. 

“What? Oh, um 321 I believe, why do you ask?” his father questioned. 

“Oh, um...just thought I might want to visit her later this week, maybe you can take me,” he lied. “I feel really tired now, can I go to sleep?” His parents exchanged a quick worried glance. 

“Of course Timmy, I mean Tim. Do whatever you need sweetie.” Tim nodded and promptly walked out of the kitchen. On his way to his room he stopped by the key rack by the front door, and swiped his dad’s hospital badge. 

****

Minutes later, panting, Tim was using his father’s badge to sneak into a back door of the hospital. After sneaking out the window he had ridden his bike as fast as he could. After unlocking the door he crept up the backstairs to the third floor. When he found the room he was surprised not to see any Secret Service members outside the door. He put his hand on the door but before he could open it he heard voices. 

“You’re making the biggest mistake of your life pal…”

“Stay calm Mr. President, it’ll all be over soon.” 

Tim gasped. The Brotherhood was already here! He had to get help. But he couldn’t see anyone around. He sprinted down the hallway for the elevator. Maybe there was security in the lobby. Suddenly someone turned the corner and he plowed right into them. 

“Oof! What the hell kid, why are you running?” Tim looked up, dazed. He had run right into a cop! Perfect! 

“Officer there’s no time to explain, you have to come quick, someone’s trying to kill the President!” Tim yelled. 

“Hey, how do you know about…” But Tim didn’t let him finish. He started sprinting back to the room. 

“Hey stop!” Thankfully the cop chased after him. When he got to the door he waited for the cop to get there too, then ripped it open. Inside were three lifeless Secret Service men on the floor, the President of the United States sitting on the floor, hands duct-taped to the wall, and a Brotherhood member Tim recognized standing over him holding a syringe. The cop's eyes went wide but thankfully he reacted quickly. “Hands up! NOW!” he said pointing his gun at the Black Snake. The man stopped. Then slowly raised his hands above his head. Tim dared to look him in the eyes. The man shook his head slowly and said, directly to Tim…

“You have no idea what you’ve done…”

****

A few minutes later, Tim was sitting in a different hospital room, when the President walked in. 

“So here’s the hero!” the President exclaimed pointing at him. “What’s your name son?” “Um, Tim sir. Tim Robinson,” he said,  a warmth growing in his chest. 

The President got down on one knee, eye-level with Tim. 

“You’ve done great kid. On behalf of your country and the Fraternal Order, I thank you,” he said. 

He then got up and started walking to the door with his guards.

“Thank you sir, I just…” Tim began to reply. “Wait what did you say?”

The President turned back to him.  

“You’ve done us a great service, we’ve been looking for a Black Snake for a while. Now we finally have one to interrogate! Soon no one will stand in our way of global dominance,” He said with a grin.

Tim started to feel cold again.

“‘Us?’” Tim asked, feeling his heart race.

The President smiled. 

“Why, The Fraternity of the Red Snake of course.”