In the House of My Brother New

"Grab my hand...grab my hand... Come out of the darkness...and you are [[home."->Home2]]

"God, it's good to see you. Don't try and get up just yet, you've had a bad shock. I've been so [[worried->Home3]] about you."

"Shh...mom's nearby...somewhere..." The voice trails off. After a time, you whisper again, [["Who are you?"->Who2]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3438.jpg?1513546997">->WhatHappened1]]

"I'm your brother. Your [[twin->Who3]] brother..."

Darkness swarms around his words. You cannot see him, or remember him. You cannot even remember... //[["Who am I?..."->Who4]]//

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-4sf4pvs_orig.jpg">->Who5]]

You have a memory...a flash of light...a mirror... In your disorientation, you cry out [["Where am I?"->WhereAmI]]

"Shhhh!" He is desperate. "Shhh, you're in our bedroom, but shhhh...please!!!" You try to [[whisper->WhereAmIa]], but it seems as if you cannot control your own voice fully.

"Please! Mom will hear us...she can't know you are awake." You pause for a time and rest in the darkness, focusing fully on regaining your ability to whisper. You hear the desperate breaths of your [[brother->WhereAmI2a]] in the darkness.

As if on cue, a noise begins in the darkness. Downstairs somewhere, you hear footsteps on creaky floorboards. And rising above it quietly, [[a song.->WhereAmI4]]

A chill runs down your spine. You wait and listen. Your brother wheezes with [[fear.->WhereAmI6a]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-knnjdnf-x2_orig.jpg">->WhereAmI5]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/twin1_1.jpg?1511613882">->WhereAmI6A]]

If your brother makes any sound at all, it is so weak and mild that it cannot compete with the comparative thunderstorm of distant boards behind plaster, slowly groaning under their own weight. And yet, for some reason, you [[sense->MomLoop1-2a]] something...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-knnjdnf-x2_orig.jpg">->MomLoop1-4]]

You can feel what your twin is feeling. Any doubts you had about him being your brother have been erased. You can feel that he is desperate to change the subject. A new noise rises in the darkness - the [[ticking->MomLoop1-4a]] of a clock?

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3455.jpg">->TickingSound2]]

The clock is not a welcome distraction. You aren't sure what to do. //Is there nothing I can discuss without angering him?// You cautiously try to radiate a comforting emotion back to him, but then say quietly, "I really don't want to upset you, but I feel like you are [[hiding something->TickingSound4]] from me..."

There can be no question now. You feel rage in the darkness. [["What can I do if you won't talk to me?"->TickingSound5]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-oh_1.jpg">->TickingSound9]]

A distorted face rushes out at your brother. Your anger turns to fear, for him and for yourself. The darkness closes in again, and when you call for him, you hear nothing but the ticking of a clock in the corner. Your brother is no longer in the room. You truly are [[alone->TickingSound9a]].

You feel the presence of something else, somewhere near you, but you do not know what. Your [[thoughts->BrotherLine1]] become simple.

Your brother seemed to want you to stay away from the clock, but you feel drawn in by it. You reach out your [[hands->Clock2]] in the darkness...

...and discover that the pendulum is not moving, and the clockworks and springs are all silent and still. You can feel layers of dust on them. And yet all the time, the [[clock->Clock2a]] ticks on.

Carefully you find the key and begin to wind the clock... ...with the very first turn of the key, it strikes. In the silence that follows, [[you hear->Clock4]]...

Small bells within the clock begin to play, and the ticking of the clock is replaced by the beating sound of your own heart. You recognize the tune. You become sad that you did not treat your brother more gently...you feel a sense of [[sadness->Clock4a]] that stretches back to the times you cannot remember.

Yes...yes...you can see light coming from behind it...moonlight, perhaps? Any light is welcome. As you are about to raise the shade, there is a hint of movement from outside, and your hand [[hesitates->Shadea]] on the drawstring...

A lone figure hovers outside the window, staring in... [[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/motheroutside.jpg">->OpenShade3]]

You grab the drawstring and pull it shut... [[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/motheroutside.jpg">->OpenShade4]]

As you try and catch your breath, the silence of the house settles around you. You aren't sure why, but the figure outside the window seemed to be looking through you, not at you - as if she did not even know you were there. As if she were searching for something else entirely. ...your [[brother->OpenShade4a]], perhaps?

You run to the bedroom door and fumble at the handle. Behind you, a shape seems to begin looming in the darkness, and you hear a disturbing sound. Finding that the door is locked, you turn the key and [[rip->GetOut2]] the door open...

A dark force wails, and you feel hands grabbing at your back... You [[lunge->MeetMeintheHallway]] into the hall and slam the bedroom door shut...

...it rattles and bangs furiously, nearly thrown off its hinges, but after a few moments, the sounds subside... In the darkness of the hallway, you are [[alone->MMITHA]].

Quiet settles around you in the hallway. Your senses, starved for input, claw at every trace ounce of light, and at the settling sounds of an ancient house... You nearly jump out of your skin when you feel something moving against your leg, and shiver... someone just put something in your [[pocket->Hallway3]]...

First there is only silence. [[But then...->Door2]]

You hear the clock being [[wound->Door3]]...

...and then suddenly you hear breathing at the keyhole, and feel the slight thud of someone putting their head against the other side of the door to [[listen->Door3a]] for you in the hallway...

The darkness falls, as if shattered by your voice, and the door begins to become transparent... ...as if ready to release [[whatever it holds back...->Wow2]]

...your brother's face comes into view through the door... and you can sense his [[rage->Wow3]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3482.jpg?1514219401">->Wow4]]

The grandfather clock chimes furiously, and time seems to shift...the world tilts...you find yourself back in that moment when you were between the bedroom and the hallway... as if your brother's anger has [[rejected->GetOut2]] even your ability to move forward in time.

You pull out the mysterious item. It is a photograph, and it shines in the darkness, as if backlit by some unseen source... [[shining->Hallway4]] so that you can see it as it changes...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3510.jpg"->Hallway5]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3507_1.jpg?1514647384"->Hallway5A]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3497.jpg?1514647412"->Hallway6A]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3535.jpg?1514647453"->Hallway9]]

The picture won't tell you if your brother won or lost his battle. But your rivalry comes back to you, and it's the [[clearest->Hallway9a]] your mind has been since you awoke.

You drop the photograph, startled. The breathing is back again, but it has moved through the door. Into the darkness of the hallway. [[Right next to you.->Hallway10a]]

You don't know how long the hallway is, or if there are any other doors to escape through... You just know that near you there is breathing. At the other end, a dull light. [[And somewhere in the middle...stairs.->Hallway12]]

Your brain reels as you consider the options... [[//where to run?//->Hallway13]]

[[the breathing...->Hallway14]]

[[...the stairs...->Hallway15]]

[[or the light...->Hallway16]]

//...what do I do...// +[[you run towards the light...->HallwayLight]] +[[you confront the breathing...->TheBreathing]] +[[you run towards the stairs...->TheStairs]]

You race towards the light, desperate for anything that can lift the darkness. The breathing sound vanishes as you approach the end of the hall, which turns abruptly at a corner. Slowing down, you take a few [[last steps->Corner1]] towards the corner...

Exhausted from living in panic, you reach out for the source of the breathing. After a few blind steps, you slam into a wall of water, as if you have been hit by a great wave. You find yourself sinking, and feel so distant from the house now that you cannot even truly panic. An eternity later, you [[fall out of the water->MomBadEnd]] - downwards - and slam into a brutal stone floor near a fireplace.

You make a sudden break for the stairs. The light shoots down the hallway and slams into you, and the breathing comes at you from behind like a hailstorm. [[You freeze.->BrothersKeeper]]

and then you [[peek...->GrandpaTom]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-dr8vpgc_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->GrandpaTom2]]

The light disappears and you are plunged into darkness, but footsteps tell you that the man is approaching. ...growing [[closer->GrandpaTom2a]] every second...

"The devil's birdcage is my skull. I [[look->GrandpaTom5]] at you...

"Your lying brother lies and lies... ...[[he lies and lies->GrandpaTom5a]]... I look at you...

"In the dirt of my tomb and through the choking locust dreams... I [[look->Tom6anew]] at you."

You turn and run for the stairs in a blind panic, and behind you a great light flares as Grandpa Tom bellows in rage. You look [[over your shoulder...->TomStairs1]]

You cannot hold back, and in terror you cry out: [["Grandpa Tom!"->TomSpeakA]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-pp5jjbg_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->TomStairs2]]

You reach the top of the stairs, and behind you come new sounds. You can feel your brother and Grandpa Tom [[battling->TomStairs3]] in the darkness.

And then it comes back at you through the darkness again. ...the [[singing->WhatHappened3]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-knnjdnf-x2_orig.jpg">->WhatHappened4]]

//If that's my mother, why don't I recognize her voice? If that's my brother, why don't I recognize [[him->WhatHappened4a]]?//

Your brother twists unnaturally in a flare of light and you do not understand your own senses. Darkness returns, stronger than ever. "[[Shhhh->WhatHappened2]]..." your brother pleads weakly.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/tommygame-3.jpg">->WhatHappened6b]]

His rage has never been stronger, and yours is rising to meet it. You are tired of the confusion. Tired of the darkness. Tired of the ticking sounds. [[...and then...->TickingSound8]]

You plant your back to the wall. You know you have to [[peek around the corner->Corner2]] to find out where the light is coming from...

[[You hold your breath...->Corner3]]

You hear him whispering. His voice is low, rough and lingering. It [[seethes->GrandpaTom3]] with venom.

Quiet comes upon the hallway and he folds his hands in prayer... [[...waiting...->TomSpeak3]]

Through the floor, in the silence, you can hear the [[lullaby->TomSpeak4]] ...it seems louder now...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-knnjdnf-x2_orig.jpg">->TomSpeak5]]

The lights go out again, and in the darkness, you hear a new sound... is it the sound of your brother [[crying out->TomSpeak5a]] for you in the night?

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-p8q23cg_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->TomSpeak7]]

The lights go out again and you feel Grandpa Tom's hands close around your throat...you hear his breathing... ...[[you struggle->FightTom]]...

Light and dark rage against one another, and in the flickering, between the moments of violence and anger, you hear another voice [[cry out->Holder1]], "Take my hand..."

Once more, your brother's [[face->Reach2]] floats in front of you...

Tom's ghost-like fingers seem to wither at the touch of your hands and draw away... and you [[run->TomStairs]].

You peer into the darkness. Confused... Disoriented. Scared... you whisper, [["Who are you?"->WhoYou]]

The room flares with light and you see something... Was it fear or was it [[rage->WhereAmI6b]]?

//He doesn't look anything like me...// you think to yourself. You always enjoyed saying it to [[him->Hallway9c]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-dr8vpgc_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->GrandpaTom6]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/i-hwmr6jk.jpg?1511642523">->TomSpeak2]]

Tom seems affected by his name...you don't know why... His eyes seem to clear, and with a ragged finger, he points, and mutters... [["The stairs..."->TheStairsX]]

Light flares, and you see that Grandpa Tom has morphed his appearance. He has long rows of sharp teeth, and eyes like a snake. He lunges at you, but your brother seems to [[hold him back->TomStairs4]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3507.jpg?1514262346">->TomStairs5]]

As they battle, the hallway flickers between [[light and darkness->TomStairs6]], and you catch a glimpse of yourself in the hallway mirror.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/devon_1.jpg?1514262763">->TomStairs7]]

Something is nagging at you. But in the flickering hallway, the maelstrom of rage keeps pulling you back to [[visions->TomStairs8]] of your brother.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3555.jpg?1514264169">->TomStairs9]]

[[Your twin brother...->TomStairs10]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3651.jpg?1514336928">->TomStairs11]]

You think back to when you woke up...the darkness...the evasiveness...avoiding attracting mom's attention [[at any cost->TomStairs11a]]...

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/i-fqf5cpb-x2.jpg?1514351844>->BrotherFace2]]

[[...why are we so different?->BrotherFace3]]

There is a [[powerful burst->TomStairs11b]] of light, and with a scream, Grandpa Tom is gone, and a light radiates from your brother's face.

It gives you [[chills->BrotherFace]].

You hear the ticking of the clock again, and a light flashes within you. You see a face... [[...floating in the darkness.->BrotherFace4]]

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3561.jpg?1514352163>->BrotherFace5]]

[[A young man in his casket...decaying...fallen into eternal sleep...->BrotherFace6]]

...Thomas... //[[Grandpa Tom->BFXX]]//...

...and he [[answers->BrotherFace8]]...

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3653.jpg?1514353463>->BrotherFace9]]

You cannot separate their voices. They sound like [[your thoughts->BrotherFace10]]...

[[...like voices in your head...->BrotherFace11]]

...and there, behind them all, a droning sound... ...[[a lullaby->BrotherFace12]].

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/mother.jpg?1511261672>->BrotherFace13]]

At the sight of mother, light and darkness flash on and off in a struggle with one another. There is only mist and smoke. Grandpa Tom appears and lifts his eyes to the sky not in anger but in [[desperation->BrotherFace14]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/i-gbdmrtp.jpg?1514596558">->BrotherFace15]]

Your brother rips through the mist. His tears spray the air with a dense humidity; his screams echo in your ears as a counterpoint to Grandpa Tom's own laments. You hear the ticking and bonging of the old [[grandfather clock->BrotherFace16]] in your bedroom...or is it different?

Your brother's face seems to spin... [[...the clock chimes...->BrotherFace17]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3563.jpg?1514597021">->BrotherFace18]]

All goes dark around you, and you search for meaning, for mooring, for anything to bring you out of the confusion. You become so lost that you can barely remember anything. You feel [[emotions->FaceNewHold]] in the darkness.

"Grab my hand...grab my hand... Come out of the darkness...and you are [[home->Postscript]]."

POSTSCRIPT The veiled woman stood for a long time, staring bleakly at the tomb before her. The specter of an autumn storm began to make itself known by sending cold winds up and down the rows of graves. In her hands she held a single oil lamp. The rising wind was beating at the flame, and from moment to moment, the world around the woman knew either light or dark. A constant [[flickering->Postscript2]].

She hummed silently to herself; the same lullaby that she had hummed to her sons, all those years ago when they were toddlers. Before they grew to be young men. Before they learned to hate and resent one another. Before their every act became an act of [[competition.->Postscript3]]

//Who is better now?// she asked herself. //Who is faster, smarter, better looking? I have no favorites.// The woman just hummed the lullaby, and cried silently in the wind. //You both were my favorites.// [[Unconditionally.->Postscript4]]

She thought back to her father - always making her beg and plea for approval. Twenty years he had slept alone in this tomb in the churchyard. Twenty years she had spent, forgetting his voice. She had never visited the graveyard. But now...because of one accident... [[now she would...->Postscript5]]

The church bell rang. The woman looked up at the dark sky, and she knew it was time to go home. Soon, the churchyard would be awash in sheets of rain and set upon by rolls of thunder. At home in her bed, the woman could at least feel at peace in the knowledge that her boys were beyond the touch of the chaos of this storm. //Dad won't mind sharing his tomb with them...he doesn't even know they're there. At least they're together...// She smiled weakly as she turned away to go [[home->Postscript6]].

//At least they're all at peace,// she thought. //The living should be so lucky.// She made her way out of the cemetery and went home to the warmth of her bed. <a href="https://seedbolt.itch.io/in-the-house-of-my-brother">The End.</a>

Suddenly foul air and dark wetness rush into your lungs, as if you are being crushed from within by a black lake. And yet your mind [[fights->BrotherLine1a]] to solve something...

The foulness rushes up your throat and you vomit lightness... ...a [[picture->BrotherLine3]] forms...

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3561.jpg?1514352163>->BrotherLine4]]

A young man in his casket...decaying...fallen into eternal sleep... your [[brother->BrotherLine5]]...

You don't understand what you are seeing...he was just here in front of you... You [[cry out->BrotherLine6]] for him.

You feel another pain in your midsection but it is more powerful. Now you are sure it is coming from [[inside you->BrotherLineChoice]].

Your brother reappears in his casket, and you [[run->BrotherLine7a]] to him...

He seems to look better than he did before...can you bring him back? In desperation, you grab his body and shake it. His body is soft and lifeless...his [[voice->BrotherLine8a]] seems lost to time...

[[<img src=http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3653.jpg?1514353463>->BrotherLine10]]

The echoes grow louder. The distant sound of [[thunder->BrotherLine11]] sounds in the void.

You try to call his name again, but the echoing...the thunder...the noises are slamming into your body and then pulling back, like waves retreating into the ocean. All that is left behind is [[rage->BrotherLine13]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3596.jpg?1515463751">->BrotherLine14]]

You step backwards in terror, only for your foot to find the emptiness off the top step of a staircase. You tumble into darkness and black out. The last thing you think you hear is [["Grandpa!"->XEnding1]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/editor/i-zzbfc9r-x2bw.jpg">->BrotherLine2]]

"Grandpa Tom! Grandpa Tom! Mother is coming!" The darkness changes...you know you aren't alone. Your brother is here... and so are [[others->BrotherChoiceTest]]...

You can see nothing, hear nothing...but you feel each presence calling to you, trying to get you to [[choose->BrotherChoiceSetA]] it...

Light blinds you, and you are thrown powerfully through the air in a panic, before landing in the hallway somewhere outside your bedroom, near the stairs. [[You open your eyes...->GrandpaTom]]

[[Mother!...->MotherPath]]

You find yourself rolling up a flight of stairs - not down them. The steps cut you, bruise you, break you. They seem to last [[forever->Path1a]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/casket.jpg?1516840594">->BrotherLine8]]

You feel a great punch to your inside...you try to scream but are unable to make a sound. Your body stiffens. One trapped bubble of air bursts from your lungs in a gasp of horror, and from somewhere in the darkness, an echo cries out [[your name.->BrotherLine9]]

You fall upwards against a hard stone slab, and feel a tremendous pressure holding you up against it. In desperation, you push at it to try and dislodge yourself, and it gives way, ejecting you into a [[small room->Path3]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090732.jpg?1516847744">->Path4]]

A decaying wreath and a spider's web seem to choke the light. The air is thick and unmoving. Slight shapes emerge from the darkness as you begin to [[understand->Path5]] where you are.

[[A tomb.->Path6]]

You notice a long, filthy curtain hanging across the darkest wall. It is held together by thick fibers on the edge of decay. You detect a flash of light behind it, and for a moment, you hear [[a song->Path7]]...

What frightened you once now comforts you. It sounds different somehow... [[closer->Path8]]...

Energy courses through your body...you feel renewed. You forget about the curtain and turn to the small stone tombs that crowd the mausoleum. The first is for a man named Theodore... [[//Theodore//->Path9]]...

The second tomb is for a young man; barely an adult, judging by the dates. His name sounds familiar to you, and you are overcome with the strangest memory...something like a [[lost dream->Path9a]]...

A slight wind stirs, and you lose your train of thought. The darkness seems to become powerful again, and the air is as thick as ever. Your energy drains as you stand before the third sarcophagus. Its stone seems colder than the rest. Harder. As if fixed with a will [[more permanent->Path11]] even than death and time.

A sound like thunder shakes the mausoleum, and you become awake to the fear that gripped you in the bedroom. Rain begins to fall in sheets outside. You hear it slam against the window pane. You feel ancient cracks in the stone grapple with small drops of water, forcing them down into the very ground. You stand [[paralyzed->Path12]]...

You are able to move again only after a second crack of thunder. You look at the dusty, decaying curtain - and across the small room, you notice a massive, dense metal slab on the wall that must be the [[door->Path12aa]].

You make for the door, but your foot catches the edge of the young man's sarcophagus. You slam headfirst into the metal door and fall to the ground, and behind you, you hear a slow and choking moaning in the dust. It [[shakes->PDoor2]] the mausoleum.

The curtain falls to pieces in your hands, springing off the wall and spraying a thick cloud of dust into the air. You step backwards and swat at the dust, coughing...unable to catch your breath. You barely hear the sound at first, and only when the dust clears- -when a piece of the window comes into view - do you clearly [[hear->Glass2]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass3]]

You forget about the dust in the air, the darkness, the rain. You forget about the mausoleum, even as the stone [[sags around you->Glass4]] through the passage of time.

A sweetness comes to the air around you, and in your mind you see distant lights. You walk towards them to find that they are the joyful sparkles of lights on a Christmas tree, viewed through the frosty glass of a warm and welcome home. [[You smile.->Glass4A]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090732.jpg?1516847744">->Glass6]]

You stumble back away from the decaying wreath and spider web, and thrash in confusion in the dark and moldy tomb. You feel as if you have somehow lurched backwards in time, and yet the lure of the Christmas feast drives you forward - the end of your [[torment->Glass7a]] is within reach...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass8]]

A sweetness comes to the air around you, and in your mind you see distant lights. You walk towards them to find that they are the joyful sparkles of a Christmas tree, viewed through the frosty glass of a warm and welcome home. [[You walk inside.->Glass9]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass10]]

You are thrown back into the darkness of the tomb, and this time you turn from the wreath and rip the curtain down from its moorings in one fluid motion... [[even as it happens, you rage...->Glass10a]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass12]]

You seethe with anger, and kick at the shreds of curtain on the ground around you. You turn and grab the decaying wreath and smash it on the tomb of the young man, where it [[disintegrates->Glass12a]] into dusty shreds of leaves.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass14]]

An angry fire builds within you, and you look around for something to smash the window with, but there is nothing now but dust and decay. You stand against the far wall and run at the window, hoping to smash it out with your shoulder, but a mighty force throws you back across the grave of the young man, and in a [[flash of pain->Glass15]] you see him...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/casket.jpg?1516840594">->Glass15a]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass17]]

You put your hands to your head to try and block it all out... and with your eyes, closed, in the darkness, you see for a moment [[only yourself->Glass18]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-4sf4pvs_orig.jpg">->Glass20]]

Thunder rolls again, loudly - broadly - and the rain begins to slam against the window in a strange rhythm. Regular. [[Paced.->Glass21]]

[[Like the ticking of a clock.->Glass22]]

It triggers an [[image in the darkness->Glass23]]...an image you remember from somewhere...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-oh_1.jpg?1516759689">->Glass25]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-4sf4pvs_orig.jpg">->Glass26]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass27]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046a.jpg?1516847895" class="nofade">->Glass28]]

A clock strikes. A sound. It is the ringing of a church bell, high above the graveyard. Distant in the rain. A stiffness creeps over your body, as if the stone is consuming you. There is another crack of thunder - and the world goes dark for you, as a huge marble slab closes over you, trapping you in an enclosure of your own. You try and [[cry out->Glass29]] in the darkness, but find yourself unable to make the slightest sound.

You think for a moment you hear the sound of someone in the churchyard...a simple passerby, perhaps, caught in the rain and paused to stare over the iron gates at the fate that awaits him or her, as surely as it has now come for you... ...and as surely as you once delivered it upon your [[brother->Glass29a]]...

The traveler moves on, a brief fugitive from time. In the darkness, not a word comes from the boxes around you. Your Grandpa Ted, gone long before any of you. Your brother...your greatest rival...not a word comes from his sarcophagus. And your mother, at the end of her long days claimed by nature to join them. [[Gone to her grave->Glass31]] without ever knowing it was you.

But now, in the darkness, [[she alone->Glass31a]] can speak...

And there in the darkness, with [[nothing but time->Glass33]] around you, trapped in your grave, the image burns in your brain forever.

[[Peaceful->Reach3]]...innocent...freshly laid in his casket, far before his time.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/casket.jpg?1516840594">->Reach4]]

A new sensation rushes over you, and in this moment of greatest fear, you have a brief few seconds of clear thought... //...Grandpa Tom... ...[[my brother->Reach5]]...//

From Thomas' tomb, a cloud of dust rumbles and floats. You see it pull into a form that [[obliterates->PDoor3]] the light.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-dr8vpgc_orig.jpg" class="nofade"->BrotherFace6]]

//They haven't been [[fighting->HoldingBBA]].//

//Why do they [[hate->Reach6aa]] me?//

Now I know," says the voice of a woman. A shiver goes up your [[spine->Reach7a7a]].

Without wasting a second, you clamber to the top of the stairs and begin to run down in the darkness, two at a time. Behind you in the upstairs hallway, you hear Grandpa Tom cry out in rage again, as if he regrets his brief moment of lucidity... ...or is it a scuffle you hear? You sense [[your brother->XEnding1]] may be up there, behind you, battling Tom in the brutal void. You pass out.

In your unconsciousness, you dream only of [[something->MomBadEnd]] hurtling towards you.

As you come to, you hear the song again, [[louder->MomBad1]] than ever.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/motheroutside.jpg?1511620618">->MomBad2]]

Your mother forms in front of you, and around her, stone walls. A hearth. A cluttered jungle of pots and pans. Dried herbs hanging from a ceiling, peaceful and delicate, safe from the lashing rain against the small windows along one wall. Your mother sits at an old wooden table, and next to her...[[something->MomBad3]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/a.jpg?1516934095">->MomBad4]]

Your mother rocks in her chair, and her bright eyes look through you... ...[[past you->MomBad5]]... as if you had never existed at all.

The creature makes a whimpering sound, and you look more closely at its hideous face. The face of an old man. So weak. So quiet. And [[screaming.->MomBad6]]

If your mother can see the totem, she gives no indication of it. She moves her hands through the air in gentle, mystical patterns, and from time to time she calls out a single word: "[[Darling->MomBad7]]..." Outside, the wind howls. Rain beats the windows.

The old man's face vanishes at the word, leaving behind only an empty face. A totem without mind or identity. You stare at it, [[unable to understand->MomBad8]] why it brings you so much terror.

The totem's head twitches...it turns towards you and gazes back with its eyeless face, and with its mouth of shadows that seem to rereat into the darkness. You recognize your [[body->MomBad8A]].

There is movement to your right, and you turn just in time to see something, rushing at you from the dark corner, the corner furthest from the fire. Rushing at you [[fast->MomBad10]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-dr8vpgc_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->MomBad11]]

You crawl backwards towards [[the fire->MomBad12]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-pp5jjbg_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->MomBad13]]

The totem claps his hands in listless joy. Mother sings on and on, contentedly, smiling. [["Darling!"->MomBad14]] she says, a bit louder, but peacefully still.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/i-p8q23cg_orig.jpg" class="nofade">->MomBad15]]

The old man cannot reach you. The totem stands weakly and claps and claps. Your mother rocks contentendly in her chair. '[[Darling!->MomBad16]]" she calls into the kitchen.

At last, the old man's dusty spittle forms itself into clouds of words - thoughts more than sounds - and they come rushing into your ears. "Help...help...[[help->MomBad17]]..."

The totem makes a muffled noise...it has no face, but you almost sense it trying to smile... Your mother grabs a poker and stirs the fire, changing the [[light->MomBad18]] in the small kitchen.

The old man tries to grab the poker and swat at it, but the poker won't stay long in his hand, and the totem throws him back against a wall. It [[squeals->MomBad19]] angrily through its missing face.

Outside, the thunder rolls loudly. The door blows [[open->MomBad20]], and sheets of rain begin to fly in, driven by the wind.

The old man recoils at the sight of the cat, and letting forth a great scream, plunges himself into the fire. The totem's hands shoot up and clutch at its own face, ripping at the blank canvas...and revealing under it... [[something->MomBad22]]...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3489.jpg?1514337068">->MomBad23]]

Your brother...you feel his rage again...but even then, you try and call out a [[warning->MomBad24a]] to him.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3651.jpg?1514336928">->MomBad25]]

You stare at the face of the totem...your brother... He [[claps->MomBad26]] dully for a moment and then extends his left hand towards you...

//"Grab my hand... grab my hand... come out of the darkness...and you are [[home.->MomBad27]]//

Memories start to come back to you... The fighting...the screaming...the rivalry. //The rage.// The [[rage->MomBad27A]].

It happened. Through no fault of your own. You remember staring down at your brother in his casket. Even in the stillness of his body, his face seemed to have a rage about it. A dull and lifeless body that hated you, even in [[death->MomBad28a]].

You see the old man's face in your mind again, and now you recognize it. [[Grandpa Tom->Grandpa Tom]].

//Grab my hand...// And you are home. You look at the brother you once knew...the brother you [[loved->BroGo]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/motheroutside.jpg">->OpenShade2]]

You begin to remember growing up in the house, and always feeling lonely... ...in the [[same house->Hallway6]] as other people but not connected with them.

Your grandfather was best avoided. He would talk only to your mother, in whispers and screams behind closed doors. In the hallway, you stood to the side and let him pass. The smell of [[booze->Hallway6ab]] hung around him like a cloud.

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/i-nqqhr39.jpg?1514648041">->MomBad9]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/casket.jpg?1516840594">->MomBad28]]

You take your brother's hands and exchange one final glance. He closes his eyes and smiles, and the totem disappears. After he left you the first time, you felt nothing but relief. And then guilt. A guilt that built itself into [[screams->MomBad32]] over days and days.

Finally, after all the darkness and confusion, you have found home. The rich smells of a Christmas feast radiate from inside, and warmth comes over you as you imagine finding your brother and giving him a hug, as you sit together with the family, inseperable... [[united->Glass5]]...

You quickly lunge to the curtain again and rip it from the wall. You are growing [[impatient and confused->Glass7]]...

You try not to look, and yet the [[light->Glass11]] is so powerful - and the pull so enthralling...

Without even wanting them to, your eyes return to the [[window->Glass13]]...

You want to run from the image...you feel as if emotion is destroying you from within. Anger and rage; fear and regret. You do not know where to turn, and time and again, the only light in the tomb [[directs your vision back to the same thing.->Glass16]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046.jpg?1516847873">->Glass29b]]

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/p1090046a.jpg?1516847895" class="nofade">->Glass30]]

"Where [[am->WhereAmI2]] I?"

Finally, in quieter words, you ask: [["Why not?"->WhereAmI3]]

You don't want to upset your brother, but you don't know what question to ask. Your brain is like a fog, trying to work it all out when you hear your mouth say: "You didn't answer my [[question..."->WhereAmI6]]

//Should I press the subject?// You know you have to choose. +"So why can't [[Mom->MomLoop1-2]] know I'm awake...?" +"What [[happened->WhatHappened]] to me?"

And then as an afterthought, you say aloud: "Maybe [[mother->WhatHappened6]] would give me more straightforward answers..."

With a resigned sob, your brother vanishes into darkness. There is silence, and then a powerful blow hits your stomach, is if you had been punched from the inside. You [[fall->BrothersKeeper]].

Should you trust your [[brother->SetA1]]? He's the only one you know...

Who is [["Grandpa Tom"->SetA2]]? It seems like your brother trusts him...

But why shouldn't you go to your [[mother->SetA3]]...why is your brother trying to keep you away from her?

//Who to choose...?// +[["Mother!"->GTMother]] +[["Grandpa Tom!"->GTTest]] +[["Brother!"->BrotherLine7]]

As quick as an old woman can, your mother rises from her seat and tries to shut the door, bracing her full frame against the wind that is fighting her. At the last possible second, a single black cat rushes in, sopping wet from its journey through [[the storm->MomBad21]].

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/img-3482_1.jpg?1514337095">->MomBad24aa]]

Your mother returns to her chair, and sitting down, she quietly calls out again, "[[Darling->MomBad24]]!"

It was only a few months after his death that your brother changed...that your rivalry began. Vying for your mother's attention. Never willing to share [[her love->GTNaught1]].

Talking with a cruelty beyond himself. Your twin brother...your closest [[friend->GTNaught2]]...your confidante.

Two years. The house became darker and darker. [[A place of hate.->MomBad30]]

All the while, your Mother sees nothing, notices nothing. She rocks in her chair, and from time to time addresses the cat without looking at it. "Oh [[darling->MomBad31]]...all wet from the storm."

Questions you could not answer. Desperate searches in your mind for what you could have done to him to deserve those two years of cruelty. And what you could have [[become->MomBad33]] to make you glad he was gone.

Your last night, sitting alone in your bedroom. Swallow after swallow, dulling the fear and pain. "Darling!" your mother cried. But you barely heard it. Darling. [[DARLING->MomBad34]]!

//Maybe I can find him somewhere in the darkness// you thought to yourself. //Maybe I can find him and ask. Maybe I can [[know->MomBad35]].//

A howling wind throws the door open again, and the cat bolts out into the storm, with the old woman running after it for a moment, shouting, "Darling! Darling!" She stares after it for a short time, and you give her one last look. //The cat will come back, mom.// You pass through her with a sigh, and feel a great warmth before passing out of the house. Thunder rolls and the rain falls, and somewhere along the way as you get tossed up into the maelstrom, you feel yourself given over to peace. <a href="https://seedbolt.itch.io/in-the-house-of-my-brother">The End.</a>

They funnel you up into a dark and close chamber...something tight and choking, filthy and foul... [[a chimney?->Path2]]

What do you do? +[[Reach out for the voice in the darkness...->VoiceReach]] +[[Try to rip Grandpa Tom's strangling hands off your throat...->FightTom2]]

//They've been herding me... [[Why?->Reach6]]//

You fall into blackness, and a voice somewhere inside of you tells you they are [[right->Reach7]]. And another voice agrees.

You want to vomit, but only a stinging essence of pain flows through you. As if you no longer exist but as a shadow. [["Now I know."->Path2]]

//[[Grab my hand...->Path10]]//

You feel you need to act quickly. +[[You decide to make for the metal door.->PathDoor]] +[[You rip the curtain down to see if there is a window you can smash through.->StainedGlass]]

You hear his mad whispers in the darkness... ...he is [[calling->BrotherFace7]] to your brother.

Love and hate...anger and despair. They are yours. They are his. They are everyone's. You feel and hear the sadness even of [[strangers->NewHold2]].

And then a voice shatters the silence, and it speaks words of [[comfort->BrotherFace19]]...

...it is as if your brother were holding back tears...desperate to cry, but afraid to. And then you hear it [[again->MomLoop1-3]], far off in the house somewhere...

The perfect opportunity to give him the distraction he desires. "I thought I heard a [[ticking sound..."->TickingSound]]

//What should I do?// +You decide to [[run for it...->GetOutNoBrother]] +You wonder if the [[clock->Clock]] will have a clue...

Tick...tick...tick... +You decide to [[run for it.->GetOutNoBrother]] +You try and [[wind the clock...->Clock3]]

As soon as you think of him, a window shade along the wall begins to rattle and flutter, as if moved by a silent wind. You decide to open the [[shade->Shade]] to let in light...any light...

+You open [[the shade.->OpenShadeA]] +You change your [[mind->GetOutNoBrother]] and decide to run for the door...

+You cry out for your [[brother->BrothersKeeper]], desperate for company in the insane darkness... +You turn and run for the [[door->GetOutNoBrother]]...

...once more you can hear your heart beating... Cautiously, you press your ear to the bedroom door carefully, to see if you can [[hear anything...->BedroomDoor]]

//Someone is listening...// +[["Who's there?"->ReallyWow]] you demand, your voice once again loud and uncontrolled. +You [[back away slowly->Hallway2]] and try to get your bearings in the dark hallway...

At night, far away in the house, you could hear him scream to himself in drunken fits... Through it all, your brother was your only friend. But the tension wore on you. You didn't always [[get along->Hallway7]].

The shouting. The weeping. The fights, where you would roll across your bedroom floor, your fists pummeling one another so loudly... //shhh...mother will hear...// [[Mother->Hallway9b]] will hear...

[[<img src="http://www.seedbolt.com/uploads/6/1/1/4/61147073/published/devon-0336-te.jpg?1516851345">->Hallway10]]

And far off in the darkness, at the other end of the hallway, a [[small light->Hallway11]] is forming...

+You decide to turn and [[run for the stairs->TomStairs]]... +You decide to try and [[speak->TomSpeak]] to the man.

+ You call out for your [[brother->TomSpeak6]]. + You call to [[Grandpa Tom->TomBehavior]] as he hovers silently in front of you...

[["I know..."->Glass32]]

The arguments lingered. The constant rivarly seemed embedded in his expression. For a long time, you stared, and then you thought to yourself, //It is [[over.->MomBad29]]//