The End Of Life

Mark's brain was a complete mess, filled with rage. The person in front of him was one primary reason out of many for the death of his loved ones and the sadness which led him to think and try suicide. Seeing the same cocky expression on his face was tough for him to hold back. 

"I was waiting for you, brother. After noticing that bastard for your friend in this museum,in the beginning, I could guess your next actions and that you will be here soon. So I was waiting. And now you are finally here." spreading his hands. 

"What do you want Oliver? As you already know the reason I came here, stay out of my way. I will leave once I take him with me." as the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees. 

Mark was in no place to waste time, especially after he saw his bastard half-brother Oliver. He knew how Oliver worked. He would take his sweet time now that he had him in his hands. By the looks of it, Kevin seemed to be in his hands too. 

"Come on, brother. Why so cold? We met after so long. When was the last time we met? Ah! It was your sister's death. Tch, tch. That was tragic brother, I never thought she will die like-"

"Shut up, bastard. Don't speak a word about her. I will make you wish you were not born. Now tell me. Where is Kevin?" holding the gun tighter. 

Oliver staggered backward as he released his grip on both the girls and said, "Bro-brother, plea-please don't ki-kill me." acting scared. Mark's eyebrows twitched as he saw him acting. 

"Did you think I would fear you, Mark? You know what, let's play a game. I will give you time until tonight. Try searching for your friend in this whole museum. If you find him, that is good. But if you can't, I will go and cut a body part of him as a gift for you." dropping the act. 

Mark's eyes went wide hearing his challenge. The museum was enormous. Even if he searches the whole place from that moment, he would not finish by night. No matter what he thought, he couldn't do anything, at least not now. Mark believed that everything will have its time and place. Even his revenge will have its time and place. Until then, he should just grit his teeth and wait. 

He took a deep breath and card his nerves down. Looking into Oliver's eyes he said, "Alright then. I'll play along, my little brother." With a smirk on his face. His tone was sarcastic and had confidence in it. Even though searching the whole museum would take a very long time and effort, it isn't impossible. 

Oliver raised an eyebrow at Mark's sudden change. He chuckled as he did not think Mark could the whole place. He always felt good when he toyed around with the people around him, but his most favorite was Mark. He couldn't help but shiver in excitement when he remembered his expression the last time he played with him. 

Oliver smiled and replied, "Alright brother. I will be waiting for the result. Remember, by the time the sun goes down, you need to find him. Or else your friend's body parts will be missing later on. And as you came here, I will give you a family member hint. Your friend is on the ground floor." Turning around. 

"And oh, brother. Please try harder than the last time. Last time was very boring, and you were too predictable. So do better this time. Oh! Everyone else, don't even care to tell this man anything. Or you might face some consequences." He said turning back for a minute before continuing ahead. 

Mark's eyes were red with rage as he looked at Oliver's back. He wanted to pounce and torture him in every way possible. The hatred inside him, which he was trying to.control the past few years, erupted again when he saw him. As he was raging inside, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was David.

David noticed the amount of tension between the two brothers and the bloodlust Mark was releasing. He did not know the whole story, but he knew they could not make a move and wanted to stop him from doing so. Their number one priority was now searching for Kevin. 

But David was also surprised when he saw the amount of restraint Mark was having on himself. He stayed away until the end because of this reason. He was also curious about the relation between them. They seemed like brothers and called each other the same, but the tension said otherwise. 

The usually calm and collected Mark gave off such a reaction. He wonders what Oliver did to him. So he caught Mark's shoulder as he noticed his reaction when Oliver was leaving. He shook his head and said, "We need to search for your friend. That is more important right now. By the looks of it, it also seems like that guy, your brother, would really do things he says."

Mark nodded as David reasoned with him. He closed his eyes and calmed himself by taking a few big breaths. After his emotions were more stable, he opened them once again. 

"Thanks, David." 

"It's alright, we need to look out for each other, right?" With a smile as he patted Mark's shoulder. Mark was almost half his age, so he treated him more like a brother right now after going through so many problems. 

"So what do you suggest we do?" Looking at the surrounding people. The people already started to go their separate ways with their heads hung low all the way, all the time in the hallway. The museum was divided into four segments based on the entrance. 

Each segment was huge, and the time taken to search would not be small. Mark checked the time and noticed it was already 10. They had about 8 hours left to search for Kevin. They couldn't waste any more time. 

He looked at David and said, "We have an approximate of 8 hours left till the sun goes down. The amount of area we need to cover is not at all small. So we better split up here and meet here again at 2 for lunch. You take the north and east section while I and Suzie will go to the south and west side. Stay alert all the time and be very careful around here. That bastard will do anything to stop us. If you think something is wrong, come back here and wait for me." 

He did not want David to be caught in the crossfire between him and Oliver. Oliver was always very cunning and dirty. Each step he makes is a trap for his opponent, and this was no different. David nodded as he made his way to the east side. 

Mark turned towards Suzie, who left her shirt and quietly stood beside him the whole time. He looked at her, trying to decide whether or not he should take her with him. He sighed and said, "Suzie, do you want to take a rest? Maybe we can search for an empty room and you can stay there until I find Kevin." 

Suzie immediately shook her head and said, "No, I will also search for Kevin." meekly. Mark observed her and said, "Alright then. Remember to stick close to me. If you find anything suspicious, then tell me immediately." 

Suzie gave a nod, and they went towards the south hallway. The south had more of an artistic look compared to the previous one. There were many paintings and statues. Each painting told a different story and were mesmerizing. But he did not have time to appreciate them. 

At the end of the hallway was the huge doors leading outside. There were only two options, left and right, for him to take before the door. Mark went left first. Going down the barrier hallway, Mark noticed a sign showing into a smaller one before they reached the end where the museum had bigger attractions. 

He did not miss taking a left and went inside. He reached a small dark room. The lights of the museum were very dim. They probably shut the power of unwanted places in the museum down quickly to save enough electricity for later. 

The latest lights were on in the painting in the room. There were only 5 paintings in a pentagon shape. Mark went to the middle and said, "Kevin, Kevin, are you here? It's me, Mark. I came searching for you. Make some sound if you are here." Closing his eyes. 

But as he did, he suddenly felt something bad from behind him and moved aside as he pulled Suzie with him. He noticed it was a thug. He had a huge broomstick in his hand. He looked at Mark and clicked his tongue. 

"Hey, kid. Surrender before you get hurt. Make things easy for me. And the others should also come out." Looking around. Two more people walked out from the dark and stood beside the first thug.