Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:54:55 -0400
From: X x <thewriter_x@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Brotherhood #14 {X} {MM College & Sci-Fi/Fantasy} [14!?]?

The following story contains sexually explicit acts between men.  If such
things bother you, annoy you, disturb you, or frighten you, then why the
hell are you here?  Do yourself a favor and leave before you read something
you like and discover that you're actually gay; you might not be able to
deal with the revelation.

I started a yahoo group for TBH a while back.  It's place where you can get
the latest chapters and talk about the story with other readers if you
like.  As thanks to those who are signed up, I'll be keeping the group one
chapter ahead of Nifty.  So while Nifty is up to date with chapter 13,
chapter 14 is up on the group (within a few days of updating Nifty, give or
take a day or do).  So if you want to keep up just sign up here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theinnercircletbh/

As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts, good or
bad, on the latest chapter so feel free to write me at: thewriterxx@aol.com


The Brotherhood Chapter XIV


	The house never felt so still.  We pledges never felt so free.

	With the house emptied there was really no one to tell us what to
do.  Sure we still had Dylan, but he was left with no clear instruction as
to what to do with us.  Granted he was a Brother.  That meant he could've
told us to do anything he wanted.  But his focus was definitely not on us
that night.  He was all over the place.  One minute he was sitting down
staring into nowhere, bouncing his right leg and the next he was pacing the
room glancing out the window every minute or so only to sit back down
again.

	I'd never seen a Brother so anxious before; so much so he made the
rest of us nervous, but we did our best to pass the time.  Steve, Paul and
some of the other guys sat around watching music videos on TV.  Jason and
Justin kept themselves busy with a very fancy chess table on the opposite
end of the room.  Mike and some of the others simply disappeared.  I have
no idea where they went.  Ant, Arsen and CJ had other ideas.

	"Hey Jay," Arsen motioned for me to come to him, "we're going to
give ourselves a tour of the place.  Come with us."

	I shook my head remembering the nightmare from the last time we
decided to look around.  "No thanks, you guys go on without me."

	"Dude, come on!  What else is there to do?"

	"I'm not stopping you CJ.  Go ahead."

	"Are you sure?" Ant asked, the look of disappointment shadowed his
face suddenly.

	"Positive," I assured him with a smile.  "Just do me a favor and
keep an eye on him."

      Ant and Arsen laughed while CJ looked around confused.

      "Who are you talking about?"

      I gestured for CJ to come over to me with a jerk of my head and put
my arm around his shoulder.  "Arsen," I whispered, "you know how he's
always getting into trouble and doing things he's not supposed to."  I
looked passed CJ at Arsen and winked.  "Just keep an eye on him for me and
don't let him touch anything or try to break into any locked rooms."

      "Dude no worries, I got this," he whispered back and patted my
stomach.

      "Nice!  I'm filled with so much confidence knowing you're on top of
things."

      He walked away to rejoin the others.  I smirked and shrugged at
Arsen.  CJ almost caught me laughing when he looked over his shoulder but I
recovered nicely by giving him two thumbs up.  He returned the gesture in
kind.

      I turned around and there was Dylan standing by the window again.  He
never even noticed me approaching him. Two or three minutes passed before
he even noticed I was standing beside him staring out into the night.  He
didn't actually say anything but his reflection in the glass betrayed him.

      We stood there for a while without saying a word.  I actually didn't
mind it at all for the view was stunning.  The moon was big and full,
hanging low over the tips of the distant trees, casting its glow on
everything it touched.  Even Dylan's eyes appeared to be on fire as they
absorbed the pale moonlight.

      "I suppose asking you what's going on around here would do me little
good, huh?"

      The smile appearing on his face was clear in his reflection as he
turned slightly to meet my eyes on the glass.  "And yet you managed to ask
me anyway."

      "I'm sorry.  I don't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong,
but it's just not a good feeling when the guys that don't flinch...flinch."

      "I like you Jacob," Dylan stated matter-of-factly.  "You remind me a
lot of myself when I was in your shoes."

      "I'll take that as compliment if you don't mind."

      "Not at all," he smiled again, his eyes flickering in the pale light.
He was quiet for a moment before he whispered, "Things are about to get a
lot more complicated..."  His words trailed off and I knew I lost him. His
body was standing next to me but his mind was somewhere else completely.
After standing there for a few minutes, I slowly backed away from him and
walked into the next room, stopping only for a moment to consider his last
words.  Words that left a chill in me I couldn't shake.

      With very little to do, I decide Arsen, Ant and CJ had the right idea
and took a stroll around the house.  Despite my overwhelming need to be
alone, I figured I'd run into the guys sooner or later.  It was one house.
It was inevitable.  So I took the first door on the right, fully expecting
my alone time to come to a quick end.

      I never saw them in the halls that night.

      It amazed me how many halls I walked and stairs I climbed.  Yet
around every corner I saw something new.  It was very bizarre to the point
where I thought my mind was playing tricks on me.  For instance, I climbed
a flight of stairs to the third floor where there was an amazing picture of
two white Bengal Tigers.  I remember it so well because I actually stopped
at the top of the stairs to admire the picture.  It was a cute picture of
the two cats leaning lazily against each other in front of a waterfall.  I
love all the big cats - lions, tigers, cheetahs it doesn't matter - I love
them all.  No one can argue the beauty and majesty of the big cats and the
mysteries they hold in their eyes.

	There was also a marble table right beneath the picture with a
black vase bursting with White Dendrobium Orchids centered in the middle. I
happen to know about flowers because it's my mother's passion. I spent
hours helping her in her flower garden growing up.  I'm sure you're asking
yourself what does this have to do with anything.  Well, I'm getting to
that.

	After leaning in to take in the aroma of the orchids, I went down
this long ass hallway to my right.  There was nothing special about it.  It
was just another hallway decorated in a splattering of paintings, chairs,
tables, potted plants and such.  I tried a few of the doors as I walked by
and except for a spattering of closets and bathrooms, they were all
locked. I took a few more turns here and there, went down a couple of
stairs and then back up, until I finally found myself climbing the same set
of stairs I did before.  Right there in front of me was the same picture,
table, and orchids.

	Not a big deal really expect this time I decided to explore the
left corridor.

	I don't know what compelled to look over my shoulder, but I did.
The long hallway to the right of the stairs was no longer there.  It was
now a much smaller corridor ending with a window overlooking the pool.

	I walked over to the opened window and stood there completely
dumbfounded.  "What the fuck?" I mumbled and looked around for an
explanation.  Could I have been in a different part of the house with the
same picture and flowers?  The place as designed like a labyrinth of
corridors and rooms, so I wouldn't put it passed the Brothers to pull
something like this just to fuck with people's heads.

	I'm one of the people that simply can't let shit like this go, so
my brilliant plan was to retrace my steps to see where that got me.  I ran
down the same stairs, took all the same turns, and went up and down the
exact same stairs again and sure enough I ended up running down a long ass
hallway that put me in front of the same picture of two white tigers and a
vase full of orchids.

	I thought it was brilliant!  Leave it to the Brothers to come up
with another way to fuck with your head.  I couldn't help but laugh.  I was
going to continue my exploration of the house when a thought crossed my
mind.
	"No way," I laughed, slipping my fingers thru my damp hair.  For a
split second the idea that these halls actually rearranged themselves at
will crossed my mind.

	Again, not being able to let it go, I decided to pluck a single
pedal from one of the orchids and placed it next to the vase.  "This is
fucking crazy," I told myself.  I'm sure by now you can see where I was
going with this.  That's right I ran down the same long hallway and went
thru all the motions again.  Nearly five minutes later I was climbing the
same set of stairs to the third floor.  It felt like it took my ten minutes
to take each step I was moving so slowly.  The whole time I kept looking to
my right to see if I was going to get the long or short corridor.  Honestly
I wasn't shocked to see the latter.

	I stood in front of the table staring at the picture and tapping my
nails on the hard wood.  I had yet to look down to see if the pedal was
there.  I honestly couldn't tell you what I was expecting or why I was so
afraid to look down.  I started to argue and yell at myself in my head.

	You're being really stupid!  Just look down already!  What are you
so afraid of?

	"This is retarded," I finally said out loud and looked down really
quick.  "My god!  I'm such an idiot."  There was no pedal on the table;
just the reflection of guy who felt like a complete jackass.  My only hope
was that there weren't any hidden cameras in the area because I would never
live this down.

	A strong hand slapped my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my
fucking shoes!  I yelled something and turned around swinging out of
instinct.  My right arm was blocked and I was grabbed by the throat with a
strong grip.  In that instant we looked into each other's eyes and backed
away.

	"Jacob, I'm sorry!  Are you okay?"

	"I'm fine no worries," I insisted.  "Sorry for taking a swing at
you it was just a reaction."

	Dylan laughed.  "Yeah, same here.  I see a punch coming at me and I
go into combat mode.  I really didn't mean to scare you.  I should've
cleared my throat as I approached or something."

	"No, it's cool," I kept insisting as I rubbed my neck.  "Nice
Vulcan death grip you got there."

	He smiled and rubbed his forearm.  "That right of yours is nothing
to laugh at either."  He took quick look around.  "What are you doing up
here?"

	"Sorry, I was just having a look around."

	"It's cool, but you really shouldn't be roaming around up here.
Come on lets head down stairs."  With a warm smile, he nodded towards
stairs and moved out of the way to let me go first.  "I get that you guys
are bored, so I don't mind if you want to take a look around, but all I ask
is you stay clear of this area."

	I nodded and looked over my shoulder at Dylan.  "Sorry, I didn't
mean to cause any problems."

	"No problems at all."

	I returned his smile but my eyes shifted passed him.  There clear
as day on the floor was a single white pedal - the light breeze from the
open window blew it underneath the table.

	Dylan didn't say much.  At the bottom of the stairs he reiterated
the fact I was to stay clear that part of the house, then walked off.
Admittedly I was a bit surprised.  I was sure he was going to take me back
to the rest of the pledges but instead he allowed me to continue my
roaming.  Common sense took priority over temptation and I avoided that
section of the house like I was told - I'd be lying if I said it was easy.

	I was also surprised I had yet to run into Arsen and the other
guys.  It's a big house, but damn, I was sure I'd be bumping into them by
now.  I couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble they were getting
themselves into.  At the very least, CJ must've broken something by now or
set something on fire.

	I walked down a familiar hallway but couldn't place why it seemed
so familiar; that is until I took a turn and saw my reflection staring back
at me from the larger than life mirror.  "Interesting," I mumbled as I
walked up to the mirror, touching it as soon as I was within reach.  I'm
not quite sure what I was expecting to happen, but needless to say it was
just cold, hard glass.

	I hated mirrors.  Hated them with a passion!  In fact while growing
up I remember my parents having to replace eight or ten bathroom mirrors.
I'd look into the mirror, into the eyes of a stranger staring back at me
knowing he held the secrets of my past and yet he refused to give them up.
I hated him for it.  I hated him so much that in a blind rage I'd punch out
the mirror.  We went thru a lot of bandages as well.

	There I was again staring at that same stranger.  The eyes, the
face, the hair all looked like me but didn't quite feel like me.

	Leaning forward, I tapped my forehead against the glass several
times and then just let it rest there for a moment.  "Why won't you tell me
who you are?"  I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to remember.  But
as always, my brain defaulted to that first memory of waking up in the
forest.  The yelling, the rain, the spinning tires...

	Everything from that night is so vivid in my mind.
	Everything from before that night is locked behind a door.
	I could only hope one day I'd finally find the key.

	My eyes shot open as I felt ten powerful fingers wrap around my
throat.  A dark shadow fell over the stranger in the mirror.  His face
twisted in anger.  His eyes fell deadly hollow.

	 "Remember!" The reflection hissed thru clenched teeth.

	 I gasped and stumbled backwards clutching my throat.  It took a
few minutes for the disorientation and shock to pass.  Had I been
daydreaming?  In the end, it made no difference.  My body was shaking all
over; my spine felt tingly, my legs weak and my heart pounded in my ear.
It hurt to breath.  No matter how much air I took in, I couldn't get
enough. I fell to my knees and gasped as if all the air in the room had
vanished.  I couldn't breathe!  Falling forward, I slammed the side of my
face against the hardwood floor.  I remember my nails scrapping the cherry
wood as I struggled for one...last...breath...

      Then everything went dark.

      I woke up in Q's bed.  My eyes just popped opened as if someone
snapped their fingers and commanded me to wake up.  I couldn't begin to
guess how long I was out or how the hell I got there.  I wasn't covered up
or anything.  And, thankfully, I still had all my clothes on. I sat up and
took a moment to pull myself together before getting up on my feet.

      "Shit," I said and sat right back down.  I was spinning out of
control or the room was...  Regardless of who was at fault, I had to take a
minute to recover.  This wasn't the first time I had one of those
"episodes" mind you.  The doctors call them anxiety attacks but I think of
them as someone's cruel way of keeping me from myself.  Thankfully it's
only happened a handful of times, but when they do, I always wake up with
the nagging feeling I was just about to remember a little bit of myself.
Like the name that hangs on the tip of your tongue that you've been trying
to remember all day.  It's extremely annoying.

      After a few minutes I felt better and I was walking around the empty
room.  I expected to see someone sitting at Q's desk waiting for me to wake
up but I was alone.  Who the hell carried me into the room?  Or did anyone
carry me?  For all I know I walked myself here and don't even remember it.
I really hoped that wasn't the case.  I had enough issues going on.  I
didn't need to add short-term memory loss to the list.

      I went into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face and to get a
drink.  Instead of splashing my face I ended up sticking my head under the
faucet.  That felt so good I stayed there for a good five minutes or so
just letting the water wash over me.  I grabbed a towel and wrapped my head
in it so the water wouldn't drop on my clothes or the floor.  As I dried my
hair I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse of my reflection thru the towel.
It creeped me the fuck out.  I had to look away.

      There was a door I hadn't noticed before.  I looked over my shoulder
at the main door then back again.  Granted I don't spend tons of time in
Q's bathroom but I could've sworn that door wasn't there before.
Whatever...

      I didn't see the harm in opening it and to be honest I was half
expecting it to be locked anyway, but to my surprise it wasn't.  I stepped
into a fairly large office.  I assumed it was Q's office since it was
attached to his bathroom.  The glass desk was identical to the one in his
room and the computer set up was pretty much the same as well.  Except the
monitor was at least a twenty-eight inch wide screen.  There were books
galore - some were newer but for the most part they were old leather bound
books.  Some were so old, I honestly thought if I touched them they would
disintegrate into dust.  I stayed away from those.

      Q's desk had several open books and old withered scrolls.  I knew
right off the bat some of them were of Ancient Egypt; the drawings and
hieroglyphs gave it away.  I'm no history buff but I have been known to
stop on the history channel from time to time.  I enjoyed learning about
that stuff.  The pharaohs, pyramids, the ancient gods of old, their belief
system and mythologies fascinated me.

      One of the books was opened up to a page with a picture of what I
assumed was a Pharaoh sitting on a throne holding a sphere in his hand for
all to see; the smaller figures below him bowed in reverence.
Unfortunately I don't read ancient hieroglyphics, so they were nothing more
than pretty pictures to me.  I did notice a smaller book wedged underneath
the big one.  It was new, like it had just been purchased from Barn's &
Noble, and it was opened to the exact same picture.  Lucky for me this one
was in English!

      The picture depicted Ramses II; a Pharaoh who ruled during the 19th
dynasty, holding in his hand what his people believed was the divine eye of
Ra.  For the history impaired, Amon Ra was the sun god and king of all the
Egyptian gods.  The caption below the picture said Ramses would bring out
the sphere during religious ceremonies where his people gathered by the
thousands to witness the power of the eye.  It would glow brightly as if a
drop of the sun had fallen from the heavens.  The people believed it was Ra
bestowing his blessing on his children and his lands.

      The more I shifted thru the books and documents on the table the more
I realized this orb went beyond Egyptian culture and mythologies.  I found
several books on ancient Roman and Greek mythology and even some references
to the God Odin and his son Thor from Norse mythology. There were only a
few books written in English, the rest I couldn't understand.  But as the
saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and the common theme in
all the pictures was the glowing orb.  Almost all the major Gods of old
were depicted with this strange sphere in one way or another.

      Unfortunately, as fascinated as I was, I couldn't begin to pretend to
make sense of any of it, let alone formulize a theory as to why Q was so
interested.  Maybe he was just a hardcore history buff or a mythology
major.  But something in my gut told me there was more to it than a passing
fascination with ancient cultures.

      I was moving things around trying to put things back as they were,
when I accidentally bumped the mouse, bringing the monitor alive.
Initially, I thought the computer was off, but it turned out to be on and
very busy running some kind of search algorithm.  According to the page
count on the upper right hand corner of the screen, over twenty thousand
pages of text and pictures were searched so far.  It looked like the
program was designed to search for certain words or references and when it
found what is was looking for it pulled it into an index column in the form
of a link; at least that's what I could tell by staring at the screen for a
few minutes.  Considering the amount of information it was going through,
my theory made perfect sense.  That's what I would do if I was looking for
a needle in a haystack and from what I could tell that needle came in the
form of a strange orb.

      Since I really couldn't make any sense out of any of it I figured it
was time to go.  I did my best to leave everything the way I found it and
headed out.  I almost made the mistake of leaving the office from the main
entrance and not the bathroom from which I came.  With my luck, Dylan would
happen to be walking by Q's office just as I walked out and that's the last
thing I needed.

      I was walking thru the bathroom and about to head into Q's bedroom
when I was struck with this crazy - not to mention risky - idea.  I
realized if I was ever going to get any answers I was going to need some
ammo - something that could not be denied or explained away.  I had the
perfect thing in mind.

      Ten minutes later I was back in my room rummaging thru my dresser
when I heard what sounded like a stampede outside my bedroom door.
Naturally I was curious to know where the fire was so I ran out only to
catch a glimpse of a body rushing down the stairs.

      "CJ!" I yelled out even though I wasn't hundred percent sure it was
him.  I ran to the stairs and sure enough I was right.  I'm pretty sure I
scared the crap out of him when I called out his name because he almost
busted his ass going down stairs.  "What's the fucking rush?  Where's
everyone running off to?"

      "Dude!" he looked up at me as if I was supposed to know what was
going on. "The brothers are back!"

      "What?"

      "Yeah!  All the fucking brothers are back!"

      Before he even finished the sentence I was bolting down passed him to
the main entrance.  I heard CJ yell something about waiting up for him but
I wasn't really paying attention at that point.  Several of us stopped at
the top of stairs and looked down at the closed door waiting for it to
burst open with an influx of brothers.  CJ caught up to me and whacked me
in the back of the head.  He didn't say anything but I was pretty sure it
was for leaving him behind.

      Arsen and Ant were with us. We shared a quick glance, then returned
our attention to the door.  Honestly I don't know what the fuck we were
expecting to happen, but we were definitely feeling a high leveling of
anxiety.  You'd think our favorite celebrities were about to come strolling
into the house at any minute.  I was fucking gripping the railing like I
was hanging on for dear life and I had no idea why.  Some of the other
pledges were down by the foot of stairs looking up at us as if we knew what
was about to happen.

      Dylan came into the room and stood just off to the side of the door.
He looked at the pledges by the stairs and then up at us.  For minute I
thought he was going to tell us to go back to our rooms, but instead looked
directly at me.  He held my gaze for a moment, then kind of cracked a smile
before returning his gaze back to the door just as it flew open.

      The brothers poured in like a band of marching soldiers - my heart
pounded at the sight of them all.  Most of the brothers walked in shirtless
with a look of unyielding determination.  The pledges moved aside as they
climbed the stairs without so much as glance in our direction.

      And then we saw him. A young kid, no older than sixteen or seventeen,
was escorted in by a group of brothers that surrounded him as if he were
the president of the United States and they were his secret service agents.
He was covered in a white blanket and unceremoniously rushed up the stairs.
He looked disorientated, his eyes wondering as if he hadn't a clue as to
what was going on around him.  I managed to glimpse at his face for a
second and what an amazing face it was - flawlessly pale with a set of
burning sapphires shrouded behind flowing strands of raven black hair.

      There was only one other person that gave you that feeling of awe
when he walked into a room - more so in fact because his mere presence
takes control of any situation without having to utter a single word.  As
those thoughts were going thru my mind, a shirtless Q walked into the house
and right away caught sight of Dylan.  Q said something to him I couldn't
make out and then followed the rest of the brothers up the stairs.  A
second later Dylan ordered the pledges to return to their rooms.

      Of course we obeyed, but had a hell of a time trying to weave and
squeeze thru all brothers that were standing everywhere.  The crowded
situation presented me with an opportunity I wasn't about to miss.  I hung
back for a minute watching Q walk up the stairs.  I timed it so when I had
to walk by the stairs to go to my room, Q was almost at the top.  There was
another brother standing by the stairs so I politely excused myself as I
squeezed behind him to get thru just in time to have Q reach the top and
press right up against me.  He placed his hands causally on my waist and I
put mine on his arms.  To anyone taking notice it just looked like two guys
helping each other get thru so the other one didn't trip or fall, but to us
there was obviously a lot more feeling behind it.  I felt his warmth on me,
the beat of his heart against my chest, the gaze of his eyes deep in my
soul.  Our lips were just whiskers away from touching as I tried to
maneuver thru the maze of bodies.  And, as I finally moved passed him, our
fingers locked for mere seconds before I had to let him go and continue
walking away.  I have no idea how many times I replayed that moment in my
head that night.

      By the time I got to my room Arsen was already stripping down to his
boxers.  I actually caught myself pausing for a second to admire the view.
Had someone told me a month ago I'd be checking out another guy because I
thought he was hot, I would've called bullshit.  It seems life is not
without its sense of humor.

      I laughed.

      "What's funny?' Arsen asked smiling back at me.

      I dismissed his question with a hand gesture. "Nothing at all."  I
doubt I was very convincing since I was still giggling under my shirt as I
pulled it off.

      Arsen took advantage of the situation and grabbed me while my shirt
was over my head then threw me on the bed.  "You, my friend, are breaking
the number one rule between roomies!"

      "Oh, what would...ugh..."  I broke off as he straddled my lap leaving
me a bit winded.  "Shit, there goes any chance of ever having kids again,"
I groaned.

      Now he was the one laughing.  Probably at my comment or the fact that
I was still struggling to get my shirt off my head.  You'd think this was
the first time I ever wore a shirt before.

       "And what rule would that be?" I gave one finally tug and I was
freed from my cloth prison.  "Finally!"

      "No secrets amongst roomies!"

      "There are no secrets!" I threw my shirt in his face.  "I just
thought of something CJ said in the hallway." I lied for obviously reasons.
I wasn't about to confess to my roommate that I was really checking him out
in his sweet boxers.

      "CJ," he chuckled, "say no more!"  He rolled off and sat beside me.
"You have to wonder about that kid sometime."

      "Exactly!"

      "God love him though."

      "Exactly!"

      Arsen stood up, offered me his hand and pulled me off the bed.
"Crazy night huh?"  He watched as I undressed, but not with the same
interest I had looking at him - at least I don't think so.

      "That's one way to put it I guess.  I wonder what's the deal with
that kid he brought back with him."

      "He?  He who?"

      "I meant them, the brothers, you know what I mean."

      Arsen shrugged. "No clue."

      "I was talking about the brothers bringing back..."

      "I know what you meant," he interrupted and slapped my chest.  'I was
saying I have no clue what that kid's story is all about."

      "Don't you think it was weird how the brothers hovered around him
like he was made of solid gold or something?"

      Arsen nodded and then snapped his fingers.  "And what was with all
those brothers coming back shirtless?  Did you notice that?"

      "I did!  Fucking weird I know!"

      "Do you think they'll fill us in?"

      I looked at him like he was crazy.  "What do you think?"

      "Yeah, stupid question," he snickered.

      "Do you think he is the 'Prince?'  You know, when he said the prince
woke up or something, right before they all ran out?"

      "I remember," Arsen nodded.  "Prince of what though?  And what did he
wake up from?" His questions lingered in the air like the curled smoke from
a burning cigar and ultimately went unanswered.  We could only hope to one
day have answers to such questions; to one day be the ones to mystify and
intrigue.

      We exchanged a few more words as we settled into bed and before long
we drifted to sleep.  My dreams revolved around Q, the look on his face as
he walked into the house, the moment at the top of the stairs - my god I
can't count how many times I relived that moment.  Those few seconds were
enough to ignite my senses, raise every hair in my body, and send a chill
down my spine.  I found myself coming back to the same mind blowing thought
- that all these emotions were a result of one man.

      On her best day, Alex couldn't hope to make me feel the way Q did and
I sure as hell couldn't remember a time when I laid in bed thinking of her
like I did about Q.  One thing was for sure.  I knew I had to handle the
Alex situation sooner than later.  Admittedly, that wasn't something I was
looking forward to and honestly I had no idea how to go about handling it.
Breaking up with Alex would be like telling Satan he had to do community
service - it just wouldn't fly.

      I don't know if I was asleep for hours or just fifteen minutes, but
at some point I woke up because I had to take a major leak.  As usual I had
to do my little dance and twirl to untangle myself from Arsen who was fast
asleep and because I didn't want to wake him it me like five minutes to get
free.

      I did my business and headed back to my room.  I don't know if I was
just overly tired or what the deal was, but the halls appeared darker than
they were moments before.  It was probably me since the whole time I was
walking around in a haze.  I turned a corner and banged my foot on the leg
of a table - that shit hurt like the mother!  I hissed and clutched my foot
in my hands while I hopped around on one foot looking like a damn fool.
      So there I was looking all hot and sexy as one might expect when
one's doing the bunny dance on one foot, in his underwear while cursing.  I
hopped around the corner to my room and there he was learning against the
banister.  I don't know where the light was coming from but it shone over
his eyes, lips, and across his bare chest.  The way his A&F sweats sagged
low on his hips revealing the band of his underwear definitely made my cock
begin to swell.

      Q looked absolutely heavenly.

      He didn't say a word.  He just looked at me with those crystal clear,
penetrating eyes I fell head over heels for and every time I looked into
them it was like falling in love all over again.  I absolutely loved
feeling the way Q made me feel.  My only regret was not crossing paths with
him years ago.  I could only imagine how fulfilling and real our
relationship might have been unlike the years I wasted with Alexandra.

      Keep in mind the whole time these things are going thru my mind I'm
still standing there with my foot in my hands.  I wasn't in any pain, not
anymore, but I definitely was frozen in Q's gaze.  It wasn't until he
slowly pushed himself off the banister and came towards me that I was
finally able to break free from his gaze and stand up straight.  I think he
found the sight of me amusing because of the smirk dancing on his
lips. Admittedly, it was hard to see as he walked in and out of the
shadows, but I'm almost positive it was there.

      I pressed my fingers against his stomach as he came up to me, his
hands found their way to my hips as if taking up their rightful place.  We
pressed our foreheads together and gazed into each other's eyes, and I
swear to god nothing in my life felt more right.  We had yet to say a
single word to each other and yet, I felt like he had spoken volumes
already.  I could only hope that he was picking up the same vibe from me as
I was picking up from him.  Suddenly I was compelled to say something to Q.
Maybe because it was so important to me that he knew how I felt and I
didn't want to chance him not picking it up with my body language.

      Before I could utter a single syllable, Q placed his finger over my
lips and smiled.  I think in his own way he was telling me he knew exactly
what I was trying to say.  Q slipped his hand over the left side of my face
and traced his thumb around my lips - his touch felt amazing.  Pushing his
hand further behind my neck, Q gently pulled me towards him until our lips
finally met.  All I can say is the moment was electric!

      I pulled Q close to me - I needed to feel the warmth of his body wash
over me, to cover me like a blanket on a cold winter's night and like
always I was lost in his embrace.  The whole thing was overly exciting.  I
mean there I was, standing in the middle of the commons area, making out
with Q, the head of our house and Kyrios' right hand man, and at any moment
one of my fellow pledges could've walked out of their room and caught us
red handed. The danger of it all was intoxicating.

      I have no idea how long we kissed.  I know I didn't want it to end
that's for sure.  But as the saying goes, all good things..., right?  Q
pulled away from me and I'm sure I felt his reluctance.  He smiled and
hooked a finger on the waistband of my underwear and pulled on it until it
finally snapped back against my stomach.  I had a fucking raging hard-on
and I'm sure this was his way of toying with me.  Q walked away from me but
I held on to his hand so I was able to stop him.  I shook my head no.  I
didn't want him to leave.  I didn't want the moment to end.

      Q's hand was slipping from mine until only our fingers were hooked.
He gave me that last loving stare telling me he had to go, but I was
stubborn and grabbed him with my other hand and yanked him towards me.  Our
bodies crashed and I kissed Q hard, passionately, and my hands were all
over him.  It was nice to know I wasn't the only one excited for I
certainly felt Q's hard bulge pressing against mine.

      Q was enjoying himself.  I felt him smirking against my lips as we
kissed, so then I started laughing as well.  Suddenly I noticed Q's body
felt warmer than before and even though my eyes were closed I could tell
the room was getting lighter.  I cracked open my eyes and was blinded by a
bright light as if someone had a flashlight on us.

      I backed away and shielded my eyes with my hand.  "Q..." I called
out.  The light was so vibrant my eyes simply could not adjust.  "Q!" I
yelled out, and next thing I know I'm shooting up like a rocket, arms
flailing with my heart pounding in my chest and within seconds I heard a
loud crash.  I was in such a haze I couldn't tell where the noise came
from.  Hell, I didn't even know where I was, never mind what was going on
around me.

      "What the hell?" A low voice came from the side of the bed.  "How in
the hell did I end down here?"

      Suddenly I was very aware that I was in my room.  And the low,
sluggish voice and loud crash I heard came from Arsen as I accidentally
pushed him off the bed

      Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Arsen sat up and looked around the
room until finally his eyes met with mine.  "What happened?"

      I gave him the most innocent look I could possible muster.  "I don't
know," I shrugged, "it looks like you rolled off the bed.  The noise woke
me up."

      "Oh, my bad bro," he apologized and slapped my shoulder as he stood
up.  I felt kind of bad but I wasn't about to confess that I pushed him off
the bed.  "Shit, I was having a sweet dream too!" He complained, then
adjusted his underwear and mumbled something about taking a piss.

      Speaking of dreams - was that all I was remembering?  Did last night
really happen?  Was I even with Q or was my desire to be with him so strong
I dreamt the whole thing up?  I hated this fucking feeling of uncertainty.
Ever since I stepped foot in the house, I starting having trouble telling
my right foot from my left.  The most frustrating part of the whole thing
was that I couldn't just waltz over to Q's room and ask him about it.
Without a doubt I can honestly say I was falling hard for Q, that wasn't
the issue.  I just had so many questions floating around in my head and
very little answers to speak of - I was beginning to feel the weight of it,
I think.

      On the flip side of the things, I understood the need for secrecy.  I
honestly didn't expect Q to sit down over tea and spill his guts out to me.
So in the end, I was stuck with a bunch of questions I knew I wouldn't be
getting the answers to anytime soon.  I guess the hard pill to swallow was
being Q's boyfriend, but at the same time knowing, that in the end, I was
merely a pledge whose place was to be kept in the dark.

      In fact that's where we were all kept in the days after the
appearance of the "boy prince".  The pledges were pretty much left to their
own devices with very little direction from the brothers.  We spent most of
our time hanging around the house watching TV, playing games, and swimming
in the pool.

      I spent my time watching a Judge Judy marathon.  Not for nothing but
she's my fucking hero.  No one can lay the smack down on idiots better than
Judge Judy can, but I digress.

      There were moments where the house was simply buzzing with brothers
and chatter and then other times it seemed like we were the only ones
around.  Of course, when you leave a bunch of unsupervised pledges together
we start doing some buzzing of our own.  Everyone had their ideas and
theories as to what was going on.  Some of the things the guys were coming
up with were so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh - not surprisingly
most of the dumb shit was coming from CJ but that's why we love him.

	Next thing you know it's Monday morning and I'm sitting in class in
my TBH robe bored out of my fucking mind.  It was your normal first day of
class bullshit - syllabus, reading list, papers we needed to write, and
projects we were expected to complete.  Physically I was present but my
mind was so far away I might as well have been sitting in Paris.  I hadn't
seen Q since the night outside of my bedroom, if that night even happened,
but he was all I could think about.  I missed him and to be quite honest I
was a little worried.  Things in the house just seemed off ever since that
kid showed up.  I wasn't the only one who felt it either.  Ant and Steve
made a few comments that made it clear they shared my concerns.

	After our second class, Ant, Steve, and I decided to use the hour
we had before our next class to hang out at the Arcade.  Officially it's
called the Marie Murphy Recreation Center, but everyone simply calls it the
Arcade.  We were hanging around, about to get a game of darts going with a
few other guys, when someone suddenly came up behind me and slapped my ass
hard. It fucking stung like a bitch!  Considering I was only wearing my
boxer briefs underneath the robe I might as well have been slapped on my
bare ass.

	I didn't have to turn around to know who it was for the laugh was a
dead giveaway.  "Alex," I said and watched out of the corner of my eye as
she walked around in front of me.

	"Hey baby," she smiled and draped her arms around my neck.  This is
classic Alex at its finest.  This wasn't about showing me affection; it was
about me being a pledge of The Brotherhood and Alex wanting everyone within
eyesight to know she was my girl.  And of course to make the whole thing
official she leaned in to give me a kiss, but I was quick to turn away.

	"I can't," I insisted and casually removed her arms from around my
neck.  Technically, I wasn't lying since we weren't allowed to have any
physical contact with outsiders without the brother's permission, but when
it came right down to it, I simply didn't want to kiss her for obvious
reasons.

	"Oh that's right, the brother's still have a tight leash around you
guys," she laughed and snaked her hands over my chest - you'd think she was
looking for a hidden wire or something.  "No loving for you guys until you
become brothers, huh?"  She looked at Ant and Steve then back to me.
"Damn, all you guys must be going nuts."

	"We manage," Steve shrugged.

	She looked at him, rolled her eyes and laughed, "I don't even want
to know what you mean by that.  Just make sure you boys keep your hands off
my baby."

	I grabbed her hands and looked at my friends, "Hey guys I'll catch
up with you later.  I need to talk to Alex alone for a minute."

	Ant nodded and playfully pushed Steve along.  "Take your time
Jacob, we'll wait for you outside. Come on Steve, move your ass."

	"Oh, some alone time," Alex smirked and winked.

	"It's not like that."  I wanted to make sure I said that while Ant
and Steve were still within hear shot.  I sure as hell didn't want them to
think I was trying to get my freak on behind their back.

	There weren't that many people around, in fact the Arcade was
pretty empty, but I still wanted to go somewhere private to talk to Alex.
It wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to by any means but it was
time.  I was done dancing around the issue.  Unfortunately, realizing that
fact didn't make things any easier and more to the point I had no idea what
I was going to say.

	The private billiard room on the second floor overlooked the main
room of the Arcade and was empty - the perfect place to take Alex and have
our talk.  Of course, the second we got up stairs and I close the door
she's on me like bees to honey.

	"Alex, Alex, Alex," I said as I did my best to fend her off,
"that's not why I brought you here."

	"Yeah right," she laughed and kept trying to get under my robes.

	"Alex, I'm serious!  I can't do this."

	"Don't worry baby nobody has to know."

	"That's not what I mean."  I finally grabbed her hands and gently
pushed her towards the pool table.  "We need to talk."

	"What's your deal?  Talk about what?"  She looked at me closely
like she was sizing me up.  "Oh for fucks sakes don't tell me you got
kicked out of The Brotherhood.  Please don't tell me that!"

	I laughed because that's so Alex - always looking out for number
one.  "Alex if I was kicked from The Brotherhood do you think I'd be
standing here in their robe?"

	"Fine," she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.  "What is it
then?"

	For the longest time I just looked at Alex.  I had a knot in my
throat and dragons in the pit of my stomach.  I was not ready for this at
all.  Just looking at her brought back memories and I'd be lying if I said
they were all bad because the truth was we had a lot of fun times together.

	"Why are you looking at me like that?" She demanded.  "Whatever it
is just say it already."

	"It's over," I finally said, amazed that all that build up lead to
two simple words.

	"What's over?"  Uncrossing her arms, she leaned back against the
pool table and looked at me with those eyes that were beginning to boil
over.  She was annoyed, no doubt about it, more so probably because she
wasn't picking up what I was putting down.  "What are you talking about?
You're making no sense, Jacob, and I don't have time for this."

	"We are over Alex...we're done."

	She jerked her head like she was just splashed with freezing water.
"What are you talking about?  What are you saying?  Over?  Us over?"

	All I could do was nod to confirm what I thought I made clear.

	She made a few rounds around the pool table without saying
anything; her hands firmly on her hips, her face looking angry as all hell.
"I don't know what those brothers have you smoking but you're out of your
mind if you think you can walk away from this."  She stopped on the
opposite side of the pool table and made a gesture between us.  "You don't
end us!  You don't decide when we're over.  We're not just your run of the
mill boyfriend and girlfriend - we're a power couple, a fucking
institution!  And you think you can just walk away?"

	I couldn't help but laugh.  "Are you listening to yourself?  I mean
do you actually hear what's coming out of your mouth?  And you wonder why I
want out."

	"Yes, I wonder why."  She threw her hands up and looked at me like
I was the idiot who didn't get it.  "All the things we've done...all the
things we will do.  So excuse me if I'm just more than a little confused as
to why you would want to break it off now.  Is there someone else?  Did the
brothers hook you up with some whore? "

	"You're making my point for me, Alex.  You don't love me.  I mean
maybe in the beginning you did, but not anymore.  You love what I can do
for you and how we look together.  And now, with the possibility of dating
a brother, you're flying high aren't you?  I wouldn't be surprised if you
had your crown picked out already."

	"Fuck you Jacob!  Fuck you!'

	"And you know what I can't even hate on you, not really, because I
was just like you," I conceded.  "I enjoyed all the attention we got back
in high school.  How everyone bowed at our feet and kissed our asses, but
this isn't high school anymore Alex.  Our glory days of being a 'power
couple' are over.  It's time to grow up...it's time for you to grow up."

	"Oh please!" Alex sneered.  "If you think you can just..."

	"I don't have to think anything Alex," I interrupted, "it's a done
deal."  I looked her straight in the eyes so there wasn't any room for
misinterpretation.  "We're done and we have nothing more to talk about."

	Alex walked around the pool table and stood just a couple of feet
away from me.  I knew what was coming and made no attempt to stop it.  I
guess I figured it was the least I could do considering the situation.

	She slapped the shit of me.  "If you think this is over you're
sadly mistaken," She assured me thru clinched teeth.  She walked away and
stopped at the door to get her last two cents in.  "You know me Jacob,
probably better than anyone, so you know I'm not kidding when I say that
you're going to regret the day you ever met me."

	"News flash Alex...that day has come and gone."

	The finger and a slamming door is how we left it, but I knew it was
far from over.  Alex was right.  I did know her and I knew how vindictive
she can get.  One thing's for sure, things were about to get a hell of a
lot more interesting.

	I stayed in the billiard room for another ten minutes or so
gathering my thoughts and watching people leave the Arcade.  The reality of
what just happened was hitting me like a swift kick in the nuts.  I ended
one bad, poisonous relationship to enter into one that had an unforeseeable
future.  Even if I did become a full fledged brother there was no telling
how my relationship with Q would unfold in the eyes of the rest of the
brothers.  All I could do was hope for the best.

	I headed downstairs to catch up with Ant and Steve, but I stopped
in the middle of the Arcade because I was just amazed at how such a popular
place was so empty.  I knew something felt off and suddenly my fears were
confirmed.  All the lights starting turning off in sections until only a
single lamp on the table I was near remained on.

	"She's a hand full that one," a voice came from darkness.

	Much like I recognized Alex's laugh, I knew who the voice belonged
to - my secret tormentor was back.  I saw a shadowy silhouette walking
towards me.  My heart raced in my chest and I could feel the sweat forming
over my brow. Tightening my fist, I stood ready to start swinging.  I was
done with this fool and more importantly I was done being anyone's toy.

	"Relax and have a seat," the silhouette spoke again and took a seat
himself at the small table.  "Whatever delusions of grandeur are going thru
your mind right now, I suggest you put them aside and listen to what I have
to say."

	"I don't have to listen to a damn thing you have to say.  I'm thru
playing your games. So if you're going to do something to me then do it,
otherwise I'm going to the brothers and telling them everything and letting
them deal with you."  Don't even ask me where all that bravado came from,
but it sure as hell felt good getting that off my chest.  I wasn't kidding
either.  For some reason or another, I was tangled up in this mess with
that freak and I knew there was only one person who could help me figure it
all out.

	He didn't say anything he merely sat there.  I couldn't make him
out for he was clad in a black hooded robe and the shadows enveloped him
like a cloak.  Thanks to the dim light the most I could see was his chin
peeking out from under the hood.  There was something off about him because
this wasn't his normal M.O.  I mean, he asked me to have seat for crying
out loud!  I would've expected him to sneak up behind me and physically
forced me to do what he wanted.

	Regardless, I decided since he wasn't saying anything I was going
to stand around waiting for him to make the next move and give him that
power over me so I headed for the door.

	"Walk out now and you'll be ruining Q..."

	 I stopped cold in my tracks.  "And what exactly is that supposed
to mean?"

	"Have a seat and find out," he replied, his gloved hand gesturing
to the chair next to him.

	Reluctantly I complied, for I figured it couldn't hurt to hear what
he had to say.

	"I know I've been a thorn in your side for a while now," he
snickered.  "It was quite enjoyable to be honest with you, but ultimately
it was just my way of keeping myself entertained until I found a more
practical use for you." He paused for a moment to add a little dramatic
effect to his little speech I'm sure.  "That time is now."

	"What is it you want from me?"

      "I need you to do two things for me.  If you come thru, I give you my
word you'll never see or hear from me again.  You can continue living your
little life and pledging The Brotherhood with no hindrance from me."

	"And what happens if I don't?"

	"Then I'm afraid your relationship with Q goes public and his
position within The Brotherhood will be destroyed."  I was about to say
something but he cut me off.  "And please don't spin words or claim
ignorance because I have proof of your involvement with Q, proof that will
find its way into the hands of the rest of the brothers.  You've heard the
stories, so you know exactly what will happen.  Luckily for you, you'll
most likely walk away unscathed, but that won't be the case for your
beloved Q.  Now how's that for let's make a deal?"

	Oh my god, I was so angry.  I wanted to fly out of my chair and
pound that fucker's face in, but he had me by the balls.  Sure he could've
been lying thru his teeth and there was no proof but I couldn't take that
chance.  I had to protect Q.

	"If I help you, Q stays in the clear?"

	"I give you my word."

	"Yeah, and I'm supposed to trust that you'll keep your word."

	"Do you think you have any other choice, Jacob?"

	"Fine.  What do you want?"

	"It's simple really," he said as he placed a flash drive on the
table.  "I need you to gain access to Q's personal office and upload the
program on this drive onto his computer."

	"What is it?  A virus?  Are you trying to plant a stupid virus on
his computer?  Is that what this is all about?"

	He laughed.  "It's more complicated than that.  The Brotherhood's
computer network is the most sophisticated and secure network on the
planet.  It makes the Pentagon look about as secure as a box of
Cracker-Jacks.  The program on the flash drive will open up a window for me
to get in, but it needs to be done from the inside.  That's where you come
in.  Once you hook up the drive to the computer, the upload will take about
30 seconds and you're done.  It doesn't get any easier than that my
friend."

	"Except you seem to be forgetting the part where I have to actually
get into his office.  I can't just stroll right in and upload this thing?
What are you, crazy?"

	"Don't be a jackass," he hissed, "You've already been in his office
once and you've seen the files I need on his computer, so don't play stupid
with me."

	I was completely dumbfounded.

	"And don't bother asking me how I know 'cause I just do."  He
placed a second device about the size of a dime on the table.  "As I
understand it, a special guest arrived at your house a few days ago.  That
kind of shakes things up a bit and I need to stay up on current events.
This is a micro transmitter that will stick to any surface.  All I need you
to do is place it anywhere in Q's bedroom and press the button in the
center to activate it."

	I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  "I'm sorry, you must have
me confused with 007.  Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?  I mean,
seriously?  Are you for real?"

	"As real as it gets," he answered.  I couldn't see his face under
the hood but I could just feel him smirking under there.  "I laid out my
terms now the rest is up to you."

	"How the hell..." He stood up abruptly catching me completely off
guard and just walked away into the shadows leaving the devices on the
table.  The bastard never let me finish my sentence.

	The lights suddenly turned on in sections throughout the Arcade
until the whole place was lit up like a Christmas tree.  Ant and Steve came
running thru the doors like two maniacs.  I managed to conceal the devices
before they got too close.  The shadow man was gone.  There were a set of
doors in the direction he was walking, but I never heard them open or
close.

	"So you are in here," Ant said as he approached me.  "What the hell
is going on the doors were locked from the inside and then suddenly they
were unlocked?"

	"Oh, I know what you were doing in here," Steve grinned. "You were
getting your freak on with your girl."

	Ant slapped him on his shoulder.  "Don't be stupid Steve, you saw
her walk out of here just like I did."

	"Oh yeah, that's right."

	"Are you okay, Jacob?"

	"I'm fine Ant, thanks." His concern was touching, the look in his
eyes sincere.  "Alex and I broke up it off.  I was just in here collecting
my thoughts."

	"Shit, I'm sorry man."

	"It happens.  What can you do?  Come on, let's get the hell out of
here."

	I went to the rest of my classes but to be honest I don't remember
actually being in any of them.  I was in a fog the whole time.  How the
hell did I end up in this mess?  All I wanted to do was go to college,
pledge a fraternity and live the life of a college kid.  Now, I'm suddenly
supposed to play the role a fucking spy.  I knew college was supposed to be
filled with unique and amazing experiences but his shit was definitely not
on the brochure.

	After my last class I headed back to the house alone.  Arsen and
Paul offered to walk with me but I declined.  I filled them in about my
break up with Alex and told them I just needed some time alone.  It was all
bullshit of course.  After my run in with the shadow man, Alex was the
furthest thing from my mind.  Q was the only person I was concerned about,
the only thing on my mind.  Him and the haunting question that plagued me
over and over again.  Could I bring myself to betray Q even if it meant
saving him?

	I walked into a calm and quiet house and headed upstairs to my
room.  I never noticed Shawn walking down the stairs until I accidentally
bumped into him.  "Hey Shawn, sorry I didn't see you there."

	"It's cool, don't worry about it," he said as he looked me over
closely.  "Are you okay, you seem out of it?"

	"Yeah, I'm fine it's just..." I trailed off unsure of what to say
to throw him off my scent.

	"It's the Alex thing isn't?  I understand don't worry about it."

	"How..."

	He laughed.  "We're The Brotherhood Jacob, there's very little we
don't know."  He patted me on the back and continued on his way.

	"Oh, hey Shawn," I called out to him, "um, do you know where Q is?"

	"Yeah, I just left him in his bedroom.  Why?"

	"Do you think it'd be okay if I ran in to see him quick?"

	He shrugged.  "I don't see why not, but keep it brief because I
know he's working on some important stuff.  Anyway, if he doesn't want you
there he'll let you know."  He winked and walked away.

	I went to my room to put my crap away, avoiding any unnecessary
contact with the guys.  Arsen was in there reading a book and wanted to
make small talk.  I felt bad because I didn't have the time or desire to
chat.  In the end, left him there pretty much talking to himself.

	I didn't go directly to Q's bedroom but to his office instead -
peeking my head inside to make sure it was clear to enter.  The door to the
bathroom was wide open and I could see straight across into Q's room - well
not entirely since the other door was only about half way open.  I don't
know why I stood there staring at the door for so damn long.  Maybe I was
hoping Q would go to the bathroom and see me standing in his office and
demand an explanation.

	I don't know, maybe.

	Anyway, I went to the desk and moved the mouse to get the monitor
out of sleep mode and saw the computer running the same search algorithm.
Hundreds of thousands of documents scanned with several thousand pictures
captured and cataloged all centering around the same theme - the orb.  What
was so damn important about that stupid thing?

	I grasped the flash drive tightly in my hand and removed the cap.
The desktop was underneath the table and it had easy access USB ports on
the front. All I had to do was plug the drive in and let it do its work.  I
couldn't believe I was doing this, but what choice did I have?  I didn't
know the importance of these files but it was either give them up or give Q
up and I sure as hell wasn't prepared to do that.

	I plugged the drive in.

	Within a few seconds a progress bar appeared in the center of the
screen and the upload started.  I mere 33 seconds was all it would take to
open up a back door for that fucker.  In a blink of an eye the upload was
already at 55%.  I thought of Q and could only hope that if one day he
learned of what I did, he could forgive me and understand why I did it.  It
didn't matter because in that very instant, that very moment the thought
crossed my mind, I realized Q would never forgive me and I'd be fooling
myself if I thought otherwise.

	At 94% percent I yanked the drive out of the computer and
terminated the upload.  I couldn't do it.  I simply couldn't.  If there was
one thing Q and the other brothers taught us it was that nothing was more
important than The Brotherhood.  Deep down I knew that if our roles were
reversed Q would never betray his fellow brothers to save me and not
because he didn't love me, but because there's something to be said about
brotherhood.

	The situation was spinning out of control and it was time to put an
end to it; something I should've done a long time ago.  I took a deep
breath before getting up to go to Q's room.  I stopped for a moment in the
middle of the bathroom as his reflection came into view on the large
bathroom mirror.  He was at his desk working on his computer.  I caught
myself in the mirror smiling at him.  It was funny because I didn't even
know I was doing it, but for whatever reason he always had that affect on
me.  Maybe it was because I thought he looked cute sitting there all
serious like, immersed in whatever it was he was working on.  Whatever the
case, I knew that wouldn't last long once I told him what I almost did for
the mystery man.

	Taking another deep breath before plunging into the unknown, I took
a step towards his room and at the same time there was a knock at his
bedroom door.  Q looked up from his computer long enough to tell the person
to come in and then returned his attention to his screen.  I heard the door
open and Q must've caught sight of the person from the corner of his eye
because he did a sort of double take and then stood up.

      Bowing his head, he said something in that strange language he
speaks.

      "Please," the person said, "although I appreciate you speaking to me
in our native tongue, Qua'quelle, if I'm ever going to get used to speaking
this primitive language I need to practice it out loud."

      Qua'quelle?  That was Q's name?  I actually heard his name spoken out
loud!  Are you fucking kidding me?  I couldn't believe my ears.  Talk about
a unique and beautiful name.  I was literally stunned when I heard it.  My
only regret was not being told by Q himself.  In a way, by standing there
eavesdropping, I robbed him of that opportunity.

      I was planning to slowly back away into the office and get the hell
out of there until I saw who he was talking to - the young kid they brought
to the house a few nights ago.  Suddenly my curiosity got the best of me
and I wasn't going anywhere.

      "As you wish, Your Highness," Q responded, bowing his head in a way
that allowed his hair to fall over his eyes.

      Your Highness?  What the fuck was that all about?  Who was this kid
and why was Q showing him reverence?  Something about Q bowing his head to
him bugged the fuck out me.  I mean, he was wearing a pair of black
boardshorts, a t-shirts, and a backwards hat.  He looked like a fucking
skater kid not like someone who deserved Q's respect.  He sure as hell
didn't look like royalty so I wasn't getting the whole 'Your Highness' bit.

      "It seems to me you've picked it up quite well," Q continued and
gestured to the chair.  "Please have a seat."

      "Thank you, but I certainly can't take all the credit," he said as he
took a seat at Q's desk.  "Kyrios was kind enough to link with me, so now I
know much of this new world."  He grabbed his shirt and pulled on it a
little.  "I've even adopted some of their more interesting, um...uh, what's
the word?

      "Fashions?"

      "Yes, that's it exactly!" The kid snapped his fingers and laughed.
"It's funny how I can remember words like 'incomprehensible' and
'acromonogrammatic' and yet a simple word like fashion eludes me."

      Q nodded his agreement.  "Yes, but that's normal after linking.  It's
a lot of foreign information to absorb at one time. Believe me, Your
Highness, I went thru the same thing."

      "I suppose," the kid agreed in a soft whisper and then went to the
window.  "Still...I can't believe how much time has passed."  He fell
silent for moment and stared out the window.  Q sat in his chair watching
him, allowing him the moment, I guess.  "My god Qua'quelle, millions of
years gone in a blink of an eye.  How is it possible we slept for so long?
Why did this happen?"

      Millions of years?  What the fuck was he talking about?  What the
hell did I walk into?

      Clasping his hands, Q pressed them to his lips looking.  "No one
knows for sure, Your Highness.  Just like we're not really sure why some of
us wake up at different times than others.  Whatever triggers it remains a
mystery."

      "And look what our long slumber has cost us," the kid said, shaking
his head in disappointment or possibly disgust.  "The planet is infected
with primitive apes who are running it to the ground."

      Q gave kind of a half smirk and the kid must have noticed his
reflection on the window.  "What's funny?" he inquired.

      "I remember saying the same thing when I first awoke."

      "As the saying goes..."

      "Great minds?" Q threw out there.

      "Indeed."

      "Not that I don't appreciate your company, Your Highness, but why
don't you tell me what's on your mind?  I don't believe you came here to
reminisce about days gone by."

      "Quite right," he acknowledged and took up his seat opposite Q.  He
sat back in his chair looking a bit unsure of himself.  I'd go as far as
saying he looked a little nervous.  "As you're well aware, I've had several
meetings with Kyrios and the Council of Brothers concerning my place and
future."

      Q simply nodded.

      "With my father and brother gone, I'm the last remaining heir to the
throne.  I wish to take up my rightful place and lead our people.  Kyrios
supports me and is willing to step down, but he will not do so unless all
our brothers are on board.  Imagine my surprise when I learned the issue of
my position has been a point of discussion long before I awoke."

      "We always knew you were out there somewhere, at least we hoped you
survived the long slumber. So yes, your position within The Brotherhood was
discussed on many occasions."

      "From what I understand, you opposed any argument that would put me
in power.  As such, your influence has swayed over half our brothers to
stand beside you in your beliefs.

      "Yes I did," Q said matter-of-factly.  "But I never asked anyone to
follow my lead.  We all have free will.  I simply made my argument clear.
I cannot be held responsible if others decided to agree with me."

      "Why?  Why would you deny me my birthright?"

      "It's not about denying you your birthright, Your Highness," Q
answered a bit defensively.  I could tell Q took that comment like a slap
to the face.  "The fact-of-the-matter is you were never meant to lead our
people.  Your father groomed your older brother to take his place in the
event he was no longer able to lead.  He wanted you to be free from the
burdens of the throne.  He wanted you to be a kid."

      "You cannot speak for my father," the kid countered.  "You cannot
tell me what was in his heart."

      "Actually I can, Your Highness," Q refuted. "I was with your father
long before you came into this world.  I knew what he wanted for you for we
discussed it on many occasions after you were born.  When your older
brother was born, his destiny was to take over for your father.  Your
brother missed out on a lot.  Your father did not want that to happen to
you."

      "Be that as it may, I also know how my father regarded you.  He loved
you like a son.  Hell, I looked up to you like a brother and I know for a
fact my real brother did as well, and this is how you repay the memory of
my family?"

      Q leaned in over his desk and looked the kid dead in his eyes.  "I
honor the memory of your family by ensuring our people continue to
thrive. Don't you dare suggest otherwise...Your Highness."  He settled back
in his chair and didn't look quite as pissed.  "Look around you, Your
Highness.  The old days are long behind us. The old empire is long dead and
turned to dust, but look at what we have accomplished since we started to
wake up several millennia ago.  We developed a new fair and just system of
governing ourselves and you would have us go back to the old ways?  We must
look forward to ensure our future, not backwards."

      They both fell silent.  I didn't know if they were done or just
collecting their thoughts to get ready for round two.  Of course I had no
idea what the hell they were talking about, but once I looked at the
situation rationally I started putting two and two together.

      Rubbing his eyes gently, the kid shook his head and mumbled something
under his breath.  "I'm curious Qua'quelle..."

      "Of what?" Q sighed.

      "If it had been my father sitting here right now, would you have
denied him as you deny me?"

      Q smiled, admiring the cleverness of his question.  "Your father, my
King, was a great and wise ruler.  I believe with every fiber of my being
if that were the case, your father would not be trying to take over
considering all we have accomplished."  Q stopped for a moment to let his
words simmer a bit.  "He would be proud."

      "Damn it Qua'quelle!  I am my father's son!"

      I could tell he wanted to say something more but Q was quick to
interject.  "And you seem to have forgotten that I am my father's son.
Allow me to remind you of a little history in case those memories haven't
resurfaced yet.  When my true lineage was discovered, our people lined up
to follow me.  Your father, our King, bowed at my feet and was prepared to
proclaim me the new ruler in the eyes of our brothers, but I refused."

      I could tell something was clicking in the boys head 'cause he had
that look about him that said "oh yeah, I forgot about that."

      "The mantle of leadership is more than just lineage, Your Highness;
it's knowing when to do what's right for your people. I refused because I
knew your father was the right choice to lead our brothers.  So until you
learn and understand that simple fact, I'm afraid you'll never be ready to
lead."

      "Damn you!" The kid shouted and slammed his open palm on the glass
table.  The whole thing shattered and everything went crashing to the
floor.

      Q was quick to stand up and back away from the flying glass.  He
remained calmer than I expected considering his shit was all over the place
not to mention his monitor was cracked and flickering like crazy.  I
would've been pissed as hell.  Q simply stood motionless over the kid like
parent waiting for his child to explain himself.

      "Forgive me," the kid finally said and he actually did sound
ashamed. "I did not mean to lose my temper in such a way, but you have to
understand where I'm coming from.  I've lost everything Qua'quelle.
Everything!"  He stood and turned his back on Q.  "First I lost my brother
and then my father and finally I awake to find out our kingdom is gone.  I
suddenly feel so alone."

      Q, being the amazing guy that he is, walked up behind the kid and
placed his hand on his shoulder.  "But you're not alone, Your Highness, you
have us...you have your brothers."

      There was another knock on Q's door and the person didn't even wait
for Q's permission to come in.

      "I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Highness, but it's imperative I speak
to Q."

      "It's alright Dylan I needed a moment anyway," the kid said and then
gestured towards the bathroom.  "Do you mind?"

      "Not at all," Q nodded and then gave Dylan his full attention.
"What's wrong?" Q inquired.

      That's about all I got to hear because the kid was just about to walk
in on me.  I had to hightail it out of there.  I ran out of Q's office and
headed back to my room.  I still needed to talk to Q but that was going to
have to wait.

      So why wasn't I freaking out more considering everything I just
heard?  Like I said I was finally beginning to put two and two together.
There was only one explanation I could come up with.  I always suspected
this was all some elaborate show put on for my benefit.  Why me?  I don't
know.  And for all I knew, the other pledges were experiencing something
just as crazy.  I think it had to do with trust.  I think the point was to
get me to believe this crazy story to see if I'd run off and tell everyone
we're being invaded by aliens or some shit.  I mean the things they were
talking about were simply not possible, so it was like they were putting on
this production like a play and I was the audience.

      It was all becoming clear.  All those times I thought I was being
sneaky by hearing or seeing something I wasn't supposed to - I wasn't being
sneaking all, I was being set up.  They knew I was there all along.

      It was that simple. I finally figured it out.  I was very proud of
myself; proud that I didn't fall for it and run to the first person willing
to listen to my wild claims.  It was probably the final trial.  And if it
wasn't, I was convinced it was tied into it somehow.

      I got back to my room to find everyone standing outside.

      "Where the hell have you been?" Arsen demanded.  He looked annoyed.
"I've been looking all over this house for you!"

      "I'm sorry, I got tied up with something.  Geez, bite my head off why
don't you?"

      "I'm sorry bud, but we were ordered to gather the pledge class
together. When I couldn't find you, I was afraid you weren't going to make
it on time.  And that's serious trouble for us."

      "Okay, okay.  I hear ya.  But I'm here now, so no worries."

      The other guys gathered around and asked us if we had any idea what
was going on.

      "Can I get everyone's attention?" Someone shouted from behind us.  It
was Jacob barking orders with one of the twins by his side.  "I need all of
you to focus. Now!  There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going put
it out there."

      I started to get that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.  That
sinking, burning feeling one gets when you know something is wrong.  I
could tell the others felt it too and they were looking at me as if I had
the answers.

      Jacob stepped closer and had this shit eating grin on his face.  "By
order of Kyrios, Leader of The Brotherhood, all members of this pledge
class are hereby dismissed, effective immediately."

      Considering I just figured it out all, I did not see that coming...

__________

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theinnercircletbh/

So there you have it - the 14th chapter of The Brotherhood, I hope you
liked it.  I will definitely continue the story, no problem, but it really
depends on you guys.  If you enjoyed what you read so far and would like to
read more please drop me an email at thewriterxx@aol.com or post in the
group.

Take care, X