Authors notes: Not actually sure if i wanna continue this, but it's here for you to read. Cheesy, i know, but if you read it enjoy . :)

Introduction

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

We were climbing over the dried molten rock, speeding up the hill towards our destination. Jerry was miles behind, picking where she tread carefully, poking at the rocks and crystallised earth. She was obviously having second thoughts about this, but I couldn't care less; too much had already happened to persuade her to hurry up right now. This was something I had to do, or otherwise lose everything.

"Drake, slow down! There's no hurry!" Jerry cried out, trying to catch up with me as I spun my head around. I kept on going up the mountain, until eventually I reached a dead end. I decided to catch my breath and waited for her.

I didn't want to put her in any danger, but she wanted to come with me. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing for me to do, but she wanted to come along with me to try help.

When Jerry eventually came to my level, she sat me down on a rock and spoke to me in a sombre tone of voice: "Do you really want to get revenge on those heartless idiots? What are you going to gain from it?"

"I don't care what I gain and don't gain from it. I'll be relieved from all this pain they've put me through." I paused, looked up at the smoky, dull sky and sighed. "If they can take the life… Of my brother, they can go to hell. I'm sick of our country living in fear because of them." I gave her a sad stare.

"Your brother, Mark was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Drake," Jerry told me quietly, placing a hand over her eyes. "He got in their way when they were collecting the bounty off someone's head and they… Mark didn't deserve it I know – but neither do you. If you go up there, they'll take you too, and I don't want that."

Silence remained in the air. A slow, awkward silence, which made the air around us seem as loud as a hurricane bashing against the cities. The floor was hard and cold now, as the volcano had gone off more than two weeks ago. The village below was destroyed within seconds, taking many lives with it, but luckily the majority of village people had ran to high land in the nearby forest. Too much had gone on for me to just sit idle by and watch what was going to happen next. For all I knew, those bastards at the top of the hill would take my father next and even Jerry.

Jerry was my closest friend, and we had known each other for so long. We'd had our arguments and disagreements many times, but we got on very well. She couldn't just let me run up to those thugs at the top of this mountain, barge in and get shot dead. What if they killed me when we got up there? What if they got Jerry too? It's just wrong to put her in jeopardy.

I clenched my eyes shut in despair, trying to hold the tears back, as I realised my idea for seeking revenge out on them was a complete, deluded fantasy. I failed so, and the fresh streams of water ran down my face.

"I just want him back, Jerry. He didn't deserve it at all..." I muttered, quickly wiping the tears away.

Jerry placed her arms around me and brought me into a hug, patting my back. "Let's just go back, alright? It doesn't make sense to act so rashly."

I stayed quiet, just trying to calm down, but every time I wiped those tears away some more would come. I felt the icy breeze against me, my eyes shut. My heart felt as if someone had just stabbed it and tried to wrench it out, leaving it to bleed and rot. Mark was my little brother who looked up to me. He looked up to me and constantly told me I was great… I'd take him fishing on the weekend and teach him how to hunt for food. He enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it too. It sounds ridiculous and pathetic and just stupid, but he was my brother. And now he was gone. Dead. All thanks to the Mahogany Village Thugs.