Chapter 53 - Joe

"I'm hungry!"

Suddenly, the voice echoed from the hill, making James' whole body tremble. All the flowers on the hill were getting paler and paler, the ground was falling apart!

His mind was so preoccupied with digesting the memories that he didn't know what to do with the sudden change of scenery, but then suddenly he felt anger inside him too. Taking one step forward violently, he shouted:

"Silence!"

The sound had power. As it spread like a shock, the slits began to close. James didn't know how he did it. He only knew he could, and he did. Then one step was followed by another.

But on the third step, he suddenly froze. All his thoughts were turned upside down by a series of memories.

***

Day followed day. Time passed quickly as James did his thing and Joe did his thing. Joe's wife had been dead for a year. It had undoubtedly been hard for Joe to get through, but James had tried to make his bad days as light as possible by being as supportive as he could.

James was on his way out of the courtroom, relieved to have exonerated an innocent person after yet another trial.

As he walked, the first thought that crossed his mind was how Joe's child, Joseph, was today. He didn't like nannies very much. So sometimes he worried like his father, which was natural. After the death of Joe's wife, James had to take care of both Joe and his son Joseph.

With Joseph's birthday a month away, he thought about what he could get him. It was perhaps too soon, but James didn't think there was any harm in planning a little in advance.

As he continued to move forward, his phone suddenly rang. He frowned at the ringing phone. He didn't like having his thoughts interrupted, but the discomfort quickly disappeared when he saw the caller.

It was Joe. He was surprised. He wasn't normally one to call at this hour. He was long past his lunch break. He must have been on patrol or dealing with a particular crime. Naturally, he picked up the phone.

"Hello! Joe?"

There was no sound on the other end. Gunshots could be heard. Joe was now clearly in the middle of a shootout. He tensed up. Had he called him by accident?

He had heard that crime was tragically high at the moment. Mysterious murders, gangs were rampant. Along with it, patrols had increased. Raids on various gangs were therefore extremely common.

He was definitely in a shootout, but James was filled with uneasiness. As he wondered why, he heard a muffled moan. It belonged to Joe.

"Joe? Joe! Are you all right? Hey! Say something!?"

James found himself shouting in concern for a moment. He felt the stares of people at him, but he ignored it. He started running at full speed!

His best friend since he was a little boy - no, his brother had been shot. In the passage of time, no one had been there for them except each other. Of course, they had friends, but no one like Joe!

With unhesitating steps, he left the courthouse and got into his car. He wasn't even sure where he was supposed to go at full throttle.

He started to think quickly. Where could he be? What had Joe told him last time?

He went through a detailed thought sequence.

He recalled their conversation this morning. He remembered that he had mentioned that a specific gang was causing trouble, especially in his patrol area. He was complaining that he was waiting for permission for a major operation. He could have gone to deal with them. But where was this gang?

He drove relentlessly without a clue. As he drove, he did not let the phone go off for a moment. He called out. In the hope... in case he heard.

James was normally a calm guy, but when it came to Joe, he was acting like a loose cannon. He was a lawyer, what could he do to the cops?

Even if he knew that, he wasn't thinking about it at that moment. All he wanted was to reach out and let his brother tell him he was okay.

Finally, his friend's voice came over the phone. It sounded muffled and unintelligible.

"James... Is this... Is the phone on...?"

Hope flashed in James' eyes. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he spoke with excitement and concern:

"Yes, yes! Joe, it's me brother! Where are you? I'm coming to get you right now."

Going to a place where there was fighting was sheer madness, but James didn't care. As a lawyer, he had been in a few conflicts he didn't want to be in. Of course, he didn't play an active role. But this was the life of a man he considered as close as a brother!

At that moment James only heard Joe's slow, heavy laugh. After the heavy laugh, John coughed and spoke:

"It's good to have someone to hear my last words... I'm sorry to put you through this pain, my friend."

What pain was he talking about? He couldn't die. James shouted angrily:

"Don't talk nonsense, Joe. You're going to live. Just give me the fucking address!"

Time was running out and it was driving him crazy that Joe wouldn't tell him where he was. If only he would tell him, if only he would tell him the address! How different everything would be. He could save him. He could live!

 Joe didn't seem to hear what James was saying.

"I'm sorry my friend... This charismatic friend of yours won't be able to... cough…! rot in this world as he promised you. I hope you'll forgive me."

He was trying to make a joke even at this moment? Even in this fucking moment, he was trying to make a joke! James's blood seemed to rush to his head with worry, but his anger made no sense.

His anger soon turned to sadness. Why hadn't he given the address yet? He begged:

"Joe, please... Give me that address. At least let me call for help."

Joe finally answered him:

"Help is already on the way... But I can't take much more. Hah! I'm scared to death. I'm scared to the bone."

Every word was heavy. He spoke with difficulty. And every word, spoken with such force, squeezed James' heart. Joe's voice was shaking. He could hear it. It was so hard. So strong, even when he said he didn't want to die.

That's the kind of man Joe was. Could the same be said of James? Maybe he would already be unable to do anything but moan in pain.

Right now, James could do nothing but watch Joe die before his eyes.

Joe, on the other hand, kept talking. Every word pained him.

"Still, you can't escape the certainty. When there's nothing to do, you just... you accept it. James, you're like a brother to me. Please, when I'm gone... take care of my boy, will you?"

As James shouted, he pushed so hard on the pedal that he didn't even realize he was going the speed limit! His eyes were hazy and his vision was like a dam about to overflow.

"Your son is my son, brother! Your child is my child! I will treat him no differently than I would treat my own child."

Joe laughed.

"So someone who thinks he's going to die a virgin has a child, huh? Don't make my son die a virgin too..."

John's voice grew hoarse as he made his last joke. His last words were heard:

"Again... Still... Don't be too hard on yourself… brother..."

James screamed with everything he had at that moment:

"No! Please hold on, don't stop talking!"

Joe was dying? His brother, his buddy who had always supported him, was dying. He refused to answer his voice. He could hear sirens in the background. Soon the ambulance would come and Joe would be saved, right?

He had to be saved. He couldn't die. He couldn't die!

But the reality was too bitter. 

***

As James fell to his knees, rain clouds accompanied his sadness. Flowers bowed their necks. The trees bent. James tried his best to digest it.

The disbelief of the moment was in his bones. He was alive, wasn't he? He had to be alive! 

With difficulty, he stood up and took another step. After that step, the rain from the clouds became heavier than ever.

The memory that came... It was his funeral.

***

Hello. I think these flashback moments are getting too long. Do you think I should finish it in one episode? Or should both the external and internal progression continue?