chapter 34

Memories flashed through Richard's eyes when an intense darkness flooded his vision.

Richard still remembered when he met Ethan, it was on his birthday when they celebrated his birthday at the village orphanage, it was one of the happiest days of his life, after all a person had a birthday once a year, 120 months he had to wait for it to be his birthday again and the only gift he asked for was to meet his parents, since not everyone was lucky enough to have a biological family like Ethan whom he hated at first.

Seeing Ethan so happy and carefree really made Richard angry at every turn, he didn't want to see him, but Alan was like a father to Richard, and he had to spend time with Ethan.

That's when he knew, Ethan was an antisocial child, someone who although he was very intelligent, was very innocent and that's how he started with his pranks, it all started with pranks to blame Ethan so he would be punished, Richard wanted to see Ethan suffer at that moment for having a better life than him and now that he remembered it he felt disgusted for acting like that.

One of the jokes that changed his way of thinking was when he decided to play hide and seek with Ethan, but the truth is that he had gone and left Ethan searching, he was at home for several hours and was about to fall asleep in the orphanage, but someone's footsteps woke up all the children and Richard himself who found Alan agitated, who asked him about Ethan, who had not returned.

Richard guiltily had to tell Alan everything as he went out with him to look for Ethan and found him, he was still looking for him as he paced back and forth, his breath coming in erratic gasps, while red color flooded his cheeks.

After that event, Ethan was at home for several months and Richard decided to take better care of him, after all he was like a younger brother to him. As time went by and Richard grew older he was the one who knew more about Ethan, his ailments and his fears and even the pain he felt when Sara left.

Day after day she saw him crying as she went to visit him. After all, Richard knew of Ethan's love for Sara, they both met her when they were 6 and 7, he was 7 and Ethan was 6 at the time.

She quickly joined his group when Ethan got sick after playing. At that time Ethan's illnesses were very recurrent, he had asked Alan, Ethan's father many times if something more serious was happening to Ethan, but he always remained silent, Alan knew something but did not want to tell it, so he kept quiet.

Sara started as a playmate, who began to get together because Angus, her father, was Alan's friend, but little by little she got more into the group, so much so that the three of them began to go on adventures, which although they were monotonous because they did them every day, something new always happened, like the time Sara suggested taking some sheets and rolling someone up to fall down a hill, which was controlled because they did it from a small snowy mountain, after all they were not suicidal, nor murderers.

Sara was 6 years old when she met Ethan, they were the same age and he was like the third wheel the friend/older brother who took care of Ethan, who over the years became her little brother.

After Sara's departure with his mother, Richard wanted to talk and comfort Ethan, but he found out something he shouldn't have, because of his stupid curiosity he was forced to stop hanging out with Ethan, even though he was very overprotective of Ethan, what could he do he was like a brother, the only almost family he could count on after not knowing if he still has a biological family.

The discovery Richard made was the subway chambers where he saw Alan, Ethan's father enter, so he followed him and saw all ....people training with strange artifacts, which he later learned were firearms. At that moment he was given two choices and it was either join the group that was in charge of protecting the village or leave and never return.

While anyone would leave to go into something they knew nothing about, Richard didn't leave after all if he left, he could look for a family he dreamed of being alive and waiting for him or stay and stay with the people he considered his family which were the members of the village and his little brother Ethan, so he didn't hesitate and stayed.

That's how the years of training went by and he was forced not to tell Ethan anything.

He could only continually plead for Ethan as he watched him return to his antisocial phase, locking himself in that bubble where he only had eyes for the people close to him, a group of people that Richard was slowly drifting away from.

"Richard wake up" the whispers of a person woke Richard up, when he opened his eyes and found himself in the dark and gloomy environment of the Spencer mansion, being greeted by Alan, who although he was the one deserving of a blow from him, he would not do it because he was a leader and had to make decisions, even if it brought Richard bad moments.

"What do you want "Richard replied to Alan's whispers.

"It's your turn to stand guard" Alan spoke before lying down and falling asleep.

Richard was still dozing off until he heard the snoring of Alan and Paul, who were on the floor, sleeping away the trouble they were in.

The three of them after the encounter with the spider creature, a name Richard gave it after seeing it crawling on the walls like a spider.

Richard's heart pounded when he saw the spider creature, there were no words to describe his fear, after all he was a person who a few days or hours ago, he didn't even know how long ago it had been, but he had been practicing hand to hand fighting with an instructor and shooting static objects, he had never seen such hideous creatures or been in life threatening situations.

"Who would have thought that the last possible days or hours would be spent with two old men, rather than with a beautiful girl," laughed Richard.

"Who are you calling old...… you think I like to be with the two of them? In the possible last moments of life I will have before being devoured by those creature "complained Paul.

"Shut you up two "whispered Alan, who was waking up because of both of them.

"" Besides, don't even think about us dying, you Paul have a wife who is pregnant and possibly due to give birth in a week and you Richard is still too young to think about dying"spoke alan as she stood up to look at the two people who were thinking about dying before at least trying to survive.

"I'm sorry "they both said.

*Gemido

"Well apparently we have company..., after all we won't be able to take on the creatures with knives as if we use the weapons we may attract the spider creature again" spoke Paul.

"Well the name I gave them stayed."

"Well let's go and get ready because we don't know how many creatures are on the other side of the door."