Rooney

It felt like a bad dream – the feeling that I was experiencing at that moment. It was too surreal, too unforeseen, too… There are just no words that could describe this feeling. My brother, Owen, who hadn't breathed the same air with us for up to 30 minutes, was lying dead on the floor. I could hear my mother screaming at the top of her voice but I was still seated there trying to process what just happened. I kept asking myself one question; what just happened? 

At that point, nothing else mattered to me. The world around me seemed to have faded away, my existence as a werewolf was brought to a halt by forces from this stupefying incident. As I sat there, I could see nothing else but my brother lying dead on the ground in the pool of his blood. I wanted to get up to my feet but my legs felt numb and my entire being empty. I felt myself jittering in fear and the feeling was unbearable and it was only then that I began to compare what my parents must have been feeling by now.

I turned my gaze to the rest of my family members to at least know if they were okay even though I wasn't expecting it that way. By the time I focused my attention on them, everything had become a mess – my mother was already wailing and rolling on the floor, my grandmother had already fainted in her seat, my father just like me sat without moving, everything that needed to be known about the way he was feeling at that moment was written on his face. It was an expression of shock, almost the same feeling that overwhelmed me when I heard the gunshot and Owen landing on the ground with a heavy thud. It was a feeling of numbness . Just like me, I am certain that my father and everyone else in that room including Delavire wasn't expecting that to happen.

Yes… that's right. Even Delavire wasn't expecting that to happen. The surprise look on his face said it all. And as for my brother, Dylan, his eyes were already teary, his mouth shaky.

''What have you done?'' The voice of Delavire spoke in quietness. '' I said, what have you done?!'' This time, the pitch of his voice rising. He sounded angry and agitated but from his mode of communication, one could tell that he knew who the gun shooter was. 

''Come on, brother. That was the best thing to do. I just had to follow my guts.'' The shooter casually threw his hands in the air as he strolled round the table. ''The boy thinks that this whole thing is a child's play even when he knows it's not. I just had to put him in his place because I lost my temper.'' He flashed Delavire a wink and then laughed before sitting on one of the empty seats at the dining table. 

From the way he behaved and looked, I could tell that he was younger than Delavire but rougher. He had a clean haircut and and his mustache and beards were well trimmed. His shirt was unbuttoned to his chest exposing a neatly toned chest. From the looks of it, I can assume that this man was either in his mid thirties or in his late thirties.

His eyes scanned round the table where all of us sat. The first person that caught his attention was my grandmother who had already fainted on her seat. On seeing her, he laughed and I wondered what exactly he found funny. Maybe this man was crazy after all – the way he talked, the way he walked, his gestures and facial expressions were so casual and nonchalant and different from the rest of them. Even his brother as he called didn't expect what he did and so was everyone else.

''Look at that.'' He said, pointing to my grandmother. ''The old hag couldn't bear the sight. She decided to go to sleep. Let's check if she is still breathing.'' He brought his finger under her nose and then nodded in the affirmative. Even I at that moment was relieved to know that she was still alive. ''It would be much better and relaxing if she sleeps permanently. What do you think brother?" he brought up his gun to her head but Delavire stopped him.

''Stop it, Rooney! What is wrong with you?!'' Delavire yelled out before walking up to him and forcefully taking the gun away from him. ''I warned you. I told you not to come out. You even promised me that you wouldn't come out. Now tell me why you are here! And look!'' he pointed at my dead brother, Owen. ''look! Just take a look at what you've done. You have ruined everything!''

''Come on, brother, don't be like that. You and I know that I hardly keep promises except when it's been asked by my nephew who I love with the whole of my heart, body and soul. I know you to be a man that likes to converse before taking action and see…'' he waved his hand around the table.''I was right. I just knew that you haven't gotten the job done. Are you really having fun communicating with these people? Don't you value time? What if the police were on their way here before me? Don't you realize that you are putting us at risk by making this whole thing linger.''

All the while that Delavire and his acclaimed brother who he called Rooney argued, my father said nothing and I was surprised by it. Normally, my father would have reacted and wasted the lives of these men or better still, gotten them arrested but I am surprised to see him not reacting to them at all – it was a very unlikely circumstance – one that I just couldn't fathom. Even his facial expressions were void of emotions which made me worry more and I could only ask myself one question at that moment; has the lion gone to sleep? But that wasn't all, I noticed that his hands which were resting on his thighs were clenched in a fist and for some reason, I became hopeful even though I had no idea what he had in mind.

I became so desperate to know what my father had in mind and so I decided to communicate with him through the mind link. Before I could even call his name to inquire of him what he was planning to do, I found that my mom had already infested his mind and was raining all sorts of words to him; they weren't abusive words but just words of a frustrated and bereaved woman.

''If only I had allowed you to bring your gun to this place, this wouldn't have happened. My son wouldn't have died. I killed my son, Bruno. I killed my son. If only I let you take it, by now you would have wasted the lives of these people but look at me… I just lost my son… I just lost my son, Bruno.'' She wept uncontrollably and I could hear it all in his mind.

''Dad, please do something. I am scared.'' My voice shook as I communicated these words to him. ''Who knows who this Rooney of a man would kill next if you don't do something…  please do something, father…'' I pleaded but still, my father said nothing.

''Say something Bruno… you are not saying anything.''

''Please father say something…''

''It is already late to act now. Any wrong move from me and they will take another life.'' He finally spoke. ''I am not willing to lose any of you again, but for the life they took from my son, they shall suffer for it a hundred times.''