Ivan stood metres ahead of a black target, screwed to the drab, grey walls. A short, leather jacket hugged his body, emphasising his toned abdomen. Ivan’s legs were positioned in a wide stance, encased by black jeans while his left arm lay positioned by his side. A silver, delicately engraved, dagger was poised in his hands just as his apple coloured eyes fixated onto a point. Ivan breathed deeply. He took a moment to rake a hand through his head, styling his short brown mop into a natural mess. His hand brushed against the raw scar that dragged its way through his left cheek. He stilled once again. Aim, wait, and throw. Ivan exhaled and in one movement, threw the dagger to the target with absolute confidence.

“Bull’s eye! Awesome!” a husky voice sounded behind Ivan stealing away his serious behaviour and immediately replacing it with a grin. Ivan turned to see his cousin’s feeble appearance. His cheeks were sucked inwards and his body looked like a single grain inside a large jar of sugar as he stood in his oversized clothes. His bones pushed against his pale skin attempting to escape his body. It hadn’t been long since his brother, Josh, had passed away in an accident.
“Thanks Leo,” Ivan exclaimed beaming up at him. Leonard threw a water bottle at Ivan and, with precision, hit him on the head.
“Hydrate yourself; I don’t have time to take care of you if you faint from all of your working out. And by the way, I’m going down to get some burgers, I’ll grab you one too, ok?” Without awaiting a response, Leonard walked out of the room grabbing Ivan’s car keys as he left.

Just as the door slammed shut, Ivan noticed the miniscule dust particles afloat, highlighted by the rays of light filtering through the double decked windows. Long, grey cobwebs hung loosely from the four corners of the room. Cardboard boxes lay piled in the right of the room, dust gathering above it. They hadn’t been opened within weeks of Josh’s death. Leonard had spent days after his death packing away his brother’s belongings, sealing away memories and forgetting about what had happened.

Beep. Ivan stilled almost immediately, placing the dagger cautiously onto the metal table. A bright glow emanated from his back pockets as he reached and pulled out an iPhone. Beep. Beep. 
Staring quizzically down at his phone, Ivan navigated to his messages.

Get home now!
Leonard or Lisbon?
Old is gold,
Gate is open.
Cemetery for the dying or dead?

Ivan raised an eyebrow, confusion filling him. Who would send him a text like that? Ivan walked over to a draw to his right, grabbing a piece of paper and pen. The text was written out in messy scrawls within seconds. Astounded, Ivan stared it. “Could it be…” he whispered to himself, “Could it be a skip code? The first word then every third…”

Instantly, his body became paralysed. The sound of his breathing silenced as realisation hit him like a truck. Ivan swallowed. “Get Leonard, Old Gate Cemetery. Dying,.”

Ivan sat back, his jaw set. Silent anger bubbled through his veins as he looked at the text once more. Without further hesitation, I van stormed over to the glass cabinets and picked out 3 daggers. Ivan first chose a Swiss army knife with intricate engravings along it. The other had a wooden handle and was linked to the third dagger, his favourite, a sharp blade encased in a sleek black sheath. Ivan picked the bunch of keys off the hook, locking the metal door shut as he ran toward his cousin’s possible death.

Slushy mud oozed through the gates of the graveyard as Ivan approached it. Long patches of grass bathed in the grime emerged from the ground, welting. The long metal poles of the stood firmly, digging into the ground. Ivan wiped cold sweat from his forehead as he pushed his way through the mud. The long metal poles of the gate dug firmly into the ground. To Ivan, the gate was an old man- its ancient black paint peeling off like the sagging skin of an elderly person. Ivan gasped, filling his lungs with oxygen, and, in one movement, pulled two of the bars apart. Little bloody scratches appeared on Ivan’s grimy palms as he let go.

A large unfamiliar pool of brown, murky water welcomed him as he slipped through the gate. The dirty sweep had stolen away what had once been a healthy meadow blossoming with spring flowers. Sea grass had crawled its way to the surface of the pool knotting itself onto Ivan’s ankles as he pushed himself through the thick liquid. Ivan stopped. A sharp pain pierced through Ivan’s lower leg as a heavy rock ripped through his jeans and cut through a layer of his skin. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind pushed against Ivan, bringing him back to reality.

Leonard. Adrenaline rushed through him- putting every fibre in his body on alert. He had to find him. Ivan waded further into the water, pulling his phone out of his pocket. His screen became tarnished with muddy marks. Ivan navigated to the app he had downloaded before he had left: ‘Find My Phone.’  Ivan smiled to himself as he entered his cousin’s account details without hesitation.

Almost instantly a loud beeping sound protruded from Ivan’s side. Briskly, Ivan turned. Tall, silhouetted trees hung forebodingly above him. A particularly large one stood before him, its roots like the long crooked fingers of a witch. Ivan noticed a scrawny body tied to the trunk. Ivan sprinted through the mud despite its resistant strain.

Leonard struggled against the ropes as he caught sight of his cousin. Purple bruises surrounded his left eye and drops off blood trickled down his face from a flesh wound on his cheek. Small red sores decorated the corners of his mouth were the fabrics gag had been tied. Ivan pulled his dagger out of the black sheath, cutting the rope loose and quietening his cousin’s desperate cries.
“Ivan. You shouldn’t… have come here,” Leonard croaked weakly as he ripped the gag of with his free hand.
“What, why? Who did this to you? Leonard… when I get my hands on-”
“No! Ivan, you really shouldn’t have come here.” Ivan silenced watching his cousin’s expression change. Leonard leaned in, whispering into Ivan’s ear, “Whatever you do, don’t put your dagger away.” Click.

The safety guard of a gum sounded. Leonard wiped blood off his face. He breathed calm, as he pushed Ivan away from him. The fear from his face vanished transforming into… a smirk. Ivan backed away, his heart missing a beat. Leonard held his head high as he brought out a silver pistol and pointed it at Ivan. Ivan gulped. “Leo…” he paused, “What are- what are you doing?”
Leonard pressed the gun against Ivan’s forehead. Anger possessed him as he cornered Ivan to a wall. He glowered up at Ivan through his muddy blond locks falling above his eyes. Leonard gripped the gun harder. Ivan swallowed, flabbergasted, his dagger lying uselessly at his side. Leonard pushed Ivan backwards, making him grunt. “Don’t you dare pretend you don’t know! 26th July 2011. Don’t you tell me you don’t remember! Don’t you dare tell me that!” Ivan dropped the dagger, his heart stopping. That night- the night that had that had haunted him for the past 4yrs.

Ivan remembered standing in the middle of a chaotic crowd. Music blared through the speakers above him. A bright blue tee encased his torso, on the bottom, he wore blue jeans. His hair was short, black, and spiky- the newest trend that year. He held a red cup in his hand brimming with bitter alcohol, spilling as he danced away dizzily. His friends crowded him, smoking weed, laughing, urging Ivan on. Ivan sniggered once again as the large crowd watched him. He was like the pig roast at a dinner party of hungry individuals. Ivan threw his head back, pouring his five hundredth drink into his mouth, only to be doubling up a few moments later. Ivan retched, the brown, watery liquid bucketing straight out of his mouth. Ivan wobbled to his feet again. Looking about him, Ivan saw his friends laughing at him as the liquid gathered into a mini pool on the ground. Ivan groaned pushing through the crowd. His phone buzzed and he giggled as it tickled him in his back pocket. Stumbling to the edge of the room, Ivan answered his phone, drunk, “Helllooooo? It’s Ivan!”

A warm, husky voice filtered through the other end. Ivan smiled. It was Leonard’s brother, Josh. “Ivan? Where the hell are you? Are you drunk? I just came into your apartment, Leonard’s not in,” Josh paused awaiting Ivan’s response, “Ivan? Are you there? You don’t sound very good. Are you drunk?”
Ivan doubled over again as Josh talked to him, spewing more liquids from his mouth, Ivan grumbled into the phone, “No Josh. I ain’t feeling so good.” Josh sighed.
He paused a while before speaking again, “No, you don’t sound too good either. You’re at the usual bar right? I’ll come and get you, hang on!” Ivan picked his wallet from the table as he cut the line and staggered his way to the door. Ivan leant against the door frame closing his eyes as he awaited his cousin’s arrival.

Little did he know that only five minutes later, he would see his cousin’s body spread on the ground beside his overturned, ignited car. That he would see blood oozing from his cousin’s forehead. That he would see his cousin’s blank eyes staring up at him, dead, outside the very bar he was to be collected from.

Ivan looked into Leonard’s eyes watching the anger renovate to a pool of sadness. Ivan had been the cause of his older brother’s death. That’s all he saw Ivan as now, the man who took his brother’s life. Ivan dropped to the floor, guilt forming a lump in his throat. “I’m so sorry Leonard. It was my fault. If I wasn’t-” Leonard screamed as he brought the butt of the pistol and shoved it against Ivan’s head, knocking it and Ivan to the ground.
“NO! YOU DON’T GET TO APOLOGISE! IT’S ALLYOUR FAULT! FOUR YEARS I SPENT LIVING WITH YOU! I SPENT FOUR YEARS LIVING WITH THE DRUNK WHO KILLED MY BROTHER!” Leonard roared with emotion. Leonard dropped to the floor, his body convulsing with sobs.

Ivan scrambled for the gun. He stood, slowly, his every fibre filled with regret. He deserved this. Ivan walked over to Leonard and handed him the pistol. “Stand up,” he ordered, his voice hoarse. Leonard dragged himself to his feet and pointed the gun at Ivan’s head again. Ivan looked into Leonard’s eyes, “Do it,” he whispered. “I know it was all my fault Leonard and I know that I can’t do anything to get him back. Every day, every minute, EVERY second I hate myself for what I did. If I hadn’t been so careless, then he wouldn’t be dead and I know that. Leonard, you won’t begin to understand how sorry I am for what I’ve done and I can’t expect you to either. I was the reason behind your brother’s, my cousin’s death. And I can’t expect your forgiveness. It’s too much to ask for. But Leo, you have to know that if I could change what I did then I would. I would go back in time to keep him alive. If this, if killing me gives you peace, allows you to forgive me then so be it. But remember, killing me won’t bring him back.” Ivan’s heart raced as Leonard moved closer to him. His breathing became rapid and sweat dripped along his neck. Leonard’s finger tightened around the trigger as he took in a sharp breath. Ivan yelled, forcefully pushing away his cousin’s arm, he couldn’t let him do this. He couldn’t let his best friend turn into a murderer. Leonard’s hand twisted backward as he bellowed in agony. Ivan desperately tore the gun from his hands, his finger brushing the trigger, when suddenly, BANG!

Silence fell upon the cemetery. Ivan gasped, staggering back. Leonard’s blank eyes stared into the distance, a single tear falling from the corner of his left eye.  Leonard’s arms fell to his side as his body gave into gravity’s pull. Fear paralysed Ivan. His cousin, his best friend lay dead before him. Ivan’s entire world began to spin. “No…” The pistol fell from Ivan’s hand echoing around him as it did. Ivan’s vision became blurred. Pain coursed through his veins, a dead weight in the pit of his stomach.  He could here Leonard’s pained roars banging against his ear. Ivan dropped next to his lifeless body. Nausea overtook him as he placed his cousin’s head onto his lap. Ivan convulsed with silent sobs as Leonard’s life slipped away- what had he done?

Ivan looked around as he felt cuffs locking his hands together behind his back. Suddenly, reality came crashing down. The piercing sound of sirens filled his surroundings. “No!” he screeched as a policeman pulled him away from Leonard. “NO! NO! NO! LEONARD! NOOO!!”