I placed the barrel of the shotgun in the center of his forehead. I told him once again to say a last prayer to God, but this time, I said he only had five seconds to do it. I heard him begin to pray as I started to count.

“One… Two… Three… Four…”

When I reached five, I pulled the trigger of the sawed off shotgun. I watched as his brains erupted from the back of his skull, showering the stone wall behind him with his bloody brain matter. His body fell forward and landed at my feet as his dark tarry blood quickly formed a large puddle.

As I walked away I tried to think if I heard him finish his final prayer—it didn’t matter. I hoped he would rot in hell anyway.

When I walked out of the cave the pouring rain was still there to greet me. I saw everyone staring out the window waiting for me to return. I wondered how they would take it—the fact that I shot my brother down in cold blood. It bothered me that I could not find any remorse of my own. The only thing that troubled me was how Richard was able to change from a human form, to an Unlucky, then back to human once again. Was this a part of the new hybrid sickness?

I took my time as I walked across the field. When I got to the door that led into the center my son Michael was there waiting at the door to let me back inside. I was inside no more than a few seconds when Michael asked about Richard. I explained that I had to put him down back in the cave—which may have been a poor choice of words. Michael became irate and told me that Rich was our family; my brother, his uncle, and did not deserve to be ‘put down’ like some sort of wild animal.

Rose walked over to where Mike and I were standing. She told my son not to waste remorse over Richard’s death; that he was a cold and uncaring person, that he would kill any of us in a heartbeat in order to save himself. I noticed that Renee (who stood next to Rose) walked away shaking her head. She walked back to her makeshift bed and lay down. She had the right idea. I told myself I was too tired to fight with my son. I told him then if he was so concerned that he could bury Richard. I went back over to where I was sleeping ealier and stretched out on the floor. I covered myself up and turned away from the others. I knew they were looking at me, but I didn’t care. I did what had to be done.