The Four Chapter 14

IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE NEW ERA
The events of that mornings' meeting still heavy on his mind, Remus walked up the stairs leading to his house, turned the doorknob and opened the door, then after entering the house, shut the door behind him.
No sooner had the sound of the door shutting died away, then a voice was heard, "don't move."
The voice was sharp and authoritative. It cut cleanly through the air, and it startled Remus. Although Remus was still facing the door, he immediately recognized it as Romulus'. Remus began to turn around, but the voice called out, "I've got a laser gun pointed at your head right now. I said don't move."
Remus froze for a moment, then slowly raised his hands. Remus began, ever so slowly, to turn around, keeping his hands raised the whole time. Romulus made no protest. Finally, Remus was facing Romulus. Romulus was standing in a corner, almost hidden in the shadows. True to his word, the laser gun was focused right on Remus' head.
Remus realized that if Romulus' had wanted to kill him, he would have already done so. That didn't stop him from making the icy cold comment, "So, have you come to kill me now for what happened?"
Romulus stepped out of the shadows, still keeping the gun focused on Remus, but not on his head anymore. "No, no I didn't."
"Then did you come to force me to change my mind, to threaten me with that laser gun?"
Romulus looked down at the laser gun in response to the comment, shook his head in disgust, and threw the laser gun onto the nearby couch. "No, no I suppose not. I don't know quite why I came here actually. I guess I just came hear to talk things over."
Remus advanced angrily toward Romulus. "I thought I made it clear I don't feel like talking."
"Yeah, well I do. Even if it doesn't change anything, I'd just like to talk about things. I now I've been a son of a bitch lately, and I know you're pretty mad about it. Let's just talk tell each other how we feel, if nothing else."
Remus stared at Romulus for a moment, as if Romulus were the strangest creature he had ever seen. Finally, Remus answered, "You just don't get it do you? You still don't get it. You take all the credit for my work, you never gave the rest of us a second thought-"
"I said I was sorry."
"Well you wouldn't be. You'd be going around just like usual if we hadn't stopped you. We yelled and screamed at you, but you never saw things our way until we forced you."
Romulus was at a loss to find a response. All he could say was, "I know."
Remus paused, then said, "Well, it looks like we have nothing more to talk about."
"Wait a minute," Romulus protested.
"I don't want to talk," Remus said. "Get out now."
"Just hear me out," Romulus said.
"Get out!" Remus yelled.
"No! Hold on! There's something I want to say."
Remus was enraged. "This is my house. I said get out!" When Romulus didn't move, Remus angrily pushed him toward the door. Romulus shoved Remus back. Instantly, Remus' fist shot out and hit Romulus in the face.
In a few seconds, the tension that had burned so strong now turned into an explosion.


"I feel bad about what happened this morning," Andrew explained to Julius. "I mean, sure I guess what we did had to be done, but I don't think any of us wanted it."
Julius voice was flat as he answered, "Remus did."
Andrew thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess he did. I still feel bad though. I hope we can still be friends with Romulus, even though he's not in the Kalka project."
"Of course we can," Julius answered, although he didn't sound too confident. "We'll have to give Romulus some time to calm down, but in a week or two we'll be playing focrosc like always."
"I hope he's okay," Andrew said. "Maybe I'd better check up on him."
"Nah, give the man a little privacy."
"I'm really worried about him. Let me just see how he's doing real quick." Andrew asked the Teacher to show what Romulus was doing on the nearby monitor. There, before their eyes, the monitor showed Romulus and Remus furiously fighting.
Julius' sympathy quickly changed to anger. "The son of a bitch. He's attack Remus. If he harms one hair on Remus' head, I'll kill him myself." Julius burst out of Andrew's house, replicated a laser gun, and ran as fast as he could toward Remus' house.


Julius kicked open Remus' door and rushed in. He didn't know quite what to expect, after all who knows what had happened to the twins well he was on his way here. Pointing the laser gun every which way, Julius stopped, and looked around. The house was dead silent, not a sound could be heard. Yet, the tranquil surroundings still hosted evidence of recent violence. Remus couch was lying on its side, probably knocked over in the course of the fight.
Julius was in the room of Remus' house that everybody goes into after entering the door. Through another door to the right, there was another room, and likewise to the left. Julius decided to enter the room to the left. The door to that room was left open, well the door to the right was still closed.
Julius entered the room, and was struck hard by the sight that greeted him, harder than he had ever been before in his life. It wasn't the two chairs that shocked him, one broken, the other lying on its side. And it wasn't the broken window either, that he hadn't noticed before in his rush to get in the house. Nor was it the glass table that was shattered. What Julius saw that would haunt him for the rest of his life was the body of Remus, lying motionless on the floor, and Romulus kneeling over it.
Julius automatically threw his laser gun to the floor. The shattering sound it made as it hit what was left of the glass table was a sharp, irreverent intrusion into the quietness, but Julius didn't notice it. In an instant, he was kneeling besides Romulus at Remus' body. Romulus didn't move a muscle. He was frozen in his state, giving no indication he realized Julius was besides him. Julius might almost have thought Romulus dead to, were it not for the tears silently falling down his face, even though his eyes were closed tight.
Julius reached out to touch Remus, see if he was alright, but he drew his hand back. The mark on Remus' chest clearly came from a laser blast. If Remus had been shot by the laser gun, there was no hope of his being alive.
Even though he now realized the truth, Julius pushed it out of his mind frantically, as if it were a disease he had to immediately get rid off. He shook Remus gently, as if to wake him. Then, gradually more forcefully. All this time, Romulus remained motionless, the tears steadily flowing down.
Julius stopped his efforts, and lay still for a minute, holding back tears. With trembling hands, he reached out for Remus' neck, to feel his pulse. There was none. Julius wanted to ask the Teacher about Remus' condition, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't bear to hear the Teacher's cold mechanic voice pronounce, "Remus is dead."
Julius tipped his head back and let out a cry of pain. Forgetting all about Romulus, he bolted out of the house and ran. He didn't pay attention to where he was going, and he didn't care. He just ran as hard as he could, and kept running. Every time his mind would drift back to the scene in Remus' house, he would run harder, till his side ached and his legs grew almost numb, and his lungs pleaded with him for a break. But Julius kept running, letting the physical pain replace the mental. He kept running, trying to keep the words out of his head, the words he hoped he would never hear: "Remus is dead."


"Remus is dead." Julius shuddered as he heard those words. Andrew, overcome with grief, got up and left the room, but his exit was hardly noticed among the intensity present. Van sat in the corner, looking like he was only half listening to the proceedings, and almost blending into the wall. Romulus himself was shaking uncontrolably. Cicero, Romulus' self-appointed lawyer, was calm and business like as he pronounced the dreaded words. "You are being charged with his murder. Now, for the record, Romulus, did you kill him?"
The question was indeed, for the record only. Anyone who wanted could easily have just watched the event on the monitor to find the result. Romulus nodded.
"For the record, Romulus, could you respond vocally?"
Romulus opened his mouth, tried to say something, then shut his mouth, swallowed, and closed his eyes. Tears followed an already established line down his face. Romulus opened his eyes, and in a trembling voice answered, "I killed Remus."
Cicero prided himself on his lack of emotions, but it was a facade he often had trouble mantaining. This was one of those times. Cicero let the mask drop, as his voice changed from cold to sympathetic. "The penalty for killing a fellow Watcher, Romulus, is life imprisonment. Now you and Remus were fighting before the act occurred?"
Romulus again shut his eyes, and clenched his teeth together in pain as he nodded.
"The act could easily be framed as self defense. I've reviewed the incident on the monitor. We could easily get you a lenient sentence. I hate to raise your hopes, but I might be able to get you off entirely."
Romulus, speaking with great difficulty, replied, "but it wasn't self-defense."
Cicero frantically quieted Romulus with his hands. "Don't say anything that could be used against you later. It could be perceived as self-defense, and that's all that matters. I've seen the event on the monitor. Self-defense could easily be argued."
Romulus shook his head. "I killed him. I don't want any leniency. I could try to make excuses, but I know the truth inside, and I have to live with myself."
Cicero leaned forward. "Romulus, you are facing life imprisonment. Do you know what that's like?"
Julius imagined Romulus, spending the rest of his life in prison, in that small restrictive place, cramped up with weirdos like Gaius. Romulus, who liked to run and leap, and never tired of being outdoors. Perhaps some people could adjust to prison life, but Romulus could never lose his freedom. It would kill him.
"Are there any other options?" Julius asked.
"Not in the law," Cicero answered. "Of course, if..." Cicero's voice trailed off as he looked over towards Van.
Van caught his meaning. "I'm open to suggestions," he replied.
Romulus was in no shape to negotiate, so Julius took the initiative for him. "What about exile?" he asked. "Permanent exile from the city."
"I'll permit that," Van answered. "If that's what he wants."
All eyes were on Romulus, who was rapidly losing what little composure he had left. Julius again spoke on his behalf. "Give him some time to think about it."
"Is that wise?" Cicero asked. "I mean, can he survive out there, alone?"
The word alone caught Julius' ear. "What if one of the Caletians were to accompany him? I mean, there probably itching for a chance to get out of the city anyway, Drusus especially."
"The Renegades forbid that," Van answered.
"But we've broken other of the Renegades' rules."
"That doesn't mean we have to break them all. The punishment is solitary exile. If he's worried about survival, he can opt for prison instead."


The next time, and last time, Julius saw Romulus was in Romulus' house about a week later. The two had met to say there final good-byes, but after they had exchanged greetings, and various small talk, things quickly became awkward. Neither could think of what to say. Finally, Romulus changed the conversation. "Thanks for helping me. In the negotiations with Cicero and Van."
Julius nodded. "It was the least I could do for an old friend." The way Julius said those words, it told Romulus that he had been forgiven for Remus' death.
Romulus paused for a moment, before continuing. "You know, Remus said something once. He said that history is the toughest judge. How do you think history will judge me?"
"Sympathetically."
Romulus tried to smile. "I appreciate your trying to make me feel better, but seriously, how will history judge me?"
Julius had been hoping to avoid this question. He was no history expert, not any more than Romulus was, but he knew enough. Romulus knew the answer just as well as he did, but for some reason he wanted to hear Julius say it. "It will rip you apart," Julius answered sadly.
Romulus nodded. "I expected as much, and I deserve no less. I killed my own brother, my own twin brother. I never thought I'd say this before, but thank Deka my parents are dead. If they had ever known about this-" Romulus found himself unable to finish the sentence, the words sticking in his throat. He took a minute to compose himself.
"You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," Julius said.
As soon as he was able to speak again, Romulus answered, "I want to. I have to. I have to tell someone. I have to get it off my chest. I don't know what happened then Julius. I was talking to Remus, we were arguing again, and the next thing I knew we were throwing punches at each other. I don't remember how it happened, and Deka knows I don't want to review it on the monitor. We just started fighting all of a sudden. I don't remember the fight well either. We got into fist fights all the time as kids, but this was far more vicious from the start. And it escalated quickly. We were really at each others throats, I mean really angry. I think he wanted to kill me, I think he really wanted to kill me. He wouldn't have of course, not even if he had the chance. He wouldn't have thrown his life away like that."
Romulus stopped, but he wasn't done talking. He seemed to be waiting for Julius to ask him a question, so he could continue talking. Julius obliged him. "Why did you?"
Romulus shook his head. "I don't know. He was angry enough to kill me, I don't know if I was angry enough to kill him. I don't think I knew then, I certainly don't know now." Romulus paused to consider what he had just said. "No, no I must have been. Maybe I just didn't realize it. The laser gun was on the couch when we started fighting, somehow it must have gotten moved into the other room. I don't remember, one of must have picked it up, and then gotten it knocked out of our hands. It got knocked into the other room, which we ended up in. I don't remember exactly what happened, we were throwing everything at each other. I throw a chair at Remus. It missed and went through the window instead. The next thing I can remember is when he grabbed me, and smashed me into his glass table. I was on the ground, the laser gun was right beside me. He was coming at me, and I didn't even stop to think. I grabbed the laser gun and fired, just like that," Romulus demonstrated the action with an imaginary laser gun. "Just turned and fired, automatically. I didn't think about what I was doing, I didn't have time. He was coming right at me. And just like that, he fell dead. My father's son, he fell dead."
There was another pause, before Romulus continued. "History's going to rip me apart alright. 'Romulus endangered all his friends because he didn't want to kill the Harpies, but he sure didn't have any problems with killing his own brother, a fellow Watcher.' That's what they'll say about me. And I guess they'll be correct. I was right about that you know, about the Harpies. I was right about everything, not that it matters anymore. I was right about Marram, they do deserve our food. I was right about the Harpies to, it was wrong to kill them for our own survival. Who's to say our survival is more important then theirs. We killed a lot of Harpies that day. If we had just let them kill the ten of us, there would have been a lot less deaths that day. I was right about everything. I just wasn't the right man. I wasn't the man of peace who was supposed to champion those ideals, I'm a murderer. Maybe I was ahead of my time too. Soon enough, another will come along like me. It might be a hundred years, but there will be another. This one won't screw up like I did."
"Where are you going to go to exile?" Julius asked.
Romulus shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I might as well go to Marram, that was the source of this whole stupid argument, it only seems just that I spend the rest of my life there."
Julius shook his head. "Don't go to Marram. Go to Kalka, that's where you and Remus worked so closely together. You worked together on it. Spend the rest of your life in it in memory of him."
Romulus thought for a moment. "I think I will. You and Andrew are in charge of the Kalka project now. Take good care of it. Oh, Julius, and one more thing. Be nice to Lauto, for my sake. You really don't know what a good person she is. I wish so much she could come with me, but Van refuses to budge on solitary exile."
"I will. Take care old friend."
Their eyes met one last time, and in that brief moment twenty years of friendship were exchanged. Their playing together, growing up together, making a name for themselves together, and now forever separated. Julius stared after his friend as he left his home to go to Kalka. In such a short time, the unbreakable four had been reduced to two.