Brotherhood

“No… nooo!” Taye’s scream split the air. His father lay bleeding on the floor, gasping for breath, lips trembling—trying to speak one last time. A gun pointed straight at his pregnant mother. Eight months along. Taye charged. Crack! The butt of a gun slammed into his stomach. He dropped. Darkness swallowed him. --- Tola was just seven. Hidden under a wooden chair, he shook in silence, trying not to breathe too loud. His father’s final words echoed in his chest like thunder: > “Go and hide. No matter what, don’t come out.” BOOM! The gunshot tore through the silence. Then… nothing. Graveyard silence. Until— Footsteps. Voices. Screams. “Heeeeey! Noooo!” It sounded like his uncle. But Tola hesitated, heart thudding against his ribs. Was it real? Was it safe? He crawled out. And his world shattered. --- His father was soaked in blood. His mother’s belly—torn open. The unborn baby... gone. Taye lay beside them, still as death. The floor was painted red. The air was thick with blood and smoke. Blue and red lights blinked outside. Police. Ambulance. His uncle stormed in, shouting. Tola screamed so loud, he felt his throat burn. But it didn’t wake him from the nightmare. Because it wasn’t one. --- > In one night, Tola lost everything—his home, his childhood, his safety. But the real storm was just beginning.