Pedro

Juana, Louis and I sat silently on the couch in the den. None of us said a word. We all pretended to be doing things like checking our phones or tablets, but I knew we were all worrying about Enzo.

"I hope he's fine," I finally broke the silence.

"Me too," Louis whispered, still staring at his tablet. I saw him lazily tapping the screen with his finger, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

"What if he's dead?" Juana said quietly, and both Louis and I looked at her.

"Why would you even think like that?" I growled, tears struggling to escape my eyes.

"I don't want him to be dead, but it could happen, right?" Juana said, examining her nails.

"It can happen," Louis whispered.

"Just shut up, both of you," I yelled angrily.

"Shut the fuck up. Enzo is okay, and I know it." I stood up from the couch and yelled at them while they looked at me, shocked.

"Pedro, calm down," Louis said, coming closer to me and resting his hand on my back.

"I can't," I said, sitting on a chair and hiding my face in my palms.

"I don't understand how the fuck you two are so fucking calm with our baby brother missing." I didn't know if they were pretending to be calm about Enzo's kidnapping, but I couldn't pretend that everything was okay. I was dying inside. I wanted my brother back.

A servant told us that lunch was ready, but none wanted to eat. The whole house was silent. When Enzo was at home, he always kept the house noisy when Papa wasn't around. He also made sure to anger us and make our blood boil. It seemed that having him make us angry was better than him being missing.

"I miss him," Louis whispered.

"Me too," I said, looking at Louis with a bit of surprise.

"Papa will find him," Juana said.

"Or Manuel," I heard myself say, and the other two looked at me.

We forgot to eat.

Manuel

It was evening when we arrived at the place, a desolate area untouched by humans for years. The entire area was overgrown with wild, tall grasses, and tall trees were scattered here and there. The place looked deserted, and the atmosphere felt oppressive. I couldn't fathom Enzo trapped in a place like this, and scary thoughts instantly raced through my mind.

I was in the first team, which included six people, including myself. We armed ourselves and moved cautiously forward while the other team of four waited behind trees and tall grass. After walking a few feet through the itchy grass, we discovered an old, decrepit building. It was a small, single-story structure with peeling paint and boarded-up windows. The smell of mold and stagnant water hung in the air, signaling the building's long abandonment. It was hard to see until we got closer and noticed a man guarding the door. We slowly surrounded the building without making a noise.

All the windows were closed, and we couldn't see inside. There appeared to be only one door to the building. Our sniper shot the man guarding the door, and he fell to the ground like a felled tree, creating a soft thud. We waited to see if anyone would come out, and as expected, the door opened. A man popped his head out to investigate the noise, and the sniper swiftly shot him, too. No one else emerged, but someone closed the door behind them.

"We need to go inside right now before they do something to Enzo," I urged, and we rushed to the building, breaking down the door.

As soon as we entered the damp, musty house, a man growled, "If you don't leave, I'll shoot the boy." He was holding Enzo's hand roughly, aiming a gun at his head. Enzo wasn't crying, but it was apparent he was in shock. His eyes looked empty, staring behind me as if he had no idea there was a gun aimed at his head. He looked like he didn't recognize me. I turned my head to see what he was looking at and saw the man who had fallen near the ground, dead in a pool of blood. Enzo was not supposed to see this.

"Enzo, look at me. Don't look over there," I said, and he turned his gaze toward me. I could see the fear and shock in his dark eyes. This was bad. This was so bad.

Suddenly, another man who was hiding somewhere started shooting at us. Our team retaliated, exchanging gunfire. We rushed to find cover, and my eyes remained on Enzo. The man roughly dragged him to a corner.

One of the gunmen on our team shot the second man in front of Enzo. I saw his eyes widen in shock, and before the second man even hit the floor, another bullet came from nowhere and struck the man who was holding Enzo. He fell right in front of Enzo, bleeding.

Gerardo's thugs proved that they had no idea about the mentality of a child, and they just did what Gerardo asked them to do, like programmed robots. Enzo stared at the man before him, looking frozen as he witnessed all the horror. Witnessing such violence was too much for a child, even too much for an adult. How could his little soul overcome this now?

I rushed to Enzo and picked him up, feeling his body warmer than usual. I realized that he had a fever.

"Enzo, are you okay?" I asked, knowing he wasn't okay. How could he be?

He didn't answer. He just rested his head on my shoulder. I felt him shivering slightly.

"Enzo, Enzo, talk to me, son," I tried to make him talk, but he didn't respond. He was awake but silent.

"He needs to be taken to a hospital. He has a fever. He's shaking," I said to the others and rushed to the cars.

Gerardo was with the second team, smoking cigarettes nonstop while waiting impatiently. As soon as he saw us, he came closer, grabbed Enzo from me, and hugged him to his body. For the first time since Enzo's kidnapping, I saw Gerardo hugging him and speaking softly to him, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Enzo looked confused, glancing between Gerardo and me. I think right now, Enzo wanted me, not Gerardo. I felt angry at Gerardo for taking Enzo from me. I was the one closer to Enzo. I was his comforter. Enzo was supposed to be in my hands, not Gerardo's.

"Boss, he has a fever, and he's shivering. He needs quick treatment," I had to interrupt.

Gerardo nodded to indicate his agreement. He looked pale and defeated for the first time.