Somnolent Strike

Address

"Emergency. If this is another prank call, Travis, I swear to god-" I could hear the voice leaking through a crack in the mobile phone. 

"It's not this time, Shelly. My brother had an accident and he may be dead. He's bleeding from a saw. You know where we live. Please hurry."

I knew it was pointless, so I didn't try to stop him when he picked Sam up by the head and put it on his lap.

"Samsung... Sam. Sam, please wake up. I promise to stop doing drugs if you do. I'll never steal your girlfriends again or fight you or put melted chocolate in your underwear so it looks like you've shit yourself. For what it's worth, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault I got us into drugs so you started fucking up animals and getting in with those creeps from the raves." And he seemed truly sorry. Empathy had never been his strong suit, but for once he seemed to find some tucked away in a corner of his heart. But now Sam would never see it. 

A siren sounded outside. It seemed to scare off all the drugged drunken degenerates because suddenly they were gone. The ambulance was here. People came in, someone helped Travis up, then Uni, then me, though I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay with Sam.

I told them his full name and ours and then they set about trying to resuscitate him.

"This one is a DOA..." One of them said, frowning. 

They proclaimed him dead on arrival and started sliding him onto a stretcher, then into the ambulance. A few of the teenagers were still there. One of them gasped when she saw him.

"SAM! WHAT HAPPENED?" She ran forward, tripping in her high heels. The ambulance people helped her climb inside. 

"Wait, no. I have to go with him." I said, starting to climb in as well.

"You'd best stay here. Where are your parents?" The ambulance officer asked. 

I shrugged and looked on helplessly, as they started the engine. 

"What will you... do with him?"

"We'll arrange for the bod- Sam, to be moved on behalf of the coroner and there will have to be an autopsy."

"But we know how he died. He fell on his saw." I argued, not wanting them to poke their noses in more. There was already another investigation going on in my own apartment and now here too.

"Yes but it's just protocol. Standard." The ambulance door shut and they started driving away. 

"Did they take him, Vee?" Travis asked, pulling Unity along. They'd clearly been hoping to go with him.

"Yes... Trav, do you know where exactly Mom went? I need to tell her. She might take it more lightly if she's drunk."

"I don't know.. Sam knew. He might have written it down somewhere." Travis started crying again, wiping his face with his bloody hands. The teenagers still around sneered and started teasing him, but I snubbed them with a look.

"Our brother just died, if you'll excuse us. We're grieving and would like to be left in peace." I said coldly.

"That creep Samuel? He is crazy man, he was planning his death for months now." One of them said. 

This was shocking news to me.

Why would Sam want to kill himself?

I looked at Travis.

He shrugged his shoulders too.

"Tell us more." He said to the guy who just smirked.

"Information is not cheap nowadays." He said meaningfully.

I fished out the tenner I'd been trying to give to the homeless girl.

"Will this do?" I asked boredly.

The guy laughed at me.

"If you want any information at all you'll have to dish out more than I can chew, babe." He said winking. 

"Travioli, do you have any money?" I whispered. 

"There's some on the coffee table... and don't call me that." He hissed.

"Yeah ok... Travioli." He shoved me and I pretended to fall, accidentally laughing. 

Everyone stared at me in shock. I was laughing when my brother had just died?

I blushed and went to hide inside the house.

The carpet was rolled up like a rug, out of the way and there was powder on the floor everywhere.

I stepped around in and managed to get to the coffee table where there were only two banknotes of twenty; loose pieces of sticky notes; car keys; a gold wristwatch; and a septum piercing. 

I picked up one of the banknotes and a piece of paper which had Sam's handwriting on it.

Revere coming around 2. Do not let in!

ingredients to make dinner - on counter

Help Unity with school prj - buy A3 paper, set square + ellipsograph

Granite underground, SF / then Finocchio's Club, North Beach

I knew where I had to go now.