It all started about a month ago when Matt and I were harvesting the grapes from the fields in Florence. We had gotten a vineyard from our father, John, and business was good. He had come to stay with us after the vineyard in Vinci, went downhill. He had helped us harvest and make the wine. hen the day was done, we would all sit down for a family dinner and watch the
sun set over the distant northern hills. I had never been over the hills, but I believed that the day I did, it would be amazing.


One day, Matt gave Dad a major job, go to the market in Beatrice to sell some wine. Beatrice was only a couple miles away and it would take him two days max to sell the wine and be back. He had done this before and we knew he could be back before then. We said our goodbyes to Dad, and he set out.


Two and a half days had passed and I was getting worried about Dad. I asked my brother, “Shouldn't Dad be back by now?”


Matt responded, “Yeah Sammy, but you know him, he’ll sell everything before he comes back.”


That was my nickname, Sammy; Matt had always called me that just because I was four years younger than him. I think he felt like he had an obligation to take care of me ever since mom died when I was little. Since then, Dad had worked nonstop in the fields, probably trying to ease the pain. Matt would take me out toward the northern hills and he would tell me stuff like what mom was like and what Beatrice was like. Dad had never let me go anywhere outside the vineyard because he felt like he had to protect me from boys that would wanted to beat me up, but now I felt as if he was keeping a big secret about his past life from me.


“Matt, have you ever felt as though Dad is keeping something from us. I mean, he always stays in Beatrice after the time he should be back. And he always says that it was hard to sell the wine, but you and I both know that it ‘s very easy to sell.”


“You know Sam, I get what you’re saying, but it’s his business, not ours.”


“I just think that Dad is hiding something from us.” Later that afternoon, my brother and I decided that if Dad wasn't back in four days, we would go find him.

It had been six days since Dad left and I was beginning to get frantic. Matt and I had packed a days worth of food for the trip to Beatrice. We called our old friend Roberto Singer to watch the vineyard for us. He agreed. Once Roberto, or Bobby as we called him, arrived, we left.
Once in Beatrice, it was like walking into a place with no exits. People were running around, selling stuff, buying stuff, talking to people; it was crowded and chaotic. Matt and I decided to split up. Matt went west and I went east. I had passed a few shops that sounded familiar from the stories Matt told me about. It was all so beautiful, the stones in the road looked like they had been put down yesterday. The shops were colorful and selling the most bizarre but intriguing items. The buildings looked centuries old and were fascinating.


As I walked along, a few people bumped into me and we talked, mainly me asking if they knew my dad, John. Most said no, but this one old man told me he saw him.


“Yes, I remember seeing John here, but not since, oh what was it, four days ago,” he said.


“Great. Where did you see him?” I asked.


“Down near the church. He was selling wine, and I was about to buy some before some rude person came in front of me. The man was big and strong, just like you, and he told John he needed to talk to him. John and the guy walked toward the church and I haven't seen him since.


“Thank you! You have no idea how much that helps me!”


I as I started to run off, the old man called to me, “Make sure you bring John back, I want my wine!”

It took me all of about two minutes to find Matt. He was easy to recognize in a crowd with his leather jacket and jeans. I caught up to him all excited and happy looking. He turned around, looked at me and sarcastically said, “You found something out about Dad?” I nodded and told him about the old man, the dude just like me, and the church.


“So, all we have to do to find the guy that kidnapped Dad is to look for your twin.” Matt chuckled, “Piece a cake.”


We went down to the church to look for something. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to us, so we went inside the church. When we opened the doors, we were astonished to see who
was inside.

“Matt, Sam, come on in!” said a familiar voice. It was our Dad's friend Jim, who looked as if he were now Pasteur Jim. “Well what are you waiting for?” We casually walked in and sat in the first row of benches to talk to Jim. “How you boys been?” he asked. “Last time I saw you Matt, you were no more than twelve. And look at you Sammy, all tough and muscular. So, whatchya boys want?”


“We want to know if you've seen our Dad lately,” Matt responded, “He hasn't been home the past few days.”


“So, your daddy always stays out later than he should. No big deal.”


“But this time,” I grimly said, ”something is wrong. He's been kidnapped.”


Jim took a step back, shocked by the news I guess. “I had no idea, do you when, by who, anything else?”


“We know that it happened four days ago, right by this very church, probably in the narrow roadway near here,” I responded. “And as to who did, all we know is that he is big and strong, like me.”


“So, like your, evil twin, or something?” Jim said. Matt snickered.


I sighed, “No not like that, look have you seen John or anyone like me lately?”


Jim walked over to his podium and we followed. He bent his head down and sadly said, “Sorry, I haven't I haven't spoken with your father in ages. And after what he went through with your mother, well, I can't blame him for not speaking to anyone besides you two.”


We were so bummed by the news that we couldn't hear what he said next. So, he repeated it. “I said, but I did get a letter from a scrawny looking fellow. Said to give it to you if you came by.'” The next thing we did was snatch the letter from his hands. We all trembled as Matt
read it aloud. It said 'Hello boys. Long time no see. You don't know who I am but you soon will. You see, I knew your daddy back in the day, and he made me angry at him. That is why your mother is dead, and now, twenty five and a half years later, I can finally take my revenge on him. Meet me in Rome in three and a half weeks or dear old daddy dies. -Alistair'


We couldn’t believe it, then Matt screamed, “That son of a gun! I'm gonna find him and rip him to shreds for what he did, even if it means that I die!”


“Calm down Matt!” I yelled back, “We will find him and we will kill him. That I can promise you, but I won't let you sacrifice yourself. I can't watch you die.”


“You two are breaking my heart,” Jim said while weeping. “You should go now.”

We went back to the vineyard. Bobby was there monitoring the progress of the workers. He was in a wheel chair, so he couldn't do much more than supervise. He looked at us over the horizon and seemed shocked. We told him about how we saw Jim and the note from Alistair, which made him say, “Alistair's back?! I don't believe it! He was the one that supposedly burned your mom when Sam was little. Now he wants revenge on John too?! Boys, don't go looking for John, at least let me come with you, he'll have a trap waiting for you.”


“We know,” I responded. “But that's why we don't want you to come with us, Bobby, you'll be killed.”


“It's better than being in a wheel chair Sam. Please, just let me.”


“No.” Matt said. “And that's final. If we lose dad...”


“Bobby, we can't lose you,” I finished for Matt. “You're like a second dad to us.”


“Alright, but don't you guys get yourselves killed.”


After that we had a pretty quiet evening. Matt and I got out Dad's old Ferrari and packed it full of stuff we might need, including guns. In the morning, we headed toward the road to Rome (which was near the northern hills), and vanished from sight.

After about five hours of driving we came to a little village that was very kind to us. They offered food and shelter. We humbly accepted and stayed the night there. I got to sleep easy, but Matt didn't, he was so worried for dad that he couldn't sleep. To get him to sleep, I told him that if dad were in trouble, he could handle himself. That seemed to calm Matt down enough to fall sleep. I thought to myself 'Why don't I have that kind of relationship with dad. It is because I wasn’t as loyal as Matt, or was it because I wanted to go to school.' Lost in my thoughts, I fell asleep.


I woke up to the sound of someone unlocking the door. I made sure I didn't wake my up. I grabbed the nearest weapon I could, it happened to be a bat, and waited near the door. When the person entered, I knocked him out with one swing of the bat, which woke Matt up.


“Oh my god.” Matt said stunned. I also looked at the person and was amazed to see who it was; the tall, strong man that resembled me.

“Who the hell is he?! And what does he want with our family?” Matt whispered to me.


“I don't know Matt,” I responded, “but we need to get out of here, now! I think he was sent by Alistair to kill us.” After that Matt and I put on our jackets, got our stuff and snuck out the door. Matt and I threw our stuff in the back an drove off until we couldn’t see the village any more. Matt stopped the car and we both got out.


“I can’t believe it! How did he find us, and who is he?” Matt said.


“I don’t know, but what I can’t believe is how similar he is to me. He would’ve killed us in our beds if we hadn’t gotten out in time. Matt, we’re lucky to be alive!”


“Yeah, well, next time we run into him, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind!”


“That’s fair, but I think we should get some more rest before we start driving again. Don’t want you driving angry.” Matt agreed to my suggestion and we parked the car in the shadows, make sure the guy couldn’t find us. Then we sat in the seats and went to sleep.

It couldn’t have been long after dawn when I woke up. I was starving and got some food to eat, then I put a plastic spoon in Matt’s mouth as a prank. No more than two minutes later, he woke up. He was confused with the spoon in his mouth, and then he ‘spat’ it out.


“You’re really gonna start this up again Sammy?” he asked. “We’re not kids anymore.”


“Start what up?” I responded.


“That prank stuff! It’s stupid and it always escalates!”


“Ah, what’s the matter Matt scared you’re gonna get a little Nair in your shampoo again?”


“Alright, but remember, you started it.”


“Bring it on!”


“Hey, are you hungry, I’m starving.” I showed him my food and he also grabbed some. Then he got the Ferrari back on the road and we started driving again. After an unknown amount of miles, I noticed that the car was low on gas. We followed the road to a nearby town and got gas. A mechanic offered to fix our car up, but we refused. However, we did ask where the where a motel.


“Two blocks down and take a right and you’ll find the Elysian Fields hotel,” he said. We thanked him and drove to the place. It was a nice hotel, included a bar and restaurant. The first thing I did was to go get us a room while Matt went to the bar and got a beer. He flirted with
this hot chick, but struck out. We ate lunch at the restaurant, then went to the room. Matt went off to the library to see if he could find anything about Alistair while I took a shower. When I got out, I put my clothes on and felt a burning sensation, but chose to ignore it. I met Matt at the library to see if he found out anything.


“The guy is really under the radar, but I did find one thing about him,” Matt said. “He owns, or rather owned, a large factory that produced wine bottles. In the article, it says that it was shut
down due to a tip from John Wesson that the factory was using illegal products. It closed down on October 2, 1985.”


“That was just one month before I turned six months old. Now it all makes sense. Dad took away all of Alistair’s company his ‘family’, and then he took away Mom to get back at Dad. We weren’t allowed to go in Beatrice because Dad didn’t want Alistair’s men getting us.”


“But what I don’t get,” Matt responded, “is why he killed mom? Why not kill Dad, he was right there.”


“I don’t know Matt,” then I paused and twitched, “but I think that I’m allergic to our soap or something.” Then Matt started laughing as he walked out. “You did this?” I asked. Matt laughed again. “You’re a friggin’ jerk!” I yelled to him. We walked and went into the Ferrari. Matt drove to the hotel so that we could start to get on the road again. We both got and went to the room and got our stuff. I made sure I got out before Matt to pull a prank.


I met him downstairs; I was waiting outside the car. He got in, turned the radio on and blasted the Mexican tunes I turned it to. I peered in the car, not wanting to hear the music.


“What the?” Matt screamed after he turned it off. I laughed and then got in the car. “Alright Sammy, truce?”


“Yeah, truce... at least for the next hundred miles.” I responded. Then we left.

The next few miles were bumpy, then Matt got a flat tire. We had to stay on the road until he fixed it. By the time he was done, it was already sunset, so we decided to hide the car and got to sleep. After the night I got to drive for once. So I drove the car back down the road to the little town. It seemed deserted, so I parked the car on the road and looked around to see anyone. We started to go around the town when all of a sudden, someone grabbed me. I kicked them, and they let go. Then I hit them in the face to make sure he was knocked out.


“Matt,” I yelled, “guess who I found.”


“I don’t believe it.” He said once he saw the person.


Matt helped me get the guy in a chair and tie him up. When he woke up, we asked him a couple of questions.


Matt went first, “Who are you, and why are you following us?”


“I not supposed to tell you boys,” he said.


“Start talking or you won’t be talking at all,” I threatened. That seemed to get his attention
because, he now wore a panicked look.


“Alright,” he reluctantly said. “My name is Azazel, I work for Alistair. My orders are to
kill you two.”


“But why?” I asked.


“Why?! boy how the hell should I know why, all I know is orders, no why!” he angrily responded.


“Do you know anything about a woman named Mary Wesson?” I asked.


“Yeah, I was the one that killed her,” he said with a smirk.


Then Matt yelled at him, “You son of a!”


“MATT!” I yelled before he could finish the sentence. Then I took Matt aside so Azazel couldn’t hear. “All we have to do is get one more piece of information out of him, then you can beat him to your heart’s content.”


“Fine,” Matt reluctantly agreed. Then we went back to Azazel.


“Just one more question Azazel,” I said.


“Shot me,” he responded.


“Where is Alistair’s holding our Dad?”


“Go down to a fountain, it’ll have Greek written around, don’t know why. Look for the abandon factory. But listen to this boys, you’re not gonna get your father out of there alive.”
Once Azazel said that, Matt kicked him. Hard.


“I’m through with you,” I said. “Matt, you’re turn.”


“Thanks Sammy.”

I went back to the car to wait for Matt. I got hungry and got some of the food. About fifteen minutes later, Matt came back.


“I feel so bad right now,” he said to me.


“Why?” I asked with a full mouth.


“Azazel killed everyone in this town so he could ambush us! And now I feel that they died because of us!”


“Matt, it’s not our fault, it’s all Azazel,” I told him trying to comfort him. “I assume you told him not to follow us or he’d die.”


“Something like that,” Matt said. “But don’t worry Sammy, he won’t follow us.”

The next two and a half weeks weren’t interesting at all. We stopped in towns along the road for food and shelter and gas. Many hotels, motels, and people were welcoming. The only big change was that the road got wider and more cars were driving on it. Three weeks after Dad had left for Beatrice, we were in Rome.


The place was amazing. All the landmarks like the Colosseum wowed me, but
we had more pressing matters at hand, we had to find Dad. Matt and I each spoke
to some locals to see if there was a fountain with Greek on it. No one knew,
but we were directed to a tour guide to see if he could help us.


“Can I help you?” the tour guide said.


“Uh, I have a question, do you where there is a fountain with Greek writing on it?” I
asked.


“Why yes I do!” He joyfully responded. Then he gave us a map and circled where it was. I
thanked him and asked if he could point us in the right direction. Then he pointed west. We again thanked him, and went west.

It felt like we’d been going west for hours in the Ferrari. Then Matt said, “Man, I think that tour guide was working for Alistair, I see nothing!”


“Just be patient Matt. If it’s not here, then we’ll go back okay?” I told him.


“Okay,” He said in a grim voice. “Hey Sammy, am I hallucinating or is there a fountain in front of us.”


“I see it too!” I said in a happier tone. We got out of the car and saw that it had Greek on it. “I don’t believe it!” I called out.


“Me neither Sammy, now all we have to do is get Dad out.” Keeping what Azazel said in the back of my mind, we went to the old abandoned factory. It looked old and musty like it hadn’t been used in about 100 years. But as we walked toward the building, I knew something was wrong. It was all too easy considering that they weren’t any guards and Alistair wanted us dead. Trying to keep cool, I took a deep breath of the rustic air before kicking down the door. What happened next went all to fast.

Matt and I saw our dad gagged, in a chair surrounded by flames. Then, out of nowhere, Azazel attacked us and we became unconscious. The next thing that I remembered is waking up.

“Dad, Matt, anyone!” I called out.


“Easy boy,” a man said. “No need to yell, they’re right here.” I looked to the left and saw my dad, unconscious and he had a bloody face. To my right, I saw Matt, he was in worse shape. Bloody face, unconscious, probably some broken bones too. I guess Azazel made Matt feel
sorry for what he did. “Now, you see? No need to worry. They're both right here,” Alistair said in a nasally voice.


“I'm gonna kill you!” I screamed at him while trying to wrestle my way out of the ropes that tied me to a chair.


“Oh really,” he said sarcastically. “I'd like to see you try. You're gonna die here, and I'll make sure your father sees you two die before I kill him.”


After he said that, Azazel extinguished the fire around Dad and woke him up.


“Sam. It's so good to see you!” he said tears welling up in his eyes.


“Nice to see you too Dad!” I said on the verge of crying.


“So touching.” Alistair said. “It'll make killing him feel so much better.”


“No!” John said,”I won't let you!”


Alistair walked right up to John and told him,”How exactly are you going to do that big boy?”


“By stalling you long enough to let Sam escape!” John said back.


Then I used all my strength to break the ropes. Azazel was ready and tried to tackle me, but I dodged him. Then I woke and freed Matt. I told him to free Dad while I handled Azazel. Azazel seemed pissed off at me, which was understandable. He threw punches; I threw punches and kicked him. Every fiber in me said to stop and give up, but I didn't, I had to win. Then, out of nowhere, I got the strength to flip him over and break his spine in the process. That took out Azazel.


“One down,” I said looking down at Azazel, “one left to go.”


By this time, Matt had freed Dad. Dad rushed toward Alistair, obviously wanting revenge. He had gotten himself into a battle with Alistair, man to man.


“You took my wife!” Dad screamed at him during the battle. “You tried to take my kids! Now I'm gonna take you!”


“You've apparently underestimated me John.” Alistair casually said back.


“How!” Dad screamed back. Then Alistair took out a knife from one of his pocket and stabbed John in the back, slicing his nerves.


“No!” I screamed running toward Alistair. I got the knife away from him and used it to kill him. As soon as the knife was in, I rushed over to where Dad was. Matt, naturally, was already there.


“Matt...Sammy...I can't believe you're here!” he said in a hushed tone. It was obvious that he was dying.


“Dad its okay, you're gonna be okay,” Matt said to him, grabbing him by the coat. “You're our dad; we won't let anything happen to you, that's our job.”


“No. Matt you gotta watch out for Sammy,” then he coughed up some blood. “And Sammy, you gotta find...a nice young woman to marry.”


“Okay Dad,” I responded while crying. “I will.” By now Matt and I were both sitting near Dad.


“Don't talk like that Dad. You're gonna make it, we'll make sure of it!” Matt told him, trying to comfort him.


“It's okay Matt; I've done my part in this world. I love you two...” John whispered off.


“Dad? Dad!” I said.


Matt felt for a pulse and found none. “No. No, no, no, no, no; this isn't right.” Matt then cradled John in his arms. I cradled both of them. Matt and I just sat there, cradling our deceased father, crying.

We drove home in about five days because Matt never stopped driving. Both of us were solemn during the entire ride. Neither of us would speak. I was too afraid to talk because I didn't want to talk about Dad. I assume that's why Matt didn't speak either. Our father was in the back,
his body lying across the seats. Sometimes I would look at him and pray that he would wake up and that this was some terrible nightmare. He never did. Matt hadn't played any rock music like he did on the way up. If anything, he would play the saddest station he could find.


We met Bobby at the vineyard. When we got out, neither of us said anything to each other. We just went inside. Bobby followed us. We sat down at the kitchen table. I put my head down, then Bobby said, “Oh my god, he's gone isn't he!” I nodded. Then we all sat at the table in silence.


The next morning, Bobby helped us bury John. Pasteur Jim had gotten a wooden coffin for Dad. We buried Dad at the northern most part of the vineyard, right next to our mother's grave. Bobby, Jim, Matt, and I were the only ones attending because we gave the workers at the vineyard the day off. Jim did the ceremony and we all went inside the house. I made some tea so that it wasn't so quiet. No one talked for a while. Then Jim said, “Your father was a great man. May God bring him happiness in heaven.” Then he left.


A week after Dad had died, I told Matt that I just couldn't be in the business anymore, it made me think too much of Dad. He told me, “Fine, and whenever you want to visit, the doors will be wide open.” I'm pretty sure that Matt asked Bobby if he would stay, and Bobby agreed. All
he had to do was phone a friend to bring his stuff down to Florence. I moved into Beatrice and met a nice girl named Jessica. We dated and eventually got married. Every year on special occasions, like mom's death or on Matt's birthday, we would go to the vineyard.


Life became better after that. There was no more trouble, I went to college and got a job as a pasta chef in a restaurant near the vineyard. Matt and I talked more than ever before. My new life with Jessica was great. We had kids, and grand-kids. Life was bitter sweet and I felt great waking up knowing that someone was there. Everything was better than ever.