Betrayal - Part 2
Dec 30, 2020 8:51:50 GMT -5
Post by therunawaygirl on Dec 30, 2020 8:51:50 GMT -5
(This is a "short" story, and I plan on sharing more of these to help build my characters. So please, enjoy!)
(WARNING! Blood, torture, extreme violence)
Groaning, Jack forced himself from the darkness that was being unconscious, dazed as he opened his eyes a bit. The light was surprisingly bright —cold and far too saturated. He tried bringing his hand to cover his eyes a bit, but something didn’t allow it. Quickly waking up, Jack found himself bound by rope to a chair. In a panic, he struggled, trying to get them to undo themselves, but that wasn’t possible whatsoever.
“Don’t bother” Brandon’s voice echoed from his left side, “They made sure they’re tight —we ain’t gettin’ out of this one easily…”
Jack glanced over to see his leader, only to find him in the same condition as himself —tied down by rope around the wrists and ankles. The rest of his team was on the same situation, all of them looking down —the only person he couldn’t see being Melissa. No matter how he tried to move, he couldn’t see the only female member of the unit, other than their current Navigator.
What had happened with Liz?!
Footsteps forced the teen’s gaze to fall back to where they were coming, a single soldier standing a few feet away. Their face was stone cold, unflinching at the sight of people pinned down in front of him. The teen himself was somewhat cowed, but he knew what would come after, if his training was any indication.
If the enemy had the opportunity to gain information, they would use it. By any means possible, they would aim to obtain it.
The soldier walked past Jack and towards Brandon, his expression nonexistent. Brandon glared a bit before turning away, but the soldier didn’t take it kindly. He grabbed the leader’s head by the hair, pulling it to make him face the other, while the leader groaned in discomfort.
“So, then” the soldier spat out, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way —you know how this goes, don’t you?”
“…”
“The hard way, then?”
“Hey!”
Brandon glanced over towards Jack, the same as everyone else (well, Melissa tried). Jack scowled, bitter, looking at the soldier holding his leader’s head as though some sort of rag doll, with an iron grip that just wouldn’t let go. The soldier scowled back, annoyed at a mere kid talking back to him. Letting go of Brandon’s hair, the soldier moved towards Jack, who flinched a bit by the sudden action, only to receive a punch straight to the face.
It felt like a truck, hitting him straight in his left side. It didn’t go unnoticed either —a clear mark remained on where the soldier had punched the teen.
“Don’t talk back, brat —know your place.”
Jack wanted to rub on the sore spot, but with his hands tied down, the only thing he could do is focus on something else, but on what? On that stainless room, where the only sounds were the words of the soldiers around them and the groans and clicks of the tongue, there was nothing the teen could use as a distraction.
He didn’t want to hear his teammates, though. Even though everyone there knew how to behave, they couldn’t avoid the things that would come to —torture. First with firm hits across the face or the gut —in places where it would hurt the most. Little by little, bruises covered the teen’s body, who couldn’t do anything but endure each and every hit that connected. With his own body immobilized, he couldn’t move out of the way to avoid them. The rest also got their share, but they weren’t things Jack could see.
Not that he wanted.
The teen still had enough to endure, but he hadn’t become numb to pain just yet. The soldier brandished a butterfly knife, and without time to brace himself for it, the blade was stabbed across Jack’s hand. A piercing pain, followed by a loud cry echoed through the room. The teen avoided looking, his eyes closed to hold back his weakness, but it didn’t last long —the soldier grabbed Jack’s hair and pulled it up.
“Are ya gonna talk or not?!” the soldier asked the rest, “I’ll take it out on the kid if ya don’t!”
“Coward —why don’t you pick people your size?!” Usher shouted, overcoming his own pain to defend his teammate.
“You little—!”
With rage, the soldier threw his hand downwards as he let Jack go, pulling the butterfly knife from the teen’s hand in order to use it on Usher. The pain of the blade being pulled out was just as fierce as before, although Jack managed to hold his shouting back, instead clicking his tongue slightly. Usher’s grunts echoed next —far less loudly than the unexperienced teen. He could still feel it —the blood gushing through the wound with little subtlety. Jack avoided looking, knowing he’d panic even further —and with panic, came a chance for them to use it against him.
He couldn’t afford showing weakness.
The stabs soon became cuts, and just as before, Jack couldn’t brace himself for it. He couldn’t know why they were going for him first and foremost. Was it just because he was the youngest? A teen, not an adult? Was it purely because he had no prior experience in those situations? Those questions somehow managed to divert his attention as a blade cut across his face. The blade seemed to dig deep into the flesh, blood taking no time to spill out and splatter across the ground. It was only after it happened that Jack actually felt the pain, searing like fire in his face. He had to grit his teeth in order to not scream in pain, although he wished he could’ve.
The pain was far too much to handle alone.
“Why’s this happening…?” he thought, closing his eyes as he tried to isolate himself from the noises around him, “Liz… What happened?! Where are you…?!”
His body was slowly becoming tired —numb to the pain inflicted to it. His breathing slowly became ragged, as he tried to keep himself awake, in fear of never waking up again if he ended up closing them. He wouldn’t die there —he couldn’t.
He had a place to return to —someone was waiting for him to return back, safe and sound. But if it came to it… Wouldn’t it be better for them to die there, to keep the others safe? If they just shot them, then and there, then the unit would take what they knew to the grave.
Wasn’t that better, anyways? He couldn’t tell anymore. The pain was too much to think straight.
“Tch —you’re a stubborn bunch, aren’t ya?!”
Jack had received yet another punch to the face, still refusing to say a word. Other than diverting their attention elsewhere, the unit had remained silent, trying to make sure no one died or was overwhelmed to the point they’d say anything. What the soldiers wanted was information —where their HQ was, what they were up to, who were their leaders… Anything that would allow them to gain the upper hand in that situation. Yet the unit was trained in a way to never say anything even if death was a possibility.
Not that they would’ve said the truth, either way —they all had something to protect.
Jack received a hit in the face once more. He didn’t remember how many that made —all of the pain just blurred into a single focus. His body was slowly feeling heavy, and so did his mind —he just wanted to close his eyes. He wanted to rest, he wanted the pain to go away… He spat away as he hung his head low, ignoring everything around him as he chased slowly after a light.
If it meant keeping those he cherished safe, then there were no regrets in closing them for good, one final time.
“Know what? Bring a pair in —doesn’t matter which one” a soldier barked an order, “If these punks won’t cry the info out, then we’ll force it another way.”
“…Huh…?”
Jack raised his view if only for a bit, his head hanging low. His entire being was tired, sleepy and sluggish. Given how he wasn’t paying any more attention to his teammates, knowing that it would only make him uneasy or even force his panic, Jack felt alone. Abandoned to his luck and fate, and seemingly at the end of it all.
Was it too hard to just ask someone to end his misery, or was it solely selfish on his end? He couldn’t tell.
Soldiers came back rather quickly, their pace betraying their annoyance. Jack’s ears slowly began to pick onto the noises yet again, yet his sluggish movements were evident —he was exhausted. The mumbles soon became coherent words —and with voices he knew from the bottom of his heart.
“W-Where are you—?!”
“Let her go —she has nothing to do with this!”
“Shut it already.”
Along the soldiers’ voices, there were 2 voices Jack recognized immediately, pulling him back from his chase after the lights at the end of the darkness. His eyes began to focus, the blurry images becoming visible ones, and not blotches of color against the annoyingly bright light. His eyes widened under his messy hair, his body shook slightly as he recognized the two figures that were being dragged against their will.
Both were cuffed behind their back and wore blindfolds, but nothing else. Their figures were thin due to the lack of meals, and their overall expressions seemed exhausted, as if they hadn’t gotten enough sleep. The woman was panicking, much in a similar way to how Jack was panicking earlier. Her light-brown hair was messy and dirty, much like her clothes, and she seemed to have been crying before. The man was broad, trying to shake the cuffs off of his hands to, most likely, get in a fight, heated, but he couldn’t go through the steel that kept his hands tied behind his back.
Jack was in shock, his eyes wide open under his own messy hair, and his mouth slightly agape. He was shaking a bit, as his own feelings were incremented by the earlier pain. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream —anything, just to get their attention.
But he knew he couldn’t —he’d be giving the enemy exactly what they wanted: an opening.
Knowing this, he tried to hide his shock, averting his eyes by closing them, but his gestures had already been noticed by the soldier who’d been beating them up. An obnoxious sneer in his expression, he took no time in making use of that small window of opportunity after seeing the teen’s shock.
“Do we have a contender?” the soldier taunted, causing the teen to scowl with clear nervousness, “Then fess up —easy, ain’t it?”
“You’ll kill us all anyways —why would I?!” Jack thought, biting his lips. He couldn’t speak —not when his parents were in front of him.
“So, not even the sight of people will help, huh…?”
“Kid, what’re you doing…?!” the teen heard Brandon’s voice in a whisper —audible enough for him to hear, “You can’t fall for this!”
“…” Jack’s body shook a bit, starting to panic yet again.
The worry in the leader’s voice was evident —he knew something was up, but Jack couldn’t bring himself to speak. Brandon frowned, but before he could even act, the soldiers had grabbed the woman by the hair, causing her to scream in both fear and mild pain. Before anyone could do anything, the soldier brought the butterfly knife to her neck, causing Jack to simply jump in, instinctively.
“NO, STOP!”
It was too late for him to notice the mistake he’d made. Everything froze for a second as he watched in panic. It was almost like hearing the bell of a church, indicating what was to come.
Everyone looked at Jack —both allies and enemies alike. The woman had frozen in place after feeling the cold touch of steel with the warmth of the blood from hurting the unit. Almost immediately, the soldier holding her let go of her, glaring at the kid who’d shouted out in pure instinct. Jack knew what was going to happen next —he had unwillingly walked right into the wolf’s den and had no way out.
“Okay, then… We’ll stop” the soldier said with a sneer, looking at a dumbstruck teen, “But you’ll have to fess up, kid —that’s how this goes.”
“…!”
“Jack?! Where are you?!” the woman asked, causing the teen to panic, “Please, don’t come out!”
“I’m right here, though! Mom—!”
“You moron!” he could hear his dad whispering to his mom, trying to cause her to remain silent, “That’s just gonna make him even more worried!”
“Dad—!”
“Huh… Y’know ‘em, then?” the soldier taunted, playing with the stained knife in his hands, “Parents, maybe? Or just relatives of yours? C’mon, kid —you wanna save them, don’t’cha?” the sneer became annoying, but at the same time frightening, “Their lives are in your hands now —which one’ll it be?”
“I…” Jack’s voice was broken, shaking even.
“All you gotta do is tell us where your base’s at —simple, ain’t it? Fess that up, and we can let you go.”
“Kid, don’t you dare…!” Brandon’s voice whispered near him, but that only got him yet another punch in the face to shut him up.
“I… I…”
Jack’s body trembled, gritting his teeth as his body tensed up. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? His mind was completely blank, after seeing both his parents there, held against their will and not knowing what was happening.
It had been 4 years since he’d last seen them, and he’d now found both of them after tireless search. Yet in the position he was in, Jack’s hands were quite literally tied —he couldn’t go to help them, to break them free and reunite his family again. He wanted to go back home, with Alice besides them, and return to the life that was stolen from them so abruptly.
But he couldn’t.
The soldier got tired of waiting, spitting with annoyance at the teen’s indecisiveness. Due to how shaken he was, he had closed his eyes, trying to come up with something —anything just to get out of there. A petty lie, an easy rouse, anything that could help him save those lives he cared so much for.
“Not even that’s gonna open you up, huh? Fine” the soldier’s tone went back to a ruthless one, before glancing towards his comrades, “Get rid of them.”
“Get rid—?!” Jack’s eyes focused back, whipping his head back up in a panic, “Wait, does that—?!”
“W-What are you—?!” Jack’s mother panicked, as both were suddenly pinned to the ground.
“Let go!” his dad struggled against the soldier pinning him down.
“No…”
Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing —two soldiers had displayed their guns, quickly locking them with the ammo and readying their aim. Both locked onto the hostages’ head, a sight that Jack couldn’t help but simply watch, when he wanted to jump in and stop them.
“NO!”
His shout came out too late —just as the triggers were pulled. The soles of his shoes were stained with the pool of blood that made its way underneath, and Jack was speechless. The soldiers didn’t have any remorse, disposing of the bodies with little care, leaving the distraught teen at the brink of tears.
“Too late, kid —should’ve opened that mouth of yours earlier” the soldier mocked, not looking his way, while still playing with that knife of his. He then turned towards his comrades, issuing another order, “C’mon —don’t slack off! We’re getting what they have one way or another!”
“Mom… Dad…”
Jack’s face was flushed of all the color it had, his eyes wide in shock and his emotions made a turmoil. It was such a shock that he didn’t know how to react —was he supposed to cry? To vent out? To struggle? Was he supposed to scream profanities at the soldiers who’d murdered both of his parents in cold-blood, or was he supposed to remain silent? He didn’t even notice his tears, falling down his cheeks and mixing with the blood of his wounds.
Brandon was just as astonished, a fierce scowl forming in his face as he saw what had happened. His suspicions confirmed, he wanted to lash out —struggle through the ropes in his wrists and ankles to go on a rampage. He wanted to get revenge for what had happened to the teen, but he couldn’t —the grip of the ropes was far too tight, and his body had become numb from all the torture it had to endure.
If only he could just break free…
The second pair wasn’t someone Jack knew —neither of them, but he didn’t focus on anything anymore. The shock of the scene that just took place in front of him was burned vividly inside his head. How would it not? The people he’d been searching for tirelessly for were just killed in cold blood, and he couldn’t do anything to avoid it.
It was his fault that they now laid dead in front of him, the sticky feel of their blood beneath the sole of his shoes being evidence enough.
Just as before, the pair the soldiers had brought in were in full panic, feeling the echoes of the room as they stepped over the uncleaned blood, and becoming pale with fear. Yet none of the ones held tight against their will had anything to say —aside Jack, but he didn’t react to this new pair. They were about to dispose of the second pair when an alarm echoed loudly through the facility.
“What?!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Grr —someone’s in! Men, focus on getting rid of them!”
The teen didn’t react —he was so distraught by the scene that everything else seemed to be completely obsolete. The sounds were slowly growing more and more silent, and the light around him was turning dark.
He refused to close his eyes, though, in fear of burning the image completely in his retina.
He suddenly felt a chill —but not a menacing one. Before he could notice, there was a wall of crystal separating the pair that was just brought in from the soldiers holding them hostage. The crystal was familiar to him —crystal he’d seen displayed in front of him once before.
“Elena…”
In the heat of the moment, Jack began to feel heavy. Something was tugging at him to just close his eyes, even though he didn’t want to close them, in fear of the vivid image to burn itself in his memory. But his body was stronger than his will, the feeling of finally being able to leave that hell behind and going back to the safety of the Brigade.
He couldn’t help it —slowly but surely, his eyes closed themselves down, as his body gave up to its exhaustion of endurance through the searing pain of punches, stabs and cuts.
(WARNING! Blood, torture, extreme violence)
Groaning, Jack forced himself from the darkness that was being unconscious, dazed as he opened his eyes a bit. The light was surprisingly bright —cold and far too saturated. He tried bringing his hand to cover his eyes a bit, but something didn’t allow it. Quickly waking up, Jack found himself bound by rope to a chair. In a panic, he struggled, trying to get them to undo themselves, but that wasn’t possible whatsoever.
“Don’t bother” Brandon’s voice echoed from his left side, “They made sure they’re tight —we ain’t gettin’ out of this one easily…”
Jack glanced over to see his leader, only to find him in the same condition as himself —tied down by rope around the wrists and ankles. The rest of his team was on the same situation, all of them looking down —the only person he couldn’t see being Melissa. No matter how he tried to move, he couldn’t see the only female member of the unit, other than their current Navigator.
What had happened with Liz?!
Footsteps forced the teen’s gaze to fall back to where they were coming, a single soldier standing a few feet away. Their face was stone cold, unflinching at the sight of people pinned down in front of him. The teen himself was somewhat cowed, but he knew what would come after, if his training was any indication.
If the enemy had the opportunity to gain information, they would use it. By any means possible, they would aim to obtain it.
The soldier walked past Jack and towards Brandon, his expression nonexistent. Brandon glared a bit before turning away, but the soldier didn’t take it kindly. He grabbed the leader’s head by the hair, pulling it to make him face the other, while the leader groaned in discomfort.
“So, then” the soldier spat out, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way —you know how this goes, don’t you?”
“…”
“The hard way, then?”
“Hey!”
Brandon glanced over towards Jack, the same as everyone else (well, Melissa tried). Jack scowled, bitter, looking at the soldier holding his leader’s head as though some sort of rag doll, with an iron grip that just wouldn’t let go. The soldier scowled back, annoyed at a mere kid talking back to him. Letting go of Brandon’s hair, the soldier moved towards Jack, who flinched a bit by the sudden action, only to receive a punch straight to the face.
It felt like a truck, hitting him straight in his left side. It didn’t go unnoticed either —a clear mark remained on where the soldier had punched the teen.
“Don’t talk back, brat —know your place.”
Jack wanted to rub on the sore spot, but with his hands tied down, the only thing he could do is focus on something else, but on what? On that stainless room, where the only sounds were the words of the soldiers around them and the groans and clicks of the tongue, there was nothing the teen could use as a distraction.
He didn’t want to hear his teammates, though. Even though everyone there knew how to behave, they couldn’t avoid the things that would come to —torture. First with firm hits across the face or the gut —in places where it would hurt the most. Little by little, bruises covered the teen’s body, who couldn’t do anything but endure each and every hit that connected. With his own body immobilized, he couldn’t move out of the way to avoid them. The rest also got their share, but they weren’t things Jack could see.
Not that he wanted.
The teen still had enough to endure, but he hadn’t become numb to pain just yet. The soldier brandished a butterfly knife, and without time to brace himself for it, the blade was stabbed across Jack’s hand. A piercing pain, followed by a loud cry echoed through the room. The teen avoided looking, his eyes closed to hold back his weakness, but it didn’t last long —the soldier grabbed Jack’s hair and pulled it up.
“Are ya gonna talk or not?!” the soldier asked the rest, “I’ll take it out on the kid if ya don’t!”
“Coward —why don’t you pick people your size?!” Usher shouted, overcoming his own pain to defend his teammate.
“You little—!”
With rage, the soldier threw his hand downwards as he let Jack go, pulling the butterfly knife from the teen’s hand in order to use it on Usher. The pain of the blade being pulled out was just as fierce as before, although Jack managed to hold his shouting back, instead clicking his tongue slightly. Usher’s grunts echoed next —far less loudly than the unexperienced teen. He could still feel it —the blood gushing through the wound with little subtlety. Jack avoided looking, knowing he’d panic even further —and with panic, came a chance for them to use it against him.
He couldn’t afford showing weakness.
The stabs soon became cuts, and just as before, Jack couldn’t brace himself for it. He couldn’t know why they were going for him first and foremost. Was it just because he was the youngest? A teen, not an adult? Was it purely because he had no prior experience in those situations? Those questions somehow managed to divert his attention as a blade cut across his face. The blade seemed to dig deep into the flesh, blood taking no time to spill out and splatter across the ground. It was only after it happened that Jack actually felt the pain, searing like fire in his face. He had to grit his teeth in order to not scream in pain, although he wished he could’ve.
The pain was far too much to handle alone.
“Why’s this happening…?” he thought, closing his eyes as he tried to isolate himself from the noises around him, “Liz… What happened?! Where are you…?!”
His body was slowly becoming tired —numb to the pain inflicted to it. His breathing slowly became ragged, as he tried to keep himself awake, in fear of never waking up again if he ended up closing them. He wouldn’t die there —he couldn’t.
He had a place to return to —someone was waiting for him to return back, safe and sound. But if it came to it… Wouldn’t it be better for them to die there, to keep the others safe? If they just shot them, then and there, then the unit would take what they knew to the grave.
Wasn’t that better, anyways? He couldn’t tell anymore. The pain was too much to think straight.
“Tch —you’re a stubborn bunch, aren’t ya?!”
Jack had received yet another punch to the face, still refusing to say a word. Other than diverting their attention elsewhere, the unit had remained silent, trying to make sure no one died or was overwhelmed to the point they’d say anything. What the soldiers wanted was information —where their HQ was, what they were up to, who were their leaders… Anything that would allow them to gain the upper hand in that situation. Yet the unit was trained in a way to never say anything even if death was a possibility.
Not that they would’ve said the truth, either way —they all had something to protect.
Jack received a hit in the face once more. He didn’t remember how many that made —all of the pain just blurred into a single focus. His body was slowly feeling heavy, and so did his mind —he just wanted to close his eyes. He wanted to rest, he wanted the pain to go away… He spat away as he hung his head low, ignoring everything around him as he chased slowly after a light.
If it meant keeping those he cherished safe, then there were no regrets in closing them for good, one final time.
“Know what? Bring a pair in —doesn’t matter which one” a soldier barked an order, “If these punks won’t cry the info out, then we’ll force it another way.”
“…Huh…?”
Jack raised his view if only for a bit, his head hanging low. His entire being was tired, sleepy and sluggish. Given how he wasn’t paying any more attention to his teammates, knowing that it would only make him uneasy or even force his panic, Jack felt alone. Abandoned to his luck and fate, and seemingly at the end of it all.
Was it too hard to just ask someone to end his misery, or was it solely selfish on his end? He couldn’t tell.
Soldiers came back rather quickly, their pace betraying their annoyance. Jack’s ears slowly began to pick onto the noises yet again, yet his sluggish movements were evident —he was exhausted. The mumbles soon became coherent words —and with voices he knew from the bottom of his heart.
“W-Where are you—?!”
“Let her go —she has nothing to do with this!”
“Shut it already.”
Along the soldiers’ voices, there were 2 voices Jack recognized immediately, pulling him back from his chase after the lights at the end of the darkness. His eyes began to focus, the blurry images becoming visible ones, and not blotches of color against the annoyingly bright light. His eyes widened under his messy hair, his body shook slightly as he recognized the two figures that were being dragged against their will.
Both were cuffed behind their back and wore blindfolds, but nothing else. Their figures were thin due to the lack of meals, and their overall expressions seemed exhausted, as if they hadn’t gotten enough sleep. The woman was panicking, much in a similar way to how Jack was panicking earlier. Her light-brown hair was messy and dirty, much like her clothes, and she seemed to have been crying before. The man was broad, trying to shake the cuffs off of his hands to, most likely, get in a fight, heated, but he couldn’t go through the steel that kept his hands tied behind his back.
Jack was in shock, his eyes wide open under his own messy hair, and his mouth slightly agape. He was shaking a bit, as his own feelings were incremented by the earlier pain. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream —anything, just to get their attention.
But he knew he couldn’t —he’d be giving the enemy exactly what they wanted: an opening.
Knowing this, he tried to hide his shock, averting his eyes by closing them, but his gestures had already been noticed by the soldier who’d been beating them up. An obnoxious sneer in his expression, he took no time in making use of that small window of opportunity after seeing the teen’s shock.
“Do we have a contender?” the soldier taunted, causing the teen to scowl with clear nervousness, “Then fess up —easy, ain’t it?”
“You’ll kill us all anyways —why would I?!” Jack thought, biting his lips. He couldn’t speak —not when his parents were in front of him.
“So, not even the sight of people will help, huh…?”
“Kid, what’re you doing…?!” the teen heard Brandon’s voice in a whisper —audible enough for him to hear, “You can’t fall for this!”
“…” Jack’s body shook a bit, starting to panic yet again.
The worry in the leader’s voice was evident —he knew something was up, but Jack couldn’t bring himself to speak. Brandon frowned, but before he could even act, the soldiers had grabbed the woman by the hair, causing her to scream in both fear and mild pain. Before anyone could do anything, the soldier brought the butterfly knife to her neck, causing Jack to simply jump in, instinctively.
“NO, STOP!”
It was too late for him to notice the mistake he’d made. Everything froze for a second as he watched in panic. It was almost like hearing the bell of a church, indicating what was to come.
Everyone looked at Jack —both allies and enemies alike. The woman had frozen in place after feeling the cold touch of steel with the warmth of the blood from hurting the unit. Almost immediately, the soldier holding her let go of her, glaring at the kid who’d shouted out in pure instinct. Jack knew what was going to happen next —he had unwillingly walked right into the wolf’s den and had no way out.
“Okay, then… We’ll stop” the soldier said with a sneer, looking at a dumbstruck teen, “But you’ll have to fess up, kid —that’s how this goes.”
“…!”
“Jack?! Where are you?!” the woman asked, causing the teen to panic, “Please, don’t come out!”
“I’m right here, though! Mom—!”
“You moron!” he could hear his dad whispering to his mom, trying to cause her to remain silent, “That’s just gonna make him even more worried!”
“Dad—!”
“Huh… Y’know ‘em, then?” the soldier taunted, playing with the stained knife in his hands, “Parents, maybe? Or just relatives of yours? C’mon, kid —you wanna save them, don’t’cha?” the sneer became annoying, but at the same time frightening, “Their lives are in your hands now —which one’ll it be?”
“I…” Jack’s voice was broken, shaking even.
“All you gotta do is tell us where your base’s at —simple, ain’t it? Fess that up, and we can let you go.”
“Kid, don’t you dare…!” Brandon’s voice whispered near him, but that only got him yet another punch in the face to shut him up.
“I… I…”
Jack’s body trembled, gritting his teeth as his body tensed up. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? His mind was completely blank, after seeing both his parents there, held against their will and not knowing what was happening.
It had been 4 years since he’d last seen them, and he’d now found both of them after tireless search. Yet in the position he was in, Jack’s hands were quite literally tied —he couldn’t go to help them, to break them free and reunite his family again. He wanted to go back home, with Alice besides them, and return to the life that was stolen from them so abruptly.
But he couldn’t.
The soldier got tired of waiting, spitting with annoyance at the teen’s indecisiveness. Due to how shaken he was, he had closed his eyes, trying to come up with something —anything just to get out of there. A petty lie, an easy rouse, anything that could help him save those lives he cared so much for.
“Not even that’s gonna open you up, huh? Fine” the soldier’s tone went back to a ruthless one, before glancing towards his comrades, “Get rid of them.”
“Get rid—?!” Jack’s eyes focused back, whipping his head back up in a panic, “Wait, does that—?!”
“W-What are you—?!” Jack’s mother panicked, as both were suddenly pinned to the ground.
“Let go!” his dad struggled against the soldier pinning him down.
“No…”
Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing —two soldiers had displayed their guns, quickly locking them with the ammo and readying their aim. Both locked onto the hostages’ head, a sight that Jack couldn’t help but simply watch, when he wanted to jump in and stop them.
“NO!”
His shout came out too late —just as the triggers were pulled. The soles of his shoes were stained with the pool of blood that made its way underneath, and Jack was speechless. The soldiers didn’t have any remorse, disposing of the bodies with little care, leaving the distraught teen at the brink of tears.
“Too late, kid —should’ve opened that mouth of yours earlier” the soldier mocked, not looking his way, while still playing with that knife of his. He then turned towards his comrades, issuing another order, “C’mon —don’t slack off! We’re getting what they have one way or another!”
“Mom… Dad…”
Jack’s face was flushed of all the color it had, his eyes wide in shock and his emotions made a turmoil. It was such a shock that he didn’t know how to react —was he supposed to cry? To vent out? To struggle? Was he supposed to scream profanities at the soldiers who’d murdered both of his parents in cold-blood, or was he supposed to remain silent? He didn’t even notice his tears, falling down his cheeks and mixing with the blood of his wounds.
Brandon was just as astonished, a fierce scowl forming in his face as he saw what had happened. His suspicions confirmed, he wanted to lash out —struggle through the ropes in his wrists and ankles to go on a rampage. He wanted to get revenge for what had happened to the teen, but he couldn’t —the grip of the ropes was far too tight, and his body had become numb from all the torture it had to endure.
If only he could just break free…
The second pair wasn’t someone Jack knew —neither of them, but he didn’t focus on anything anymore. The shock of the scene that just took place in front of him was burned vividly inside his head. How would it not? The people he’d been searching for tirelessly for were just killed in cold blood, and he couldn’t do anything to avoid it.
It was his fault that they now laid dead in front of him, the sticky feel of their blood beneath the sole of his shoes being evidence enough.
Just as before, the pair the soldiers had brought in were in full panic, feeling the echoes of the room as they stepped over the uncleaned blood, and becoming pale with fear. Yet none of the ones held tight against their will had anything to say —aside Jack, but he didn’t react to this new pair. They were about to dispose of the second pair when an alarm echoed loudly through the facility.
“What?!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Grr —someone’s in! Men, focus on getting rid of them!”
The teen didn’t react —he was so distraught by the scene that everything else seemed to be completely obsolete. The sounds were slowly growing more and more silent, and the light around him was turning dark.
He refused to close his eyes, though, in fear of burning the image completely in his retina.
He suddenly felt a chill —but not a menacing one. Before he could notice, there was a wall of crystal separating the pair that was just brought in from the soldiers holding them hostage. The crystal was familiar to him —crystal he’d seen displayed in front of him once before.
“Elena…”
In the heat of the moment, Jack began to feel heavy. Something was tugging at him to just close his eyes, even though he didn’t want to close them, in fear of the vivid image to burn itself in his memory. But his body was stronger than his will, the feeling of finally being able to leave that hell behind and going back to the safety of the Brigade.
He couldn’t help it —slowly but surely, his eyes closed themselves down, as his body gave up to its exhaustion of endurance through the searing pain of punches, stabs and cuts.