Hero's Conundrum/Chapter 10

I have my head covered with a bag and I’m being transported in a truck somewhere, but is not a rough terrain it feels almost like a concrete road. Where did Sarah get a truck?

We have been on the road for hours and the last time I tried to talk, someone hit me in the head with something hard, so I stayed quiet until we arrived. When we arrived they took me out of the truck and made me walk blindly until we reached a room and they sat me in a chair and took the bag out of my head. Bansao was tied to a chair beside me and then they started tying me up too. Sarah was in front of us, she was in a black uniform with a rare insignia on the sleeve. There were two uniformed and armed men with her, she had a knife in her hand and she was looking at us. Bansao was about to faint from the wounds, and I asked.

“What is going on Sarah?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and you have been keeping some secrets from us”

“I can say the same for you, the difference is that I have no idea what’s going on even with me. But you? You have your own army?”

“No, I’m just a high ranking officer but not the general. I was hired to look for one of our rouge lieutenant. Lieutenant Bansao, I infiltrated your little militia group before we found you. One of my missions were to find and apprehend Bansao which I just did. The second mission was to protect you and ensure your survival. The second one have been, for a lack of a better word . . . intriguing.”

I’m trying to wrap my mind around all this and Bansao is drooling blood and his pants are soaking with blood, he is unable to move. I don’t think he’ll make it and if he dies he escapes.

“Listen to me Sarah, Bansao is dying and if he dies your mission will fail, I suggest you bring him medical attention fast.”

“Forget about him, now I know why my superiors were so interested in you, but I just learned that now. The first time you died I thought I failed my mission but then you came back, not once not twice . . . three times. Well at least I’m aware of just three. You are the key to defeat Bansao once and for all, but what do we do with you after Bansao is finally dead for good? Well that’s up to my superiors.”

“Sarah shut up! I think Bansao died, he is not moving, you idiot you let him escape.”

“Don’t worry about that I bet you can find him again and help me bring him back.”

“I don’t work for you!”

“Marduk you have a small militia, we have an army, if you are smart you will join us, we will take you to your camp and we expect that you help us. I would hate to kill your people. I kind of like them.”

“You asshole, you are no different from Bansao, after I kill Bansao, you are next”

“Relax, I know you want information, I’ve been keeping an eye on all your people and it seems you don’t really know any of them. Especially John, everyone seems to have a secret, except John, right? WRONG! In fact John never had a family John is. . .”

Suddenly Bansao woke up cut his rope with a strange knife, pushed Sarah away from me and said, “I am John” then stabbed me in the heart and I fell on the floor still tied to the chair and saw Bansao attacking the guards as I passed out.

I woke up kneeling on the floor and I’m on fire in excruciating pain and there is a bright light in front of me and a voice that said “THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT”

Then I really woke up, it was a dream. I should be covered in blood but I’m not, I’m in a bed on a hut, there is a bonfire and food on a table. I feel really tired and everything hurts, I have never woken up like this. I heard a noise and close my eyes again, when I opened them again I see Sammael on a chair and he tells me “I know you are awake, relax you are safe. It seems that you died again, I found you and cleaned you up. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Where are we?”

“My place”

“I thought your place was in our camp”

“It will be, but not for like ten years”

“What? I woke up that far back?”

“Yes, now eat I need to show you something and its far.”

“How about we go and find Bansao, he must be younger and inexperienced and we could take him out.”

“We can’t”

“Either you come with me or I go alone, I can’t miss this chance, maybe we can make him join us by choice”

“No, there are two reason why we can’t go after him. First one he hasn’t arrived yet and secondly you are in no condition to fight, that’s why I need you to eat, so you have the energy to go where we are going.”

I do feel weird and I tried standing up and it was really painful, then I looked in a mirror that was in the hut and I looked like a ninety year old man. I asked Sammael;

“What the fuck is wrong with me? Was I in a coma?”

“No, your abilities are unpredictable, who knows when, where or how you are going to wake up.”

“Let’s go for Sarah then”

“No, I will not harm Sarah or let you harm her”

“Why?”

“You’ll see”

“Then Kill me”

“What?”

“Kill me, I’m in the wrong time and in no condition to be here or alive, so kill me. This way I will be able to wake up in a better condition and maybe in a useful moment.”

“Fine, I’ll do it, but you need to come with me first.”

We went on a walk, we were walking for like an hour but it felt like an eternity, everything hurts and I’m so tired. We were going uphill so it was worse, we reached the top and I was so tired. We sat down and saw a village from up there.

“That’s the village where Sarah grew up, it used to be a police station before the last War.”

“Do you know about the war?”

“Yes, they used to call it the Science War and science lost, but we’ll talk about it later we don’t have much time. I saw when Sara took you and Bansao to this village. Sarah and her people gassed our people and took you, but I was able to follow her.”

“Are you like me?”

“No, I’m something else. I wanted to see why she did what she did, so I followed her.”

“But you have abilities too, you are. . .”

“Marduk please juts listen, we are running out of time, you want answers right? Well look at the village, you might get some.”

I saw that some men were dragging someone from a truck to the village he had a bag in his head just like they did to us. A couple of seconds later a man went running inside and started yelling, telling everyone to leave.

“Is that you Sammael?”

“Yes, keep watching”

Sammael grabbed a girl and started running outside but before he could reach the exit the place blew up. After the smoke dissipated I saw something.

“Oh, now I understand”

Then I felt a chest pain I fell on the floor and passed out.