The Hero's Conundrum/Chapter 15

I am Bansao?

All this time I have been fighting Bansao and it was me all this time. I was about to join him and then I found out that I am Bansao. Then I remembered when Bansao told me there was going to come a time when I would want to join him but I wouldn’t be able to, and I have to make that difficult choice . . . become Bansao. Why didn’t I tell myself the truth? That’s it, I need to find myself and tell him the truth so he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did. But first I told my new crew that we will take revenge of what happened to their leader, we will look for my other self and the people who did this to them.

On our way we encountered other camps and I offered allegiance to each one we visited and my crew was growing. Not all camps agreed and those, we left them alone but not every time we could leave in peace, we had to fight in some of them. In one of the fights with another camp I lost an eye, now I have an eyepatch, I look exactly like the first time I saw Bansao well I mean myself. Is really confusing talking about him since he is me, I still can’t believe we are one and the same, but now thanks to that, I know exactly where he is. We headed to the camp my people use to have the day I saw Bansao with an eyepatch and when we were close. I told two of the men from the first camp to scout the place. When they returned they told me that they were the ones that killed their leader, my people back when I was Marduk.

We must have been the ones that killed their leader, I remember attacking one of the camps at that time because the Elijah the elder told us that Bansao was there. Was it a lie? I went to the camp hiding in the shadows and told my men to wait, then I overheard the elders talking and Elijah was telling them that thanks to Marduk they will soon have control over the whole area. The other elders were not so happy about it saying that they must stop, that it was not right to use me and for their own goals but Elijah had the final decision. I went back to my men, confused. Was I being manipulated this whole time?

I sat on the floor sad, angry . . . confused and stayed there for a while. My men didn’t ask anything, I overheard some of them saying that I must have seen something I shouldn’t have, but he is wrong . . . I should have seen it. Then one of my men told me that they were leaving, so I gathered my men and went to the camp I will kill Elijah and those who manipulated me.

“Listen everyone, I have encountered these men too and they did me wrong, we will get our revenge today, here and now. We will attack full force, GO! We went there as fast as we could and started fighting so fierce that I even forgot that the other me was there, so I ordered my men to stop. Then I saw all we did, most of them left running and there were like a hundred dead, looks like Elijah is gone. Then I remembered that I as Marduk was hiding under the bodies of my friends.

Shit, this were my friends and I blindly killed them I was blinded by rage, what have I done? I started looking for Marduk when “click” . . . Fuck, forgot the landmine.

Here I am again, this must be this weird dream I keep having. Now every time I die, I end up dreaming I’m in this war it looks like a war between supernatural being, but I’m always on the bad guys side. This time something happened and I’m ripping my body open with both hands and . . .I woke up in the bloody bubble again, I got out and went to the cabin again to clean up, I moved as fast as I could, knowing that he is waiting for me to attack their camp. I arrived to the cabin but it looks like new, like it was built a couple of weeks ago. When I went there is a dead Vietnamese man, stabbed in the back, so this is the real Bansao, I just took his name. I looked around the landscape and it was a very different place, it was not all destroyed, there are houses and there’s even a small town. I’m too far back in the past, like ten or twenty years.

The town looks like it has been attacked and I went there to offer my help, I don’t think any of my people are around. When I got there they attacked me and I defended myself, I didn’t kill anyone and I was trying to tell then all I wanted was to help. I was badly injured and kept fighting until their leader told them to stop. He told me “You are the stronger guy we have encountered.”

“You are alive because I didn’t want to kill you” Then I fell on my knees due to the injuries.

“I believe you and thanks for that. I’m sorry, we could have used a man like you” then before I passed out I hear a familiar voice telling him “You still can”.

I must have died again because I’m dreaming again, or am I. Everything is dark, but I can see everything, I can see the whole earth the whole universe, this time I am the darkness. Then I woke up again the same way as always covered in blood and headed to the same village so they can see how strong I really am. Looks like I got there is a fight, should I help them? Then when I got closer and the fight stopped, to my surprise they were fighting me, an earlier me. The other me was there on the floor, in a pool of blood, and that’s when the leader told him “You are the stronger guy we have encountered, we could have used a man like you”

I was behind him and I told him “You still can”, that’s why the voice sounded familiar it was me. They pointed their guns at me and I told them

“It’s no use I will keep coming back, I just want to help you.”

Their leader, Marcus, asked me “Why should I trust you? You came here and started attacking us”

“No, I came to offer my help since it looks that you were attacked”

“Why would you want to help us out of the blue? Who are you?”

“I am Mar. . . Bansao. I see there is a conflict here but this is the first town I have seen in ages and I wanted to help and a place to call home.”

“You don’t know what’s going on? Where are you from?”

“If I tell you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Ok I respect that, but I still don’t trust you. You’ll be our prisoner for the time being, until you can show us that we can trust you.”

“You will not regret this”

“We’ll see”

They escorted me to a building just besides a small prison they have and they showed me to a room. I asked the guard “I thought I was a prisoner”

“You are, but you haven’t done anything wrong so you stay here in this guarded building, the prison is for those who harm others in anyway.”

“I get it”

They supply me my basic needs and it was late so, I went to bed. The next morning they woke me up early we all ate and I was sent for training with a military man named Mathew. He was a sergeant in charge of training newbies.

“Good morning ladies, I am your instructor, I am your master in other words while you are training under me I am your god. If anyone here does not agree with this, feel free to try and change my mind.”

I stayed quiet, this is stupid, but a very tall and very strong dude said “Sir I do not agree with you”

“Then come here kid and change my mind.”

I know the sergeant is trying to make a point and he looks tough but that man is big, he is the biggest of us, I’m curious to see how this turns out. They started to fight but the sergeant dealt with him in like three minutes. I’m impressed, he is strong, almost as strong as Joseph. I chuckled while thinking that and the sergeant heard me and asked me.

“Son what is so funny? You want to be next?”

“No, it’s fine”

“When you talk to me you say sir”

“No Sir”

“Come here maggot, I’ll make an example out of you on what happens to funny insects”

“Sir, I’m sorry sir I don’t want any trouble” I didn’t want to fight him, I didn’t know how they’ll react, but he insisted and he grabbed my shirt and pulled me to the center. I stood still then he tried to punch me but I evaded it, quickly grabbed his arm, punched him in the ribs and kicked him. He fell four feet away from me in less than a minute. Everyone was in shock and there was a big silence until Marcus started clapping.

“Impressive, but I was actually expecting that. Do you have any experience training people?”

“I have an army”

“Where are they now?”

“I don’t know how to answer that.”

“Well the thing is that they are not here with you now, and I have an army that needs training. What do you say?”

“Very well”

“You’ll still be out prisoner until I see that you are trust worthy.”

“Fine by me”

Marcus showed me around town escorted by his armed men of course, the town seems so familiar somehow.

“Since it seems you don’t know what is going on, I’ll tell you. There was a war a couple of years ago and this town survived, well most of it. I was the general stationed here and after all happened I decided to take control of this town”

“Who won the war?”

“No one, all world powerful nations were destroyed, including all military bases, all but one.”

“Why aren’t we looking for it?”

“I already on it, I’ll need that to expand my control. You see, I have always hunger for power and now I have what I need in order to achieve that. The las thing missing was you.”

“So you plan on taking control of the world?”

“Exactly”

He told me he has plans to take control over the world and I’m going to help him? Suddenly I saw a familiar face is a little girl that looks a lot like Sarah. Wait I’m in the past, it must actually be her, but I must not say anything or I could create a paradox.

Sammael must be here.

“Marcus, by any chance, is there anyone here called Sammael?” He looked at me with fear and anger and his men pointed their guns at me.

“How do you know that name? You claim to not be aware of what’s going on and yet you know Sammael. Who are you really? Tell me now or die this instant.”

I smiled and in a second I had all their guns and Marcus grabbed by the neck.

“Listen to me, like I told you before, you are alive because I want you to be alive. The first time you killed me, I didn’t want to attack you. I will help you but my way, never threaten me again.” I let him go and he started coughing. “I won’t ask again, tell me about Sammael”

“Samael is the leader of the last military base standing, he wants this place and I want his base.”

“I know him and he doesn’t want this place, he wants something that is in this place. But I can’t help you there Sammael is my friend and I’m not going against him. I will help you defend this place and I think there may be a way for both of you to get what you want without spilling blood.”

“How”

“I need to talk to him” Then one of his men comes running telling him that they saw Sammael on his way to the town.