The Hero's Conundrum/Chapter 20

I’ve never been here before, I walked and walked then suddenly I found a familiar place but I was hungry so I started hunting, and made a bonfire. Just when I was about to eat he ambushed me and grabbed me at gun point.

“So, you got me” I said with a grin in my face. He started asking questions and Sarah was telling him to kill me.

“Quiet Sarah! How can you be alive? I killed you, I emptied my clip on your corpse.”

“That is not the question you should be asking.”

“Talk”

“You think you are the only one who can move that fast?” I saw Sammael, but he doesn’t seem to recognize me, Marduk pointed his gun at me and told me

“Don’t you dare touch him asshole!” He is distracted, now is my chance, suddenly Joseph yelled

“MARDUK FOCUS!”

I jumped at them pushing them, Joseph tried to fight me but he is no match for me now, I grabbed his punch as if he had the strength of a kid and the speed of a sloth, then I kicked him in the abdomen and he landed two meters away.

Then Sammael came to fight me and he was fast, almost as fast as me, while we were fighting Sammael whispered to me very silently “Let it flow” then pulled out a knife and stabbed me him in the arm and retracted, he is an asshole. He knows what he is doing, I wish I could see time the way he sees it.

After Sammael retracted they started shooting at me but I hid behind a tree. One of Marduk’s bullets hit me in the other arm, damn now I’m starting to remember, but there is nothing I can do, I must let it flow and I know exactly how this will end.

“It’s over Bansao, you are surrounded” and they started getting closer to me, but I took them by surprise throwing them a flash grenade and ran away. I lost them and later I heard a snap, a bear trap got Marduk feet as I remember, he fell on the ground and I pointed my gun at him waiting for Sammael to kill me but before that, I asked.

“Do you want to know the truth? About you about. . ” before I could finish I was shot in the head by Sammael.

After I woke up I quickly went to look for my people, went to the camp and worked up a strategy. I have a lot of people, I sat down with them and told them all the truth about Marduk and me being the same person. That soon a time will come when Marduk will kill me and I will disappear for many years. When that time comes, they should surrender to the hero and help him until I come back. They agreed, some said that they already knew we were the same person. They are good loyal men, they will follow me until the end. Then we headed to the hero’s camp to make him the legendary hero.

I got there when the Marduk was talking with Sammael about why they killed him. But wait, the one that shot him was John and John is a product from my imagination, so I was suspicious of me subconsciously. This is so confusing as I arrive Marduk think his people are pointing their guns at him but is at me the one they are aiming. I told him

“Don’t listen to him Marduk, do you truly believe he is here to help you? They shot you and they knew who you were, they saw you, it was no mistake. Let me guess . . . he told you that he can’t give you all the answer right? Of course he did, can you see they are manipulating you because they need you? Well at least he’s right about one thing, I do have the answers you need. Join me and I will tell you everything.”

I remember this Sammael is now telling him to make a choice, so I say;

“I’m going to give you one last chance to join me, what will it be?”

“I already made my choice”

The fight started and my men are no match for Sammael and the others. I tried to run but Marduk got me at gunpoint

“Kill me. Have you ever wondered why sometimes you wake up covered in blood? The knife? Just tell me . . . Who are you?”

“Ok, tell me what I need to know and I’ll let you go.”

“I’ll tell you what you need to know, follow me alone and I’ll show you”

“No, no more games, start talking”

“This information is for you and for you alone, do you really know these people? Would you really trust them with a secret like this?”

“I know them enough to trust them. Sammael! John! Grab him and put him in the cell” They dragged me to a cell, a cage prepared just for me.

“How long do you think you can hold me in that? You had your chance and you lost it”

Marduk wants to talk to me but John won’t let him, but Sammael came and let him take me, cuffed and with four grenades on me as a safety measure.

“I see that you still think you got the upper hand and that will be your downfall,” I’m just trying to intimidate him enough to join me. But can it be possible. Everything I have done no matter how hard I try ends up staying the same. I must do as Sammael said and let it flow, but if I have the chance to change something, I will take it.

“Ok fair enough, I’ll talk, first of all, you are not a normal human, check the palm of your hand for a scar. Inside the scar is there’s a claw that looks like a knife, a very powerful knife that you can only use instinctively. I have seen you using it, even though you don’t remember, but that’s not what you want to know is it?”

“No, I want to know what the hell is happening, where do I come from, why are we like this?” In less than a second I stood up and removed the string of the grenades safety pins. Now I have four grenades, he pointed the gun at me and I said,

“Relax, we will fight but not now, we need an audience, I just wanted you to see that against me, you will never have the upper hand. I’m done trying to convince you to join me. You are convinced that I’m the enemy and no matter what I say, you won’t change your mind. I guess you have to see for yourself. I just want to end this madness. I’m tired” I truly am, but I was too damn stubborn then. Marduk tries to fight me again by distracting me kicking dust in my face but I remember all this too well, and I prevailed over him again.

I threw the rife back at him and told him “I told you, we will fight, but not now, be patient. I’ve been watching you a long time, once I noticed that you had those abilities I knew I could use you for my cause”

“What cause, total domination?”

“That’s what have been feed into your mind so that you could end me. They saw in you a way to defeat me and they have been manipulating you this whole time.”

“How do I know that you are not the one trying to manipulate me? You killed many of my people and you even executed Elijah in cold blood. Hell you almost killed a kid if it was not for my intervention.”

“I know it sound hard to believe, but trust me I had my reasons to kill Elijah and I would never kill a kid, I knew you were going to stop me before I tried’.”

“I don’t believe you and I know that you come back each time you die, but there must be a way to defeat you”

“There is one way but if you do, it’ll be the worst mistake you’ll ever make”

“Anyone in your position would say that”

“Ha ha ha ha, in my position? Do you think you got me?”

“Yes, this time I took my time planning this, if I kill you you’ll be left for dead and then you’ll come back and be free again. So I will keep you prisoner until you die of old age, so you see. I won.” I need to escape and by the looks of it, dying is my only option and I just remembers how I am going to die, this is going to be painful and uncomfortable. So I told him;

“You don’t understand I have already escaped and you just haven’t noticed. YOU SON OF A BITCH!” That’s the only thing I could say after he shot me in the knees as fast as I stood up. I could have stop him but this time I really need to go with the flow.

“I told you I took my time planning this, it’s finally over. Thinking you always have the upper hand made you cocky and that was your worse mistake. This is what is going to happen now, the shots were a signal for my people to let them know that I finished with you. They are coming to take you to the camp and once we are there, we are going to cut your arms and legs so you won’t be able to kill yourself. Sammael and you told me that the only way to end this, was to join you. I figured that you joining me could end this too and is the most peaceful approach.”

I stayed quiet, I’m in a lot of pain and he tied me up, then what I was waiting for what I knew would happen, Sarah’s men entered the cave and Marduk thinks they are my men.

“These are not my people either”. Then Sarah entered the cave and told the armed men to take us both, they put a bag in Marduk’s head and in mine, then took us. This time I know where we are going.