Jak was despairing. Ever since he'd died for the first time and found himself once again in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the very same people that had mobbed him the day before. He despaired for the pain these people have been though and the humanity that had been stripped away from them.
Jak was terrified. He wasn't scared of the pain, no he'd learned how to deal with the pain. He was scared of becoming like them. Without compassion, without remorse, without love.
Jak was angry. Angry that no one would help him. Angry that people could give up so easily. Angry that no matter what he did, it never helped.
But above all Jak was determined. He was determined to break free. He was determined to help these people learn to love again, to trust again. He was determined to keep a hold on his humanity, as it is our only hope. He was determined not to lose hope, because without hope man is but an animal, torn down to nothing but its most primal instincts. Determined not to become a puppet to "The Dark Ones", to become yet another instrument in this never ending symphony of pain.
Which is why they chose him.
From very instant the doors shut Jak felt different, like he had the power to make a difference.
He spent days wandering the the facility, looking for something, anything out of the ordinary. On the fourth day he found it.
Explosives, about 200 pounds of them complete with a detonation trigger.
Jak knew what had to be done with them. He'd felt it in his gut the very first time he'd laid eyes on him. There was something off about Link, he could feel it in his bones. He must have been working with the Dark Ones. Jak didn't like the way he was always holed up in the greenhouse feverishly tending to those plants, providing key ingredients for the ritual no doubt. He was a killer, anyone who actively participated in this cycle of death was a killer.
Jak knew he had to be dealt with, he knew that somehow what Link was doing in there was important to the ritual and had to be stopped.
I walked into the room trigger in hand, prepared to give my life to put an end to this madness.
Link heard me, sighed and turned around impatiently. When he saw me he looked surprised, then went back to work without a word. I was getting annoyed. Why would he do this? Had they promised him something in return? What could they have offered that would make him help bring such pain to his fellow man?
"Look back into my eyes killer. Today is your last!"
A long moment of silence passed. What followed was a sound I'd never heard before, a great shrill cackling resonated throughout the gardens. It was a sound of evil. Link turned and walked toward me. To my horror, I realized it was he that was making the terrible noise.
"Isn't it funny how one can be accurate without being correct?"
"Go ahead arbiter, do your worst!"
I froze. I'd never killed someone before, no matter what'd happened I'd always made sure to vote for obscure people that no one suspected, I'd never shown up to the lynchings, and I was certainly never the killer.
What if this was for nothing? What if Link was innocent? What if I was losing the humanity I had tried so desperately to hang on to?
I felt something swell inside me, it overpowered the sorrow, the fear, the anger. Until all that was left was determination, a determination to do what was right, to end this! If my humanity was the cost, I'd gladly pay it.
"Justice will be done."
I pulled out the trigger and ended it.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"You fool. Did you really think you could defy us? Did you really think killing one person would stop us? Killing, the very thing we draw power from? As we speak a toxic cloud of smoke is filling the facility poised to kill everyone and complete the ritual, and it's all thanks to you. Your righteous indignation made you the perfect person to play the role."
"None can escape our will"
Jak was terrified. He wasn't scared of the pain, no he'd learned how to deal with the pain. He was scared of becoming like them. Without compassion, without remorse, without love.
Jak was angry. Angry that no one would help him. Angry that people could give up so easily. Angry that no matter what he did, it never helped.
But above all Jak was determined. He was determined to break free. He was determined to help these people learn to love again, to trust again. He was determined to keep a hold on his humanity, as it is our only hope. He was determined not to lose hope, because without hope man is but an animal, torn down to nothing but its most primal instincts. Determined not to become a puppet to "The Dark Ones", to become yet another instrument in this never ending symphony of pain.
Which is why they chose him.
From very instant the doors shut Jak felt different, like he had the power to make a difference.
He spent days wandering the the facility, looking for something, anything out of the ordinary. On the fourth day he found it.
Explosives, about 200 pounds of them complete with a detonation trigger.
Jak knew what had to be done with them. He'd felt it in his gut the very first time he'd laid eyes on him. There was something off about Link, he could feel it in his bones. He must have been working with the Dark Ones. Jak didn't like the way he was always holed up in the greenhouse feverishly tending to those plants, providing key ingredients for the ritual no doubt. He was a killer, anyone who actively participated in this cycle of death was a killer.
Jak knew he had to be dealt with, he knew that somehow what Link was doing in there was important to the ritual and had to be stopped.
I walked into the room trigger in hand, prepared to give my life to put an end to this madness.
Link heard me, sighed and turned around impatiently. When he saw me he looked surprised, then went back to work without a word. I was getting annoyed. Why would he do this? Had they promised him something in return? What could they have offered that would make him help bring such pain to his fellow man?
"Look back into my eyes killer. Today is your last!"
A long moment of silence passed. What followed was a sound I'd never heard before, a great shrill cackling resonated throughout the gardens. It was a sound of evil. Link turned and walked toward me. To my horror, I realized it was he that was making the terrible noise.
"Isn't it funny how one can be accurate without being correct?"
"Go ahead arbiter, do your worst!"
I froze. I'd never killed someone before, no matter what'd happened I'd always made sure to vote for obscure people that no one suspected, I'd never shown up to the lynchings, and I was certainly never the killer.
What if this was for nothing? What if Link was innocent? What if I was losing the humanity I had tried so desperately to hang on to?
I felt something swell inside me, it overpowered the sorrow, the fear, the anger. Until all that was left was determination, a determination to do what was right, to end this! If my humanity was the cost, I'd gladly pay it.
"Justice will be done."
I pulled out the trigger and ended it.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"You fool. Did you really think you could defy us? Did you really think killing one person would stop us? Killing, the very thing we draw power from? As we speak a toxic cloud of smoke is filling the facility poised to kill everyone and complete the ritual, and it's all thanks to you. Your righteous indignation made you the perfect person to play the role."
"None can escape our will"
