The Dark Deceptor - Chapter 6 Darkness end

The Senior’s screams grew louder, his voice hoarse from shouting. 

“Let me go! You’ll pay for this, Ryder! You’ll all pay!”

Ryder’s expression remained unyielding, his eyes cold and hard. He stepped closer to the Senior, his foot hovering over the mangled knee.

“No,” the Senior begged, his eyes wide with terror. “NO STAY AWAY, don’t come closer!”

Ryder’s boot came down on the Senior’s knee, grinding into the wound. The Senior’s screams reached a fever pitch, his body thrashing wildly.

The soldiers watched in horror, their faces pale and sickly. Some of them looked away, unable to bear the sight. Others seemed transfixed, their eyes fixed on Ryder’s merciless expression.

Arkhan’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Ryder. Lucas’s mouth hung open, his mind reeling with shock.

The driver, witnessing the Senior’s brutal treatment, turned to flee in terror. But before he could take two steps, Arkhan’s gun was raised, and a single shot rang out.

The driver’s body jerked backward, a red stain spreading across his chest. He crumpled to the ground, dead before he hit the floor.

The soldiers gasped, shocked by Arkhan’s swift and deadly action. Ryder didn’t flinch, his focus still on the Senior.

“Anyone else want to leave?” Arkhan asked, his voice cold and detached, scanning the room.

The soldiers exchanged nervous glances, frozen in fear. Lucas’s eyes darted between Arkhan and Ryder, his mind racing with the implications.

The Senior, still screaming in agony, begged for mercy. Ryder’s boot remained on his knee, grinding into the wound.

Lucas took a step forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. “Guys, stop this. Whatever you’re trying to achieve, this isn’t the way. You’re crossing a line.”

Ryder’s gaze flicked to Lucas, his expression unyielding. “Stay out of this, Lucas. This doesn’t concern you.”

Arkhan’s eyes narrowed, his gun still trained on the soldiers. “Lucas, you need to understand. This is necessary. We can’t let them walk all over us.”

Lucas shook his head, his voice firm. “Necessary? This is torture, Arkhan. This is murder. We’re better than this. We’re soldiers, not thugs.”

The Senior’s screams had subsided into whimpers, his body shaking with pain. Ryder’s boot still ground into his knee, but his gaze was fixed on Lucas, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Arkhan’s voice rose, his words dripping with venom. “Are you trying to say that this motherfucker doesn’t deserve this, huh? After everything he’s done, you think he deserves mercy eh?”

Lucas stood his ground, despite the hostility. “Deserve it? That’s not the point. We can’t become what we hate. We can’t sink to their level.”

Ryder snorted, his boot still grinding into the Senior’s knee. “You’re too soft, Lucas. This is war. There’s no room for weakness.”

The Senior, still whimpering, looked up at Lucas with a glimmer of hope. Arkhan’s expression twisted in disgust.

“You want to save him? He’s a monster, Lucas. He’s responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people.”

Lucas’s voice remained firm. “I’m not trying to save him. I’m trying to save us. From ourselves.”

“ These words only sound good in fairy tales, not here .” 

Arkhan’s gaze swept across the soldiers, his eyes blazing with intensity. “Heh, save ourselves? You’re too late for that, Lucas. We’re already lost.”

He turned back to the Senior, his voice dripping with venom.

 “Did he even suffer 1 percentage of what we did today? Tell me, did he?”

The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, their faces reflecting a mix of emotions. Some nodded in agreement with Arkhan, while others looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

One soldier, Jenkins, spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper.

 “No, Arkhan. He didn’t. He’s been in the office enjoying, while we’ve been fighting for our lives.”

Arkhan’s smile was a thin, cruel line. “Exactly. And now, it’s his turn .”

Ryder’s boot pressed harder into the Senior’s knee, making him scream again. 

“ARGHHH STOP IT !!! .

Lucas’s eyes closed, his face pale with horror.

Arkhan nodded to Ryder, a silent understanding passing between them.

 “Take the lead, Ryder. Finish this.”

Ryder’s expression was grim, his eyes cold.

 “Get them in the car,”

 he ordered, gesturing to the Senior and the driver’s lifeless body.

The soldiers hesitated, but Arkhan’s glare pushed them into action. 

They dragged the Senior, still whimpering in pain, and the driver’s body to the car.

Ryder’s voice was detached, his words chilling.

 “We’ll make it look like they hit a mine. A tragic accident.”

The soldiers exchanged glances which expressed the feeling of understanding. They placed the bodies in the car, the Senior’s screams muffled as they closed the doors.

Ryder doused the car in fuel, the smell of gasoline hanging heavy in the air.

The senior screaming from inside 

“ HEY YOU CAN’T DO THIS FREE ME LET ME GO PLEASE !! PLEASE !! .”

 He lit a match, the flames engulfing the car in a matter of seconds.

The soldiers watched in silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the Senior’s muffled screams. 

Lucas turned away, his eyes closed, unable to bear witness to the horror.

Arkhan’s voice was low, his eyes scanning the soldiers’ faces. “Guys, I’m not doing this because I held a personal grudge against him. I just don’t want another Tyler from among us. I am sorry for this.”

The soldiers looked at each other uncertainly, some nodding in understanding, others seeming unconvinced.

Ryder’s expression remained grim, but a hint of approval flickered in his eyes.

 “We can’t afford to show weakness, not now. Not ever.”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed, his voice laced with skepticism. 

“Is that what this is about? Protecting us from ourselves?”

Arkhan’s gaze met Lucas’s, a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. “I’m trying to protect us from what we might become. From what we’ve already become.”

The flames from the burning car crackled, casting eerie shadows on the surrounding faces.

Lucas’s face twisted in anguish, his voice cracking.

 “There’s no hope in this war, Arkhan! We’re just making it worse! We’re becoming the monsters we’re fighting against!”

Arkhan’s expression turned stern, but Lucas continued, his words spilling out in a torrent.

“We’re killing innocents, torturing prisoners, and burning cars with people inside! What’s the point of it all? We’re not winning, we’re just surviving. And for what?”

“ From What angle does that son of a bitch looked innocent to you?”

“ THAT DOESN’T MATTER !!”

“ THEN WHAT THE FUCK IS THERE THAT MATTERS !? TELL ME ! .”

Ryder stepped forward, his hand on the grip of his gun.

 “Lucas, that’s enough.”

But Lucas wouldn’t be silenced. 

“No, it’s not enough! We need to stop this, Arkhan. We need to find another way.”

The soldiers looked on, some with concern, others with contempt. Arkhan’s face was a mask of stone, but his eyes betrayed a glimmer of doubt.

“ There are no choices in this war nor will they be provided .”

Lucas’s voice cracked, and he began to sob, his body shaking with convulsive gasps.

 “What am I supposed to tell Tyler’s wife? What do I say to his 4-year-old girl? ‘Daddy’s not coming home ?”

Arkhan’s expression faltered, his eyes darting away, unable to meet Lucas’s gaze. Ryder’s grip on his gun tightened, his jaw clenched in anger.

Lucas’s tears flowed uncontrollably, his words barely intelligible.

 “We’re not soldiers, we’re monsters. We’re no better than the enemy.”

The soldiers looked on, some with discomfort, others with shame. Arkhan’s voice was barely above a whisper.

 “Lucas, stop. Please.”

But Lucas couldn’t stop. His grief and guilt consumed him, his body wracked with sobs. 

“Tyler was my family, a brother. And we got him killed . We got him killed, Arkhan.”

Lucas’s sobs slowly subside, replaced by a determined look. 

“We need to stop this, Arkhan. We can’t keep going down this path. We’re losing ourselves, our humanity.”

Arkhan’s expression is a mix of sadness and frustration. 

“I know, Lucas. But what choice do we have? We’re in a war. We have to make tough decisions to survive.”

Lucas shakes his head. 

“That’s just it, Arkhan. We’re not surviving. We’re just existing. And at what cost?”

Arkhan’s voice drops to a whisper, his eyes clouding over. “At the cost of seeing our families again, Lucas. Of holding our loved ones in our arms. We’re doing this for them, for our future.”

Lucas’s gaze falters, his anger wavering. He thinks of his own family, his wife and children, and the pain of being away from them for so long.

“But at what cost, Arkhan?” Lucas asks, his voice barely above a whisper. “Our humanity? Our souls?”

Arkhan’s expression hardens, his jaw clenched. “We’ll do whatever it takes to survive, Lucas. Whatever it takes to make it back home.”

The two men lock eyes, the tension between them palpable. The other soldiers watch in silence, unsure of what to make of the confrontation.

Lucas’s hand trembles as he raises his gun, his eyes welling up with tears. “I can’t do this, Arkhan. I can’t face anyone. Tyler’s wife, my wife, my children… I’ve let them all down.”

Arkhan’s expression turns white, his voice shaking. “Lucas, no! Don’t do this!”

Ryder lunges forward, trying to grab the gun, but Lucas holds him off.

“I’ve seen too much, done too much,” Lucas whispers, his finger hovering over the trigger. “I’m not a soldier anymore. I’m a monster.”

The soldiers watch in horror, frozen in place. Arkhan tries to reason with Lucas, but he’s beyond consolation.

Arkhan quickly ran towards him to remove his gun, a desperate plea 

 “LUCAS STOPPPPP!!!!!!!!”

But it’s too late. Lucas’s finger tightens around the trigger, and the gun fires with a deafening crash. The soldiers watch in horror as Lucas’s body jerks backward, his eyes frozen in a permanent stare.

The sound of the gunshot hangs in the air, a haunting silence following in its wake. Arkhan rushes to Lucas’s side, cradling his friend’s lifeless body in his arms.

“No, no, no… no!” Arkhan whispers, his voice shattered by grief.

Ryder looks on, his face ashen, while the other soldiers stand frozen in shock. The weight of their actions, the true cost of their choices, settles heavy on their shoulders.