AGE OF INSANITY

Chapter 21: The Tortured

Marcus P.O.V

When the day started I had expected to fight. To be honest I was anticipating it. When I had enlisted in the army I had wanted to die but had been too cowardly to do it myself. The opportunity to go to war could not have come at a better time. Enlisting did not just save me it had given me a sense of purpose, that I had all but given up on. I saw things in the field that I did not care to recall and yet those memories plagued my dreams. I could not recall the last time I had a decent night's sleep, not that I deserved it, after all that I had done. I believed the war had me shown the worst humanity had to offer and yet nothing prepared for the scene that was unfolding in front of me.

I may have brought Melissa's attention to the presence of the pets, however, I drew a line at codling the creatures. Their excitability and their fragility did not appeal to me and so instead of taking them in I opted to go scouting the woods. Charles had raised concerns about his previous encounter and he was not one to cry wolf. Unlike Charles I had not had any previous encounters with the prisoners and woefully armed with a word of caution, I had set out on my own. It wasn't long before I came across a freshly formed path. The flowers that had been trudged had yet to completely dry. Without much thought I decided to see where it would lead to. I pulled out my gun and sought cover from the trees while keeping an eye on the path. It wasn't long before I came to a clearing barricaded by prison transportation vehicles.

Chained together in middle of the clearing, judging by their uniforms, were a dozen guards or at least what was left of them. The men were in a horrid state just barely clinging to life. they had been brutalized their bodies hanging together by tendons, their faces too swollen to even show emotions. A shadow of a scream drew my attention away from the tortured men to a man who was having being skinned alive. A dwarf of a man held a surgical razor in his hands that he used to slice the man while pulling his skin away from is flesh with a pair of forceps.

A group of about two dozen men sat and watched on in silence as the poor man who had already undergone torture screamed with what ever strength he had left. Next to the table on which he had been tied to was another man whose entire face and half of his chest had been peeled. He lay unmoving on the ground and I found myself praying, for the first time in a long time, that he was dead. Unable to withstand the injustice anymore I aimed my gun shooting the dwarf square in the forehead. The onlookers were up on their feet in a instant searching wildly for the shooter. I took out five more before they spotted me. I was outnumbered about twenty to one and despite the fact that the prisoners lacked my special training they could still destroy me and they would even if they had to sacrifice a few more.

I took off in the direction of the house. With Charles help we would even out the odds. I did not make it far before an axe came whittling past the trees hitting me on the back of my head. The force of axe took me down causing me to black out. I regained consciousness a few seconds later only to find myself tumbling down a slippery path. My back hit a tree trunk violently stopping my tumble. I inhaled sharply as the pain shot across my body diming my eyes again. I fought against the darkness determined not to pass out again. I struggled to my feet using the tree for support and limped away as quickly as I could. My ankle was sprained my left shoulder was dislocated and my head throbbed as I felt blood trickle down my back.

Every step brought me pain but stopping was unthinkable. the horrors that I had seen propelled me on until I finally saw the gate. My heart stopped and my feet slowed as Melissa came into view. In my haste I had not accounted for Mellissa presence and for Charles absence upon reaching the shelter. I could not see Charles anywhere and behind me I could hear the prisoners gaining on me. I had to warn tell her to go hide. I did not what to imagine what they would do to her if they ever found her. my slowed feet found purpose again as I stumbled into the compound. I made a few steps towards her before the black spots in vision widen blacking out everything. The last thing I saw was Melissa pulling out a gun and shouting at someone before I lost consciousness.

I came to, to find Melisa's worried face searching mine. A flood of relief, that only lasted as few seconds, swept through me as I realized Charles was missing. I dragged my body up only to be rewarded by a vicious throb. I fought against the need to lie down, choosing instead to get on my feet, blood rushed to my head causing me to falter. Melisa's strong hands steadied me and helped me out the door. she placed a gun in my hands at the door and disappeared into the night. I followed her to find Charles being strangled. I raised my gun but Melissa beat me to it aiming for the man's temple. As Charles struggled to catch his breath another man advanced and I took him out too. The next half hour was spent handling the prisoners until finally the last of them fell down.

"Wohoo!" Melissa cheered out loud gun up in the air.

"Now that is what I call fun!" she laughed spinning in circles robbing me of precious air. I had never seen her this excited before. If anything I was pretty convinced that she was incapable of it.