The Light That Follows Darkness

The electricity coursing through my body made me gasp for air.

It had been weeks since I made the deal with the chief, trading my life for the twins.

The chief was ecstatic by my proposal, seeing it as an opportunity to vent his full fury and malice on me. He took over the experiments and torture himself, leaving Rick and Carlo out of the picture.

Their absence filled me with dread. The last time they vanished for so long, they came back with the twins in tow, which meant they were hunting again, looking for new victims. I had a bad feeling that this time, their catch would spell trouble for me.

…The chief inflicted unspeakable pain on me, using every means of torture he could devise. He submerged me, scorched me, sliced me, and electrocuted me, which he was doing right now.

My body shrieked, writhed, and pleaded through this ordeal. I wanted it to stop, but I refused to let the chief break me. Every time I was close to giving up from the unbearable pain, I remembered the people I had to protect. My mother, my sister, Lana, the twins, and even Eve.

I couldn't give up until I fulfilled the desire burning in me, revenge. The desire for revenge was smoldering slowly and fiercely in me every day, gnawing on me like a beast devouring its prey.

However, not everything that happened to me was bad. Every time I was tossed in the sick bay, I had the lovely and gentle Lana tend to me, and every time I was thrown in my cell, I had the twins and Eve comfort me.

Seeing the twins and Lana smile, and Eve still with me, made all that I went through feel like a breeze.

Today, after the chief was finished with his routine of torture, I was sent to the sick bay to be treated.

Lana was there as usual with her smile, and even though she was worried about me, she always smiled.

When she saw me thrown on the bed like always, she looked at me and asked: "How are you feeling?"

I coughed up some blood and croaked: "Like shit."

We both chuckled while she used a piece of cloth to wipe the blood from my mouth.

I looked at Lana and said: “Thank you Lana like always. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

She grinned and said: “As long as you’re alive, Xeno, it’s nothing to me. I also heard from Ryuji that you’re quite the ladies’ man these days. When you come here, you get pampered by me and when you go back to your cell, you get spoiled by beautiful twins. Lucky you, Casanova.”

Even though she grinned, I could feel the pressure radiating from her. She was terrifying, extremely terrifying.

Damn that Ryuji, does he want me to be killed by them before I can escape from this facility? I’ll give him a piece of my mind when I see that loudmouth.

I swallowed and tried to change the topic by asking Lana: “Speaking of that damn Ryuji. Where is he? I haven’t seen him for the past few times I came here to the sick bay. Is he here by any chance? If he is, could you please call him for me? I have something important to talk to him about. Also, please bring me a pen and paper like you usually do. Thanks, Lana. You’re the best.”

Lana looked at me and sighed.

She then replied: “Sure, I’ll call him. However, don’t you dare forget that I’m always the best, okay?”

I nodded quickly, fearing for my life from the look she gave me.

Time passed while I rested in my bed.

I was startled awake by the sound of the curtains slamming and Ryuji storming in. He held a piece of paper and a pen in his hand.

He smirked when he saw me, like a kid who nailed a prank on one of his friends.

I glared at him and hissed: “You loudmouth piece of shit. Do you want me to die?”

He chuckled and said: “Sorry, sorry. I wanted to see how those women would react when they found out. Part of me wanted to mess with you and the other part wanted to get even with you because I’m jealous. Come on, I’m a man you know, you should understand, right?”

I snorted and said: “If you weren’t one of the few people who is helping me in this facility, I would have cut off your balls.”

He laughed and said: “Ooh. Scary, scaryyy.”

We both chuckled for a moment.

However, I hardened my expression after that and said: “You know why I called you, right?”

Ryuji nodded and handed me the paper and the pen. He then whispered: “Let’s do what we always do. By now the guards think that the arguments between you and me are a way to blow off some steam, so they won’t bother us.”

I nodded and started writing on the paper while bickering with Ryuji as a cover: “Ryuji, I know you don’t mean any harm by your actions, but I’m wary of hidden agendas since I’ve lived all my life with people who befriended me for their own purposes. All I want from you is the truth, Ryuji, and make sure it’s the whole truth. Because if I sense that you’re hiding anything, I’ll end this conversation and never associate with you or accept your help again.”

He nodded and grabbed the paper from me. He wrote: “I promise to be fully truthful. Tell me what you want to know?”

I snatched back the paper and wrote while keeping up the argument with Ryuji: “I want to know everything. Why are you here? What brought you here? What are your motives for helping me? Everything, Ryuji, no matter how small it is.”

Ryuji looked reluctant for a moment, but then he nodded his head and took the paper from my hand.

He began writing. He wrote everything and the more he wrote, the more the anger started to boil in me.

He told me about his past, his parents and brother, the letter, his life after his parents’ death, and the reason he was here.

I was stunned. I felt so stunned that I spent a few minutes processing all that he told me.

Before I could react in any way, Ryuji continued to write. This time he penned the following: “I don’t want any sympathy or any consolation. The only thing I need from you is help. Help to get ‘Revenge’. I spent my whole life working alone, not trusting anyone. However, Xeno, you made me feel different. You reminded me of my brother, my flesh and blood. You have the same smile, the same look, the same wittiness and intelligence, the same fire and drive that he once had. I didn’t want to ask for your help at first, but something inside of me screamed to ask you. I don’t know how to explain this feeling, but what I know is this, Xeno. If you help me, I swear I will forever be loyal to you. Be it a friend, brother, or subordinate, I don’t care. All that I care about is revenge. So, are you willing to accept my offer?”

I smiled from the bottom of my heart and held out my hand to Ryuji.

I said: “I don’t know how much I can help you, but I swear on everything that is precious to me and on my name that I will help you in any way possible, since you are not the only one seeking vengeance.”

Ryuji took my hand and smiled genuinely from the bottom of his heart for the first time since we met.

This was the story of how I made a pact with my right-hand man and my sworn brother who later will face the world with me.

However, that is a story for another time.