Rothester

Chapter 9: Conflict Escalation

Everything is a blur. The night is cold, and the desert environment is unforgiving. Why is he here? What is he looking at?

Ken lays on the ground with a rifle in hand, hiding next to some dead bushes on a hill. The moon shines through the clouds, yet he can not clearly see. There are a dozen pickup trucks in the distance in the middle of an endless desert. He looks through his binoculars. His mind is fuzzy, and his vision is blurry, but he knows exactly what he is looking at.

The trucks are parked in an arc. Their headlights shine bright and converge over a single spot. A man is struggling on the floor, kicking up dust. Legs and arms tied, he is struggling for his life. Blindfolded and scared, it would be his last day of life. Men are joking, taunting, and laughing all around. He can hear their voices from a distance. They are making bets on how he would be tortured and killed.

Standing over the struggling man was another man holding a gun. Someone else stands beside him. His head hangs low as if he had failed. Ken can not clearly see their faces. He knows exactly what was happening, but it is all a blur. As he observes, he feels rage but can't vent. He isn't meant to be seen or to act, only to observe. He feels his mind drifting in and out of focus as if time is stopping or slowing down. It doesn't feel real.

The man with the gun puffs on his cigar, looks at the other man standing next to him, and shakes his head. He feels disappointed. His head swivels from the man struggling on the ground to the man standing next to him. Everyone else continues to heckle from their vehicles.

This scene feels familiar, but Ken can't yet figure it out. He somehow knows what was about to happen but can not stop it.

What is this? What is happening? Why is this happening? Among other questions—who pulled the trigger? Who died?

The answer is simple, but Ken refuses to accept it. One person wouldn't die. Instead, two already died. The man raises his gun, not at the blindfolded and tied man on the ground, but instead to his comrade beside him. Is this betrayal? No one surrounding them thinks so. Without flinching, a yellow flash. The body falls.

Ken's eyes widen. He remains silent. He continues to watch as he feels his senses coming back to him. His vision is becoming clearer. The blur and haze begin to dissipate as he becomes sober by the second.

This isn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen. The man continues to ferociously struggle, only this time right next to one of his dead captors. No, this can't have happened. It shouldn't have happened. That is no man. Ken's realization becomes a horrifying punch to the face. His past actions and mistakes invade his mind. Everything he thinks he did right was wrong; he caused this. That is no man. That person is too innocent. The one with the gun kicks the corpse and turns him over before aiming his gun at the man still struggling. Now everything is clear. Through the binoculars, Ken can now clearly see the face of the once fuzzy silhouette. Another bang and a bright flash engulf his vision.

That was no man.

"Ah!"

"Ken, get up!"

Matt slaps his face repeatedly. Feeling the pain, Ken looks around frantically. He is sweating.

"Ken!" Matt continues to slap his face.

"What!? What the fuck are you doing!" Ken yells and pushes him away. He stands up in his bed and rubs his eyes. The blur and haze are all gone, and his senses feel normal. Was that a dream?

"Get the fuck up, Ken, and get your gun! We gotta go!"

Ken gets out of bed and quickly begins to get dressed, not yet knowing what is happening. He did so because of Matt's urgency.