No More Pain

Chapter 20: Babel

MUMFORD & SONS LYRICS

"Babel"

'Cause I know that time has numbered my days
And I'll go along with everything you say
But I'll ride home laughing, look at me now
The walls of my town, they come crumbling down

And my ears hear the call of my unborn sons
And I know their choices color all I've done
But I'll explain it all to the watchman's son,
I ain't ever lived a year better spent in love

'Cause I'll know my weakness, know my voice
And I'll believe in grace and choice
And I know perhaps my heart is farce,
But I'll be born without a mask

Like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride,
I stretched my arms into the sky
I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now
Then the walls of my town, they come crumbling down

You ask where will we stand in the winds that will howl,
As all we see will slip into the cloud
So come down from your mountain and stand where we've been,
You know our breath is weak and our body thin

Press my nose up, to the glass around your heart
I should've known I was weaker from the start,
You'll build your walls and I will play my bloody part
To tear, tear them down,
Well I'm gonna tear, tear them down

'Cause I know my weakness, know my voice,
And I'll believe in grace and choice
And I know perhaps my heart is farce,
But I'll be born without a mask

He was on his knees, hands locked behind his head, eyes staring straight forward as he awaited punishment. He could hear Russian words spoken around him but could not identify the voices or even what was being said. His stomach felt nauseous and he swallowed as the anticipation of pain creeped up his spine. His body tensed as he braced himself at the crack of a whip. The first lash came soon after then another and another, his body remained motionless as his mind screamed in pain. His back felt like fire and he fought to remain in control, bitting down on his lip so hard it bleed. The lashes were relentless, and the man in charge of his punishment was grunting with cruel pleasure, the sound not different from those of the strike team who had dominated the South African girl. He could hear the sadistic laughter around him as his blood flowed down his shredded back and pooled around his knees.

He was shaking hard as he struggled to remain in First position, the pain overwhelming. Just as he thought he would be unable to comply with his order to remain still, a figure appeared out of nowhere, materializing in front of the kneeling Soldier. He recognized the man as James Buchanan Barnes, dressed in dingy clothes. He wore a haggard expression, looking pale and exhausted but with a sense of purpose and conviction in his stare. He had a pistol in his hand and he looked at the Soldier with a mixture of emotion. The whip did not stop, the punishment continued as the Soldier looked up at Barnes with pleading eyes.

"You can end this!........ You can make it stop right now!" Barnes addressed the kneeling Asset with a voice that bit back resentment and contempt.

"How?" The Weapon asked with a trembling whimper as the whip connected once more with his battered flesh. James Barnes took a few steps forward and pressed the barrel of the gun to the Soldier's forehead.

"Just say the word........ I will end your suffering,..... I can make this all go away.......... No More Pain!" Barnes' voice held a mixture of sympathy and frustration. The whip sliced through the air and the Soldier let out an anguished cry as his wide eyes looked up at James pleading.

"I..... want to live...... Please?" The Soldier begged with a desperate cry as he shook violently. Barnes' expression hardened as his jaw locked and his eyes bore into the Soldier's. Suddenly he raised the gun and fired it at the Russian voices and the man with the whip, silencing the grunting and laughter. James Barnes let out a frustrated sigh as the Soldier collapsed forward onto his hands as he began to sob. Barnes knelt down before the Soldier and lifted his chin softly, their eyes meeting.