Seven Chances In Another World

Chapter 19: The Bringer Of Death

Zain opened his eyes and realized he was not dead. He tilted his head to the side and saw the giant rock in front of him. Memories started flowing in his head as his eyes flashed wide, and he sat up, glancing around in bewilderment.

"Hello." He saw Shadi sitting down on the floor, poking the grass. "Finally awake. You took your sweet time. Six months."

"Sorry… I… I was stabbed, and…"

"Your wound healed. Only a scar is left. Don't worry about it," Shadi smiled at him. "I'm glad you survived."

Zain stared at him, confused. "W-Wait… Fahd. He was with me. He…"

"I don't know where you were, but I found you two next to the main hall." Shadi started. "You were already unconscious, but Fahd wasn't. When I saw him at first, I thought he was dead, but he was drugged and stabbed. I don't know what else he went through, but that's the final result."

Zain clenched his fists. "Where is he? I want to talk to him."

"He woke up one month before you. His wound is still not healed. For some reason, his healing rate is slow, but he's awake at least." Shadi pointed at the corner of the room. "He should be over there. He didn't eat, drink or talk ever since he woke up. I tried to talk to him, but he won't listen. It feels like he's still affected by the drug, or maybe it's something else."

Zain stood up. "Thanks."

"We still can't find Rania," Shadi added, and Zain smiled. "Yeah. Sure."

He walked towards the corner of the room and found Fahd sitting in silence, head tilted backwards. His hair colour had changed completely, and Zain could barely recognize him. His hair was white. He didn't seem to notice Zain approaching.

The brown-haired sat in front of him and touched his shoulder gently as Fahd gasped and curled up against himself, shaking and breathing heavily. Zain felt his heart shattering, staring at him in that state. He held him tightly and ran a hand through his hair. "It's me. Zain. I'm alive, thanks to you," he whispered. "You bandaged my wound and carried me all the way down to the main hall."

He gritted his teeth, hearing no reply. He could feel the younger man trembling from fear but hugged him anyway until his body relaxed into his hold.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk to me. I'll talk."

Zain sat down comfortably and rested Fahd's head against his chest. He caressed his soft white hair and held his hand for comfort. Zain stared down at the floor for a while before talking. "I was born without a father. He died long before I can remember. My mother refused to get married after him, no matter how many men asked for her hand. She raised me alone, and I had no other siblings. I didn't realize how poor we were until I wanted to go to college. I remember my mother was counting her savings. She was about to sell the only thing my father left her: her gold ring. When I saw that, I told her I was going to enrol in the army. I had high chances of getting accepted, and I went for the land army. I was a hard worker, so I managed to survive the rhythm. Years went by, and I had a job. I could support myself financially. I also sent money to my mother monthly and visited her as often as I could. We had nice neighbours, so I never worried about her feeling too lonely."

He closed his eyes. "One day, I was framed in some case and got kicked out of the army. I went to jail for some time. After that, I worked in different jobs to survive. However, people never give us a chance to start over. Finding a job is hard, but it gets harder if you went to jail. They wouldn't care whether you really did it or you were framed. They only care about what can be proved. My innocence never came to light, and I remained a criminal in the eyes of everyone, even my mother. I moved back to her house and found out that she was badly ill. The treatment was too expensive for me."

He smiled. "I did my best. I borrowed from people. I worked three jobs at once. I tried everything, but I could never get enough money. I could barely buy us food and basic medicines and pay the bills. If I had my old job in the army, I would have been able to pay, but I had nothing. All the army left me with are memories of those who fought with me and died in my arms. All I was left with is seeing death again and again, but it rejected me again and again. I lived despite dying so many times. I lived despite losing so many people dear to me, people I shared a meal with at dawn then shared the earth that swallowed them at noon. I had no money, and one job came up."

He gritted his teeth and forced a smile. "I sold my body. That was the only choice I had left," he whispered. "But it wasn't enough. It was never enough, and again, my mother died in my arms. I lost one more person despite sacrificing so much. I… quit prostitution right after her death, but people wouldn't let me quit. They would often force me in their homes and rape the hell out of me. I didn't care. I thought I deserved it. I thought I was born to lose, even lose my own dignity. I had none left, and I became the doormat of some rich businessmen. I became ill and nearly died. I spent months at the hospital alone. I thought I was finally going to die, but I didn't. Death wouldn't visit me, and angels wouldn't show up. It wasn't my time to go, and I secretly hated it."

He took a deep, shuddering breath. "After leaving the hospital, I had nothing on me. No ID, no money, nothing. I was desperate. I wished for death. I would cross the streets without looking, but no cars would hit me. I cursed myself. I thought maybe I was the one bringing death to those around me. Maybe I was guilty of their pain. I was losing my mind, and in that madness, I considered suicide. One sunset, I was sitting at the beach, and I decided to drown myself. There was nobody there. Nobody would save me. I was a good swimmer, but I decided not to struggle. I wanted to die. When I blacked out underwater, someone saved me. It was a girl. She scolded me so much, but when she saw the placidity in my eyes, she hugged me. Her love ignited my dead heart. We fell in love. She took me in. I was a useless man with a dirty past, and she accepted all of me. We got married. I even had a new job. I… promised to keep her safe. I…"

Zain swallowed hard. "I promised…" he breathed, "But she died of cancer. She didn't tell me that she suffered from it already when she saved me. When I realized it, it was too late. I… couldn't… get her enough money!"

He gasped, breaking into tears. "I… couldn't save her! I… I was a failure. I couldn't save my friends in battle. I couldn't save my mother in sickness. I couldn't save my wife from cancer. I… couldn't save anyone. I was a curse. I felt guilty for being alive. I… wanted to die. I wanted to die so badly!" he screamed in a whisper, "One day, in the early morning, I wanted to go buy poison. On my way back, I bumped into a black-haired man, and the bottle of poison broke and shattered on the floor. I was outraged, but when I looked at the man and saw his shiny grey eyes, I thought he was one of the people who used to rape me and… got terrified for some reason. I thought he would kill me, but the man smiled and pointed down. I had dropped a letter he was carrying. The letter was sent to someone called Jibreel. I apologized and gave him the letter back, and when I looked down, the broken bottle and the poison were no longer there. I looked up, and the man was gone. I stayed there in the same spot for three hours straight, just looking into space. That same night, I… saw the announcement on the website in a net café and decided to go. That night, I saw you. I was in my most unstable states back then. I was… I don’t know… I wasn’t myself. After seeing that grey-eyed, it felt as if my whole perception of the world changed, and I still don’t know why."

Zain paused to catch his breaths. "That didn't erase any memories of my past. I still remember everything painfully well, and I don't think I will ever forget. Fahd, when I saw you, I thought… maybe we can become friends. I didn't find the right way to approach you, so I barged in with anger, and you got angry. It was the worst start for a friendship, I know. It's just that it has been so long since I… became friends with someone. It has been… years… I… Sometimes I forget the most basic things like smiling and shaking hands. I… get angry for no reason and… I can't express myself correctly. I'm… I still… I still wanted to keep everyone here safe. After we got closer and hated each other less, I wanted to protect you. I didn't want anyone else to die. I… When you collapsed a year ago, I… I nearly collapsed myself. I don't think I can ever handle seeing someone else dying in front of my eyes. If it means that I must die first, then so be it… If I couldn't die, then that meant that I must protect those around me. I must become strong enough and even beyond that. That is why I trained my body. I… wanted to protect. I had no money to use a gym, but used up tires and long runs on the beach did the job."

He glanced down at Fahd, smile weakening. "I'm not the savage beast you thought I was, right? I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't have any nice stories to tell. This is who I am, the full story."

He saw tears on Fahd's cheeks and wiped them away. "Aren't you afraid of me now? I'm a bringer of death. Look. You almost got killed because of me. I won't blame you if you wish to run away from me."

He blinked as Fahd held his hand and stood up. Fahd helped him stand and dragged him towards the bathroom silently.

"Wh-What are you…" Zain blinked as Fahd locked the bathroom door and opened the hot water tap. "Fahd? What are you doing?" Fahd then pushed Zain against the wall and started breathing heavily. He grabbed Zain’s collar and grew closer to his face.