LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Chapter Six: Terror of the King

After spending a long time inside the building searching for a way to open the door to no avail, the four friends finally decided to leave the place. However, upon their exit, they were greeted by an unexpected surprise. In front of the building stood a group of strange men, armed and cautiously spread out. At the heart of this group emerged a dignified person, with a majestic and short white beard, who appeared to be the leader. His eyes followed the four friends with sharp glances, and with a gesture of his hand, he ordered his men to aim their weapons at them.

He said to them in a loud and sharp voice, “Don’t move a muscle, or we will shoot. Stand in your place, raise your hands, and kneel on your knees. This is your last warning. Hurry up.”

Alex tried to calm the situation and said to the man, “Stop, stop, don’t do that. We don’t want any trouble with you. We are just adventurers who came to this island. We don’t have anything worth killing us for.”

The leader paid no attention to Alex’s attempts to calm the situation and issued his command firmly: “Raise your hands high and kneel on your knees. I will not repeat my warning again. Hurry up, or we will have a problem.”

Alex realized that the man could not be convinced, and that dialogue with him would be futile. He cast a worried look at his friends, and with a serious tone, urged them, saying, “Follow his instructions without discussion, as our safety is now the most important thing.”

The four friends surrendered to the reality and sat on the ground with raised hands and bent knees. The man who appeared to be the leader approached them, and his looks betrayed malicious intentions.

With an authoritative voice, he introduced himself: “I am Blake, the leader of this group.” Then he turned to Alex and continued sarcastically, “It seems you are the leader here, but you all seem like those who carry small dreams. Do you think you will discover the secrets of this island and return as heroes?” Blake laughed before continuing, “We were like you when we arrived, full of hope. But after two years to no avail, we found nothing. Let me save you the trouble, for you are now detained with us. This island has become our new home.”

Alex says, “But what do you want from us? Let us go.”

Blake burst into a haughty laugh and said, “It seems you do not know the law of this world. The law is clear: the strong do what they want and take what they want, while the weak submit. This is how the world works. And with my strength and authority, I will be the ruler of this island. Tell me, what is your name?”

Alex remained silent, not answering. Blake pointed the gun at him and shouted, “Tell me your name!” With the gun aimed at his face, Alex replied calmly, “My name is Alex.”

Blake laughed sarcastically and commented, “Well done, you have quickly understood the law; the strong command, and the weak respond submissively.”

Alex asked cautiously, “What do you want from us?”

Blake smiled confidently and answered, “I am a forgiving person and lean towards justice, so I did not end your lives. I could easily kill you, but I will grant you pardon and take what I want.”

Jack says with anger in his eyes, “And what do you want, you?”

Blake replied with a superior tone, “That angry look does not please me. It seems you have not yet understood the situation. I am the leader here, and you are nothing but weak. The weak do not have the right to look at their leader with eyes full of hatred. When I ask you for something, you must present it with all submission.”

Alex says: “ what do you want us to give you?”

Blake clapped enthusiastically and said in a loud voice, “It seems there is a smart man here; this is what I like to hear from you. This is how one should address his master, saying ‘What do you want us to give you?’ And remember to add ‘sir’ when you receive an order, and now I command you to hand over these two ladies accompanying you.”

Alex replies, "I will never give you my crew members; they are my comrades."

Jack says, "Stay away from the girls, or else I'll kill you."

Blake laughed and said, “Oh, we have a strong one here. Your angry tone has intrigued me. But it seems I'm dealing with ignorant people. Do you want to finish me off? I never expected you to understand my words ever. This world works this way, you must show your strength with your actions, not with your words. And if the strong show their actions, the weak will submit this easily. So, I don’t expect you to understand my words, but I am confident that you will understand my actions.” Then he smiled a malicious smile and ordered his men to take the two girls.

Jack shouts, "Don't touch them, don't touch them, or I'll kill you."

Alex screams, "No, no, leave them alone."

Lena and Noor scream, "No, leave us, let us go, no, no," as they cry.

After all the screaming, Blake shouts, "Silence! If I hear more screaming, I'll kill everyone here." Then he orders his men to aim their guns at Jack and Alex.

Blake says, "Alright, Alex, I want you to let you and your friend go, but I know you'll try to get the girls back. So, what am I supposed to do with you? I don't like shedding blood, but if you persist, I'm afraid you'll leave me no choice. Therefore, I want to hear from you that you won't follow us after we leave you, forget about the girls, and live your life on this beautiful island. I have my territory, if I see you there, I'll kill you."

Alex says, "I'll kill you. I know I can't do it today or tomorrow, but someday."

Blake gets angry and says, "You don't leave me many choices. I fear you long for death."

Jack glares angrily at Blake and then says, "I'm the one who will kill you."

Blake stands up, then goes to Noor and Lena, and orders his men to put them on the ground. Then he directs the guns towards their heads and says to Jack and Alex, "If you scream, I'll kill them." Blake says to one of his followers, "Do you know that shooting in the head ends things easily? Do you know how things become harder?" Then Blake takes a knife and gives it to one of his men, then orders the other to pull his knife. Then Blake takes a knife and heads towards Alex and Jack.

Then he says, "You're making things difficult for me. I love peace and hate violence, but you only understand this language." Then he says to Jack, "You have a very strong look, but I don't like it. You're weak, and you should act accordingly. You, get up."

Jack slowly rises from the ground, and Blake hands him a pistol. Jack extends his hand to take the pistol while looking into Blake’s cold eyes, and says to him, “Point your gun at me.” Jack takes the pistol in his right hand, feeling its weight and coldness. Then he points it at Blake’s chest, who smiles sarcastically, and then orders his men, “If he shoots me, kill the two girls, then kill Alex.” Jack looks at the two girls who are trembling with fear, feeling regret and fear.

Alex says to Jack calmly and soothingly, "Calm down, Jack, put the gun down. Don't let him provoke you." Jack angrily throws the gun on the ground and looks at Blake with hatred. Blake says loudly, "I didn't tell you to throw the gun, carry it! Or are you afraid of me?" Jack picks up the gun again, feeling despair and distress. Then Blake says mockingly, "Point the gun at me. Come on, show me what you can do." Jack points the gun at Blake's face, looking at him defiantly. Breaths stop, and everyone waits for the decisive moment.

Blake says, "See? That's what I mean, that's the strength I told you about. I'm stronger than you, and you're weak, even though you have a gun, you can't do anything. So now, I order you to shoot Alex in the leg."

Jack replies, "No, I can't, I can't, please, I understand, you're the leader."

Blake replies, "No, you didn't understand. I'm the leader, and I order you to shoot, or else I'll kill one of the girls."

Jack looks at Lena and Noor, who are trembling in fear, and feels regret and fear.

Alex says to Jack calmly and soothingly, "Come on, Jack, do what he said, come on, shoot, it's okay."