Chapter 3 Forgiveness is forbidden - THE BARON OF THE COTTON FIELD

"He was behind me, where did he go?" I said, panic rising in my chest as I turned around wildly, searching every corner of the dark tunnel entrance.

My hands trembled badly. The cold air around us suddenly felt suffocating.

"Please let's just go. He is still at the tunnel, he will meet us later,"Yohanan said fearfully, her voice shaking as she grabbed my arm tightly.

"Are you asking me to leave my friend?" I said.

At that moment, every admiration I had for her disappeared. I stared at her in disbelief. How could she even suggest that? Leave Zack behind? My best friend?

I had known Zack since I was little. Our parents had been close even before we were born. We grew up together. Ate together. Fought together. Survived everything together.

And now she wanted me to abandon him?

I looked at her with disappointment burning in my eyes while she held my hands desperately.

"Please let's go, he is probably dead," she said softly.

I immediately pulled my hands away from hers.

"You can go, I'm not leaving without my best friend," I said firmly.

Without wasting another second, I turned around and was about to run back into the tunnel when I suddenly saw someone stumbling out from the darkness.

It was Zack.

He was running toward us, limping badly, covered in dust and blood.

"Zack?" I called out quickly and rushed toward him.

His breathing was rough. Sweat covered his face. One side of his shirt was torn open, revealing bruises across his shoulder.

"What happened?"

"I got lost, I'm fine. We have to get to the Fortress," Zack replied quickly.

I nodded immediately and wrapped his arm around my shoulder to help him walk properly.

We hurried toward his automobile but the moment Zack reached it, his face darkened.

"Shit, they punctured the tire," Zack cursed angrily.

"Try to jack other automobiles" I replied quickly.

Yohanan suddenly turned around and froze.

"Guys… they punctured all the tyres."

We all looked around properly for the first time. Every single automobiles in the parking space had flat tires.

The tires had been slashed so badly that escape became impossible. The realization hit us hard. They planned this.

"What do we do?" Yohanan cried, tears already forming in her eyes.

I barely looked at her. My mind was somewhere else completely.

My parents. Were they safe? Were they alive?

Zack suddenly opened the trunk of his car and pulled out his bike.

"You're riding it?" he asked.

I stared at the bike like it was a ghost from my past.

"Zack, I haven't ridden a bike since the past ten years… since the accident," I said quietly.

My chest tightened immediately.

That accident haunted me every single day.

The screams. The blood. The feeling of losing control.

If Zack had not saved me back then, I would have died.

"You either ride or we both die," Zack said seriously.

He handed a helmet to Yohanan before throwing one toward me. I almost cried.

My hands shook badly as I held the bike key.

Slowly, I inserted it into the ignition.

The engine roared loudly.

The sound alone dragged terrible memories back into my head.

I closed my eyes tightly for one second before forcing myself to breathe. Then I gripped the handle harder and revved the engine again.

This time louder. Zack climbed behind me carefully while Yohanan held onto him tightly from the back.

I swallowed hard before speeding forward suddenly but the bike lost balance immediately.

The front wheel twisted violently. Everything happened too fast. It's been years since I tried riding a bike.

The bike flipped sideways.

Our bodies slammed hard against the rough ground.

The sound of metal scraping against concrete echoed painfully through the empty area.

I rolled across the floor before crashing into a nearby pole.

"Oh God, seriously?" Yohanan groaned painfully from the ground.

"Get up, we have to get out of here before those men come," Zack said urgently as he pulled me back up.

I forced myself to stand despite the pain burning through my body. My hands were shaking badly again, but this time I refused to back down.

I grabbed the bike firmly, we climbed on again.

"Mum… Dad… I'm coming," I whispered under my breath.

Then I drove. This time properly.

The bike sped out of the place fast, racing away from the tunnel and onto the dark road ahead.

Cold wind slammed against my face while fear pounded violently inside my chest.

Then suddenly we noticed bright lights appeared behind us.

I looked through the mirror and all I could see were multiple automobiles chasing us .

Yohanan turned around and gasped loudly.

"We've got company," she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Keep going, Widen!" Zack shouted.

Then gunshots exploded behind us.

Bang!

Bullets flew past us violently. One brushed past my arm. Another shattered against the road beside the bike.

I ducked instantly while struggling to keep control of the steering.

The bike swerved dangerously left and right.

Yohanan screamed loudly in terror.

I screamed too. Only Zack remained calm.

Then one of the men suddenly pushed half his body out through the sunroof of the automobile behind us.

He raised his gun directly at us.

Bang!

The bullet hit the bike tire. Everything went wrong instantly. The tire burst violently and the bike lost control.

It skidded across the road aggressively while sparks flew everywhere beneath us.

"There's a cliff!" Yohanan screamed.

Before I could react, the bike flew over the edge. We flipped violently in the air before the bike crashed into thick tree branches growing from the side of the cliff.

The branches bent dangerously under our weight.

The bike hung there helplessly. So did we.

Underneath us was the roaring dam water far below.

The bike creaked loudly.

The branches snapped little by little. I could barely breathe Then suddenly,

CRACK!

The branches broke completely. We all screamed as the bike flipped again and dropped straight into the dam.

The freezing water swallowed us instantly.

The current was powerful. It dragged us violently through the dark water.

Above the cliff, the men stopped their cars.

"They won't survive this current," one of them said coldly.

Then they drove away.

The water kept dragging us farther.

"Widen!" Yohanan cried desperately.

"Yohanan!" I shouted back.

Then my eyes widened in horror. Ahead of us was a waterfall, I began to panic. Zack reacted first.

He grabbed onto a thick tree branch hanging near the edge and held it tightly with all his strength. The current kept pulling him violently, but he refused to let go. Then I drifted closer to him.

Zack caught my wrist instantly and pulled me toward him before I could fall over the waterfall.

Breathing heavily, he quickly removed part of his shirt and tied both of us together tightly. I had no idea how he did that but I was happy I got to him before the waterfall.

"Yohanan!" I screamed.

She was still farther away, struggling against the current.

"Widen!" she cried back.

As she drifted closer, I stretched my hand toward her desperately. Finally, I caught her hand.

But the extra weight became too much and the branch cracked loudly before it snapped.

All three of us fell. We screamed helplessly as our bodies dropped down the waterfall.

The air rushed violently around us before we crashed into the lower water beneath with a loud splash.

Pain exploded through my entire body. The water dragged us again for a few seconds before Zack and I managed to reach the shore.

Luckily, the cloth tying us together kept us from getting separated. I quickly looked around desperately.

But Yohanan was nowhere.

"Yohanan!" I shouted.

There was no response. Only the sound of rushing water answered me.

We lost the Goshen angel. My chest tightened painfully.

"We have to find your parents," Zack said quickly.

"How about Yohanan?"

"The current is too strong. She might have been taken to another side. She could survive, but we need to leave now," Zack replied firmly.

"Widen, snap out of it. Who is more important? Her or your family?" Zack asked seriously.

I froze.

"My family…" I answered weakly, even though it felt like I was abandoning her.

"Then cheer up and let's go now," Zack said, pulling me forward.

I kept turning back repeatedly. Looking for Yohana. Hoping to see her but she was nowhere to be found. The darkness and rushing current swallowed everything.

"Mum… Dad… please hold on," I whispered shakily.

Then Zack and I ran. We ran as fast as we could toward the fortress.

I kept hearing her scream in my head even while running toward the fortress.

Soon, we reached the hill close to the cotton field. And that was when I saw it. There was a

Massive fire.

The whole town burned like hell itself had descended upon it. Smoke filled the night sky. Fear swallowed me whole.

"What do we do?" I asked weakly. "My family are there…"

"The town is on fire," Zack muttered.

"We have to get to our parents, Zack," I said immediately.

We rushed into the town.

The sight destroyed me instantly. Bodies, blood, burned homes and dead workers.

Nothing survived. Everything people had worked hard for their entire lives was gone. Years of blood, sweat, and tears reduced to ashes overnight.

The smell of smoke and death filled the air horribly. It was unbearable. I kept running toward the fortress while Zack followed behind me.

Luckily, the fortress itself was not burning.

I ran inside immediately and froze.

My mother was lying helplessly on the floor.

My father was badly injured, kneeling weakly.

Standing in front of him was the same man he argued with days ago.

Baron Chen.

Immediately, I knew this was about the cotton field.

"Your son is here. Perfect timing, Baron's son," Baron Chen laughed wickedly.

Baron Chen smiled warmly like a host welcoming guests into his home.

"Let them go!" I screamed.

Zack quickly pulled me backward.

"Please don't hurt my son. Leave him out of this. This is between us, not him… please, Chen…" my father pleaded weakly before coughing out blood.

"Father!"

I tried running toward him, but one of Chen's assassins punched me violently in the stomach.

Pain exploded through me instantly. I spat out blood onto the floor.

"Widen!" I heard Zack shout.

"Oh Zack, calm down. He won't die. It's just a punch. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Baron Chen said mockingly.

"You said you'll never hurt him. That wasn't part of the plan," Zack said angrily.

I slowly turned toward Zack in confusion.

My brows furrowed painfully. I had no idea what was going on. How did Zack know Baron Chen?

"What plan?" I asked weakly.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Baron Chen laughed darkly. "Zack here isn't your friend. He was the one who gave us full access to the town. How do you think we attacked this place so easily? How we knew where everyone would be?" He takes a cup of tea from one of his men and sips it.

My heart stopped.

"Zack… what is he talking about?" I asked fearfully.

My ears rang loudly.

I stared at Zack, waiting for him to laugh and say it was all a joke but he didn't. The boy I grew up with stood there silently while my world collapsed.

"Let him go. You promised not to hurt him and now can you release my family? I did everything you asked for," Zack said desperately.

Everything suddenly made sense. My best friend betrayed us. He betrayed everyone, his own people.

"Zack, tell me this isn't true… this was all your fault?" I cried.

"I can explain. They took my parents. I had no choice. I couldn't let my parents die," he said painfully.

"You sacrificed everyone in the whole town just for two people?" I shouted.

"If it was you, wouldn't you do it?" he asked back.

I was furious, I gathered the little strength I had left and punched him hard across the jaw. The force made him spit blood instantly.

"You bastard! I trusted you! I trusted you!" I screamed through tears.

Suddenly another punch slammed across my own jaw. Pain burst through my face instantly.

"Widen," my father called weakly.

"What do you want from us?" I asked while wiping blood from my mouth.

"Your father was too stubborn," Baron Chen said calmly. "I gave him a deal, but he ignored it. He had no idea that going against me means going against all the Barons of this land."

"The cotton field…" I whispered.

"Now I'm going to make him suffer and destroy everything he has ever loved. Starting from his precious son."

"Get your hands off my son!" my father roared suddenly.

He broke free from the guards and attacked the men fiercely.

"Go! Get out of here now!" my father screamed.

"I'm not leaving without you!" I shouted back desperately.

"Zack, if you still have any remorse left… if there's still humanity in you… save my son, please," my father pleaded while fighting the men alone.

Zack grabbed me tightly and tried dragging me away. I struggled violently against him but then I saw it. A blade stabbed directly into my father's chest.

Right before my eyes. Everything inside me shattered.

"Father!"

I broke free from Zack and charged forward like a madman. But one of the assassins punched me violently.

I flew backward and smashed my head against the wall. The pain was intense.

"Fool. You should have run when he told you to," Chen sneered.

Dizziness filled my head. I looked up weakly.

My father's body lay motionless in his own blood. Dead.

I screamed helplessly.

Tears poured endlessly down my face.

"Please lower your voice, you're giving me a headache." He said softly and one of his men passed a cup of tea to him, he sips it again.

Chen stepped over my father's body without even looking down.

"I am going to have so much fun," Baron Chen smiled.

He grabbed my hair roughly and dragged me closer to the Chimney. Then he pulled out a burning hot iron from the fire.

The metal glowed red. My breathing stopped. I knew what he was going to do next.

"I don't want to ruin that face of yours," he said coldly. "I'll be gentle." Chen studied my face carefully like an artist examining expensive artwork.

"You promised to let him go," Zack shouted angrily.

"Pick one. Your parents or him," Chen replied.

Then he shoved Zack away.

The next second, the hot iron was pressed against my stomach. The pain was unbearable. I screamed so loudly my throat nearly tore apart. The sizzling sound of my skin burning filled the room horribly.

I collapsed onto the floor shaking violently. I had never felt pain like that before. At that moment, I realized something.

If I survived this night… I would never become weak again.

Never.

The men laughed loudly around me.

"Does it hurt?" Chen asked mockingly.

I spat directly on his face.

His expression darkened instantly. Then another punch slammed into my jaw. I nearly blacked out.

I tried crawling toward my father's body but Chen stepped harshly onto my back.

"Where are you going?" he asked before pressing harder.

I screamed again. For someone raised in wealth, I had never truly experienced suffering before. This felt like hell.

Was this karma?

For every girl I've deceived, every heart I played with. Maybe karma was real after all.

Chen bent down and grabbed my hair again.

"Your handsome face…" he muttered.

He pulled out a knife slowly and raised it toward me but suddenly Zack grabbed his hand.

"Why don't we lock him up and sell him instead of killing him? He'll be worth a lot considering he's the son of the Baron of the wealthiest town," Zack suggested quickly.

Baron Chen paused then he smiled.

"That's true. He will fetch us a lot. Lock him up."

Immediately the men grabbed me. They beat me mercilessly until my vision blurred badly.

My eyes became swollen. Blood covered my face completely. Then they threw me inside a cell. I wonder why I haven't given up the ghost.

I was alone in the cell and all I could do was to cry helplessly through the night. Rats moved around the dark floor. Cockroaches crawled all over my body. The smell in there was horrible. I barely slept.

Then finally, it was dawn. My visons were blurry but I could hear soft footsteps approaching. The cell door rattled softly.

It was Zack.

"Widen," he called softly.

Rage consumed me instantly. Everything he had done to me rushed back and I ran toward him with my remaining strength and grabbed his shirt through the bars.

"You monster! I hope you rot in hell! You murdered everyone!" I cried painfully.

"I never intended for this to happen. I am sorry, Widen. I hope you can understand me. My parents life were threatened."

"Sorry won't change your demonic attitude. You are so evil and selfish," I spat angrily.

"Call me whatever you want, but I will keep your father's last wish."

Zack pulled out a sword and cut through the padlock. The chains dropped open.

"Go and never come back," he said before releasing my chains and pushing me outward.

"Go. Consider this my last act of kindness."

I stared at him with hatred burning inside me.

Then I spoke one final time.

"I'll never forgive you."

"I deserve that." He said forcing a smile.

" I hope we never meet again because if we do, I'll kill you with my own hands."

ARCHIVE 0

"The fall of Goshen marked the beginning of an age of fear.

Many died. Only a few survived.

And somewhere among the ruins, a frightened boy took his first step toward becoming something far more terrifying than the monsters he feared."