The Great Hunt (10)

After a full 6 hours of rest, John emerged from the tree trunk and resumed his travel.

As soon as he left the tree trunk, he felt that there was something wrong with his body and mind. His body was slightly weaker, and his senses weren't as good as they were.

But he didn't worry too much about it and just kept his full attention ahead.

Different from the previous landscape, this one didn't have a single body behind, from either Florans or creatures.

It was probably because of the higher amount of predators that would eat the corpses left behind without leaving a single bone untouched.

The fast-growing vegetation and predators would cover every trace of activity by sentient races.

It was only after so much time in the swamp that John had finally started to feel the effects of the poisonous fog.

The effects of the poisonous fog had started a long time ago, the moment he entered the swamp, but just now it started to get worst that he began to feel the effects.

The dizziness and blurred sight was the primary concern for John as he traversed the eerie swamp.

Headache, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing ears. That was the symptoms that John was able to identify in his body. But the poison had a lot more afflictions than just this few...

[Damnit!] He cursed inwardly. [How am I supposed to deal with this!?]

He stopped by a tree, not because he wanted, but because he needed it.

Soon enough he was able to feel his body growing weak and his eyelids getting heavier. He was getting tired even with the slightest movement.

John bit his lips with all his strength to wake him up from the sleepiness.

He dragged his body toward a tree trunk and retrieved his Matter Manipulator from the PIPS.

"John..."

"What!?" John's eyes flared open as he looked around, searching for the source of the voice that had just called out his name.

He was able to identify the owner of the voice. It was a voice belonging to a person he didn't want to hear the most.

"John Connor..." The mysterious voice sounded once again.

John struggled to maintain his eyes open as he looked everywhere in his surroundings.

"You are dead..." John spoke in a low voice. "There is no way you could speaking with me."

"Oh, John Connor...I don't think I'm dead..."

John finally found out from where the voice was coming. When he turned around to look his pupils couldn't help but shrink.

It was a middle-aged man with a regular looking face and build. He had short brown hair and a pair of brown eyes as well.

"You..." Once he recognized the person, John couldn't help but slightly tremble.

It was the same person that still haunt John in his dreams. It was Mouro, the assassin that John killed in the Lunar Base 12, the first person John ever killed.

"Surprised to see me...?" Mouro was still wearing his miner clothes with the orange hard helmet in his head. He looked exactly like a living person if it wasn't for the gaping hole right in the middle of his head.

The hole was created by the bullet that John had fired at him back at the Lunar Base 12.

"This is just an illusion, a hallucination..." John mumbled while shaking his head. He couldn't accept that such person was still alive and had come back from death just to haunt his life.

Blood dripped from Mouro's charred wound making his ghastly face looking even eerier.

"You are a murderer, John..." Mouro approached John, one step at a time.

"Stay back..." John said with a slightly trembling voice while he drew his white pistol from his belt holster and pointed straight at Mouro. John's hands were shaking, and so he was unable to aim correctly.

"You killed me, John..." Mouro ignored the weapon aiming at him and just stepped ahead. "It doesn't matter how many lives you save. It doesn't matter how many lives you don't take...it won't change the fact that you are a cold-hearted murderer..."

John felt unusually disturbed and unable to control his emotions and thoughts. "I did what I had to do. You gave me no choice by trying so hard to kill me."

"That's what they all say at the first time..." Mouro coldly smiled as he took a step forward. "That's exactly what I said the first time I killed, and look what I had become. You, John, are going to be the same. Accept it. There's no way around."

Mouro clutched the pistol and helped John steadied the aim and pressed the muzzle at his heart. "Go on, accept it. You. Just. Have. To. Shoot." Mouro had a manically and faint smile plastered at his face.

"No..." John's finger hovered over the trigger. "I-I-I...it was an accident..."

"Yes, indeed..." Mouro nodded, but then his smile deepened. "With me, it was an accident, but what about those Syndicate soldiers....don't tell me it was an accident as well."

"No..." John shook his head in denial. "They had to die....they did terrible things...."

"Are you saying....that as long as you deem someone had to die, you can kill. Is that it? Are you implying that you are the judge and the executioner of the universe? Who are that can so easily decide who dies and who lives!?"

"No, that's not it!"

"Then what is it? Tell me. I'm very curious..."

"I.....I....I don't.....know." John's voice quivered as he spoke. He lowered his head and stared at the ground.

When he was helping Peri and killed the Syndicate soldiers, he was acting on his sense of justice. He killed those people because he thought they deserve it after they razed a whole Floran colony to the ground and even planned to sell the Floran kids to the Miniknog.

"As I thought..." Mouro released his hand from John's pistol and took a few steps backward creating some distance between them. "You are no hero, John. So just stop acting as one. Accept what you really are....and then....you will finally find peace in your conflicted heart."

Mouro took a pistol from out of nowhere and pointed at John.

John was still confused and disturbed by the conversation that he didn't even lift his head to look at Mouro.

*Bang*

*Clang*

Metal shards flew from the armor that was located John's back as a bullet hit the place.

"Urgh..." John groaned in pain as he fell on the ground. Even though the bullet was unable to pierce the armor plate, it had enough strength behind it to make a dent in the armor and also make some shards fly away.

He unblinkingly stared at Mouro that had an eerie and mad smile on his face.

"It's time for you to pay for your sins..." He spoke in a calm and steady tone.

*Bang*

*Puchi*

John once again was shot. This time he was shot precisely at the same place of the last bullet, which rendered the armor useless as the bullet penetrated and lodged itself right inside John's lower abdomen.

Blood mixed with metal shards splattered.

"Damnit!" John fell on his knees and cursed as he pressed his hand on the wound to stop the bleeding.

His vision started to get darker as seconds passed. He struggled to maintain his eyes open.

John saw Mouro crouching by his side and looking directly at his eyes.

"There are no heroes in this world, John....neither there are villains....there are only ideologies...think carefully, what is your true desire, and how far are going to go to earn it? A single answer might be all you need to clear the doubts in your heart...."

Those were the last words John heard before his consciousness fell into darkness.