Death in Paradise: Chapter 13

Jack was watching everyone with a close eye trying to discern what they were thinking. Most of them had a face of worry due to where they were headed.

Jack had been invited to help escort them but he rejected due to not wanting to risk his life for no reason. All the people looked at him like they had been wronged but he simply ignored their glares and glances of disdain.

After a few hours of riding they were at the meet up point and everyone got off except Jack who was going to stay till they were back to Haramark.

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Jack was entering Haramark and he noticed a large number of people heading to the temples. Jack was curious what they were doing so he followed some to the Ira temple.

When he entered he saw nearly everyone that had previously entered going towards a portal that he assumed led back to Earth. Jack felt awkward seeing all the people from Earth so easily abandoning a place that they had come to and had used to satisfy their own desires so easily. He wondered if he would be like that one day as well. He shook the useless thought out of his head knowing that they would only make him feel bad.

He then decided that since he was here he would walk around the temple and see what it was all about since he had heard he could only level up by going to one.

Jack soon came to a hallway that had a statue of who he assumed was Ira. He watched it carefully since he could feel a weird energy from it. After finding that there was nothing special about it he turned around and was about to leave when something spoke to him in his head.

Ira "Hello child of the dark."

Jack spun his head around wondering who was talking to him but found no one to note.

Jack "Who is this?"

Ira "This is Ira the God of Wrath."

Jack "Hello then, and what did you mean by child of the dark?"

Ira "You will come to know in the future. I can not speak further on the matter due to the law casualty."

Jack 'Then why bring it up in the first place?'

Ira "Because that is who you are."

Jack "Damn mind readers."

Ira "Might I ask why you have come to my temple?"

Jack "Curiosity, that is all."

Ira "Ok then quickly leave, I do not like you in here you reek of death."

Jack scoffed and turned around, flipping the statue off while walking away.

Ira "What do you think."

Gula "... I can't tell…"

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Jack was heading to Sicilia's headquarters to collect his reward for the scouting mission. He was curious as to what he would get so he decided to head there directly after leaving the temple.

As he was walking there he heard news about what was happening at Arden Fortress and apparently they had won quickly and forced the parasites out of the valley. He was surprised since they had beat the parasites out so quickly but shook it off because it had little to concern him.

Jack soon arrived at Sicilia's headquarters and went up and saw some guards at the doors.

Guard "What is your reason for coming here?"

Jack "I completed a mission."

Guard "Show me the request paper then."

Jack then handed it to him and the guard nodded and let him in. When he got in he saw a receptionist's desk so he walked up and asked where he could get his rewards for a mission. The lady at the desk pointed him to a window and he walked up showing the person at the window the request.

The man's eyes widened a little and soon disappeared.

Jack "Uh, hello?"

Jack sighed and was heading towards the exit when a blonde woman with a maid outfit tapped on his shoulder.

Clair Agnes "Come with me so that we can discuss your rewards."

Jack "Hello to you too."

He followed her to a room where the woman who was at the tutorial was sitting at a table. Jack nodded towards the woman who nodded back.

Cinzina "Well I have to ask, what made you think you could do that request at level 1?"

Jack "I would rather not talk about it, and I only came for my reward."

Cinzina nodded and they began to discuss the reward for the request.

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Jack walked out of the building and sighed. He currently had a bag with around 20 gold coins in it and a weird feeling. Cinzina asked him if he would like to join Sicilia. He refused without any hesitation but Cinzina and Agnes were watching him like he was gold. He felt weirded out so he quickly got his reward and left.

Jack was now wondering what he should do as he was walking towards the inn where he was staying. He didn't know what he should be doing or what his purpose of being there was.

As he was walking he noticed a group of people entering an alleyway. They seemed cautious as they had left two men to watch the entrance. Jack was curious what was going on so he quickly climbed up to a roof and tried to listen in on their conversation.

Guy 1 "What do you have to tell me today?"

Guy 2 "The higher ups have a plan to kill off a few high level players."

Guy 1 "What are they thinking our coover will be blown if people start investigating us."

Guy 2 "I tried to convince them otherwise but they denied and kicked me out."

Guy 1 "Dammit!"

Jack, who was on the rooftop of a nearby building accidentally knocked a rock off and was quickly noticed by the men.

Jack ran quickly and was soon out of the men's sight.

Jack 'I wonder who they are planning on capturing.'

Jack then heard footsteps coming from around the corner and began to run again but one of the men were still on his tail so he quickly melded with the crowd so that he could lose the guy.

Jack was soon back in his room wondering how he should proceed with the information he had just heard. He felt that he should tell someone but ignored that feeling and decided to keep it to himself. He did not want to get himself killed for snooping in people's business so he was just going to let it pass.

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A little later while Jack was fast asleep when one of the men who was chasing him earlier appeared in his window.

Guy 2 "I found you little rat."

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Jack opened his eyes to a scene different from what he had been seeing while he was in Haramark. He felt a cold concrete floor under his feet and the room he was in had a distinct iron smell that he wouldn't forget ever, blood. He also was cold due to not having any clothes on

Jack tried to move his arms but they wouldn't budge. He also tried to talk to his shadows but for some reason they were also not responding. He felt weak as well, most likely due to a sleeping drug that his kidnappers had administered when they first caught him.

Jack soon heard screams of agony coming from one of the two doorways that were leading out of the room. A man came out of the door where the screams had just come from. Jack peeked past him into the room and saw a man who was covered in blood and looked like he was dead.

Guy 1 "Well well well, What do we have here, or rather who do we have here?"

Jack "..."

Guy 1 "You, why did you have to eavesdrop on my conversation?"

Jack "..."

Guy 1 "So this is how we are gonna do this, answer my questions and we kill you with no pain, don't and you are gonna feel pain that you had never felt in your life."

Jack only stared at the man, not saying anything.

Guy 1 "Ok you wanna play the hard way huh…"

Another man soon came into the room. He had a cart with various medical tools on it.

Guy 1 "You know what to do Larry."

Soon the man named Larry put on a medical apron and picked up a pair of pliers.

Larry "Let me hear you scream."

From the outside world the newspaper building in the city's center seemed innocent enough. People came and went purchasing the newspaper to get the latest update on what was going on in paradise.

But if you headed down the stairway just behind the counter where a young boy was at and through the big thick wooden door at the end of a hallway, you may be able to hear the sound of a liquid splashing against the cold hard floor.

If you dare continue past the point where everyone would turn back you would see a young man strapped to a chair with a cart of medical tools next to him and an arm on the ground right at his feet.