Faizan.

Huh? He had just heard a faint whisper in his head, even among all the commotion. Someone had called him by his name.

Faizan. The voice repeated, this time in a louder whisper. He recognised the voice. A voice that calmed the storm of fear and anxiety inside him.

Hina?

Yes, it’s me.

How the hell can I hear you? Was she going insane? Had he finally broken.

Listen to me, we don’t have much time. You are the vessel. His vessel. There is great strength within you.

There is no strength inside me. I am weak. I couldn't even save Daniyal and now they're going to kill me. Please save yourself.

Faizan, listen to me. We will lend you our strength so that you can tap into the power inside you. You are the vessel and we look forward to meeting you. You must run towards the fields as fast as you can. There you will find us. I know you can sense our aura.

Who the hell is we? was what Faizan was wondering but he decided the question was not important. He was just about to reach the bottom of the stairs, his body hurting all over. He could feel blood dripping down his face and limbs but he didn’t care. All he knew was that Hina was alive and that was all that mattered. Maybe he could save her at least.

Prepare yourself. You will only have a window of opportunity to escape. Use it wisely.

But how will I know?

Trust me, you will know.

He felt the connection sever between them before he say anything else. He was right at the top of the stairs now and Khalid had come up to grab him as well. Faizan felt an anger like he had never felt before when he saw his grinning face. He wanted to gather all the energy inside him and punch his face in. Khalid saw the wrath on his face and grabbed him forcefully by the hair, the pain his scalping pissing him off even more. Faizan began muttering all sorts of insults at him while he was led to the front of the stage.

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"Good work, my son," said the maulvi to Khalid as he was led by Khalid to the front of the stage. The old man picked up the mic and announced it to the crowd. "He has captured not one but two of the men from the city. Their brains and strength are now gone all thanks to him. He shall be our general when we wage war against the rest of the world and purify it."

The crowd cheered and began chanting Khalid's name who was beaming with pride. Faizan spit on his feet which earned him a blow in the back that made his back crunch.

Khalid proceeded to then kick him in the back of his legs to make him kneel down at the front of the stage. He realised that Daniyals body was nowhere to be seen and yet his shalwar soaked his blood onto his knees.

He was horrified when he turned to look towards a nearby commotion. He saw that the savages had already begun to cut the body up and cook it. He recognised the clothes next to the half skinned naked body of Daniyal near a huge bonfire where some of his flesh was being barbecued. Faizan's body was shaking now with horror and disgust. How fucking dare they.

"I wonder what he tastes like," said Khalid. "I'm guessing he probably tastes like filth. Oh look they're bringing me some of it now. Would you like to try it too?"

A tray of the cooked meat was brought up to him and he grabbed a piece of the meat, with a brown shimmering surface with charred bits. He dangled it in front of Faizan's nose who gagged at the smell.

"Oh, you don't want to eat it? Come on now, we made this just for you. Wasting food is a terrible sin after all. We don't want you to become a bigger sinner than you already are."

"Very well said, son," commented the maulvi standing behind him. He patter him on the back. "My servants, please, assist your general."

The servants obliged and crouched next to Faizan on either side, grabbing his head as Khalid walked in front of him. Another one pressed onto his shoulders so he could not move. The cooked piece of Daniyall's meat was held in his hand with purpose. He nodded at the servants.

"Don't you fucking-" Faizan was cut off when the servants pried open his mouth, holding on two both of his jaws on either side with brute strength. He began wrestling against their dirty hands, trying to bite down on their fingers, but their grip was too strong. He tried to shake them off by wiggling his body but the servant behind was just as strong.

Khalid slowly lowered the piece of meat into Faizan's mouth, savouring the fear and helplessness he saw in his eyes. Faizan fought more and more desperately, strange animal-like sounds coming from his open mouth until eventually, Khalid shoved it into his mouth. He immediately spat it out before they could close his mouth which earned him a few hard punches from their burly fists. His tongue had, however, registered the taste and he was beginning to gag. He would wash his mouth with acid just so he could get the meaty taste of his friend out of his mouth. Even though the meat tasted like any other meat the thought it was Daniyal’s made it unbearable.

Khalid crouched down and picked up the meat, the servants holding his mouth open so forcefully he thought the muscles in his jaws would tear. This time they closed his jaw quickly as the meat was put into his mouth, which was intermixed with Daniyal’s congealed blood and dirt. Faizan gagged and felt acidic barf rising up and burning his throat. He had no way of puking it out because the servants had his jaw clamped shut and his nose too so that he had no choice but to swallow the meat. He could taste the spices on the surface of the meat and the tender fat on it and his mouth was now full of barf. He was trying his best to resist swallowing the meat but he was running out of oxygen. Don’t swallow it. Don’t swallow it. Don’t swallow it.

Don’t...