A/N: The place where humanity reaches its bleakest point is truly a frightening place to journey. Let this be a warning to some, a call to others. Let us join together and see what we may learn.

Night Chapter 2: The blackness of a human heart

"Zack?"

"Yeah Cody?"

"When they took you prisoner," he pauses. No surprise. I know the question, it's the one everyone has, ever since I got back.

"You wanna know what happened?"

I lean against the wall of the tent. Not very sturdy, but it holds me.

He nods looking down. I might see a tear from him.

He has a right to know I guess. They say it was two years, something I just trusted them with. Time there was a blur, it could have been a day or a century, I'd believe either.

Sighing again, I think back.

This wasn't the first time he asked.

At first, his curiosity knew no bounds. Questions rained upon me until I snapped.

Yeah, shouldn't have yelled at him, but who wants to remember that. Told him I'd tell him later, that made the questions come less. I'd ask about him, what it was like joining the military instead.

Never thought someone like him would join. But he knew they needed anyone who could fight. And while he might have barely been able to hold a weapon, he was a warm body.

It's funny what time does.

Funny how it makes the impossible reality, makes dreams die and nightmares live.

"So."

I think, pause, wonder.

They told us that it was natural to keep these things inside. That it was best to forget it, not burden the innocent with those stories.

"You sure you want to hear it?"

Fold my hands

Stare at the celling.

See him nod.

Can't hurt. We'll probably be dead in a day anyway.

I remember.

Embrace the pain.

See their faces.

Ponder the questions once more.

Remember the tears.

…

The mission was simple. Find out who they were, what they wanted. If possible, find a way to peace. Otherwise, get out, blow up what we could beforehand.

The first day in their land was quiet.

The second, they struck.

Their numbers overwhelmed us.

We never knew where they came from, but within a second, our numbers were sliced in half.

The rest of us tried fighting.

Resistance failed.

I saw men torn apart, the creatures' claws devouring flesh. Guns failed. A couple shots hit.

But soon, I was alone.

Why me?

Why not another?

Was it luck or fate?

Design or random?

Never found out.

Just laid down my gun, readied for the final blow.

Saw them over me, a claw coming down.

Thought that would be the end.

It wasn't.

Instead woke up in a room. All stone, no windows, no doors, pitch black.

Tried standing up, lights suddenly blinded me. Then saw I was wearing a grey robe.

Never knew how I got in there, how the food appeared, how the days passed.

Those I expected.

Sure, I plotted a way out. Looked for hope.

But it was all the same. The same room, the same food, the same light when I woke up and dark when I slept.

They were watching, I knew it.

But why?

That I didn't.

I lived.

I existed.

That was all.

For a while.

Then the day came, I woke up.

Saw a blade beside me. A sword, nothing like I'd seen before.

Sharp, light, the handle made for my grip.

But why?

To strike them?

To fight back?

But no, I saw soon enough. The wall raised, a meal of pure steak and chicken and ice-cream revealed.

I couldn't control the droll. After all the time of tasteless food, this was something I had to have.

Then I saw it.

A man I once knew, a solider.

One of my men.

He was naked. His bones showing through his skin. His arm was covered with burns and his head was scarred.

What had they done to him?

What horrors?

Why him?

Why not me?

This food…it made sense.

I saw the blade beside him, just like mine.

It was a test.

An experiment.

Wrought by an evil mind who I wanted to shove that sword through.

They thought we'd fight over this. Kill for it.

He needed it more than me.

As much as I wanted it

And then… we could flee.

Or so I thought.

But soon I saw, we'd never get that chance.

Driven by madness, his humanity buried by whatever they did, he had no words. He gripped his blade, and ran at me.

They say it's not wrong to kill in self-defense.

But what if it's a helpless man?

What if he's going to die anyway?

What if it's a death of mercy?

It's funny, how quickly instincts overcome morality.

A simple blow to disarm, gone wrong with a jerk of the wrist.

No, that blow wasn't lethal.

Not immediately.

And his voice, the crackle of a monster, not the words of a human.

I stood over him.

A man I knew.

A man I loved.

A man I would die for.

That man, I ensured died with the second blow.

The food, my reward, I refused.

For days, I'm sure.

But it was still there, every time I woke up. Never spoiled, never replaced.

Taunting, begging.

But every time, I thought about him. Even if the body had been removed long ago, his blood stains on the floor gone, they remained on my robe.

One day, my hunger became too much. I ate.

The flavors so sweet, so juicy. My stomach craved more. The sweet juices of the steak felt so good. I almost forgot where I was. What I had to do to get this.

But I didn't stop eating.

I couldn't.

My body craved it, needed it.

Ate it.

The ice-cream, my favorite flavor, the best I ever had.

I consumed it all, left not even a crumb.

Then laid down. Saw the blade so close. Saw the blood on it.

And puked.

I couldn't believe what I did. I killed a man for food.

Was I even human?

The glint of the blade called me…

Could I end this?

Let this life go?

Show them they didn't control me and break free.

I grabbed the blade, held it against my neck. Felt a few drops of blood fall.

Could I do it?

Would they let me?

Should I test it?

I didn't.

I dropped the blade.

I would live.

(If this was something to call life)

I would defeat them.

(If there was hope that I could)

I would overcome.

(Thought I had no idea how)

…

"Wow," Cody says.

"Though their plans weren't over yet."