Chapter 11:

Tolerance Act I

Darkness Between Roses


When we talk about trust, it is like talking about glass, something beautiful and shiny, if polished several times it can even become a beautiful art, but unfortunately, like glass itself, trust is something that can be broken easily, you can even rebuild it, but it will never be the same again.

I couldn't understand what was happening, I didn't understand anything; how did we get into this situation? Lana was really right, it was a trap and we were being led by the Grim Reaper.

Slowly waking up, I start to look around, Leonard was injured and with a wooden splinter stuck in his calf, Leonard was leaning with his back against the wall while holding Lana unconscious.

"MY CONGRATULATIONS, ALICE!!!" Echoing through the halls, Jack's voice in a sarcastic tone spoke coming straight up the stairs and appearing in slow steps.

"You really did it, I thought you were going to get a little sentimental about your little boyfriend and their little friends" Jack speaks, and Alice crying with her arms around her face wiping her tears away.

"Ooohh... don't cry please, if not I will be a little sad for you, that's what you wanted, now you can do what you want and even give a better life to your brothers, without you my plan would never work out" Jack keeps talking while approaching, I try to stand, with a lot of pain I slowly get up to try to help my friends.

"Little Johnny... don't push yourself so hard, she betrayed you and now practically your friends will die and Sisyphus will reign over London, fate is already set Johnny" says Jack while sheathing a knife

"... Haha... ha... hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" I start to laugh as I put my hand over my eyes

"What?! Are you really laughing at the death of your friends?" said Jack

"Hahahaa... No Jack I'm just very angry, angry about this fate, angry that everything always goes wrong for me, angry about guys like you trying to screw up my life and angry about everything that's been happening to me, I've had to put up with a lot of humiliations and jokes made at me, I'm tired of always having to put up with this weakness I have for not fighting my own problems and I'm also tired... of this chaotic world I have to face!" I speak in an irritated tone and with tears running down my hands

"Johnny... how annoying you are, you talk about problems, stress and exhaustion, but you don't understand what it is to be tired, you don't understand what real anger is, you don't understand what real stress is... always know one thing Johnny, you will never understand ANYTHING" in a serious tone and an intimidating expression, Jack speaks looking directly at me and walking at the same speed, so I start walking in the same direction as Jack.

"And you think I don't know that?...I know very well how ignorant I am, but being ignorant is not the mistake, the wrong is the one who doesn't want to learn, and one more thing Jack...I am learning about things every day and little by little!" I speak as I stand in front of Jack, both with annoyed looks and serious expressions.

"You wouldn't think so...if you lived my life...every day..." Jack with the same expression, speaks in a melancholy tone, as if a great sorrow had caught him in his speech.

"That's enough..." With a strong thrust, I use all my strength to throw myself hugging Jack's hips, using the strength of my legs to push him backwards, Jack is a little surprised and pushes back a little to keep from being pushed, but slowly rebounding.

"What do you think you are doing?" he says with a slightly surprised and disgusted face

"If you don't kill me here...you will die...little Jack" I speak in a determined tone with pushing harder and harder to push him back.

"What's up?!" reeling more Jack speaks while pushing back, from fighting Leonard he was not rested enough and was on equal footing with me.

"That's right Jack... I know what yours is, Alice told me something that made me think a lot, in that last fight of ours you could have killed me and just stuck the knife in my shoulder, you didn't kill me... because you are here only to capture me, isn't it.... Sisyphus ordered you not to kill me, and you as his puppy won't disregard what he ordered, because of your mediocre fidelity, you now... will die in the hands of an ignoramus" after finishing speaking I start to run against Jack's body thus making him bounce up against the back of the square spiral staircase where it had a span of 30 meters high.

"Damn...he found out, that girl should have stayed put, if I stab him again he might die of unbearable pain, the adrenaline in his body is making him draw strength from nothing and I am too tired.... Damn" Jack thinks to himself while leaning against the safety railing, which was waiting for Jack to die, the gap that was in the middle between the stairs is a little wide and was 30 meters high, Slowly with my strength I made Jack lean into the gap. After 2 minutes of incessant strength Jack fell into the gap... the joy that took my face was priceless, the relief was so much that all my strength was gone.

"So...this is my end....I have spent my whole life killing people and whores all over England..." Jack thought as he slowly fell, as he accepted his sad end he remembered his father and his values he had passed on to him, Echoing through his head in a loud tone, as if his father was screaming in his ear at that moment:

                    "Always see to it that those who harm you ... die!"

So Jack in a great rage opens his eyes and looks directly into my eyes:

"YOU WILL DIE HERE TOO... JOHNNY GRAYBARRIAL"

Using the little bit of strength I had, he reaches out and pulls me by the collar of my suit... everything goes white at that moment, I couldn't process anything else, I didn't have the strength to scream... I didn't have the strength to cry, nor to pray and ask for forgiveness, the only thought I had was how indignant the situation was.

"HAHAHA NOW WE ARE GOING TO DIE JOHNNY" Falling straight down to the primary floor where the fire was almost entirely consuming him, Jack screams incessantly and laughs as if the whole thing is an unfunny joke.

I kept silent, smelling the ashes and listening to the sound of the embers burning the wood, until the moment came when... I just couldn't stand all the nonsense anymore.

Jack arrived first, the ground around him broke, Jack survived each one, but with fractures, he would not survive, 4 ribs perforated his lung, I came to the ground with only a broken leg and a totally dislocated shoulder and the band that was on my shoulder was torn, I was not in the same situation as Jack because as I fell the band that was holding my shoulder clung to a piece of wood that was a little bit sticking out, I was a little unconscious and couldn't speak, I was ready to die at that moment, until I heard a voice:

"Johnny...you have the strength to save all the people you love, but you just don't know how to use it...be strong Johnny"

Hearing those voices I started to cry, without making any noise or sound, just tears running down as I lay on the floor.

"Joh-...Johnny" said Jack looking up

"Look... how ironic... no... it's not... really" With great difficulty, Jack said in a melancholy tone.

I just stayed silent and kept crying, but I listened to him.

"I've spent my life...all...killing.... A-.. People...innocents because I...wanted...them to suffer my same ...suffering that I...had, it's amazing how it's in death...that we realize we are...wrong" Jack spoke with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, Coughing up blood and Stuttering.

"You know Johnny...I think...we both suffer...a lot in life, disputing who...suffers...more leads to ..nothing, it may seem strange coming from... a murderer like me but... I think everything would have... been different... if I had been your friend... live Johnny and defeat the... monster that is ... Sísif-" before even finishing his speech, Jack closes his eyes and dies, with blood dripping from his mouth and tears streaming from his eyes.

I kept crying... even though I was happy for the victory and for having killed Jack, I was sad, can that be called a victory, I wondered, at that moment I felt I should at least show something for Jack's words:

"Goodbye... Jack"