Betrayal

**Pain.**
It’s the first thing I register as I come back to consciousness. My head throbs, my body feels like it’s been put through a grinder, and every breath I take burns like fire in my lungs. But none of it compares to the searing agony in my side where the blade pierced through. The wound is deep, the metal cold, but it’s the betrayal that chills me to the bone.
I stagger back, barely keeping my footing, as the demon before me lets out a guttural roar. It’s a monstrous thing—ten feet tall, with skin like charred stone and eyes that burn with hellish light. Its fangs drip with venom, and in its claws, it wields a weapon made of shadows and flame.
But that’s not what terrifies me. No, what terrifies me is the man standing beside it, grinning as he pulls his sword free from my side.
**Rendell.** My comrade, my friend. The one who swore to watch my back. The one who promised we’d see this fight through together. Now he looks at me with cold eyes, devoid of the warmth I once knew. “Sorry, Reimer,” he says, his voice dripping with false regret. “But you were always too naive.”
I feel the world spinning around me, my vision blurring as I struggle to stay upright. I can taste blood in my mouth—my blood—but I force myself to speak. “Why, Rendell? We were supposed to be a team. We were supposed to—”
“To what?” he cuts me off, sneering. “Be heroes? Save the world? Don’t be a fool, Reimer. This world doesn’t need heroes. It needs survivors. And if I have to step over your corpse to survive, then so be it.”
His words hit me harder than any blow ever could. This was the man I trusted, the man I’d fought beside, laughed with, shared stories and dreams with. But now, all of that was a lie. A cruel, twisted lie.
I glance at our other companions, but they avert their eyes, unwilling to meet my gaze. Cowards. They won’t help me. They won’t even mourn me. They’re all in on it.
The demon roars again, and I know I’m out of time. It lunges at me, claws outstretched, and I barely manage to raise my sword in time. The force of the impact nearly drives me to my knees, but I hold firm, gritting my teeth against the pain. My vision narrows, focusing only on the demon before me. I can’t afford to think about Rendell, about the betrayal, about anything but surviving this next moment.
With a shout, I push back against the demon, my muscles straining as I drive my sword into its chest. It lets out a furious howl, and for a moment, I think I’ve won. But then its claw slashes across my torso, and the world erupts into a haze of red. I stumble back, the strength draining from my limbs, and I know—this is it. This is where I die.
I fall to the ground, my sword slipping from my grasp as my body gives out. The demon looms over me, its eyes burning with victory. Rendell stands beside it, wiping my blood from his blade with a look of disgust. “You should have known better, Reimer,” he says, his voice fading as darkness claims me. “This is the real world. And in the real world, only the strong survive.”
**Darkness.**
It’s all around me, crushing, suffocating, consuming me whole. I can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t think. All I know is the darkness, the cold, and the pain. It’s over, I think. This is how it ends.
But then, something stirs within me. A flicker of warmth, a spark of light. **Anger.** It burns deep in my chest, hotter and fiercer than anything I’ve ever felt. It starts as a whisper, growing louder, stronger, until it drowns out everything else. How dare they. How dare they betray me. I won’t accept this. I won’t die here. I won’t let them win.
The anger grows, feeding off my pain, my betrayal, until it’s a roaring inferno that consumes me. I won’t stay dead. I can’t stay dead. Not like this. Not after everything. **I’ll make them pay. I’ll make them all pay.**
I feel the darkness tremble, crack, shatter under the force of my rage. The cold recedes, replaced by burning heat, by the sheer force of my will. **No.** I won’t stay dead. **I refuse.**
And then, with a scream of defiance, I claw my way out of the darkness. I feel the earth around me, the weight of the soil pressing down, but I push through it, tearing at the ground with hands that feel like they’re on fire. **I’m not done yet. I’m not finished.**
The earth gives way, and I drag myself out of the shallow grave they buried me in, gasping for air as I break through to the surface. The night is cold, the moon casting a pale light over the land, but I feel nothing but the burning rage that propels me forward. My body is broken, bleeding, but I don’t care. Pain is nothing now. Pain is fuel.
I pull myself to my feet, swaying for a moment before the anger steadies me. I’m alive. I’m **alive.** And I will have my revenge.
But before I can take a step, the world spins again, the exhaustion and pain finally catching up with me. My vision blurs, the adrenaline fading, leaving only the sharp, cold bite of reality. I stumble, dropping to my knees, my strength leaving me all at once. The cold earth rises to meet me as I collapse.
As the darkness begins to creep back in, I see something—**a shadow.** It’s not the darkness of the night, but a figure, barely distinguishable in the gloom. It’s standing at the edge of my vision, watching, waiting. I can’t make out its features, but there’s something ominous about its presence, something that sends a chill down my spine, even through the haze of pain and exhaustion.
The shadowy figure seems to move closer, its form shifting and swirling like smoke, until it’s right above me. I try to lift my head, to get a better look, but my body won’t respond. All I can do is stare as the figure leans in, its presence overwhelming, suffocating.
And then, just before the darkness claims me entirely, I hear a voice—a whisper, low and warm, echoing in the depths of my mind.
"Are you okay?"
And with that, everything fades to black.