Episode 39 : Judas

"What should we name our child?" asked Vera as she breastfed their baby in the morning while sitting on the bed.

"Asim," Zawaq said while massaging his wife's back.

"The father's name starts with 'Z,' and the son's with 'A,'" Vera chuckled softly.

"Do you agree?" Zawaq asked his wife.

"Yes, I do," Vera replied, stroking the head of their baby boy.

Zawaq and Vera cooked breakfast together, while Zawaq's parents played with the baby. Shortly after, there was a knock at the door.

"Honey, please open the door. It seems we have guests," said Vera to her husband.

"Alright, I'll open it," Zawaq said as he walked to the front door and unlocked it.

Suddenly, bullets riddled the door, breaking it apart. Dozens of bullets pierced Zawaq's body. He collapsed backward, lying on the floor with multiple wounds. His parents screamed in terror, shocked by the loud gunfire.

Israhell soldiers stormed into the house. Zawaq's baby cried from the loud commotion. Vera rushed to pick up the baby.

Zawaq's parents ran toward Vera, glancing anxiously at Zawaq, who lay bleeding on the floor.

"Zawaq!" shouted his father, horrified by his son's condition.

"Why did you do this to my son?!" cried his mother, trembling at the sight of the soldiers surrounding Zawaq.

The soldiers continued firing at Zawaq's already motionless body. Some soldiers forced his family out of the house.

A military truck awaited outside. Many soldiers accompanied Zawaq's family onto the truck, leaving him behind with several other Israhell soldiers.

"What are you doing to my family?" Zawaq asked weakly, despite his blood-soaked body riddled with bullets.

One soldier shot Zawaq in the forehead. Everything went dark once again—not the second time, but the third. As soon as the bullet embedded in his skull, his memories returned.

His forehead was shot, and the soldiers also destroyed the hut behind his home, killing its residents, including Uncle Ibrahim.

Zawaq screamed in pain as he rose. A bullet popped out from his forehead, blood pouring onto the ground. He looked around and checked his bound hands.

Thick iron chains shackled his hands, connecting him to two burly, intimidating men. He looked ahead and saw many Israhell soldiers surrounding him. In the distance, his parents knelt on the ground.

"Father! Mother!" Zawaq called out.

"We gave you a second chance, and you still chose betrayal. You had a happy family, a good salary, and a stable job, yet you sided with terrorists outside our borders?" said a man in a decorated military uniform.

"You cursed Sergeant. No, damned Lieutenant!" Zawaq shouted, glaring at David.

"Did you think two rocket shooters could kill me? I faked my death to monitor your every move. You were busy entertaining the children of terrorists while the terrorists themselves ruined their children's lives," David retorted.

"Your people kill children! Your people torture the weak! Who are the real terrorists?!" Zawaq roared.

"They were born and raised as terrorists. The only solution is to end their existence," David coldly responded.

"If the problem lies in the root, then you are the root!" Zawaq shouted furiously.

"The root of the problem is your parents, who raised you to be a terrorist," David said before signaling the soldiers.

The soldiers raised their rifles and shot Zawaq's mother. She fell forward, still bound.

"Mother!!!" Zawaq's eyes widened in shock as he witnessed her death.

"Vera, are you a traitor like your ex-husband?" David asked Vera, pointing a pistol at the baby she was holding.

"My ex-husband is a disgrace. He doesn't even deserve to be called that," Vera said coldly, glaring at Zawaq.

David lowered his pistol and turned toward Zawaq's father.

"Zawaq, I'm proud of you, my son, for everything you've done. This is a land of demons. Betray the demons for humanity. Preserve purity. You did the right thing," his father said.

Zawaq looked at his father with a conflicted expression. David took Zawaq's sword, handed to him by an Israhell soldier. He unsheathed it.

"This sword has helped you kill many of our soldiers. It's time to give you one final lesson. Let your weapon betray you just as you betrayed us!" David declared before beheading Zawaq's father.

His father's head fell to the ground, and his body slumped sideways, blood gushing from his severed neck. Zawaq screamed in rage.

He struggled against the chains binding him, but he couldn't overpower the two burly Israhell soldiers. The chains were made of reinforced steel.

"This sword is sharp. I've never held one this sharp," David said, swinging it with admiration.

Vera was escorted into an armored military vehicle by Israhell soldiers and driven away, leaving Zawaq alone.

"Damn it!!! I'll kill you all!!!" Zawaq roared.

David grabbed a rifle from a nearby soldier and shot Zawaq repeatedly. Blood gushed from his body as he coughed and spat blood.

David handed the rifle back to the soldier.

"You're nothing but filth used as fertilizer. We don't need you," David sneered at Zawaq.

David gestured to another soldier, who handed him a fully loaded rifle. He pressed the muzzle against Zawaq's forehead, showing no hesitation in pulling the trigger.

"I'll kill your wife and child after this. I'll hang your corpse on a wall as a warning. You'll be powerless to protect them because you'll already be dead," David said coldly.

Suddenly, a fighter jet flew over the area. Everyone around Zawaq looked up at the aircraft. A massive explosion occurred as an object fell nearby, disintegrating several Israhell soldiers into a crimson mist.