Chapter Text
"I'm sorry Salim..."
These were Jason's last words before he heard those horrid clicks of the demon behind him. He turned around and stared up at the vampire. This time, instead of fighting, Jason was too paralyzed at the loss of his newfound brother in arms.
He couldn't forgive himself for losing Salim this way. The rescue had been going well. Salim had somehow been separated from the rest of the group, and Jason made it clear he was leaving no man behind, especially Salim. He felt the surge of heroism coarse through his veins. Jason shot a few of the vampires down, Salim absolutely murdered another vampire with his iron stake like the badass he was, and he even saved Jason by throwing his goddamn stake into the chest of a vampire. It was all so amazing and the Iraqi soldier was just so breathtaking.
But then he lost Salim. Jason and Salim had exchanged a humorous comment, they were about to get away and join up with the rest of the gang. Salim suddenly called out to Jason. Jason was pushed to the ground and when he sat up to realize what happened, he saw a massive spear pierce through Salim's chest.
Jason promised Salim he'd have his back no matter what. He would run back into this hell to come get him, to fight for him. Jason didn't know why in those few hours he knew Salim, he felt the desire to protect this man. Jason found the purpose he had been searching all his life for…as Salim’s shield.
So when death stared Jason in the face, he didn't fight. He failed his purpose. Salim was dead. Jason was ready to accept death's embrace, but time seemed to stop.
"What the fuck?" Jason thought. He couldn't move a muscle. Everything went quiet, the vampire was still lunging at Jason but frozen in time. Was this just how death worked? Did he have to die at this insanely slow pace?
"Is this how you want it to end?"
A gentle voice whispered through the still air. What the fuck was going on?
"You can still save him."
Save him?
"Yes, Salim. You can still save Salim."
I must be going fuckin crazy. Salim is...
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
Damn right it wasn't. Jason never felt so destroyed seeing Salim's body fall on the ground like that. Jason had seen so many of his comrades fall, but Salim's death was too...unreal.
"I will give you a second chance...to save him...do you accept?"
Fuck yeah.
A bright white light engulfed Jason's body. Was this heaven? Was he dead? Who was talking to him? Where were they? Jason found himself seated in a library in the dark. He heard the sound of thunderstorms outside. In front of Jason was the dark silhouette of a person. Did he see…an old man? He wasn’t sure. Something in Jason’s brain was preventing him from seeing the figure in front of him like he wasn’t supposed to know what the being looked like. He felt an unreasonable fear as the being approached the desk in front of Jason. Jason couldn’t move from his position, but he managed to form words.
"Are you...god?" asked Jason.
"You could say that," the figure responded. Its voice was no longer a gentle whisper, now it sounded more like multiple powerful voices speaking.
"I am an entity that can see all the possibilities of your mortal…yet immortal lives..but somehow...yours and Salim's fates…were cheated."
"Cheated? The fuck's that supposed to mean?"
"An abnormality has occurred in my work,” the figure seemed to hiss at the very word ‘abnormality’. The figure pulled out a book from the giant shelves behind it and flipped through the book’s gold pages. The figure slammed the book shut so loudly it made Jason flinch. The god continued to speak. “Multiple...abnormalities...and I cannot accept that. I must fix these errors for my audience."
"So Salim wasn't supposed to die?"
"In short, no."
Jason froze for a moment at the thought. What did the god mean Salim wasn’t supposed to die? The fuck did he mean by fate? Abnormalities? It was all so fucking confusing. None of this mattered though, Jason only cared about one thing.
"You said I could save him," spoke Jason.
The figure appeared to nod. "Straight to the point. Yes, we all liked that about you, Jason. Always so…focused. I will send you to the other abnormality that will help you save him."
"The fuck?"
The god held a hand up to Jason as if bidding the young man to quiet himself so the god may continue. The figure waved its hand to the film to its left. The motion picture showed an image of a dead vampire laying on top of another Jason. "In your world, the Salim that was there was not supposed to die, and in the world I will send you, the Jason there was not supposed to die."
"Wait...didn't I kill that one?" asked Jason, squinting at the vampire in the movie.
The figure's 'head' turned to Jason. "You stood up from here and said..."
Jason repeated the words himself as if those words were preprogrammed in his brain. "Teach you to mess with a marine." Jason stared up at the god in disbelief at how he even remembered those lines from hours ago.
"Yes," the figure nodded. "Except here..." the image zoomed into the Jason under the vampire, but this Jason was clearly dead. This Jason's head was crushed by the vampire's hand, but Jason's knife was in the vampire's chest.
"This is not one of your deaths," explained the figure. "I will send you to this abnormality, and this...will be your 2nd chance. Your only. Chance. You will meet Salim shortly after this."
Jason's heart ached at the mention of Salim’s name. He needed to see Salim again. He wanted so badly to see him.
"Well what are you waiting for? Send me in damn it!" Jason exclaimed.
"You must understand there are rules."
"Such as?!"
"You must not let them know you're a different Jason, or that you and I ever had this conversation. The others…are watching. It will destroy this very world if anyone figures out I pulled a few strings."
"So I gotta act like I know nothin...I can't tell anyone I know what’s gonna happen?"
"Precisely. Do not make it obvious. Many of the major events that will play out should occur naturally as you remember them, and some minor details may be different. Remember, you have one sole objective,”
Jason swallowed and nodded. He clenched his fists. "Save Salim."
"Good luck, Lieutenant Kolchek."
…………………………………….............................................................................................................................
Jason's eyes opened. On top of him was a dead vampire. He couldn't believe he was back here in this hell hole. Did he just wake up after being knocked out? He felt a small sting in his left arm. He glanced at his left arm tattoo to find the eagle’s wing distorting and almost moving. He instantly remembered Salim’s death. This was definitely Jason’s second chance. He recalled his past life in way too much detail, and his “Death Before Dishonor” tattoo shouldn’t move either. He could hear the echo of the god’s words in his head. He had to find Salim. Jason shoved the dead vampire off his body and stood up, repeating his words from his previous life. He grabbed his gun that was nearby and began retracing his steps.
He heard footsteps. He felt his heart drop. Jason knew exactly who that was.
“Show yourself!” Jason shouted, aiming his gun at the darkness.
"I come in peace,"
That deep yet hoarse voice...the man’s distinct accent…the amount of relief that shot through Jason's body was overwhelming. Salim emerged from the shadows in the temple with his hands up. Jason couldn’t believe it. When he saw Salim again, he wanted to run to him and hold him just to confirm if this Salim was real. Jason only took one step forward while lowering his gun before feeling the sting in his left arm. What the hell? His eyes quickly moved to his left arm while holding his gun back up. The ‘r’ in ‘dishonor’ was distorting. Jason had to play the god’s game. He had to act like he and Salim were still strangers. Do not make it obvious. Those words echoed through Jason’s mind. It hurt a bit, but Jason knew he has to do this to protect Salim.
“Don’t you fuckin move,” said Jason, tightening his grip on his gun. Jason wasn’t even looking at Salim’s face. He couldn’t keep eye contact for long. Jason tried to deter Salim’s attention elsewhere. “You alone? Did anyone else make it?”
“It all happened too fast…I think it’s just you and me,” responded the Iraqi.
“Well, that’s just fuckin’ great.” It kind of was great, but Jason wasn’t about to admit that twisted truth.
“I don’t mean you any harm, I swear,” Salim assured. Jason could hear the worry in Salim’s voice.
“No shit, I’m the one holding the gun,” responded Jason. He saw Salim’s eyes widen with fear. Fuck, this sucked. Jason wanted to calm Salim down but he had to do it in a way that still made them strangers. His eyes moved as if he searched his brain for the words. “Honestly, I’m just glad to see a human face.”
Salim’s shoulders relaxed a bit with that line. Surprisingly, Jason didn’t feel the sting in his arm either. “Me too,” Salim spoke. Jason saw Salim look down at his iron stake nervously before speaking again.
"Your friend said...the enemy of my enemy is my friend...it is not always true, but if we both want to live, we must fight as one. The sword..."
And the shield. Jason had to catch himself before completing Salim's sentence. Jason struggled to keep his poker face up, shuffling in place and hiding his smirk behind the sight of his gun and under his cap. Salim had no idea how heavy his words were to Jason in that moment. Jason recalled what he said in response.
"A bit too wordy for my likin, but I'm in." Salim turned around to lead the way. Jason finally let his grin spread across his face. He felt ready to face anything as long as Salim was with him.