After Gary finished paying he looked back over at Arthur and saw it, only for a moment, a dark, almost vile look was on his face. He stood in the middle of the mud ridden street, stalls of various sizes and colors surrounded him, people of different origins and lives walked past him. They all, for the most part, had one thing in common with each other, the vile, accursed Valahi that had stolen them from their lives, that had robbed them of their potential futures, that had stomped the soul and hope out of them. The fact they were still alive when the Front promised these victims that their captors had been wiped from the face of the planet was nothing short of angering. Spite and despair welled in Gary's heart, for a moment he thought of Arthurs offer to leave altogether, abandoning his duties and fleeing into the stars.
"Gary?"
Gary realized Arthur had been speaking to him for a few moments, but was too sucked into his thoughts to even realize it.
"Yes?"
Arthur looked at him, a deceptive smile painting the lower half of his face, his eyes told a different story. A story weaved of malice and violence.
"I think I know how to repay the favor, friend."
...
Gary drove the truck, the shadow of the mountain swelled around him, almost pushing him away but he continued further, he was promised that once they got close enough he could turn around. He was unsure of what Arthur planned to do and to be honest he didn't want to know what that strange man was going to unleash on that mountain. The only emotion circulating his system at that point was fear, he was driving back to the source of his nightmares and the creators of his accursed flesh prison. He never slept well between jobs unless he was drowning in liquor and hallucinogenic oils.
Arthur was sat quietly in the back of the truck, watching the distant town grow smaller and smaller, lights flickering as the sun set behind the mountain. Luck was on his side, soon it would be dark, when they should be awake, preparing to attack the town more than likely. He wanted them to be aware of what he was going to do, to feel what they'd done to Gary returned to them a thousand-fold. He'd grown rather attached to the small, ornery man over the two days they'd spent together, maybe it was a bond born out of pity, maybe respect. It was hard to know exactly, as it hadn't been long, but one thing he was certain of was the fact he owed him for saving him from that endless expanse of sweltering heat.
Soon the fields of grass began to grow sparse, rocks peeking and eventually crawling out to give way to the mountain. The truck came to a slow stop, and a rather tall man stepped out the bed of the small vehicle, stretching his body. He leaned forward and touched his feet, after a few seconds he leaned back, placing his hands on his hips. He walked over to the driver side of the truck and squatted, leaning his head into the window. A tired smile appearing on his face.
"Where should I come to find you when this is done?"
The smaller man looked at him hesitantly, worry clearly smeared over his face.
"Are you sure you want to do this? How are you so certain you can make it out back?"
"I'll tell you about it later, while I am doing you a favor, I'm also correcting a mistake I made. I didn't think I left any of them alive, let alone enough to form a band of raving lunatics who'd attempt to reenact their atrocities on the previous victims, so I do feel a little responsible."
Gary looked at him, confused.
"Are you saying you were involved in the Front's extermination of the Valahis?"
Arthur didn't break eye contact but didn't answer either. He stood back up and pulled his shirt off, handing it to Gary.
"Take this back with you, it'd be a waste to ruin it so soon after you got it for me."
Gary pushed the shirt down into a space between the rudimentary computer and the dashboard of the truck. He placed his finger in the biometric scanner and the truck roared to life. He swung the wheel left and began speeding away, watching both Arthur and the mountain in his rearview mirror.
Arthur watched the vehicle get further away, he waited until it was out of the mountain's immense shadow and then turned back towards it. He began scanning the mountain, looking for something, anything that would signify some form of life, in the growing darkness, he was looking for light specifically light. It didn't take long, not even a quarter of the way up the mountain he saw an irregular lip, with light pouring out and up the side of the mountain. He began walking towards it.
...
Perched on the side of mountain, holding a torch, a Valahi warrior stood holding lamp. He was well over 10 feet tall and as wide as a car, he had no hair on his olive green body, as his skin was too thick and scarred. He wore a rather primitive, tan armor, made from the skin of multiple men. His eyes were on the horizon, watching the blinking lights of the town. His mind was on meat, the succulent flesh of women and children. He was almost aroused just thinking about it, soon they'd begin their trek down the mountain, soon they'd truly take back what belonged to them. He turned and looked back into the hand dug cavern, he was waiting for his shift to end, for his replacement to come. If only his skull's brow ridge wasn't so thick, if only he'd looked up. He felt something land on his back, two legs appeared in his field of vision, two arms wrapped around his neck and began pulling. Pain seared his neck until he felt nothing, his vision turned and warped, suddenly he was much shorter, his vision blotted and blurred until, slowly and inevitably, nothing.
Arthur stood next to the headless corpse of the Valahi man, unaffected by the deep, crimson blood that soaked his arms, legs and torso. He pushed the corpse down the mountain but left the head sitting on the ground in its own blood, the mans... no, the things eyes wide open in shock staring into the cavern. Arthur took a breath and jumped twenty feet into the air, landing on his perch once again, waiting patiently for his next victim.
Eventually the replacement walked out, upon seeing the head he almost let out a shriek, that is until he felt a pressure on his skull, a pressure so great he crumbled to his knees, a pressure so deep his eyes began to bulge, a pressure so immense his skull popped like a balloon.
Arthur looked down on the thing as it slumped to the ground, he twisted and flicked his right arm, spraying the ground in brain matter and blood. He didn't bother kicking this corpse over the ledge though. He turned and began walking into the cavern, towards the dancing lights and shadows.