"You really are resilient I have to applaud that," Carter said with a slow clap, the knife still grazing the skin of Mei Lian's neck.
"Okay, tell me what you want," said Aman.
"Shhh. I just wanna talk. Well, everyone else either retreated, died, or got captured. Me? I'm still here. Some of the higher-ups escaped way earlier, of course. Privilege, you know?" Carter smirked.
"You talk a lot, you know that?" Aman replied, though his eyes stayed on Mei Lian. He raised the gun, aiming it straight at Carter.
Carter yanked Mei Lian's hair, forcing her head back, fully exposing her neck to the blade.
Aman watched, his face unreadable. He hated how injured and weak he was, but he wouldn't show it. That wasn't who Aman was.
"Ahh, it hurts! Carter, stop!" Mei Lian cried out. Aman clenched his fist but kept his aim steady.
"Can you shut up? Adults are talking," Carter snapped. "Look at one of your friends he kept silent, just stared at me. Half of his vision, of course. Heh. Tell me, how's it feel, having only half a view?"
Carter sat down, dragging Mei Lian with him, still holding her hostage. The knife never left her neck.
"Well, Henry boy, at least you should lower your weapon, you know?" Carter said, using Mei Lian like a human shield, a bargaining chip.
...Henry, eh... Lieutenant Henry. That suicidal bastard. Dead now. Why feel anything for him? He wasn't family. Just some white officer who made life harder. And yet... he had saved Aman and Mei Lian. Gave them his things. But still, he was a bastard who followed orders, wasn't he?
Aman slowly lowered the gun Henry gun.
"Hmm, put it on the ground," Carter ordered.
Aman complied.
Mei Lian stayed silent. Always so quiet, even now. But she was trembling. Terrified. For good reason.
"So what do you want exactly? How about... I don't know, letting her go?" Aman suggested.
"Hmm... how about no? Just in case you try something crazy. Probably already going mad, aren't you?" Carter said.
"You think I'm going mad? After all this?" Aman scoffed. "I'm actually impressed with myself. I haven't lost it yet. But I will kill you if I get the chance."
Mei Lian looked at Aman, eyes tearing up. She didn't speak. She didn't dare. She was shaking.
"Kill me? Hah... What makes you different from me? You kill me, you think that makes you better?" Carter grinned. "Funny enough, I'm the one who taught you how to shoot, remember?"
"I am different," Aman said. "That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm trying to make you pay. You… the Japs… the Brits… You all burned everything while retreating. So the Japs wouldn't get it? In the end, you only hurt the locals."
Carter picked his ear, looking unimpressed. "Different, huh? About murder. We did bad things, yeah. But we followed orders. You know, they'd give me praise and medals the more people I killed. Funny, right? Some killers go to jail. Others get honor. And you… You think you're better, so you think you have the right to kill me?"
"You wanna be a killer?" Carter asked.
"I'm willing to," Aman replied.
"For what?"
"For whatever reason. Just… I'm not letting Mei Lian dirty her hands. Let me carry it."
"You're very poetic, eh? For someone from a rural area," Carter chuckled. "Don't let the girl do anything, just you killing and murdering. What's the difference?"
He glanced at the bird Aman had hunted for food. "Killing animals... not like killing humans, huh?"
"What are you trying to say?" Aman asked.
"You know how soldiers can kill without hating the enemy or being mentally broken? Because we dehumanize them. We don't say we kill people. We say we kill the enemy. Makes it easier."
"Dehumanizing them makes them less than human in your eyes?"
"Yeah. You're pretty smart."
"That's sick."
"It's effective."
Carter exhaled deeply, looking back at Mei Lian. Then he glanced at the snub nose revolver in the ground Henry gun.
Aman just watched. Resigned.
Carter shoved Mei Lian away. She stumbled and immediately crawled to Aman.
"You two care about each other that much, huh?" Carter mocked.
Mei Lian collapsed beside Aman, crying. "I'm scared, I'm scared… I'm sorry. Because of me, we"
"Shut up. It's annoying," Aman said, placing a hand on her head, trying to calm her.
Carter looked at the revolver and pick it up "Henry... trusted a brat like you with his stuff, huh?"
"So what are you gonna do now?" Aman asked.
"Well, technically I'm a deserter now. If I get caught, they'll probably use me for slave labor or something worse. Heard they brutalized Indians who served the Brits propaganda gold. Betrayed their race, huh? We didn't care. They were cannon fodder."
"You know the Japs have their own biases? Go easy on some, based on race or usefulness. And their damn Bushido code if you surrender, you're subhuman."
Aman touched his useless left eye, remembering the moment it was taken by this bastard.
"Don't look at me like that," Carter said. "I didn't scoop it out. I just stabbed it. It's still there... just worthless."
Then, without warning, Carter kicked Aman in the stomach.
"Agh!" Aman groaned, collapsing in pain. He wasn't healing yet, and that hit tore through him.
"What are you doing?!" Mei Lian cried out.
"Ah, nothing," Carter said casually. He turned to Mei Lian. His expression twisted disgusting, predatory.
"You know how the Japanese treated Chinese girls like you?"
He licked her face.
"No stop! Please!" Mei Lian sobbed, trying to escape. But Carter was too strong. He pinned her down, pistol in hand.
She couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't scream.
Carter was sick.
Less human... less guilt.
Race... what is race again? Just another way to divide. Another reason to dehumanize.
Suddenly, Aman charged injured but furious. He tackled Carter. The pistol slipped from Carter's hand and hit the ground.
The two men struggled, and Mei Lian gasped for air, frozen and trembling. She saw the pistol, just out of reach.
"You sick bastard!" Aman yelled, punching Carter. But Carter turned the fight. He slammed Aman down and punched him in the face, again and again.
"You know... I hated you from the start. Hearing Henry went easy on you. That he gave you his stuff especially that snub nose. Fuck him. Fuck his guts. Trying to be a hero made me sick."
Carter's fists kept flying.
"You don't know how many I tortured. How many screamed, begged. That power it made me feel good. You think you're the first? I have fun after all after long time i learn to enjoy it! To me they are not a person but a bastard for me a gift for me! To play with"
Aman was bloodied. Beaten.
BAM!
Carter froze.
Mei Lian stood there, the pistol still smoking in her shaking hands.
The bullet had hit his neck. Right in the blood vessel.
Carter reached for her... stumbled... and collapsed.
His eyes met hers. And then they went lifeless.
Aman crawled toward Mei Lian, gently taking the pistol from her trembling hands.
"Shit, shit, shit, It's okay. It's okay," he repeated, panicking. Mei Lian stared blankly, lips trembling, eyes hollow.
Blood coated her hands.
"He..." she whispered.
Aman looked at her.
"He wasn't human… He was a fucking sick bastard," she said at last but her voice wavered with guilt. She had killed a man.
Carter's words echoed in both their minds
Dehumanize.
That's how people kill.