Far Cry 5: The Panther (REWRITE)

Just. Say. Yes.

The first thing that passed through his mind when he awoke was "Red". Everything was red.

A damp rag padded at his forehead. The pain of a bruise swelling in his mind. His eyes slowly opened, revealing a silhouette standing over him.

Their words were low and hard to make out. Blinking a few times, he was relieved as his vision cleared.

"Dad, are you awake?" The voice of a young girl floated through his mind.

"Sammy? Is that you?" His body struggled to push those few words out.

"Yes! Yes dad its me!" He focused harder as he began to make out her face.

"Sammy you need to get out of here! Head to-" His words caught in his mouth when he noticed her soft expression.

"No, I don't want to leave. I'm happy here dad. And Kim's getting the help she needs. Why don't you just stay with us dad?" Her eyes were pleading, and it hurt him.

It hurt because he could never accept this ending for himself while people were fighting for their life, while the peggies were ruining people's lives.

"I have people I need to protect. I can't stay here, not while people are fighting. Not while they're dying."

His head hung limp, afraid to look his daughter in the eyes.

Sam looked at the shell of her father. His warm, caring smile and attitude, gone. Was this how he was overseas. How badly had war actually changed her dad.

How was he before the war.

Sure, he was only her adoptive father, but unlike their mom, he genuinely tried to give her and Kimberly the best chance at life they've ever had.

The amount of camping and fishing trips he took them on, she thoroughly enjoyed.

They both jumped as the heavy metal door opened to the room, and John strolled in carrying a toolbox, the sound of its contents hauntingly paired with his whistle.

He placed the toolbox down, and used his hand to brush the dust from the table.

With the toolbox now still the only sounds filling the room were John's whistles and Luke's heartbeat.

Setting his tools up, John dusts the table off once more before he stops whistling.

Slowly he turned around slowly, a smile gracing his face. Taking in a deep breath, he began to speak, as he walked towards him with a water bowl and sponge.

"My... parents... were the first ones to teach me about the Power... of Yes." He turned around and began grabbing more thing from the toolbox, "One night, they took me into the kitchen," he pulled a piece of leather and a nail gun from the metallic box, before he began to find the best position for the former item.

"And they threw me on the ground." Finally, Luke got a good look at the tips on the flesh, Lust. That wasn't leather.

It was human flesh.

His gaze quickly looked towards his daughter, who looked uncomfortable with the situation.

The deafening click of the nails flooded his ears, a small sweat forming above his brow.

"I experienced pain, after pain" he began turning towards Luke, "After pain after pain-"  before slamming the object in his hand into the table.

He took a moment to collect himself, before he continued.

"And when I didn't think I could take anymore. I did." He grabbed his tattoo gun, and made his way over towards the chair his prisoner was strapped in.

"Something broke free inside. I wasn't scared, I was..." his finger floated freely for a moment, a genuine softness in John's eyes. "Clear."

He started hooking his tattoo equipment up and began speaking with more ferver.

"I looked up at them and I started to laugh. All I could say was... Yes." He flicked on his tool, and Luke started trying to scoot his wooden chair back.

John turned it back off and sat it down. "I spent my whole life looking for more things to say 'yes' to." Violently, John lunged forward and ripped his ranger top open, breaking off the top 3 buttons.

"I opened every hole in my body, and when those were filled, I created more." Their eyes locked as John retold his story. Luke pushed as far back against his chair as possible, making every inch of space between them. Finally he pushed away in a calm manner, and continued to weave his tale.

"But it was Joseph that showed me just how selfish I was being." The cold sponge brushed against Luke's now exposed collar bone. Luke looked at his daughter, happy she had turned away so she didn't have to witness her father get attacked.

"Always taking, always recieving. The best gift isn't the one you get, it's the one you give, and giving takes courage." John pressed harder against Luke's skin with the sponge, the flesh raising and reddening from the force.

"The courage to own your sin," he pushed away and towards his daughter,

"Don't you touch her John!" Luke thrashed against his restraints.

"To etch it onto your flesh," John  ushered his eldest from the room before blocking the door again.

"And carry its burden and when you have endured, when you have truly begun to atone, to cut it out like a cancer for all to see," He motioned like he was tearing open his shirt as he placed back and forth between Luke, his place slowing as he did.

"My god that's courage." He breathed in his nose heavily as his eyes fluttered closed for a moment.

All at once he reached back and grabbed a hammer from the table and walked towards Luke with ferver.

"I'm going to teach you Courage. Teachers you how to say Yes, so you can confront your weakness." He lightly smacked the hammer against his hand and placed the room again as his voice raised in volume, fear creeped into his bones at the manic behavior John was showing.

"Confront your sin. You will swim across an ocean of pain and emerge... free." The hammer swung towards Luke as once again John closed the gap.

"For only then can you truly begin to atone." He tapped the hammer on Luke's knee twice before he walked back towards his table.

"Luke will you say Yes to confronting your sins and begin your atonement?"

Luke saw no outcome where he escaped, he needed John to leave to he could break the chair. There was only one way John would do that.

"Hmm? What'll it be Luke? Will you atone?"

Luke's mind raced for anything that could help him, but cliche movie ideas wouldn't work, John was cunning, crafty, this was not a problem he could brute force his way through, he would have to outwit John.

"This is lesson number one Luke!"

He only had one choice.

"Yes"