Chapter Text
This island was a nightmare. An absolute nightmare.
As if waking up in a cage with your arms tied over your head wasn't bad enough, Jason soon saw his older brother Grant shot dead. Grant - the one who taught him to always be strong - always had an open ear for Jason and unlike the rest of the Brody family, always stood by his side instead of criticizing his lifestyle. Yes, Jason changed jobs a lot, he changed relationships a lot, and his college grades were far from satisfactory. But what do they say? You only live once, so at least try to enjoy it. Grant always supported him, so it was even worse to see him die.
Shot by Vaas.
When Jason saw the man for the first time, he knew immediately that he had to watch out for him. Vaas had the word "danger" written on his forehead. And as Grant bled out next to him - Jason still had his hands tightly around his brother's neck, desperately trying to stop the bleeding - he slowly realized that Vaas was screaming at him.
Jason didn't know exactly what happened next, instinct took over - suddenly survival was all that mattered. He ran through the dense green of the jungle, which was actually a beautiful landscape but you don't see much of it at night when you're running from angry pirates armed to the teeth. Branches clawed at his arms and legs, tearing at his clothes and skin. He cursed under his breath, forcing himself to concentrate on his footing. The air was thick with moisture, making every breath a struggle. Fear coursed through him, sharp and cold, urging him to move faster.
"Where the hell did he go?" one of the pirates growled in frustration. Behind him, the pirates were merciless, their laughter cutting through the darkness like a knife. "He can't have gone far!" shouted another, the menace in his voice sending a shiver down the American's spine. He risked a glance over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of torches flickering in the distance. Panic rose as Jason turned and pushed harder, ducking under low branches and leaping over tangled roots. The sounds of the pirates grew louder, their footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves.
"He must be close!" another voice shouted, and Jason's mind raced. The young man vaguely remembers a bear he passed as he fought his way through the dense jungle. Just then, a sharp crack echoed nearby, and Jason's instincts kicked in. He darted from his hiding place under a large rook, a pirate tried to attack him but Jason managed to win the fight.
It was his first kill.
At that moment, he had no idea how many more would follow.
The darkness of the jungle enveloped him like a suffocating shroud as he stumbled through the undergrowth. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears, drowning out the night sounds of chirping insects and rustling leaves. He had no idea how long he'd been running but the distant shouts of armed pirates were a constant reminder that he couldn't stop. Ahead, the jungle opened into a small clearing, moonlight spilling onto the ground.
There was a helicopter, Jason ran across a bridge and then - he blacked out.
He woke up in a sparsely furnished hut while a man tattooed him. He later learned that the man's name was Dennis and that the village he woke up in was called Amanaki. Dennis was also the one who taught him how to navigate the jungle. He taught Jason how to hunt, how to skin animals and what to make from them. Jason also learned which plants on Rook Island were edible. Dennis told him more about Vaas and his pirate crew. From then on, Jason's hatred for Vaas only grew. Not only did he kill Jason's friend Vincent and shoot Grant in front of him but he also enslaved the entire island so that no one felt safe.
At some point, the phone that Jason had taken with him when he escaped from Vaas camp rang and that was when the real terror began.
There were radio towers to climb and outposts to liberate.
Along the way, he learned more about the Rakyat and their culture. The warriors greeted Jason warmly but he was regularly reminded that he was an outsider. True recognition for all his good deeds for the people was lacking. Acting on a tip-off from Dennis, Jason found Daisy in a house owned by a man called Dr Earnhardt. The elderly man seemed to be in a confused state most of the time but was still friendly and helpful. After Daisy talked to the doctor for a while, he even provided a cave for the rescued friends.
Eventually, Jason left to look for the others, leaving Daisy to mourn Grant's death in peace. He successfully rescued Liza, although he did run into Vaas again. Liza told him later in the cave that she didn't recognize Jason anymore, their relationship slowly falling apart. Jason, however, was more concerned with rescuing the rest of his missing friends and his little brother.
The problems between Liza and Jason had been going on for months, so it wasn't really news to him. He rescued Oliver a short time later thanks to Willis, an agent he met in Badtown. It was in Willis' basement that he first heard about Hoyt.
If Vaas is dangerous, how do you classify Hoyt? worried the young American.
Dennis told him more about Hoyt, saying that he was to blame for Vaas switching sides and being so unpredictable these days. And Jason was astonished to learn that Vaas had once been a Rakyat. During his meeting with Dennis, he also told Jason about Citra and a short time later he met her for the first time.
Citra had a dominant personality, which she tried to hide with her soft voice and charming demeanor. Jason quickly realized that Dennis seemed to like her very much and smiled inwardly. He himself had no real interest in Citra, he was just playing her game to save Keith and Riley and get off this island.
Hopefully very soon.
After Citra told him to find a dagger and not to come back until he had it, Willis told him that a man from Badtown had bought Keith. That's how Jason came across Buck, whom he met in a run-down pub in Badtown. The two talked for a while and Buck made Jason an offer - he gets the dagger and Jason gets Keith in return. Buck also gave him some locations so that Jason knew where to start looking. After several days of suicide missions, Jason finally had the dagger that not only Buck but also Citra wanted.
I don't understand all this drama about an old dagger but as long as it gets me somewhere, I don't really care.
When Jason finally handed the thing over to Buck in exchange for access to the cellar, he was shocked at the sight of his friend. A short time later, Buck also entered the cellar and Jason was furious. Not only because of Buck's lewd behavior and his order that Jason should stay here instead of Keith but also because Buck is probably the most disgusting person Jason has ever met. Even if the man had just let the two friends go, Jason would have killed him anyway.
That asshole will never hurt anyone again. Jason thought hatefully, content to see Buck's blood running down his hands. For two days, Keith and Jason trekked through the dense jungle, from Buck's shady hut near Badtown to the cave near Dr Earnhardt's house. Paranoid that a pirate lurked around every corner, or that they might encounter a deadly animal. Driving would draw too much attention and Keith certainly wouldn't have been able to fight in his condition. The heat combined with the humid air made them feel exhausted and walking became an exhausting task. Still, Jason was relieved to have saved another one of his friends, now all he had to do was get Keith back to the cave where the others would be waiting.
When they arrived at the cave, Jason showed Keith around and took time to talk to his other friends. Just as he was about to leave to continue his journey, Keith told him that Riley had been shot and died. Jason's eyes widened and in a moment of madness he whispered "...wasn't one brother enough? I'll kill them all!" Before he could go completely mad and possibly scare his friends, as if they weren't already afraid of me, he left the cave and headed for Citras Temple.
Don't think about it, you have to bring the dagger to Citra! You can mourn later. The meeting with Citra went well, although Jason thought the story about the giant sounded like a bad fairy tale. Just as he was about to leave the temple, Dennis approached him and ordered him to go to Churchtown to help rescue the kidnapped Rakyat warriors. When Jason mentioned that he needed some sleep after killing Buck, rescuing Keith and coming back here, Dennis just looked at him with mild irritation and told him that there was no time for rest now. There goes my hope for sleep and mental recovery, he thought slightly annoyed.
Sure, I'm supposed to liberate outposts on my own and I almost break my neck climbing radio towers, but as soon as the Rakyat need something, they expect me to help immediately? He shook his head. Despite his exhaustion and ever-worsening mood, he took the fastest route to Churchtown.
Churchtown consisted of a few makeshift huts, but there were also well-built concrete houses. Some houses had verandas and others had backyards but unfortunately these were not well maintained. There were chickens running around, and behind the poorly constructed fence around the town you could regularly hear komodo dragons and cassowaries fighting.
Probably one of the reasons why this place is now abandoned. Jason thought as he entered the small town that had definitely seen better days. He approached some warriors who were standing in a circle in front of the church, planning the final details of the ambush and decided to talk to them to understand what exactly they were planning and how he could help. After the discussion, he looked around and found a good place to hide. Kneeling behind a large bush that would keep him out of sight of the enemy, he grabbed his sniper rifle and scanned the area.
It was then that Daisy decided to call him and he could no longer contain his irritation. The stress of the last few days combined with the lack of sleep was too much and Jason snapped at her "What do you want?"
"The boat, it's almost ready!" Daisy announced happily on the other end. Seemingly unaware of Jason's tone. After a few seconds without an answer from him, she asked in a worried voice "Jason, are you all right?"
"Yes, just stressed. I have to hang up now." Jason replied annoyed. "Wait, what..." but Daisy couldn't finish the sentence as Jason cut her off "I don't have time for this shit right now, okay!" He hung up and had to stop himself from throwing the phone against the tree beside him. After the call ended and he had calmed down a bit, he briefly considered apologizing to her later for his behavior.
Just then, a convoy of cars arrived and Jason took a deep breath before looking through his rifle. To his great surprise, he realized that the pirates had suddenly become better equipped and much more organized. As more vehicles came down the road, the American realized that he had no chance with just his precious SVD. He was also having trouble with his aim, a symptom of his lack of sleep. Some of the fighting Rakyat were shouting and Jason turned his head to the side where the voices were coming from, only to see the truck with the kidnapped people driving away.
He wasted no time and jumped into the nearest car to follow them. Good thing they never take the keys out here. After a long chase, Jason finally caught up with the truck.
He quickly killed the remaining enemies with his knife and went over to open the back door. Before he had time to realize what had happened, he was unconscious on the sandy dirt road.
-
The first thing Jason noticed was pain. His head, legs and arms hurt. For a moment he thought he was still in his hotel bed in Bangkok, just suffering a hangover from the previous night's party but then he heard a voice.
"Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" someone asked him and Jason slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight immediately worsened his already throbbing headache and he began to panic as he realized that his arms and legs were bound tightly with rough rope that was cutting into his skin.
Jason found himself sitting on the edge of a cenote. Frightened, he looked up to see none other than Vaas himself sitting on a wooden box in front of him and suddenly it all came back to him - Churchtown.
The strange-looking pirates.
Vaas.
"Insanity is doing the same shit over and over again, expecting shit to change." Vaas continued his monologue. His eyes were wild, filled with a chaotic energy that shifted from anger to something darker and Jason just furrowed his brow. But as soon as the pirate was finished, a slightly defeated Jason asked "Do you finally want to get this over with?"
For a second it seemed as if Vaas was genuinely surprised that he had interrupted him. Good, that gives me time. Jason thought as he tried to figure out how to get out of this situation and struggled against his bonds. "Hermano, it's so fucking rude to interrupt someone!" Vaas shouted, his voice echoing through the jungle.
The pirate leader stood up and angrily kicked away the wooden box he was sitting on. Jason winced at the volume, each word cutting through his already frayed nerves and he could only watch in horror as another pirate threw a crying native, his feet tied to a concrete block, into the waterhole. The man had no chance of survival and Jason closed his eyes as Vaas screams slowly turned his headache into a migraine.
It was at this moment that Jason felt something inside him break.
He felt utterly small, overwhelmed by the reality of his situation. The feeling of utter desperation and hopelessness washed over him like a tidal wave, drowning out any flicker of courage he had left. He had fought so hard to save his friends, to escape this godforsaken island, but now the weight of his failures felt insurmountable.
Keith had told him 4 days ago that Riley had been shot.
Jason's eyes were closed and a sense of pain gripped his heart as he finally began to realise that he'd never be able to save his brother, that he was long dead. It had been days since he had eaten or slept and the weight of despair hung over him like a heavy shroud.
I ran from place to place, alone and without help. My friends don't recognise me anymore and my two brothers are dead, both shot. I couldn't save either of them and I'm going to die here like them, and the others will meet the same fate. We won't leave this island alive, Jason thought defeated.
Tears threatened to well up in his eyes. The thought shattered him and a deep sense of defeat washed over him. The screams around him faded to a dull roar and for a brief moment he could only hear the relentless beating of his heart.
Instead of the Rakyat helping him, they just hurry him from place to place.
He wants to rest and eat.
He misses his soft bed in America and is homesick.
His friends don't understand him anymore and talking to them quickly irritates Jason. He doesn't have time to help Daisy with the boat, work on his broken relationship with Lisa or support Keith.
The Rakyat are now controlling his life and Jason feels like he's slowly going mental. Citra's expectations of him are too high.
I can't just run around the jungle all day. What are the other warriors doing? They can't possibly expect me to liberate the whole island by myself. And even if I succeed and kill Vaas, what happens after that? Am I also supposed to bring down Hoyt's Imperium all by myself? Willis has already told me that he'll be leaving Rook soon. All I have are Citra's words, but words alone won't help me in battle.
Jason opened his eyes again, his headache still there, along with a feeling of absolute hopelessnss. He felt broken and could take no more. He wasn't made for this. He wasn't Citra's warrior, he was just a simple American with a part-time job who wanted to have a nice holiday here. Jason had never felt so helpless. He looked down at his bound feet and knew he would meet the same fate as the man who had already drowned in the water.
He had already fled from Vaas' grip twice. Once from his camp and once from the burning hotel with Liza. What were the chances of him making it a third time? This time the situation was hopeless and he briefly tried to move his hands, but they were already numb and the rope around his wrists was too tight.
He realised there was no escape and whispered in a low, broken voice "Do it.”
It was over, Citra's great warrior had fallen.