Chapter 9 - The Desolate King
- Barabas P.O.V. -
I can smell the blood.
It is thick in the air, metallic and hot. The blood of my brethren, being slaughtered. The bastards waited until I left the territory to get to my FAMILY.
I run as fast as I can, crashing through trees, tearing up the earth, but I arrive too late. I fall upon the worst scene that a living being can see. My mates, my cubs... dead. One is alive, trapped inside a net, crying out in a voice too small for this cruel world, but my ears are ringing with rage. I can't hear anything but the blood pounding in my skull.
ROARRRRR! -
The ground shakes at my bellow. The leaves tremble.
I charge. I start thrashing the human scum around. They melt like honey under my claws and jaw. Their weapons snap like twigs. None can stop me. I don't feel any pain, only the burning need to destroy.
Then, the trap springs.
Chains, wrapped in fire, come forth from the ground. They coil around my legs, my neck, my snout. They tie me up, burning my fur, searing my skin.
I'm lying in a pool of blood. The blood from my family and my enemies mixes together into a dark sludge. I have no more energy. The fire has eaten it all.
I can finally hear the cub clearly now, still crying over there in the net. The fire and energy loss make me thirsty. I'm so thirsty. Before I realize it, the taste of iron is thick in my mouth. I have already drunk half the pool at my feet. It is madness, but it is fuel.
Suddenly, my body feels like it's on fire from the inside out. The energy surges. The chains burst to pieces, shattering like glass. I am free to KILLLL, again and again and again, in a frenzy, tearing until the world goes black.
- Sam P.O.V. -
I wake up, all wet and washed up on a jagged rock.
My head is spinning. There is a lot of blood—my blood, judging by the throbbing pain everywhere. My left arm is broken clean; I can feel the bone grating. There's a gash on my forehead, right above the left eye, bleeding into my vision, and a few fractured ribs that scream every time I take a breath.
In the end, I'm lucky to be alive.
Now.
Whistle! -
I force a weak sound out through my cracked lips. It doesn't take long for Gary to find me. The bird must have been searching already, circling the river. Well...
You're so small... I can't tie a message to you! -
He lands near me, chirping worriedly. I can't exactly attach a scroll to his leg; he's a scout, not a carrier pigeon. I'll just pull some of my hair for him to give to the girls. It's a specific scent marker. It should do the trick to let them know I'm alive.
I yank a lock of bloody hair out and hold it out. Gary grabs it and takes off.
I'm out of juice, big time. My body has used up all my power on its own just to keep me from dying in the river. My internals seem fine, so it must have been that automatic preservation reflex. I would probably be dead if I were a normal person.
After eating my soggy rations—which taste like river water and misery—I try to find Barabas.
I track the carnage downstream. He ended up a kilometer away, washed up on a sandbank, still unconscious and wounded.
Shit, he's useless now. And me too, damn it. -
I approach him carefully, spear ready in my good hand, but he's out cold. After calming down, I check his wounds. Fractured ribs piercing the lung, a broken leg, old wounds festering with infection. This is bad. If I hadn't found him, he would be dead for sure.
I'm no doctor, but with my power, I don't even need a needle and thread to stitch him up.
Well, it's not like he was pristine to begin with. He's a mess of scars and matted fur.
It takes me six hours to fix him up.
I pour my energy into him, knitting bone and flesh. It drains me to the point of exhaustion. Now my left arm is swollen like a balloon. I can't leave it like this. I grit my teeth and stab it with my now-broken knife to drain the hematoma. I focus what's left of my recovering powers into my leaking blood and feed it to Barabas. It's a grotesque blood transfusion of power.
I then set my own bones with a sickening crunch, wrap up the arm with strips of my shirt, and fall asleep right on top of him. My torment has ended for today. Fixing yourself is hard... fixing a giant bear is harder.
...
The Next Day
The girls finally made it to me in the afternoon.
I keep them away from Barabas so they don't wake him up and get mauled. Anyway, once they stop crying and clinging to me like I'm a ghost, I send them back home.
You have to go back. Get ready for the fight. -
It's already been close to two weeks since we left. I don't know if I will make it back in time to lead the defense myself, so they have to escape if they can't fight. I hand them a bag of new spearheads I forged before the trip.
Give these to the generals. They choose who gets them. -
After wrapping a skin with instructions marked for Tenka, I send them back. They need Gary to guide them for the trip back, so I'm left without a scout. I keep the utilities and food. So now, it's just me and Barabas.
- Barabas P.O.V. -
It hurts...
But my old wounds feel good compared to the flaring aches from before. The deep, grinding pain that has been there for years is almost gone.
I try to move, but new wounds hurt now, and I realize I am tied up. I smell the human from before. The one who fell with me.
Don't move, I just fixed you up, damn it. -
He puts his hand on my head. I expect pain, or a blow, but instead, I feel a waterfall of sunlight hitting my body. The pain disappears slowly, replaced by warmth.
Do you want revenge? -
He holds something up. An arrowhead, removed from my body. Even if the smell of the hunter is gone from the metal, I remember those shapes. I remember the pain they caused.
I try to tell him yes, but my body goes berserk at the memory. I squirm against the bindings, a growl ripping from my throat. I can't control myself. The rage is a living thing.
He puts his hand on me again, pressing down firmly. The warmth floods back, stronger this time. I can finally calm down.
I will take that as a yes. Your name is now Barabas. -
After this, a strange feeling washes over me. A connection. He points at himself.
Sam. -
He starts to leave, walking toward the river. I grunt for him not to leave me like this. I am vulnerable.
Sorry for that, but if you want to be back on your feet fast, you need to stay still. Trust me, nothing will happen to you. -
I can't understand the words he says, but the intent is clear in his mind. I feel I can trust him, since his smell and attitude are different from the others. His power kept my rage in check just then.
I gaze at the fire crackling beside me and fall back to sleep, thinking about the past, and the vengeance to come.
- Salaba's P.O.V. -
SAM!!! -
Nooo, that can't be.
Tati and I don't know what to do. We went back to the tent to wait for him, hoping he would just walk in with that stupid grin on his face. After a few hours, we couldn't hold back our tears anymore. I'm so scared.
I realize how important he became in such a short period of time. It's not just survival. If we lose him, things would go back to what they were before, or worse. We would be lost. And I can't imagine what Tenka would feel. She would break.
My dark thoughts are interrupted by Gary, landing on the tent pole holding a lock of hair. It's Sam's hair! I can smell him on it!
We can't leave now; it's going to be nighttime soon, and the forest is death in the dark. Fortunately, Gary is sharp; he just started to rest, tucking his head under his wing. We do the same, though sleep is hard to come by.
We leave in the morning, packing quickly.
Once we find him, he looks terrible. Battered, broken, covered in dried blood. I just cry. I can't do much except give him most of my inner power to help him heal. Tati is the same. She is such a sweetheart, despite her tough act. "Tsundere," Sam says often to tease her, even if we don't understand his language. I think it means she has a prickly shell but a soft heart.
We did not even have time to cuddle him or comfort him properly. He sent us back home with a message for Tenka right away.
Go. Now. -
I gave him a big hug and a kiss—which turned into a savage licking of his face because I was so relieved—before we left. You should have seen his face, hahaha. He's never innocent-looking like this usually; he was totally flustered.
- Temate's P.O.V. -
I have to give it to him. I was supposed to be the next leader, the matriarch in waiting, if no lousy men took me away. But now, I'm under Tenka's lead.
Tenka is the last person I would have seen myself serving. She was the weak one, the invisible one. But she is awesome. She is still physically weak compared to us and a bit meek in social situations, but once it comes to Sam's orders, she becomes frigidly serious. She probably doesn't realize that herself.
And her speed is something else, too. If she hides from you, she could sneak attack in an instant. Nobody wants to provoke her and get on her bad side. She moves like a shadow.
The wolf mission was easy. We didn't even have to fight. I can see the disappointment in Tenka's eyes for a second when Red handled it all. Then that perverted man's dog... erk...
The atmosphere felt a bit awkward until we got back home. Tenka, Lily, Pama, and I started to tame the wolves before Red could get to them.
Muff... You won't touch my Suki. Back off, dog.
There were only four adult wolves. The rest are five cubs. Useless for battle right now, so we made the kids tame them. It gives them responsibility.
It's easy to tell how Sam thinks. He does not hide it. He took the people that he judged more important for the future—the warriors, the leaders—and gave us the power. It's up to us to decide what to do with it. The old thinkers can't tell us how to think anymore. Like my mother. But I can tell Sam still respects her, and she respects him, even if they stare daggers at each other. That's why I trust him, despite him being a man.
I did the same thing that he did with me to power my mom and the kids. Well, I tried. It did work, but more like a watered-down version. I don't have the same amount of power as he does... Smart man indeed. He kept the source potent.
- Tenka's P.O.V. -
When we came back after three days only, I knew Sam would not be here. That puts a lot of pressure on me. I have to lead them, but how?
Wait... Like the chess games! I have to think ahead. I'm an outsider, just like him in some ways. I can see the board differently.
I call the generals that are still here and tell them of my plan. Temate had the right idea, and they are to awaken as many people as possible. Training can do the rest. Also, they need to choose teams that they can work with, compatibility speaking.
Lily took her mother, Lale. Lale is in her forties, and they look like the same person at different ages. Both are 5'4", with black-bluish hair, white skin, and abyss-black irises. Both look stern and unyielding. She also awakened Xeo (mid-30s) and Tio (3 years old), a mother-daughter pair. Lastly, Nalia, in her sixties with dark blond hair and blue eyes. Nalia is the only traveler of our tribe. She spent her youth running away from home. A good friend of Lale. That's a solid squad.
She tried to get Rita and her two children, but instead, Rita came to me and pleaded for me to awaken her.
She's "a milf," as Sam said. "No pressure," he said... Yeah, right! When I look at her, I know she is loyal to him, but her "body" is so superior it's annoying. It jiggles in all the right places. I know what she is thinking, and I am the first! No way she gets him before me! And that's the deal that she was so happy to accept anyway...
So I awoke her and her two daughters, Luqui and Mito. They saw Sam training with his staff, so they copied him. Well... they think so. Giggle. They look like they are dancing, but it's a start.
Their mother, Rita, is a hopeless case for combat. For her weapon, she chose... shears. Gardening shears. I'm so embarrassed... At least she picked up cooking and cleaning fast. That's a mother for you. I just found her use. Sigh.
I took Izuka (15 and a genius, a bit like me), Akari (14), Mily (13, "the unruly one"), Pachy (15, "the chubby one"), and Entha (12). All orphans. All mine to mold.
Unlike the generals, Sam used his power on me so many times now. I always sleep with him. I notice how he did it over time. The power they gained from me is a little better, a little purer than what the others can give...
Tali wants Sam to do it for her and her baby, as he did not do it yet. She's waiting for the "Sun" to do it himself.
Pama awakens Sati and Sera, a daughter-mother pair.
Tati got Kata and Kely, the "ugly pair," by default. (That's mean, but accurate).
Salaba got two elders, Baru and Houta. She usually is fine with anything, but I still find it sad for her. Elders are slow.
Matema grabbed some people for her daughter: Uli (24 years old) and her daughter Utata (10 years old). (Bastards, right... a 14-year-old mother? The men of the other tribe are monsters). Lastly, Tema (13), an orphan under her care.
Now we wait.
The days drag on. The tension builds.
Until I see Gary, Salaba, and Tati coming back alone. They look pale. They look broken.
My heartbeat is so loud I can't hear anything else. The world narrows down to a tunnel.
The next thing I know, I woke up shaking Tati's shoulders violently, everybody looking at me, scared.
I breathe for a second, trying to ground myself.
I'm sorry... What happened? -
Tati looks terrified.
Your eyes... they were scary. -
Not to me! Where is Sam! -
Salaba steps in, putting a hand on my arm.
Please calm down, Tenka. You don't realize how scary you are right now. -
She is right. There is something wrong with me. My aura is cold, freezing the air around me, and my heartbeat is fast. My eyes feel very focused, like a predator locking onto prey. I let her go and take a few deep breaths.
Salaba sighs.
He's fine. A little banged up, but he told us to come back and prepare for war. Wait a sec. -
She rummages in Sam's cabin, then brings back fifteen spearheads and gives me a note. I snatch it from her hand.
Sam: Tenka, I hope you are fine, hehe.
Idiot, are you?! - I scream at the paper.
Sam: I'm fine, don't worry.
Rrrrr... - A growl escapes my throat.
Sam: Sorry to do this to you. The only advice I can give is: fight from a distance and run North when they get too close. They have bows and arrows, something like the crossbow I showed you. Use that too.... Be careful. I'm coming.
At least you're fine, you idiot...
I look up at the five generals. My fear is gone, replaced by cold calculation.
Get your people ready. - My voice is steady, commanding. - The old and young go Northside, ready to escape. The rest stay and fight from a distance. You five and I are going to fight just at the end of the trap field. Keep two metal spears for yourselves and give the rest to the others that fight. Make plenty of throwing spears until they come. -
In silence, they just leave for work, moving fast. No questions. No doubts.
Damn! My Aura changed, and I feel different, too. I feel more... powerful. Dangerous.
What happened to me, Sam? And what are you bringing back with you?