The atmosphere in the village was filled with a thick stench of smoke, fear, and freshly spilled blood. People stood transfixed with terror, looking at the spearhand creatures who had taken a position in the center of the safe zone.
Catra stood amidst the terrified people too. Beside her, Harold clutched his wife, and Vulen and Charlotte pressed even tighter between them.
Soliana and the short shield user completed the small group, and none of them could move.
Before long, Catra's cheetah ears twitched and forced her head to snap back. She noticed that behind the flimsy barriers that kept them safe, even more monsters lurked in the shadows, waiting to watch a massacre unfold.
"Look, brother… fresh meat…" one of the Spearhands hissed.
"Yes, brother… I can't wait for our other siblings to get here…" the other responded.
Those words really got under Catra's skin. She tried to get the attention of the shield user beside her, but he was just as bad as the rest. The small elf felt that even breaking eye contact with those monsters would instantly kill him.
"What do I do?" Catra thought.
Suddenly, a high-pitched laugh erupted from the rooftop above them. Everyone's head snapped toward the sound and were met by a terrifying entity: a white female fox.
She looked so beautiful: Her pure white fur faintly glowing. And even with her beauty, civilians were horrified.
The animal hopped from the rooftop and landed on the muddy ground. With deliberation, she slowly walked closer to the Spearhands.
"You are all fools of your own making…" she purred in amusement, "Letting children play at the edges of the village at nightfall? Gathering all in one singular place, unable to escape?"
Everyone in the safe zone remained silent, trying to comprehend what game this fox was playing.
"A Foxton…?" the shield user murmured.
"You see, we've been watching you all for a while, getting to know your patterns, your weaknesses… Did you really think Spearhands only hunted in the south? Even THEY get hungry…"
Silence…
"After months of passive feeding… we'll be able to eat a feast!"
The faint sound of more footsteps echoed from the surrounding rooftops and EVERYTHING changed in an instant.
Twelve more Spearhands jumped from above and landed in the thick mud. Some people gasped, some screamed, others just stayed silent. Like most of them though, Catra's breaths came in ragged gasps.
The sight of it all compelled the white fox to laugh… and prepare.
"It's time to eat. Begin," she commanded, savoring the moment.
A single second of tranquility stretched with dread when the humanoids watched their prey.
Slash!
They all began a synchronized attack, lunging their spear-like limbs like blurs of death, each one piercing their prey over and over, striking vital organs with precision and speed.
Everyone started running in a frantic scramble… Some tried the infirmary, others to the barrier… The ones running towards the shield that was supposed to protect them were met by more animals of the forest. There was no escape.
Blood splattered everywhere. It painted the ground in crimson seen only in movies or war, slowly being housed by falling elves whose cries were silenced.
Some of the warriors that could still move were scattered among the civilians and tried to fight back, blocking the razor-sharp spears with their interlinked weapons… but there were just too many. The tide of attacks was overwhelming.
"HAROLD!" Alhen and Soliana screamed.
One of the Spearhands was about to attack him.
"Let's start with you, shall we?" it exclaimed with excitement.
Harold couldn't do anything about it. His body was completely frozen and he was in a position where even if he tried to defend himself, the spears would still puncture.
He closed his eyes with acceptance of his fate and waited for a death that never came. Just when the monster was about to reach him, Catra snapped out of her trance, moved faster than ever and grabbed Harold's shirt. She pulled him out of the way, barely avoiding the spear attacks.
After retreating, Catra let go of the man and generated a weapon.
"A-19 Air Pump Shotgun!" she exclaimed, pointed the barrel directly at the Spearhand.
FOOOH!
A powerful wave of air pressure shot out and struck the monster right in the center of its body, pushing it back a couple of meters.
"UGH!" it groaned.
That noise caught the white fox's attention. She efficiently assessed the situation.
"A gun user, huh?" she murmured.
The animal immediately signaled four other Spearhands to abandon the civilians they were killing and deal with Catra. They obeyed without hesitation.
She knew that the heads of Spearhands were their primary weakness, and that a gun user could easily exploit this vulnerability. That's why their absolute priority was taking care of the cheetah.
"Oh my god…" Catra murmured.
She couldn't look away from all the chaos. Lifeless bodies lay scattered on the ground, their blood painting the earth red. Women and children screamed… and their cries tore at her soul. It had become a living nightmare.
"GUN USER! WATCH OUT!" the cloaked sword user that had saved Harold shouted from the opposite side of the area.
Catra quickly took notice of the four additional monsters now sprinting to her.
"GO! I'll deal with them!" the girl told Harold and his family.
"But-" Vulen tried protesting, being stopped by a sharp spear.
It passed them and slammed into the concrete directly behind.
"How about we have a little fun with her, brothers?!" one of the monsters exclaimed with amusement.
"Yes! I'll get her legs!" another snarled.
"I'll get her heart!" a third chimed in.
Catra quickly jumped away and shot one of the four Spearhands. Its form was pushed back with the air blast. The other three continued their assault after she landed, trying to hit her through her agile movements. Her ears twitched and her tail strained. She was using every part of her body's instincts to avoid each lethal blow, and took a toll.
"Stand still, little kitty. I wanna see how many piercings it takes to kill you!" one of the monsters hissed.
She evaded them in a dance of survival until one of the sharp spear-limbs finally scraped her shoulder. She gasped.
The subtle wound delayed her movements for less than a second, and it was enough… Enough for another Spearhand to pierce her shoulder with burning pain.
"AAH!" Catra cried out.
She instantly closed the distance between them and kicked the monster in its thin chest, sending it flying back a few meters. Even with the change of pace, the two remaining Spearhands did not stop their assault.
"Now's our chance!" one of them exclaimed.
With her left arm hurt, Catra tried aiming and firing with her right hand. The shot missed its mark by a long shot, though, the powerful air blast still knocked it off balance and granted her a few more seconds of relief.
Catra knew she couldn't reload quickly enough to deal with the last Spearhand closing in, thus choosing to run. She sprinted backward and found cover behind a wooden wagon at the entrance of the infirmary.
The entity caught up to her and continued its assault, piercing the wood over and over again.
"It's only a matter of time, Kitty! Just come out and I'll make it quick!"
Catra was trapped. There was nothing she could do in that position, something the white fox understood. She walked closer and signaled for the monster to cease.
"You are a long way from home, aren't you, little girl?" the white beast sweetly said.
Catra didn't respond at first. She was too busy trying to stop the bleeding from her shoulder.
"No response, huh? I'm just curious why you attack with non-lethal weapons. Have you ever killed before?"
When the stench of blood filled her nostrils again, the cheetah drew in a deep breath. She had partially patched her wound with a cloth ripped from her own suit and only then did she notice the Spearhand had stopped attacking.
"Just step out from behind the wagon, and I promise we'll spare your life. We don't really like beast-people meat-" the fox was cut off by Catra.
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Why am I doing what?"
"WHY ARE YOU KILLING THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE?!"
An unsettling quiet stretched between them and the furry beast's face subtly shifted. She understood Catra's dilemma… She was afraid of killing.
"Ah, I see… you want to know why? Well, to eat of course."
Catra's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?"
"We're just hunting these elves to eat. To fulfill our cycle of life, as you might put it."
The mastermind's voice was an echo of Rod's earlier words. A mirror of his own hunting philosophy.
Suddenly, the girl's eyes squeezed shut with resolve, trying to cling to her morals… She stopped after remembering when she talked to Lofo. After their encounter with the Ice Giant.
"That… that's different. Every time we go out hunting, we do it to get food and support our bodies with good vitamins and stuff…" she recalled saying.
"It's wrong!" Catra exclaimed from behind the flimsy protection of the wagon in the present.
"Wrong?"
"You can't go around killing other beings with consciousness! They have families! They still have a life to live!"
The small fox's eyes widened. Those words caused her to relive her past: How she lived a peaceful existence in the depths of the forest until the elves began hunting them. For food, for sport… She remembered her two precious children. Their small bodies were struck by a single arrow. How they died in front of her. How her family and other beasts that lived around were forced to abandon their ancestral lands because of the creation of Eldham Village. How they were branded. How they were called monsters.
"Wrong? WRONG?!" the fox shrieked, "WHAT'S WRONG IS KILLING ANIMALS FROM THE FOREST FOR SPORT! WHAT'S WRONG IS TAKING THEIR LAND, THEIR HOMES, THEIR FAMILY! YOU THINK ONLY ELVES HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE THEIR LIFE?!"
Catra's expression saddened at her screams. She could not help but empathize over losing a loved one… an understanding that transcended species.
"WHAT'S WRONG IS THINKING THAT THEY COULD DO ALL THAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT!" the fox finished and exhaled in rage, "You ask, why? We're doing this to return the favor… and show them just a little of the pain we went through."
They both remained locked in a silent understanding as the other Spearhands continued their attacks in the background.
The girl wanted to stop them… yet she didn't know how. She didn't possess her father's speed or his strength.
"Come here!" one of the monsters growled.
"You can't escape!" another followed.
"Feed me!" a third snarled.
"I have to do something…" Catra murmured, still behind the wagon.
"One last chance… get out of here, NOW!" the fox creature exclaimed.
A few dreadful moments passed with no answer until Catra slowly got up and made herself seen, shotgun in hand.
"I can't do that. Look around you! You have to stop all this… death!" she pleaded.
They stared at each other and the air crackled with tension. Then, the fox signaled the Spearhand beside the wagon with a silent command from her body.
"I gave you a chance. Now… let me show you the pain I suffered through. Kill the children."
The Spearhand immediately looked at Harold and his family, who were hiding behind a damaged wooden desk in the corner.
"Well, that's unfortunate for you, huh? I'll tell you what, I'll do it quickly," it purred while moving closer and raising its spear-like limb.
"NO!" Catra screamed.
She quickly sprinted past the fox and toward the entity. She wasn't fast enough in her current condition and she knew it. Even still, the black monster reached Harold's family. It grabbed the wooden table and threw it a couple of meters to the side.
"I hope you taste good," the Spearhand snarled.
It prepared to attack Charlotte, Vulen, and Alhen, and right when it was about to, Catra stepped in. She quickly kicked the Spearhand squarely in the chest and pushed it back a few meters… not enough to make it tumble though.
The cheetah girl took advantage of that moment and raised her air shotgun. She aimed and fired, unleashing a large amount of air pressure. Unfortunately for her, this time something different happened.
"That's not gonna work on me!" the Spearhand exclaimed, dodging the shot and jumping to the side.
It completely caught Catra by surprise. She frantically tried to reload, but the entity closed the distance in a moment's notice and used its spear-like limb to push her aside.
Even if these beasts were skinny, their strength rivaled that of a fully grown beast-person. It sent Catra flying backward into the wooden wagon. This hurt her shoulder even more.
"AAH!" she screamed.
"You just stay there and watch a hunter do its job. Don't worry… you'll be next," the Spearhand said and prepared its limbs for a killing strike.
Catra's mind didn't have time to register her wounds or her body's screaming pain. Only one truth mattered: she couldn't protect Harold's family anymore.
The girl immediately looked at them and saw the fear in Charlotte, Vulen, and Alhen's faces.
"NO!" she screamed once more.
In that instant, Catra generated a real pistol from her interlink without uttering a single word. She had never done such a thing before, and out of sheer desperation, she did.
Was killing another intelligent being justified?
She remembered her father killing the Ice Giant and his words afterward.
"Sometimes in life, you have to do ugly things to save people…"
"Pull the trigger… COME ON!" her mind screamed while aiming her pistol at the Spearhand's head, "JUST DO IT! SAVE THEM!"
She couldn't. She just… couldn't. The inherent pacifism Elena had ingrained in her and the aversion to taking a life paralyzed her… she simply didn't have it in her to do it.
"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT! JUST STOP!" she cried out one last time.
The only response she got was the Spearhand's laugh.
"You don't understand… I enjoy this! Their faces of fear, their cries… I don't hunt for food… I HUNT FOR THE FEELING OF THRILL!"
Time slowed down for everyone as Catra screamed in frustration. Alhen brought her children closer and clutched them tightly, trying to shield them from what was about to happen.
She turned around and aimed to be the first one impaled, hoping that her sacrifice might grant her children a chance to escape.
Soliana and Harold were frozen behind them too. It was true that Harold's fear was taking complete control of him… but then something took place. He saw his wife, his princess, and his little warrior in danger.
It forced his mind to replay memories long replaced by fights: how they used to be happy, how he met Alhen in a flower field, how they got married, how he held his children in his arms… how he cheated with Soliana and the crushing shame he felt. How it made him realize that Alhen was the only one for him… How he yearned to apologize.
At that moment, something came over him. A surge of courage he didn't possess before. The man generated a sword from his interlink and dashed forward. In that speck of a moment, his body was fueled by pure adrenaline and his heart was powered by love.
CLASH!
Alhen heard the metallic clang. Only after a few seconds did she slowly turn around and saw him. The man of her life… her Harold… protecting them.
He had stopped the deadly slash from the Spearhand with his sword, and it took everything he had to do so. His muscles screamed in pain and his body trembled with the immense effort.
"ALHEN! Listen to me… Ever… GRH! Ever since I saw you in that flower field, I've loved you… EVEN NOW! GRRAAH!" he exclaimed between groans, slowly being pushed back by the monster, "I never stopped loving you, Alhen! I've always enjoyed waking up with you by my side! Through the good and the bad! I made a mistake… and I'm-"
Suddenly, the Spearhand used its other arm to pierce Harold in the stomach. The sad truth was that while it pressed down on the man's sword with its left arm, Harold needed both his hands to stop the monster. He left himself wide open underneath.
Alhen gazed at the sight of dark, viscous blood dripping from her husband.
"I… I'm…" Harold choked out.
Then, the spearhand pierced him again and again. Over and over… Each thrust a new final blow.
"I'm so sorry…"