Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 25
25
Hezzi was barely able to tell which way was up as they rolled over and under each other, clawing and punching, trading blows, biting into each other's flesh. Pain was coming from everywhere, but he couldn't allow himself to stop. There were too many Wolves depending on him, too much at stake, too much to lose...
And... more disturbingly...
He didn't _want_to stop.
There was so much anger building inside of him, so much blind fury. He didn't even care about his own pain anymore. He just wanted to pay Dorin back for all the things he's done and all the lies he's told. He wanted to make him bleed. He wanted to make him suffer.
He wanted to be...
"Stop it!" That was Mother's shrill voice, screaming to be heard above the noise. "Stop it, Hezzi! Juts give up before you get yourself killed! Pleeease!"
He wanted to be like...
Renna's high pitched scream suddenly filled the air, and Del was shouting for Wolves not to cross the line, but it all seemed broken somehow, devoid of any real meaning.
He wanted to be like Banno.
He wanted to rip and tear and never stop.
Hezzi shook his head back and forth, just like Banno used to when the prey proved more lively than anticipated, sawing into Dorin's arm with his teeth. Dorin screamed and the pain around Hezzi's own arm lessened. He used this opportunity to rip it free, barely feeling any pain as he did so, and swung it right back at Dorin's face in a vicious backhand blow, crunching his nose beneath his fist.
"By the Cora, Hezzi's winning!" someone shouted as blood spurted from Dorin's nose like a fountain, steaming in the cold, morning air.
"Get off me you crazy!" Dorin yelled, kicking out with both feet. The blow caught Hezzi right in the chest, pushing him back, but it also caused his teeth to rip out a good chunk of meat as they tore free. He staggered back into the solid wall of bodies that was the crowd, blood dripping from his mouth and running down his chin.
"Get back in there!" Several sets of hands pushed him back into the circle, almost knocking him off-balance.
Dorin was retreating back to the centre, cradling his mangled arm. His wrist looked like a piece of raw meat ready for the skewer.
Hezzi spat a disgusting blob of blood and fur to the ground. He could still feel the hair clinging to his gums.
"Where the hell did that come from!?" Dorin shrieked, blood bubbling form his nose. "You're just like Ander, you crazy bastard! Talking about peace and then going all psychotic! You're crazy! Your whole family is crazy! Every last one!"
"_I'm_the crazy one?" Hezzi advanced just as the snow started to drift down in earnest, raining shards of pure white upon the carnage. "Tell me, Dorin, were you the one who cut out Danado's nails?"
"I never touched Danado! Don't go accusing me of things you have no proof of!"
"Maybe I should have that done to you once I'm Chieftain. See how you like it. Sure, we could add claws to the whole 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' thing. No problem."
"Don't come any closer, freak!"
"Or what? What are you gonna do? Try and kill my brother again?" Hezzi put on a short burst of speed and punched the wretch right in the mouth, knocking him back a few steps. Dorin's right arm was just hanging by his side, blood dripping from his twitching fingers, practically useless. He couldn't defend himself properly anymore, and Hezzi didn't care. This puppet was getting exactly what he deserved, and dishing it out felt so good. "Or maybe you're gonna hold his hands behind his back while somebody else does it? That's your style these days, isn't it?" He punched again and Dorin nearly fell. He was so wobbly he could barely stay upright. "Oh wait, I forgot. Ander isn't around anymore. And neither is my father. Maybe you're gonna go after my mother instead, is that it? Huh? Gonna go after a blind she-wolf, is that it? Answer me!" Hezzi punched again, hitting Dorin high in the chest. He staggered backwards into the crowd and a group of burly young Wolves pushed him right back in, cackling their heads off, having the time of their lives.
Dorin fell down to all fours, gasping for breath, the back of his neck completely exposed.
This is it. I can end it right now. I can become Chieftain. I can save my friends and family. I could make this tribe a better place, just like what Ander has been striving for. There will be no war or suffering. Everyone will live in peace. I just have to...
Wolves were going insane, jumping up and down, screaming their heads off, demanding blood, blood, blood. Even the ones against his claim to rule were practically salivating at the mouth, staring with unblinking eyes.
"Do it!"
"Finish it!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Snowflakes were drifting down, falling from the heavens, and Renna was standing right in front of him, just a few feet away on the other side of the line, staring at him with the same look of horror and revulsion she had given the necklace in her hands, like she was seeing something completely different from everyone else.
No, that wasn't right. She was seeing the exact same thing as everyone else right now, and what everyone was seeing was a Wolf covered in an enemy's blood.
Hezzi couldn't bear to see her looking at him like that, so he looked down instead, but the view didn't change for the better. He was absolutely covered in blood, so much he couldn't even tell which was his and which was Dorin's.
Snowflakes were filling the air even faster than their jubilant cries for murder. Hezzi reached out and caught one in the palm of his hand. It held its shape for only a moment before it was swallowed by his hot blood, as if it never existed.
What was the point in trying to create a peaceful village if he had to turn into something like this to make it happen?
"I'm sorry, Renna," he said. "I almost lost myself there."
"Just -" She winced as her mother's claws dug into her shoulder, but she ploughed on regardless. "Just make sure that when you step out of this circle you're still the same Wolf, okay?"
"Okay, I promise."
"What are you waiting for!?" someone screamed. "He's right there! Go for it!"
"He's too soft! He can't do it! Weeeeaak! You're too weeeaaak!"
Dorin was slowly crawling away at a snail's pace, gasping for breath, muttering curses and insults, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, and Hezzi let him.
"Noooo! What are you doing!?" As excited as the crowd was a minute ago, so enraged were they now. They booed him and cursed him, screaming their displeasure as if it was some kind of competition. Hezzi could barely hear himself think over all the noise.
"You... crazy... skinny... little... bastard..." Dorin said, struggling to get back to his feet. "You think that... just because you got a few lucky shots in... that means you can win? Against me!? I underestimated you, I'll admit that, but it won't happen again."
"Just give up, Dorin!" Hezzi yelled. "I don't want to fight like this!"
"Well that's too bad, Chieftain, because you're not getting out of this until one of us is dead, and it sure as hell won't be me."
"I have more to fight for than you! Just give up and we can both walk out right now!"
"You have more to fight for than me? You say that as if it's some kind of advantage. Let me tell you something, you naïve little snot. 'Cause' has nothing to do with outcome. That's decided by skill and talent alone. And maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit of luck, something you seem to have in abundance."
"You're really not going to give up, then?"
Dorin scraped his claws through the dirt and forced himself upright, blood pouring form his shredded wrist. "Just the fact that you keep asking me that is an insult! Now come! If you think you can best me, come and try!"
Stay the same Wolf. No matter what happens, stay the same Wolf. Just like Ander. You can do this. You can fight for what you believe in without losing yourself. Just remember your promise, remember your training, and everything will be fine. You've still got the upper hand.
The moment Hezzi stepped forward a bolt of pain slashed through his calf and he almost screamed out loud. Now that he had regained his senses, the pain of his exchange with Dorin was coming back to the surface. The scratches in his calf had opened up and the bite in his forearm was just as bad as the one in Dorin's wrist. Blood was pouring out of him at an alarming rate. How did he not feel any of this before? Was he really that far gone? Even his knuckles were raw and throbbing from all the punches he had thrown.
Dorin motioned him closer with a sweep of his arm. "Come on, brat! I haven't got all day!"
Speed is key. You're still faster than him. Keep to your strengths.
Hezzi walked faster, then broke into a run, the wind blowing in his ears and snowflakes rushing past his eyes. When he was almost close enough to strike, he put on one final burst of speed, putting all his momentum behind his outstretched fist, going for the knockout blow.
This was where Dorin's experience as an actual warrior came into play. He expertly ducked out of the way and hooked Hezzi's foot with a well-placed leg-sweep.
Just like Nilia...
Hezzi felt himself overbalance and saw the ground rushing up to meet him. It was a war of three colours: the brown dirt, slowly losing territory, becoming less and less, the white snow, slowly gaining territory, covering the dirt, and finally, the red splashes of blood, melting the snow.
Familiar with this trick, Hezzi was able to stick out his hands just in time to break his fall, scraping his palms bloody against the hard, freezing ground.
But it wasn't enough.
By the time he looked back, Dorin was already on top of him, his bloody fangs bared.
"You think you're something!?" he screamed and punched Hezzi in the face. It created a sound somewhere inside, almost like biting down on an icicle, snapping it between your teeth. Pain exploded across the left side of his face, bright as the sun.
"With your father dead, you're nothing! You hear me, Hezzi!? Nothing!" He punched him again, and all Hezzi could do was bring up his arms in a feeble attempt to guard, pain bursting over his body with every strike.
He's using the same hand each time.
Hezzi reached out on blind instinct and grabbed Dorin's injured wrist, squeezing his fingers into the slick meat, pushing his claws in as deep as they would go.
"Aaaargh!" Dorin screamed, grabbed Hezzi by the hair and slammed his head against the ground.
A flash of white light flickered across his vision, followed by an intense throbbing pain in the back of his head.
"Let go, you crazy piece of filth!" Dorin screamed and slammed Hezzi's head against the ground again and again. With the deepening cold the ground was slowly becoming hard as rock, and Hezzi quickly started to feel the warmth of blood spreading through his hair, turning the back of his head into a sticky, tacky mess.
He grabbed hold of Dorin's wrist with both hands and twisted, each one going in the opposite direction, flaring the wound wide open. Dorin threw his head back and howled at the sky, snowflakes lazily drifting into his open maw.
That's when Dorin hooked his claws deep and raked them straight down, tearing four, gaping gashes into Hezzi's face from forehead to muzzle.
Hezzi instinctively clapped his hands across his face, screaming in agony. He knew it was a stupid thing to cover his eyes, but he couldn't help it. The pain was searing right into him, burning like fire. He felt Dorin's weight lifting off him and he rolled away, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. He quickly stood up, his knees shaking, and gingerly pulled his blood red hands away from his face.
The crowd gave a faint gasp, which made Hezzi very thankful for the fact that he couldn't see what was going on right now. He'd probably faint away if he did.
"What happened?" he heard Mother shouting from somewhere inside the crowd. "What's going on?"
"Your son's face just got redistributed a lil' bit, Shekka-Kai!"
Hezzi tried to blink the blood out of his eyes, but more and more was pouring down his face. He wiped it away and his entire arm came back bloody. He could barely see what was going on around him, and what he could see was all blurry and shaky. He thought Dorin was somewhere up ahead, hugging his arm to his chest.
If this went on much longer, they'd both bleed to death.
"Dorin...?" Hezzi called, blood flowing across his lips and into his mouth. "Dorin? Let's stop this. We can go home if you just surrender."
"Why don't _you_surrender, then!?"
"Because I can't." He wiped more blood from his soaked eyelids, but they were covered again almost immediately, forcing him to squint, turning the world into a sliver of falling red snowflakes. "I have to win... no matter what."
"Me too, Chieftain. Me too."
He has to...?
Hezzi blinked at the wrong time, and next thing he knew, there was a massive pain in his gut, the root of it seemingly going all the way into his back. Dorin had kicked him right in the scar across his midsection, the exact same spot Garten had opened with a searing hot spear two months ago.
The pain was so intense, he couldn't even take in breath to scream.
Hezzi staggered backwards, clutching his stomach, and fell against a wall of bodies yet again.
No. I can't give up. Not yet. I can still fight. I can still fight. I can still fight. I have to fight. I have to...
He could feel strong arms grabbing him by the shoulders, getting ready to push him back into the circle, but then...
Something long and thin, terribly cold, colder than the snow, colder than ice, colder than anything he has ever felt before, slid into his back.
That moment lasted forever, with red snowflakes landing on his body from red clouds, covering a red sky.
He was pushed forward and the blade slowly left his body, sliding out just as easily as it had slid in, and he fell, face first, onto the ground. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything. He could only watch as the world around him slowed to a crawl...
He wondered if this was what his father had felt like...
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