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This Forsaken World

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode Twenty-Four: The Hunt

Sitting in the twilight fog of the marshlands, the crackling fire is all that thoroughly illuminates them. Staring at the glow, enjoying the warmth, Tyson sits with his small army of scouts. They’re the last of the loyalists from Searchlight, and are but a fraction of April’s subjects. Without her presence to quell them, it’s all he can do to push the scouts; he’s just doesn’t have the commanding force that she does. They’ve made excellent progress in their pursuit of the rebels, who’re making their way to that small town where they’d camped on their way to Searchlight, not that long ago.

He’s disappointed that they haven’t caught up to them, though he’s secretly relieved; he has no clue how he’ll stop the war on the horizon. Is he even capable of such a feat? The self-doubt is overwhelming, more painful than a bullet and with more weight than the myriad of broken-down vehicles that little the old roads. Turning his eyes away from the dancing flames, Tyson leans back, resting on his forearms as he glances toward the sky. After a short pause, he lay back, resting his head atop his backpack. He and his men need to get some sleep. They have a full day ahead of them; hopefully tomorrow will bring them good fortune.

Hearing the roosters crowing, Buck rolls over in bed and yawns. Stretching his strong muscles, he opens his eyes. Swiftly cocking his head, he shoots out of bed. Beside the nightstand is his shotgun. How did it get there? Atop the nightstand are the shotgun shells, sitting neatly in a circle. They’re the same shells that he’d left in the breast pocket of his old, button-up shirt, which still hangs from a bedpost. He swivels his head, looking around the room to see if anything is missing. To his surprise, the room is otherwise untouched, with the exception of his gun cabinet, which is unlocked and open.

“The hell?!” He rises to his feet.

Taking the shotgun and loading it, Buck swiftly slips on his clothes and old boots, then steps into the hall. Looking left and right, he spots Mama Fi emerging from her bedroom at the far end. In one hand she grips the silver skull of her ebony cane, while the other hand holds a piece of sharp metal.

“Mama?! What’cha’ got there?!”

“Jus’ a present. I have a feelin’ our little guest did some explorin’ while we was sleepin’.” Mama Fi replies, a little grin on her face.

Taking out her key, Mama Fi prepares to open the door to Augustine’s room. Buck takes a few steps away, looking for the guard who was supposed to be watching out for her. Leaning to one side, he pokes his head out from the hallway of the small trailer, looking past the kitchenette and into the living room.

“The hell?!” Buck growls.

There, asleep on the couch and curled into a little ball is Augustine. In the chair a few feet away is a sleeping guard. The loaded, lever-action rifle he possesses sits untouched across his lap. Storming into the room, Augustine slowly opens her eyes and yawns.

“How she get out here?!” Buck demands.

“Huh?! Wha-?!” The startled guard jolts awake in the chair. “Hey, how you get here?!” He furls his brow at Augustine.

Sitting up on the couch, Augustine stretches, arching her back and extending her scrawny arms.

“Mmmm-hello.” She softly groans. “Have a good sleep?”

Smiling innocently, she looks up at Buck who stands beside the coffee table, mere feet away. Mama Fi steps slowly into the living room, watching her grandson closely.

“Were this you?!” Buck barks, holding up his shotgun.

“No. It was the guy who broke in and let me out last night.” Augustine rolls her sapphire eyes.

“This ain’t funny, girl!” Buck balls a fist. “Why, I oughta-”

“Buck!” Mama Fi growls.

“Mama?”

“Let her be.”

“But Mama!”

“No buts, Buck.”

His perky, canine ears slump forward as he bows his head respectfully at his grandmother, a little frown growing on his face.

“Sorry, Mama. It’s jus’ she could’a killed us.”

“She could’a, but she didn’t. We’s still a’breathin’.” Mama Fi says as she walks slowly to her chair. “I underestimated ya, child.”

“In the future, you might want to tidy up your guest room...” Augustine glares.

A chuckling Mama Fi hands the shard of metal to the guard, who sits in her chair. With her hand free, she taps his shoulder, silently demanding her seat. He’s quick to obey. Slowly sitting down, Mama Fi sighs with relief, still wearing her old nightgown. Her cold eyes look over the young girl, scanning her slowly.

“I was hopin’ that seein’ ‘em would keep ya in line. Clearly, I was mistaken. I appreciate ya not cuttin’ my throat or killin’ my grandson.”

“She ain’t had it in her.” Buck remarks.

“The hell I didn’t!” Augustine snaps. “You would’ve been the first...”

“Hehehe. Yer somethin’, child! ... How ‘bout some breakfast?” Mama Fi grins.

“That’d be nice.” Augustine smiles back.

“Want me ta get the good skillet, Mama?” Buck asks.

“Y’all got somethin’ more important ta do. Starts with a ‘K’ and rhymes with this.” Mama Fi retorts, holding up her cane. “Bes’ get ‘er done, boy.”

“Right, Mama!”

With a single wave, Mama Fi sends Buck and the guard away, remaining alone in the trailer with her prisoner. After the events of last night, she’s confident that if the pre-teen Augustine wanted to kill her and flee, she could at any time; there’s no point in having guards swarm around her. Dashing from the home, the morning sun still barely peeks over the horizon, the familiar pinkish red orb growing stronger as it illuminates the cloudless sky. With a wave of his hands, Buck draws several more menfolk to him, all of them starting a shift as town guards. Taking a key from an unlocked box mounted to a solitary post, Buck heads for the shack where April and Grey reside.

“Billy-Bob!”

“Yeah?”

A feline Voeldahn rises to his feet, looking at Buck, who calls his name.

“Fetch us some food, but nothin’ that’ll rot quick. We’s goin’ on a hike. Jerky and cheese, or somethin’ like that.”

“I’m on it, Buck!” Billy-Bob exclaims, springing to his feet.

Passing Billy-Bob, Buck and his growing horde of guards stand before the door of the shack. The other guard, not instructed to leave, rises from the chair opposite Billy-Bob’s. Inserting the key into the padlock, Buck unlocks the shack door. He raps his knuckles against the door, loudly, then waits a moment before yanking it open. Looking inside, Grey and April sit up in bed. Were they already awake? Slipping her pawlike feet into her black boots, April leans forward as she ties her laces. Grey adjusts his shirt, as if he’d just finished pulling it over his head. Both quickly rise to their feet.

“Y’all ready?”

“We’ve been ready.” April grumbles angrily.

“What’s her problem?” Buck raises a brow.

“Pfft.” April snickers, turning away from their captors.

“We’re just eager to catch Kane and resolve this, before it gets any worse.” Grey swiftly replies, resting a hand on his lover’s shoulder.

“Well, let’s get a move on, then! Come on!” Buck waves them over.

Emerging from the shack, April adjusts her pigtails and turns her sapphire eyes toward the sky. Her newfound freedom doesn’t bring her much comfort, not with Augustine still held as a bargaining chip by Mama Fi.

“What about our weapons?” April asks.

“Y’all can’t have no guns!” A guard snickers.

“You really expect us to help you track down a very talented rapist and murderer, unarmed, in a land we don’ fully understand? ... Really?!” Grey smirks. “That’s quite a plan you’ve got there.”

“Shut yer mouth, human! I’m already doin’ good by not killin’ ya on the spot.” The guard growls.

“Easy, Earl. He’s right. We all in this together... Give ‘em back their stuff.” Buck instructs.

“But Buck?!” Early whines.

“Shut yer damn mouth, boy, and get ‘em their stuff!” Buck snarls.

With a slow, submissive nod, Earl walks away from the group and rounds a corner. A shed door is heard opening in the distance, the creaking wood and squeaking, rusted metal faintly echoing. After a moment, Earl returns with his arms full. Standing like a butler holding the coats of his Master’s guests, April and Grey collect their gear from his arms. April slips her custom shoulder rig over her sleek body, before checking her Micro-Uzi’s magazines and chamber and holstering the weapon. Grey collects his gear belt, clipping it on and doing the same for his two-tone, Bersa Thunder 9 Pro pistol.

“So... What now?” Billy-Bob asks Buck.

“I guess we need ta figure out where Kane gonna be.” Buck shrugs his shoulders.

“We should head this way.” Grey points towards the swamp.

April turns her head, raising a brow as she looks over to her lover.

“And why would we do that?!” Earl snickers.

“Well... We were tracking Kane on our way here. That’s the direction he was headed. I think that’s our best chance at finding him quickly.” Grey explains.

“That’s some bullshit, human! Y’all city-folk can’t track!” Earl calls him out.

“Nah, that makes sense. The last farm he done took out was over that’a’way.” Buck interjects, pointing his clawed finger just beyond where Grey is pointing. “And the farms he hit ‘fore that were followin’ a line. If’n he ain’t moving ‘round, we can use his trail.”

“You smart, Buck!” Earl chirps. “Let’s go then!”

With Grey rolling his eyes, April silently snickers. She glances toward her lover, subtly shaking her head. Both can’t help but by amused by their ignorance and racism. Without speaking a word, they begin their march. The seconds turn into minutes and the minutes turn into hours. Before they know it, it’s high noon. Walking just behind them, Earl watches April and Grey as they walk. His stares with lust, watching April’s broad, feminine hips swaying with each step, her feline tail swishing gracefully, as if showcasing her perfectly formed buttocks. She’s a goddess of beauty.

His eyes follow along her back, admiring her slender waist and soft, hourglass shape. His peripheral vision, however, cannot ignore their hands. Her hand, dainty and feminine, is covered in soft, white fur and lined with black stripes. The onyx claws that crown her slender fingers press gently into the soft, faintly peach colored skin of her human lover. Grey’s thumb strokes her fur, comforting the feline Voeldahn to know end. The jealousy grows, and Earl stares with hate at the human’s back. Noticing his stares, Billy-Bob reaches out a hand, softly backhanding Earl’s shoulder. Turning his head, they share a glance, and with Billy-Bob’s visibly disapproval, Earl focuses on the march.

“Alright!” Buck says loudly and with a sigh. “It’s getting’ ta be ‘bout afternoon; I’d venture a guess at two o’ clock. Y’all take a break!”

“Woo!” Earl and Billy-Bob chirp.

“Finally!” A guard happily exclaims.

They walk into a clearing and several of Buck’s men sit on the ground. April and Grey pass them, heading around a tree. At first, Earl begins to rise, quick to follow them. Buck, however, holds out a hand, stopping him before he can stand.

“They ain’t goin’ nowhere’s. Not when Mama’s got their daughter.”

Finding a fallen log, Grey releases April’s hand, after holding it for many hours. He brushes the log, feeling it for dampness. With a little smile on his face, he sits on the dry trunk, sighing as he takes the weight off of his feet. Taking a seat beside her lover, April watches Grey. Sitting with his canteen in his hand, he looks up at the sky. Shifting her sapphire eyes, April gazes up at the stars, a few of them still somehow visible through the afternoon sky. They seem to burn brighter than they did in the past. She turns her attention back to her beloved, who seems lost in thought.

“Little bear?”

“Yeah?”

“What’re you thinking about?” She softly asks.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they? The stars.”

“I never really stopped to look.”

“I used to, before we met. I’d sit alone, in woods just like this, and wonder, ‘is someone up there, looking back at me? What are they like?’ I’ve always been curious about that.” He sighs.

Stepping around a tree, Buck holds his shotgun close as he watches the couple, listening to their conversation. He’s far less worried that they’ll escape, and more curious about what two fancy, city-folk like them would talk about.

“You never stopped to ask ‘the voice’ about it?” April cocks her head.

“I did once.”

“And what did it say?”

“It said ‘there’s a plan for every star’, whatever that means.” Grey replies, shifting his gaze toward his partner.

“Maybe there is.” April grins.

“Maybe... Maybe there’s a race of bird or lizard people looking down on us right now?” He says, smiling back.

“Just as long as there aren’t any bugs. I hate bugs.”

“Poor baby. I’ll squash them for you, sugar.”

Slipping his arm around her slender waist, Grey pulls at her. April slides closer, their hips and thighs touching as she drapes an arm over his shoulders. Leaning in, Grey caresses her lips with his own, before giving her a passionate kiss. April trembles from his touch. She’s never loved a man so much in her life, nor had one who was so good to her. Her clawed hands grip the human and she pulls tightly at him. Buck watches their passion blossoming, perplexed and awestruck. He didn’t realize that the two races could be so close, but the human and his feline Voeldahn lover prove him very wrong.

“I love you, little bear. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, sugar. You’re the best wife a guy could have.”

“Is that what I am, now?” She asks, her blue eyes wide and glossy.

“If you don’t want the promotion, I’m sure I can find someone else. I think Havana, that mouse Voeldahn, would like the job.” He teases.

“No...” She rests a hand on the back of his neck. “You’re mine, and if anyone else tries to take you from me, I’ll cut their fucking heart out and eat it.”

Buck’s eyes grow wide. He can see the rage in April at the mere thought of another woman replacing her, even as a joke.

“Aww!” Grey coos, unaffected by her anger. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Pushing her hand from his neck, he shifts his body and wraps his arms around her, claiming her as his own. April’s face lights up. Embracing her human lover, the feline Voeldahn’s tail whips to and fro. She rests her chin atop his shoulder, her clawed hands holding tightly to his shoulder blades.

“Little bear?” She speaks in a whisper.

“Yeah?”

“How did you come up with that story? About where to look for Kane?”

“You know how I did.” He grins, nuzzling her furry cheek.

“The voice?”

“Yeah.”

Buck raises a brow, unsure of what they’re talking about. As the couple stare into each other’s eyes, they lean in and share a kiss. It’s the most passion he’s ever seen between two people. Now suddenly feeling like an intruder, Buck slips away, rejoining the others. After taking fifteen minutes or so to rest, have a snack, drink water and relieve themselves, the group is ready to continue. With weapons slung and holstered, they wade through the underbrush and push through sticks and thin branches. Eventually, after several more hours of hiking, they find themselves in another clearing, but unlike the previous, this is a farmer’s field.

At the far end of the field is a tiny speck, a structure not natural but built by human or Voeldahn hands. Slowly nearing the structure, well over a mile away, Buck and his men recognize it. This is a farm that hasn’t been attacked by Kane.

“What is this place?” April asks.

“It’s the Miller’s farm.” Buck answers.

“They’s a small family, but we’s all helpin’ ‘em with their land. Mama Fi gets a cut a’ their harvest if’n we’s help.” Billy-Bob adds.

“That’s pretty clever.” April murmurs.

“Getting ideas, sugar?” Grey chuckles.

“Maybe!” April smugly grins.

The closer they draw to the Miller’s farmhouse, the quieter the world seems. Buck and the other guards call out for them, but they receive no answer. At first, the men theorize that the menfolk aren’t inside, busy tending to the fields. By the time they reach fifty meters of the porch, however, it’s evident that no one is home, not even the women. Buck and his men grow concerned, which both April and Grey quickly pick up on. Standing on the porch, his shotgun in-hand, Buck tries to open the door, but it’s locked. He softly knocks.

“Hello? Cleavon? Dixie? Y’all home?”

Turning his head and pressing his canine ear to the door, Buck furls his brow. A strange, muffled voice distresses him, only for a thump inside to startle the entire group.

“Shit...” Buck steps back, staring in horror at the door.

Taking hold of the doorknob, Buck presses his shoulder into the door and gives it a single, hard slam. Breaking it open, everyone rushes inside, finding an empty hall. Rooms open on both sides and a staircase sits along the rightmost wall, heading to the second floor, which is roughly two-thirds the size of the ground floor. Somewhere in the house, they can hear a struggle. Stepping closer, Buck stops, his eyes wide. Lying on the floor, still warm and twitching, is Cleavon, the eldest male, and the head of the Miller household.

“Start searchin’.” Buck orders.

The group splits up without hesitation, racing through the large farmhouse and looking for the source of the pained sounds. Earl and another guard find a door on the ground floor, near the rear of the house; the sounds are the loudest from here. Earl tries the door, but it’s locked.

“Nnnaaggghhh-!” A girl’s voice is choked into silence.

“Shut up and take it, bitch!” A man’s voice growls.

“Get ready, Burt.” Earl looks to his companion.

Kicking in the door to the locked room, the two men are horrified at the sight before their eyes. Two beings are inside, one far smaller than the other. A young Voeldahn girl, barely 11 or 12, cries out as she struggles against her adult assailant. She wears ripped clothes, her still developing form exposed to the world. With his pants off, only a single pantleg clinging to his ankle, the black wolf Voeldahn strangles her with his bare hands. His powerful muscles flex beneath his fur covered hide, further decorated with yellow paint, as he tries to force her into unconsciousness. With a large erection ready and waiting, the man is clearly trying to subdue the whimpering pre-teen, who frantically claws at his face and forearms, desperate to prevent her imminent rape.

“SHIT!” Burt cries out in surprise.

“Get off her!” Earl raises his gun.

“Oh, hell!” Kane exclaims, springing to his feet.

He hadn’t heard the intrusion over the sounds of his struggle with the exceptionally feisty, young girl. The men lift their weapons, taking aim as Kane dives deeper into the room, losing his pants as he does. He scrambles toward an archway that leads to another area of the house. The men rush inside, refusing to fire over the body of the brutalized and terrified girl. She opens her tear-filled eyes; they’re horribly bloodshot from the force of Kane’s strangulation. Chasing after Kane, Earl enters the room, only to find absolutely nothing. Kane has suddenly vanished!

“What the... Where he go?!”

Turning back, Burt cries out for the others, who’re still searching the farmhouse. He swiftly approaches the barely conscious child, kneeling over her.

“Aww hell. She damn near dead, Earl!”

“Nnnna... No.” The girl groans.

“Shh. Don’ talk, girl. Yer gonna be jus’ fi-”

Blood sprays her face, but she’s too weak to flinch. An arrow pieces his neck, shot from a severe, downward angle. Gurgling as he coughs up blood, Kane’s victim falls over, writhing in agony on the floor.

“Woo! Got him!” Kane gleefully exclaims.

“Burt!” Earl shouts in horror.

He dashes toward the archway, only to freeze as Kane suddenly swings into view. Hanging upside down from a beam, by his knees, Kane swiftly pulls the trigger of his stolen, sawed-off, double barrel shotgun. The pellets tear into Earl’s chest and neck, leaving a red mist behind as he falls dead. Dropping the weapon, Kane flexes his core muscles, pulling himself back up. He’d discovered a ladder to a small loft within the home when he first broke in, hidden beneath the sloping roof that sits beyond the windows of the second story. The ladder is built into the wall and doubles as large and sturdy cubbies.

He’d scrambled up and into the loft before Burt and Earl were able to chase him inside. Once safely in the loft, he lowered himself through the hole made by pulling away a set of wooden ceiling tiles, dropping back down to ground level. Footsteps approach with great haste. Kane glances back at the door, feeling the panic. How many were these two men traveling with? Moving fast, Kane picks up the fallen shotgun and spins around, taking aim at the door. Another one of Mama Fi’s men thoughtlessly charges inside, only to die from the second barrel of Kane’s shotgun. Bursting in immediately after him, Buck, Billy-Bob, and the last remaining guard open fire.

Somehow, in their haste, all three of them manage to miss, though Kane stands barely ten feet away. Jumping back into the room with the loft’s ladder, Kane’s shotgun bumps into the archway. The force as he moves wrenches the weapon from his hand and it falls to the floor. Kane is unarmed, having already dropped his pistol belt with his pants. With no other choice left, the half-naked Kane makes a mad dash for a nearby window, bringing his arms up and shielding himself as he leaps through it. He smashes through the old, dirty panes of glass, landing with a thump on the muddy ground below.

“Agh, fuck!” Kane growls, rising to his feet.

Racing through the large field, a hand shields his softening genitalia as he swiftly approaches the dense brush. Glancing over his shoulder, Kane can see a man with a pump-action shotgun breaking out the jagged glass of the window before leaning out and taking aim.

“Oh shit!”

Kane dives behind a lone tree in the yard. Pellets pepper the trunk; he barely evades Buck’s shot.

“Get that sum’bitch!” Buck roars.

Peering past the tree, Kane is horrified to see Buck and his two men climbing through the window and giving chase, only to be joined by two very familiar faces. Emerging from the front door and joining their companions, April holds her Micro-Uzi, while Grey readies his two-tone Bersa pistol. Outnumbered and outgunned, with two of the most competent killers in Searchlight hot on his tail, Kane feels fear for the first time since Rodge died. Bolting from his cover, he races through the clearing and weaves left and right, somehow avoiding the barrage of gunfire that swarms around him like angry bees. Finally reaching and entering the woods, Kane disappears from view.

“Don’t let him get away!” April snarls.

“That fuck’s mine!” Buck growls.

Charging through the field, the group are several hundred meters behind. Kane is startlingly fast. It feels like an eternity before they make their way into the forest. By now, the sun slowly sinks toward the horizon. Twilight is quickly approaching. Racing into the brush, the trees and bushes make it difficult to see each other. Grey and April both briefly panic, calling out to each other and closing the distance; they won’t allow themselves to be separated. Buck realizes the logic in their actions, but as he looks around him, he can’t see either Billy-Bob or Cletus, the only two men he has left in his group.

Pushing through the brush, Cletus looks around, holding his lever-action Marlin 336C. He stops in a clearing, looking around him. The rabbit Voeldahn’s black fur is damp with sweat and he pants for breath. His long, stringy hair, as dark as his fur, clings to the sides of his face and snout, with bangs that shield an eye. With a clawed hand, he brushed the bangs away, spinning in circles. Before he realizes it, he isn’t even sure which direction is north and which is south.

“Guys? ... Where y’all at?!” He calls out.

“Here.”

Turning around, Cletus is thrown to the ground by a powerful force. Leaping upon him, the half-naked Kane knocks the rifle from his hands and sits atop his chest. Cletus claws at Kane’s arms and flails his legs, but Kane is twice his size and several times more vicious. The strong wolf Voeldahn squeezes tightly to his throat, and the barely twenty-year-old bunny Voeldahn man begins to fade. He’s unable to scream, with his airway blocked.

“You’re lucky I don’t fuck you too, boy, but I need your gun; I’ve got real problems to deal with.” Kane growls.

Black dots appear sporadically over Cletus’ view and his muscles grow weary. His arms fall limp as he fails to defend himself.

“Shh. There, there, little guy.” Kane whispers, resting his hands on Cletus’ head. “It’ll all be over soon.”

With a quick and violent twist, Kane wrenches Cletus’ head and breaks his neck. His eyes swiftly change, taking the appearance of plastic buttons. Cletus’ mouth hangs open and his tongue falls to the side, as if he were trying to lick the ground. Kane rests the dead man’s head on the soft earth and rises to his feet, looking him over.

“Hm... I don’t suppose we share a pant size, do we?” He asks the corpse, softly chuckling.

“Cletus?! Buck?! Where y’all at?!” Billy-Bob yells.

“Here!” Buck yells back, racing toward him. “I’m here!”

“Buck! Where them city-folk?!”

“We’re here!” April calls back.

Billy-Bob leans over, looking past Buck. Glancing over his shoulder, Buck can see April and Grey emerging through some brush, barely twenty feet away.

“There y’all are! Y’all seen Cletus?!” Buck asks them.

“No, we-LOOK OUT!” Grey yells.

Bang! Billy-Bob falls forward, a .30-30 Winchester round boring through his back and blasting through his ribcage. With a quick cycling of the action, Kane takes another shot as Buck dives to one side. The round pierces the muscle of his right arm, passing cleanly through and digging into a tree. Losing his shotgun, Buck scrambles for safety as April and Grey take cover, leaning from the trees they hide behind and shooting back at Kane. Bang! Bang! Click.

“The fuck?!” Kane looks down at his rifle.

With another cycle of the action, he finds it empty. Cletus only had four rounds. Checking the young man’s pants, which fit Kane like a glove, he finds the pockets empty.

“God damnit...”

“Get that sum’bitch!” Buck growls, dragging his shotgun toward him by the barrel.

“Give it up, Kane! If you fight us, you aren’t getting out of here alive!” Grey yells.

April looks to him with a furled brow. Why would he say that? Kane isn’t getting out alive, no matter what he does.

“You sayin’ that you’ll take me out of here with a beating heart?!” Kane loudly asks.

“Sure! Why not?!” Grey yells back, reloading his pistol.

“Hah! Generous offer, but I can’t say the same for you!”

“Come on, Kane! This has gone far enough!” April growls, losing her patience.

“Far enough?! You fuckers killed Rodge! I loved that man! I’d have died for him! There’s nothing I wouldn’t have done or given to him!” Kane screams in a rage.

“Was y’all gay or somethin’?!” Buck snickers.

“You can’t understand, and you won’t need to! I’m gonna kill you all!”

Looking toward each other, April and Grey share a nod. They can’t drag this out any longer. Emerging from behind the tree, the pair move around Buck, like water around a rock. With their weapons trained on the tree where Kane hides, they hope to draw him out. April’s slender finger caresses the trigger. She looks to Grey, who nods his head. They silently agree that she’ll shoot first, scaring Kane into Grey’s line of fire. April unleashes a quick burst, then another. Her Micro-Uzi is nearly empty. Kane suddenly emerges, throwing his empty rifle like a boomerang at April.

“Ahh!” She squeals.

The weapon slams into her forearms and chest, the butt of the weapon whipping her across the snout. The force and the pain knock her to the ground as Kane races around the tree.

“April!” Grey yells in a panic.

Lowering his pistol, Grey races toward April, unable to resist the urge to check on his beloved.

“Little Bear!”

She rolls onto her side and reaches out a hand, a trickle of blood coming from her slit lip. He pauses at the horror on her face, only to be swiftly and violently tackled to the ground. The force of the powerful Voeldahn shoves the human to the ground, his brown hair flailing as he falls. Losing his grip, Grey’s Bersa pistol flies from his hand and lands in the dirt a few feet away. Struggling for the weapon, Kane straddles Grey’s back. With a hand gripping the human’s shoulder, Kane presses his claws into Grey’s flesh, causing him to cry out in pain.

“I’ll kill you, you motherfucker!” April snarls.

Crawling on one arm and leg, she frantically searches for her lost weapon. Grey elbows Kane in the side, knocking the air from him.

“Oooff! You little shit!” Kane grumbles.

Taking the opportunity, he scrambles for his pistol, only for Kane to quickly regain control. Lunging forward, he lay across Grey’s back and wraps an arm around his neck, putting the human in a headlock. Pulling hard, he arches Grey’s back and forces the human to grasp his forearm with both hands. Grey winces in pain.

“Nice try, bitch.” Kane chuckles.

Reaching out, he takes Grey’s pistol and puts it to Grey’s head. Click.

“The fuck?”

Turning the pistol over, Kane uses his other hand, the one attached to the arm wrapped around Grey’s neck, and grabs the slide. With a quick thrust, he racks the slide and chambers a new round. He points the weapon at Grey’s head as April slowly rises to her feet, a look of sheer terror on her face. Click.

“Your gun sucks.” Kane growls.

With a sharp crack, he strikes Grey in the head before throwing the weapon away. As he tries to strangle Grey to death, or snap his neck, Grey fights as hard as he can. He takes a hand away and elbows Kane over and over again, in the right side. Kane struggles to maintain control. Buck leans around his tree and rests his shotgun on a bent knee, taking aim at Kane’s back. BANG! With a pull of the trigger, the shotgun slips. The recoil pushes the injured Buck backward, and the pellets fly by Kane without so much as scratching him.

“The hell?!” Kane looks back, growing distracted.

Bang, bang, bang! April fires a burst from her recently recovered Micro-Uzi.

“Agh!” Kane yelps, one of the three rounds striking him in a shoulder. “You fucking whore!”

April tries to fire another burst, struggling with her sprained arms. Click. Her weapon is empty. She swiftly begins searching for more magazines. Meanwhile, Grey pulls his utility knife from his belt.

“As soon as I’m done with your fucking human, I’m going to rape you to death you little bi-AAGGHH!!!”

Kane screams as Grey stabs him in the stomach. As Kane pulls his arms away, Grey stabs him a second time. With a hard punch to the side of Grey’s head, Kane knocks him down before stumbling back. Grey loses grip of his knife. Kane turns, his heart racing as he can see Buck struggling with the slide action of his shotgun with only one arm, while April looks fumbles with a magazine. Grey crawls away and takes his Bersa pistol, swiftly rolling over and taking aim. He pulls the trigger on the second round to fail Kane. Bang.

“Agh-fuck!” Kane falls back, struck in the lower leg.

“It works fine for me.” Grey quips.

Rising to his feet, Kane grabs a stick and throw it at Grey. The large piece of wood strikes Grey’s hands, hurting his fingers and throwing the pistol out of them. Grey looks around for his weapon, while Kane pushes himself to his feet. Click-clack. Kane’s ears perk. The lone wolf Voeldahn turns as he sees April readying her now reloaded Micro-Uzi. Sprinting toward her with startling speed, he grabs her sides and knocks the weapon from her hand before barrel toward a tree.

“April!” Grey shouts in terror.

“Ahh!” She screams.

With a hard thud, Kane slams April’s back into a nearby tree. Over and over, he slams her into the tree, weakening her. He grabs hold of the back of her head and her chin, intent of breaking her neck.

“You’re dead, you stupid bitch.”

“Fuck you.” April grumbles.

Pulling his chain whip from his belt pouch, Grey drops the bolt and links to the ground, holding the handle tightly.

“With pleasure.” Kane grins sinisterly.

Pulling his arm back, Grey gives a weakened, unprepared swing. The sharpened bolt of his chain whip swishes through the air, gliding across the fur of Kane’s back.

“Ahh-god! The fuck?!” He roars, promptly dropping April. “You little motherfucker!”

With a more competent swing, Grey flicks his wrist and throws the bolt forward, stabbing it into one of Kane’s pectoral muscles. Kane rushes Grey, who takes another wide swing, cracking the bolt alongside his head and causing him to stumble. Grey sidesteps, swinging his arm out and wrapping the chain whip around Kane’s neck. With a hard tug, Kane can feel his life dangling by a thread.

“Now, your going to be a good boy and come with uh-AHH!”

“Fuck you!” Kane yells, yanking the chain and pulling Grey to the ground. “I’m not going anywhere!”

Pushing himself up from the ground, the disarmed Grey kneels in the soil, turning his heard toward Kane. Taking a step forward, Kane flexes his fingers, his claws gleaming. Before he can enjoy more villainous gloating, Grey springs to his feet and charges Kane, tackling him and pushing him toward the ground. The two men wrestle in the dirt for a moment, exchanging punches. With a hard strike to the face, Kane reels and grabs his bleeding nose as Grey scrambles away. Rolling over, Kane prepares to rise to his feet, only to stop in his tracks.

“I sure as shit ain’t gonna miss from here.” Buck growls, pressing the shotgun into Kane’s back.

“Neither will I.” April adds, standing beside Buck and holding her Micro-Uzi.

“Move one muscle, and I’ll blast ya’!” Buck instructs.

With a sullen sigh, the defeated Kane lifts his arms above his head, lying face down in the dirt. With Buck and his lover, April, holding him at gunpoint, Grey finds his pistol and knife, collects his chain whip from around Kane’s throat, and binds his hands tightly at the wrists, behind his back. April ties a bandage around Buck’s arm as he holds his shotgun, while Grey keeps his pistol trained the seated Kane.

“What we gonna do now?” Buck asks.

“We’ve got to bring him back, to prove that this whole mess wasn’t our fault.” April answers, wiping her hands before picking up her Micro-Uzi. “This piece of shit did it all.”

“I get that. I mean, where we gonna take him? We ain’t all in one place, and Mama’s town is just where we gather. What we gonna do about now?” Buck reiterates.

April glances toward Grey, who glances toward the sky.

“How about... That city? The one on the way to Searchlight?” He suggests.

“Why we wanna go there?!” Buck raises a brow and cocks his head.

“It’s a place to start.” Grey replies.

“Yeah! It had people there, and we can backtrack to Mama Fi’s town.” April swiftly jumps in, backing up her lover. “We have to start somewhere, right?”

“I s’pose.” Buck sighs.

“It’s time to finish this.” Grey nods.

Kane watches the trio, unable to help but laugh.

“You think this is over? Heh... I bet the war is just getting started.” Kane smiles with pride.

“You shut up!” Buck growls.

“Men screaming, women crying, little children burning in the fire. You stupid fucks are all going to die for what you did to Rodge.” Kane snickers.

“Boy, I said shut yer mouth!” Buck snarls, kicking Kane in the chest and knocking him to the ground.

“It’s not going to come to that, Buck. We’re going to fix this.” Grey says, resting a hand on Buck’s shoulder.

“Come on. We need to get going.” April adds.

The two men lift the laughing Kane from the ground, each holding an arm. With April wielding her gun, aiming it at Kane’s back, Buck ties a rope around his neck, using a special knot that allows the rope to act as a form of choke-chain. With the sun setting on the horizon, twilight looming over the four, they begin the long and arduous march, intent to walk throughout the night to the small city. Unbeknownst to them, however, Tyson and the Searchlight citizens are already on their way there.

Marching along the road, Tyson holds his rifle against his shoulder, turning his eyes toward the darkening sky. They’ve been walking all day, and yet they haven’t reached the modest city, or caught up with the other citizens of Searchlight. In the distance, they suddenly hear a commotion. Picking up the pace, Tyson and his men ready their weapons as they race along the road, already weary from a full day of travel. Nearing the town, they can see muzzles flashes, hearing the screams of people who’re struck by gunfire. Tyson’s men take aim at a group of people who appear to be fleeing into the woods.

“No! Wait!” Tyson orders.

His men stand down, looking to him for direction. They watch from where they stand, witnessing Mama Fi’s swamp people running from the old, mostly abandoned city for their very lives. Some of them shoot back at Searchlight citizens, trying to provide covering fire as the retreat. Surely, they’ll be returning with the rest of Mama Fi’s people.

“Fuck... We’re too late.” Tyson sighs, hanging his head.