Darkness covered the entire forest. The wails of the forest-dwellers were made much gentler and more pleasant to hear with the distance between us. We were going to hunt for some antlers but we had yet to come across one.
I shouldn't have come. There was still a possibility that Buck could be attacked. The elder of the village, who was Buck's great grandfather, recently announced stricter security measures, because of the frequent assassination attempts on his great-grandson. The village was more alert now but I doubted some of the warriors patrolling the village.
I knew that the ones who wanted to kill Buck lived amongst us. If the cast-off tribesmen managed to get in without killing anyone, that meant that someone was willingly letting them in.
The village elder and the village alpha weren't on good terms but both of them loved Buck. I only talked to the elder once. Buck would usually stick to him like a slug whenever Atto would come out from his detached house that no other villager would visit.
Despite his cold demeanor, he was very influential because of being the previous alpha. The village was divided between him and Amoux.
"What do you think about the killer in the village? I'm sure it's scary for a child like you," Adoff questioned with a smile.
"Yes, it's bothersome how many killers can get past through the village's defenses and attack the grandson of the alpha."
I couldn't tell him that I suspect someone from the village because he might think that I was ungrateful for their hospitality.
He laughed. "I'm talking about the killer who kills those killers by puncturing through their hearts. It's strange how Buck suddenly got a new guardian when his last one was killed protecting him. The elder must have appointed a new guardian without telling anyone," he explained.
"It's not strange. He's the alpha's grandchild, he should be protected."
He stopped walking, I was a step behind him. There was an eerie feeling as our conversation progressed.
"You don't understand. Alpha Amoux doesn't want anything to do with Buck. His daughter was killed by the villagers who were wanting revenge for their children. There would be no order in that village until that child is dead..." his last words made the tone of his voice colder.
As if on cue, red pierced eyes surrounded me, accompanied by bloodthirsty growls.
My heart raced as it felt like it fell to my stomach from sheer disappointment. Amoux hated Buck? That couldn't be true. I saw how Amoux treated him. He could never hurt Buck. I never saw him look at Buck the wrong way before.
Adoff's face was twisted with a deep scowl. The werewolves hiding in the shadows came out with an equally distorted sense of justice.
"You're lying. Amoux loves Buck."
He ignored my reasoning and proceeded to interrogate me.
"You're the closest to Buck and we've seen you accompany Elder Atto in his morning walks...so who is it? Who is protecting that child?!"
"Why are you so angry at him? What did he do?!" I asked.
The werewolves got closer. My body grew cold once Adoff grabbed me and shook me for answers. My mind kept on focusing on the fact that this was all orchestrated by his oma. Buck trusted him. I trusted him.
Adults were just there to hurt us.
When I grow up...will I turn like them too?
"Don't hurt him..."I whispered.
Adoff paused for a moment with his sharp teeth clenched tightly together.
"If you want to hurt him that much...hurt me instead. He doesn't deserve your hate."
That kid was a happy person. He was stupid and would smile at anything thrown at him. I never once saw him cry. I never once saw him worry about those wanting to take his life.
Sometimes I wanted to ask him if he was at least scared to wake up with a knife against his throat. I knew he was aware of the threats. I knew he was aware of the abhorrence towards him. But how did he feel about it?
'Ah...STILL ALIVE!' was what he would always say whenever he would wake up.
I never commented on that phrase. It was clear to me that he was affected by these threats but never said anything about it. He was always ready to sleep knowing that it might turn into an eternity of slumber.
'Good night, Rui, let's see each other again okay?'
You idiot...
The longer I thought about it the more I understood him.
'I'm not going to leave. It's not like I have a choice…' I answered.
Buck chuckled and cuddled closer to me.
'I know you won't leave me…'
But you would. You were always expecting it, weren't you?
You were expecting to die so you welcome a new day as if it would be your last. You do what you want. You give all the love you can give.
You were just that stupid.
My throat ached from the overwhelming feeling in my chest.
"You don't know anything about him. You are friends with a monster!" Adoff snarled.
He struck me with his fist.
Buck? A monster?
He was never a monster to me.
But if he was a monster, then that must be the reason why we get along so much.
I looked up at Adoff and smiled. "All of us are monsters here. We just have a different perspective on how a monster should be."
I received a kick from him who then grabbed my neck tightly with his claw. Veins popped on his bare arms and neck from rage.
"Kill him already. We'll mob the alpha's house and kill the rascal next," one of the pack warriors said.
"But what if the killer is there?" another one asked.
"We'll take him on with unified force. Don't chicken out!" Adoff snapped and lifted me from the ground.
He threw me against a tree trunk. My back hit hard against the wood.
"You managed to get me this far, I think you're doing a great job already," I commented as I stood up.
Buck's stupidity was rubbing off on me alright. I should learn to keep my mouth shut.
The realization hit them. Their bodies tensed before they openly charged at me.
I was screwed.
Adoff howled. My vision blurred as my balance went off. My ears were rung.
I cannot die here. Buck will be killed by these bastards. I still need to know if Amoux was behind this.
I was grabbed from behind and was smashed head-on to a boulder.
"You weak piece of shit."
Sharp teeth sank through my flesh and I shouted in pain. Wolves gathered around me and started to tear me. Fear latched to my bones and I trembled as I was being eaten alive.
It hurts...
This was how those children felt as Ta mangled on them slowly. And I just stared at them, thinking that they were luckier.
"I didn't raise you to be mauled by wolves. Have you learned nothing from me?"
I blinked the blurriness out of my vision. Ta stared down at me with frustration on his face.
I raised my bloodied hand towards him before it was bitten down by another one of the wolves.
"H–help me. Ta...help me."
For once in your life, will you treat me as your son?
Ta's scowl got deeper and a sinister smile split his face.
"Why are you asking a dead man's help? You got what you asked for. You got your freedom. Or are you willing to join me in the afterlife? Once you die here, I'll eat you for eternity."
That struck a chord.
My vertebra elongated, smacking the wolves off of me.
"He's a Soma!"
"He must be the child of Ta!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill him now!"
I shakily got on my feet. Blood continued to flow out from the mangled parts of my body. Claws that belonged to my deceased captor crawled up my torso. His warm breath fanned my nape.
"That's right Rui, kill them. You're much stronger than you think."
My tail swung rampantly and pierced through chests. It grew heavier as dead bodies lined up on its length.
"Die… die...DIE!" I screamed.
Blood splattered on the ground. Birds fluttered away upon sensing the danger.
Adoff howled to disrupt my senses but Ta covered my ears. The beta grew pale when he realized that he was the only one left standing. My tail absorbed nutrients from the bodies it collected to close my wounds. The corpses dried like fallen leaves and they crumbled like so when I rubbed them off against a tree trunk. Adoff raised his hands to surrender. I stared blankly at him.
"I won't fight! Let me live!"
Ta chuckled, placing his long fingers on my shoulders.
"Don't believe him."
He was right...If I spared him I was only going to give him a chance to go after Buck again.
I have to end him.
"That's too bad. I saved the worst for last."
The forest was shook by a piercing scream that was muffled by gurgles of blood. My tail was drenched with their gore.
"Do you understand now? You're just like me. No matter how much you stray from the path you hate, you will still arrive at the same destination as I have."
I never thought that I'd end up like him ever since I met Buck. Dying in a cold and dark place alone wasn't something I imagined myself being in.
"No…unlike you I have someone to protect," I murmured.
His face became nonchalant. "You were safer with me, Rui. You'll realize how unforgiving this world is."
I had been with Ta ever since I developed my consciousness, but I never really knew anything about him. Just like his lifestyle, his life was shrouded in darkness. The only thing that connected us was blood. I had no idea if he had friends or if we had another family but there were times when I'd hear him talk to himself.
'Tsk...that woman just doesn't give up. Getting the kingdom riled up for just one kid.'
I walked back to the village. I wanted to hear the rain. I needed to calm down and listen to it cry for me. I wanted this feeling to be washed away completely.
I wanted to be washed away.
My legs froze by the entrance. Everyone was lying in their pool of blood. My feet immediately carried me to the alpha's house.
"Buck?! Buck!"
Amoux was lifeless in our room. He drowned from his blood yet there were no fatal wounds seen.
At this point, my voice was already cracking from shouting Buck's name. There wasn't a single living person here, but I couldn't see Buck's body amongst the dead.
A sad and agonized howl beckoned me to come to the elder's house. I discovered Buck embraced by Atto. Atto was already dead. He sat against the wall. He died comforting his great-grandchild. I walked cautiously towards Buck and gently touched him.
"Buck?" I called out to the boy curled against his great grandfather's chest.
I slowly got him out of Atto's embrace and I tried to peek at his expressionless face. He broke into a shaky smile that would crumble down into a sobbing mess anytime now.
"I...they told me you were gone. Oma told me that you weren't going to come back anymore and he tried to kill me. He tried to kill me, Rui."
He grabbed my arms and glanced at me.
"So I killed him..." he whimpered. "But everyone died after him."
He slowly knelt and tried his best to calm down while holding on to me. His hands were cold. He was sweating profusely.
I didn't know what happened. I didn't know what Buck was capable of but I wasn't afraid of him. He was all I had.
"Buck, just cry," I murmured. "Just cry."
His wide and unsteady smile became pursed.
"But mama always told me to smile. It's the only thing I can do for her. It's the only—"
I hugged him. "Not this time. You cry, okay?"
He shook his head. letting me carry his weight.
"I won't cry...I don't want to lose you too."
We stayed in each other's arms until we heard the gradual pitter-patter of the rain. I withdrew from Buck's embrace, taking his hand in my own.
"Let's just watch someone else cry for us."
The night was filled with the weeping of the skies. Heaven comforted us. It clouded the gruesome image of the dead, silenced the protest of the killed, and continued to sing its lullaby to the two children who kept their tears at bay.
Children cry at the smallest things because they are pure. But in this world, children forget that immature phase of life because the world rushed them to see what they shouldn't. Children can't be children here. They had no right to.
"Hey you two, wake up. A catastrophe is on its way."
A tall man was crouching beside us with a wrinkled nose of distaste.
"Anyone else alive in there, Slade?" Another man who looked exactly like him, asked.
"Nah, just these two love brats. What the heck happened here anyway? How the heck did you sleep through all this?"