Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 138
138
He landed on the other side of the wall in a surge of smoke and fire. Blood dribbled from between his scorched bandages and flowed across the snowy ground. The pain was so bad he couldn't even see. The whole world was just a blinding flash of white, darkening to red, threatening to pass over into the black...
"Danado! No - Let go of me! Let go of me, you bitch!"
He looked back. Through a fleeting gap in the curtain of smoke, he saw Layla frantically struggling to break free of Nilia's grip. She was kicking and screaming, reaching out to him...
Danado tore his eyes away. This place was a banner of firelight, casting infinite shadows from even the smallest of pebbles, twigs, and clumps of snow. His own was a pitch black line stretching off into yet another wall, this one of solid darkness, balancing out the light. And within that darkness, eyes began to appear. Shining pinpricks of light, coming closer.
They did not frighten him, though. Within those eyes he did not see monsters or demons or wild animals ready to tear their prey apart. He saw something completely different.
He saw anger, hatred, a primal desire to bite down and never let go. But more than that, more than anything else, what he saw was overwhelming sadness and grief. What he saw was himself. Or rather, the thing he would have turned into, had he not kept his promise.
Dan... no matter what happens... promise me you'll stay like you are. Promise me you'll stay different.
They stepped out of the dark. Dozens of them, baring fangs and claws. Their snarls were a steady undercurrent to the roaring flames, and the dark lines beneath their eyes, carved by many tears, were a testament to all they had lost in the crushing snow.
Don't become like me. Stay strong. Don't throw everything away... Don't turn into an animal... Promise me, Dan. Please, promise me...
Danado looked to the sky. Pitch black and without any end in sight, but he knew that, beyond the shadow of the mountain, beyond the smoke, beyond the blizzard, beyond the clouds, the stars were still shining, same as ever.
He smiled. "I kept my promise, Lana."
That's my stupid little brother...
They were closing the distance. Strafing to either side to block off any hope of escape. Getting ready to pounce. There were no words, no curses, no accusations, just that overwhelming sadness and grief, slamming into him like a physical force. Their furious tears...
He knew what it felt like. He knew exactly...
Danado looked down at his hands, so neatly bandaged up. Unlike the ones standing before him, he did not have any claws. But did that make him weak? No.
It simply made him different.
He bit down on his fingers and ripped the bandages free with his teeth, tasting blood and disinfectant. "Is this what you want!?" he shouted into the darkness, holding his bleeding fingers out for them to see. "Is this what you want!?" He bit down on his other hand, attacking it, brutalising it, snapping his stitches and tearing the bandages to shreds. "Here it is!" He held out both hands, his mutilated fingers fully exposed. Blood flowed from the open mouths where his claws used to be and ran down his palms in rivulets. "If you want it so badly, come and get it!"
They descended on him like a pack of wild animals. Their growls were loud enough to drown out the beating of the drums.
Please... someone... anyone... don't let Layla watch this. I beg of you...
A dozen spots of pain flared to life as a Wolf bit down on Danado's arm. He could feel every tooth penetrating his skin, cutting down to the bone. The pressure was immense, the pain excruciating, but before he could even open his mouth to scream, another set of jaws clamped down on his leg, tearing deep into his calf.
"I'm here!" Danado screamed into the sky, holding his hands out to the writhing sea of Wolves descending upon him. Even though they were all bathed in light, he could not see their individual faces. He did not recognise any of them. They were just slobbering maws attached to grabbing hands attached to tearing claws. They were all the same, each and every one of them.
A Wolf bit down on his outstretched hand, breaking several fingers between his teeth. Another clamped down on his wrist, shaking his head back and forth, tearing through flesh and tendon, showering everyone nearby with blood.
Danado screamed, unable to believe that anything could hurt this badly. But he kept standing. He had to keep standing. This wasn't enough yet. This wasn't nearly enough.
Another Wolf grabbed him from the side and chomped down on his shoulder. An explosion of blood erupted from his flesh and splattered all over his face, but Danado kept standing.
Something heavy, immensely heavy, heavier than stone, leapt onto his back, tearing at his head and ears with claws as sharp as knives. The weight was too much. They were dragging him down. The ground, covered in dancing shadows and splatters of his own blood, was coming closer. He could hear someone screaming on the other side of the fire. A high-pitched wail that tore through the pain and went straight for his heart.
Layla.
No!
He planted his foot, ignoring the squelching pain shooting up the remnants of his toes. He straightened his back and screamed up at the sky, not caring about the weight, not caring about the teeth cutting into his body, spilling his blood in the harsh firelight, caring only about standing tall for as long as it took to get the job done. It was all he had left, the only thing he could do to make even a miniscule difference.
More Wolves came pouring in from the shadows, rushing in from every angle, more than he could count.
Will this be enough? Please, let this be enough...
One came in low and locked his jaws around Danado's ankle. Another leapt straight at him and bit down on his collarbone, snapping it right through the middle. Danado could feel his hot breath blowing against his neck, and the scratching of his foot-claws against his stomach as he scrambled for better purchase, drawing more and more blood with every wild swipe.
Nilia suddenly burst through the wall of fire, her arms crossed in front of her face. For just a moment, at the apex of her jump, she looked like a demon straight out of hell, cloaked in flames. Even the earth itself seemed to shudder at her landing.
Go, Nilia... Danado prayed, fighting to stay upright while innumerable teeth and claws punctured his flesh. Please, just go... I can't last much longer...
Nilia raised her head, and through the gap between her crossed arms, Danado saw the look in her eyes and he knew, just knew that she would do no such thing.
She was furious.
"Goooo!!" Danado screamed at the top of his lungs. "Just go!"
The other Wolves were beginning to notice her presence. They broke off from the group and focussed on her instead, creeping closer with their arms outstretched, as if they were trying to corner a grouse.
"Dan, you fool!" Nilia screamed above their heads, tears shining in the corners of her eyes, and that was when he realised why she was so angry. The burden he was asking her to carry was too great. It went against her very nature, but at the same time, it was her nature that would give her no other choice.
It was cheap, it was unfair, it was despicable, it was downright appalling, but if need be, he would force it on her.
"You're killing Ander!" Danado screamed through a mouthful of blood. "Every second you hesitate, you're killing him!"
Nilia stopped dead in her tracks. The Wolves had formed a line between them, but Danado could still feel the hurt coming off of her. The betrayal. She slowly shook her head, her eyes shimmering a vibrant green in the firelight. "That's not fair, Dan. That's not fair!"
"You're killing Ander!" Danado shouted above the slobbering sounds of jaws tearing into his body. "You're killing Kiana! You're killing the both of them!"
Nilia had been ducking and weaving, feinting left and right in her attempts to find a gap in the encroaching line of Wolves, but the moment he mentioned Kiana, something odd happened. She froze in place, like someone remembering something of vital importance, something that never should have been forgotten in the first place. Her hand briefly went to her stomach, as if she were about to be sick.
Danado did not know what was going on with her, but he took advantage of her moment of weakness by delivering the lowest blow he could think of.
"You're killing Hezzi, Nilia! You're murdering him!"
She backed away, slowly shaking her head. "No..."
"You're killing his brother, and that means you're killing him, too!" Danado pressed. "And by killing Hezzi, you're killing Renna! You're killing all of them!"
"I'm killing you, you son of a bitch!" She screamed, clutching at the bear claw around her neck.
A Wolf made a diving leap for Nilia's legs and she had to jump back to avoid him. Nilia was no pushover, and even in the grips of madness they were well aware of how dangerous she could be. But even so, they were gradually forcing her further and further away, cutting her off from Danado and the safety of the wall of fire.
"Then let me die!" Danado bellowed, fighting for every breath, every heartbeat. Tendons stood out like cords in his neck. The sounds of his own flesh tearing apart filled his ears. "This is the only way for me to keep my promise, Nilia! I made my choice! Now, please, just go! I'm begging you! Just go!"
Nilia glanced down at her arm, at the thin strips of bandages with his teeth marks still embedded inside, each one ringed by a spot of blood. The scars of his conviction.
More Wolves were beginning to surge in from the far side of the circle, drawn by the smell of blood. They rounded the fiery bends like a muddy river, roaring in the night.
Nilia raised her head, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I won't forgive you for this, Dan. Never."
Danado took a deep breath, and all his pain, all his anger, all his frustration at his own weakness, he forced out of himself in one single shout. "GO!!"
Nilia tore her eyes away and sprinted into the darkness, deftly avoiding all the reaching claws and slipping neatly into the gap he had made for her with his sacrifice.
Danado watched her until she disappeared completely, just another shadow among the blizzard winds.
And he was grateful.
There were so many teeth invading his body, so many claws cleaving through fur and skin that it all fused together into a screaming locus of pain. There was no telling where one scratch ended and the next began. There was no difference between one bite and another. They all just flowed into each other. One, single pain, and Danado could bear no more.
They pulled him down to his knees, still biting and tearing at his flesh.
Was it enough? Did I do it?
Someone was screaming. Crying. No... there was more than one. Who was that?
It was the Wolf that had bitten into his hand. There were tears mixing with the blood.
I wonder who he's crying for..._Danado thought. _A brother? A sister?
The one on his back was screaming, biting into his shoulder and screaming, choking on his blood and screaming. But it wasn't a mad scream, not a violent scream, not the inarticulate scream of the freshly insane. This was the scream of someone trying his very best to block out everything else, all sounds, all feelings, all sensations, because they were simply too painful to endure.
The Wolf who had bitten his wrist had his eyes shut tight, but the tears were still leaking out and shining brilliantly in the firelight. They flew off his cheeks as he shook his head from side to side, as if hoping to hide among the crimson droplets of Danado's blood.
Just like me... Danado thought. Just like how I used to be... Just like how I almost stayed forever...
The pain wasn't quite as bad anymore. Not as sharp. Even the cold was going away, replaced by a sensation that was almost warm.
More Wolves came rushing in, roaring and snarling, shaking the very earth beneath their feet. Danado felt the weight of each of them as they piled on top of him, biting and clawing for every inch of exposed flesh they could find.
The darkness was beginning to creep into his eyes like tendrils of smoke, clouding his vision. The shadows were growing long.
Unable to go any further, Danado collapsed beneath the weight of all the Wolves bearing down on him. He reached out across the frozen ground, dragging his bleeding, clawless fingers through pools of his own blood. His body was being jerked and pulled in every direction with every bite and furious shake, making the whole world see-saw back and forth in his eyes, but he kept reaching, not knowing what he was reaching for, just reaching...
Through the flailing limbs, past the smoke, the blood, the ember eyes, beyond the darkness of the night, he saw a figure slip through the flames. Was that Nilia? No... no, it couldn't be. That was someone else. Who?
The shape paused for a moment, its face wracked with pain and sorrow, tears shining on its cheeks in silvery lines, just like the tears of the Wolves ripping into his body.
"Lana?" Danado said, blinking the blood out of his eyes. The word tasted of iron in his mouth. "Layla?"
Faces... so many faces... each one torn down the middle, one half bathed in light, a mask of uncontrollable rage... the other covered in shadow, hiding away the sorrow, the grief...
But he could see it. He could see all of it. Even though everything was fading away, melting into the dark... he could still see it.
Danado closed his eyes.
I'm sorry, Layla. I couldn't give you the smile you wanted. But maybe... maybe Kiana can pass one along for me.
A real smile...
A true_smile..._
If you enjoy my story, please help keep my face un-mauled by irritable ostriches by dropping me a donation.
Thank you! ^_^
Paypal: ContrastNecrobat@Gmail.com
Donation Progress $239 / $300 (Unlock Sunday update)
How and Why: The Story behind "Ander" (Journal): https://www.sofurry.com/view/517234
Special thanks go out to the following furs for helping me keep this project afloat with their generous donations. I couldn't do it without your support.
- Mystery fur
- PyrePup
- KmlRock
- Faan
- Sunny-Fox
- Mystery fur #2
- Sky Star
- Claybrook
- 1_2Punch
- Cahal Silverpaw
- TheLoneDriftor
- Ariedren
Thank you! You guys are the best! ^_^