Ander - Chapter 7, Subchapter 56
#391 of Ander
56
There were feelings, but they were all dulled, muffled, as if wrapped in cloth...
No, this isn't a cloth. It's something else. Something warm and fluffy.
For a moment it felt like she was about to break through whatever thin membrane was separating her from the world of real things, but she shied away from it out of instinct. There was pain on the other side of that veil. Even dampened the way it was, she could sense it radiating throughout her back and throbbing in her jaw. Every heartbeat sent a bolt of agony through her extremities, swinging back and forth like pendulums, pulling on her aching shoulders...
Wait... swinging? Aren't I down on the ground? Am I moving? Am I...?
The darkness began to fade, but the flash of pain accompanying it was too strong and she simply drifted away again, grateful to go, grateful to move away from that red fog. There was nothing in there but misery and agony and... and...
Something else? Some... one?
It was no use. She was waking up. She could feel it happening, and she was powerless to stop it. She could feel the pain coming through in nauseating waves, could feel her whole body bouncing up and down for some unfathomable reason, like she was caught in the middle of a very slow, very bumpy earthquake. Every dip and jolt was like a dagger poking at her face, at her back, at her everything...
And now the sounds were coming back, too. Voices in the dark...
What the hell are you smiling at, Ivio?
It's just funny, Sai. The last time we went after Dan like this, we were goin to stick 'em. Now we're tryin to save 'em. I just find it - that thing, you know that thing? The, the, the what-do-you-call-it?
Ironic?
Yeah yeah yeah!
Something beneath her cheek moved forward and back, and the resulting jab of pain was enough to break through the darkness for a moment. She saw a jagged line of fire, stretching as far as the eye could see. Bright orange and yellow teeth rising out of the depths of the earth, and innumerable shadows locked together, writhing in the glow...
The light faded away, but the sounds did not. She could hear the strangest things. Dull thuds, like someone going to town on a thick piece of steak with a tenderising hammer. The muffled cracks of pumpkin shells splitting apart. The thick, slightly goopy dripping sound of all the juice being squeezed out of an orange. And underneath all this, the steady drone of the wind and the crackle of flames...
"Seffer, your left!"
"Shut up, I got this!"
"Don't let them get close!"
More of those awful, awful sounds, breaking through the haze of her thoughts.
Layla tried to open her eyes, but she wasn't sure if the things she was seeing were real or just illusions. They seemed far too nightmarish to be real... flashing by one after the other, bookended by periods of darkness.
Two Wolves locking together, biting down on each other's maws, their teeth grinding and sliding against each other through a slick layer of blood.
Bodies, lying facedown in the snow.
A screaming, raving madwolf, holding his hands over his gushing nose, except there wasn't a nose there anymore, just a bloody chunk of meat that used to resemble a nose.
Other sights far too gruesome to even contemplate. Images of pain and suffering so intense it made her own seem paltry by comparison. Visions that made her long for the cold, long dark between...
"Denko! Hurry the hell up or we'll leave you behind!"
"You shut your hole! I've got a bum knee, you tail-stain!"
The periods of darkness were getting shorter, and the moments of clarity were getting longer and clearer. She could even feel things beyond the pain now, like the snow accumulating on her back and the rapid breathing of whoever was carrying her...
Yes, that must be it. Someone's carrying me. That's why everything feels like it's bobbing up and down...
There was something else, too. Something braceletting her ankle. A small hand, a set of fingers, tiny claws...
Another moment of clarity broke through the haze, and this time Layla was certain she could see little Tio running alongside, one frozen runner of snot hanging from his nose at a windswept angle. He was holding onto her foot so delicately, like he was afraid it might break off if he tugged too hard. He looked so scared... so worried... worried about her?
She wanted to tell him that it was okay, but she couldn't find her mouth to speak. Instead, her eyes fell shut again. She didn't know how long the darkness took her this time. Maybe it was a minute, or maybe it was only a second. All she knew for sure was that, when she opened them again...
Dan...?
He was so close. So close...
"Oh crap, do you hear that?"
He was fast asleep, with just the hint of a smile touching the corner of his mouth. He had worked so hard. He deserved to rest for a while.
"Hear what?"
She wanted to brush the hair out of his eyes. She wanted to hold his hand... just to let him know that she was here, that she was okay, that they would somehow get out of this...
She reached for him. He was so close... less than a stride... if she could just touch him...
A deep, crackling groan stole through the night, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. It was a sound that instantly awoke the deep, throbbing pain in her back, forcibly tearing the last vestiges of her dreamlike state to ribbons.
"It's going!" someone yelled, pointing up at a massive pine tree. It leaned over drunkenly, its thin, whiplike branches flicking gouts of flame to the sky. With one final, splintering crack, it came crashing down, shining a hazy swath of light onto the battlefield below, like the eye of an angry god.
The Wolves still standing were smart enough to cease their grappling and get out of the way, but for those down on the ground, either unconscious or too hurt to move, it was already too late.
The tree slammed into the ground, shooting vortices of fire from both sides. Ear-piercing screams arose from underneath the blazing network of branches, and Layla found herself wishing for the broken peace of unconsciousness once again, if only to escape those dying voices.
She reached out as far as her aching shoulder allowed, tears welling from her swollen eye, until her fingers finally closed around Danado's hand in a desperate grip.
Why was this happening? Why, even now, were these Wolves staring at her with so much hatred? Because she was a Fox? Because her people had killed their people because their people were trying to kill her people? This war had only been going on for a few hours, and all this violence and bloodshed already seemed to be spiralling to the point where nothing could ever, ever make it right. It would just keep getting worse and worse, feeding off of itself and getting bigger all the time, until it eventually consumed everything and everyone.
"Dorin-Sai!" Tio yelled, jumping up and down. "Layla-Kai's awake, she's awake!"
The Wolf carrying Danado on his back turned his head to look at her. He was a scary looking thing, all covered in cuts and gashes, but she recognised the one floppy ear hanging over his eye. "Hey, girly," he said, flashing her a brave, if slightly out of place, smile. "We're gonna get you someplace safe. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?"
It hurt to talk (just trying was painful) so she nodded instead. Evidently satisfied, he faced forward again, focussing on the task at hand. He could barely stand, Layla could tell that much just by looking, and yet he was working so hard to help them. And not just him, either. There was a whole bunch of Wolves all around them, encircling them, protecting them, all working together.
Thank you...
Layla looked over the shoulder of the one carrying her, and saw the medical tent slowly materializing out of the curtain of falling snow. A beacon of hope, even on this dark night.
Mother... Father...
A deep, splintery crack suddenly cut through her thoughts and, knowing full well what that sound meant, their little group turned as one to stare at the tree line beyond the smoke.
A massive tree was leaning to one side, groaning like a living thing.
More like a dying thing, Layla thought. All the branches were shot through with glowing orange veins, creating a gigantic cobweb of crooked, molten lines in the dark.
"It's coming down!" Tio shouted, tugging on Layla's dress. She could tell that it wouldn't fall anywhere near their little group, but her heart triphammered in her chest regardless. Her eyes travelled down to the ground, tracing the line of impact. There were Wolves and Foxes scattering in all directions, screaming in fear and pointing up at the shuddering, crackling monster about to descend from the sky. In that little area, at least, the fighting had stopped, and everyone was making good their escape.
And that's when her eye fell on the one thing that couldn't get out of the way. The one thing everyone had fought so hard to protect.
It was the medical tent, and it was directly in the path of the falling tree.
Another crack shot through the battlefield, and the great tree gave one last shudder before at last surrendering to its fate. It fell, trailing a swirling storm of smoke and embers, and crashed right through the centre in an explosion of flame. The roof buckled and its supports snapped through the canvas like broken bones. Layla felt a wash of hot air blow over her face, stinging her eyes. Tongues of fire flared up in an instant, first tasting at the shredded remains of the tent, then gorging themselves, climbing up the broken wooden poles and spreading out across tattered sheets and animal pelts, growing larger by the second.
"Father?" she whispered as vast puddles of filthy orange light spilled across the ground. "Mother?"