71

Chapter 61

Again, I would scream, if my voice doesn't crack the moment I try to utter his name. You know, I'm just getting tired of the constant surprises, the cliffhangers... Yawn...
So the biggest freaking Beast in the entire gaggle lunges ferociously at Coal, the fire in it's eyes more than I've ever seen in that of any Beast before... More than that basic hatred of the human race the creatures of the Wold are born with, but something else, something deeper... And it occurs to me, suddenly, that Coal is just as tired as me, if not more! And then everything happens before I can blink.
The one burning desire for Coal's death has eliminated any other thought process in the creature's mind, any ounce of sense, so even when the wolf-boy whips out his swords in a flash, it continues to charge, not even a vague awareness registering in the furious eyes that have turned red with burning, senseless rage that runs so deep it's traceless.
And then silver flashes, blood flys, and Coal has taken a run at the monster, dropping low to the ground at the last moment, and bringing his swords up above him, slicing them down over the soft and vulnerable throat and stomach of the Beast, leaving a perfect line of blood in the white fur, but the Beast doesn't even notice, and every time it breaths the slitted flesh on it's neck rattles and hisses with passing air, specks and flecks of blood blowing out int he short, ragged gusts, but still it doesn't stop, but only whirls and faces Coal with renewed fury.
Coal appears unnerved as well, and even through his impenetrable mask his fear shows. He dodges to the side just in time as the Beast rushes past him like a freight train, huffing and snarling. But one wings shoots out and knocks him inwards from behind, right at the slicing knife-claws which leave trenches in the stone of the mountain.
Meanwhile, every other Beast in the Bowl is watching the fierce battle avidly, their black eyes following every movement, every flinch and every attack, watching with a cold curiosity, hackles raised, wings propped off their backs, teeth bared, just waiting, watching, and if their leader does fall, I know they will instantly leap in and rekindle the battle... And if that happens, we're done for.
Feeling helpless, lying on my butt in the dirt, I have a decision. For one fleeting moment, however, I'm struck by a thought that doesn't bias me to either said decision, but actually renders it entirely stupid.
Why are we fighting? This will be the last great battle of Ash and Coal, no matter which way I take, we're doomed. It's the battle the world will never know... But why are we fighting these random creatures...? How does this prove to the Rulers that we defy them?
But then I see the Beast clawing and tearing at Coal, who desperately tries to free himself from their deathly grip... Finally, his face transforms from that of a very good-looking fifteen year old, to that of a truly wild Beast. He abandons his beloved swords, throwing them unceremoniously to the side, and, snarling with a ferocity to equal the monster's, he grips the wickedly clawed paw (Almost as big as him, mind you) and forces it off of him in an incredible and scary display of raw strength.
This is called going Beast, in Wold slang. I've seen it happen once before, when I was once stalking a Predator to make sure he wouldn't stumble upon our cave. Admittedly, they had been a very animalistic Predator, more Beast than Man... and yet, Coal is only 69 percent human, though he doesn't look it... at least on the outside, though perhaps his mindset...?
Anyways, the Predator. With no warning whatsoever, he had suddenly crumpled to the ground, without even a sound. For one breathless moment, I thought he had been shot, until he crawled to his feet... Well, hands and feet. Freaked, now, I watched in a mixture of fascination and horror as the man scurried off into the bushes on his hands and feet, snarling and gnashing his fangs, long spiked tail sweeping the ground behind him.
I can only watch now as Coal and the giant Beast brawl to the death. It seems odd, seeing a little (Well, little when compared to that big momma of a monster) human (Kind of) fighting evenly, unarmed, against a creature almost five or six times his height... And even more scary, is that he's winning.
For the space of a heartbeat, Coal and the Beast glare at each other, staring the other down, challenging one another to dare and attack. And now it's unmistakably Coal who's standing there, his eyes hard and face almost unrecognizable... Stone isn't even a ghost anymore.
Then Coal brings his boot up in a snap-kick that shatters the monster's jaw-bone. The roars and snarling from our audience is nothing at all compared to the shock wave of howling that emanates from that sucker.
Then the battle picks up, Coal and the monster blow for blow, the Beast's strength and bulk against Coal's terrifying ferocity and gymnastic agility.
Coal rakes a clawed, white-knuckled hand down the side of the monster's face, over it's eyes, and grabs the paw which extends to retaliate, twisting until the satisfying sound of popping joints reaches my ears, before letting go and rolling to the right as the Beast snaps at him with a shattered and bloody fanged jaw. But then the creature's great heavy tail sweeps around in from of the Prince, hitting him from behind at the knees, and knocking him flat on his back.
"COAL!" The scream escapes me just as the monster is about to crush him under one giant paw. The Beast pauses, paw suspended in the air, and then it slowly turns it's evil little eyes upon me.
Way to go, genius.
Why did I even cry out? What do I care if Coal is smooshed? We're both going to die anyways... Now, I figure, we both simply refuse to go down without a fight. But still, he's a Prince of the Order, and a filthy lying jerk... Admittedly a hot one, but, no, it's not gonna happen.
And now the Beast is turning towards me, slowly picking it's way towards us, deciding I'm much more helpless than than the other human, and definitely will be much tastier, and I can feel the energy level of the horde rising, almost as if they're cheering.
The Beast is right at me, and I'm doing all I can to simply keep my eyes open, I can't even stand, so there's not even the slimmest chance I will be able to fight it off, and I should have let Coal deal with it because he at least seems to have some amount of energy left, and I'm going to die feeling like an idiot, and I can feel it's foul, warm breath on my face, stinking with the overwhelming stench of blood, but still, I don't close my eyes, and I realize it's Coal sitting there, and he's not going to even try and save me... Stone would... But Stone's gone, as good as dead, or even less, considering he never really existed...
My last thought is the one, longing desire to watch the Order, that reveled and ancient slip of parchment, to watch it burn, and turn to ash...