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4
Dustin quickly joined in the attack. It became a race to see who could take out the most enemies and capture the prisoner first. And neither of them were willing to lose their bet. Harley was careful not to kill anyone she shot, ensuring that each one survived so they could all be returned to the Castle. She would aim for their knees until they dropped to the ground in pain, the pure snow being splattered with their blood. But the Aztera soldiers weren't so willing to give up even once they were down. They kept their muskets in hand, aiming for Harley and Dustin. She kicked snow into the face of one, stunning him long enough for her to come within reach and throw her knee into his jaw. The man was left on the ground, unconscious.
When she looked for another one to battle, she also kept an eye open for any other guns aimed at her without her knowledge. Sure enough, the prisoner had gotten ahold of his musket, and she was his first target. She pulled a dagger from her coat and threw it into his other shoulder, and spun on her heel in one fluid motion. Another soldier had tried coming at her from behind with a blade of his own. She thrust her musket forward and straight into his throat. He choked and gurgled before he was hit with the back end of her gun and knocked into the snow. He didn't move again. Dustin was fighting one of his own, a battle of knives as the two tangoed in a deadly dance. Snow was being kicked and thrown all around them, blood splashing onto their surroundings as Dustin's knife slashed through the soldier's side. Too deep for him to keep going, but not seep enough to kill him. Then he ended it by smashing the other's head into the nearest tree. It seemed even her rival had enough brains to keep them alive.
She glanced around to find that the final soldier had already been taken down by Dustin. The only one left awake was the prisoner. He lay in the snow, groaning in pain as both of his arms were limp and bleeding. Harley and Dustin approached him together, gazing down at the pitiful man. "There's nowhere left to run," said Dustin. The man looked up at them with a snarl, bearing his teeth and curling his nose. "Fuck you," he spat. Harley clicked her tongue as she knelt down and patted his shoulder, earning a cry of pain from him. "Don't worry," she chirped. "You're only paying for your own stupidity. Nice try though." The prisoner snarled at her before his eyes briefly moved to something behind her. Then, they widened and his face lost all color.
Her heart stopped.
She and Dustin both slowly looked over their shoulders, and together they went still as stone as a massive shadow fell over them. A creature stood in the bloodied snow behind them. Its body was thick and sturdy like that of a bear, standing on two legs and horrifyingly long stained claws erupting from its large, human-like hands. Its pelt was brown and mangy, with many bones protruding from its broken and mangled form. Its head was large enough to fit an entire man in its crooked jaws. Both of its eyes were missing from its skeletal face shaped like that of a deer, but with several rows of piranha-like teeth. Drool dripped from its mouth as it foamed like a dog with rabies. "Sweet sweet blood," it huffed with a low, whispered tone. Like its throat was torn to shreds and it was losing its voice. It exhaled steam from its nostrils, blowing Harley and Dustin's hair back with breath that smelled like rot.
