Timber

Chapter Forty-Six: At Death's Shore

Hazel's ears rang painfully with the echoes of her own screams as her eyes slammed shut. Suffocating dread filled her veins until her entire body was engulfed by the sensation. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her nerves were raw, her body and mind shrouded in abject, petrifying vulnerability. Her muscles tensed as she braced for her life to come to an abrupt, hopefully minimally painful end. 'Clink', the blade struck something solid with a jarring impact. Metallic fragments scattered against her neck as its tip shattered.

Hazel's eyes snapped open. Her chest heaved as she struggled to suck in air.

Ian's hand, losing stability from the blade's breakage, wobbled, knife sliding across the hard object and then upward, grazing Hazel's collarbone before slipping from his grip. It landed with a soft sound in the sand next to her shoulder. Ian's face was a mask of utter confusion as he froze for a moment as if trying to comprehend what had just happened.

She pulled as hard as she could on her limbs, kicking her legs and attempting to wrench her arms free. Her struggling appeared to recenter him on the task at hand. As his vision refocused and he fumbled to retrieve the knife. However, Hazel noticed it before Ian did: the sound of heavy footsteps approaching rapidly. She could hear Silus' breaths even before he came into view. His booming voice thundered over the storm, "What the fuck are you doing?!"

Ian's head jerked up, but it was too late. Far too late. Silus was already there, axe in hand. She saw a flash of red as the blade connected with Ian's spine. He let out a shriek and toppled forward, releasing Hazel's hands. She scrambled backward and kicked the knife further up the beach, away from Ian's grasping fingers. Her eyes met his once more, palpable fear mixed with an almost knowing expression as he was lifted by his shoulders and hurled several feet away. Stumbling, with blood trailing down his back, Ian collapsed onto his hands and knees. Silus pursued him like a bull pursuing a red cape. Hazel placed a palm over her eyes, wincing at the sound of Ian's grunts. Silus' hits repeatedly struck flesh, the noise blending with the thunder rolling overhead.

Hazel's chest was heaving, and she raised a shivering hand to it. Running her fingers along the cut in her shirt, she pushed them through the hole, feeling the rock-hard surface below. Reaching further into her shirt, she gripped her necklace. Tears streamed down her face as she ran a trembling hand over the dented gemstone. Dad. Cedar. 

"Hazel!" Ruby's soft voice reached her, and a petite hand soon rested on Hazel's shoulder, coaxing her to meet her eyes, "Are you okay?"  

Ruby's gaze, laden with sympathy and fear, swept over Hazel's shivering figure. Her eyes shifted to Silus who had abandoned his axe and was now raining dull blows with his bare hands. 

"I..." Hazel's voice quavered, her body shaking. Ruby didn't wait for an answer, but instead, encircled her in a tight hug, her uninjured arm pulling Hazel close. She allowed herself to relax into the girl's embrace, dropping her necklace so it once again rested heavily against the skin of her chest. She closed her eyes briefly, reminding herself it was over, willing her body to lower its guard. 

Beside them, Ethan crouched, bow ready, his hair tousled. His face was bleary as if he was not fully awake, biting his lip as he scanned Silus and Ian. Ian's desperate screeching had faded in unison with the storm. Kai lingered among the palms, edging closer to the unfolding drama with timid steps. 

"What in hell is going on..." Ethan muttered to no one in particular.

"Did he hurt you?" Ruby whispered into Hazel's hair. 

Hazel closed her eyes and shook her head. Then the sounds of Silus pummeling Ian halted. Silus' breathing was labored, and Ian's had grown wet and ragged.

Hazel drew back from Ruby but remained seated in the sand, her body still trembling like delicate twigs in a windstorm. Observing her brother, she noted that darkness veiled Silus's features as he shifted to face the group.  His breaths were uneven, and his broad shoulders drooped as he heaved. There was a rugged tension in his jaw and an untamed look in his chocolate eyes. Silus advanced towards them with slow footfalls. As he neared, she also noticed deep red speckles on his arms that extended from his fingertips, up his forearms, and across his chest. His face bore splashes of crimson, like he had been splattered with paint.

Hazel pushed up from the sand, breathing in the familiar metallic tang of blood. Supported by Ruby and Ethan, Hazel stood on unstable legs. Above them the storm had all but disappeared, the only remaining sounds were the gentle hum of the waves and Ian's garbled breathing.

"Silus," she breathed out. Her voice seemed to break the spell he was under, and his expression softened. He rushed to her, and before she could brace herself, he enveloped her in his arms, pressing her head to his chest. She returned the embrace as much as she could while her body worked to purge the adrenaline.

He hugged her so tightly that breathing seemed almost impossible, yet she would gladly forgo air to remain in his arms. She soon noticed that she wasn't alone in her trembling; Silus's entire frame shook without restraint.

She nestled her face into his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt as his trickled down his face and dampened her hair.

"Thank you," she whispered to him and he squeezed her closer.

"I almost didn't make it in time." His voice cracked and warbled, making him sound so much younger than seventeen. It was like he was twelve years old all over again and puberty had not yet claimed his innocent voice. 

She ran a hand down his back as soothingly as she could manage, "But you did."

He remained silent but held her tight, whispering into her hair, "I don't know what I would have done, if...." She shushed him gently and signaled the need for air. Delicately she pushed him to arm's length. 

Both of them searched each other's tear-stained faces. His gaze then drifted to the tear in her shirt and then back to her eyes. She too looked down at the hole, shaking her head in an almost delirious disbelief.

"Are you injured?" he asked, examining her further.

Hazel's fingers ran from the tear in her shirt up to her collarbone, feeling the uneven skin. Ian's knife had just nicked the circular scar from Percy's cigarette, leaving behind only miniscule beads of blood. "It's minor, where his knife..." She paused, the reality of her near-death experience settling in.

Silus gripped her arms firmer, and he took a deep breath in. He seemed to be gathering himself, reigning in the terror and rage that was radiating off him like steam. She shuddered as she felt warm blood seeping from his hand through her shirt sleeve. Frowning, she pulled his hands into her own. His injured palm was mangled, stitches were missing, and others had been torn and shredded. Fresh blood was gathering in his palm like a tiny puddle.

Silus closed his injured fist. His eyes grew darker as he stared at his hand like it offended him. She ran her unsteady fingers over his knuckles gently, "We'll fix it up."

Silus remained silent, his hand falling limply to his side. The guttural sound of Ian's labored breathing redirected her gaze to the battered form sprawled in the sand. The boy was almost motionless, with only the subtle rise and fall of his chest indicating the struggle for air through his blood-stained lips.

Gagging, she turned her head away, afraid to look any more. Silus followed her inspecting gaze.

Motioning toward Ian he called to Ethan and Kai, "Get him out of here."

"What should we do with him?" Ethan asked, fear-tinged respect filled his tone as he addressed Silus.

Silus's jaw tightened, his expression solidifying into a severity Hazel had never seen, "Let's see if the eels are hungry for dessert."