Nomad {Editing}

::Chapter 34:: When all else Fails

A number of people quickly realised what he was doing and ran to help him. As one they fought to drag the pillar off him.

It took a lot of effort, shoving and struggling but soon enough it began to move at last. With struggling groans they forced it upright and threw it to the side. It crashed to the ground and crumbled with a horrendous sound but Charlie barely noticed.

He was quickly on his knees, checking the stranger for a pulse and thanking god when he found it. The group quickly began setting to work sitting the young man up and checking him for other injuries.

Only then did they realise their mistake.

Shifting in a single motion the wolf lunged for Charlie with a ferocious snarl. Tearing his fangs into the wolf's fur, missing something more lethal by the width of a hair as Charlie reacted as quickly as he could.

Fighting by himself, the wolf struggled now that he was outnumbered. All the same he fought hard, and he fought bravely. Charlie found himself almost respecting the fact that this strange wolf intended to die fighting.

Even if he would have done the same thing in a hundred versions of reality.

At the heart of the battle, Charlie fought on. Managing now to meet most of his opponents moves and doubling them back on him with the help of the rest of the group. They too were intent on killing this stranger for everything he had done to them.

Biting down onto everything he could get his fangs onto, the metallic taste of blood spilling into his mouth spurred him on as he fought. They skidded around on the ashes of the room, and he struggled to get a proper purchase, but he didn't care and it barely mattered.

It was over quickly, and the man soon fell still.

Kicking the stranger to the side with almost no respect, Charlie straightened from the body and look back to the rest of the group. Panting heavily, the excursion when coupled with the struggle to breathe had taken its toll. But he had won either way.

Not that there was exactly time to flourish in the glory of a victory. They needed to get the hell out of there.

Returning his gaze to his brother, the only one who truly knew what had gone down in here. He tilted his head with a pant, struggling to catch his breath before he could bring himself to ask the question.

Destruction around them, the roof was looking less then healthy as though it wouldn't take much for it to begin caving in. Fire licked at them, but now the witch was dead it didn't have the same power as before, now it was only fire.

Whilst it may have been less deadly, it didn't make it any less dangerous. They still needed to get the hell out of here if they wanted to survive. That would be ironic if we survived all this, only to be felled at that hurdle. Charlie laughed for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.

"Dad?" He asked simply, not needing to say much more then that. as he cast his eyes across the landscape, as though expecting his father to appear from the doorway without a care in the world. As he always seemed to do.

Only Arthur's look made him realise that this wasn't going to happen.

Folding his hands in his lap, the younger brother didn't answer for a minute. As though trying to think as to how to sugar coat it. Then it all came out at once, "I don't know. They took him somewhere then the others, and I didn't see him since."

Bubbling from the older man was a quiet anger which could have rivalled even Charlie in that moment. Yet despite it, Arthur seemed quite capable of holding himself together and otherwise showed no emotion.