Another patrol. Ever since I came to this place years ago, it's mission, patrol, raid, one after another, day after day. Recently it's scarcely a time I get to spend time alone in my cavern--even then, it's interrupted by meetings and conferences every day. Somehow, I manage to keep going.
This time Ssarkin decided to take our band of 5 to the ridge on the far side of the territory. It was heavily forested, and I'd only been here once before on a mission... Fuck missions. Literally. Anyhow, there were only a few small herds living in and around the forest. They were a little difficult to find, but with our heightened sense of taste and smell, we could discover the targets in good time.
You know, I hate to say 'our' when referring to the others. I'm one of them, but I'm not. I don't want to be one of them. But I have to. I was banished since I sprouted (puberty sucks), and my "father", if I dare call him that, took me in. I tried to escape once--that scar I can still feel crawling on my skin. The Lurkers under his rule barely acknowledge me as one of the team anyway. Since I'm just another half-breed, I'm usually referred to as 'Mutt'. Only the officers call me by my real name.
Speaking of officers. Ssarkin raised his thick serpentine tail and halted. The three other ebony equines stopped in response, awaiting their leader's orders.
"Six mares..." His grating, hissing voice rasped from his wide mouth, his long forked tongue dribbling poisonous saliva. Did I even tell you what we were doing? ...Well, It's disturbing to explain, so I'll just let you figure it out. "Follow me."
We all did as we were told, keeping the formation of our band. I quickly noticed the scent we were after; just in the stand of trees not far ahead.
Ssarkin hissed again as he broke into a rolling canter, black eyes fixed ahead. "Make it quick."
The others sped up, but I hung behind as much as I could. I didn't really enjoy these missions but resistence meant severe punishment. Those scars tingled as well.
The black lurkers burst into the herd, snarling and chasing them around, separating their victims. Screaming and chaos insued, with stallions trying to defend their families. Fucking idiots. Just run. One reared up, shouting and swiping at the serpentine attacker. His obnoxious attempts were quickly silenced as Ssarkin flung himself at the moron, sinking his fanks into his throat and throwing him to the ground. He died without another sound as the deadly venom took effect.
I had to do it. Before they noticed I was hesitating. Horses were everywhere, trying to help each other escape, to gather their families and loved ones and flee. I tried to spot a mare through the wire mesh eyeholes of my mask, which wasn't easy. My snake-esque tongue could taste the scent of a target better than I could see it.
Ah yes. Trying to usher her week-old foal away from the carnage and ungodful acts being commited in the trees. Why didn't she just leave the little shit? It was obviously useless. I quickly ran after her; she was fat and relatively old, so I wasn't worried about her escaping. Still she tried to get her pathetic offspring going, but he didn't seem to budge, staring at the attacks. Upon seeing me, she let out a startled cry and turned, flinging into a comically slow gallop away. I got her scent, so she'd be easy to find after I was done with her foal, who apparently couldn't think. He still stood there, staring. It's just a bunch of whores getting their yearly injection of superior half-breed, what's so interesting?
As Viperhound (my 'father') had ordered, colts were to be sought after and killed at all costs. Fillies should be captured, if possible. I stared down at the young foal; I hadn't really noticed his appearance before now, but through the visors of my mask, it hit me like a train.
He was me.
Unmistakably so.
Sleek black coat, bald white face. Inward-curving ears. He snapped out of his daze and looked directly at the hybrid masked equine glaring down at him. Black 'eyeliner' was the only interruption on his white face, surrounding his large, wide sky-blue eyes. He was me. Innocence. Ignorance. Me.
Memories flooded back. Happy ones. When I wasn't a fucking snake-freak with an unnaturally crazy sex drive. I actually had friends. Normal ones. Pure-blooded horses. I lived in the plains. My mother was bright cremello, her ears touching over her head.
I didn't want to remember. Those memories I had buried so deeply underneath.
Extreme anger replaced my devious, predatory nature. The fucking mask exists for a reason! What fucking right did this piece of shit have to make me remember? My own voice sounded alien, the low, growling tone strange.
"Fuck. You."
The transfixed colt just stared back, horrified, those petty little blue irises reflecting everything I once was. I snapped.
I overkilled it, literally. Reared. Came crashing down. Felt the small bones snap and break and split the previously flawless black coat. He didn't make a sound. My front hooves with their sharpened steel shoes slaughtered the little bitch to mincemeat. My jaws pulled against the leather straps tying the mask to my face as I picked up the bloody lifeless corpse and flung it like a toy. It hit a tree with a dull thud before landing on the forest floor. Charging after it and trembling with anger, I crushed it more, destroying the innocent, pretty little face that had made me remember.
"Fahren! What the fuck?" I heard Ssarkin approach, yelling at me. "It's dead, whatever it was, calm down!" The smaller equine shoved me off of the bloody, unrecognizable body of the infant horse. Okay, I got a little carried away... Only now did I feel the warm blood sticking to my coat. I was still trembling, raging with anger, probably drooling gallons from under my mask.
Ssarkin faced me, blocking my view of the dead foal. "Did you spend all this time killing a stupid colt? Where's the last mare?"
I shrugged, pulling away from him. "Hell if I know."
The officer let out a hissing groan, spitting onto the ground in annoyance. "What the fuck! Your dad's gonna blow!"
I turned my head, glaring at him, though he couldn't see my expression. "It's just one, calm down!"
Stamping one hoof, the Lurker snarled at me. "I'm the fucking leader here. And your dad's orders are the law and I'm here to enforce them. He wants every mare pregnant with a half-blood by summer, though I don't know why, as if they're any like you, they're fucking useless!"
I rolled my eyes and flicked my ratty tail. "Don't call him my dad. He's a scumbag, that's what he is."
Ssarkin broke. I'd said too much. He leaped on me, knocking me to the ground as his similarly shod hooves ripped open my side. I merely grunted, not bothering to fight back though the searing pain ripped through my body. I felt fangs sink into my neck and venom enter my veins. As it traveled through my blood, it brought an agonizing burning sensation to whereever it went. The officer crawled off of me as I lay there, both bleeding and frozen in pain. I wouldn't die, the venom would only bring pain and nothing more.
"If you're not back to your cavern by sundown, you're dead, Mutt."
With that, the four snakes left.
. . .
After a while I rose--everything was sore, including the several gashes along my flank, but it's nothing I can't deal with. I sighed and let my gaze land on the body I had so violently gutted. It didn't look like me anymore, not with intestines flung over the smashed skull, but all the same the image remained. An unpleasant thought entered my head as I stared.
I destroyed myself.
