Arc The Lad Fan Fiction ❯ Aftermath ❯ Chapter 29 ( Chapter 29 )

Chapter 29

Eventually Darc made his way back to the same clearing he'd found last night. He sat down on the rock.

Ten minutes after that Delma walked up to him. "Darc?" she asked.

Darc glanced over at her. "What?"

Delma's tail twitched nervously. "Can I sit down?"

Darc shrugged and turned away.

Delma took that as permission and sat down next to Darc. "I wanted to tell......"

Just then a twig snapped and the forest went silent, to silent. They both knew that meant trouble.

Delma looked at Darc and a feral grin crept across her face. She stood up and crept away towards the sound.

After giving her to the count of twenty, Darc rose and went the opposite way.

Delma's heart pounded in anticipation as she crept towards the sounds. Finally she heard them directly in front of her. She reached out and carefully parted the foliage.

Humans, four of them, wearing green and brown to help them blend into the forest. Delma sneered. They were making to much noise for that to work worth a damn.

Before the battle of the giant eyeball, as Maru liked to call it, Delma would have leaped out and attacked the soldiers without a second thought. She now understood a direct attack wasn't always the best idea. Just then Darc came up beside her. She looked at him and pointed to the soldiers.

Darc studied the soldiers, considering the odds. He noticed that two of them were carrying weapons that were unfamiliar to him. He touched Delma's arm, making her look at him. He gestured quickly.

Delma smirked and nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. They began to follow the soldiers.

Finally one of the soldiers carrying the strange guns fell behind far enough that he was no longer in sight of the others.

Delma pounced, clamping her hand over the soldier's mouth, muffling any sound.

Darc clenched his left hand into a fist then clouted the soldier upside the head, knocking him cold.

Delma let the soldier drop to the ground with a loud thud. "Nice left hook."

Darc snorted. "I've had plenty of practice." He picked up the soldier's gun and handed it to Delma.

Delma took it gingerly and examined it. "I've never seen one like this."

Darc took off the soldier's belt. He removed a large square case then used the belt to bind the soldier's hands tightly behind his back.

Delma frowned. "What the hell are you doing that for? Let's just kill the bastard."

Darc opened the case. "Hard to get information from a corpse." Frowning, he pulled out a small box. Opening it, he found it contained a dozen small metal darts.

Delma moved in for a closer look. "Those look like the darts Camellia uses, only hers are wood."

Darc carefully pulled one of the darts free of the clamps that held it. He sniffed it warily. Whatever was on or in the dart smelt bitter and medicinal. He put the dart back and closed the box then put the box back into the case. Closing it, he passed it to Delma. "There's other things in there, so be careful." He threw the soldier over his shoulder. "Let's go."

Delma waved Darc ahead of her. "I'll follow just in case he starts to wake up, so I can knock him cold again. We don't want him to see where the village is after all."

Darc nodded and headed off. He found they had went further from the village than he'd thought and he was tired by the time they finally got there.

Delma darted ahead and opened the door.

"Thanks." Darc carried the soldier inside then dropped him, even though he had little liking for Humans he had to wince when the captive hit the floor with a loud thud.

Kharg and the others were still downstairs and they all stared at the soldier then at the two Deimos.

Kharg frowned. "Darc....what in the world is going on?"

Darc shrugged. "Saw him and three others wandering around and we trailed them. He got separated from the others, so we grabbed him."

Ganz frowned for a minute then nodded. He noticed the gun and case Delma was carrying. "Can I see those?"

Delma gladly handed the things over. "Neither of us have ever seen a gun like that. That's the main reason we followed."

Ganz examined the gun. "It's a tranquilizer gun."

Delma frowned. "What's that?"

Ganz laid the gun to one side and opened the case. "It's a gun that shoots darts instead of bullets usually used to knock an enemy out rather than kill."

Delma looked over to the soldier. "So they were looking to take captives, looks like we beat them to it."

Ganz examined the darts then laid them aside and pulled out a round metal object. "They were carrying bombs, not sure what kind though."

Just then the soldier groaned.

Bebedora pointed. "He is resuming normal function."

Maru laughed. "A person doesn't resume function, Bebedora, you mean he's waking up."

Bebedora looked thoughtful and nodded. "Waking up." She tugged on her head. "I will remember."

"Poor, poor Human, the floor must be uncomfortable. We don't want that." Volk's tone dripped with false sympathy. He yanked the Human to his feet and shoved him into a chair.

The soldier hit the chair so hard it nearly tipped over and he let out a cry of pain.

Darc sighed. "Volk, please don't break him. We need him alive for now at least."

Volk glared at the Human then stepped back. "Alright." He didn't sound pleased.

Darc stepped in front of the Human. "We have questions."

The soldier spat at him. "You might as well have the cur kill me now, freak. I'm not telling you anything."

Darc shrugged and moved aside . "Whatever you say." He gestured to Volk. "You heard the man, go ahead and kill him."

Volk smiled, showing an impressive set of sharp teeth. "As you command, my alpha." Hefting his axe, he started towards the man.

The man deserved some credit. He kept his resolve until the Lupine was standing over him with his axe raised. "N....no! Wait!"

"Stop, Volk." Darc stared coldly at the Human. "Are you going to answer? This is the only chance you'll get to cooperate. If you refuse again than I'll let him kill you no matter what you say."

The soldier looked nervously at Volk. "I think that even if I answer all your questions you'll kill me anyway."

Kharg stepped forward. "If you answer your life will be spared. I swear it."

Darc and Volk snorted at the same time and moved away.

Kharg ignored both of them, giving the prisoner his full attention. "Why are you out here?"

The man eyed everyone. “Looking for the Deimos rebels that killed Lord Devon and his men. We had orders to find out where they were then report their location to the barracks in the city."

Kharg had expected as much, He doubted that was all though. "Bebedora, is he lying?"

Bebedora giggled. "No, not lying, bitter colors of fear and hate." She tugged on her head again.

Kharg nodded. "So what would happen after you found them?"

The soldier gave Kharg a defiant look. "We were to lead a contingent of guards to them. All the rebels were to be killed. Any survivors were to taken back to the city in chains and publicly executed as examples to other Deimos who might plot rebellion."

Ganz folded his arms. "Explain the tranquilizer guns."

The soldier glanced over at Ganz. "An added precaution, we're often told to watch for runaway slaves. The guns have become part of our normal gear."

"Colors of deceit, lies, lies, lies," Bebedora chanted.

Darc stormed back over to stand in front of the soldier. "I have a pretty good idea what the real reason for those things are." He slammed both hands down hard on the chair. "Thought you might find a few of us alone. You could use your little toy to knock them out and sell them to line your pockets without anyone being the wiser." Darc sneered, showing his fangs.

The soldier cringed back. "You swore you wouldn't kill me if I answered your questions!"

Darc smirked. "I never swore anything, he did, besides you tried to lie."

Kharg looked concerned. "Darc..." He was ignored.

The man tried to shrink back, but he had no where to go. "M..mercy."

Darc's left hand tightened on the chair arm, wood splintered in his grip. "Mercy, what right do you have to ask? You were sent to find a group of Deimos to be slaughtered. I ought to rip out your damned throat."

Lilia came forward and touched his arm. "Please, Darc, don't." She flinched slightly when Darc snarled, but didn't move her hand. "He's unable to fight back. If you kill him like this it isn't self defense, it's murder. Please, Darc."

Darc shook her hand off then turned so suddenly that Lilia started back. "How much mercy do you think he planned to show? If you didn't hear he and his flunkies are out here to find Deimos to slaughter." Darc turned again and headed for the door. "Volk, Delma, come with me."

Volk and Delma glanced at each other, then shrugged and followed.

Lilia took a step forward, but didn't try to stop him. "But Darc, where are you going?"

Darc opened the door. "To see what the other three Humans are doing. They're probably searching for him by now."

"You're going to kill them," Lilia accused.

"Yes, we are. They might find our trail and we don't want them to find this place." The three Deimos left, closing the door.

Lilia looked around at the others. “Well? Aren’t any of you going to stop them?”

Kharg took a deep breath then shook his head. "He's right."

Lilia stared at Kharg like he'd grown a second head. "What?"

Kharg sighed. "We can't let anyone find this place. The other three guards have to be killed."

Lilia looked upset and sickened. "But Kharg...it's wrong!"

Ganz stepped into the conversation. "No, it's war and a lot of people are going to die and die horribly, there's no avoiding it. Think of the many Deimos that died today, including Alisha's parents. It's the same as the fight we were involved in before."

Alisha stood up suddenly from her place in the corner. "I'm going with them." She hurried out of the house.

Darc gave her a sharp look when she came up beside him.

Alisha met his eyes boldly. "I grew up around here. You need me to help guide you."

Darc had seen Alisha fight and he knew she wouldn't be a burden, so he nodded.

"Darc!" Miko charged up to them. "I'm coming too."

Darc rolled his eyes. "Fine, let's go."

The five Deimos headed off into the forest, alert for any sign of the scouting party.

Volk soon caught their scents. "This way." After another hour the Lupine stopped dead in his tracks. He took deep sniffs of air.

Darc frowned. "What's wrong?"

Volk growled. "I smell blood."

Miko sniffed the air. "I smell it too, not good."

Delma's tail twitched. "I don't know about it being bad. If something else killed those bastards than we won't have to."

Darc smirked. "I'd have to agree with you on that point, Delma. Let's go see if it is the Humans."

Volk guided them in the direction the blood scent was coming from. After about a half an hour they all hear crunching from the same direction. The five of them exchanged puzzled looks then crept cautiously forward.

The sight in the clearing made them all stop and stare.

All three soldiers laid scattered all over the ground like discarded dolls, severely mauled.

Something that looked like a lizard standing on its hind legs was eating one of the men. It stood at least eight feet tall. It had a mouthful of sharp teeth and four in claws. It used the claws to hold the corpse while it ate.

Miko shivered. “A ripper lizard.”

Delma looked at her. “What’s that?”

Miko shifted nervously. “A nasty and voracious predator, it’s always hungry. Luckily it’s eyes and hearing are very poor, but its sense of smell is very acute. We should be alright because the air is still.”

Some things should never be said, because fate loves to ruin thing. No sooner than the words left Miko’s mouth a strong wind kicked up and swept over them from behind.

Miko groaned. “Oh shit, double not good!”

The Ripper’s head came up as it smelled the air then it roared and lunged straight towards them.

“RUN!” Alisha shouted.

R/R…or I’ll let my lizard eat Darc!

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