Death Seeker - Horizon: Zero Dawn

Chapter 9

It was almost daybreak when the gang returned to Blackwing Snag, with sacks of food and valuables, and a female prisoner in tow. Grahlan tied her arms around the great oak, running a slobbering tongue over her terrified face. He ran his big, grubby hands over her torn blouse, resting them on her pelvis. He gripped her tightly, pulling her small frame against himself with a thrust. She yelped.

"Grahlan..."

The giant turned his head slowly, still holding the girl in his grasp. "What is it, Ahvis?"

The boy swallowed harshly. "Leave her alone, that's not fair."

"Fair, boy? Fair? What in this mechanical world is fair?" Grahlan bounded over to the boy. "I take what I want boy, and I crush anyone who gets in my way, do you understand?"

Ahvis took a step back, freeing a little space. "It's not right..." The back of Grahlan's hand slapped against his face.

"Try again."

Ahvis took two steps back, touching his cheek. "She's just a..." This time a straight fist punched him clean in the face, knocking him back onto the rocky wall, he dropped to a knee clutching his pained jaw. Grahlan was above him immediately, breathing rapidly.

"Try again, boy."

Ahvis regarded him with blurred vision, a trickle of blood filling up a nostril. He stood slowly, supporting himself against the wall. He knew Ehris watched as he stacked the bags of corn, and his brother Fahris, cowered away as usual when Grahlan lost his temper. He looked over the big man's shoulder, at Mika in the tree, her trusty bow in hand observing the altercation.

Then he saw the girl, anxious and fearful, strapped to the oak. She looked like a herd of grazers had trampled over her, leaving her short linens dirty and torn. She still had soot on her face, and her chest heaved as she tried to calm her hyperventilation. Her face was natural and pretty, with sharp features and a button nose. Long, curled locks full of beads and cord were held in a knot on top of her head. A few wisps had escaped, dangling over her emerald eyes.

Ahvis shook his head, and closed his eyes, wishing the voice of his heart would quit for just a moment. "Let her go," he sighed, "just let her go."

"Want her for yourself?" Grahlan growled. "Then you'll have to take her."

The knee to his stomach sent Ahvis reeling on the ground once more. He writhed in the dirt, fighting back his attack of nausea. Then an angry boot landed against his shoulder, glancing his ear and head where the pan had left a mark. He curled up into a ball, as a flurry of kicks and stamps battered against him. Ahvis caught Grahlan by surprise when he paused for breath, launching himself at the giant with a swinging fist. The punch landed against his jaw, followed by another and another, but the impact was minor and the bigger man grasped the boy by his arms, hindering his wild attacks and lifted him off the ground. Grahlan swung him around and released him flailing through the air.

Landing heavily on his back took his breath away, and he quickly rolled prone onto all fours, desperate for oxygen. He felt Grahlan's fingers scrape over his skull as a clump of hair was yanked upwards, lifting the boy onto his feet. He felt bones crack as a meaty blow crunched against his rib cage, and another in the solar plexus. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, spilling over the floor in agony. He scuttled backwards and dropped into the grave of fruit and veg, as Grahlan approached once again.

"Grahlan!" Shouted Mika, sliding from the tree. "Don't forget we need him."

He grinned at the beaten boy in the pit. "Next time, boy." Then he sauntered off, away from the oak and across the wooden foot bridge to the other side of the camp. Mika approached, squatting down low.