Ultima Book III

Susie's Secret

                      We went downstairs to get breakfast as Demo-pup followed waging his tail with each step. I sat down with Feng realizing how empty Ormand was when my friends were in trials. "At least the Entity allowed me to stay," Feng said with a soft smile. I smiled back at her then I let Demo-pup out to hunt small animals. I still felt sore from what happened earlier. I saw Demo-pup sniffing around for any small critters when his head shoot up as he grumbled. I followed his gaze and saw a rabbit nibbling at some leaves of an evergreen plant I put outside. Demo-pup went into an ambush stance with his stomach sliding along the snow-covered ground as he silently snuck up on the unsuspecting rabbit. Every so often, Demo-pup stopped moving to make sure the rabbit didn't know he was there, then he would close the distance little by little. It is always fun watching him do this because he reminds me of a cat stalking a bird. Feng watched this too while eating her breakfast. Demo-pup got within 2 meters of the rabbit before he pounced while enveloping the rabbit's head in his flower jaws. There was an audible screech from the rabbit which was cut short by the crushing teeth in the base of the demon dog's throat. He then shook the rabbit like a rag-doll to confirm that it is dead before taking it inside to eat it beside us. "Good boy, Demo-pup!" I said proudly petting the top of his head, "You finally caught that one." "I am assuming that one evaded him for a while," Feng said looking at the rabbit. "That one right there," I replied, "Is one of the smarter rabbits that like to take bites out of my plants. There are more of them here but it is almost impossible to control their population." Right after I said that a very large crow flew into the building which caused Demo-pup to drop his meal and jumped up at the crow to protect us. "Heel!" I commanded Demo-pup, "It is just one of the servants of the Entity." The large crow landed on the bar then cawed at us expectantly. There was a note around the bird's neck so I got up and took it to read it. The crow cawed at me again and I gave it some sunflower seeds then it took off. I opened the note and it was an invitation to the meeting place for a new event and to welcome newcomers to the realm. I read the note out loud so Feng could hear but the last thing on the note is to wear something formal. "Maybe we will get a new survivor," Feng said optimistically, "Or maybe you will get a new killer." I looked over at Demo-pup and his rabbit was gone without a trace, besides the blood and fur on his face. My wolf ears pricked when I heard something big moving outside and from the looks of it, Demo-pup sensed it before it had gotten close to the resort. He ran full sprint towards the noise with Feng and I on his heels. Demo-pup jumped on top of the figure then ripped it apart and it took both Feng and I a moment to realize what it was. It was a fully grown male deer and it was fighting against Demo-pup as he tried to bite into the deer's neck. I was much stronger than Demo-pup but it lacked any real defenses besides its hooves. The one thing about the Demogorgon species is that it is incredibly resistant to attacks and even if something breaks its skin, it will just heal in a matter of seconds. Like I said before, the deer was much stronger and larger than the demo dog but demo dogs will never tire. Demo-pup soon realized that he couldn't harm the deer by using his small needle-like teeth so he used his strong sharp claws to tear into the deer's hide. He then stabbed the deer in its neck with his sharp claws then he gutted the deer. Just then, I heard humming in the distance then I realized who was humming. "Huntress!" I hissed out right before her hatchet flew past my nose. Anna ran over to the dear then chased Demo-pup off as I asked what the hell was going on. "You see male deer," She said in her Russian accent while Demo-pup hissed at her, "My kill. I track male deer and threw hatchet at it and it run off into your realm, now your wild beast stole it from me." She turned her head to Feng then she winded up a hatchet to throw it at her but I stepped in front of it as it lodged itself into my head. Feng screamed in shock as Demo-pup leaped on top of the Huntress to defend me. I simply got up, forgetting that Feng was standing next to me, then assimilated my hands into metallic blades. I swung my arm blades down on the Huntress but she blocked my attack with her ax. I jumped into the air then dive-bombed onto her then I picked her up over my head then threw her across the realm. I still had her hatchet embedded in my forehead so I yanked it out then broke it over my knee. "What the hell?!" Feng cried out in fear. I had already morphed my arms back into their normal forms but I could tell that Feng was horrified by what she saw. "Please, I can explain," I said walking over to her. "Get away from me!" She yelled backing up. "Please," I said in a shaky voice, "I won't hurt you." Feng turned around and ran from me as I just fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands. I was crying uncontrollably as Demo-pup walked over to me to try to comfort me. He purred loudly while nudging his head under my arm like most dogs would do to get you to pet them. Huntress walked over to me with sympathy in her eyes as she picked me up effortlessly in her arms. I tried to fight against her but she just hummed the lullaby she hummed most of the time and it seemed to calm me down. I didn't realize that my friends were back from their trials until I heard their rapid footsteps approaching us. "Put her down!" Frank said throwing his hunting knife at Anna causing her to drop me. Without hesitation, The Huntress fled the Ormond realm into the thick dark forest. I fell to my knees on the snow-covered ground and cried. "Feng found out," I struggled to get out. "Found out about what?" Frank and Julie asked at the same time. I showed them my evolutions before morphing them back into my normal arms. Joey had a look of shock at what he saw even though his skull mask covered his face. "It's gotten worse," Julie said worriedly. "No," I said standing up, "You don't know what it is doing to me but I know that it is not harming me in any way. I don't know why Mercer chose me but he did." "Who the hell is Mercer?!" Joey asked confused, "What the hell was that?!" "It is a long story," Julie replied, "If I see Feng again, I will rip-" "NO YOU WILL NOT!!!" I yelled cutting her off while moving closer to her, "She did nothing and you will not lay a damn hand on her!" Nea appeared out of the fog to remind us that there is a meeting tonight then she disappeared back into the fog. "I will just talk to her," I said with tears falling from my eyes, "But you will not harm her." I beckoned Demo-pup to follow me as I went to my room to slam the door...