Affliction - Book One - Man x Man

Chapter 32

  Through an Action, a Man becomes a Hero.

Through Death, a Hero becomes Legend.

Through Time, a Legend becomes Myth.

Through hearing a Myth, a Man takes an Action.

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I feel numb. I drift in and out of reality from the blood loss, the weight of the situation, and seeing Alpha as the murderer of my family for the first time in a long time. I had thought I was past that but here it hits me, again, with such reality that I'm shaken to my core. 

I'm vaguely aware that everyone is moving around me, it looks like a blur but I'm at a standstill. I know the reality of the families of these elves, I know the nightmares, and how they will picture over and over how their loved ones were torn apart. 

We have to end this but at what cost? Could this cold, calculated man truly be the answer? 

I realize that I'm trembling and I wrap my arms around myself to absently rub my biceps. The air feels dead and cold as the afternoon begins to turn into evening. I watch the pack gather the dead and I count, one... two... three... seven... ten. My stomach rolls as a large male pass me, Fleet dangles on his back.

 I watch his limp paws sway, his tongue hanging from his open muzzle. What I wasn't prepared for is that his eyes are open and it's almost as if he's looking at me. I shut my eyes and look away. Blood. So much blood. When I open them, I realize an elf is on the ground beside me, looking at me with glazed-over eyes. His throat is ripped, his hand outstretched towards his knife. 

I admire the porcelain skin.

His long white hair is splayed around him, he looked so much like Haryek it's almost eerie. There are elves all around me, hanging from trees, splayed out on the ground, and now, being lead away. So this is what it looks like, this is the destruction that was promised to me.

 I remember Sota's words, 'If he is anything, he's absolutely lethal. The Lion spares the lamb, until its hungry.' Alpha did this.

 One man capable of leading a small force, unarmed, to victory against a larger force. 'If anyone can do this, Alpha can.' They could pull this off. He could pull this off. I wonder what that will mean to my people if the elves and the humans are forced into submission. Regardless, Loan is right. 

In my horror, my resolve solidifies. We need the alliance of the Alpha if we're going to survive this. No matter my thoughts on this, it was time to start making moves. I had to make this work for the sake of my people, no matter what the cost.

"Stop! He doesn't want to go!" Someone is screaming. I squint and almost excuse myself from the dead version of Haryek before I remind myself that, well, he's dead and he's not Haryek. "I'll bury him myself! Just stop!" Sobbing. Hysterical sobbing. 

My heart breaks, Tonic. I get up and my leg feels better so I risk a jog into the field to see my friend, clinging to the body of his friend. Oh, Tonic. I rush over. 

"Just wait for a second please," I ask the male who looks too tired to deal with our crap. 

Shoving the body of Delta away, he storms off. "I'm getting Alpha." He says, annoyed. 

Delta has been gutted. The chocolate wolf is a sad heap, someone has taken a knife and made his innards his outtards and poor Tonic has him by the neck, holding his head in his lap. His bloodied tongue lolls like a dog in the sun though his eyes are glossed over. He's gone; there is no bringing this one back.