It's The Eyes...

Ferocity

Sky's POV

My throat throbbed and ached as I stared in disbelief at my friend. At least, I thought he was my friend. His eyes were crooked like Derp's, but different somehow. My stomach iced over. He was in control. He knew full well what he was doing. And at the moment he was attacking FireSpark. I staggered over to Mitch's side as he wrenched an arrow from his leg, wincing as he did so. I glanced at him fearfully and he nodded. We were both scared. Ian had snapped and there was nothing we could do. I frowned. Wait, almost nothing. I drew my sword and charged Ian, yelling a frail battle cry. His head whipped round and I nearly faltered as those crooked eyes burned their ferocious gaze into my soul. Then I collided with him and he sprawled out on the ground below me. I lifted my sword above my head, but crumpled when he smashed his forehead into mine. Stars exploded in my vision as I fell back and Ian got to his feet, barely fazed by my attack. "That the best you got Sky?" I hated the way his voice had changed. It was Derp's strangled tones, but they were Ian's as well. I back-pedalled away from him as he drew his iron sword from its scabbard. Mine had fallen from my grasp in the collision. Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air and slammed into SSundee's chest. He staggered backwards slightly and looked down at it protruding from his chest. I took this opportunity and lurched to my feet, running to FireSpark. We ran in opposite directions, her to meet Ian, me to run away from him. I felt like a coward, but that wasn't my friend back there, he was the enemy. I reached Mitch once more. He looked at me as if to say: 'Seriously Sky?' I rolled my eyes and searched the snow for my budder sword. There it was, lying mere inches away from...Ian's feet. I groaned. "Well that's just perfect." Mitch followed my gaze and chewed his lip thoughtfully. "I can cover you if you want?" I nodded and ran towards it, ducking a wild swing from Ian's sword and skidding in the snow covered ground. I grasped the hilt of my sword and held it up in front of my face just in time to parry a devastating blow from Ian's blade. I ducked again as FireSpark charged SSundee and slammed into him, snapping the arrow in half. He yelped as they fell back, hitting the ground. I was running for cover when I felt something seize my ankle with a brutal grip. My feet slipped out from under me and I hit the ground hard, the breath being knocked out of me. I struggled to escape but felt myself being dragged towards SSundee across the ice.

"No!" Suddenly, Ian's grip went slack and I rolled away; FireSpark had managed to pull him away from me. I saw his crooked eyes narrow in fury as he lunged for her. I gripped the hilt of my sword and went for him. Suns exploded in my vision as his fist cracked into my nose and blood dripped from it. I cried out and swung blindly. I heard SSundee growl in my ear and yelped, jumping back away from him. FireSpark got him on the ground again as my nose throbbed. I flinched as I heard a wet crunch, then silence. Suddenly, the twang of a bow being released reached my ears and I heard Ian snarl. I wiped the tears from my eyes and made out that Mitch had shot him in the arm. He was drawing another arrow swiftly from his quiver. His leg wound was still bleeding slightly as Ian wrenched both of the arrows out of himself without a second thought. The wounds healed up and I briefly wondered if Ian really was in control, or if Derp had taken over at some point. Then his sword clashed with mine and my mind went into autopilot. I hacked and slashed as he parried every move. I panicked as I realised I was up against a formidable opponent. He had Derp's strength with SSundee's knowledge of sword fighting and skills. I poured every inch of wellbeing into the fight, in a desperate bid for survival. Mitch fired another arrow, then staggered. His leg wound was bothering him more than he let on. Ian's crooked eyes burned with ferocity as he lunged at me, his sword grazing my ribs. I cried out and sidestepped, plunging my blade into his arm. For a split second, I saw his eyes flicker, bright with pain and hurt, then it was replaced with hate and bloodlust. He twisted the hilt of my sword and pain shot up my arm. I let go instinctively and found myself defenceless. He threw my sword to the ground. Another arrow whistled through the air and nearly hit me, instead finding its mark in Ian's side. While he was pulling it out I saw FireSpark shakily get to her feet. Blood was congealing round a gaping wound in her arm, but she still picked up my sword and stepped behind Ian. I backed away until I hit a tree. My nose was still throbbing and the wound on my ribs stung. Ian turned back to me, his eyes still burning in anger. I closed my eyes, waiting for the worse. It never came.

I cracked one eye open and stared in disbelief as FireSpark raised the sword above Ian's head. He whipped round just as the blade came down on him. He dodged to one side and it embedded itself in his shoulder. He yelled in pain and dropped to one knee. FireSpark pushed him off balance and kicked him viciously in the ribs. "I hate you Derp SSundee." He grinned at her. "The feelings mutual." He took her off balance and she hit the ground. I lunged for my sword, still embedded in his shoulder, and wrenched it out as brutally as I could. He roared in agony and twisted round, his hand finding my face. I gasped as he found my sunglasses and pulled them off. I opened my eyes and snarled, lifting my sword above his head. As it came crashing down an arrow hit my arm and I cried out. "Mitch, what the crap?!" Mitch paled. "It wasn't me!" FireSpark had taken his bow off of him as he was too wounded to fire. She grimaced. "Sorry Sky, I suck at archery!" I groaned. "That's helpful. Aim for him, not me!" I looked down and realised SSundee wasn't there anymore. "Huh?" Then his arms wrapped round my neck in a choke and I couldn't breathe. "Ian- NO- st-op!" I clawed at his grip in desperation as my head began to swim. The pain in my broken nose was causing me to lose concentration. I was suffocating. My lungs burned from lack of air. "M-itch! He-lp me!"

My friend staggered towards me and threw himself on Ian, trying to wrestle him off me. It worked. I gasped for air as FireSpark let another arrow fly. This one found its target. I heard Ian cry out as it hit him. I grabbed Mitch and hauled him away as his leg bled profusely. He passed out in my arms and I backed away as SSundee got to his feet, glaring at me. "You'll pay for that." FireSpark dropped the bow and ran in between us, glaring back at Ian. "Stop. Now. Enough." He narrowed his crooked eyes at her. I couldn't speak, he was going to kill her! Then, as they stared into each other's eyes, I saw an internal battle taking place behind his mask of hatred. So Derp had taken over halfway through. I'd thought so. Even when he wasn't in his right mind, Ian wasn't that vicious. Suddenly, I saw his resolve crumble and his legs buckled. He went down on his hands and knees, retching. His limbs shook and I could hear strangled sobs issuing from him. I gently lay Mitch down on the ground. He was breathing. FireSpark had tears running down her face as she crouched down next to Ian, her hand resting gently on his shaking shoulder.

"Shh, it's ok, it's over now." He lifted his head and I could see his blue eyes filling with tears. He tried to speak, then gave up, lowering his head again in shame. I realised how he felt now. He'd literally torn his friends apart, and probably had been half-aware throughout the process. FireSpark wiped her tears away roughly with her sleeve and looked up at me. I was breathing heavily through my mouth and my vision was blurred, either with pain or blood. I gently tugged the arrow out of my arm that she'd misfired and searched the snow for my sunglasses. They were snapped in half a few chunks away. I crawled over and reached for them, dragging them back over the snow. I pocketed them and turned to Ian. He wasn't shaking so much now, more of a tremble every now and again. His sobs were quieter too, but more heartfelt. FireSpark sat down next to him. The sun was just beginning to set. I wiped the blood from my nose gingerly. I missed Ty. "Let's camp here for the night, no use carrying on till we've treated our injuries." A fresh wave of pain washed over me as I stood up. "Mitch brought healing potions with him. They're in his hoodie somewhere." FireSpark nodded and went over to him, sifting through his pockets, searching for the potions. I staggered over to Ian. He'd rolled over onto his back and was staring at the sky. I sat beside him and none of us said anything for a while; what was there to say? FireSpark found the potions and we shared them out. Ian felt even worse knowing he didn't need them. We all knew why. Night fell and Mitch awoke. We built a campfire and huddle round it as the cold nighttime chill of the Tiaga biome set in. Ian kept his head down, I sat close to Mitch, who had bandaged his leg, and FireSpark sat close to Ian.

We were all silent, then Mitch sighed. "We're all in a right mess aren't we?" I sighed. "Guess so." Ian lifted his head and I saw his tired blue eyes had hardened in determination. "We're still gonna take down those rebels though. We are in a mess, but they'll just make it worse. Especially if they get a hold of me." He spoke without care, but I saw the hurt behind his eyes. He knew why they wanted him. FireSpark's wolf tail thumped the ground nervously. "We'll take them down, then that'll be one less problem to solve, right?" Mitch nodded slowly. "Yup." I leaned back on the snow and closed my eyes, savouring the heat of the fire. Images drifted through my head. A sword flashing in the light, teeth gritted in pain, a street full of dead players, Ian standing in the bathroom staring at his reflection in the mirror, desperation in his eyes. Back then, I knew nothing. Now I knew too much. The poster on the tree. Feeling his arms round my neck, my lungs burning from oxygen deprivation, suns exploding in my eyes as blood spurted from my broken nose. An arrow whistling through the air. A pair of crooked eyes glaring at me, burning with ferocity and bloodlust, and those cursed words echoing in my mind. Are you afraid to die? "Yes." I admitted to myself. "But aren't we all?..."