𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊⠀ ⁽ ¹ ⁾

WATCHED

His words sink heavily in my ears, but he's entire indifferent about it. "Good luck getting through me first!" Allison shouts standing in front of me, her crossbow aimed at Gates. "Allison, help Patty get Vincent out of here." I tell her, and just as she turns around moving her lips to argue, I enforce my decision with a serious glare. "Now." The stern command leaves her speechless.

She walks to Aunt Patty and they start unstrapping him, while Gates and I never look away from each other, not a word between the two of us, just silent stares. Once they have Vincent's arms wrapped around their shoulders, I step aside from the exit and allow them to pass. "You're very brave, Marsden." Gates states reaching into his pocket and attaching what looks like a pair of silver brass knuckles. "I'm going to have fun tearing you apart with my bare hands. But try to make it worth my while, okay little puppy?" He taunts.

"You're going to regret this." I snarl at him, crouching in a stance as my claws and fangs emerge. He makes a forward gesture with his hands. His pose is solid like a seasoned boxer, as he protects his face and body and remains nimble on his feet. Without another thought I speed towards him, moving my claw at his face but hitting nothing but air as he moves aside.

His fist reels back and slams into my chest, knocking me onto the ground. "Concentrated silver knuckles." He says as he stands over me.
I barely have enough breath in me to even sit up. "Customized by yours truly." He brings his fist down, before it hits me, I roll away out from underneath him and make my escape out the door.

In the same movement I round house kick him from the floor and watch him fall. The silver sizzles  my chest from underneath the clothes as I grasp it, heaving heavily as I step back.
Gates shakes his head, and gets up from the ground easily. "So the old dog taught you tricks." He says, as he mentions my father. "How do you know him?" Gates readies his stance once again. "I was there. I killed him after all."

A raging fire sparks and I growl even harder. "You monster!" With a shout I lunge at him again, he ducks every single one of my blows, but he's not invincible, my claws tear at his shirt only to reveal a bullet proof vest underneath it. After breaking away for a moment, he runs his hand over the claw marks I scratched into his shirt and vest. "You're no more monstrous than me by the looks of it."

He and I go at each other again. Every hit I land tears through his vest and to his flesh. Whenever he lands one, it leaves behind either a bruise or a massive burning sensation. After fighting our way to the top floor once again, one of his luckiest uppercuts strikes me clear in the jaw, knocking me flat on the ground, stunned and dazed. Slowly I roll over onto my stomach feeling the blood pouring from my mouth. "You know, you're actually a lot tougher than I thought." He says.

The sound of his voice getting closer as he stands right next to me. He pulls his foot back, and rams it into my ribs forcing me to cry out. "But not tough enough." He takes fistfuls of my hair lifting me off the ground, dragging me over to the wall and colliding my head against it.

Dad's eyes roll up, his grip on my wrist loosening. I shake my head desperate, still holding onto him. "Dad?"  I cried out over the roaring flames. "I'm sorry!" I shake his chest, but his hand falls limp at his side, while I rub away the burning sensation in my eyes that makes them water even more. "We needed you!" Laying my head down on him, praying that he'll wake up. But the silence in his chest tells me differently. "I cant be you."

The cracking fire all around me lifts my head. Everything we had, our lives, our home all reduced to ash. Shouts and cries of wolves and hunters echo everywhere, and I know the more I around here I'll end up dead too. Looking down at dad, the fresh gash across his throat, I see his chain. Reaching down, I grab it and with a bit of force rip it from his neck.