In the End
Warning: This story contains scenes that may distress some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Author's note: I'm not entirely sure the title or the description fully covers what the story's about since this tale dips, twists, ducks and runs so very often. Sorry. Oh, and just so you know, nobody dies. They just got really bad boo-boos. Hope that didnt spoil it for ya, but there's some sensitive subject matter in this one.
The sun came up slowly over Heritage city, casting its warm glow over the cloudless summer sky. Its rays shone down past the skyscrapers, reflecting golden light off its windows. The light illuminated the canopy of a park, warming the wooden benches and gravel paths. The quiet streets slowly became alive with commuters in the early rays of light. The light then fell across Ark Roads, the local mansion district. The sun shone through the crack in a curtain, revealing the inside of a messy bedroom in a presidential sized house. The owner of the bedroom, still in her bed, stirred softly. The top of her head poked out of the covers, revealing long tangled light chestnut hair.
The covers moved and a hand pushed them aside. Groaning painfully, the eighteen year old deer sat up on her bed, ruffling a hand through her hair, making it even more messy and matted than before.
She sighed and stood, stretching her limbs and stroking the ruffles out of the t-shirt she slept in. "I hate Mondays." She muttered under her breath.
On cue, the radio alarm lost among empty soda cans and crumpled school notes on the bedside table engaged with the morning's first report at exactly eight o'clock. "Gooooooood morning Heritage!" a loud voice rang from the single tiny speaker. "This is MC Matthew, with this first message of a brand new week: Yo-yo-yo-ya'll, wake up sleepy-heads. It is yet another pleasant summer's day, and surprise-surprise, we have beautiful weather all day today! Cloudless skies and warm winds! It sure is good to be alive today!"
"That makes me feel a whole lot better." The girl muttered at the radio, rubbing her aching eyes.
No sooner had she stood up to try and find some clothes to wear to school today, there was a light knock at the door followed by the voice of her butler. "Michelle? Are you awake yet? It's eight o'clock. You'll be late for school."
Michelle shook off her sleepiness as she found some jeans and a shirt. "Thank you, Alex." She called back to the family butler. "I'll be down in a bit.
Michelle Chalice was used to the rich life. She was used to getting things she wanted, and was used to having things always going her way. She had a maid and butler to clean up after her, and a cook to serve her all her meals. Her parents had been wealthy since before she was even born. Her mother was in sales, and her father was the manager of a successful perfume company called Da Lencia. They never had money short and had enough of it to buy happiness. The only down side was that Michelle's parents were always away on business. Michelle practically grew up with her servants as parents.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen," the DJ on the radio channel continued to rant. "I play for you, this sweet melody in the morning."
"I hate Mondays." Michelle repeated as she retrieved clean underwear from her cupboard.
The start of the song was cut out by the noisy rattle not far away as one of the maids dropped something. Blocking out the sound of her father giving the servant an earful by singing along to the song, Michelle left her room, crossed the hallway and entered the bathroom, a sterile place compared to her own bedroom. She ran the water in the shower and turned up the heat. In seconds steam billowed out of the cubicle as the pressurised spurt of water sprayed out of the showerhead. Tossing her clothes in one corner and throwing her t-shirt into another she looked herself in the mirror. A dark chestnut furred doe looked back with enchanting ocean blue eyes and an alluring figure that would put supermodels in their twenties to shame. Her father had already promised her a job in acting to advertise for some of the company's new products. A well paid job, contributing to the family business, and she got to show off a little too... perfect! Smiling at herself, she hung a towel over the warm radiator and stepped into the path of the jets of hot water.
Upon finishing in the shower, Michelle dried herself off, groomed her fur, cleaned up haphazardly, and then pulled on her clothes. Slim jeans that defined her long slender legs and a shirt that hugged her hourglass figure. There was a hole in the right knee of her jeans where a stylist figured he ought to take an angle-grinder to the clothing to raise the consumer price. Finishing with dressing, she brushed her teeth, her hair and observed herself in the mirror for twenty minutes to make sure everything was absolutely perfect.
Leaving the bathroom behind her, Michelle made her way to the stairway at the end of the hall, passing an old and grey hare who grinned and nodded a greeting.
"Michelle." The hare said, his glazed eyes twinkling. "You're looking pretty this morning. If I weren't eighty I'd envy your boyfriend."
Michelle laughed and patted the butler on the shoulder as she passed. "Thank you, Alex."
"I left your lunch in the kitchen." Alex added before he disappeared into one of the many bedrooms this house contained.
Michelle elegantly descended the marvellous staircase down into front hall, one hand resting on the polished wood handrail. Waiting for her were two packed suitcases and her parents dressed smartly, going over everything they needed for their flights.
"Michelle." Her father called. "Are you ready for school?"
"Almost." Michelle said truthfully, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "So... you guys ready for your flight?"
"Yes." Her mother nodded, ruffling through her purse before looking up. "Oh, honey, what is that you're wearing?" the older doe scanned her daughter from head to foot. "Why are you wearing torn jeans? What happened to the Potegro we bought you?"
"Leave her alone. She looks fine." Michelle's father insisted. "Look, we're going to be late."
"Alight." Mrs Chalice jogged over and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "You be good. It's only a week. We'll hurry back."
"Take care now." her father called with a wave before he picked up the suitcases and walked out the front door.
"See ya." Michelle said with a small wave as the door closed.
"We'll be back Monday." Her mother called as the door slammed shut.
Michelle let her hand fall to her side as she sighed. "Yeah." She said sadly under her breath. "See you next week."
The school cafeteria was home to stereotype segmentation. In one corner sat the popular kids, usually the eldest consisting of pretty girls, cheerleaders and football jocks. Somewhere in the middle sat the nerds with their trading cards, Ghouls & Goblins character sheets, neatly packed lunches and A+ report papers. On the far side of the room were the teachers' pets and general snitches, usually accompanied by other social rejects, Goths and the like. Then you had the attention whores, who were the loudest bunch, usually attempting to stay as close to the popular kids as possible. Then filling up all the leftover space you had your average Joe's and Jane's who were just trying to survive the hell that was more commonly known as high school.
And then you had Kurt... who was where all new kids were... stuck somewhere in the cross-fire.
The black furred wolf wasn't built particularly big like other wolves. He didn't seem to show predatory instincts like other male predators and kept to himself over the course of his first day in Heritage. He was of pretty short and sturdy build, eighteen years old, friendly enough disposition and an intelligent gleam in his dark grey eyes. He couldn't really be classed as any kind of stereotype yet. Not only was it his first day, but he didn't actually know anybody here. And nobody seemed to be able to corner him with personal questions like where he lived or where he came from. It was like he had a natural talent for remaining anonymous.
Michelle couldn't help but stare curiously at the mysterious wolf from her seat. She was so deep in thought she didn't even notice her friend Sarah talk to her.
With a frustrated sigh, the gazelle tossed an empty can of soda at the staring doe to get her attention. Surprised, Michelle sat up and looked at her friend. "Huh? Sorry. I spaced out. What did you say?"
"I asked..." Sarah paused and looked over her shoulder in the direction Michelle had been staring earlier. "Why you broke up with Jack. And I think I just figured out why." She added with a low giggle. "You realise the trade in deal only works for UMDs, not boyfriends, right?"
"Shut up." Michelle snapped, throwing the empty soda can back. "If you must know, Jack was being a jerk... as usual."
"I told you he was... but what makes you think Kurt over there is different?" Sarah nodded at the wolf sitting four tables away reading from a notebook by himself. "All predators are the same... but you are still a sucker for them."
Michelle scratched her head, ruffling her neatly groomed hair. "His name's Kurt then? Where'd you hear that?"
Sarah shrugged. "I managed to force it out of him between classes. We got to chemistry together." She pointed at the wolf. "That guy knows how to avoid a question... I should have asked him if I looked fat in this skirt, just to see how he'd duck and run."
The doe laughed and rested her head in one hand staring at the wolf for a while as he dropped the pen he was twiddling in his fingers and stooped to pick it up. "He's pretty cute."
"Uh-oh." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you're gonna go talk to him. Jack is still cooling off. If he suspects something he'd blow a gasket and take it out on poor Kurt. Besides, he's been in town how long? Twenty nine hours or so? For all you know he could be complete douche-bag."
Michelle chuckled, sitting up. "Doubtful. He doesn't look like a psycho."
"Give the guy a break." Sarah insisted. "Its his first day. Don't do something stupid."
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked innocently as she stood. "I'm just going over there to have a friendly chat." She straightened her shirt, defining her sexy figure and pushed up her breasts slightly.
Sarah laughed. "Sure you are." She smacked her friend lightly on the bottom as she walked by. "If he turns out to be awesome he's mine."
"Fat chance." Michelle replied kindly before she was out of earshot to hear her friend's come back.
Calm as ever, Michelle approached the wolf from behind. He had short messy black fur, didn't look like he groomed very often and wore baggy cargo trousers and a light gray hoodie. He was leaned over a notebook, drumming his nimble fingers against the table to an inaudible beat. She was never nervous when talking to guys, mainly because since she was sixteen they wouldn't leave her alone. And over the years, baiting boys had become something of a profession of hers.
Pausing behind the wolf, Michelle thought about how she would go about this, before taking a long breath and confidently striding closer.
In one elegant move she jumped up and seated herself on the table beside the wolf and crossed her long slender legs. Kurt froze in the middle of reading and slowly looked up at the doe, pulling the headphones of his MP3 player out of his ears.
"Hi there, new guy." Michelle said cheerfully with a smile. "How are you?"
"Uh... surprised?" answering truthfully, Kurt straightened up and grinned. "Hi... do... do I know you?" he asked slowly.
Michelle shook her head. "Not yet. I'm Michelle. Michelle Chalice."
"That's... nice..." Kurt said a little unsure, still staring at the doe.
She leaned forward, purposefully revealing her cleavage to him as she took a look at the diagrams in his notebook. "What you up to?"
Still somewhat flustered, Kurt tried hard not to look down her top and snapped his notebook shut. "Er... just taking some notes... drawing a map of the area. I'm still trying to find my way around." He said.
"That's a pretty good idea." Michelle said with some fake impression. "You know, if you want a tour, I'm available tonight."
"Nnnnno, I think I can manage, thanks." Kurt said as he closed up his notebook and stuffed it into his bag. Slinging the bag over one shoulder he pushed his chair back and stood up. "Bye." He added shortly before turning around to leave.
Michelle watched him take his first step away and cocked her head confused. That was the first time any guy had been so curt and desperate to get away from her. Then, Michelle's expression immediately changed as Kurt stumbled. A hand grabbed the wolf's sleeve and dragged him sideways.
Snapping her gaze right slightly, she felt her heart sink. It was Jack.
The tiger had light grey fur with matte black stripes, and was built for his passion, which happened to be football. His muscles stretched his cotton t-shirt and he wasn't at all shy to show the bulge in his jeans. In short he was the wet dream of every girl in the school... or at least, those who didn't know him properly.
As per usual, behind him was his troop of four equally largely built friends, also predators like their leader.
Jack pulled the wolf in and wrapped a thick arm around Kurt's shoulders, pulling him in tight as the quarterback faced his ex-girlfriend.
"Hey, baby." He said with a wide grin. "Why are you talking to this loser?"
"Loser?" Kurt whispered under his breath again. "Hey, who the fuck are you supposed to be?" he asked, raising his voice.
"Shut up, pencil-neck." Jack said patting Kurt painfully on the head before looking up at Michelle again.
"Let him go, Jack." Michelle demanded sliding from her seat and reaching out to pull Kurt from the tiger's headlock.
But Jack pulled back, dragging the wolf with him. Kurt grunted, starting to get a little ticked off now.
"Seriously, man, let go or so help me..." he didn't get to finish
Jack suddenly let go and shoved the wolf hard. But something unexpected happened. Kurt didn't fall as he was supposed to. He hopped back two steps and steadied himself almost instantly. Anyone else, even someone of Jack's build would have been flat on the ground. Michelle immediately saw the surprise in Jack's eyes, which was quickly masked by his tone.
"Big words for a little man." The tiger challenged. "You wanna go, needle-dick?"
Kurt didn't say anything for a while as he calmly straightened his hoodie and re-shouldered his bag. Slowly he looked up at the tiger again and shrugged. "Nah. I think I've had enough fun for one day." He answered before turning away.
"Come back here!" Jack growled, lunging forward.
Michelle darted forward to try and stop him, but she was too slow to react. Jack already had a hold of Kurt's sleeve, forced him to turn around and smashed his knuckles against the side of the wolf's snout.
Kurt didn't make a sound. He whirled with the punch, gritting his jaw and stumbling backwards. Slipping out of jack's grip and moving away from the blow he slipped, strings of blood spraying from his open jaw. A second later he hit the deck and slid to a halt under a nearby bench. And then just like a switch had been thrown the cafeteria was silent and all eyes were on Kurt as he slowly reached up and grabbed hold of the corner of the nearest table. Dragging himself up to his feet he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of a trembling hand. Drawing a long shuddering breath he stood up straight and faced the tiger, his fist's clenched and back straight.
Michelle was about as stupefied as everyone in the cafeteria as they watched the wolf stand tall and strong, hardly bleeding after taking what the whole school referred to as 'the punch.' They had seen countless fall with minor concussion after taking a punch from Jack Meyers. It was an urban legend, but some said he put a guy in a coma on the sports field a year back. Yet here stood the new guy, hardly shaken. Hell, he hadn't even lost a tooth!
Kurt slowly looked left and right, before glancing over his shoulder and realising everyone was staring at him. Even Jack and his friends wore a surprised expression.
"What?" Kurt asked loudly. "Never seen someone trip before?"
A little unsure as to whether he'd tripped or taken 'the punch' everybody returned to their lunches. Kurt wiped his mouth again and sighed, turning away from the quarterback and his troop and left the cafeteria as quickly as he could without drawing too much attention.
Worried he was hurt worse than he was letting on, Michelle tried to follow, but Jack caught her by the arm as she passed, roughly holding her back.
"Let go." Michelle demanded, but the tiger wasn't listening.
"You stay away from that guy." Jack growled menacingly, placing his face close to hers. Michelle looked away angrily. "He's bad news."
"Whatever." Michelle spat back, attempting to pull herself free from Jack's grip. He didn't loosen his grip. He just squeezed harder.
"I mean it, Michelle." The tiger snarled. "You're my girl. Stop telling yourself otherwise." He tugged painfully at her arm. "I'll see you after school." He added before letting go of her.
Stumbling away while she rubbed her arm, Michelle scolded under her breath. "Doubtful."
Walking back to her seat, she shook her head at Sarah's worried questions. She didn't feel like talking anymore. Kurt had been a total ass, and then Jack had ruined all future chances of making reparations. The best she could attempt to do was apologise after school... but in all honesty she wasn't sure if it would make a lick of difference.
The front steps outside the school were a social hierarchy pyramid. It was about as bad as the canteen. Severe segregation divided the students of Heritage High into five layers. Each social class was assigned a level on what the students called 'the pyramid', in order of importance. The popular kids, feeling they were the authority were the most important and took the top level, and the least popular kids, thus the less important were stuck at the bottom of the steps, closest to the bus stops.
But as he left the school behind him, Kurt really couldn't give a toss about the hierarchy system. Sitting on the top step he dumped his bag beside him and waited for his bus from there, completely unaware of the intolerance for 'rule' breakers. The students of Heritage High took their traditions and student made rules and guidelines extremely seriously. And Jack Meyers took them as gospel.
"Wrong level, pencil-neck!" the tiger boomed loudly from behind Kurt.
The wolf let out a long sigh, running a hand across the top of his head and grabbed his backpack. As much as he would have loved to say something snide right now, he really didn't have the energy. He didn't turn around, he didn't say anything. He just kept his head down and walked down steps.
"That's right!" the tiger shouted after him. "Keep walking faggot! I'll deal with you tomorrow morning!"
Kurt sighed as he reached the bottom step and heard yet another familiar voice he'd rather not hear again. It was at this point he decided to forget about waiting for the bus and just walk the thirty minute journey home.
"Kurt, wait." The girl called jogging up behind the wolf. It was that doe from earlier, Michelle. "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She said sincerely. "Jack was a jerk, as he always is."
Kurt stopped mid step and whirled around coming nose to nose with the doe, who quickly stopped too. "Tell me." Kurt snapped. "Does your boyfriend beat you?"
Michelle wasn't sure how she should have answered, so she just told the truth. "Uh... only once. Its why we broke up..."
Kurt cut her off. "Good. I hope he does it more often."
"What?" the doe took a step back as Kurt turned around and kept walking. "Why... how could you say something like that?" She demanded, her voice shaking.
"I believe I just did." Kurt called over his shoulder.
Gritting her teeth, Michelle felt her fists shake. Nothing would give her greater satisfaction to run up behind him and punch that asshole in the head. But that would make her no better than him.
"Well I'm not interested in you anymore!" Michelle called angrily after the wolf.
"Good!" Kurt replied, not missing a stride.
"Fine!" Michelle snapped back.
She waited until he was out of earshot to fold her arms across her front and lower her gaze sadly. "Whatever." She added under her breath.
But it turned out to not be a case of 'whatever.' Michelle didn't eat anything that night. The script for her upcoming role in one of her father's advertisements lay forgotten under her desk and her homework sat neglected in her untouched school bag. She hadn't spoken to anyone except to the maid Ann-Marie who came up with her dinner, which also lay untouched on her desk. She just lay there on her bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering why it all went so wrong, unable to escape the last haunting words she exchanged with Kurt.
So many unanswered questions rattled around in her head. How could such a seemingly nice guy turn out as a prick? How could she end up getting stuck with an abusive jerk like Jack? Why were her parents gone so often?
Why was all this happening to her?
And no longer able to contain it, she cried through the night...
If there was any day Michelle hated more than Mondays, it was Wednesdays. Double maths, double literature and a triple helping biology. She hated biology, mainly because cutting up frogs wasn't exactly a pleasant activity.
With a sigh she walked out of the last math class for the day and prepared for her last hour of biology. The science labs were just down the hall around the corner. She walked past one of the art rooms when a large hand grabbed a handful of her shirt and pulled her around. In seconds she was standing in front of Jack.
The tiger moved faster than Michelle could and kissed her. The doe immediately recoiled, pulling back and slapping him in the face.
"What the..." she cried out, earning a few funny looks from passing students.
She went to hit him again, but this time the tiger caught her by the wrist and twisted her hand away.
"Ow." Michelle let out. "Stop it."
"No, I won't stop it." Jack snarled. "What's wrong with you? Cant I even kiss my own girlfriend?"
"I'm-not-your-ah, stop!" Michelle cried as the tiger twisted harder.
"Yes you are." Jack growled. "What? You think you can just break up with me just like that? I'm not done with you yet bitch, and I'm gonna get my trouble's worth." He let go of her and stepped past her. "I'll see you afters school... if you know what's good for you." He added venomously.
Michelle didn't move, gripping her sore wrist, watching the tiger disappear. Why did she have to get involved with him?
His first week in Heritage and he managed to survive to Wednesday's lunchtime. Wonderful. Kurt didn't really feel like celebrating. What he had told that girl a few days ago still haunted him. It was just wrong and cruel. As much as he wanted to take it back, he couldn't. She was obviously attracted to him somehow, and apologising may rekindle certain feelings and Kurt couldn't bring that kind of attention to himself. Not now. Not ever.
Trying hard to push it to the back of his mind, the wolf sat down at an empty table, opened his bag and retrieved his lunchbox. Peanut-butter and banana slice sandwich today with a side of asparagus... nice one. Sighing the wolf managed to keep down his sandwich as he broke the green stick in half and tossed it back into his lunchbox. This was quite possibly the worst lunch his guardian had made to date.
Gathering up his stuff again, Kurt zipped up his bag and was about to leave and get ready for his next class when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and squeezed.
Elliot let out an explosive sigh, twisting out of the grip and jumping to his feet. "Seriously, man, this is getting..." he stopped mid sentence, facing a male cheetah his height instead of the towering tiger he expected. "Oh. Sorry, I thought..." again, he didn't finish as the cheetah shoved him in the chest and tugged something out of the back of his jeans.
'Shit.' Kurt thought. He knew he was in big trouble, looking down at the handheld device in the cheetah's hand. Time seemed to slow down as he levelled the object on Kurt's chest and spoke. His words were slow and deep, as if played back on a walkman with low battery. The wolf had nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
"Traitor."
The weapon in the cheetah's hand wasn't an object native to this planet, but Kurt knew exactly what it was. He had even been trained to use one a long time ago. It was an old, yet reliable weapon known as a Glock 21SF, designed and developed centuries ago, but still commonly used by pirates, mercenaries and assassins. It used .45 ACP ammo capable of punching through light armour from close to mid-ranges. Judging by the ambidextrous switch on either side of the weapon, the safety was off and it was set to semi-automatic fire. One trigger pull and Kurt would likely die before he heard the light 'twip' of the chambered round leave the silencer.
He looked up and almost felt the cheetah pull the trigger. Kurt jerked slightly as a single projectile almost threw him off his feet. There was no flash. No sound over the bustling noise of people in the cafeteria talking amongst each other.
A second hard impact, flattening a round against Kurt's chest caused him to jerk again. This one caused him to take a step back. Time suddenly screamed back into its natural progression as Kurt fell backwards, hitting the ground on his back and pressing his hands against the two rounds that had torn through his hoodie, but flattened against the body armour underneath.
The cheetah laughed, levelling the pistol at Kurt's head. "Dark Matter? Any more surprises ye betraying piece of shite?"
Kurt's hand moved like lightening, tugging a black cylindrical object perforated with holes from a pocket on his hip. "How's this for one you Irish fucktard?"
As Kurt pulled out a pin at the top of the cylinder, someone screamed, seeing the gun in the cheetah's hand. No matter what planet you came from, you'd recognise a weapon if one was shoved in your face. But before the first person could get out of their seats and bolt, and before other people saw the weapon and started to panic, the cheetah saw the object in Kurt's hand eject the spring loaded safety lever.
"Feck it!" he yelled, twisting around and dashing for cover, surprisingly slow for a cheetah.
'Mainly because he's not a cheetah.' Kurt thought tossing the cylinder into the air, rolling over and plugging his eyes and ears.
A second later the cylinder's lid popped, producing a blinding 6 million candela flash and a deafening 170 decibel bang. Everyone in the cafeteria was instantly affected by the M84 stun grenade. Those closest who hadn't 'shut 'n plugged' didn't know what way was up. Those furthest from the epicentre of the blast of sound and light were merely dazzled, falling from their chairs or just freezing on the spot to wait for their sight and hearing to return.
The moment he heard the muffled pop, Kurt was on his feet and dashing out of the cafeteria, his assaulting cheetah lost among a panicking crowd of stunned students behind him. Turning a sharp left, Kurt ran halfway down the hall before skidding to a halt, seeing two more armed figures round the corner ahead. A hare and a golden lion. The hare had a silenced Glock like the cheetah in the cafeteria, while the lion held a weapon Kurt recognised as a stripped down UMP9 universal machinepistol loaded with a 30 round 9x19mm box-magazine. The lion held the UMP like a pistol, ignoring the folded stock and the foregrip, placing the red laser dot sight right on Kurt's chest.
"Machine guns?" Kurt cried out as he jumped sideways and dipped into cover behind a metal locker.
A split second the lion and hare opened fire. Silence was no longer an issue. The fire alarm went off and wailed over the thunderous cacophony of machine gun fire the lion loosed on Kurt's position. The 9mm rounds sparked and bounced off the lockers, piercing doors and embedding themselves in books before they punched through to Kurt.
"They have fucking machine guns?" Kurt yelled still surprised.
A few seconds of sustained fire later the attackers ran out of ammo and scrambled for fresh clips. Kurt took his chances, dashed from cover and ran back the way he came, passing the cafeteria exit as the semi-stunned cheetah stumbled out after him. The pistol wielding cheetah looked up just in time to see Kurt run right at him and snapped up the Glock in one hand. Whether Kurt was luckier, or just faster, he didn't really care. The wolf leapt into the air, placed his left foot against the cheetah's chest and scythed his other foot through the air, catching his attacker in the face. The force threw the cheetah violently into a wall as Kurt landed lightly and kept running without missing a stride.
Finishing their reloads, the hare and lion dashed after the wolf, guns up, spraying wild shots as Kurt turned a corner and disappeared from their line of sight.
Kurt panted loudly, lowering his head and sprinting past the science labs. "This is crazy." He muttered under his breath. "They have fucking machine guns. And what do I have?" he fished into his pockets to check. With some dismay he produced only two items. "Two butterfly knives? They have automatic weapons and I have knives? Damn it!"
Another burst of gunfire shredded the wall to his right, causing Kurt to drop to the ground and slide behind another row of lockers. Pressing his back against the wall, the wolf heard the hiss of more bullets tear past him before the comforting steady rhythm of the fire alarm blaring out loud. In the distance he heard screams of both terror and joy as the majority of the school who hadn't been in the cafeteria ran outside to enjoy the fire-drill.
"You still alive, Kurt?" a familiar voice cried out.
The wolf raised an eyebrow, but didn't dare peek out from his cover. "Is that you, Danny? Which one are you? The lion?"
"The hare!" the voice of Danny replied over the sound of sliding a fresh clip into his pistol.
"Oh..." Kurt called out. "Doesn't suit you. Should have gone with a chinchilla."
"Very funny, asshole." Danny shot back.
"Is Brian with you?" the wolf asked.
"Right here." A familiar deep gruff voice called out.
"Hey there." Kurt replied. "Lemme guess. The lion with the machine gun?"
"That be right!" a third voice called out in an odd accent obviously not from this planet, no doubt that of the cheetah who apparently had caught up. "Hey, Kurt. How's yer holiday been?"
"Hey, Sheamus." Kurt greeted. "My day was going great until you showed up. So now what? You just kill me?"
"Something like that." Brian said, yanking the charging lever of his UMP. "Higher ups want an example to those still home. Nobody betrays us. Nobody goes AWOL"
"Nobody goes AWOL." Kurt repeated under his breath, desperately looking around for a way to escape. "No shit. Hey, who else is here!"
"The whole works, Kurt." Brian called back. "You got nowhere left to run."
"Hey, sir." Sheamus called out. "I don't think he's got guns, or he would have shot back at us by now."
"You're right." Danny said. "Lets go get him."
There was some shuffling as the three stepped out of cover and slowly walked closer, clicking gun safeties. Kurt cursed softly, looking at the butterfly, or ballisong, knives in his hands. These weren't authentic ballisong knives, handcrafted with the hooked latches and wood finish. The Philippine tradition of producing ballisong knives and swords had died centuries ago. What he had now were laser sharpened steel blades with ribbed stainless steel handles.
Cursing again he flicked them open. Nothing fancy. Just pop out the blade and lock the handles in place with the magnetic latches. Holding a three inch blade in each hand, Kurt took a series of deep breaths, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Listening carefully he waited until they got close enough before springing from cover.
As he ran out he raised his left hand and threw the first knife high, sending the blade snaking through the air and hitting the cheetah in the shoulder.
"Feck!" Sheamus cried out, dropping his gun and spiralling to the ground in slow motion as Kurt twisted around.
Spinning around he threw the blade in his right hand underhanded, sending it spinning towards the hare in the lead. Danny saw it coming as soon as Sheamus fell though and twisted awkwardly, flexing his spine and curling around the blade aimed at his stomach. Instead the knife flew on and hit Brian in the gut, causing him to cry out and drop to the ground with his finger on the trigger of his machine gun. The weapon barked, spraying bullets at the ground by Kurt's feet, causing the wolf to cover his head in his hands to protect his eyes from ricochets and bits of debris sprayed into his face. The hail of bullets swept sideways to the nearest wall to Kurt's right, showering him with dust and bits of brick. Unfortunately Brian's sweep cut right across Danny's legs. Bloody craters burst out of the hare's thighs, causing Danny to scream and drop to the ground. Brian's weapon clicked furiously as he hit the deck and squirmed.
The moment the shooting finished Kurt was on his feet and running again.
"Sunovabitch!" Danny cried out, levelling his gun.
There was a single loud 'snap', and Kurt grunted, stumbling, but not falling as white hot pain scythed across his right bicep. A single .45 ACP round tore through his sleeve and sliced open the skin, dragging drops of blood and bits of flesh along with it. Grabbing the long deep grace where a gram of skin had once been with one hand, he kept pumping his legs, sliding around a corner and facing a huge crowd of students.
The fire alarm still blared and it looked like this crowd of about a hundred was still trying to get out of the fire escape. They blocked up the corridor and were slowly filtering out the exit. He was literally boxed in.
Gritting his teeth and clutching his arm, Kurt moved forward, delving right into the crowd and pushing his way through the packed narrow corridor.
"Excuse me." He called out breathlessly, glancing over his shoulder every now and then. "Coming through... please, let me through... I..." he looked over his shoulder for the third time and felt his eyes widen.
Danny and Sheamus limped around the corner after him, guns held high in one hand. It looked like they had left Brian and the machine pistol behind, but Kurt knew exactly how lethal these two were alone.
"Move!" Danny barked angrily, all focus set on killing the wolf now. He limped as blood soaked his jeans, but he seemed to ignore the pain. "Fucking move!"
"Crap!" Kurt barked, pushing harder through the crowd now. "Move! Please, they are going to kill me so fucking move!" he lowered his shoulder and forced his way past, earning the dirty looks and a few snide remarks. That was until they turned around, saw the guns and dove aside screaming.
The crowd parted faster for Danny and Sheamus than it did for Kurt. That was a bad thing. They were gaining and fast. Forcing his way past the last person he saw open corridor for the next ten meters before a sharp left hand turn. Lowering his head and blinking away tears he sprinted, closed the ten meters in seconds and turned around the corner. A split second later the wall behind him exploded under three bullets aimed at his head. Cursing, Kurt looked up and saw someone walk past a set of windows ahead. She was obviously on her way to the fire exit Kurt had just passed. She looked familiar, like they had met before...
The girl looked up and let out an angry cry. "You!" she shouted. "I have a bone to pick with you."
"Not now!" Kurt shouted out of breath, closing in on her fast. He finally recognised her. It was that girl, Michelle.
The doe stopped mid step and stared at him as he dashed closer. "Where are you going?" she demanded.
Kurt let go of his arm and pointed behind her. "Out that window!"
Michelle turned around and saw the window behind her was wide open. "What..." she was cut off as Kurt grabbed her and leapt out the open window, dragging the doe along with it.
She screamed as they tumbled over the windowsill, fell one story and hit the ground hard ten second later. Kurt landed in the grass first, a little offset and landed on his right shoulder. Michelle was straight after that, using him to cushion her fall.
Kurt groaned, pushing the doe off him and clutching his shoulder. Pain was everywhere. It overloaded his spine and caused his head to throb. "Aaaaaah, JesusGodChristfuckitalltohellandback!" he slowly got to his knees and stumbled forward to the nearest brick wall, supporting himself against it and blinked, looking around. "Ugh... at least it's nice out."
The sun seemed to be shining, and it was pretty warm out. It would have been a nice day had he not been shot at and forced to jump out the window of the second story.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Michelle demanded getting to her feet and stomping closer to the wolf. She suddenly froze seeing the blood on his sleeve. "Whoa. Are you alright? What happened to your arm?"
"That?" Kurt glanced at the graze. "That's nothing." He squeezed his eyes shut and spasmed painfully. "My shoulder's dislocated... guh!" he panted and gritted his teeth in pain.
"Shit." Michelle cursed, her disposition suddenly different. "Does it hurt?"
"Not as much as what I'm about to do will." He took a pair of deep breaths then suddenly twisted and slammed his shoulder against the wall he used to support.
There was a loud crack as his shoulder popped back into place. Kurt froze and cried out loud in pain, staying exactly as he was face against the wall as he slid down to his knees. Slowly leaning back he looked up at the sky, eyes shut.
"Fuck." He whispered before remembering Michelle was still with him. "Go home. Quickly." He said urgently. "Its not safe here."
"Yeah, no kidding." Michelle took hold of Kurt's sweater and pulled him to his feet. "C'mon, lets get you to a hospital. Check that arm out."
Kurt quickly shook his head as he got up. "No..." the world started to spin. He was getting dizzy. Shock? Blood loss? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "No hospital... they can find... find me there..." he stumbled, but the doe caught him. "Whoa... starting to get a dizzy... little... imagine that."
"Who?" Michelle asked forcing Kurt to keep walking. "Who will find you?"
"Tem..." Kurt managed to force out before he lost consciousness. "Templars..."
It had been a whole day. Saturday was closing. The sun set behind the city centre skyline, casting a bright orange across the tall buildings turning their windows to gold. She watched from her bedroom window while the wolf lay still on the bed behind her. She had managed to stop the bleeding and bandage up Kurt's arm, but since she had finished last night he hadn't stirred. Maybe he had slipped into a coma. Michelle didn't know what to do other than call a doctor, but resisted the urge remembering what Kurt had said. Someone was trying to kill him.
And the weird thing was, it was true. She had heard reports that police had found empty bullet casings, bullet damage and blood in the school. Then odd reports from students described several other unidentified students carrying what looked like guns through the school. There was a rumour going around the school's online chat-room that Kurt had been the target of a mob hit and that he was here in Heritage under a witness protection programme.
Turning away from the sunset, Michelle walked back to her seat beside the bed and watched Kurt as she had for the past 24 hours. His breathing was steady, his heart beat at a normal pace. It was like he was sleeping. She had tried a few things to wake him up. Smelling salts, shaking him, asking politely, even shouting and venting her anger at him. Hell, she even tried to kiss him. Nothing sick or exploitative, just a light peck on the lips. She wasn't even sure why. But it only seemed like a stupid idea after she had done it.
None of Michelle's caretaking staff knew he was up here. Keeping it that way was the tricky part. Surprisingly, sneaking him into the house was pie. He wasn't very heavy and carrying him up the stairs had proved to be easier than she had initially thought it would be.
With a sigh she rested her head in her arms on the bed beside the wolf and sat still. She wasn't hungry, she didn't feel like talking to anyone. And she figured she wouldn't feel like leaving this room until she knew Kurt was okay. She wasn't angry at him anymore. She figured he did what he did because he wanted to repel her. Maybe he didn't want friends or girlfriends because he had to be able to pick up his life and leave in a second. He only wanted to keep a low profile.
Suddenly Michelle felt the bed shake and the weight on the mattress move.
"You alright?" Kurt's soft voice asked.
Michelle jumped into action, sitting up and staring at the wolf who slowly propped himself up on his elbows, looking around the room.
"You brought be to your home?" he asked. "That's stupid." Rubbing his head, Kurt swung his legs off the bed and faced the doe. "How long was I out?"
"Uh..." Michelle quickly composed herself. "About a day. How are you feeling?"
Kurt's stomach rumbled. "Heh... hungry. You got any peanut-butter and jelly?"
Now at least he was awake Michelle could introduce him to the staff as a friend who was staying over this weekend. but when the butler, Alex had asked what Kurt had done to his arm, Michelle couldn't think of anything. Luckily Kurt was on the ball and made up a story about a skateboarding accident, and then had to explain the whole concept and reasons for skateboarding to the eighty year old hare who didn't have a clue.
When Alex finally left the kitchen and the two teenagers to their sandwiches, Michelle shook her head at Kurt. "You've never even touched a skateboard before, have you?"
"Nope." The wolf said, picking up the first half of his sandwich. "Can't stay on the damn things." He was about to take a bite when he looked up and saw Michelle watching him and grinning politely. Letting out a breath Kurt put the sandwich down and looked away. "I'm sorry..." he started.
"It's alright." Michelle said quickly. "You were lying low. You don't have space for friends and didn't want me to get close. I understand." She nodded, still looking away mildly hurt.
Kurt watched her for a while before shaking his head. "It's still inexcusable."
"No. It's not. Apology accepted." Michelle said, forcing a smile, but Kurt saw right through her disposition. What he had said and done would never quite leave her. And that hurt him about as much as it did her. "So," Michelle continued. "I'm guessing you're on witness protection."
Kurt coughed and laughed out loud. "Oh, no, not exactly." He took a bite. "You'd better finish your sandwich first before I tell you."
"That bad?" Michelle asked also tucking into her sandwich.
"Well, I could tell you I'm on the run from the mob, but that will make the favour I have to ask for seem stupid and out of context." Kurt said between mouthfuls.
"What is it you need?" Michelle asked. "Money we have plenty of."
"Nah. I need an old abandoned space like an old factory or warehouse or something." Kurt said plainly.
Michelle stared for a while, wondering if he was serious. "You're right. That does sound stupid. And very out of context."
"Told you so." Kurt grinned.
They ate in silence, and when they finally finished Michelle leaned forward eagerly, anticipating an explanation. Kurt seemed to be avoiding her gaze and postponing his explanation as long as possible though.
"Okay, this may sound incredibly crazy, so promise not to freak out." Kurt said rubbing his neck.
"I swear," Michelle raised her hand in oath. "Not to freak out unless you tell me you're a serial rapist."
Kurt chuckled. "Yeah, no such luck..." he took a long deep breath and spat it out. "I'm an alien invader."
That was it. Short and sweet, just thrown out there. Kurt's head span a little and he felt an odd pressure behind his eyes as he said it. Even he had to admit the truth sounded completely insane.
"Wow." Michelle managed to let out after a while.
Kurt nodded, looking away embarrassed. "Yeah. Told you. I'm an ape descendant, homo-sapien, also known as human from a planet called Earth in the Sol system, exactly eighty million light-years from here. Practically the other side of the galaxy."
Michelle was still staring at him in disbelief. "Uhm... okay."
Somehow Kurt figured there would only be one way to convince her he was telling the truth. "Alright. You don't believe me?" he reached up to his neck, dug under his fur for a while then twisted his fingers.
And then it happened. An event that would change Michelle's life forever. A shimmer of static started at the top of Kurt's head and slowly crawled down across his form and ended at his feet. She stared as slowly his fur burst into a collection of pixels and dissipating revealing something completely different in his place. Where Kurt had stood a few seconds ago now stood what could only be described as an alien being. His new form wasn't that dissimilar from his previous though. Straight back, identical build, just minus the fur. His skin was a sort of pale brownish hue rather than pale pink. His head was completely different now. His ears were sort of round oval-ish and placed on either side of his head, and he had sort of ridge running down the centre of his face with nostrils, the only indication of some kind of snout. The only fur on him seemed to be the matted black hair on the top of his head. He wore a grey t-shirt, over which was a black armoured vest against which two bullets were flattened and embedded into what looked like metal with fabric qualities. But no matter how different he looked out of his holographic suit, she could still identify him as Kurt.
Taking a frightened step backwards, Michelle stared through wide eyes as Kurt reached up again and hit a button on the collar he wore around his neck and watched the holographic wolf form that covered him take shape again. In seconds he was the wolf she recognised as Kurt again.
"So..." Kurt stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Do you want to grab a kitchen knife and stab me, or do you want to hear the rest?"
Michelle slowly sat on a nearby stool and kept her eyes fixed on the wolf, or human or whatever he was. "Well, the stabbing thing sounds okay." She said slowly. "But you've got me curious now... can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Kurt nodded.
"You are a male right?" she asked to be sure.
"Yes." Kurt chuckled. "And I am eighteen Earth years old, which is identical to your eighteen years old."
"Oh, good." Michelle managed a small smile. "At least I wasn't attracted to an eighty year old alien woman."
Kurt shook his head smiling and sat on the stool opposite Michelle. "Alright. My home planet was destroyed by war a century ago. We're spread thin through the stars, which is why we're searching for new planets to settle on and invade. I was twelve when conscripted into the invasion force codenamed Templar to begin operation Crusade. The younger the invader, the easier it is to blend into any already existing population. A Templar, like me, would go to an assigned planet, lie low, blend in and case the planet. If it was deemed fit for invasion, the Templar would scout out any defences and lead a surprise attack to wipe out the population and take the planet for human settlement. Now don't worry, your planet was cased a few years back and deemed unfit for invasion. Too much pollution and you've already used up most of your natural recourses."
"Thanks." Michelle said.
"You're welcome." Kurt chuckled. "I was assigned a primitive planet. It was my first case. The locals were lizard people. Nice enough. Primitive to the point they hadn't fully grasped the concept of fire yet. But they had society. Tribes, clay huts, unorthodox religion. Since it was my first case I was a little sloppy. Overconfident if you will. I figured, what the hell can these guys do to me, right? Well, they jumped me. Caught me off guard. I thought I was dead. I was actually quite the opposite. Those people had never seen anything different in over a century, so they thought I was some kind of messiah from their gods. They celebrated my presence and even prepared several concubines."
Michelle laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah... being sixteen at the time I wasn't going to argue with them." Kurt sighed. "After being shown such kindness it was impossible to condemn these people to death. Still, they were sitting on a gold mind of gas, oil and radioactive material that could be used to produce power for centuries to come. I pleaded my case to the superiors. We could deal with these people. Provide them with education, technology, show them how they can further their society in return for access to some of their resources. Of course, that didn't stand. The admiralty didn't want just some of the resources. They wanted all of it."
"What did you do?" Michelle asked.
"With the help of my personal cybernetic assistant we dug out some of the uranium, built some high yield dirty bombs and flew out to meet the incoming annihilation fleet. I managed to take out a few fighters and disable one capitol ships' engines. You'd be surprised how much damage one small ship can do to a huge lummox of a battle cruiser." Kurt sighed, scratching his head. "They disabled me though. Made me watch as they sent troops ground side, slaughtered the people... butchered them... I was ashamed to be human that day, and for every day since."
"You managed to escape?" Michelle asked.
Kurt nodded. "Stole a ship and been running ever since. This was the first place I even attempted to settle down since then."
Michelle stared for a long time. "Wow." She couldn't even imagine what to say to any of that. Being ashamed of your own race like that. Having to see something like the genocide of an entire race. Only one thing came to mind. "I'm sorry..."
Kurt shrugged and shook his head. "I've gotten over it. Still, I'd rather not die because I tried to do the right thing. My people saw my actions as betrayal and have been sending unoccupied Templars to kill me ever since. My friends and brothers in arms brainwashed to become mindless killing machines. So, I'm going to need access to an abandoned warehouse."
Michelle blinked then nodded and grinned. "Of course. My father has a filming studio where his people shoot advertisements for his products. That's being abandoned until he's back in town on monday." She crossed the kitchen and picked up a bunch of keys hanging from a rack. "You could use that place... but what are you planning?"
Kurt took the keys from Michelle and stared at them for a while, before shaking his head. "I'm going to convince them to leave me alone." He looked up and saw the worried look on her face, so grinned reassuringly. "Who else knows I'm here?"
"Nobody." Michelle shook her head.
"Good." He shifted uncomfortably as Michelle stepped closer.
She slowly reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders, eyeing him up and down. Her right slowly slid upward, striking through his fake fur. He could tell by her look she was still coming to terms this was a holographic image. A solid illusion hiding an alien being underneath. Her fingers rose up, feeling through his fur until they touched a button on his neck. She slowly turned the dial and felt the fur disappear between her fingers. A shower of pixels and shimmering coloured lights showered down, peeling from his skin, revealing his form beneath.
She gazed into his eyes, hazel now. She couldn't help herself suddenly. She just felt compelled to do it.
Kurt gasped as she caught him off guard. He wasn't even expecting it to happen. To be honest he was expecting a punch in the face instead of a kiss. Never the less she nearly jerked his head off his shoulders as she pulled him closer and pressed her lips vigorously against his. Kurt's eyes widened as she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and probed her tongue into his mouth. Her body pressed against his and her scent filled his nostrils. Kurt's head span more vigorously than when suffering shock yesterday, but he didn't care. For that moment nothing else seemed to matter. Just the kiss.
As quickly as it had begun however, it ended. Kurt gently placed a hand on her chest and pushed her back. "I..." he was lost for words. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say... or do. "I..."
"Promise me I'll see you again." Michelle demanded squeezing his shoulders. "Please promise me."
"I..." Kurt wasn't sure if he could make a promise like that. The last thing he wanted to do was make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her again. "I'm sorry..."
Michelle didn't say or do anything else as Kurt engaged his disguise again and left in silence. All she could do was sit and wait.
Something about modern construction really pissed Kurt off. His weapon of choice for example. He didn't like guns, never did. He preferred some kind of blade, like the kun'yomi also known as a 'katana' in English. Guns were loud, guns could jam and guns left a terrible mess. In the hands of a master, a traditional katana could incapacitate or eliminate a foe with a single clean cut, and all without huge explosions of blood, gore and all the bullet holes left in the surrounding area. The horrible thing was, katana's were no longer made the traditional way. Too expensive and time consuming. Now and days when the human military made swords for their Templars they used plastic and rubber scabbards and hilts, and solid bars of titanium as the blade, sharpened by lasers. On the up side, the weapons were well balanced and were hard to break. But if you did break them, they were a bitch to repair or replace. Another down side was the weight. Though the titanium alloy they used to forge blades was exceptionally light, a folded steel blade would be even lighter and much easier to maintain.
Kurt stopped complaining, weighing the sheathed blade in one hand. He looked down at his 'katana' encased in the black plastic scabbard. It was reasonably light. No heavier than a few grams. The 70 centimetre blade was sharp, the handle could comfortable be gripped with two hands. But the blade lacked one distinctive feature of a kun'yomi. It didn't have that slight, elegant curve the 16th century Japanese swords had. Cuts and slices made with this weapon wouldn't be as elegant or as deft as they would be with a slightly curved blade.
But again, Kurt had nothing to complain about. At least he had some kind of weapon now. Even playing ground if you will.
The studio Michelle had given him access to was perfect. With her parents out on business the whole place had been cleared of props. The only obstructions in the cavernous space were the six individual sets, wooden skeletons of rooms dotted around the concrete floor. Standing in the centre he could see all around him, and if there was any shooting, which he hoped there wouldn't be, at least he'd have some cover to run to.
Shutting his eyes, Kurt reached up and dug under his holographic fur until he touched a button on his collar underneath. Twisting sharply, he let his wolf-suit explode into a cloud of holographic pixels and reveal his true form underneath. The human took a long breath, calming his fluttering heart as he heard footsteps. At first one set, then two, then three, and then many more he couldn't count. There must have been at least ten of them. Dissolving from the dark corners of the studio, humans appeared wearing black Dark Matter padded suits. They had pistols of all shapes and sizes strapped to their hips, NVGs (Night Vision Goggles) resting on their foreheads and double edged longswords hanging on their backs. The standard Templar black op loadout. Kurt had trained in similar gear when he was thirteen, but had never actually seen action in a full Dark Matter suit.
Dark Matter could stop a point black shotgun blast and had the qualities of fabric. Light and pliable. But it wasn't as airy as regular fabric. Sitting in one of those suits got stuffy after a while. And besides, it didn't make you invulnerable. There were gaps in the armour to allow free movements. Gaps that could be exploited by a sniper or someone with a blade.
Kurt wasn't dressed all that dissimilarly himself. He wore black jeans, black shirt and had his own dark matter vest on over that. The only bit of skin he showed was his head and between the end of his sleeves and the start of his black leather gloves.
"I really didn't see it coming." A voice said, clapping his gloved hands together and stepping forward. Danny looked different as a human. Shorn blonde hair, pale skin and pale blue eyes. He had one of those average forgettable faces. It was his actions that made you remember him. "You actually invited us out here to execute you. Good thing you found a secluded spot. That fursuit was driving me crazy." He shuddered.
"I dunno." Kurt shrugged. "You looked good as a rabbit. Would have looked better as a chinchilla though. I'm just saying..."
"Shut the feck up, will ye!" Sheamus yelled from behind Kurt. Kurt would have liked to turn and see his face light up as bright red as his hair, but resisted the urge. "Can't we just kill the bastard before he repeats another old joke?"
"Easy, Sheamus." Brian grumbled from Kurt's left, his face hidden under a balaclava. "He wouldn't have brought us here if he didn't have a plan." Brian shook his head. He must have been the only one here who didn't underestimate Kurt. "You know what he's like."
"Oh yeah." Sheamus said impatiently. "Always thinkin' ahead. Always planning somat'. Well plan for this, wanker!" Kurt heard the distinct sound of Sheamus drawing his sword and charging.
The human hardly even thought about it. The swift move just came naturally. Grabbing the hilt of his own sword, he ducked and spiralled on the spot, stepping sideways at the last minute as he drew the katana from the scabbard. There was a long 'shlink' of metal on metal, followed by a wet squelch and a dull thud.
A laser sharpened blade sliced through just about anything. Wood, plastic, concrete... flesh, muscle bone.
When Sheamus hit the ground, he didn't even know why. He hadn't even felt the cut. He didn't even know about his blood that lay splattered across the concrete behind him. He didn't even realise Kurt had sliced away the tendons in the back of his knees. And then, just like that, all his thoughts ended abruptly as Kurt straightened up and cracked the hard plastic scabbard in his left hand into his skull.
After spinning the blade in one hand, he held the katana to his side, readying for another attack. Thick red blood ran down the shining sword and dripped from the angled tip, forming a small puddle beside Kurt as he glanced left and right, almost daring someone else to make a move.
But all the while he remained calm on the outside, inside he felt terror rip apart his nerves. He took a long breath and let it out with a quiet shudder, trying to slow his pulse, trying to clear his mind and remain alert. But it didn't happen. His heart wouldn't slow. His mind remained clouded. It was like Sheamus' blood on running into his eyes and blinding him from what was going on. He fought for focus, but it wouldn't come.
With trembling hands he dropped the empty scabbard and gripped his sword in two hands. "Who's next?" He said in a low trembling tone.
One by one the twelve Templar knights drew their swords, readied for battle and pointed the point of their blades at the lone samurai in their midst. Had his situation not been so dire Kurt would have actually taken more time to enjoy that metaphor.
"You're so typical, Kurt." Danny said before thinking about it and shrugging. "Incapacitate and subdue. Let me show you how real men deal with business."
"Bring it." Kurt muttered as he heard footfalls on his left.
The first Templar charged, sword high, aiming to cleave open his head. Kurt dove in, point first and forced his sword into the Templar's gut. Stepping past the squirming human, Kurt wrenched loose his katana and raised it to block an incoming blow from the next. Sparks erupted from their swords as Kurt parried, causing the Templar's blade to slide off his, giving him space to whirl around and slash out his kneecaps. Crying out in pain his second victim fell as two more attacked from either side.
Jumping back he avoided a slash from the front and raised his katana to block a blow from behind. Lashing out with his free elbow he smashed in the face of the Templar behind him and stepped forward, hacking for the throat of the Templar in front. He blocked the blow, causing their swords to bounce off each other with a deafening clang. Kurt quickly recovered, ducking sideways and avoiding a slice for the throat and rolled out of reach of a third Templar who attempted to run him through. Landing on his feet he came toe to toe with Brian.
The human was bigger and broader than Kurt and hefted a heavy two handed sword high above his head. The huge claymore came down, but Kurt sidestepped, causing the blade to clang against the ground, chipping out a chunk of concrete. Kurt slammed the sharp end of his blade against Brian's arms and pulled back, severing the tendons attaching his biceps to his lower arm. Crying out in pain the hulking human dropped to his knees and Kurt finished him off with a stab in the shoulder, incapacitating him for good.
Tugging his sword loose he held it up in front of him and faced the remaining conscious Templars.
"Oh, back off!" Danny barked stepping forward and holding out his own sword against Kurt's. "You want something done right..."
Kurt jumped back as Danny tapped his katana aside and stabbed for the chest. His reach fell short an inch, allowing Kurt to step out of reach and ready for another attack. They slowly paced around each other, sword's high, each ready to pounce. Like agile dancers they darted left and right, swinging at air and stabbing at nothing. Their blades shone and flickered in artificial light of the studio as they flicked their swords into graceful glittering arcs. Sparks erupted from their swords as they clashed, each anticipating each others' moves. It remained a stalemate as their dance of death continued on, neither human showing any signs of fatigue or weakness.
As Danny swung his sword for a blow, Kurt anticipated and parried the next move, swinging his fist around and aiming for the face. Danny saw it coming and blocked with his free arm. Pushing the katana away with his own sword and staying in close, the Templar twisted his blade around and stabbed for the neck. Kurt leaned back, allowing the stab to go wild and drove the hilt of his own sword into Danny's face.
Recoiling, Danny rolled with the blow and delivered a roundhouse kick aimed at Kurt's head. He was too slow to react and took it, stumbling away and quickly straightening up and defending while the world span. Danny stabbed and Kurt parried again, quickly drawing his blade back and slashing for the neck. The Templar ducked and rolled out of reach, landing on his feet and dashing at Kurt's back. Whipping around, Kurt raised his sword, point down, deflected a stab for the gut and locked his blade guard against Danny's.
Danny didn't waste any time spitting in Kurt's face. "I know your moves before you do them, you do-gooder piece of shit! Got anything new?"
"Does this count?" Kurt snapped, shoving his shoulder into Danny's chest, causing the Templar to stumble backwards.
Kurt could have just charged in and met another block or parry. Instead however he chose to toss his sword into the air, causing it to arc and glitter brightly under the studio's lights. Danny hardly able to believe his eyes at the sight of Kurt throwing his weapon high was distracted by the shining katana, completely forgetting Kurt was still dangerous. He dashed forward, grabbed the Templar's sword arm and pushed it down to meet his knee. Knocking the sword out of Danny's arm, Kurt swung his right fist around and landed his knuckles in the Templar's face. Recoiling, Danny drew his Glock pistol in his right hand, snapping it up as Kurt held his fists in front of his face. The gun came up and pointed directly at Kurt's head as he leaned sideways. Snaking his right wrists around Danny's he pushed the weapon out of his face as it discharged a round. The shot went wild, hitting the ground somewhere nearby. Twisting his hand around, he grabbed the Templar's wrist with his right and swung his left hand around, hitting the back of Danny's elbow.
There was a sickening snap as the Templar's arm broke. Danny cried out in pain while Kurt grabbed a hand full of his armour and held him at arms reach, holding out his other hand and catching his katana reverse grip, point aimed at the Templar's chest.
One of the other Templars felt his eyes widen as he watched with his few still standing fellows. "Whoa." He managed to whisper. "That was badass."
Kurt thrust hard, driving the sword deep into Danny's chest. There was a loud crackle as the Templar cried out and crumbled to the ground. Kurt then looked up at the other Templars who glanced at each other and bolted.
Squirming on the cold concrete, much to Kurt's surprise, Danny started laughing, gripping the blade sticking out of his chest. "You realise it's delaying the inevitable." He coughed, flecks of blood splattering his lips. "While you breathe we'll come for you. You wont be safe 'till you're dead. You hear me you fucking do-gooder? We're going to kill everyone you've ever loved! That lizard on PX973. The family who housed you on PL662! I might even do that deer whore from this worthless rock myself! And you'll watch as everyone you've ever been close to dies in screaming agony!" Danny laughed again. "I'm going to make you wish you were dead and then I'll grant that wish... slowly."
He had a point. The Templars, humanity, would never stop hunting him and hurt anyone who tried to help him. All of this was just a waste of time... unless...
Stooping, Kurt picked up Danny's fallen Glock 21SF. It was loaded with .45 ACP ammo. Must have had about twelve shots left. He only needed one though. He hit the clip release, leaving one single round chambered. He checked it by pulling the slide back halfway until he saw the brass housed comfortably in its seat. With his free hand he undid the velcro straps holding on his body armour and tossed it aside. There was only one way to end the hunt. Only one way to ensure everyone who had ever shown him kindness was ensured safety.
"What are you doing?" Danny demanded. "Stop it! You're mine." He tried to get up but fell back in pain. "Stop!"
Kurt slowly thumbed the safety into semi-automatic and turned the weapon on himself, aiming directly at his heart. Slowly he shut his eyes, finger curling around the trigger. His lips parted slightly to utter one last word.
"Michelle." He whispered as his finger jerked.
The silencer made a whisper of the gunshot. He didn't feel a thing. He just fell to his knees, flopped over sideways and waited for the darkness to take him...
[Months later]
One more regular day in Heritage. There had been a murder a few nights ago, some girl was almost raped in the park and there was rumour of a breakthrough in the mass suicide case which had taken place in the Da Lencia filming studio a few months back. Other than that, there had been nothing worthy of attention. So Michelle's attention was turned to Sarah's lunchtime gossip.
"You know the way we thought Valery Vance was getting fat?" Sarah said, anticipation creeping into her voice.
"Yeah." Michelle said slowly as they walked into the school cafeteria.
"Well turns out she was pregnant!" Sarah exclaimed, earning some funny looks from nearby students.
"Wow." The doe said a little surprised, looking around to see who was here. "Congratulations for her."
"Right on. But get this. The father?" Sarah paused for dramatic impact.
"Yeah?" Michelle said again, slower this time.
The gazelle nodded with a smile, seeing how much longer she could stretch Michelle's patience. "Is her father."
"Awwwww." The doe laughed. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Words of truth." The gazelle said impressed with herself that she had managed to acquire the information that morning. "Now that is going to need some serious counselling... oh, and if you're looking for him he's over there." The gazelle pointed over the heads of a bunch of attention seekers at a figure talking to some students wielding G&G character sheets. "Ask him if he wants to come with us after school."
Michelle spotted who she was pointing at and smiled. "Oh. Thanks. Go get us a seat. I'll be over in a second."
"Alright." Sarah disappeared to find a seat as Michelle waded through the cafeteria.
She lowered her head and snuck up behind a slimly built black furred wolf with dark grey eyes. Springing forward she wrapped her arms around his chest and nuzzled his neck.
"Surprise!" she called out, causing her boyfriend to jolt and wince painfully, clutching the left side of his chest. "Oh, sorry. Are you alright?" she added worried sitting beside the wolf and stroking him behind the ear.
"Ugh... yeah, I'm alright." Kurt looked up slowly and smiled. "You?"
"I'm great." The doe smiled back. "Since you 'talked' to Jack he hasn't even looked at me twice. What did you say to him?"
Kurt shrugged. "Oh, you know. Hostile negotiations are my speciality."
Michelle chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure. Hey, Sarah and I are going shopping then cinema after school. You wanna come?"
"Yeah!" Kurt smiled. "Of course."
"Great. See you after school." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
Kurt was a little disappointed. The holographic projection reacted to how his facial muscles moved. Though for Michelle it felt like a kiss, Kurt couldn't feel anything at all. Finishing, Michelle pulled back and winked, as if to say he'd get a better one tonight. The wolf couldn't help smile sheepishly as she turned and walked back to Sarah.
Watching her go, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning he saw it was one of the guys he opted to hang out with, a Doberman with thick framed glasses that looked more like milk bottle bottoms wrapped in wire frame.
"How'd you get a girl like that?" he asked with a mild lisp.
Kurt grinned and shrugged. "Just lucky I guess... anyway," he said quickly, picking up where they left out. "So I've picked the samurai class. What's next..."