The Pendulum II: The Dance
#2 of The Pendulum
The Pendulum, by Karai Crocuta
Chapter II: The dance of death and memory
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His sorrow was absolute. His sorrow was all he knew, for he had just lost a part of himself. As he watched, alone after his life was shattered, it was as if his entire existence became nothing but a stale reminder - a mockery of itself.
The bloody knife was lifted.
Dark eyes stared at him, grey as a storm-clouded sky, as his little sister's body fell to the ground, her own green eyes growing strangely dim, almost monochrome - dead eyes.
It seemed so unreal, so impossible that something like this could happen. No one was supposed to be fighting anymore. They had signed a treaty saying that the conflict was over.
This wasn't a fight, though. It was murder.
His eyes were wide open, taking in every detail of the one who had murdered Alex. He would always remember the lion's look of confidence - it was as if the bastard thought that murdering innocent girls was right. Those eyes were still focused on him...
A sharp sound broke the palpable silence around them - a scream? Yet neither moved. They were enemies, now. They always had been enemies, he realized. He remembered thinking it odd at that moment how the water dripping from the lion's knife point was stained red. He remembered hating how the rain had soaked his skin and fur, making him uncomfortable. It had been raining most of the day, but the rain falling on his sister's body somehow failed to keep the scent of her blood from reaching his nostrils.
As he stared at his enemy, he remembered hearing another scream, this time much closer, much more real. As his enemy drew rapildy closer, he realized that the cry had come from him. As he watched, fingers with flexed claws, followed by a pair of wrists and hands flew out in front of him, their muscles clenched with anger. He was charging blindly as his hatred exploded through his insides, his heart crushed. Though alive, he felt as if his own life had been taken. He was a revenant now - his soul was shattered, and he only lived for revenge.
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Kurt awoke to rain, his body jerking up as he realized instantly that he had been asleep too long. The sky was dark, but then again, it was still a while before sunrise, yet. Aaron was nearby, sitting on a rectangular column of stone that had fallen on its side. Water was dripping from his nose, and he was looking off to the southeast - the direction of his old apartment that had been destroyed almost a year ago.
Kurt was about to yell at his partner for not waking up, but he could tell that Aaron was lost in thought, reminiscing about past times. When the other hyena heard the rustling of Kurt's vest and the sound of boots on stone, though, he turned, watching grim-faced.
Today was the day they would claim victory over the lions.
They got into position, knowing that they were situated directly in between their quarry and the nearest com location. It was an ambush - they would strike before he even realized they were there. Kurt excelled at dropping enemy soldiers without any sounds. For that, he always used his big hunting knife - the most silent and deadly weapon available.
Aaron still felt sick to his stomach whenever Kurt used his knife, especially if he was close enough to hear the sound of the blade stabbing into flesh.
It was wrong, he knew. It was wrong to take another's life, no matter what. Yet, all of Kurt's reasons were sound. Aaron knew that this was the only way for them to survive. It was their only hope of getting word out to the world about what had been done here.
Yet he couldn't make himself believe it all. He couldn't put aside the feelings nagging at him. He knew that Kurt was going to kill the boy, and his instincts told him that he couldn't just let it happen. But if he did, he knew that it would be just like killing both Kurt and himself on the spot. It would be the end of their mission. They would be discovered, and no matter how hidden and entrenched they were here, they would be found eventually by the lions.
The lions were merciless, and their rage knew no bounds. They were killers; former predators that had lost sight of the balance of nature that they were supposed to uphold. They were murderors who took lives first and never asked questions. They ruled by fear, and insurgence was ther most loathed form of rebellion.
They could not be allowed to continue their rule of oppression and lies.
Aaron crouched, frozen, watching the dark hump he knew to be Kurt off in the distance, hidden behind a flat slab of concrete. He couldn't allow their lives to be forfeit. He couldn't stop what was to happen - he would just have to endure the pain and misery, and the malaise that always followed after a mission. He knew it would be a lot worse this time, because this time they were killing a boy.
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Cory hated rain. It always made his fur smell, and even though his mane was tucked away underneath his hood, and his fatigues covered most of his body, he still reeked. The sun had never risen, instead sleeping in while the dark clouds covered the sky and the earth with their water. He should have been miserable, but now he was very, very close to the checkpoint. Within an hour or two, he would be on an air transport, heading for base.
He knew now that what had happened yesterday was probably a trick. The more experienced soldiers almost always took pains to scare the crap out of new recruits, and since there had been no trace of blood or even any sounds of bodies falling, much less any sign of corpses or enemy soldiers, Cory was almost sure that he was becoming the butt of a prank. Being the most promising recruit in his class, he knew he was the biggest target, and he had come expecting some kind of test of his mettle anyway.
Even if this was for real, he was ready for it. He had been training for years in order to defend his famity and friends. He couldn't let them down, and he couldn't let himself give in to fear. He couldn't allow Captain Aruma to think he was a coward, or incapable of handling himself on the field of battle. He was going to be an officer, and it would be his job to keep soldiers in line who were weaker than him.
Soon, he thought. Soon, he would be back at the base, having returned without the aid of the other men. He'd show them that his courage and heart were not in doubt. The idea of making the experienced soldiers eat their words brought a smile to his lips as he made his way through a collection of small rubble, avoiding a large pool of muddy water.
Suddenly, something didn't seem right. Not slowing his step, he swiveled his ears back and forth, trying to appear at ease as he tried to figure out what was bothering him all of a sudden. He caught no scent other than his and that of the miserable, broken city. He certainly hadn't seen anything amiss. Yet his ears had noticed something strange. Not a sound, but something different.
Just as he began to realize what it was, he suddenly lurched to the side, avoiding a knife-thrust that still came close enough to slice through his vest.
Kurt had been watching the lion, examining him with the eyes of a hunter. He was young, indeed, and all he appeared to have with him was his fatigues, his backpack, his boots, and a nine-millimeter pistol in a vest holster. As he grunted, surprised that his attack had missed, he saw the lion's face turn, noticing the bright, alert yellow eyes of the feline. The boy had known he was there. He must have picked out Kurt just by the change in the sound of raindrop spatter behind him.
Cory twisted his body, his feet touching the wet ground again with a splat, his knees bending to absorb the impact of his leap. He was surprised to find an enemy here - an apparent survivor of the purge and sacking. Not just that - the hyena was big, and fast, and could apparently move as silently as shadow. Cory didn't know how long he had been followed - perhaps days - but he had no time for wondering right now.
The hyena turned, droplets of water flying from his black mowhawk-mane as he closed in with his knife. Kurt's face was grim, his dark brown eyes focused on his enemy. His thrust was lightning-quick, but the lion twisted easily out of the way. Kurt had to duck as the lion's boot swung up, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow to his head.
Kurt knew he had to end this quickly. He couldn't afford to let the lion force him into a
chase. If only Aaron could help. Determined to press the attack, he hurled himself forward, but the lion fell back out of reach of his blade. Kurt sped up, not allowing his opponent any extra time to draw his gun. The attack had long ceased to be an ambush by now. It was a dance of life and death. Neither foe could afford a single mistake, for even a single wasted instant was all it took to die.
Cory ducked, bobbed, and weaved around the hyena's knife thrusts, beginning to get frustrated that he hadn't been able to draw his weapon. He knew he couldn't rely on the gun now, though. He was too close in. He would have to best the hyena in a close-quarters fight, without a weapon. 'No problem', he thought, as he sidestepped another thrust on the outside. The heel of his palm connected with the hyena's elbow, drawing a grunt of surprise and pain as the joint was bent painfully. Water flew from Kurt's muzzle, his eyes widening.
Quick as a flash, Cory moved in and dealt a blow to the hyena's left kidney, then whipped back, ducking as the knife blade swept out, almost shaving his whiskers. The hyena's arm drew away a wide swath of raindrops as it swung, ironically shielding the lion's face from the rain for an instant.
Cory realized that he would begin to tire soon if he allowed the fight to continue. It was critical that he find a way to end this now, before he lost the edge that his speed and smaller size gave him.
Kurt, surprised at the lion's incredible agility, knew that he had made a critical mistake when the second blow connected. He turned, lunging forward, desperately hoping that the lion wouldn't capitalize on his error, but knowing that his enemy was no fool, and that he had probably lost the fight.
Cory crouched as his back straightened after the duck, then leapt back, the hyena's knife drawing to within mere inches from his soft belly as the two enemies moved together. The lion's momentum carried him back, outpacing the hyena's charge for long enough for him to draw his weapon. In the space of a quarter breath's time, he had landed and taken aim, his knees bending and holding him steady. The battle was his, though the hyena's forward momentum would still ensure a collision.
As his finger moved the trigger back, a faint smile touched the sides of his mouth. The hyena was still flying at him in slow motion, his arm coiling in preparation for the final thrust. The gun's sight was directly aligned with the huge soldier's heart. The thrust would never come.
"No!!!"
The leonine ears twitched, and the dull thunk of a blade echoed off stone and concrete. Kurt stared into those large eyes that were wide with surprise. A gasp left Cory's open mouth, the gun dropping from his paw. He couldn't breathe. His legs lost their strength, and he crumbled to the ground.
Kurt grimaced, falling with his adversary and coming down on one knee. Why hadn't the lion fired? Kurt was sure that he hadn't moved nearly fast enough to beat the lion's trigger finger. His gaze swung up from the lion's form, seeing a figure standing about twenty yards away.
Aaron. His yell had surprised the lion, giving Kurt the critical fraction of a second he needed to complete the last thrust.
More surprising, though, was what he found upon examining his knifepoint. There was no blood. Instead, a small, smooth chunk of shiny metal was stuck to the very tip, connected to a chain that apparently was hung around the lion's neck.
The lion was still alive. He had only passed out from the blow to his sternum.
This was too much. Kurt felt his eyes growing wet, but not from rain as he removed the locket from the tip of his knife. He couldn't let emotion get in his way. He had come so close to losing his own life. He raised the knife, but it hung there as his body gave a shudder.
He felt Aaron's paw come to rest on his shoulder.
"Don't do it, Kurt."
Aaron's eyes were glistening. Kurt realized that the other hyena's cry had been for him. It had been a cry of despair at knowing that Kurt was going to die.
The look in Aaron's eyes moved him. The knife clattered to the ground, forgotten like the gun. Weapons were of no use now.
They embraced, Aaron shaken from almost seeing his friend lose his life, Kurt overcome by the chance event that had allowed both him and the lion to keep their lives. Kurt didn't have any idea how they were going to keep a prisoner, but they had to. Fate had intervened, and given him something priceless. He had to return the favor.