What Lies Beyond the Walls, Book II: Chapter 11
#11 of What Lies Beyond the Walls: Book II
After taking them hostage, Angus tries to turn Honward and Tike against each other so he can determine who should live, and who should die.
XXXV
Always
"I can, I can!"
"Bullshit. You can't even play yer nose right," said the hare.
The other hare sighed. "Why the bloody hell would I wanna play my nose?"
"'Cos it's the only damn thing you can play."
Tike Bonson rubbed his face as he stared at the two hares arguing with each other. Honward flicked his eyes between the two hares before he chuckled and walked forward.
"You two are more than welcome to give me the gittern," Hon said.
The third hare held the instrument in both paws and huffed. "Okay...I got it."
The other three hares stared at the beast holding the gut-string instrument in his paws. Honward folded his arms as he waited with anticipation, wondering if the creature would be able to pull it off properly. Tike looked all around the chamber, glad that nobeast was about to witness the hare's awful attempt at playing the gittern. Honward started to grin widely the moment the hare placed his fingers on the strings. He strummed them once before Honward decided to open his mouth.
"Yer doin' it wrong, Grenny."
"I'm--"
"No, you gotta--"
"FINE, FUCK IT! HERE!!"
Grenny shoved the gittern in the hare's face before he stomped towards the wall and folded his arms. Grenny muttered a few swear words before he sat down on the floor and scowled at the other three hares.
"Awww, don't be all pissy!" Honward teased.
"No! Fuck you--you wanna bitch about my fuckin' skills? Then you play that shit, wot!"
Honward shrugged. "All right."
The hare held the gittern properly and sat down beside Lesgal while Tike continued to stand in the center of the chamber. Honward looked up at the young hare and flared his nostrils.
"You know wot you wanna sing?"
"Yeah, mate! Just make sure you strum it right; I know wot t'do."
Honward looked down at the gittern for a moment and sniffed. Then the hare held the small instrument firmly and started strumming the strings in a quick and simple pattern. Grenny was still sitting down with his arms folded and a large scowl on his face. Lesgal looked at the beast's pitiful face and snickered while Tike ignored all the other hares and started moving his head to the beat as the words came about.
"You gonna sing 'bout bein' a pansy, Tike?" Grenny teased.
Tike grinned. "Don't be jealous you sound like a toad croakin' when you sing."
Grenny stuck his tongue out at Tike while the hare chuckled and finally got started.
"Climbed out the fire, but turned into ash Built a boat with me paws; all it did was crash Stuck in the sun behind an arsehole Just another great day with the Long Patrol!
Tried to catch a fish, but it slipped away Was gonna make a fire, but too cold today Stuck in this army with no form o' droll Just another great day with the Long Patrol!
Lost a friend today; didn't say goodbye But I kept on moving; no time to cry Stuck in the cold with a frozen soul Just another great day with the Long Patrol!
Couldn't find any cunt so I rubbed one out Stubbed me toe on a tree; I started to shout Stuck in this filth with stink hangin' from me pits. The Long Patrol: smells worse'n badger shits!
Tried t'hang m'self, but the rope snapped and broke How great it woulda been, just to lie still an' choke Day after day, our lives get worse The Long Patrol: it's a fuckin' curse!"
Tike blinked and paused for a moment. He kept bobbing his head as Honward played the gittern, and Lesgal and Grenny continued to stare at the hare, waiting for him to finish. The young corporal chuckled softly and started to smile.
"Climbed out the fire, but I bared a new scar Was lost at sea, but saw boats afar Got blisters on me footpaws, but kept movin' along The Long Patrol: filled with memories and song!
'It's gonna get better,' 'tis wot they say In the Long Patrol, we save the day We fight for justice and peace and treats The Long Patrol: sometimes it can be sweet!
Losing a mate is always rough But the Long Patrol makes you tough No need to mourn; you shouldn't be crying With the Long Patrol, you shan't fear dying!
The Long Patrol: it's no fun and games. Nobeast said this army was tame Has a murderous, vengeful, twisted style But in the end...it's all worthwhile."
Honward strummed the strings of the gittern a few more times before he stopped playing altogether. As the hare finished, Tike smirked as he placed a paw on his chest and bowed. Lesgal and Grenny started clapping and whooping, cheering at the hare after hearing the beast's meaningful song about the battalion. After Tike finished bowing in front of his friends, he and Honward exchanged looks at each other and smiled, glad that they decided to be a part of Urthquake's crew.
It was never a good sign to wake up with blurry vision and a throbbing head. For a moment, Tike thought he got so inebriated that he passed out and bonked his head on a tree. But as the hare's vision cleared, he could see the weasel pacing back and forth on the muddy soil as he muttered to himself. Tike let out a muffled grunt and scowled at the foul taste in his mouth: a dirty cloth or some kind of bandanna. The hare blinked twice and tried to move. He tried to jerk his paws around, but when he moved them, he heard a branch creak and felt restraints digging into his wrists. Tike mumbled and looked up to see that his arms were stretched upwards above his head, and that somebeast had tied his paws to one of the sturdy branches from the tree still leafless from late spring freeze. The young corporal started to breathe heavily out his nose and glared up ahead. Honward was tied to a tree as well and stuck in the same uncomfortable position he was in. He was still unconscious and bleeding from his head. Tike grunted and jerked his paws around again, hoping to break the branch if he applied enough force to it.
"Oh, the li'l soldier is finally awake!"
Tike looked down at the weasel and stopped moving. He scowled and swore at the beast as the vermin reached up and removed the filthy gag from his mouth. Tike exhaled and opened his mouth.
"HEL--"
The hare's eyes grew wide when he felt the cold steel pressed against his abdomen. Tike looked down at the weasel as he grinned.
"A simple laceration. That's all it'll take fer me to open up yer belly, have all ye guts splayed on the ground fer yer friend t'see! Now, you are more'n welcome t'scream for help, but I assure you: you'll be dead long before anybeast comes to aid ya!"
Tike stared at the weasel's wide grin as he showed off his yellow teeth. He blinked and exhaled harshly, and the weasel took his knife away and nodded.
"Good! Now let's wake up yer friend over there!"
Tike watched as the weasel turned and headed over to Honward. The vermin reached up and smacked Honward across the face; the sergeant inhaled and grunted as he opened his eyes. Tike gritted his teeth as he kept grinding his paws against the branch, hoping that the ropes or the branch would gradually start to give.
"Yes, that's it! Shake off that wound--you'll live! For a moment anyway."
Tike swore softly and stopped moving his paws. He exhaled and stared at the scruffy weasel as he started to slowly pace between both beasts.
"The hell is this? Some kinda sick interrogation?"
The weasel shook his head. "I care little for wot your Long Patrol is up to."
"So...s-so wot? You gonna take turns rapin' us?"
"Not at all...jus' gonna have a li'l fun is all."
The weasel started to toss one of his knives in the air as he stood in-between the two hares. Tike flared his nostrils and started looking around the area, thinking some kind of weapon or tool was nearby that he could use to cut through his restraints. The vermin laughed.
"Isn't it funny?"
Tike snorted. "Wot?"
"I wandered into this swamp in the middle of the night. I mean, this be a big swamp an' all, but there's only one of me, an' dozens of you! Hehe, somehow--somehow, I managed to hack yer mate's head off and knock out the two of you without anybeast hearin'. Then, somehow, I managed to find some rope, tie the two of you to these trees, stripped ye of all yer weapons, an' now I'm holdin' you both as me hostages."
The weasel laughed and shook his head. "How fuckin' unlucky are you two? I mean seriously--wot are the fuckin' odds of this whole thing playin' in my favour?!"
Tike closed his eyes and snorted again. After the weasel laughed for a brief moment, he sniffled and rubbed his nose.
"Shit, haven't even told you my name yet--where are my manners? I'm Angus Renhym!"
"That maniacal mercenary from the war?"
Angus grinned. "In the flesh!"
Tike sighed. "Save yerself the pain: run away. You can't even begin to imagine wot Urthquake will do t'you once he finds ya."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the beast tied up, are you not?"
Tike changed the subject. "You ain't gonna kill us. If you were, we'd be dead already, wouldn't we?"
Angus nodded and stopped tossing his blade. "True, true...I'm not going to kill both of you."
Tike closed his eyes and sighed with relief while Honward mumbled through his gag. From the way he was scowling at Angus, Tike figured he was swearing at the beast. The weasel turned and looked at the hares before pointing at both of them.
"I'm going to kill one of you."
Shit, thought Tike. This can't be good.
"So...s--um, how will you decide?"
"That is entirely up to you and him! Tell me why I should let you live! Or, perhaps, you can tell me why I should kill your friend."
Angus walked up to the young corporal and poked him in the abdomen with his knife, drawing blood. Tike started to pant and gulped hard.
"You go first."
Tike and Honward were sitting together in the kitchen peeling potatoes. The younger hare huffed as he slowly removed the brown peel with his knife, and then tossed the bare potato into one of the bowls in front of him.
"There...eighty. How many more we got left?"
Honward turned around and looked behind him. He frowned. There were enough potatoes lying in the corner to be buried under.
"A lot."
Tike whimpered. "This ain't even our fault, wot! Fuckin' Grenny an' his fuckin' mouth--he knows damn well we wouldn't say that about Lieutenant Morson!"
"We were thinkin' it."
"But we didn't say it behind his back!"
Hon smirked. "We were still thinkin' it."
"Everybeast thinks Lieutenant Morson is an arsehole with a rapier thrust up his bum! Why are we the only beasts who got punished for it?!"
"Hey, at least we don't gotta wash everybeast's uniforms like Lesgal an' Grenny. D'you know how hard it is t'get blood stains outta their coats?"
Tike huffed. "Yes...sometimes it don't come out."
The hares went silent for a moment and resumed peeling the skins off the potatoes. After a moment, Honward cleared his throat and glanced at Tike.
"So. Talk to Stink Mouth recently?"
"No. We haven't had any sessions."
"Why not?"
"Err, Stink Mouth is somebeast I kinda don't wanna talk to, fer obvious reasons."
"Wot? C'mon now--he's one of the sweetest hares in this unit, wot! Beast walks into a room an' everything turns into sunshine an' rainbows!"
"We call him 'Stink Mouth' for a reason, Hon. Think that says enough."
Honward chuckled. "Okay, awright, I get it. I'm jus' concerned is all. You've been kinda sullen lately."
Tike didn't respond. He looked down at the potato in his paw and continued to peel it. Honward frowned as he stared at his best friend. He stopped peeling his potato and sniffed.
"Well...you don't need a professional. You can always talk t'me."
"It's nothing. I'm just..."
Tike ran his knife against the potato four times before he stopped and stared at the half-brown, half-beige vegetable. The hare lowered the potato and knife and sighed.
"I, um...I stroked m'self last night."
Honward stared at Tike for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. "Buddy, we rub it out all the time. Why the hell does that bother you?"
"Before I started goin', I saw another corporal sleeping on the ground, away from the others. She was jus' lyin' there, completely unaware. And her legs--her legs were kinda spread apart. Spread wide apart, Honward. I stopped and stared. I didn't-I don't know how long I was standing there. All I remember was that I was startin' to get stiff. And...and I thought, 'She's asleep...she's prob'ly cold. I could just...sleep beside her. Cuddle with her a bit; keep her warm. She won't mind.' And then I started gettin' stiffer. For-for a moment, I was thinkin', 'Y'know...maybe I'll roll on top of her. By accident. She...she won't mind...'"
Tike stopped talking. He stared at the floor for what seemed like an eternity. All Honward and Tike could hear were the other soldiers in the mountain stomping around or maintaining the defenses of Urthquake's grand lair. Tike took a deep breath and started to shake.
"I-I had to walk away. I jus' walked away an' thought...and then..."
Honward sighed. "It was just a thought, mate. We've all had--"
"But that's never happened before. Ever. I-I'm always...it's like my heart is sayin' it's wrong, but my brain is sayin, 'Do it. You ain't had fresh cunt in seasons. Nobeast will care. Nobeast has t'know.' And...and you know I could get away with it. I could lie. Urthquake would look the other way. All I'd have t'do--"
"Temptation," Honward interrupted. "S'all it was buddy. The li'l demon on yer shoulder was whisperin' in yer ear again. Happens to all of us."
"Hon, nothin' that despicable has ever crept into my mind before. How could--"
"Did you do it?"
"Wot?"
"Did you force yourself into that hare?"
Tike shook his head. "No. ...I almost did, but no."
Honward looked at Tike and smiled. "Exactly. You had the opportunity to do it, and you chose not to."
Tike blinked twice and rubbed one of his watery eyes whilst Honward patted the young corporal on the back.
"You're gonna be okay, buddy. Just try not to think too much on it."
The hare stared at Honward as the beast went back to peeling his potato. Then Tike smiled slightly and resumed cutting his half-peeled potato too.
Angus stared at Tike with a bored scowl on his face. He blinked.
"Really? I'm s'posed to spare ya 'cos you chose not t'force yer cock into some hare's wet cunt?"
Tike stuttered. "You don't understand. I wanted--"
"'Oh, waaaah, waaah, WAH! I'm a young hare with a ragin' hard cock an' I can't bring m'self to have a li'l fun when somebeast's cunt is placed right in front o' me!' Tch, can't stand beasts like you."
"Wot the fuck do you--MMPH! FMPHM-YUMPH!"
Tike kept mumbling after the weasel placed the gag back inside his mouth. The hare looked down at the weasel in disgust as the beast turned and stomped towards Honward. Then he reached up and yanked Hon's gag out his maw, at which point the hare spat in Angus' face. Angus shut his eyes for a moment as he felt the warm slobber sitting on his muzzle. He smiled slightly and wiped the spit off before opening his eyes.
"I already know I'm gonna like you!"
"Fuck you. All you vermin are fuckin' cowards--you've no problem tauntin' us an' makin' us feel weak when we're immobile and incapable of fightin' back. Why dont'cha untie us? Then we'll see which one of us is the coward."
"Ooh, you got a fire brewin' deep in ya, not like that twat over there! But it makes me wonder...if I spare ya, wot good will that do me?"
Honward grunted as he felt a sharp pain in his midriff. Tike started swearing and shouting in a muffled tone. He whimpered a few times and started kicking forward, listening to the branch above him crack. Honward opened his mouth and moaned as Angus gradually dug his knife deeper into his flesh. The weasel removed the blade and licked it clean, while Honward started to breathe heavily.
"Now...are you capable of convincing me, or shall I start removin' your organs?"
Honward and the other beast shoved the hares to the ground. The newly-promoted sergeant sniffled as he kicked the leader of the hares forward, the beast bound and gagged. Urthquake looked down at the small group of hares and snorted.
"Did you find other beasts?"
"No, m'lord. Just these three as far as we can tell," Honward responded.
"And you're absolutely sure you didn't see other hares with them?"
Grenny snickered. "Sah, these blokes were practically shittin' themselves when we caught 'em, wot! Think they're already aware of wot yer gonna do to 'em--no wonder so few of 'em defected!"
Urthquake nodded. "Fine then. I don't suppose any of you would like to explain yourselves?"
The trio on their knees all breathed softly and stared at the ground. None of them looked up at the Badger Lord, nor did they beg for mercy. Honward stared at the leader of the bunch and kicked him down on his face.
"Take him first. He's got a big mouth on him--won't take him long before he squeals."
Urthquake growled gutturally as he looked at the turncoat. Then he reached down and grabbed the beast by his ears, hoisting him off the ground. The hare shouted in a muffled tone and started to thrash his legs around, but the badger still refused to show mercy. He looked down at Honward and Grenny before glancing over at the two hares on their knees.
"Stay here while I interrogate this traitor. I shouldn't be too long."
"Wotcha want us t'do with these two until then?" Grenny asked.
The badger shrugged. "Up to you."
The Badger Lord turned around and walked away from the group of hares, whilst Grenny and Honward looked down at their captives and sniffed. Grenny started to circle around the hares like a predator; Honward sat down beside a log and laid his sabre on the ground.
"Hey...yeah, thought you were familiar! Clarissa Pengart--you were that corporal who couldn't stop humpin' yer captain's leg!"
Honward watched as Grenny crouched down and grinned in Clarissa's face. "Heard ya got some...condition, Claris. Apparently yer prone ta spreadin' your legs around other hares, wot!"
"Let it go, Gren," Honward growled.
"Oi, you heard wot the Badger Lord said! We can do wotever we want with these traitors!"
Grenny moved behind Clarissa and kicked her in the back of her head. As the hare groaned, Grenny laughed deeply and looked at the hare's backside. He crouched down again and lifted her tail so he could get a better view of her tailhole. The soldier blinked and leaned forward, taking in the faint scent of Clarissa's musk.
"Wotcha think, Hon? Arse or cunt?"
Honward groaned and rolled his eyes. "Cunt. I don't care--jus' hurry up and go, 'fore I change my mind an' try to stop you."
The other hare on his knees looked at Honward and Grenny with disgust and swore at them through his gag. Honward stood up and removed the filthy cloth from his mouth. The hare wearing a green coat looked up at Honward and scowled at him.
"Cowards. All you mindless twats sicken me. How can--"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, wotever mate!" shouted Gren.
Honward and the green-coated hare watched as Grenny grabbed Clarissa by the ears and started to drag her away. Clarissa started to scream through her gag, kicking at the ground and shaking her head.
"Don't you worry, Hon! I won't rough her up too badly if'n ya want a go at her later!"
Honward waited until the two creatures were out of their line of sight before he looked down at the last hare still tied up. The traitor took a few deep breaths as he stared at the ground.
"I know you. I know that other hare too. Yer better than this. You know you are."
"Shut up," said Hon.
"You trained under Morson, yeah? Hmph...thought he would've disciplined you all better. But, then again, Morson was trained under somebeast who I'm sure was trained under Urthquake. Guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"You've no fuckin' right to judge us. You helped those vermin sneak into Salamandastron; they almost killed our Badger Lord in his sleep!"
"No. They almost killed a tyrant in his sleep. A true Badger Lord would never sanction any of this to happen! Rapin' yer own allies just 'cause they chose a different path? Slaying entire farms and villages of vermin jus' 'cause a giant badger said so? How many times has he raped a rat and told you that he was 'interrogating' her? How many times--"
Honward snarled as he punched the traitor in the mouth so hard he nearly dislocated his jaw. "I said shut up! It doesn't matter wot Urthquake does now--everything...everything is for a good cause. He's-he's tryin' to build a better future, and beasts like you are gettin' in the way of that. At least vermin have the guts t'admit wot they're doin' is wrong an' evil! But traitors like you are blinded by yer own sick fantasy, yer own version of a 'better world.' I bet you don't even care about justice. You just wanted Urthquake out the way so you could be the next ruler."
The hare on his knees laughed. "Are you fuckin' serious? A hare can't become a Badger Lord, you fuckin' dilettante! That-that badger keeps saying he wants peace--how the fuck can he achieve peace if his primary action is to declare war with vermin and to commit genocide?!"
"How can you achieve peace when yer primary action is to rebel against anybeast you don't agree with? Wot happens when we finally get the peace we deserve, but you don't wanna follow the peace-keeper's rules? You gonna try to kill him next?"
The hare looked away from Honward and blinked. "You just don't get it. None of you ever will...he didn't just blind you. He took yer eyes away. Now you can't see the truth even if you wanted to."
Honward huffed and walked over to the log. He picked up his sabre and headed back over to the hare. The traitor flicked his eyes to the left and saw part of Hon's sword in the corner of his eye.
"Look at me."
"Wot?"
"You stand here and look at me. You don't get the right to stand there an' call me a coward when you can't even slay me without lookin' at my face.
Honward grimaced and listened to the traitor. He gripped the handle of his sabre and looked down at the beast; the traitor looked up at Honward simultaneously. The two beasts stared for a while as Hon started to contemplate, debating on whether or not he should free the traitor or cut his throat open.
"The Badger Lord said we could do wot we want with you. An' I doubt you've much useful information to give us."
"I already told you wot you need to know. You wanna kill me an' follow that badger, go ahead. But sooner or later, he's gonna drag you an' all these other hares to the Hellgates with him. Is that wot you want?"
Honward closed his eyes. "All I want is peace..."
"Then kill that Badger Lord. I know. I know it'll be hard...but sometimes you gotta make the hard choices in order to have peace. Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices to save the beasts you love."
The sergeant nodded. "You're right."
Honward ran his sabre against the traitor's throat. He watched as the hare gagged and gurgled, choking on his own blood as it ran down his chest. He only managed to emit a few gurgles before he collapsed onto his side and stopped moving. Honward looked down at the dead hare and scowled before he spat on his corpse. Then he walked back over to the log and sat down, waiting impatiently for Grenny to return. As he sat still, he could hear grunting, moaning, and even some muffled screams in the distance. The sergeant slowly placed his sabre on the ground and swallowed hard. Then he curled his ears downwards and covered them, his eyes welling with tears as he tried to ignore what Grenny was doing to the corporal.
Angus couldn't stop laughing at Honward, whereas Tike was staring at the creature with disbelief. Honward closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I told myself it was wrong...I knew. I just let it happen. It was...it was easier that way."
"Good, good--that's very good! I'm startin' ta like you already!" Angus shouted. "Such a blind hare, refusin' to do the 'right' thing 'cos his leader told him not to! Yes...I like you very much. But I wonder now, how could somebeast like you be friends with that whiny bitch over there?"
"You've never had friends, have you?"
Angus shrugged. "Don't need 'em. Don't want 'em."
"Then you don't get it. Havin' a mate like Tike is...it's like havin' another brother. Don't matter how much we fight, don't matter how often we bicker or disagree about wot we do. We still care about each other, despite all our differences. ...We still love each other."
"Oh. So you two are fags."
Hon huffed. "It's not like that."
"You just said you two love each other."
"It's not like that. Didn't you have an older brother--somebeast you looked up to?"
"Yer talkin' to a weasel who killed his own parents when he were just a babe."
"Then you don't get it. You never will."
Angus snorted and frowned. "I'm wastin' my time with you."
The weasel reached over and stuffed the gag back into the sergeant's mouth. As Honward mumbled and kept plotting on how to escape, Tike looked down at the weasel as he approached him.
"Now you...you I can prob'ly get to! I saw the way you glared at him. I can see it in your eyes right now. You had no idea yer so-called 'friend' committed those awful atrocities, did you?"
Angus removed the gag from Tike's mouth. The young hare glared at Honward again. He kept staring at the creature with watery eyes as he contemplated whether or not he could continue trusting the beast. Angus poked Tike in the stomach with his knife and growled.
"Did you?"
"...No," said Tike softly.
"Ahhh. You say that now, but deep down, I bet you knew that your friend was capable of this all along. I'm sure that wasn't the first time yer 'friend' did something like that, was it?"
Tike couldn't answer. He turned his head away from the weasel and shut his eyes. Then the young hare winced when Angus slashed him across the arm. He growled at Tike as hot air erupted from his nostrils.
"Look at me," he snarled. "Tell me. Tell me wot he did. Who knows? Maybe I'll spare the both of ya, let the two of you live long enough to realize that there's no such thing as true friendship."
Tike sighed. "Fine then."
The young corporal stared at the door while everybeast else waited outside, all carrying swords or bows and arrows. Even the mighty Badger Lord was standing near the top of the staircase, snorting heavily and gripping his broadsword.
"Everybeast, jus' stand down. I can talk to her," Tike pleaded.
"That traitor's got three hostages in there; one of 'em's your best mate. You really wanna take that chance?" Morson asked.
"Where's she gonna go, Lieutenant? She's trapped in this mountain; she's trapped in that room. We got her cornered. Just...just let me talk to her. Nobeast has t'die today. I can get her out."
"Hmph! You still can't even hold a crossbow properly! You expect me to believe--"
"Morson," Urthquake growled. "If he wants to go in, let him."
Tike nodded and lowered his paws. "Jus' give me a few minutes. I'll get her to come out."
The corporal slyly approached the door and pushed it open. He slowly showed his bare paws inside the room as he slowly opened the door further and stepped inside. The corporal slammed the door shut before anybeast could get a shot off and looked around. Clarissa was there, still sniffling and holding the crossbow. Honward and Lesgal were sitting on the floor with their paws tied behind their backs and a gag in their mouth. Tike wasn't sure what happened to Grenny, but the beast was lying on the floor with a pool of blood around his crotch. The corporal couldn't tell if he was unconscious or dead.
"Sit down! Ov-over there!" Clarissa whimpered.
"Okay. Relax," Tike said in a soft voice.
The corporal sat down against the wall beside Lesgal and looked at the other young hare. "This doesn't have to end like this."
"Yes...yes, it does. Don't you get it? They-they branded me as a traitor! Same thing they did with my sergeant; same as my partner!"
"The three of you put us all at risk. You tried to have our Badger Lord assassinated--by usin' vermin, no less."
"So wot?! He fuckin'--SIT DOWN!"
Honward sat back down after Clarissa pointed her crossbow at him. She whimpered.
"Alla you know he deserves it...he shouldn't be allowed to run this army! It's his fuckin' fault things are the way they are now!"
"Urthquake did not fill this world with evil. He did not give birth to all these vermin who hate us goodbeasts so much."
"No...no, but-but he's spreadin' it! He's makin' it worse! None of you c'n see it; he's been corrupted by this...this lifestyle! He doesn't know right from wrong anymore, an' now none of you do either!"
Tike lowered his right paw and pointed at the door. "There's a dozen soldiers out there who wanna kill you. They wanted to storm in here an' run you through with their weapons. The only reason why yer still alive is because I convinced them not to!"
"Congratu-fuckin'-lations. You did one good deed today."
Tike started to stand up. Clarissa pointed her crossbow at the beast and gritted her teeth.
"SIT DOWN, TIKE!"
"No."
Clarissa blinked. "Wot?"
"You don't wanna kill me. You know you don't wanna do any of this."
"I have to. Urthquake gave me no choice! Urthquake--"
"Your sergeant is the one who lead you. He-he's the beast who corrupted your mind, made you think like this! Do you honestly think that slaying Urthquake will make things better for this army, for the rest of the world? The moment the beasts we've been fightin' find out that Urthquake's been killed--by his own soldiers, no less--it'll be open season, wot! Every pirate and lizard and wretched warlord and who knows who else will attack this mountain non-stop until we're all dead and this place has been seized! Is that wot you want?!"
"...No. No, but...this can't go on, Tike. We can't keep followin' Urthquake if this is how he acts all the time. He-he has to die, Tike. For all our sakes."
Tike took two steps towards Clarissa and blinked. "When you first came here, you sat and ate yer vittles all by yourself. Then Margine came along, an' you two ate and talked and laughed. Now you're both best friends. When you almost died 'cause those ferrets kidnapped you, threatened to chop you into pieces, Captain Becker was the beast who saved you. He was the one who coddled you when you cried in his arms. And-and when you started havin' nightmares, Stink...Lieutenant Brennly saw you every other day and you two talked about life and yer experience with war, and-and-and you...you got better."
Tike lowered his arms as he stepped closer to the panting Clarissa. He smiled tenderly as his eyes became misty.
"You remember when...when Gaspar spent an entire day in the kitchen just to make all the corporals a giant cake the size of the tables? Heh, and then Becker came in and ate a third of the damn thing. Wot-wot about when you and Jessie would sneak into the archives late at night just so you could read up on the history of this mountain and all the Badger Lords who ruled it? Wot about when I got a bunch of corporals together and we celebrated you finishing your first season of being in the Long Patrol? ...Don't you remember any of that?"
Clarissa sobbed quietly as she started to lower her crossbow. As Tike got close to the beast, Honward slowly shifted his body around on the floor towards a broken glass jar.
"Stop it," she whimpered, as her face became wet with tears.
Clarissa's crossbow was so low that it was pointed at the floor now. But Tike didn't snatch the weapon from her paws. He just chuckled and kept talking.
"You can't group us all under one category. We're not all sadists; we're not all savage beasts who crave violence. There are still--there's still plenty of goodbeasts in this army, Claris. There's still beasts who know right from wrong, and you know it. The Long Patrol isn't perfect. Neither is Urthquake. I know that now...but we can't get rid of violence with more violence, now can we? If you want Urthquake to change, you can't go around assassinating beasts and takin' your friends hostage."
Tike reached forward and grabbed the crossbow as Honward picked up a large shard of glass from the floor.
"Look at you, Clarissa," the hare said, as he removed the weapon from Clarissa's paws and tossed it on the floor. "All I did was come in here and talk to you. If you and your sergeant had done the same thing with Urthquake, then maybe...maybe we wouldn't be here right now."
Tike opened his arms and slowly embraced Clarissa. The other hare burst into tears and gradually hugged the corporal back, squeezing Tike Bonson so hard he could barely breathe. The young corporal smiled and placed his chin on Clarissa's shoulder as two tears came out his eyes as well. He could still hear Clarissa sniffling and sobbing, along with Lesgal and Honward grunting as they tried to escape from their restraints. Tike took his head back and sniffled as he opened his eyes. And then he frowned as he looked over Clarissa's shoulder and saw Honward standing behind her scowling. Tike didn't get the chance to warn her before Honward yanked her head backwards with one paw. The next thing Tike knew, a fine mist of warm fluids were splattering against his face, and Clarissa was gurgling so much that it sounded like she was choking. Tike shook his head and wiped some of the blood off before he panted and stared at Honward. He exhaled with relief as he shoved Clarissa to the floor and quickly rushed over to cut through Lesgal's restraints.
"Okay, everybeast! Coast is clear!" Hon shouted.
Urthquake kicked the door in so hard that it nearly fell off the hinges. The giant badger and several hares stormed inside the chamber quickly and looked at Clarissa and Grenny, the former of whom had bled out.
"I think Grenny's still alive. Get him to Hollis, quick!"
Some of the hares recovered Grenny's body and began to carry him out of the chamber while Tike started hyperventilating as he stared at Clarissa's corpse. He whimpered twice as Honward walked beside him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Thanks buddy!"
Tike looked at Hon's smile and gritted his teeth. Then he punched the hare in the muzzle so hard that he cracked one of his teeth and knocked him to the floor. Tike sobbed as he got on top of Honward and punched him again.
"I had her you fucking cocksucker!"
Tike started to punch the beast with each word he spat from his mouth.
"I! FUCKING! HAD! HER!"
Tike sobbed and delivered blow after blow to Hon's face, his knuckles reddening with each hit. Then the hare shrieked after he heard something crack and his paw began to shake on its own. The corporal backed away from Honward and sat down on the floor hard, whimpering as his right paw started bleeding. As Hon lied on the floor on the brink of unconsciousness, Tike shut his eyes and started crying again.
"I had her," he whimpered in-between sobs.
Angus turned and glared at the other hare. He scoffed and shook his head before turning and looking at Tike again.
"Some 'friend.' Killin' a fellow soldier even after she surrendered? That's appalling. ...I should take some pointers from him."
The weasel heard leaves rustling in the distance, followed by a few croaks. Angus tightened his jaw while Tike looked around in the darkness, thinking he'd see another bright light from a lantern. But it was only the three of them.
"I think we're done with the storytelling. Hmm...I'm still indecisive though! Which one...the bitchy hypocrite who still follows his 'friends' in his vain search for 'peace,' or the abrasive hare who thinks he's doing the right thing, even though he knows damn well wot he's doin' will get him thrown in the Hellgates?"
Angus walked close to Tike and grinned. "How 'bout you choose? Tell me: which one of you should I kill tonight? I'm assuming yer gonna say yourself. After all, you'd sacrifice your life for anybeast who has a shred of 'innocence' in them. That hare over there could murder your parents, rape your mate, and castrate you, and you'd still defend him!"
Tike ignored the weasel's words and looked dead ahead at Honward's eyes. The hares stared at each other for what seemed like hours, constantly thinking about their childhood and the good times they shared as they joined the army. Tike didn't think about Clarissa or how Hon callously murdered her, nor did he think about all the arguments and fights they got into. He blinked and swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat as he tried to find something, anything to prevent what was coming. The hare looked up and whimpered as he jerked his paws against the branch in another attempt to break it. Angus spotted what the hare was doing and snarled.
"HEY! Choose! Or I'll kill both of you! And no, you can't say I should be the beast who dies--that's cheatin'. It's either you or him. Those are your only options."
Tike stopped moving. He shut his eyes. There was only one choice he could make now, no matter how hard it seemed.
"You should kill Hon," Tike said quietly.
Angus started wagging his tail merrily. "Wot's that?"
"H-him...you should kill him, not me."
The weasel cackled. "See? You finally agree with me! He ain't worth protectin'; he don't deserve to live!"
"Yes, he does. You don't deserve to live. I always try to find some form of hope in this world...but then I run into beasts like you, and I'm always reminded of why I joined this army in the first place. ...You're right. I would sacrifice myself. I want to sacrifice myself for him. But let's face it: that won't give you satisfaction. Beasts like you try to break beasts like me. I could beg you, plead you to kill me, and you still wouldn't do it. You'd go over and kill Honward just to spite me, just to get me to lose all my hope."
Tike looked at Honward as a tear slowly ran down his cheek. "So...go ahead. Kill him. All my life, I've constantly been tested. And no matter wot I've been through, I...I never broke. But maybe this...maybe seeing my best friend die right in front of me will push me too far. Maybe you'll finally break me. ...That's wot you want, isn't it?"
Angus growled deeply at Tike and hissed at the hare. "Aren't you a crafty li'l creature? Who knew you were so good at reading other beasts' minds?"
Angus turned around and started to walk towards Honward. Tike gritted his teeth and snarled as more tears came out.
"Go on. Kill him. It doesn't matter wot you do to me. I'll never break. Ever."
The weasel huffed and rolled his eyes. He turned back around and stuffed the gag inside Tike's mouth before he walked back over to Hon again. The weasel removed his gag and started to wag his tail.
"Ooooh, lookit that! Not yer best friend after all, is he?! Look at how he betrayed you without batting an eye! He said it himself: I should go ahead and kill you!"
Honward wasn't paying attention to Angus either. He stared at Tike's teary eyes and sniffled. Then he looked down at the weasel's demonic smile and blinked.
"You should kill me."
Angus stepped backwards and frowned. His tail went limp. "Wot?"
Honward nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm not...it's too late for me. This army, this life...I keep telling myself that wot I did--it was for peace...it was for Urthquake. But it wasn't. I've murdered beasts--executed beasts even. This..."
Honward paused. He looked back up at Tike through tearful eyes and began to whine.
"You're so much better than me, Tike," he sobbed. "You always were; you always will be. All those nightmares...I knew this was comin'. I-I knew this would happen eventually. ...I won't fight it. If my death means...if it means that Tike gets to live another day, then so be it. This world needs more beasts like you, Tike. ...I just make things worse."
Angus stared at Honward in silence as he lowered his head and started crying. He looked over his shoulder and noticed that Tike was crying just as much, with tears wetting his cheeks and mucus running from his nose. The weasel turned back around and let out a confused stutter, shaking his head.
"I don't understand," he said, dumbfounded.
Honward sniffled and blinked a few tears away. "N-no...no, you don't. And you never will."
The weasel walked up to Honward as the hare lifted his head. The two beasts stared at each other's eyes without blinking for a moment.
"You'd really do it? You'd sacrifice your life over...over somebeast like that?"
Honward nodded slowly. "Absolutely."
Angus wiggled his nose as he reached up and wiped some of the tears off the hare's face. He smiled slowly as he rubbed Honward's cheek.
"Such a noble, selfless creature you are. Only a true warrior--a true friend, would put his life in peril like this."
Honward closed his eyes and sighed. Angus lifted the blade and raised it to the hare's throat. The hare waited for Angus to finish it, without even bothering to beg for some form of mercy. Angus started to draw blood, and then he grinned and brought his muzzle close to Hon's face.
"That's exactly why I'm going to kill your friend instead."
Honward's eyes grew wide. "No."
Angus laughed in the hare's face and pointed at his eyes. "There. Now that's wot I wanted to see!"
"NO! PLEASE DO--"
Honward's speech was muffled when Angus shoveled the gag back into his maw. The hare was hysterical now, dragging his footpaws along the dirt as he tried to sway around on the branch. Honward swore several times as he yanked his arms repeatedly, stretching them out even further as he attempted to break the branch. While Honward was desperately trying to escape, Tike was whimpering and breathing heavily through his nostrils. Angus walked beside the young hare before he twirled the large knife around in his paws. He chuckled casually as he crept behind the whimpering beast and poked him in the back with the blade.
"Now this is gonna sting a bit..."
Tike closed his eyes and moaned as the tip of the blade was pressed against his back. Then his eyes shot open as the hare felt excruciating pain from behind, as if somebeast was slowly breaking his back in two. Tike squealed as he heard squelching, followed by a few sickening crunches. The hare let out two tiny whimpers, moments before everything was gone. He couldn't feel the pain anymore, nor could he feel the ground beneath his footpaws. Tike wouldn't stop letting out tiny whimpers as his head lolled to the right. Angus removed the blade from Tike's spine and stepped out in front of him.
"Don't worry, I ain't killed 'im! Not yet anyways. Y'see, back in the war, I learned this nifty li'l trick called head-on-a-stick! Quite entertaining if I say so m'self! Sometimes if we wanted to make sure a prisoner didn't escape, we'd stab 'em in the back an' sever their spine. It paralyzes them from the neck down!"
Angus laughed again. "Anyways, your friend here can't move nothin' but his head now. Hence the clever name! But he can still see me. And I'm sure he can still hear as well!"
Tike could hear, even though the voices were faint. He could hear Honward crying hysterically as he ground his paws against the branch. He could see Angus walking towards him, his knife coated in his blood. The weasel pressed a paw against Tike's midriff before poking him with the knife again.
"Keep watching! I wanna know precisely when you see the life fade from his eyes..."
Tike blinked once and let out a tiny, muffled croak. He could hear the weasel as he stuck the knife into his body and started to cut through his flesh.
"Let's see if I can get these kidneys out," Angus murmured to himself.
Tike blinked again as he stared at the ground. He was as motionless as a ragdoll, and his body swayed like one too. The hare wasn't crying or moaning anymore. He just stayed very still and kept staring. For a while, he listened to Honward crying and yelling through his gag. He caught glimpses of Angus as he walked around his body and continued to mutilate him further. But then the voices became distant, and his vision started to blur. A small tear trickled down the side of Tike's face. And then he shut his eyes...
Tike and Honward were sitting on the beach, staring at the sunset and listening to the waves crashing onto the coast. The young corporal smiled as he looked up and spotted the seagulls crying in the distance. He looked to his left and could see Honward looking down at the sandy earth beneath him. Tike snickered as he nudged the hare and stood up.
"C'mon, let's head back before they scarf all the blueberry pie!"
"...I don't understand. Why are you so...so calm?"
Tike blinked. "Wotcha mean?"
"I killed that hare back there. We ignored each other for nearly a week an' now you're just...fine?"
Tike exhaled. "No, not entirely. I'm still pissed at you, somewhat. But...I know that's not you, Honward. You're not that kinda beast. You made a mistake and I forgive you for it. You expect me to hold a grudge against you for life?"
"I just thought you'd do something to me."
"I beat your arse to the floor after you killed Claris. Remember that. ...And like I said, you made a mistake, one I'm sure you won't forget."
Honward stood up and turned around. "Promise me something."
"Wot?"
"Don't let this army change you. I know I'm--I-I know I fucked up. But you're still a goodbeast. You always have been, even after all the shit we've been exposed to. ...Maybe it's too late for me. But don't let it be too late for you."
"Hon--"
"Promise me. No matter wot happens."
Tike nodded. "I promise."
Honward closed his eyes and exhaled with relief. He walked over to Tike and wrapped his arms around the young corporal. Tike grunted for a moment, then raised his arms too and gave Honward a big hug.
"Don't worry, Hon. I'll always be here with you."
"Always?"
Tike smiled as he shut his eyes and pressed his head against his chest.
"Always."
Honward didn't care anymore. He didn't know when Tike succumbed to his wounds. He didn't know when he stopped screaming. All Honward knew was that Angus was still cutting into his friend's body, despite the fact that it was already horrifically disfigured. The weasel removed the knife from Tike's corpse and exhaled as he wiped blood off his face.
"There! Finished!"
Angus turned and walked over to Honward, who was now as lifeless as his best friend.
"D'you enjoy the show? I wasn't sure I'd have enough time, but I finished! As for you..."
Angus crouched down and grunted as he jumped up and latched onto the tree branch. He shimmied his way towards Honward's paws and quickly cut through the rope binding them together. Honward's arms fell down to his side, and the hare quickly sat down beside the tree. He stared ahead blankly, looking at the pool of blood around Tike's footpaws. After the hare was freed, Angus crouched down and snickered at the sergeant.
"I was going to kill you. D'you know that? But I remembered this one beast, religious rat I think. I had just murdered his entire family. His son even. ...He wasn't scared. Wasn't angry, wasn't even sad. When I looked into that hare's eyes, I thought about that rat, how he didn't break, no matter wot I did. But you?"
Angus shook his head and grinned. "You were a glass vase somebeast placed on the very edge of the table. And I came along and pushed you. Now look at ya! Yer aaaaaaalllllll broken and on the floor! And there's nobeast around to put you back together."
Honward kept staring. He blinked once, but didn't move. Angus reached forward and flicked the hare on his forehead twice.
"Nothin' to say? No snarky comebacks? No vow of vengeance? Not even a few sobs or-or a moan of anguish perhaps?"
Angus opened up Honward's right paw and placed his knife into it. The knife felt like a heavy brick to the hare; his paw fell right to the ground. The weasel looked at the weapon resting in Hon's paw and snorted.
"You're not even gonna try to kill me when I'm a foot away from you. Damn. Guess I really got to you!"
Angus snatched his knife back and stood up, sighing. "Well, I gotta go now! There's a lot more hares 'round here fer me to kill! May as well feast while my food is still hot. As fer you...my advice? Yer better off. There is no place in this world for beasts like him. There's beasts like you, an' beasts like me! The sooner you realize that, and the sooner you begin to accept that you're not a goodbeast, and the sooner you stop lyin' to yourself that you are, the better. Who knows? You can even be my successor if you'd like!"
Honward blinked again and stayed still. Angus kept grinning as he walked backwards into the darkness.
"You have a nice life! Try not to hang yourself over this, will ya?"
Honward couldn't even tell when Angus left. He kept still for a few more minutes, until he heard another pair of footpaws in the distance, along with some familiar voices.
"I think I found 'em," Lillen murmured.
Honward blinked again and kept looking at Tike's body when Lillen and Blitzfur showed up. He ignored the two hares as they started to breathe heavily.
"Fuck...we're too late," Lillen whimpered.
"He's...we-we can't...there's nothin' we can do, Lill. Just...fuck..."
Blitzfur turned away from Hon while Lillen crouched down beside him. But Honward didn't care. All that mattered to him was that his best friend was gone, and he was never coming back.