Chapter 7: Killer Instinct

A Chapter by Chris

Skylar was the last one to wake the following day. The other three were already crowded around the coffee table, getting ready to eat their breakfast. Skylar joined them and ate the food that had already been set on the table for him.

“By the way, there's something else I want to ask you,” Spike said as he looked at the old lady when all of them finished eating. “Steele was asking for information on swords. Exactly what information was he looking for?”

“That is between only me and my granddaughter,” the old lady stated a little coldly.

Spike nodded, not bothering to ask anymore questions on the subject.

“Well, thanks for letting us stay here,” said Spike. “We should probably get going now though.”

Both Skylar and Spike rose from the table and the other two did the same shortly afterwards. They followed the two boys out the door. Their good-byes were exchanged as Skylar and Spike walked away, planning to take a rocky path that led down to the fields. It wasn't long until they reached it. They hiked down it and after about fifteen minutes of walking, they finally stepped off of the mountain trail and onto grassy land.

Skylar and Spike covered a lot of ground during that entire day. By the time it was growing dark out, they were in the middle of a forest. Deciding they would stop there for the night, they built a small campfire. Unfortunately, there wasn't any food close by, and it was a little too dark to go in search of any that might be in a different part of the forest, so they had to go hungry that night.

The two warriors sat around the campfire, the natural light dimly lighting their faces. A sigh of boredom escaped Skylar's mouth as he looked around the small clearing they were in, looking for something that was maybe of interest. Not finding anything, he looked towards the star-lit sky. After thinking for a moment or two, he removed the small gem from his pocket and looked at it.

“Put it away before you lose it again,” commanded Spike. “I don't want to have to chase after something else because of your carelessness with it.”

“I still don't see how something this small could destroy Blade,” stated Skylar before putting the gem back into his pocket.

“I don't know, Wildtree is pretty well-known for being able to enchant powerful gems,” said Spike. “But who knows? Maybe it doesn't? But regardless we have to deliver it to Fairvald. It's up to them to figure out if it could really defeat him.”

“Who do you think they'll give the weapon to once they attach the gem to it?” asked Skylar as he lazily leaned his back up against the rough bark of a tree.

“Dunno,” replied Spike. He trailed off into thought after that as he stared towards the ground. There was a part of him that wished he would be the one that would be given the weapon. He wanted to be the one to kill Blade. He wanted to make Blade pay for all the pain he caused him. . .

“Who's going to take first watch?” Skylar asked.

Spike snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the other male before saying, “I will.”

Skylar nodded before laying down completely now. He dozed off minutes later, leaving Spike to protect them from any harm that may come their way during the first half of the night.

Spike awoke a little late in the morning the next day. His apathetic eyes stared up at the small bit of blue sky that was visible through the barrier of leaves and branches for a moment. After giving himself a few seconds to wake up fully, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and he looked around. The fire was extinguished and all that was left in its place were the ashes.

It was then when Spike realized that he was alone in the clearing. He looked around a little quickly, wondering where Skylar had went. Spike wasn't as worried about the boy's life as he was the gem. It was the whole reason they were on this expedition and he didn't want to see it getting ruined because Skylar wasn't able to protect himself.

Relief soon washed over the brilliant warrior though when Skylar came into view. When he reached the clearing, Spike stood up and looked at him angrily.

“Where the hell were you?” Spike asked.

“Relax, I was just getting some food and refilling our canteens,” answered Skylar as he held up the two canteens and the two apples.

“Wow, you mean you actually did something useful?” Spike asked as he took his canteen when Skylar held it out.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Skylar muttered.

“Wasn't trying to be.”

“Fine, then I won't bother giving you an apple then.”

Skylar turned around and chucked one of the juicy fruits as hard as he could. It landed amongst some brush that was several meters away from them. The younger male then turned around, a smirk on his face.

“Have fun starving,” Skylar told him.

“Give me the apple,” Spike muttered coldly as he held out his hand.

“It's mine.”

Spike tried to snatch the apple from the other boy, but failed. He tried a few more times, but Skylar kept it away from him while moving backwards, laughing a little as he did so.

“Give it to me!” demanded Spike.

“No.”

Skylar soon felt his back press up against a tree trunk. In that instant, Spike closed in on him and pinned Skylar by the wrists against the tree. The shorter male looked up into Spike's eyes for a moment. Their faces were just inches away from each other and Skylar was able to feel the bit of heat that was radiating off of Spike's somewhat muscular body. The amateur warrior looked away, a barely noticeable shade of red coloring his cheeks. Spike yanked the apple out of Skylar's hand before letting go of the boy.

The two boys didn't stay in that spot for too much longer. Instead they continued onward towards their destination, wanting to reach it as soon as possible. After a while of walking though, Spike soon picked up sounds of footsteps just a ways off. The dark-haired boy quickly stopped in his tracks and gripped the hilts of his weapons. Skylar emulated him and they both looked around the clearing cautiously. Sounds of leaves crunching and twigs snapping under feet continued to be heard every few seconds.

“We know you're there,” Spike called out. “Show yourself.”

“So you two aren't as dumb as I thought you were,” a masculine voice came from their left.

The two warriors quickly turned to face that direction to see a tall man stepping out from behind a large tree. He looked to be in his late twenties. Mischievous green eyes stared at them as the man took a few steps forward. He had messy brown hair and a beard. He was wearing black pants and a white button-up shirt.

“I've come here for the gem,” the man stated.

“Wait, how'd you know about the gem?” questioned Skylar.

“I overheard you two talking about it,” the man answered with a grin. “Blade can't have any rebels causing us any problems.”

“You must be one of Blade's followers,” muttered Spike as his grip tightened on the hilts of his blades.

“That is correct; I am Wulf, one of Blade's trusted subordinates. Now, enough talk. Hand over the gem. If you do so peacefully I can assure you that your lives will be spared.”

“You must be crazy if you think we're going to hand it over that easily,” said Skylar.

Wulf sighed, a smirk forming on his lips. “Why do they always have to do it the hard way? Very well then, I'll just have to kill you for it.”

In one quick movement, Wulf unsheathed the rapier at the side of his waist and lunged towards Spike, attempting a thrust to the chest. Spike easily sidestepped it while drawing his twin blades. He quickly tried for a slash, but Wulf dodged it by jumping backwards.

Skylar snuck up from behind and swung his blade at the man. However, this too was evaded. The amateur warrior advanced towards the enemy before unleashing a barrage of slashes. Wulf moved accordingly to dodge while keeping an eye on the other male as well. Spike stayed where he was though, but Wulf was smart enough to realize that there was a spell coming. Right before the stalagmite rose from the ground, Blade's subordinate flipped over Skylar before trying for a backwards thrust of his weapon. Skylar barely managed to sidestep it.

Wulf continued his attack on the blond-haired boy. Figuring now was the perfect chance to strike while Wulf was distracted, Spike charged towards him before swinging one blade after the other at the enemy's back. The man was able to predict an attack such as this though and he flipped backwards over Spike. Right when his feet touched ground, he quickly tried for a stab to the back, but Spike managed to sidestep it. The brilliant warrior quickly spun around right afterwards to try for a slash. Wulf jumped back to avoid it though. As soon as his feet touched ground, he chucked his sword towards Skylar, who ducked underneath it to let the airborne weapon hit a tree and fall to the ground.

“That was a stupid move,” Skylar taunted with a smirk. “You don't have a weapon now.”

“I don't need it,” Wulf said, also smirking.

Soon, Wulf started to grow larger in size, the shirt ripping until it just fell off while the pants remained on, but parts of them ripped. Brown fur had grown all over his body too and his face had grown more similar to that of a wolf's. Six-inch claws hung down at his sides as he stood on what were now two paws.

Wulf quickly lunged towards Spike, claws swinging forth. The brilliant warrior quickly crossed his blades in front of him to block. However, the force was too much and the next thing he knew he was on the ground with the enemy over him. A few grunts left Spike's mouth from all the strength he was using to keep the enemy at bay. While this went on, Skylar charged forth and quickly slashed at Wulf's side. A yelp of pain escaped his mouth as he quickly leaped off the dark-haired youth and onto the ground to avoid further damage.

Spike quickly stood up and looked towards Blade's follower. Neither of the two boy's moved, but instead waited for Wulf to attack. It wasn't long though until Wulf lunged towards Skylar. While this happened, Spike used a spell to have a stalagmite shoot up from the ground. It missed the torso, which it was intended to hit, but instead hit the leg. The enemy fell to the ground, but tried to scramble to his feet, not wanting to give up so easily. However, due to the injury, he was unable to stand.

Skylar rushed forward, about to finish Wulf off. When he came to stand above Wulf with his blade poised for the finishing blow though, Blade's follower changed back to his human form. He laid there and looked up at Skylar, waiting for the fatal slash to come. It was then when Skylar realized what he was about to do. Never once had he ever taken the time to recognize the fact that he would maybe have to kill someone. This wasn't something Skylar was willing to do. He just couldn't.

This hesitation cost Skylar big time though. Wulf tried for one final, desperate attack; he lunged forward and attempted a stab to Skylar's chest, wanting to take at least one of these boy's with him if he was going to die here. The amateur warrior was completely unprepared for this attack. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the blow. However, a grunt of pain was heard and Skylar slowly opened his eyes a second later.

Standing in front of him was Spike. His face was twisted in a grimace as blood oozed from the wound on his arm. Before Wulf could react, he quickly stabbed him in the chest, ending his life there. Afterwards, he dislodged the claws from him before bringing a hand to rest over the wound in pain. The small grimace that was on the dark-haired boy's face was replaced by a look of anger as Spike turned around to face the other male.

“You idiot, what the hell was that all about?” Spike yelled furiously.

“I-I'm sorry,” apologized Skylar. “I just couldn't do anything to k—kill someone like that.”

“You dumbass, what the hell do you think being a warrior is about?!” screamed Spike. “It isn't just all about fun and games. It's either kill or be killed!” An exasperated sigh escaped the brilliant warrior's mouth. “You know what, just forget it.”

“Let me heal your wound then,” said Skylar. “To make it up to you.”

“Don't even come near me.”

Spike walked over to the ripped shirt that laid on the forest floor. He tore a piece off of it so he could tie it around his wound to help stop the bleeding. Afterwards, he started to walk through the forest with Skylar silently following behind.

prev chapter