“Hey, now y’all,” Vance said with a more forced smile than normal. “There is no reason for y’all to get involved, our problem only involves the two mentioned.”
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"He expects us to side with racist crackers?" Mug scoffed. "Over my dead body."
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"Us ‘racist crackers’ gave y’all the pass, boy!" Derby roared.
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“Don’t call him boy,” Goof warned.
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“You ain’t pushing up on us,” Mug added on taking a step forward. It was matched by Derby before Hooks and Vance each stopped them with a hand on the other's shoulder.
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“Are you all incapable of recognizing this is stupid?” K said face-palming as if embarrassed by the association. “Our lives are literally already in jeopardy, do we really need to fight each other?”
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Dez nodded; he would side with the others against the bigger threat. But working with Hooks and fighting amongst one another did seem a fair bit stupid. “She’s right, let’s just forget about our differences and work together.”
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“Hell no,” Mug said with a shake of his head, Hooks nodding with a smile. “Maybe we don’t fight, but we damn sure ain’t associating with people like that, no real brother would.”
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“Looks like things are heating up, Vancey-boy.” Hooks taunted. “Maybe we can agree to forget this whole thing. Ensure both our sides make it out of here in one piece.”
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“It is, but it’s just as well. Like the bitch said earlier, lives are on the line here. In such a situation, I have to make sure the right lives are as protected as possible.” Vance explained, wagging his finger in Hooks face, only for Hooks to shove him back, barely being restrained by Dez and K from outright attacking, bursting free from their grip once he calmed down.
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“If you're worried about protecting, would having a bigger group not ensure it all the better?” K asked, completely baffled as to why Vance couldn’t see it.
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“Nope,” Vance said smugly.
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“The best defense is a good offense,” Dez said with a shake of his head. “The bastard wants the two of you ostracized and weak, figures it makes you more likely to be chosen next time that monster comes around.”
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“He gets it,” Vance said with another wag of his finger, scanning the rest of them as he spoke. “See the way I see it, we’re in a life-or-death situation, and are being actively encouraged to sacrifice one another. With that in mind, my boys and I intend to pick ‘em out ourselves instead of leaving it to fate. You could work with us and live longer, assure that the right people, i.e. not you, will die first, or fight us and risk your life outright.”
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There was a tense silence at that moment. Goof seemed to glance back at him as if questioning it, but Dez shook his head. Hooks was a bastard, and might just hate him now, but he wouldn’t be the sort of man to let someone else die just to save his own skin. He shook his head no, but as he did, he noticed Mug deep in thought at Vance’s words.
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Dez wasn’t sure what would have happened next. But it was interrupted as the screen whirled into view from the ceiling, a smiling Olaf peering down at them condescendingly.
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“Well, breaking the rules are we?” Olaf asked dangerously.
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“No, sir!” Vance said with a chuckle and polite nod toward the screen. “Just have a verbal disagreement!”
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“Pertaining to what exactly?”
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“The bastards intend to starve us,” K said with a bland stare. “Surely that doesn’t work for whatever your plan is?”
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“The ramblings of scum are of little concern to me. Most of you will not live long enough to starve, and I am no babysitter. As long as enough of you perish here, I care little for how.” Olaf answered calmly.
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There was an immediate increase in tension at his words. Half of them realized the threat of the Woods was much more authentic than they ever could have guessed. And Woods sneered back at them, confirming their tactics would not be stopped by their cruel host.
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“However, I think there is a much more pressing matter to address,” Olaf said with a nearly face-splitting smile. “After all, my Beloved is hungry once again…”
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The tension exploded at those words. The lights began to flicker in queue with the screen, Olaf’s wobbled voice cackling as the all too familiar roar sounded again.
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“We were told it was the time given to us to rest; we were supposed to be safe during it!” K objected.
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“Well…” Olaf’s voice was weak, the light growing dimmer as he spoke, the screen now invisible. “I never said it had started…” His voice faded as the screen turned off. The lights are barely even flickering anymore.
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Dez’s head nearly split in two as his senses exploded inside his head. He fought from the pain and surprise, feeling a strange burst of instinct guiding him. His eyes snapped over to K, the woman glaring at the screen hatefully, too distracted to notice Vance rushing over behind her.
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Dez burst into action off this instinct; it seemed to take over his body and mind. It was him, but different, sharper. He spun as he grabbed the chair from its top and hurled it with all his strength. He was shocked as it sailed through the air and nailed Vance in the face. A skillful display, Dez was shocked he had pulled off. He wasn’t done, however, dashing forward as soon as the chair left his hands and slamming into a shocked Derby who had also been aiming for K, the man was blindsided by his charge and fell to the ground with a cry. K noticed what was happening as Vance, dazed, tripped over the chair and ran toward him. Dez flinched as they threw an impressive kick seemingly for his head, but blinked as it sailed over, Dez turning to see a larger Woods falling from her blow.
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“Let a brother go, damn it!” Hooks' enraged voice yelled. K and Dez turned to see Hooks being held up in a full nelson by another Woods, Mug, and Goof, who were seen fleeing into the kitchen and attempting to hide, leaving Hooks to struggle alone.
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K took off to help, Dez hesitantly doing the same before his senses flared again. Listening to it without fail, Dez grabbed K and pulled her to the ground, the woman punching him a couple of times in surprise.
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However, his movement was explained a moment later, the terrifying, almost human-sounding screech erupting as a blur of black with two giant glowing red eyes flew by, its speed blasting them with a gust of air, Dez noticing a feather falling to the ground as it did. He grabbed it instinctively before the two of them were suddenly dragged back. They both cried out in shock before a reassuring voice calmed them.
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“With me, my friends!” Hector declared, dragging them both beneath a table. “Stay down!”
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K struggled and seemed conflicted, Dez noticing she nearly raced out from under the table. But remembering the save she had offered him earlier, she cursed. As he did it himself, much to the shock of Hector and K.
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Dez was working off this new sensation his senses seemed to bring. It was like he had some sort of guide inside his head; it showed him the best move in the moment. So he fully sprinted towards Hooks, determined not to let the man die like he had with him, and not watch as someone else risked their life to save his Brother.
However, Derby had recovered from his tumble and raced towards Dez with an angry shout. The darkness made his aim poor;however, Dez flew by as Derby narrowly missed him with a committed dive. Instead, slamming into the struggling pair of Hooks and the Woods man holding him. The three of them became a tangled ball as they fell. All three of them were hitting one another as they struggled to free themselves and find cover.
Vance and the other Woods made no move to help them, seemingly content to watch it play out from the safety of a couple of tables turned into something of a fort, tables turned on their sides to create walls, leaving only a small gap. Vance was watching it all from his safe spot.
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But they need not worry. The sound of shattering glass, clanking metal, and a scream from Goof, freezing them and getting their attention over to the kitchen. Goof and Mug cowered behind the counter of it, both wielding knives defensively against it. The beast was at the counter, unmoving.
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It was massive, easily taller than all of them, hunched over, and almost seemed humanoid in shape. It was easily ten feet tall, and its wings, folded on its back, seemed large even for its size. With its back turned toward them, Dez could not see its front; the eyes that had haunted him earlier were hidden, but it showed a horrified visage of its interest this go-around. But it looked awfully like an owl covered in dark, thick black feathers, the biggest he’d ever seen.
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The monster screeched its terrible sound once again. And there was an immediate reaction, Mug shoving Goof at the creature before sprinting in the opposite direction, Goof crying out in either shock or terror. However, Mug had shoved his brother too hard, sending him flying off his feet and hitting the ground face-first. And leaving only himself still in the immediate view of the beast, it took the only option available when it launched forward then. Ignoring the downed Goof and slamming into the back of Mug with a cry of pain from the man.
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Dez cursed, wanting to move, but it was like he was frozen in place. He barely slid his eyes over to see Hooks and Derby were the same, and from the utter silence and still behind him, he imagined the others were the same.
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Mug hit the ground hard enough to shake the room. The beast roared with glee at catching the man and stood over him, glaring down at its prey. The red illuminating light of its eyes showed a squirming, pitifully screaming Meg, the owl-like talons of its feet stabbing deep into its back tightly.
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However, one of them was not stunned, dazed, and terrified as he was. Goof roared in rage as he charged towards his brother and the monster, brandishing a knife. The creature didn’t seem to expect or notice him, Goof managing to plunge his knife deep inside the area just beneath its head. The creature roared in fury, its head spinning a full three sixty degrees to glare at Goof and the rest of them, freezing the man in place.
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Those eyes… Dez couldn’t believe they were real. They glowed and shone with such intensity it was nearly blinding, and somehow it beamed a feeling deep inside him. A certainty, what he was seeing was beyond them, it was too much something that shouldn’t be but was. There was certainty within him that he would do whatever it pleased.
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The creature locked eyes with each of them, and as it did, each of them collapsed fully, unable to move or even hold themselves up anymore with its gaze. It took every inch of strength Dez had to break through this, raising himself at all fours and craning his head at the beast. It was now gripping the still Goof by his head, revealing a pair of arms hidden beneath its thick, looming wings. It lifted the man from his feet and into the air, seeming to hold him up to his face.
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“Goof! Mug!” Dez roared, bravery suddenly filling as he realized the two of them were about to be killed just like Harry earlier. Indignant rage filled him. Did they truly deserve this? Could anyone deserve this? To be trapped with a being unknown to the world, left to be slaughtered for the amusement of some crazy bastard! He was convinced they couldn’t, but even this burst of strength wasn’t enough. It felt as if an invisible weight was piled on top of his body. Making it impossible to move like he wanted to. “Put them down, you filthy monster!”
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It froze at his words, calmly turning its head and locking icy eyes on him. The weight doubled, then doubled again. Dez feared it would crush him, but he glared back all the same. Dez blinked.
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The smell hit him first: meat rotting in a hot closet. Then, the blinding light of its eyes is more captivating up close. They were red orbs, each with a tiny ink-black pupil. One look told him this was no animal—calling it a beast was wrong. Something cold and intelligent watched him, measuring him...
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It hovered in the air, its wings extended but still, making it seem even more massive. It held the still screaming Mug in its talons. And the dazed Goof in one of its oddly human hands. Eventually, however, it seemed to have made up its mind. Taking off at an absurd speed with a single flap of its wings, and disappearing high up into the air, hidden in the darkness.
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The lights began to flicker on, Dez unblinking, trying to trace where it went. But the ceiling directly above them showed no signs, and save for somewhere upstairs, he had no clue where it could’ve gone. They all began to mill for a moment, slowly crawling to their feet and seemingly beginning to process what had happened.
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However, they didn’t have long. The screen slid down, revealing Olaf’s cruel face. “The Supreme Vyto was hungry again. Only eight of you remain. You may rest now; it will be too full to eat soon. You have four hours instead of the original time. Use them well…”
