Death Tale

Alvita calls Harmony away with sternness, "come, they're waiting for you."

Dylan's rage re-emerges, "Ii's hasn't even been a day since what happened."

"The longer we wait the more she'll forget." Alvita claims harshly"

Dylan growls in rebeliance.

" If you have something to say, tell your dad yourself" Alvita yells back frustrated before leading Harmony away.

Dylan wrestles with the chains, although they clank on the ground at an irritating volume, Alvita ignores his 'tantrum'.

"I'll come back when it's all over with," Harmony reassures Dylan however, he picks up on her rapid heartbeat and shaken voice. He searches for encouraging words but is lost in his helplessness against his constraints.

***

Harmony is shrunken by Alvita. They travel further from Dylan. Harmony climbs the narrow stairs in front, relying on her sharp vision to not trip, Alvita behind contemplates for a while, gazing into her nails, her claws springing out and back in like a flip knife, her glare soon shifts to harmony. Her Heavy steps persist.

Alvita's presence behind Harmony has never been as intimidating as it currently is for Harmony. She feels like a prisoner being led to the court room, her thoughts pile her guilt and sadness until the weight is too much for her legs to bare, "I shouldn't be alive," she utters weakly.

"What actually happened to Mayan?" Alvita asks.

"The hunter had a gun, Mayan was in a rage after seeing her little Joe like that." Harmony becomes a sobbing wreck unable to form words.

To subdue her own emerging tears, Alvita holds her head up, "live for those who can not, that's the least we can do."

They reach the front balcony on the highest floor.

As if abandoned by the moon, the sky is a solid denim blue climbing towards black. Void of stars and planes like the world has been swallowed up, leaving only Harmony by Raymond's side and the pack gathered in the park at the center. Some lean on the collapsing fence, others stand and few; mainly older members, sit on the two available benches. They appear minuscule, like ants but not quite so, their glares and growls clots the air, Harmony breaths in desperate segments.

***

At the cellar Dylan engages in a battle of tug of war with his constraints. He focuses on his arms, his muscles swollen, veins lingering at the edge of his skin around his biceps and the side of his skull, the bolts enforcing the chains to the wall start lifting out of their sockets before Dylan relaxes to draw another breath. Then he goes again, each round the bolt rises higher.

Five attempts later, the oversized pins are disformed, and the bars they hold down are bent.

Dylan looks at the entrance of his prison. "Mate hurry up."

The faint sound of rapid steps crescendos. "Boo. Hahaha," Michael bangs his hand on the bars as he rushed to it, his braided hair poking his cheeks.

"Bad time for jokes." Given the pack's situation, Dylan isn't in the mood.

"Why are you making this into a big deal, not like we're gonna eat her alive," Michael fiddles with the family of keys.

"That's my problem, not yours." Dylan claims in his usual sense of pride.

"Its heartache ain't it, every second apart eats away at you" Suggests Michael jokingly. "But ain't you two broken up?"

"Mike shut up and focus on those keys" The young wolf snaps

"She's half human, probably doesn't even feel love the way we do. You're better of with one of your own." Michael finds the right key, aligns it with the keyhole then rethinks, pulling his hand away. "I'll let you out but swear you won't hit me."

Dylan yanks his arms forward, the chains like whips swing in a similar direction before being ripped from the wristband and left to fall on their weight. An intimidating aura is emitted from him.

"yikes, trust the alpha's son" Michael comments, cautiously stepping away.

"Your neck is next!" Dylan threatens.

Michael protests, "think about it man, what matters most, being there for your girl or killing your rescuer?"

"Even if I wanted to I cant kill you" Dylan sighs. He settles the sudden anger from Michael's disrespect towards Harmony.

"Pack rules don't matter if no one finds out. I shouldn't even be down here." Michael reminds Dylan that by helping his friend escape he's going against the Alpha's order's.

"Nah it's not that, just get on with it." Dylan's friendship with Michael is like chewing gum in hair, complicated, bothersome, and unforgettable.

"Aww, man's grown attached to me." Michael marries the key and lock, his attention snaps to Dylan when he hears a clank and a flying bolt. Dylan's legs are now also rid of the chains, the only thing holding him - the thick wide leather belt spanning his torso, like a bridge connecting either side of the wall, is eventually defeated and left swinging. "I'm joking." Mike forces a fake smile in awe of Dylan's strength.

"I hated those when I was a kid." Dylan kicks the pile of chains to the side.

"You obviously ain't a kid anymore." Michael steps to the side to leave room for Dylan, expecting a punch or headlock he readies his arms for defence but is ignored. Michael rests his limbs, following his friend up several flights of steps.

"You got the keys for these?" Dylan presents the metal bars around his wrists and ankles.

"Might be here somewhere." Michael Fiddles with the large bundle of keys bound by a ringed wire.

Dylan considers the time that will be consumed waiting for Michael to test the keys and find the right one, if it's even in there. "Forget it."

***

On the balcony, Raymond addresses his audience "Tonight we mourn our fallen brethren..."

Traditionally a gathering for the dead would be held with nature where leaves peer down from colossal trees like buildings, fireflies stumble through the air like street lamps, the ground a coat of soil waving grass as if to say 'farewell' to the deceased, crickets hiding within buzz over the speeches of family members and the ones who were last with the fallen, and all ancestors peer through the window of stars.

Unfortunately, hunters have eyes scattered around like rodents.

Raymond continues "As the last witness, we bring Harmony forward."

She forces a step, exposing herself to the numerous eyes of judgement, doubt, and spite. Malice intoxicates the air and Harmony can smell it. Her stomach twists, her heart is like a ticking bomb counting down to a panic attack.

Then the wind blows a soothing scent. Harmony turns her head to the balcony entrance where Dylan rests on the wall, Mike behind sitting on the steps leading down. Dylan holds a thumb up by his waist, the 7 cm wide (2.7 inches) and 3 cm thick (1.2 inches) wrist bands on display.

"Mayan was like a mother to me..." Harmony describes the outstanding but also exhausting effort Mayan put into raising her only son after being made a widow 4 months earlier by hunters. Although a member of the pack, Mayan lived outside the estate, her home was an island for Harmony, out of reach from criticism.

To satisfy his love of running, Harmony would race Little Joe to school; weirdly he never ran out of energy, causing mayhem for his peers, making knots in girls hair, planting a field of wet tissues on the bathroom ceiling, and stacking all the school's chairs outside; however he was one of the first to accept Harmony into their pack.

Lastly was Wila. They didn't talk much when they first met. Strangely; to everyone else, they became the closest friends over time. Wila had long sleek blonde hair which sat near her waist when out, and went silver when she transformed. She was as calm and still as a pond, however; when disturbed, the ripples produced were wild.