Blood and Betrayal

David's grin widened, Ralph stepping out from the masses to pass something small into David's hand.

Harry frowned, trying to see exactly what it was that David now had.

"I have a present for you!" David chirped, rocking back and forth on the tips of his toes to the heels, "You'll love it!"

David opened his hand, and revealed a young garden snake. Harry blinked, looking apprehensively between the snake and David.

"Let down!" It wailed, the voice was feminine although only barely, "Eggs! Down!"

It was a mother.

"What are you doing?" Harry struggled to keep his voice calm, recognizing the situation as being a disaster.

"I know you like snakes!" David beamed, his eyes wide with mock kindness, "I'm being generous!"

"Down!" she wailed, thrashing her tail nervously, "Eggs! Hatchlings! Must protect!"

"Master…" Lutain soothed low and quiet, he too was growing anxious with how desperate the mother was to protect her young.

"Why would I want a snake?" Harry said, voice tense though he tried to hide it.

"Well, you always had that one snake, so I thought I should try one." David said nonchalantly, trailing his other fist down her body far too roughly. She cried in pain as he gripped her tightly, "I don't really like it though. My mistake."

Crack.

Harry jolted, already taking a step forward while the mother snake seemed to howl and hiss in pain. Her lower body didn't move, lying limp below David's face.

"Actually, I take it back. This is kinda fun." David beamed, hand sliding up an inch before twisting sharply. The snake screamed again as her bones were broken once more.

"Stop it," Harry growled, voice low and eyes wide in fascinated horror.

"Fine." David shrugged, eyes getting a wicked gleam as he reached up with one thumb, getting bitten by the weakly snapping jaws of the snake. David didn't seemed deterred, instead he scowled and grasped the bottom jaw between his fingers.

Harry felt sick, and stared at the chunk of bloody muscle lying on the ground between them.

David laughed, dropped the weakly spasming snake and stomped.

Harry punched David in the nose, this time Lutain said nothing to convince him otherwise.

David laughed as he was tackled to the ground. They rolled, David beaming in breathless enthusiasm as he was punched twice more in the face.

"Why are you smiling!" Harry shouted, moving his knee to David's gut. The other boy wheezed, still breathless as he raised something in his right hand.

"You're dead," David wheezed, blood staining his teeth from where it was pooling out of his nose. His right hand was sloppily holding a knife, stolen from the kitchen.

Oh, of course David still wanted revenge.

Harry scrambled back, scurrying across the dirt on his back. He flinched when his fingers accidentally brushed against the mutilated corpse of the worried mother. He had to force down the sickening vomit that threatened to rise up.

"Come here little Harry!" David cooed, slashing outwards with the knife with full intent to do harm. "You've been a pain in all of our arses for a long time and now you're going to be the one screwed up!"

The crowd of kids cheered.

Harry's eyes watered and his stomach churned and at what point was this fair!

"Master." Lutain's quiet voice brought him back to reality. The snake had slithered down his arm, nestling in the oversized sleeve of his borrowed coat. Lutain was coiled up tightly, like a spring of muscle and scale.

At that moment, Harry had a thought, which seemed to cut through the rising hysteria caused by David's flashing knife. Alright Lutain, I hope your bite is as painful as you said.

Harry nodded frantically, likely looking psychotic as he shakily stood. David grinned, towering inches above Harry.

"You wanna fight like a man?" David chuckled, the crowd watching eagerly for the knick Harry was undoubtedly going to get. "Well, bring it."

Harry swallowed and lifted his one arm, pointing his hand flat and directly at David. David blinked in confusion, it looked like Harry was offering something on his palm.

"Bite him, Lutain."

David blinked in surprise and started laughing at Harry's incomprehensible hissing. The children who'd come to gawk mumbled in confusion. Some laughed outright. What was the freak up to?

Lutain lunged. The snake unhinged his jaw, his fangs coming upright as his mouth opened to ridiculous proportions.

David had been too confident he was going to win. He wasn't prepared for Harry's snake. Lutain's fangs pierced somewhere on his upper left shoulder.

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl for Harry. A split second seemed to last forever.

David stumbled back, a confused, dumbfounded look on his face. Around them, the other kids started to react, screaming and scrambling in every direction to get away; was one of them Suzie? Had she seen-

David dropped to the ground, tripping backwards over his own feet. The snake venom couldn't have-

Lutain must've hit a blood vessel, some part of Harry thought. A bloodstain bloomed across David's shirt, quickly getting bigger.

Harry stood transfixed. David just kept bleeding and bleeding. His face had gone pale and his eyes had gone wide.

It was quiet though, almost peaceful. Or maybe Harry was just so focused that he didn't hear David's horrified screaming.

Harry was distantly aware of people rushing over. Someone was screaming David's name. He recognised Madam Clover. She completely ignored Harry, rushing to David's side.

But it was obvious that she didn't know what to do.

David's breath was coming in short, shallow gasps. He wasn't moving quite so much, more twitching than moving really. How much time had gone by?

....

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