Chapter 13: Harmony Part 4

Jolie snapped off the pin to the canister, holding down the trigger until they were ready. She pressed her shoulder to the wall as if trying to become one with it. She looked at Priar and Slug opposite of her. Then to Esme and Lance holding down an angle on the door. They nodded, as ready as they'll ever be.

The fighters, and the shooters. 

With an ominous tink she rolled the canister into the building. Smoke slowly pluming from the top of the doorway. 

"What the fuck?" one of their teammates cried. Soon a cacophony of wheezing coughs filled the room. 

"Who the hell did that?"

"Doesn't matter, I'm getting out of here!" 

Issac held back, managing to yell out "Wait don't- its a trap!" but by that time Jolie had already gotten the first man into a choke hold. They rushed their only exit like it'd been their last liferaft on a sinking vessel. The next three all came out at once. Jolie was still knocking out the first so it would be up to the others to dispatch them before they knew what was happening. Priar saw a gunbarrel leave the doorway and he immediately threw himself at the person, both of them tumbling to the floor, his enemy's gun flying from his hands. He'd been a lanky black haired boy with a giraffe-like neck. The boy was afraid and had no idea what to do with himself, flailing his arms at Priar until a slap connected against his neck. It hadn't been hard, in fact the only thing that hurt was the disrespect Priar felt in the moment.

He climbed atop the boy and slapped him back but those flailings made him unpredictable, Priar catching another light slap to his temple.

"Get off of me!" the boy shrieked in a panic. 

Priar curled his open palm into a fist and hurled it down to the boy's cheek. It landed heavily, spit flying across the dirt. The boy made a noise like air deflating from a balloon. 

Suddenly Priar felt the impact of something heavy on the back of his head. His whole world shook. He held his skull to make the spinning stop, painfullying turning to see who'd hit him, only to be met with a gunbarrel pointed to his nose. 

BANG 

Priar flinched, slowly opening his eyes to see the woman standing over him crumple to the ground beside him, her head bouncing off the dirt. He could hardly make out the face anymore, instead a hole had been made in the place where her eye used to be. Cubes flooded from the girl's wound and floated back into nothingness. Her remaining eye watched Priar in an endless stare. 

He scrambled to his feet seeing where the gunshot had come from. Lance fired again into the doorway of smoke. The white fog had begun to empty out into the trench making it even harder for Esme to shoot straight. Jolie helped Slug fight off two of his aggressors, one of which held him by the arms while the other pummeled into him. Priar bent down to pick up the dead girl's rifle and quickly fumbled with it, cocking it like how Bright showed them. He took aim at the man beating Slug's abdomen in, but his vision was almost completely obscured by the smoke. Soon, it overtook the whole battleground. It was hard enough to shoot without the smoke and there was a high chance he'd end up shooting Slug by accident.

It was then they heard something. Thunderous like a herd of horses running from a mountain lion. Only it'd been coming closer, getting louder. Priar lowered his gun, and soon the shouting stopped. All had ceased momentarily to listen. Then the screaming began. 

Automatic gunfire rang out into the trench from above, the smoke parting only for the volley of bullets raining down on them. Priar jumped out of the way just in time to watch one of them whizz by his head. His legs pumped him from the armory door to the path where they'd entered from, but his legs would only fail him from then as his calf was penetrated with a stray bullet. He fell to his knees, the pain causing him to shout a curse. He hugged along the wall clawing at the wooden support beams to push him through. He made it back to the intersection, the sound of gunfire still echoing on the wind. He couldn't afford to take a breath, not then.

He crawled forward even farther before trying once again to stand. He managed to balance on his one good foot before hopping the rest of the way. Eventually he made it to a place far enough from the gunfire that he was sure he could hide from it until the game was over. He didn't care about winning. He just wanted it to be over with. 

Every step he took trembled. An endless torture on his calf that pulsed through his body. At first he believed the pain receptors would be dulled, but after his wound he found they were amplified. His brain couldn't even numb the feeling fast enough. He'd hoped he'd never go through something so violent again.

He heard the rapid squelch of mud approaching him from the path behind. He took a few shallow breaths then prepared himself to sit upright, he tried again with the rifle, attempting to make sense of its grip. Everything felt awkward, he doubted he could shoot it and still be standing, but he had to try- had to hope that the person about to turn the corner was a friendly face.

A familiar blonde ran into the barrel of his gun, her flowing hair coming to halt as she fell to the mud. She looked up to him with soft blue eyes, a rising fear behind them. 

"P-please, don't shoot." she begged.

It had been a friendly face, but not the one he'd hoped for. Still, she wasn't a threat. He lowered his gun, falling back against the wall. Lucy noticed the wound on his leg and scrambled closer to him. Priar's breath shuttered, closing his eyes trying to think of anything except the chunk of his leg missing. The wound emptied with small cubes that dissipated almost as quickly as they formed. 

RIP 

Priar's eyes shot open wide at the unpleasant sensation of his leg being tourniquetted with a piece of cloth. She'd ripped the sleeve of her favorite shirt to help him. He reached out and gripped Lucy by the shoulder digging his nails into her. She winced, but didn't mind.

"I know, just stay still." She tied another knot around his leg causing him to gasp out in pain.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" he asked through gritted teeth. Soon the number of cubes leaving his leg went from flowing to manageable. 1-2 fell from the wound, floating up then bursting into the air like a bubble with a bad meaning. For the most part Lucy had stemmed the bleeding, but it didn't do much for the pain.

"I didn't think that would work!" she said excitedly. "Does it still hurt?"

"YES." he confirmed, she saw him gripping a wad of mud like it had been his only hope. 

She took a seat beside him, nervously checking down the path they came to make sure she wasn't followed. The crackling of bullets in the air still sent adrenaline to their blood.

"I'm sorry before- you know- about my brother." she fiddled with a strand of her hair. "He just doesn't want me to get hurt." 

"It's fine," Priar grunted, "I'd say we're even now anyways." as dangerous of a situation it was, she somehow managed a smile, one that she hid with a handful of her hair.

"So does this mean we can be friends?" Lucy asked, trying her best to avoid looking him in the eye. 

He sighed, putting his head against the wall, finally allowing himself to calm down. "Sure. We can be friends- shouldn't you be worried about your team?" he asked, confused.

"It's just a game." She shrugged, "I know they aren't in danger." Priar felt what was left of his calf muscle tense, questioning if that really was the case.

"And your brother?"

"Right here" A voice said from above. Priar tilted his head back to look up and once again he'd been met with a barrel in his face. He pointed his gun down at the top of priar's head. His arms were cut up, that same cyan leaking from each of them. He'd been covered head to toe in a thick layer of mud, looking more monster than man. 

Lucy jumped up "Wait! He's not bad!" waving a hand in front of him.

"Luce, back the FUCK UP!" he barked. She jumped out of her skin. She'd never heard her brother yell at her. "Toss the gun away, NOW" Priar raised one hand, tossing the gun away with the other. Issac finally dropped into cover with them, never once taking his sight away from Priar.

"I don't get your grudge with me. All I did was say hi to your-"

"Shut up!" He beat Priar with the butt of his gun.

"Leave him alone!" Lucy yelled. 

"Everyone's gone because of this bastard! Alan, Marv, Preston, they even shot Carol." he leaned in closer, "She was only 13 you fucking monster."

Lucy swallowed hard. "It's just a game Issac, and that wasn't even him!"

Issac laughed to himself, "You didn't see what I saw…her head was missing, Luce. You don't come back from that!" he said through a sob. "They're all dead… because of HIM!" He put the tip of the barrel to Priar's cheek, he recoiled further into the wall. Priar released a slow breath, he knew what needed to happen, but could he make it out alive?

Lucy wrapped her arms around her brother begging him to stop. "Please stop! He didn't do anything!" Issac took a hand off of the gun to shove her away. Priar's breath went cold.

"He's the bad guy here, you dumbass!" He shoved her away, tripping over herself and falling to the mud. Returning his attention to the problem at hand.

Priar used the distraction to push himself off of the wall, a stabbing pain surging through his leg. He collided heavily with Issac as the two of them hit the wooden wall sending splinters flying across the mud. Lucy screamed for them to stop but it was too late for negotiation. They were out for blood. 

Priar got on top of Issac wrapping his hands around his neck and gripping as tightly as he could. Issac choked on his own spit, trying to rip his hands away. In an act of desperation, Issac kneed him in the groin, an exasperated breath leaving him as he finally released his grip. Issac got atop Priar this time pounding into his ribcage like a wild animal then moved up to his face. His knuckles bloodied with that bright cyan light after each punch. Priar tried to block the blows, but after he'd been dazed from the first punch to the nose, he couldn't raise his arms anymore.

Tears wheeled up in the corner of Issac's eyes, he didn't want to do this, but he had no choice, he needed to avenge his friends. They were all dead because of some stupid game. Priar deserved this, every punch, kick, and shout. He should've talked to his sister, he should've gotten in the way of his friends- no, his family. Who else did he have left besides his sister? He'd be damned to allow Priar to take that too.

He screamed loudly, punching Priar one final time. He lifted his head to the sky allowing for his tears to flow freely down the sides of his cheek, parting the sea of dirt painting his face. He thought of his family's faces, how they looked laughing, crying, and disappointed. How they scolded and poked fun at him. Issac wasn't someone to take a beating lying down, but from someone he cared about it felt comforting; like he'd finally made a stable connection.

Lucy watched from the side in horror. She'd never seen an act so violent before, especially not to someone she cared for. They met each other's gaze. Issac looking to her with tearfilled eyes. She backed away from it all, wanting to unsee it. Wishing that she hadn't. This person was not her brother. He was a monster.

She turned and ran, the long ends of her pants dragging in the mud. 

"Wait!" Issac called out. "Come back! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" he sobbed violently, reaching for her, but she was already gone. "No-nonono" his voice shook as badly as he had. He looked down at Priar's swollen face, then raised his hands up to see the damage he'd done in his frenzy. He'd been trembling.

Priar's face had been swollen to no end. His lips a bright red, both cheeks purple and oozing blue. His forehead had protruded so violently his eyelids had stretched with the swelling. It hurt him more to keep his eyes closed, but he needed to keep up the illusion somehow. 

He gripped tightly onto one of the large splinters beside him and plunged it deep into Issac's neck. Cubes floated like sea foam from the wound. Issac tried to breathe, but the air wouldn't come. He fell on his back clawing to take the splinter out, but failing at each attempt. Priar rolled over, his damaged lungs made it hard to keep down whatever air it could. Priar had no longer been a man, instead a catalyst for his own rage.

He gripped Issac's shoe, dragging him back. His body slid across the mud as he made a tortured gurgle. He positioned himself on top of Issac, yanking the splinter free from his neck then plunging it deep into his chest.

Then again

And again 

And again

Jolie had been right all along. Just because your enemy was distracted didn't mean they were any less of a threat, and in that moment Priar was nothing but.