Loving the leech (Guardians of Red Moon city #4)
19. Day three

Kaylin’s POV

Darkness. An abyss of coldness and despair. Like a black, sticky goo-like tar, which I’m stuck in without being able to get out. I struggle to get free and reach that little streak of light towering above me, but something’s holding me back. A voice talks to me, but I can neither determine who it is nor what the person is trying to tell. The only thing remaining for me is to continue to sink into the abyss without thinking anything more about it. As if I inserted a fork into an electrical outlet, I reach the light and cough violently.

Liquid flows out of my mouth, and my head spins. I can’t see anything or discern what’s going on. The person turns me, and when I feel the pressure on my left arm, I realize that I’m still alive. The liquid keeps flowing out of me, and someone caresses my arm gently as if I’m on the brink of breaking at any moment. Given that my vision makes the surroundings as mixed as a cake batter, I close my eyes and try to breathe at a calmer pace. My body screams at the cold and demands warmth, but I’m unable to move more than necessary at the moment.

“Are you okay?” a familiar voice asks, and when I open my eyes, Brandon’s worried facial expression meets me.

I look at him more carefully and see how his hair drips of water. As a flashback, everything comes back to me; the dragon, the fall, the lake, the mermaids, and the panic when my lungs fill with water.

“You saved my life,” I quietly point out with admiration.

“Yes, I did,” he replies with a slight smile on his thin lips. “And I’d do it again. It’s my job to keep you safe as you do with me.”

Gratitude spreads like wildfire in my body, and before I have time to think, I throw my arms around Brandon’s body in a hug. He might as well have left me down in the dark water to die; there would’ve been less competition for him. Instead, he shows that he has a good heart and is loyal when, despite the dangers down there, he pulls me up and thereby saves my life.

“Shit, Kaylin! You’re freezing!” he exclaims and rubs my arm to get my body temperature up. “I’ll try to replace some firewood.”

He gets up and walks away while I rub my legs to make them work. Even though I’m not a doctor or have any special healthcare training, I know I can go into shock if I don’t get my temperature to increase urgently. The problem is that I can’t stand up or move my arms properly. My best hope now is to roll my body back and forth on the ground. With the friction and pressure against the terrain, hopefully, my body can start cooperating. I’m fulfilling my plan, and when Brandon comes back, he looks at me like I’m currently growing out a third arm.

“What in the world are you up to now?” he asks with both eyebrows raised.

“I can’t stand up yet, and I have to get my blood circulation going before I go into shock,” I explain before continuing to roll.

Brandon chuckles and shakes his head. He’s quickly working on placing the wood, and I send an orb of fire into the wood. With the help of him, I sit up and lean against his shoulder. The heat from the fire makes me incredibly tired. Well, not only that; almost dying probably plays a significant role here. My eyelids feel heavy, and I make an effort to keep them open, unwilling to let Brandon guard me yet again while I sleep.

“It’s okay, Kaylin,” he says, stroking my hair carefully. “You sleep; I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Although I don’t want to, the fight against my exhaustion is short-lived, and I welcome the darkness, with William in my thoughts.

“Kaylin,” someone says, gently shaking me. “Princess, we have to keep moving.”

I open my eyes with a groan and yawn. Brandon smiles at me and stretches out his hand to help me up. The warmth of the fire and the sense of security have done wonders for my body; it’s clear when I stand up without any pain in my body.

“What’s going on?” I ask, yawning and trying to rub off the sleep from my eyes.

“We’ve stayed here longer than we should, and I’m afraid Tyson is moving by leaps and bounds towards us,” Brandon replies, walking with hurrying steps toward the next zone, South.

I follow Brandon as fast as I can while he looks in every direction all the time as if he’s searching for the danger that is yet to appear. Repeatedly I try to take the lead to be able to defend him, but for some unknown reason, he doesn’t allow it. In the end, I give up and don’t comment but take for granted that he has a good reason why. Gratefully, we reach the southern zone without any problems on the road, which surprises me considerably considering what Salazar told me during our workouts. According to him, there may be obstacles at every step we take inside the arena, and that I should always be on my guard.

Nevertheless, I have only encountered four so far if we ignore the opponents I fought with during my time here; my greatest fear, the tree, the dragon, and the mermaids. I hardly think that these are the only obstacles that exist here, and the thought of what else can come flying out of the dark forests at any moment worries me. According to my calculation, we should be on day three, and the night is approaching, which means only one thing; all remaining chaos will occur during the night’s entry. Salazar explained that it’s usually the first hours of the first day and the last hours of the third day that are the worst; this means that I need to prepare for a massacre. Otherwise, we won’t survive.

Brandon stops abruptly and pulls me behind a broad tree trunk with one hand over my mouth. I look questioningly at him, and he puts an index finger against his lips to indicate that I need to be quiet. Slowly he moves his hand, pointing to one of his ears. I listen carefully and listen to the voices in the distance that comes closer quickly. We can’t move now, the owners of the voices can hear us, and then the fight starts sooner than we can prepare for. Because of the distance, I can’t discern whom the voices belong to until they’re closer to us; Tyson and his henchmen.

“We have to replace the whore and her disgusting companion!” Tyson growls, and I notice Brandon solidifying next to me.

He shows his fangs, and I’m not sure if he gets angry about the insult to himself or me. Considering how he usually behaves in my vicinity, I think the insult directed at me annoys him. Brandon’s trying to pull himself in Tyson’s direction, but I’m holding him back because I know it isn’t the time yet. Unfortunately, our opponents hear the sound and pinpoint exactly where we are. I take Brandon’s hand in mine and use my enhanced speed to create as much distance between us as possible. I’m not particularly eager to escape from the place, but we don’t have a chance in the narrow forest glade.

If we’re going to fight, then we need a lot of open space. I don’t know if Brandon and I are faster than the others or if it’s just a simple coincidence, but we manage to create a considerable gap. We climb up into a tree each and look at the way we ran from. Tyson and his three companions quickly come out from the same direction. Since I woke up, all these happenings have taken an extreme time, and the darkness is upon us. It’s much more challenging to fight in the dark, but we don’t have very many choices at the moment.

Brandon and I jump down at the same time from our seats among the tree branches. Gracefully and quietly, I sneak up behind one of Tyson’s “buddies.” He doesn’t have time to notice anything until I break his neck. Brandon operates through the same technique, two down and two to go. Tyson looks more pissed off than ever before, while his companion looks terrified; he knows his time is up. We don’t exchange words but throw ourselves over each opponent with the knowledge that time is short and that the signal at any time can sound, which means that the battle is over.

I swing my axes back and forth in front of my opponent, whom I never perceived the name of; I call him Phil. Phil is fast, faster than I prepare for, and my axes just hit the air. He comes up behind me and puts his arm around my neck. Phil has a headlock on me, and if I don’t get out of it quickly, he’ll break my neck. Brandon sees this and hurries towards me. Thankfully, I’m faster and more graceful in my movements than Phil is, resulting in him dying quickly. I look at Brandon and smile big, taking for granted that he killed Tyson. We stare at each other before we exclaim in laughter.

However, that laughter quickly disappears when suddenly blood flows out of his mouth. He falls to the ground and behind stands Tyson with a massive grin on his lips. The signal echoes across the arena, and Tyson sprints from there. “True colors” by Justin Timberlake plays on the speakers, and I know everyone can see me, but I don’t care to sell in my role now. It’s over, but I can’t leave Brandon behind. I arrive at him in a second and sit on my knees beside him with tears gushing down over my cheeks.

“Brandon,” I cry and shake him. “Don’t leave me now, buddy. We made it; we won!”

He opens his eyelids, and I immediately notice that he’s weak. I smile at him despite my tears, and he lifts his hand to caress my cheek.

“You’re so beautiful, Kaylin,” he croaks, and I cry even more. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.”

“It’s all right, Brandon,” I say, frantically trying to put pressure on his injury at his chest. “We survived; it’s time to go home!”

“I can’t get out of here, Kay, and you know that.”

“Don’t say that!” I scream.

“You have to get out before they release the creatures; you have to get to the exit in time.”

“I can’t leave you here!”

“You must,” he replies, smiling weakly. “It’s been an honor to get to know you. You remind me so much of Al. I’ll see you soon again.”

With those words, he takes his last breath, and I don’t know what to do. Desperately I try to give him a heart massage and give back his life.

“Brandon, don’t leave me!” I scream desperately, and the tears don’t stop falling. “You promised not to leave me alone!”

I realize pretty soon that he’s gone and that I can’t do anything. My heart breaks, and I roar out my grief. Howls echo in the distance, and I know I have to get out before time runs out, but I’m not leaving him like this. I replace a wide piece of wood on which I place Brandon’s body and lift him on it. With force I shouldn’t have at the moment, I drag him to the wide river and put him on the piece of wood. I’ll give him a royal burial by lighting him on fire and letting him float away. My tears are falling, but now quietly as I watch his burning body float away. There’s not much I can do, even if I want to.

Slowly I walk in a direction that feels right, even though I have no idea where the exit really is. I don’t care now, my friend is gone, and I probably never felt as alone as right now. Salazar warned me not to be slow when the signal allows participants to leave the arena, considering many aggressive creatures are hiding in the forest. Let them come; I can’t feel emptier than I do now. My humanity is still on, but it’s barely. Half disappeared when Joseph forced me to turn it off; now, there isn’t much that keeps me from becoming a bloodthirsty monster without shame in the body.

I don’t know how much more I can take before I turn my humanity off ultimately. A person can only take so much before she breaks down, and I reach my limit very soon. The howls from the forest move closer, and I prepare myself for whatever it is I’ll fight against. Brandon didn’t die unnecessarily. No matter what it costs me, I’ll get out of here; I don’t have much to lose. Heavy footsteps come from behind me, but I’m sure that’s not footsteps; that’s paws. That’s the only thing missing; werewolves. As you probably know, werewolf bites are toxic to vampires, which means I have one hell of a fight in front of me before I can get out.

Indeed, it doesn’t take long before six feral werewolves stand in front of me with blood-red eyes and foamy drool around their mouths as if they have rabies; rogues. This form of werewolves is seen down upon even within their race, as they can control neither themselves nor their instincts. The wolf within them controls what happens instead of the other way around; the human being within them falls into the background and becomes a danger to the public no matter what being it is. I crack my neck and knuckles before standing ready in defense position.

One of them throws himself at me, and I destroy the werewolf’s windpipe without hesitation. After all, I have nothing to lose; everyone who comes close to me obviously dies. Mom, Britney, and now Brandon, who’s next? The fight is going on for quite a while, and finally, there’s only one left. I quickly notice that this one is stronger than the others, given that I need to add more resistance than before. No matter how fast I’m swinging my axes, the wolf is continuously one step ahead and manages to bypass my attempts.

My energy is running out, and the wolf takes that as an advantage as it bites down on one of my legs before it bites my arm for extra effect. I hiss by the pain and swing my ax one last time towards the wolf’s neck; the blood spurts and drench me. The once white bodysuit is full of blood everywhere, and not all of it is mine. My body feels heavy, and it’s hard to walk, but I have to keep moving forward. The light from the doors far away is my goal, and I know I don’t have long left. With clenched jaws, I try to jog as fast as I can in the right direction without limping.

“Zombie” by Bad Wolves echoes the closer I move, and I know I’m almost there. The doors start moving to close the arena, and with all my last force, I throw myself through the doors and land on the ground.

“Our warrior princess survived!” the announcer roars, and I breathe out with the cheers in my ears.

William’s POV

Watching as Kaylin fights with a dragon, drowns, breaks apart over Brandon’s death, and then throws herself through the doors right before they close has made me a hundred years older than I already am. I look at my beloved’s motionless body, and Salazar walks up to talk to her. I can’t describe the horror inside me when he helps Kaylin up, and my gaze falls on her big bite wounds.

“She’s come across the werewolves,” Vivienne says with a gasp.

I keep looking at my beloved, and finally, she looks at me. She’s so full of blood that her hair drips from it. Her humanity is gone, I know it, but something inside me is asking a silent prayer for her to come back. Kaylin shouldn’t have any power left in her body, and she shouldn’t care about anything; hence I’m surprised when she uses her speed to fly at me. We land with a thud on the ground, and she laughs.

“Hello, my beloved,” she whispers and kisses my cheek.

I can’t do anything but look at her smiling face with surprise and confusion spinning within me. She’s okay! I hug her, and a tear of joy rolls down my cheek. A shadow settles over us, and when I look up, I see Salazar standing over us with a fierce gaze. I release Kaylin, and she looks confusedly at me before noticing him. He helps her up and says;

“Bring the closest ones and come to my office,” he tells me, and Kaylin smiles at me before following him.

My mother, who heard the whole thing, sends away the majority of the clan so that only we can visit Kaylin and Salazar. I’m not very eager to converse with Salazar, but I know I have no choice; no one goes against the top dog.

Sometime later, we sit outside Salazar’s office, waiting to be allowed to enter. I worry about my princess and want answers to all the questions that develop in my brain. Even though she’s just gone through hell on Earth and buried a friend, she once again pretends like nothing, just like she did in the clan house. A woman allows us to go into Salazar’s office, and we hurry to see Kaylin again. When we get in, however, she’s nowhere to be found.

“Sit down,” Salazar calmly says, pointing to the various armchairs.

We do what he says and wait impatiently for him to begin talking or for Kaylin to come back into the room. Where is she? Salazar must see my impatience, given that he chuckles.

“She’ll be back soon, we had to check her injuries, and she’s in dire need of a shower,” he says.

“You wanted to talk to us?” I answer, but it instead sounds like a question.

“Yes, that’s right,” he says, clasping his hands in front of him. “Kaylin will need you all more than ever, especially you, William.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Brandon wasn’t just a friend to Kaylin, and he told her that during the worst moment,” he sadly replies.

“I don’t understand.”

“You all must have noticed that they both took a liking to each other quickly in the arena, as if they had known each other their whole lives, right? It’s because they had a bond, a bond that broke when Brandon died. Kaylin pretends that everything’s all right, but this will come back to her after the last battle she will have to undergo already tomorrow. You must be there, no matter what, and help her cope with what it is. Promise me!”

“We promise, but I don’t really understand what your point is?” I ask, and Salazar sighs.

“Brandon was Kaylin’s guardian.”

A/N:

Hello everyone!

Kaylin’s fight inside the arena is finally over, but it has cost her someone who became important to her in a short time.

❀ How did you feel when Brandon died?

✿ Do you think Kaylin can bounce back after this?

❀ How big of a grip on her humanity will she have left after the last battle?

✿ Do you believe any of the council members will challenge her?

Please let me know your thoughts since they help me develop in my creative process! Thank you for reading. Lots of love.<3