"Get up!" Tabitha snarled, forcing a fallen girl to stand up.
"Just leave me," The girl, who was barely in her twenties, whispered in the hoarse voice of an elderly retiree, her pale face revealing pure terror. Once, she had what looked to be a proud brown mane of hair flowing down her shoulders. Now the vast swaths of her hair were missing, along with whole patches of skin torn away by these psychos, revealing ugly wounds beneath, "I am only slowing you down."
"Shut up!" Tabitha slapped her across the face, drawing blood, and pushed her up, forcing her into the hands of the other two women, "Get moving."
"And you?" Asked one of them.
"Going to bleed them a bit." Tabitha smiled fearfully, clenching a sharp metal pipe in her arms and wielding it like a spear.
When their strange new "friend" rescued them from the breeding pits, Tabitha and two other women took charge of the prisoners. Only they three had any combat training. Tabitha never bothered to learn their names, while they were in the tunnels, she and they were staying behind the group, preparing makeshift traps and collapsing the tunnels, doing anything they could to slow those sick fucks down. It rarely went as planned, and Tabitha was now alone, the two women who had saved her were left behind, killed by these murderous psychos.
The tunnels were lit by a strange, bleak light coming from the growing plants on the walls. It was dim, but it allowed Tabitha and others to see the map as they navigated this hellish maze. They found the remains of the previous escapees—poor souls who either managed to slip out or pretended to be dead, starving to death, unable to find a way out.
According to a map, they were just two turns from the exit. Looking at how the panicked women helped each other and ran toward the exit, Tabitha followed after them and leaned against the wall. The malformed howls filled the tunnels, echoing from the walls. She could see their shadows reflecting on the wall, hear their angry shouts as they crashed through the makeshift barricade, only to find a dead end behind. The chase party split, she had hoped that all of them would be fooled by her simple decoy, but no luck. Three were racing right after them.
She gutted the first one the moment he made a turn. Tabitha was never strong herself, and weeks of being beaten hardly helped her physique. The former prisoner even made an oath to herself: if she gets away from here alive, she will bulk up, no matter the cost. It was a foolish idea, but anything that helped them keep their sanity was worth doing.
The fool who made a run into the twist of this tunnel speared himself at her pipe. His eyes widened in mad shock when the sharp end of her pipe pierced his pink skin, reaching all the way to his solar plexus and beyond, scratching against his spine. Tabitha pushed the spear forward, making him vomit blood in her face. One less psycho in the world.
She was less lucky with the second one, who came like a ghost from behind the back of his dying friend. This one had massive claws instead of a left hand, and he wasn’t shy about using them. Tabitha let go of the spear, ducking down to evade a swipe, and felt how claws ripped at her blonde hair, slicing some of the skin off her scalp. The claws crushed into a wall, causing several stones to fall from the ceiling. One landed on Tabitha’s left hand, breaking a pinky. Another landed on the head of this ugly bastard, making him groggy.
Tabitha used this moment to leap at him, holding a bone that she picked up on the way here in her hand. She buried it in his right eye, pushing and pushing down. The bastard twitched, sending her flying backward with his left arm. The corners of his lips started twitching up and down, the remains of the ruined eye flowed down his ugly face. The mutant’s remaining eye focused on Tabitha briefly, and he even made a step forward before all light was gone from his eye and he fell face down, allowing the sharp bone in his eye to go even further.
Tabitha threw up the remains of food in her stomach, jumping back on her feet. Two. She killed two more at this time. Sure, they deserved it, but... Stop, stop, stop, stop! Get out of here, think later, everything later! Kill, save, and live! The woman reached out to drag the spear away, and the malformed moaned. The mutant was standing on his knees, his head low, the sharp pipe was the only thing that kept him in place. She expected him to be dead. He was not, and Tabitha recoiled from the pain in his eyes.
The tunnel shook, and a massive shadow appeared on the wall. Something moved, producing a sound akin to Pearl’s trains, crushing the stones during its march. Without thinking, Tabitha turned and ran, feeling her heart racing again and goosebumps running down her skin.
She looked behind her, curing herself of her curiosity, and saw it. The being looked like a scorpion. The only difference was that this scorpion had a gaping maw the size of a human head for a mouth, two pincers the size of a man's body, and its entire bulk filled the entire tunnel. It could not lift its stinger, but this scorpion did not need to do it. The legs crushed the dead and dying mutants into a bloody muck while it raced after her.
Tabitha screamed like a girl and wet herself, running down the exit with all her might. She heard the sound of chitin clacking against each other and understood that this bastard was enjoying the chase. These mutants no longer wanted to take them alive. No, they wanted to kill and eat them now.
She saw light coming from the cave and raced on, not thinking about the fact that she was bringing this creature right to the other escapees. In her horror, Tabitha forgot about everything. She just wanted to get out of here, away from these horrors, to die under a clear sky...
A clear night sky. What? Tabitha panicked, charging out of the cave and emerging engulfed in light. There were stars in the night sky, and other women were standing, gathered into a group. The older ones tried to shield the younger from a being of horror standing before them.
It was at least seven meters tall, although it was hard to say because it was crouching, looking down on women. The amber eyes looked like twin moons in the creature’s eyeball, producing an actual warm light coming from them and banishing every inch of darkness from the surface that they looked at. The creature looked at Tabitha just for a second, and she felt herself judged by something truly animal. This look lingered on her for no longer than a second, but it meticulously marked every wound, bruise, and cut on her, almost as if preparing for a rapid lunge. Not another mutant…
The creature’s body was covered by thick and soft-looking black fur, and its long, pointed ears moved ever so slightly on a gigantic head. It rested its giant paws on the knees, humming a mindless tune in a melodic voice.
"Damn it!" Tabitha yelled as she heard the scorpion behind her break through the entrance. She turned back in desperation, "We made it! We fucking made it!" The scorpion lunged at her, preparing to snap her with its sharp pincers, while a small group of mutants followed after it.
No fair. Tabitha raised a fist, feeling urine running down her leg. They struggle so much, it was not fair…
The wind howled, causing Tabitha to tilt to the side. When she looked up, she saw the gigantic wolfish mutant standing before her, the scorpion desperately struggling in a gigantic maw. Its stinger moved to strike, and the giant bit, crushing the chitinous shell with its pristine white fangs.
The scorpion lost the upper part of its body along with its pincers and front legs, the remains of its legs and torso started falling on the ground. The malformed tried to run back into the cave at the first chewing sound, and the gigantic creature spread its arms wide, disappearing from Tabitha's view.
Blood splashed against the cave’s walls while the creature sat before it, chewing on the screaming mutants. They howled and tried to break free from massive paws, clawing and gnawing at the fingers that held them. The giant animal-like creature paid them no heed, throwing one after another into her maw, treating living beings like chips, popping their bodies like bags of blood, and sucking in the intestines. Amber eyes were looking thoughtfully at Tabitha and the others.
The woman tried to take a step back and felt softness behind her. The image of the creature before the cave vanished. She felt fur with her fingers as blood splattered on her head. And Tabitha never once heard a sound of movement. Not a single stone was cracked beneath the massive body, not a single woman saw this creature move.
"Enough of this!" Tabitha yelled, looking up to see the last malformed being popped by lethal fangs, "Kill us if that is your wish, but stop this mockery!"
The creature leaned forward, sniffing Tabitha, before moving to the women. The creature stood in front of them, leaning forward so far that it appeared to be on its knees, oblivious to all screams. The animal kept sniffing and looking them over. When a woman tried to run, she was pushed right into the middle of the crowd, unable to see even a smidgeon of movement from this strange creature.
"I said stop it!" Tabitha shouted in panic, reaching for the last bone shard on her belt. Without thinking, she grabbed it and hit the leg of this being. The bone shard shattered in her hands, leaving no trace on the pale skin beneath the fur.
"You bear life," The creature spoke in a female voice, sounding like a roaring inferno smashing against the walls of a proud settlement. The claw the size of Tabitha’s body pointed at her belly, "And you," The creature continued, pointing at another woman, "You and you and you… You too… Ahhh… Well, what grows from them is up to you. All healthy, all strong enough to survive a lifegiving."
"What are you going to do with us?" Tabitha demanded to know, and the light of the amber eyes came back onto her.
The creature extended her arm, pointing somewhere. Tabitha followed the claw and saw a road in the distance.
"Follow there. A settlement in that direction. Over there, I smelled a familiar girl. This means the people over there are not that bad. They might help you. I also smell more of my kin coming here, ask them for help if nothing else. Now look at me," Tabitha looked up and froze, being engulfed in a light coming from the eyes of this being, "You are weak, unable to end me. I won’t bestow any power on you. But heed my advice. Stay away from a region known as Desolation for a while."
"What idiot would go there willingly?!" Tabitha hiccupped, closing her eyes briefly at the intensity of light.
"My brother lives there!" A woman shouted from a crowd, "What will happen to him? Please, I beg you, don’t hurt…"
"This is what I get for trying to be wise," The creature growled, a sound imitating an avalanche, "A monster in a human skin went there, skulking no longer and leading a host of madmen to the Desolation. And I will go to bear witness to their deeds and judge them if no one else can. All of you…" The creature looked at each woman, using her gigantic finger to lift the chin of each and every one, making eye contact with her for at least a moment, "…Owe me a debt for saving your lives. To repay it, keep safe and live happy lives. And worry naught. Just for a day, Ravager came back to hunt the mad and the wicked who wished to see our world burn."
"Wait!" Tabitha forced herself to speak, feeling that the creature was about to leave them, "In the mountains, a guy helped us. He looked like these mutants and spoke weirdly. Can you help…"
"My kin will deal with it. You’ll see. They are good boys and girls, although they fight among themselves over nothing too much."
The creature moved a leg and disappeared without a trace, causing the wind to howl once more. Tabitha and the other women looked around in fear and shock, expecting it to appear at any moment and devour them. But only the moon and stars were shining on them. No predator of the Ravaged Lands dared to approach the women as they began their journey to commune. Instead, all dangerous wildlife retreated away from them, ignoring such easy and quite tasty prey.
Bursting from her sleeping place, a skinwalker rose to full height, sighing lazily and thinking how to amuse herself. Upon noticing women, the skinwalker sniffed the air and shook her head, walking away and baring her neck for a bite that never came.
****
"Still want to do it?" Virginia asked with a smile.
"Always." Aranea cracked her knuckles.
They punched each other at the same time. Aranea felt the wind pushing against her fist while her paw, like a blade, sliced the air, moving toward Virginia’s jaw. The wolf hag felt briefly surprised at the fact that the rust-colored wolfkin hadn’t knocked her out by now and clenched her teeth while the fist of her opponent moved to her jaw.
Their punches connected with enough force to billow their sand-colored cloaks, lifting the cloth all the way to the shoulder blades. Both of them hit each other in the left side of the jaw, neither tried to turn around to disperse the impact. Both promised to go all out.
And only one was left standing. Aranea’s leg felt wobbly, the world spun in her eyes, and she felt herself falling face down. Thankfully, they agreed on sparing the fangs, had Virginia hit any higher, Aranea’s proud teeth would have shattered completely.
She felt this hit her soul. Chort never went all in on her, always conserving his strength. Janine never hit her in full force, aiming to teach rather than maim. Virginia… Aranea wasn’t sure. Both she and her fellow officer were dressed in cloaks colored after sand, offered to them by locals, both had their share of wounds, and Virginia’s bandages were still bleeding. The ease with which the rash wolf hag overpowered Aranea was insane. If Aranea’s punch was a hammer against someone’s nose, Virginia’s punch was a full train hitting an unlucky person head on.
Aranea bit her tongue, forcing herself to stay conscious. Their bet was that if she could endure the punch and still be conscious, it will count as her win. Aranea felt her own brain rattling against her skull, she saw the spinning world, covered by patches of darkness. Her throat became sore, even something as simple as swallowing became impossible.
I have a duty. Aranea felt blood on her tongue. After defeating Rraghr, she received a reward from her power, forcing it down. The beast within her demanded to be let go, promising to show her Virginia lying in the dirt right in front of her eyes. No. I will never be cursed like my mother. I have to live. And. I. Will. Not. Fail! Aranea clenched her free paw, allowing claws to slice her own flesh to keep herself awake.
"Victory!" Virginia announced, stopping Aranea’s fall with one paw. Despite a bruise on her left cheek, the wolfkin smiled from ear to ear, "Atta girl!"
"I feel like I am about to throw up." Aranea complained, trying to concentrate and stop her head from spinning.
"Nothing of worth in this world comes easily. Keep the food in, the locals tried to make the best possible breakfast to celebrate our help."
"Is this over then?!" Svetlana pushed past Virginia, helping Aranea to sit.
"Yep. Ari won. No domination in my pack until the war's end. Of course, the Alpha pack rarely dominated their males after all," Virginia replied innocently to Aranea's maniacal stare, "It's true! We are covered in scars because we compete and compete with the strongest, and cause the warlord punishes us for messing around. We don’t really have time to dominate the weak."
"What is it all about, Virginia? You could have said…."
"But, you see, nothing brings two wolf hags together like a proper brawl. And now that you've seen my peak, I want you to train up and give me a real fight one day," Virginia crouched, grabbing both Svetlana and Aranea by the shoulders, "You both did a hell of a job."
"Don’t mention it," Svetlana frowned, "I made a fool of myself by blaming Somelhaen."
"And I was overly fixated on Galaro." Aranea spat on the ground.
"Stop it!" Virginia’s paws grabbed them by the back of their heads, headbutting all three women slightly, "Stop being so fixated on your mistakes! Who doesn’t make them? Think! Think of what you have achieved! Svetlana, you saved lives and came up with a plan to drop the big bastard. Aranea, you managed to kill the bastard and convince both sides to join the state. Learn from your mistakes, sure, but stop feeling doom and gloom when everything ended up fine!"
Aranea was forced to admit that this was true. Galaro and Thinner were still missing, Malfiro was busy overseeing prisoners and forming new defensive positions. He swore he would turn himself in to justice for his crimes when help arrived, even though the trader said it wasn't necessary. Ivar contacted the trader, offering excuses for all the troubles and promising compensation. Meanwhile, Scorpio persuaded the other settlement to join the state by promising them assistance with the water problem and explaining why the trader wouldn't arrive in time. Valsh and all the others had little need to be convinced and were ready to join the state just for the help. Aranea instead instructed them to join based on the "protection of native traditions and cultures" act. This act will also help preserve the natives' faith and traditions, as long as they are not overly heinous in nature. Sure, Alpha and Ivar would probably be angry at Aranea for forcing them to spend more resources on the region… But they don’t need to know. Aranea smirked.
Only Svetlana was the only one who kept her original clothes, the locals provided a new set for both Virginia and Aranea, even going so far as to give a new set of pistols to Aranea when the wolf hag found her old ones being trampled and ruined. Her father's sword was still as sharp as ever, resting in its sheath.
"And besides, you are my friends," Virginia smiled to them, letting go, "I always like the few who call me by my name."
"Doesn’t your pack call you by name?" Svetlana frowned.
"No," Virginia said, shaking her head, "it's always Wildling this, Mad Rabbit that....Listen, I know what I look like: Virginia the Virgin, Virginia the Weird one…. Mind if I tell you a story?"
"Shoot away, I need a little time to feel my head again."
"What is wrong with being a virgin?" Svetlana demanded to know, looking at the wolf hags. Aranea raised a brow at this question, unsure if the medic was serious. Everyone knew what happens to the wolfkin when they come of age, "I demand to know! Sure, I acted strange the first-time heat came over me, but I never jumped on... Wait, Aranea, don’t tell me you are… Oh, Spirits, Annie! She wouldn’t… Right?"
"Anyway," Virginia chuckled, sitting on the ground, "I know your story, Ari, more or less. Yours too, Svet. So, here's mine. Ya see, my father took me away from the village because shamans told him I was too weak to survive, plus, you know, my fur and all... He went into exile with me. The shamans helped him, bringing us food and recommending going to the city, but he never listened. He read books to me, and when I was getting scared of the night, he would pretend to be the strongest in the world… I never was afraid of going to sleep, not with him around," Virginia said with a warm smile, "Then, one day, I got sicker than usual. Dad was in panic, he called someone. One day they came, and I saw him prostrate before Alpha, who came to our shack. He was showing his neck to her and begging her for help. When he saw me looking from the window, he shuddered."
Virginia fell silent, stopping to look at the ground. She grabbed her knees and frowned.
"I was an idiot. I should have come to him to tell him that it doesn’t matter if he isn't the strongest or anything… Alpha took me in, paying for my medication and letting the wolf hag train me. And my dad simply went mad from shame after his claims about his strength were proven wrong. He started training all day to live up to my expectations. Mommy Alpha and the shamans were coming to see him from time to time, exile or not, they brought him food and medicine. They discovered him dead one day, engaged in combat with an insectoid warrior," Virginia let out her claws, slowly growling and scratching her knees, "Fuck it. He was the greatest dad ever, always answering my calls, always at my side when I asked. He was a true hero! Who cares about the strength, I just wanted him to live and be happy… But I was a fool. I should have called him more often. Damn it, I should have been at his side more often! No wonder others never call me by name, I fucking drove my dad to the grave!"
"Virginia," Aranea tried to find words, "It wasn’t your fault…"
"Like abyss it wasn’t!" Virginia jumped back on her feet, rubbing her eyes, "Anyway, now you know," She breathed heavily, "This is why my pack hates me. But I don’t hate them! For each and every one of them, I will lay down my life!" She coughed, calming herself, "Enough with emotional crap for a day, okay? Time to go home and have a party!"
"If you say so," Aranea said, pausing for a moment, "Svet, do you want to sit on my shoulder?“ The wolf hag nodded at the stone path across the deadly sand, "I say you deserve it!"
"Capital idea! You helped to get rid of the big boss; you deserve your reward!" Virginia enthusiastically nodded.
"Oh, please, stop treating me like a total deadweight." Svetlana waved her paw.
The medic walked to the stones, stopping for a moment. She placed her arms on her hips, taking a deep breath, before raising her paws up and jumping forward against the shouts of her allies. Svetlana made a graceful turn in the air, landing on her paws and holding her legs tightly pressed together. The medic showed her tongue to her worried allies and made another jump, turning in the air and landing on the stones even further.
"I'll let you know that I used to be a cheerleader for a basketball team at UNU!" Svetlana laughed happily, "Sure, I have no idea how to fight like you and got a bit scared at first, but this…" She pointed at the stones around her, "… Ain’t nothing to fret about!"
A shadow passed above her, and Virginia landed on the stones before her, turning to Svetlana.
"What is this cheerleader group? What do they do?" The wolf hag demanded to know.
Aranea decided not to test fate and jumped across the stones one at a time. Her head was still spinning.
