Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

— Léon —
Léon's eyes widened and his first reaction was to take a protective step in front of his brother. The shards of glass-like sky wafted down towards the grass and disappeared as if made of ice. As they fell, the broken pieces distorted the scene before Léon. Aíbetama's forest was still luscious and dotted by half-sunk buildings, but the horizon seemed to tilt and twist.
To make matters worse, the people who stood before the dimensional crack were in stark contrast to it. They were numerous, armed, and clothed like a private army. In front of the group of Barbarians, holding a familiar white pistol, stood Count Cae.
"Thank you for showing us the way," Cae said. He lowered the gun and smirked. "It'd be hard to find this place without that reversed lighthouse you had going."
A crease formed between Léon's eyebrows, and he looked around until his gaze fell on his brother's scared expression. Of course. Cae must've seen the moment Pipo's companions appeared.
The crease intensified.
No, wait. That wouldn't be possible. Cae shouldn't be able to see into Caidara's pocket dimension, should he? Somehow, he must have discovered their position. Somehow, Cae must have known where to look.
Caidara widened her eyes and swiped her gaze around. Considering her low string of swearing, she had the same thought in mind.
Rob growled, stealing Léon's attention. Anger echoed in his words when Rob said, "That pistol, it—"
"Belongs to a friend of yours?" Cae offered. He was standing at least a hundred meters away, but his voice ran with clarity into the night. "I thought you'd recognize it. It belonged to your fiance after all." He narrowed his eyes. "The damage this little thing can do is impressive. I might keep it."
"That"—Rafa's voice was low and wobbly—"is one of Toni's guns." She growled. Blood still trickled down her neck when she got to her feet and shouted, "How did you get your filthy hands on it?"
Léon swallowed the uncomfortable knot forming in his throat. Rob cared about his ex-fiancé's weapons. So what? This shouldn't bother him so much, should it? Léon's eyes jumped from Rafa to Rob, until they finally rested on Pipo. Léon offered him his hand. Pipo took it.
"Ah. Officer Taiguara." Cae smirked and stepped closer, his combat boots crushing shards of reality. "I've heard about you." The smile dimmed on his lips. Cae's eyes went up and down, studying Rafa's expression and every inch of her frame. His words were low and careful when he asked, "We've met before, haven't we?"
"I said, how did you fucking get his gun?" Rafa tried to step forward, but every part of her body seemed to lose strength at once. She stumbled. Phillip rushed to hold her arm and give her support, but Rafa shrugged his hand off as if swatting an annoying fly. "Tell me, Cae, or I swear I'll—"
Cae clicked his tongue. He raised two fingers and flicked them forward; his Barbarians split into two groups and streamed into the forest, disappearing from view. "The Mayor lent me the gun," he said.
"As if I'd believe that." Rafa supported her weight on the tree beside her; droplets of blood marred the tall grass.
"He clearly stole it, sister," Rob answered in a low voice. In an even lower voice, he added, "at least he only managed to get one."
"He could fucking eat that shit for all I care!" Phillip said in a hard tone. His hands slipped to his back and he unsheathed his daggers. "There's only one thing I refuse to let him steal." Phillip's eyes snapped to his side, not exactly meeting Léon's. "I mean—three. People. Not things," he corrected in a small voice. "Uh. Sorry."
The weight of that sentence seemed to fall over the shoulders of the entire group.
"The most annoying among you is right," Caidara said. She scoffed and spat on the ground. "You dare invade my home, Caetano." She stepped forward; a layer of mold sprouted from her old, bony shoulders and grew into a thick mantle that wrapped her body. "But you won't threaten my guests. Not as long as I breathe."
The expression on Cae's face changed. His eyebrows twitched, his lips curved down, and he tipped his chin upward as if he was smelling something rotten. "Don't make me fight you, woman. I'll crush you."
"Ha!" Caidara's voice was louder and stronger this time. "I want to see you try, kid!" She peeked over her shoulder and looked at Léon through dancing locks of gray hair. There was something in her eyes. Something dark and violent and so terrifyingly strong, Léon stumbled a step backward. "What are you waiting for?" Caidara roared. "Take your brother and run."
"W-we"—Léon tightened his grip on Pipo's hand and gulped—"we can't let her alone. Rob!" Léon linked their gazes. "Please. We can't let her alone!"
"Pfft. Children." Caidara stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out a loud, high-pitched whistle that echoed through the trees. The cracked walls of her pocket dimension hummed and vibrated. "Don't worry," she said as the sound echoed within the walls. "I'm not alone."
The bushes around them shook as the wind blew stronger and warmer. A strong perfume of night-dame and acai berries filled the place, tainted by the coppery smell of dried blood. Something slithered beneath the grass, cutting a path across the forest until a person—or something that looked like a person—raised from the bushes. As they moved, their joints popped like firecrackers, vines spreading over their wooden skin and reaching out to attach their limbs to their body. From head to toe, their entire body was made of tree branches, stones, leaves, and flowers.
"You've got to be kidding me," Anhangá mumbled. "Caidara!"
"Not now," she answered in an angry voice. "Falchi! Defend them."
Steps away from Anhangá, Falchi nodded and smirked, their timber-like lips retreating to show amber-colored, pointy teeth. "Like old times, Dara?"
"Yeah." Caidara let out a mirthless laugh and turned around to face Cae. "I'm counting on you." Energy circled her arms and buzzed to her raised, claw-like hands.
More and more barbarians disappeared amongst the trees. As Falchi had, moments ago, they cut through the grass, maybe trying to surround their opponents. A twig snapped at Léon's left; he turned around and prepared himself to defend, but the barbarian in front of him was faster. She raised an ax and swung it down, aiming for Léon's chest before he could prepare a block.
A loud, metallic clank echoed in the forest when Falchi stopped the attack with a dual-edged pike.
"Listen to Caidara," Falchi told Léon; their black, beady eyes narrowed as they swung the pike back up and threw the barbarian away. "You need to go, Wielder."
Falchi stepped in front of Léon and rotated their pike to block a volley of bullets coming from the trees. The bullets met Falchi's defense and rebounded off; the shots pierced the trees and the ground, creating small sprays of earth and splintered bark.
"Run!" Falchi shouted.
Wielder.
Whoever Falchi was, they knew about Léon's powers.
"Falchi," Anhangá said. It was difficult to recognize the emotion in his voice. "I thought you had..."
"Hey, Mozão. Long time," Falchi interrupted in a playful tone. "We can DTR later. Go."
A tug on Léon's shirt. He turned around and Pipo looked up, tears in his eyes. Pipo's clothes were baggy now, much larger than a seven-year-old boy would need. Léon gritted his teeth and glanced at Caidara. She kept her head up, staring at Cae as green energy sizzled around her arms.
She could take care of herself, right?
Right?
"Oh, she can," Falchi murmured, only for Léon to hear. They placed a wooden hand on Léon's back and gently pushed them away towards the opposite direction of the interdimensional crack.
Léon scooped Pipo up and held him tight. "All right. Let's go!"
He ran. Léon jumped over raised roots and raced around the trees in his path until Caidara's cottage appeared on top of the darkened hill; the sound of fighting decreased to a faraway whisper. As Léon turned around, panting, the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon.
Night arrived.
Pipo's hands tightened on Léon's shirt. "Leo, look!" He pointed.
Léon narrowed his eyes and swiped his surroundings until he met the strange shadow leaving Caidara's cottage. He tried to identify it, but there wasn't enough light left in the sky. The barbarians wouldn't be fast enough to be there already, so it must be one of them. And the only person missing from their interactions and conversations up until now was...
"Modraniht!" Léon shouted. "Modraniht, is that you? It's dangerous here; we need to run!"
The shadow stopped. Léon couldn't be sure, but it seemed to be staring at him.
"Cae's here," Léon insisted. "Run!"
Those words must've awoken whoever that was; the shadow raced out of sight and disappeared into the trees. Not a moment later, rushed steps approached.
"Don't stop, Dickens," Phillip said with a furrowed brow. One of his arms held Rafa tight against him, while the other was limp at his side, covered in blood and ever-darkening veins.
"Holy shit," Léon mumbled. "What happened?"
"The sickness and... a stray bullet. Aimed bullet. I don't know." Phillip grimaced as black tendrils spread up his arm. "But that doesn't matter. Keep going, Léon! Caidara and tree-man won't hold them forever."
"Where's Rob?" Léon's voice sounded more scared than he had anticipated.
Rafa coughed and growled, cleaning her mouth with her t-shirt. "Anhangá," she put simply. She stood straighter and shook her head as if trying to clear it. Her eyes widened when Phillip slid to the side, his strength waning. Rafa laced her arms around him, mumbling a string of swearing words.
Considering the way she and Phillip seemed to balance their weight, Léon couldn't be sure who was leaning on whom. They needed to run. They needed to escape.
Fighting wasn't an option.
"I said, let me go," Anhangá shouted, now only a few feet away from Léon and the others. "Falchi... Falchi!"
They appeared through the trees. Léon glanced at them, then did a double-take. Anhangá squirmed and struggled against Rob's strong's arms, trying to free himself from the bound of muscles around his waist.
"That witch! She hid Falchi from me the whole time!" Anhangá shouted. "Encantriz do caralho. Cê me paga, Caidara!"
"Anhangá, stop," Rob said in a growl. With a grunt, he pulled Anhangá's smaller body up and threw him over his shoulder. "You're putting them at risk!"
"You dare hold me like a prisoner, human boy! You dare treat me like a toy!" Anhangá tried to free himself, but it was a vain and half-hearted attempt. "Put me down. Now!"
"No." That single word came almost like a roar. "Don't forget what we're doing here. Léon, Pipo, and Rafa are in danger!"
Anhangá's arms fell limp against Rob's chest. He gritted his teeth and huffed.
"Put me down," Anhangá said in a lower, more controlled voice.
By then, Rob had reached Léon and the others. Rob let Anhangá go and locked eyes with Rafa and Phillip, walking towards them instead. Flashes of light came from the forest, bright green and yellow. Shouts and screams of dread filled the night.
A shiver crossed Léon's back.
"Leo, can you?" Rob asked, pointing at Rafa. When Léon nodded, Rob turned around and crouched in front of Phillip, pulling his arm towards him.
"This is a fucking pocket dimension," Phillip growled. He didn't seem to be too aware of what he was doing, because he draped his bloodied arms around Rob's neck and rested his chin on his shoulder without making a fuss. Phillip coughed and grunted when Rob got up. "How will we get the fuck out of here?"
"We'll find a way," Rob said.
Rafa accepted Léon's arm with a strained smile while Anhangá took Pipo's hand.
With a sigh, Anhangá shook his head. He outstretched the hand that held Pipo's and mumbled a couple of words Léon couldn't decipher. Then, with a long and deep breath, Anhangá cut the air in front of the group. A gash formed, malleable like a cut in a silk curtain. With a hand, Anhangá held the edge of the dimensional fabric and pulled it down, ripping it until they could see Aíbetama once again.
The smell of pollution and decay hit Léon like a thousand bricks. His stomach churned.
Behind them, coming through the forest, the first Barbarians were already approaching.
"Go on, quick!" Anhangá said. He let go of Pipo's hand and nudged him forward toward Léon.
Léon, Pipo, and Rafa were the first to cross to the other side. They could hear the fighting increasing and Cae giving orders to his people. The group was still close to the Barbarians, so they'd need to be careful if they hoped to survive this.
Rob's voice interrupted Léon's thoughts.
"Anhangá, what are you...?"
Once Rob and Phillip crossed the tear in Caidara's pocket dimension, Anhangá stopped.
His eyes were lost for a moment and snapped up to lock on Rob's. The Barbarians at Anhangá's back shouted, calling for reinforcements. Anhangá stepped backward, into Caidara's pocket dimension again.
"What are you doing?" Rob asked. There was no hiding the despair in his voice.
"I'm sorry, bitter boy." Not giving enough time for a response, Anhangá used the fabric in his hands to start closing the tear between them. As the edges touched, a purple shimmering glued them together.
Rob's eyes widened. "What the bloody fuck you doing? Mate, I... you...!" He lurched forward, but with a wave of Anhangá's hands, a bundle of roots snapped up from the ground to latch around Rob's arms and legs. "Anhangá!" Rob shouted.
"You'll need to be careful," Anhangá said, unfazed. "I know you feel it too, but there's something—someone—coming for you. He is coming, and I can't help you alone. Not like this."
"An. An, please. I need you!" Rob said; his voice wavered. "An. You can't abandon me!"
"I'm not!" Anhangá snapped back, his words strong and bold and everything that his body language wasn't. "Be careful, my bitter boy. Take care of your friends and protect our Tiger. I..." He clenched his jaw and groaned. More Barbarians grouped behind him. Anhangá furrowed his brows and met Rob's eyes through the narrow slit in reality. "I love you."