Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 60: Chapter 60

— Satina —
Rafa coughed and groaned, her arms lying heavily on her lap. They looked awful, dark-red, and floppy as if made of jelly. The skin on Rafa's knuckles was broken and bleeding, the palms of her hands were covered in cuts, there were lacerations where the crystals had appeared, and her bones were probably shattered from the crazy-strong blows against the shield.
And yet, Rafa made it. She broke the shield; they were inside.
She turned around and left Rafa unconscious, sitting against a tree. The makeshift bandages around her arms weren't ideal, but they would stop her from bleeding out.
Satina had forgotten her powers could force people to do something like this.
With a thumb, she dried the lone tear running down her cheek and patted her rolled whip. She knew she had to be responsible for how she used them. First what happened in that prison in OC, then the way Léon and she decided to block his memories, and then every other instance in which she had to extract something from people—either the truth or obedience.
Everything she did in the past twenty years was a reminder of how cautious she needed to be.
"Deep breaths," she muttered.
She glanced at Rafa over her shoulder and tried to push away the images and sounds filling her mind. Bones breaking, grunts, silent tears. Satina shook her head and looked forward again. She had to help Léon.
Rafa had done her part, and now it was Satina's time.
That clearing was unlike anything Satina had seen in her life—imposing like an ancient forest and groomed like a Parisian garden. She half-sneaked, half-ran through the trees around it as Jackal's voice became louder and louder, and not only because she was getting closer; Jackal seemed to grow desperate as the seconds went by.
"You heard the blows, Léon! They're trying to get in, so I need you to be quick. This is the last time I'm asking. Take the fucking gun!" she shouted.
"I told you I can't. No... I told you I won't!" Léon shouted back.
Shit. There was a shakiness to Léon's voice. It was small and almost imperceptible, but it was there. Satina knew him well enough; he was terrified. And yet, he wasn't backing down. This wasn't unlike him, of course... it was just something that hadn't happened in a while.
Despite everything, Satina smiled. She climbed a particularly big tree root and reached the rim of the forest. Toni and Rio stood on one side of the clearing while Modraniht and Sissy watched from another. In the center, close to the two mango trees, Jackal pointed Toni's gun at Léon. No... she offered Toni's gun to Léon; its barrel faced the ground, and Jackal held it with its handle toward him.
"I said take it," Jackal growled.
When he refused again, her shoulders sank. For a moment, Satina thought she might give up. Instead, Jackal holstered the gun and pulled her right sleeve up to her elbow.
"Okay. You won't." Jackal scoffed. "So I might have to replace what's you inside that shell of yours." She lashed out and gripped Léon's neck. Fingers like a crane, they dug into his flesh as the mark in her wrist shone white.
Satina balled her hands so tight, her nails sunk into her palm. Think fast. Do something!
"Wait. What the hell are you doing, Jackal?" Modraniht said. "This is not what we agreed."
Jackal ignored him. "You could've done this for your family, Léon. I just needed you to recharge the damned gun and nothing else. Is that so difficult? There's still plenty of power inside of you, for fuck's sake. Why can't you give me a little bit?" She tightened the grip around his neck, her voice rising after each word.
"Connie, you're hurting him!" Sissy tried.
A movement to the right caught Satina's attention, and nothing but relief spread inside her. The pair of brown eyes she met centered her once more. She took a deep breath, her mind racing to give shape to a plan. Way in. Objective. Possible countermeasures. Way out. That's what she needed.
Jackal sneered and continued, "But no. You refuse to help someone who's just trying to undo all the damage that humanity's greed did to our planet." She growled. "Coward. I have a vision. You? You're like all the others. If you'd accepted my proposal, you'd be happy and rich with your Amma and your little brother once this was over. The little brother I told Cae to leave alone, cause you would be a good replacement." She tugged Léon closer and said, "I left him out of this. But you couldn't just appreciate that, could you? You couldn't just follow one single order, even after everything I did for you."
Léon scoffed and sneered. "Everything... you did? You're... a narcissist... asshole!"
"Huh." A buzz filled the air, and with a crack, the white energy around Jackal's wrist climbed up to her fingers and wrapped around Léon's neck. "I've heard worse."
Shit. Think, Satina. Think!
"Accept the offer," Jackal growled.
A thin trail of smoke escaped through her fingers, accompanied by a crisp hissing sound. Léon grimaced and wailed in pain. Something was burning.
Satina couldn't wait anymore. She raced towards the clearing, but Sissy moved to intercept her.
"Wait! All of you. Wait." Satina raised her hands over her head in a gesture of surrender.
All eyes focused on her. Rio stepped in front of Toni, shielding him. Modraniht exchanged a glance with Sissy, and a heavy emotion crossed Léon's eyes; relief, perhaps. And hope too.
Jackal's eyebrows shot up. "What are you doing here?" She glanced towards the old house, then furrowed her brows. Her expression changed—anger mixed with understanding. "I see. Caetano, I suppose." She scoffed. "I thought I had seen you with him when he broke into Toni's undimension, but I never expect it to be true." She clicked her tongue. "This is not a good place for you to be. You should go."
Satina glanced at Léon, then back at Jackal. "I can't go and leave my cousin behind. Let him go."
"Your... cousin?"
Jackal raised a single eyebrow, and Satina saw the opportunity she was looking for.
"Yeah. He's family—I can't leave him." Satina hid one of her hands behind her back and focused on the weight of her words, dipping them in her power. Her fingers moved, weaving a contract as she spoke. "Just like you wouldn't leave your family. Would you let them be used like you're trying to do with Leo?"
The answer was an impatient huff that showed Satina she had to try another tone of voice.
Establishing a contract was harder than most people realized. It was an art, much like lockpicking or hacking. It required concentration, connection, and the right words, said in the right pitch, to make people pay attention. Everyone was different, and she needed the right key to enter Jackal's mind.
"Would you, Jackal?" Satina insisted. A little stronger this time.
"Do not... distract me." Jackal looked at Léon again.
"But you know what it's like to lose your loved ones. Yet, you're putting my whole family in danger, and you're not even sure if that will save yours." Kinder voice. Softer words.
Satina took a step forward, and Jackal's eyebrows twitched. The latter opened and closed her mouth, but something stopped Jackal from answering. Satina was almost there.
"If you'll just listen—"
"I will not repeat myself," Jackal growled.
"You don't need to. Just think about it." Satina took another step forward. She was closer now; maybe two meters away. "Do you even realize what you're about to do?"
Jackal raised her eyes and frowned. She looked at Satina and studied her eyes, then her lips, and then the tips of her shoes.
"I know this is not the best option, but it's the quickest." Jackal let out a small, bitter laugh—short, forceful, and as sad as her downcast expression.
This time, Satina felt that click; the door to Jackal's mind was open. She reached forward with her powers and grabbed the knob, weaving the threads inside into the fabric of the card between her fingers. Then, once the card was ready, she issued the order,
"Step away from my cousin, Jackal. Let Léon go."
Jackal first sneered—but soon, her eyes widened. Her hands trembled, her face twisted as she tried to resist, and she let out a string of curses. The hand gripping León's neck slid back to her side, and Léon stumbled a few steps backward.
Pride tugged at the corners of Satina's lips, but it was short-lived. The white energy from Jackal's wrist still curled and circled around Léon's neck, tightening. He groaned and growled and clawed at his neck.
"Léon, what's—? Stop this, Jackal!" Satina ordered. "You're chained now. Do you hear me? You can't move."
Until that moment, the others were just bystanders watching the scene in silence. But when Léon fell on his knees, his neck scratched, burned, and bloodied, Modraniht refused that role.
"I've had enough." Modraniht charged forward. He knelt beside Léon and grabbed his wrists to stop him from clawing his own neck. "He's hurting himself, Jackal. You need to stop. This is not what we set out to do, kid. We're here to cure, not to hurt people."
"Look around you, Doctor."
Jackal gestured at the ground around her, and only then did Satina notice death spreading. Starting with the place where Toni's feet touched the grass, there was an ever-growing swirl of dead plants that inched closer to the mango trees as they spoke. Rio's eyes crossed Satina's, and he put himself in front of Toni.
Unlike before, this time, Toni had a reaction. He lowered his head to rest it against Rio's, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. It was too quick for Satina to be sure, but she thought she saw a smirk on Toni's lips before Jackal spoke again.
"As you can see"—with a shrug, Jackal smiled a sad smile—"I can't stop it anymore."
"What do you mean, you can't stop it?" Sissy said.
"I mean I'm not the one doing this," Jackal barked. "The trees must be saved before Toni fucks it all, and that's all that matters. There's no way back, understand?" Her voice wavered. Jackal looked at Léon and raised the hand holding Toni's gun. "I'm not alone." She nodded at the mark on her wrist. "I met someone in a plane. We made a deal; they'll help me save the trees and recover the planet, and all we need to do in exchange is to crack a few interdimensional eggs. That's it; that's all I need so c'mon, Léon. Just take the gun."
A translucent leash took shape around Léon's neck. It tugged him towards Jackal, and Léon was pulled away from Modraniht's hold. He stumbled a few steps forward, but before he could get too close, Satina unrolled her whip and, with a precise flick of her wrist, wrapped it around Léon's waist. She pulled and dug her heels to stop him, but he kept walking. The thin heels of her boots turned earth and grass. His steps were heavy as if he was underwater, but not even Satina's strength stopped him. The whip escaped Satina's grasp.
"What the hell, Leo!" she shouted. "Stop!"
"I... can't!"
It was too late. Léon paused before Jackal and raised his trembling fingers. He cursed and tried to use his left hand to stop himself from reaching for the gun, but whatever powers influenced him, they seemed way too strong.
You're not the only one with power over your words, little encantriz.
Satina shivered. Where the hell did that voice come from?
She shook her head. It didn't matter. Without thinking twice, she charged towards Jackal and Léon, but something stopped her. The air around them grew cold, and the breeze in the clearing morphed to a gale, then to a roaring storm.
"What the hell," Satina muttered.
"Raise the gun!" Jackal shouted. "There are pocket dimensions all around us, and we need two, so... let's..." she growled in pain as the mark on her wrist shone. "Alright." Jackal gestured towards the old house. "Shoot that way, Léon. We need that one first. C'mon, don't be afraid."
"Leo, stop!" Satina said, raising her voice over the wind.
"I told you, Tiny... I... I c-can't." Léon took the gun. It reacted to him, humming as it drank from his power. Satina heard a distant roar—Bonee, perhaps.
Oh, holy shit. Stinky fuck. No, no, no!
Satina's breathing quickened as she ventured forward again, trying to cross the windy walls of the forming hurricane. It was useless. She shut her eyes and lowered her head. Satina refused to watch it. If her own cousin would be forced to start the fucking apocalypse, she refused to witness it!
A new shiver crossed her body, announcing a known presence.
"Tiny-iny."
That voice rang with clarity despite the roaring winds, crisp like a bell in a silent morning. She turned around, eyes angled downwards to look at someone shorter than her. But instead of Mary, Rob was the one standing before her. He had a calm smile on his lips, and gold dust sprinkled on his shoulders, beard, and hair.
"Let's trust him, Tiny," he said. "We need to trust him."
Satina swallowed hard. She blinked, her vision blurred, and when her eyes cleared up, Rob wasn't smiling; his shoulders were tense, and his hair was still the same deep brown it had always been. Also, it didn't have a single speck of gold dust on it.
"What's happening with Léon?" Rob insisted, shouting over the storm. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "What can I do, Tiny? Tell me, please!"
Satina blinked to clear her vision and focused on the situation around her. Modraniht and Sissy were retreating, Rio tugged at Toni's arm, trying to do the same, and Jackal and Léon were in the eye of the storm.
She gulped. Satina opened and closed her hands. "We... we can't do anything, Rob. Not yet. Léon needs to fight this one alone."
Rob's lips trembled, and his hands slid off of Satina's shoulders. Together, they gazed at Léon.
Together, they saw him raise the gun.