Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Nathan Underhill.

Muffled screams and shouts filled my ears, accompanied by the metallic smell of blood bleeding into my nose. I groaned, trying to open my eyes, but my eyelids had other ideas. I tried to move my body, but heavy pressure on my chest prevented me from moving.

“Get your ass up!” Fenrus growled, trying to push forward. A sense of dread washed over my body. ”Now!”

Using all of my will, I forced my eyes open. A flash of silver rammed down on my head. I swerved just in time to dodge the sword before it split my head open. The sword, embedded into the mattress, reflected my coppery eyes back at me.

An icy shiver trickled down my spine. Fuck, that was close! I glared up at the man who sat on my chest, their red eyes glaring back at me with murderous intent. A pale hand clamped down on my throat, squeezing the life out of me.

In an instant, I disappeared and reappeared a few feet from the bed. My wannabe killer yanked the silver sword from the bed and charged at me, swinging to chop my handsome head off my body. I desperately dodged the vampire’s attack by mere inches. The sword’s wake graced my throat. I rushed the gap and punched the undead fucker in the jaw. I smirked when the crack of his jaw sang out into the room. The vampire crashed into the hospital bed, falling flat on their ass.

“Say cheese, motherfucker!” I shouted to the vamp as they reached for his weapon.

In a flash of blinding light erupting from the palm of my hands, the Shadowstalker burst into flames. They scrambled around the room, flailing their sword around haphazardly before crumbling onto the floor in a plume of ash. A clang echoed out into the rest of the clinic as the sword hit the ground.

Before I could rejoice and piss on the ashes of my fallen enemy, yells rang out from a level below. I raced to the closet and quickly changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I really didn’t want to fight in a hospital gown while my ass hanged out for the world to see and my family jewels jingled in the wind, willy-nilly.

I rushed out of the hospital room, down the corridor, and down the set of stairs till I reached the center of the chaos. Several nurses and doctors scrambled to get their patients out of the Shadowstalkers’ reach. How they got past the pack’s defenses was anyone’s guess, but I didn’t have the luxury of time, while over a dozen vampires tried to hack everyone to pieces. A light breeze flowed into the foyer through the broken front windows. Shards of glass lay strewn over the linoleum floor. During the fighting, dozens of chairs were thrown about across the battlefield.

My blood boiled as I watched my aunt and siblings fight desperately to kill the intruders. There were still a half dozen bloodsuckers alive, but their undead lives were about to end. Time to fry me some assholes. With another flash of intense sunlight bursting forth from my palms, I flooded the reception with light. Several shrieks thundered across the room as the undead burst into flames. After the light died down, only ash piles remained. Several of the warriors sunk to the floor, exhausted by the fighting. Luckily, there were no casualties on our side, but a few wolves crawled down the hallway searching for medical aid.

“AH! Fuck!” Riley cried as he sputtered, jumping around while dusting his assailant’s ash from his hair. “My mouth was open!” He fell to his knees while gagging on ash. His eyes found me. “Why the hell didn’t you warn me?”

I shrugged while walking over to my sister. “Sorry, didn’t have the time. The asshole would have ripped your throat out if I waited any longer.”

“As if!” Riley scoffed. He walked to the broken vending machine, took a bottle of water out of it, and washed his mouth out.

“Nathan!” cried my aunt. Aveny rushed up to me and enveloped me in a crushing hug. “I’m so glad you’re ok.” She kissed me on the cheek.

I chuckled while hugging her back. “Well, if Fenrus didn’t jolt me out of my sleep, the vampire that snuck through would have given me a lobotomy.”

“Are you serious?” Maisie gasped, following my aunt’s actions and hugged me too. “I thought we kept them all here.”

“Don’t worry, sis. The fucker got roasted just like his fellow assholes.”

We pulled apart. “So? What’s happening out there?” I asked. By the explosions and cries of battle in the distance, I knew we were in a full-blown war.

“It doesn’t look good,” my sister huffed out, frowning at the front doors. “Your grandfather, it seems, has an unlimited amount of rogue pouring into the territory. How he managed that is a miracle.” She walked toward the front doors with us following behind. Glass crunched beneath our feet. “We can’t hold out much longer before we begin losing people due to exhaustion.”

The cool breeze hit my body as we exited the clinic.

“We need to get moving, then. You three have to help the Alpha while I deal with my grandfather. The quicker he dies, the better chance we have to demoralize the rogues. Hopefully, they’ll flee once their master hits the dirt,” I said, walking toward the sound of battle.

A hand clasped around my wrist, halting my stride. “You can’t, Nathan. Let your mother and aunt deal with your grandfather,” Aveny reasoned, wrapping her hand tighter around my wrist.

I twisted around, staring into her blue eyes laced with worry. “I can’t. He’s too powerful to take that risk. My mom had taught me enough to fight him, and he won’t stop until he’s killed me.” I glanced around at the carnage that the battle had already caused. Fire was busy consuming several buildings in their wake while the pack desperately tried to contain them. It had to stop. I couldn’t let other people fight a battle that wasn’t theirs to begin with.

“You won’t help your mother by running into your grandfather’s dagger. How do you know he won’t stop after killing you? He’ll make an example out of everyone that helped you—”

“Then let’s hope I have the power to stop him,” I cut her off, teleporting away from them. I couldn’t let my family die on my behalf.

***

I appeared in the middle of the darkened forest. The full moon trickled through the thick canopy overhead, illuminating the forest floor. How could such a lovely night play host to such a terrible event? I shook my head. As much as I wanted to enjoy the serenity of the forest, several massive explosions drew my attention to the heat of the battle. My feet dug deep into the soil as I rushed off to face my grandfather. On my way, I caught several glimpses of my fellow pack members fighting for their lives. Their anguished cries tore into my heart. They didn’t deserve this.

Picking up my pace, I rushed toward an unknown ending.

As I drew nearer to the heart of chaos, a lingering thought jumbled around inside of my head: Would I make it out alive? Years ago, I accepted the possibility that I’d die one day at the hands of the cruel man I once knew as my granddad. But now, I dreaded death. I didn’t want to leave the people I loved behind. Especially Adam.

“Then don’t. Don’t give up and let the asshole win.” Fenrus grunted out as I jumped over a fallen tree that someone had blown to pieces.

“Easier said than done...” That’s all I said.

However, Fenrus was right. We couldn’t die. I won’t. I had too much to live for. The only one who was going to die was the asshole who made my life a living hell. My grandfather was going to play for all the bullshit he caused.

As I jumped off an embankment, I came face-to-face with the man of the hour. He looked like Chucky’s perverted uncle. I couldn’t enjoy ogling my handiwork as a fireball rushed toward me. I jumped out of the way just in time. The fireball sunk into the embankment and blasted a massive hole into the earth, rattling the forest. Clumps of dirt rained down on me.

Just great...

“My, my, my... We meet again, boy," my grandfather ruffed out. “Thanks for coming. It saves me the time of killing my way through the worthless mutts to get you. Mind you, after I’m done with you, I’ll do it, anyway.”

A smirk appeared on his grotesque face. I had to swallow the bile back into my gut at the sight of him. So this is what it looks like when a man has lost all of his marbles for power? Hideous. Parents could use his mug to scare their children from playing with fire.

I grunted back onto my feet, dusting off the dirt from my sweatpants. “You’re sadly mistaken if you think I’d let you harm as much of a hair on my pack mates’ bodies.” I threw a kinetic shock wave at my grandfather, which he countered by a barrier. It shattered, causing the fool to stumble backwards.

“Atta boy!” he chuckled, throwing a few back at me. I countered each, but they struck like a freight train. My back hit a boulder, knocking the air out of my lungs.

“Fuck! How is he that strong?” Fenrus muttered as we struggled to our feet.

I gasped out, clutching my chest. “Don’t know—”

My eyes caught the shrunken skulls dangling from my grandfather’s robe. What a sick fuck... He took the skulls of his fallen servants and channeled the remaining power left in their corpses. He was using their remains as amplifiers. What a cheat!

“Is that all you got, Boy?” my grandfather chuckled.

“Really?” I strutted toward him. “You’re really going to boast about your ability to overpower me by using those disgusting totems? How desperate can one be?”

My grandfather’s smirk melted off his face and launched a couple of lightning strikes at me. With a stomp of my feet, two roots shot up from the ground in front of me. The lightning hit the roots, dissipating the lightning into the ground.

“Fuck! That was close...,” Fenrus yelped.

“Touché”

My grandfather started clapping his hands. “Well done, boy. It’s sad to see such talent wasted on an abomination, such as yourself... wouldn’t you agree, my dear?” His gaze traveled off to my right.

Once my eye fell on the scene before me, my legs gave out as my lungs froze. How didn’t I see them earlier?!

Off into the shadows hung my mom, aunt Cassy, and Adam from a couple of tree branches. My grandfather had wrapped them tightly in roots, ready for burial. Several of the tree roots had dug their way into Adam’s body. Blood dripped from his wound and onto the ground. My world shattered into pieces as my worst nightmare came true.

“Ahhh... not in the mood to talk to me, my dear daughters? And earlier you two had so much to say,” my grandfather chuckled.

As fast as my legs could carry me, I rushed toward my family. I had to save them before my grandfather could finish them. But halfway there, a pulse of energy flung me into the nearest tree with a back-breaking punch that left me squirming on the ground, fighting to regain the function of my lungs.

My grandfather’s laughter echoed out into the darkened forest. “My, my, look how weak love has made you. I could have killed you in an instant if I wanted to, but it’s time to end this family gathering.” Fire burst from the palm of his hands. “It’s such a shame things had to turn out like this. However, I can still add your skulls to my collection. Even in death, you’ll aid me in wiping out that pathetic council and usher in a new age where witches and warlocks rule the world.”

Before my eyes, a column of flames barreled down at the ones that I loved.

No!