Brawl

My heels clank against the concrete, leaving her behind in silence. "You will pay—one way or another, but don't worry—they will die slowly and painfully." As much as I would love to stay and continue to torture her, she won't be talking for a while after I get what I need.

My fingers twitch with the urge to touch her skin again—to leave a bruise on her; instead, I bite my tongue.

This has gone too far, far too fast.

My hands shake as I grip the cold metal bar, pulling myself up, and taking off to search for them again.

The sky turns from black and blue—from grey and dark clouds to purple and orange, and I grow tired of looking, and my legs begin to ache again with each step.

My fingers dig into the hard metal until blood flows down the digits, staining my shirt and pants. It is the least of my concerns right now, however, my eyes remain focused ahead.

On an old warehouse, half burnt—half abandoned. No one has been here since the fire broke out two years ago, but someone was here recently. I can smell their scent—lingering strongly in the air.

A familiar scent. "Kane." It can only be him—no one else would linger inside such a warehouse for the sake of it.

No other being would possess such a scent, and yet—so many times have I thought the scent belong to him, and only to find remains of his scent.

I pull open the door. "Shit." A thick stench fills my nostrils. A thick cloud of smoke surrounds the entrance. My throat burns as I cough and try to keep air from entering my lungs.

"Damn it," I scream, grabbing hold of a brick wall, and leaning against it. There's nothing left inside—there was no fire alarm.

The only thing I remember is a man running away from me, and the next thing I knew, the warehouse was engulfed in flames. The flames rose high to the ceiling, reaching the rafters, and blocking the sunlight in the process.

"Damn it." I curse, coughing violently. "Where are those bastards?" I groan, feeling my head pulse. I stumble through the flames, trying to find some sort of exit; something to get away from all the debris and heat.

There's nowhere else to run—there's nothing for miles.

This can't be the end—this cannot be.

My body gives in, and I collapsed on the ground beneath me and my breath catches in my throat. "No. No. No." I wheeze. "I still need answers—I still need to find those wolves—I have to find m-my father."

My eyes fell shut—watching the fire. Watching as everything burns.

It was too late.

Wasn't it?

Too late.

"Oh, shit." I hear my own voice echo in my ears. "I need water…" I look up, squinting into the smoke. There wasn't anything. No one here. Nobody. Just charred remains.

No bodies. That's good, but I was alone. I was going to die alone.

I crawl to where I assume the water comes from, hoping that I'm wrong, praying that I am going insane from the lack of oxygen and heat that I am experiencing. I grab onto a brick and pull myself up, and into a nearby building that had collapsed.

Creating a small crater on the floor. I gasp, clutching my chest as I fall onto my knees.

"This is what happens when you mess with our kind, little man." I look upward at Kane—fixing his suit. "Y-you bastard. Did y-you start t-this fire? Did you t-think this w-would kill me?"

He laughs. "Nah. But I knew this will start something—a war I have been preying on for so long."

"I knew I would find you, Kane—I knew you weren't dead." He hums, holding his weapon in place. "Would I be so lucky as to see you burn?" I scoff, clutching my chest, and coughing. "Nah."

We remain silent as I recover from the sudden attack. "I'm guessing that's why you're here, isn't it?" I look up, meeting his gaze. "What do you want, Kane?" His smile widens. "Now you sound like your mother. So Impatient." He steps toward me. "You searched for me, high and low. Warning you'll kill me as soon as you find me. Now. Here I am."

I growl, peaking at him. I try my best to regain my strength, but I should add. This fire was a brilliant idea to lower someone's guard. "If you knew I was searching for you—why wait this long to find me, Kane?"

I spit. "Why not just finish what you started all those years ago when you had me locked up?" I lean in closer. "You had your chance to kill me—but no, you're too cowardly to do things properly Kane." My cheek burns from his knuckles, and I shift backward.

I stretch my jaw, laughing at him low-key. "What a waste." His laughter is deafening to my ears, making me wish to strangle him. "Don't make me laugh, Axe." I struggle my stand—glaring at him.

"I could smell your scent from a mile, Kane." He laughs again-grasping onto my shoulder. He leans in closer. "You know what the funny part is?" He chuckles again, pressing harder. "Your little wolf hunter family can't save you now, Axe."

He laughs. "I'm going to enjoy this—so much." I search around me for the pipe I dragged around. "It won't save you, Axe."

"You don't know who I am, Kane." He snickers again—holding his stomach heatedly. "For someone who has been searching for me—for so many years." He turns to me—serious. "You are an excuse of a man, Axe."

He backs away from me, and I follow suit. He throws his hands in the air. "Where's your fighting spirit man?" His palms slam against his chest. "Here I am, Axe." He throws his arms out, motioning wildly. "Nothing."

I narrow my eyes. How dare he say such things. How dare he talk to me like that?! "Shut up, Kane," I shout, "You killed my parents!" He laughs. "You killed everyone! And yet, you still live." I glare at him, "You're a coward, Kane." He scoffs, "A coward? Me?" He laughs, "Me?" He points at himself, "Me?" He laughs again, "Me?" He points at me. "Me?" He stands before me, "You want to fight, boy? Fine."

He grabs a pipe, swinging it over his head, and I lunge toward him, trying to strike him with the bat, but he ducks out of the way, sending me sprawling to the ground. He jumps on me, and we wrestle, rolling around, and punching each other as we fought. 'Come on, come on…'

I mutter to myself, trying to gain leverage. I grunt, pushing him to the ground, crawling toward him, and punching him straight in the face. Kane falls back, clutching his bleeding nose.

"You're weak, Axe." He spits, spitting blood onto the ground. "You're pathetic." I grit my teeth, standing up, "I'll show you pathetic." I charge at him, tackling him to the ground, and pinning him down.

He grunts, hitting me with his elbows. "Stop it." He yells. I punch his face one more time, knocking him unconscious. I stand up, wiping the dirt and blood off my hands. Then, slowly, I bend down, lifting him into my arms bridal style and heading home.