76: The day we died - Egon’s POV (part 2)

The day we died - Egon’s POV (part 2)

Like tiny fish lured into a net, Egon's most prized possession, the forest he self-proclaimed his own, had transformed into a colossal predator ready to devour him and his family whole.  0

His heart raced as his father's voice echoed. "Don't be afraid," he repeated with insane calmness as he tightened the rope around Egon for the seventh time. With every recurrence of those words, Egon's teeth clattered loudly.

He had never been more afraid in his entire life.

"Father," Egon's voice barely escaped his trembling lips, his flesh sore where the rope bit into his skin. "I promised her," he managed to grit out, his teeth grinding against the pain. "I promised her that I would never leave you!"

The realization had hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest a while ago. His mother was gone, her lifeless body lying beside him screamed of the truth he desperately wanted to deny.

I have to get my brother out of here!

"Father!" Egon mustered the strength to shout through the ache, his eyes pleading for reason, "Whatever you're planning, please, don't! We need to stay together, no matter what!"

"Together," his father repeated, his eyes glazed over with emptiness. He appeared to be in a state of shock, leaving Egon to take charge for the sake of his vulnerable brother. The weight of the promise he had made to his mother in the morning bore down heavily upon him as night fell, breaking his back.

He had to find strength, for her alone, he had to.

In contrast to his slow, deliberate movements while tying the rope, his father swiftly untied it then stooped down as the rope fell to the ground, his change of heart gleaming in his brown eyes.

"Don't be afraid, I will take you with me,"

Egon's father wore a deranged expression on his face as he leaned down further and pressed his lips against his mother's forehead. Choking back tears.

"I am bringing the children with me, we will be right with you, don't worry… Don't you worry my love,"

The shock of his father's words and their implications jolted Egon into action. He swiftly snatched his brother from the ground, clutching him tightly against his chest. The fragile creature in his arms was now threatened by the very person who should have gone to great lengths to protect him.

"You…You are out of your fuc*ing mind," Egon whispered.

Seemingly oblivious to Egon's presence and words, his father's eyes darted around in a frenzied manner. "Marcus!" he shouted. "Marcus! I implore you to show yourself! You are bound by oath to come before me!"

Egon could hardly believe what he witnessed—a white bear leaping over the line of pine trees before him. He quickly rubbed his eyes with his free hand, trying to make sense of the extraordinary sight. But after a moment of disbelief and blinking many times, he realized that it wasn't a bear at all, but a massive mutant wolf, the largest he had ever encountered.

Unnatural, a creature that should not have existed. 

"Marcus," his father spoke the name peacefully now, and to Egon's astonishment, the mutant white wolf obediently sat before him, its menacing jaws refraining from snapping his father's head like a twig.

How...

Speechless and bewildered, Egon could only stare blankly at the inexplicable scene unfolding before his eyes. His father was having a conversation with a wolf, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I know you have understood my intentions," his father continued, addressing the wolf. "What befalls upon you now is to honor them."

Hope drained from Egon's heart. His father's sanity seemed to have slipped away completely.

Or did it?

All those times he had scoffed at other children who believed in shapeshifters, he now questioned his own skepticism. Could it be that he had been wrong all along?

The wolf's piercing gray eyes shifted towards Egon, causing him to stiffen in fear. He watched as the wolf's gaze then descended to his baby brother, its predatory instincts seemingly recognizing the fresh meat among the three of them.

"Now, Marcus!" were his father's final words. But Egon had no time to fully comprehend their meaning. The next moment, his vision was filled with a burst of white stars, his world engulfed in pain that rippled through his chest with unfathomable intensity. Yet amidst the agony, a sudden clarity flooded his mind.

"Stay away from my baby brother!" Egon's voice erupted with fierce determination. His body instinctively contorted, bending forward to create a shield around his sibling, a desperate attempt to protect him from the imminent horror. The new sharp pain in his back confirmed the nearness of his own demise.

"Bastian, live and carry your name..." were Egon's final pleas as he named his brother, whispered to a world that seemed both cruel and indifferent.

"Stay away from them! Have you finally gone mad?" Soft-spoken whispers reached Egon from behind, offering a glimmer of hope. It was his chance, a divine distraction urging him to seize the opportunity and flee with his brother from this accursed place.

If only he possessed the power to move. All that remained within him were heightened senses, intensifying his pain instead of dulling it.

The wolf's grunts ceased, replaced by the curses of a man.

"It's over, Andreas. Don't make this harder than it has to be," a voice pleaded.

"Nothing is over, you fuc*ing bastard! They're both still breathing!" came the defiant reply.

"...The older one is a goner," the other voice declared.

Egon tried to protest, but his body betrayed him as he shifted uncontrollably. It was then that he realized his eyes were open, and before him stood an angel beneath the moonlit sky.

"Not if I can help it," the angel spoke.

"Your word surpasses any oath my foolish Alpha made to the Emperor. I will leave his descendants for you."

The angel, with eyes as blue as the heavens, turned his gaze toward Egon.

In his heart, Egon wanted to plead with the angel, to beg him not to take his brother. But a glimmer of realization began to emerge. Perhaps going with the angel was not such a terrible fate after all.

Perhaps his father wasn't consumed by madness after all.

"Egon, I will make a choice for you... You will live tonight," the angel smiled melancholically.

Egon had words to express but failed to locate his tongue.

"This will be my second and final selfish wish," the angel murmured before disappearing from Egon's sight.

In the land of Lanark, peace was a concept often associated with death, a respite for the weary and the innocent. So why, amidst the chaos and despair, did a sudden, sharp pain in Egon's wrist got him wishing he had never been born at all?

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