by Lilly Wilder
“He’ll never stop coming after him, will he?” she asked, under her breath.
Instead of a reply, Jesse just looked at her. That was more than enough for her to realize that the worst would happen. It was inevitable.
About half an hour later, they all heard the sound of a car. Hyde rushed over to the window, pulling the curtain to the side. He looked down. Ozul was getting Parker out of the car, then Isabella. He was alone. He gestured at Jesse to come and take a look.
“Do you think it’s really just the two of them?” Hyde whispered to him, making sure Culore couldn’t hear them.
“I don’t know,” Jesse frowned. “But, one thing is for sure. Even if there are more of them hiding out, they won’t attack as long as we have got Culore.”
“You’re right,” Hyde tapped him on the shoulder. “I need you to take him down. I’ll go first. Maybe we should just keep Rene upstairs, just in case.”
“I doubt she’ll want to stay,” Jesse wasn’t sure.
“It doesn’t matter what she wants now, what matters is to keep her safe,” Hyde shook his head.
He walked over to Culore.
“Get up,” he ordered him sternly.
“How the fuck am I supposed to get up, when I’m tied to this thing?” Culore grunted.
“Make it work,” Hyde replied, bending down and cutting the tape that kept his ankles tied to the chair. “Now, you can walk. If you make one wrong move, I’ll cut your tendons and leave you to bleed out in the middle of the woods. I hear there are wolves here, not only bears.”
“Fuck you,” Culore spat out hatefully.
“Get him up,” Hyde instructed Jesse, who immediately went over and grabbed the back of the chair Culore was tied to.
“I need you to stay here,” Hyde continued, telling Rene.
“What?” she frowned. “No.”
“Rene, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”
“And I’m telling you that I’ll be there, whether you want me or not. You need as many people on your side as possible.”
Hyde swallowed heavily. She knew she was right. Of course she was in danger. They all were. But, if worse came to worse, and it probably would, she might be able to help get Parker and his mom to safety, while Hyde and Jesse dealt with Culore and Ozul.
“Please, let me help,” she got closer to him, and took him by the hands.
“I might not be able to protect you,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you.”
“I know,” she smiled. “But, you can’t always be there. You can’t always keep me safe. I need to do that on my own, too. Let me help.”
“OK,” he sighed. “I hope I won’t regret this.”
“We ready?” Jesse asked, his fingers firmly clutching his prisoner.
“Let’s go,” Hyde nodded.
They walked solemnly down the stairs, like a funeral procession. The only thing that was missing was the dire music. Hyde went first. Jesse and Culore were behind him, and Rene was left last. When they finally got downstairs, Hyde could see that Ozul was already there, standing by the door. Parker and Isabella were by his side. Their hands were tied with a rope, which connected them, so if they escaped, they would need to stick together.
“Ozul,” Hyde said his name out loud.
He hadn’t seen him in ages. A long time ago, Hyde remembered Ozul as a good kid, although easily swayed. Culore, on the other hand, had always been a troublemaker. Therefore, it wasn’t difficult to see how someone like Culore could make Ozul believe anything he wanted him to. Skilled manipulators such as him always managed to make others believe their lies.
“We’re here,” Ozul said, his voice shaking.
Hyde figured he was probably scared. He didn’t have Culore to issue an order this time. He had to improvise and, probably, no matter what he did, Culore would be pissed. Hyde didn’t envy his position one bit.
“No sudden moves,” Hyde said calmly. “I need you to let go of my son and his mother, slowly.”
“Don’t do it!” Culore shouted at Ozul. “Don’t fucking do it!”
Ozul looked at him, confused and anxious. He didn’t know what to do.
“Shut him up!” Hyde instructed, and Jesse frantically looked around.
Rene found a rolled up sock underneath the sofa and handed it to Jesse.
“Don’t you fucking dare put that dirty thing in my…”
But, before Culore could finish his sentence, Jesse stuffed that rolled up sock into his mouth.
“Problem solved,” Jesse grinned.
Hyde’s look of gratitude was enough, and they all went back to business.
“Alright, now we can proceed without any distractions,” Hyde continued. “I need you to let them go. Once they are free, I will send Culore over to you.”
“How do I know it’s not a trap?” Ozul muttered.
Hyde could see that Ozul’s fingers were shaking. He was nervous, fidgety, and nervous people tend to have unpredictable reactions so Hyde had to be careful. He had to keep Ozul calm and composed, he needed Ozul to believe that everything was under control. Under his control. Only that way would Hyde himself be able to control him.
“You know me, Ozul,” Hyde decided to play that card. “We’ve fought on the opposite sides for years, but you know me. You know that my word is everything. If I give it to you, I won’t back down. That is who I am. So, I promise you that Culore will be set free, once my son and his mother are by my side, and you can bet that is what will happen.”
Culore started mumbling something, but Jesse punched him in the stomach quickly and harshly. Hyde sent a scolding look his way.
“I owed him that,” Jesse defended himself.
“So, do we have a deal?” Hyde asked Ozul.
Ozul eyed Culore. He was sure what he would say. But, their plan had gone awry from the onset, and all he could do now was try and save face. They didn’t have the upper hand any longer. No one did.
Ozul nodded, letting go of Parker, who wasn’t sure what to do at first, and just kept standing there, in the same spot.
“Start walking slowly to me, Parker,” Hyde instructed him.
One step at a time, Parker walked towards his father, his mother following closely behind. He was uncertain. He didn’t know who to trust: his father or the man who claimed his life was in danger and he should listen only to him. Now, it seemed that both these men were in agreement. He should keep walking, no matter what.
Rene looked on, as did everyone else. The air was thick with fear, anticipation. If she could only close her eyes and wish herself away from all this.
Several slow and painful seconds passed and Hyde’s hand finally rested on his son’s shoulder. He pressed his lips on the boy’s tangled hair and smiled at his ex-wife.
“Are you guys OK?” he asked.
Parker just nodded, but his mother could only tremble in reply.
“Now your end of the bargain,” Ozul urged.
“A deal’s, a deal,” Hyde replied, devoid of any emotion.
There was nothing in his voice that would signal how he was feeling. He sounded empty, almost annoyed at this whole situation, and Rene admired him. Here she was, about to come undone, but he was keeping it together for them all.
“Send him over,” Hyde gave Jesse clear instructions.
The look on Jesse’s face revealed that he was reluctant to do so. It took him a second to do as he was told, almost propelling Culore’s body forward. Culore walked slowly. The chair he was tied to was a heavy burden, and he had to take extra care not to fall down together with it. After several steps, he was by Ozul’s side, who immediately jumped to his aid, setting him loose.
The look on Culore’s face was one of undying hate, his heart knew no forgiveness. His fingers clenched in a fist, as his eyes sent daggers towards Hyde.
Everyone was on edge. They all knew that just because the hostages were exchange
d, that didn’t mean that it was all finally over. It was actually far from it. This was the moment that would determine the rest of their lives, and it was a decision more difficult than any they had faced so far.
Jesse stood by Hyde’s side. He was like a cocked gun, ready to attack and give his life for Hyde, if need be. Hyde felt the same way. The same clan blood flowed through their veins, they were brothers for eternity, and nothing could ever break that bond.
Parker cowered in his mother’s arms. His eyes searched for Rene, but she was standing by Hyde’s side, knowing that it wasn’t her place to soothe the boy right now. His mother was there. So instead, she stood by her two men, giving them moral support.
Ozul was by Culore’s side. They were all waiting for him to make the next move. As far as Hyde was concerned, he would have just walked out of there, no words necessary. But, he couldn’t trust Culore, not after seeing that this had already happened once, and he came after them again. He was sure that Culore would never stop. He would never let them go. They would never be free of his shadow. They would be constantly followed by fear and what kind of life that would be?
“Your move, Culore,” Hyde growled slowly, clenching his fists.
He was unwilling to fight again, but he was still ready to do it, to defend the ones he loved.
Instead of a reply, Culore laughed wickedly, staring down Hyde.
“You think you won, don’t you?” Culore hissed.
“I think we both won,” Hyde corrected him. “No one got hurt. I got my son back. You are free to turn around and leave. What is that if not a win-win situation?”
“You know I’ll never do that,” Culore grinned.
“What’s stopping you?”
“Your existence.”
“My existence isn’t preventing you from ruling all the clans,” Hyde shook his head. “How many of ours are you ready to kill before you realize that it is better to work together, than to rule those who do not wish to have you as their leader?”
“Shut the fuck up, you don’t know anything!” Culore snarled, baring his teeth, feeling the hairs on his back stand on end.
“I don’t know much, but I know one thing. If you were fated to be the leader of all clans, don’t you think that it would have happened by now? But, you wasted time chasing down someone who isn’t even your enemy. You are your worst enemy, Culore.”
“I said, shut up!” he repeated, louder this time.
“I will ask you one last time, Culore,” Hyde pleaded, making sure to say his name as many times as possible, “just turn around and leave. I don’t care what you do back in the old country. My life is no longer there. It is here and I won’t be going back for anyone.”
Culore seemed to consider it for one, hopeful moment. His eyes gleamed and Hyde actually thought he might listen to him. Rene watched on, filled with a strange sense of hope. She had already envisioned their lives together, happy and content, hidden away from the world, and this man threatened that dream. She wanted to jump at him and claw out his eyes, to teach him a lesson never to mess with her men again, but that was all in her head. Reality was much different, and all she could do was look on as Hyde’s words were deciding their destiny. Equally simple as it was complicated, they all waited for the outcome of this decisive moment.
As if arising out of some mythical story about an antagonist’s inability to counteract his own super ego, Culore drew Ozul’s knife from Ozul’s pocket. The blade blinded everyone who dared look at it. Rene suddenly saw everything in slow motion. All colors disappeared, and now, it was a picture in black and white, the only perspective that was allowed to her as an innocent spectator.
Culore dashed at Hyde, all the darkness inside of him finally surfacing out of his deep subconscious, out into the open. A vision of Hyde jumping forward to meet him, to get him away from Parker and Rene, opened up before her. It was a clash of titans, of the god-like and demonic, and she had no idea who would claim their victory once it was all over.
She glanced at Jesse, but he, just like Ozul, remained to the side, allowing the two heroes to finally bring their epic battle to its end.
The knife in Culore’s hand traveled swiftly, even though still in slow motion for Rene and her intimate reality of this event, a world that wouldn’t grant her the fulfillment of her wishes, but made her fight for them. Hyde’s hands clenched at Culore’s arm, keeping it at a safe distance, as the two men growled and spat at each other, trying to hurt the other one more than he could hurt them.
Rene felt like screaming, just like the previous time. Her mind became the mind of a child, on the verge of tears, petrified that she could lose what she loved the most.
The two men fell to the ground, wrestling, tossing and turning. Rene didn’t take her eyes off the blade for a second. The longer it lasted, the more tired the enemies had become, their movements slowing down, but the intensity of the blows remaining. Hyde was now moving more heavily, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep that blade at bay.
A few more seconds passed, and he subdued Culore. The blade was in Hyde’s hand, the tip pressing against his jugular vein a little too close for comfort. They panted heavily. Hyde’s face was flushed, there were streaks of sweat on his temples. Rene prayed it was all over, but from the looks of it, she was wrong.
“How many times do I need to press a weapon against your skin, to make you leave me be?” Hyde growled into Culore’s face, shouting so hard that Parker hid his face in his mother’s arms.
Culore wasn’t looking at him any longer. He was looking somewhere behind him, his stare blank and hopeless. There was no fear in his eyes. If there was, it was minimal. His colossal wish to become an evil leader was just a fantastic construct, one that had never seen the light of day, because of this man, a man who seemed to belong to a whole different world, with his own definition of wonder and what it really meant to live a good life.
“I guess this is going to be the last time,” Culore smiled a soft smile.
He raised his head and neck, then swiftly turned it to the left, before Hyde could do anything. Culore’s head fell back down on the ground with a loud thump sound. Blood gushed from his slit neck, and Hyde frantically pressed his hands, trying to stop the bleeding. Parker’s mother hugged the boy tightly, turning him to the side, so he wouldn’t see what was happening. Rene gasped, pressing both of her hands over her lips.
Hyde was bearing down heavily, not diminishing pressure for one second, but it was too late. Culore’s eyes were now untainted by any vision that belonged to this world. Instead, they looked far beyond, into the ever expanding universe, getting acquainted to the truths that would always remain far from the grasp of mere mortals.
Hyde released his grip, straightening himself. He sighed silently, having taken a step from the scary unknown, into the world that was now safe and welcomed him back with open arms. At first, he didn’t quite understand what exactly had happened, and this lack of knowledge pressed heavily on his heart. He wasn't a murderer. He never killed anyone. That was one of the reasons why he escaped in the first place. As the next one in line to be the leader, he had to kill someone from another clan, to uphold their supremacy. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Then, Culore attacked, and the rest was history, which led to this exact moment in time and space.
“Is he...” Ozul asked, unable to move.
Hyde just nodded. He lifted his gaze, and locked eyes with Ozul. Jesse did the same, eyeing him.
“I didn’t kill him,” Hyde said, his heart aching, even though he didn’t understand why.
This man wanted to kill him. It was Culore or him. This was the best kind of end. At least, that was what Hyde had been trying to convince himself of.
“We all saw it,” Rene assured him quietly.
Ozul watched the body of his former clan member, his leader, the one who made the world reasonable. Now, he was left to his own devices. He felt lost, like a little lamb, released among wolves.
<
br /> “You are free to go,” Hyde told him, getting up, as blood dripped from his reddened fingers.
He looked like a butcher, an animal in its own right. He was frightening, underneath the moonlight that streamed through the windows and the door which was left ajar. But, Ozul didn’t move. He was too scared to take a single step, afraid that he, too, might end up the same way, by his own accord or someone else’s.
“You have my word, Ozul, no one here will harm you,” Hyde assured him. “Go back, and tell everyone of his death.”
“What do I say?” Ozul wondered.
“Tell them Culore went the way he wanted, and no one could ever take that away from him.”