Page 47 of Marked for Extinction
He unstrapped his bag, dropping it to the ground right as the beast roared.
“Can’t go home without a little action now, can we? Ares, watch Inés.”
He couldn’t be losing his mind right now, not when we needed to fight!
“Vik! There is no one here but me. Please, come back to me. Vik, I need your head on straight.”
The silhouette of the beast barreled toward us. It opened its jaws and Vik leapt to action, swinging his machete up and slicing its face.
I stood in horror at its massive white frame covered in fur with a doglike head. It attacked on all fours but its growl was more menacing than any wolf I had ever seen. Vik’s movements were precise and lethal as he fought his way and grabbed onto its fur on the side. The beast shook and got on its hind legs but Vik didn’t let go. Instead he used the opportunity to climb onto its back, straddling it between his legs as he brought his machete down on its head.
The beast roared and it took me out of the temporary paralysis I was in. I screamed and ran toward it, slicing against its large clawed paws, making it throw its head back in pain. Its large black nose stood out against the snow like a bullseye as it brought its front legs back down onto the ground in front of me with a thundering crash.
“The cave must have been its home or something!” I cried out to Vik who was still riding the beast on his back, bringing the blade down again and again. But with each swing, the beast jerked its head, making him miss his target.
“Nothing we can do about that now!” he yelled back.
I slashed at its face and it opened its jaws and tried to take a bite out of mine. Good thing I jumped back in time, landing my ass on the snow.
Another thud landed nearby and I lifted my head to see Vik groaning and getting back to his feet.
“Vik!” I gasped.
“I told you, my name is Reaper and the faster you get that through your thick skull the better. Just get ready, you two, it's coming.”
The beast growled menacingly, its eyes as red as coals of fires, or maybe it was from the blood that was dripping into it. It bared its teeth and opened its large maw.
Despite Vik’s mask hiding his face, his body posture was calm as he stood there at the ready with his machete in both hands. What was wrong with him? He looked utterly excited for what was to come.
There was a good possibility we were going to die here.
Vik ran toward the beast like a wild man and slid under the monster's legs right as it closed its jaws, missing him by a few inches. I watched in utter amazement as Vik cut its back leg with the machete.
The monster roared out in pain before slapping a large paw at Vik who continued to defend himself with the machete in both hands. The beast was strong but not smart. Right as the beast reared back in preparation for another hit, Vik grabbed the machete and stabbed the beast in the chest before it could make it down. With a cry, the beast slapped him, dislodging both Vik and the machete, and threw him against a nearby tree as it fell onto its side.
I threw one of the blades but it skidded off the beast’s fur, clanking against a rock. Vik coughed and got onto his hands and knees as the beast also got back up and ran toward him with primal rage.
“No!” I cried out, inadvertently drawing the beast’s attention toward me. He sniffed the air, letting out clouds of exhales before changing direction toward me.
I held my last knife tightly, ready to fight or die trying.At least I would die a free woman, I told myself. The beast reared up and I screamed as I shot my hand out, stabbing it in the front while Vik came from behind with his machete again, slicing through its back.
The beast fell to the ground and we both kept stabbing away in case it decided to get back up. When the beast finally stopped moving, we both fell to the ground beside it, catching our breaths.
I turned to see Vik holding onto his ribs and I quickly crawled over to him to make sure he was alright.
His breathing was labored but he was still alive and so was the beast when I casted my gaze back toward its form. Helping Vik to his feet, he took a deep, groaning breath before grabbing the bag of heads he tossed aside.
I watched in confusion as he began to tie it again.
“What are you doing? Just leave it! You don’t need to drag those heads around, Vik!”
“You don’t know what I need,” he growled, getting into my face.
I took a step back with my hands up, palms facing out, letting him have this one thing he couldn’t seem to let go of.
He then took the time to tie it around himself even though it made him grimace in pain. I scowled at him quietly as he walked over to the beast and pulled his machete out of its back. The monster roared again before closing its eyes.
“Inés,” Vik yelled out all of a sudden, making my heart race. I firmly grabbed the hilt of my blade and ran toward him. “It has Aries!”
