THE LAST KEEPER-Chapter 72: PURE EVIL

Sagiri felt his conscious return to him long before he stirred.

"do you think he is dead?" a voice asked.

"We were asked to bring him out alive." another groaned.

"I wasn’t told any of that. I was only told to kill." another voice answered in an empty tone.

"And you will not kill anyone until we are out. We can’t move him looking like that thanks to you two’s incompetence.

"How was I to know, the boy is hated by his comrades so much so they want him dead." another answered. This one is more familiar. The manboy’s voice. He seemed slightly irritated. It sounded like it was not the first time he had been accused.

"Well we sent you in with ’wide eyes’ over there so as to make it clean. We could have been halfway out by now.

"I wonder what is special about him if he was so easily stabbed." another snickered.

"If he dies we just get another boy and take it to him." Another voice said and they all kept chatting about the many ways to complete their mission. The power inside of sagiri was stirring more calmly than usual. It felt like a calm sea. His body was not warm and cold anymore and even as he stood at death’s door he had never felt so alive before. He was in physical pain but he felt like he was floating as if his body was finally himself. He had never felt such a strong sense of self before as if he was finally fully a human and more. It was a feeling he could not explain.

The group continued chatting and passing blame for a while. Sagiri was swallowed into darkness again. His consciousness stirred awake again and he felt even more of the feeling from earlier. He tried to open his eyes or move any part of his body but it was as if he was stuck under a pile of rocks. It was silent now and he could feel no presence around him. He was just as soon pulled under again. He kept slipping in and out of consciousness for a long time again and again. When he came to once someone was pouring liquid down his throat that was bitter. He was pulled under again and when he came to again, an eighth presence had joined the group.

"We should move now. We have no time to wait. If we wait till day break we are all dead. They let all the dogs loose." It was the eight presence he had heard. He must have been the scout whose job was to watch if they were being pursued.

’So it hasn’t been days?’ he had been in and out of consciousness so much he thought it had been days but it had only been ours. Even so he could not open his eyes yet.

"Damn it. I’m not dying for a half dead boy. Carry him, let’s move." The voice that sounded like the leader spoke again and the room felt tense before hell broke loose. Someone hauled him onto his shoulders and pain shot through every melancholic cell. The pain was so hot and searing and he slipped back to unconsciousness. When he came to again he was being popped up and down. The morning air hit his face. He was able to open his eyes and he could see it was still dark. It must have been past four. The eight were moving at top speed. It was like they were retired warriors themselves only now they worked for a different team. They kept running for a while and sagiri gritted his teeth to keep from screaming. He wished he could blackout again but he didn’t.

"Stop!" A the bone leading the squad finally said. He was dressed in a green rusty combat suit, they all were wearing some of clothes that could camouflage to the woods. They had finally left the rocky terrain and had entered the woods.

"What is it?" they all stood and one asked. sagiri couldn’t see their faces yet because he was hanging upside down in an awkward position.

"I thought I heard something. Let’s keep moving." he said after freezing for a while

"No you won’t." A familiar voice said and sagiri froze. Kaka Asakana? Did that mean the others were with him? he wondered but he could only perceive a presence of two. The eight paused and the man carrying sagiri threw him down like a sack making pain shoot in from his wound to every cell. He groaned in pain and panted.

"Sagiri?" the two boys snapped. They had not been there when the others were hypnotized and they might have been chasing the twins and ended up here. "What the hell are you doing here?" Kaka asked as if sagiri had come willingly.

"What are you doing with him?" Maita asked and the eight snickered.

"Hey kids, we are trying to leave, be good and go back to your cage." The leader said. he was carrying a type of axes crisscrossed to his back and a line of tribal markings running down his arm. The man beside him had a tribal mark in the shape of a star behind his head. They were not the same group that had come to get him when he was twelve.

"Or what?" Kaka sneered unsheathing his daggers. one in each hand. He looked even more irritable now. "Did you stab him?" he seethed and the leader sighed in irritation.

"I thought they teach you to analyze situations in your big cage? now move from out path." the leader said impatiently but he did not seem phased at all by kaka’s display of hostility.

"Kill them." he said and two guys standing beside him moved to get the two obstacles out of the way.

The first intruder moved without warning.

Kaka reacted on instinct. His dagger slid into his palm as he stepped inside the man’s reach, steel flashing once. The knife missed his ribs by inches. Kaka’s blade caught the wrist instead. Before the man could move back. He drove his shoulder forward, breaking balance, then cut again short, controlling and forcing the man back. He was fast and the intruder must have underestimated him. the intruder cursed and the two moved with fast exchanging attacks. Sagiri had never seen Kaka move like that. He was fierce even during sparing but right now it was clear he wanted to kill. The man must have been a seasoned warrior too however because they went toe to toe with their moves fast and precise. kaka got slashed once but he did not even flinch and pushed the man back with a kick the man did not even fall just slid a few tards before he was back kaka in seconds.

Maita was already engaged.

His opponent came in low, slashing wide. He retreated half a step, let the strike pass, then closed the distance sharply. His dagger struck twice in quick succession not deep, but precisely forcing the intruder to guard instead of attack. He circled, feet light, eyes fixed on his shoulders, reading the next move before it came. The second intruder recovered fast. The fight was pulling longer than the leader had expected.

"Damned Bami tribe." he cursed his mistake. The Bami tribe were already genetically gifted and he was realizing his mistake of underestimating them. "Help them." he said looking at the other two who were now standing beside him.

With two more additions the fight soon grew dirty. Kaka was fast but he was still a student and he did not have time to even catch his breath. He had gotten slashed a couple of times but he had slowed down one bit. The first attack’s hand that had been slashed was a plus because it had slowed him back a bit. Metal met with metal so fast and it was really amazing to see Kaka holding his own against two veterans. He deserved to be the galka academy number one.

Maita was having trouble. He was not as fast or as strong as Kaka but he was still strong. A kick from one of the duo going for his neck sent him into a tree making him lose breath but for only a second before he was back. Even so, sagiri knew that the two could get tired soon. They were outnumbered and it wouldn’t take long before the leader snapped and killed them. sagiri could tell that he was much much stronger.

"how long does it take to kill two boys?" a voice said and it was not from the five still standing by. sagiri had not felt his presence but he was there now. he reeked of death just like the gravescale. Even from his position on the ground he knew he was the guy that had killed the Vorrash. He had neither a presence nor a feeling. He was no better than ghost and something about him made the power inside sagiri stir. the man was dressed in black like rugs with a wide blade resting on his back. His hair was braided into a long braid resting way past his back. He looked like something had disfigured the left side of his face. So much so his left eye was permanently pulled into a slit. A permanent smile was edged on his face. Only it was worse than the one the Tamelku twins always wore. He made the Tamelku twins look like harmless toddlers.

"Where have you been, Rat?" The leader asked, snapping his eyes to look at the source of the voice. He was perched on a branch looking like he had just crawled out of the stomach of a dead beast and sagiri froze. Did he really hide inside the snake? the dead gravescale? Sagiri thought and for the first time in his life he felt the taste of pure evil in the air.

"Why do you ask? want me to show you?" he asked in a singsong voice before sticking his tongue out and licking his lips as if he had just eaten something delicious. sagiri had a feeling it was not food.

"What have you done?" the leader asked.

"I made it rain," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. Even in his weakened state sagiri did not miss the blood reeking off of him. And it did not belong to the Vorrash. It was human blood. He was not only bathed in human blood but human blood. sagiri froze. He could not help but wonder if some of the blood belonged to nvaru or any member of team 25. he had never felt such a strong urge to punish. The man the leader just called rat changed his position from perching to a sitting position. He did not look more than twenty in age yet he was soulless. He kicked his feet as he watched Kaka and Maita fight.

"I think the bastard has killed someone. That was not in the plan. We are not going to make it out of here if he killed someone." the man with the star tattoo said. "This has gone on long enough. Let me kill the two and we can move. He moved towards Kaka and Maita’s direction and Sagiri was sure they were dead this time. He looked to be at a bar in strength with the leader. He pulled his weapon out, which was an oversized axe before and moved fast.

an arrow tore through the air suddenly and one of the intruders fighting maita was pinned to a tree. He had been hit right in the heart and pinned to the tree so deep. Before the star tattooed man could react an arrow was shot at him. He was first however and he barely missed but it launched into the shoulder of his right hand making him stagger back. He fell on one knee with a pained groan. One hand went to his injured shoulder before his eyes shot up to look at his assailant. He did not have another chance before another arrow was shot at him then another. He dived to the side and rolled quickly. The movement made the arrow go deeper and blood squatted.

"What now?" the leader groaned, drawing his twin axes quickly. The rest followed suit and drew their weapons and got into a defensive position.

The arrows were coming from different directions and fast it seemed that it was a couple of attackers. An arrow was fired at Kaka’s directions who was now pinned down with attacks. It was aimed so accurately at the assailants and they both jumped back. kaka used the opening. It was small but it was all he needed. He launched one dagger at one of the assailants and hit him square in the stomach. Not a vital organ but he was slowed down. He moved fast and slit his throat. Before he pulled it back and launched it in his heart. It was as if he wanted to kill the man twice.

another arrow was shot out at the leader’s head. It didn’t make it to his heart however before he cut it aside with ease slowing its momentum and cutting it in half.

Just then lotaga tumbled out of the trees dramatically and landed on one knee, his bow drawn with two arrows.

"hey sagiri, missed me?" he smiles widely and Sagiri felt oddly relieved and worried at the same time. He might have been good but the gut named rat’s smile had grown even wider watching the current scene.