FicWad

Chapter Three - Zylus/Niles

Zylus awoke from a splash of water to his face. He spit and shook his head, his vision starting to clear slowly. "Wha...where am I?" he asked, still a bit fuzzy in the head. A metal-covered fist smashed across his jaw. Blood and water flew from his mouth. "Shut up you damned beast!" shouted a familiarly vicious voice. The room spun for a moment and when it stopped, Zylus could tell there were people in the darkness. He was the only thing a small circle of light illuminated in the room. All he could see were their eyes dully reflecting his light. He found himself chained to a near vertical, though still slightly slanting, table. Hands and feet were both bound. His arms were held out wide to either side, the chains connecting to somewhere other than the table he was on. He pulled experimentally against them and they didn't budge hardly a centimeter. The movement brought a swift kick to his stomach. He coughed and sputtered violently as he tried to take air back in. "Why did you come to this place?!" the voice demanded. A figure stepped from the darkness, revealing himself as the captain of the Hunters. "I came here to find and kill YOU!" the anthro spat in anger. "Me? Why, whatever did I do to deserve such attention?" the man asked in a mocking, laughing tone. Zylus's eyes narrowed in his rage. "Because of you, SHE IS DEAD! And for that, and the protection of my people I WILL KILL YOU!!" he roared at the man, recieving a swift jab to his sensitive nose. A tear squeezed from his tightened eyes but he refused to cry out. "Ho-ho-ho, really now? How do you plan on doing that?" he taunted. Zylus went silent for a moment, understanding what he meant. He was more than likely not to leave this place alive. "You're going to kill me right? Well then, quit being a little bitch and get it over with! I don't care what happens to me" he taunted right back in defiance. The man paused to look at him before shrinking back into the shadows. "Oh, you won't die...not yet anyway. We're going to see how much you can take before your body gives out. Or your mind..whichever comes first" the man promised him.

Zylus gritted his teeth as he heard metal scraping against metal in the darkness around him. He didn't know what was coming, but he knew it would hurt. 'I won't give him the satisfaction he wants' he silently promised himself. A man wearing a dark mask with holes only for eyes stepped forward into the light, holding some sinister looking objects. "What's with the mask?" Zylus asked, a tinge of a smirk appearing on his lips. An odd, shrill voice answered. "Keeps my face pretty" the voice said. Zylus heard a crank turning in the darkness and felt his arms suddenly being pulled hard from either side. As his tendons began to stretch, he had to grit his teeth to keep from yelling out. He could feel his muscles stretching beyond their capacity quickly. At a certain point, the crank slowed but kept turning. The pain got worse as he neared his limits. The masked man suddenly chuckled and neared him. Zylus turned to face the man just before a sharp pain shot through his arm. He glanced over at the cork-screw like object the man was now twisting into his arm. He could feel the flesh being pushes aside in his biceps and then the metal grazing his bone. He groaned in pain but didn't scream. The man's chuckle grew louder as he started drilling the object into Zylus's bone. Tears from pain streamed freely but still he didn't scream. The man moved to the other side and did the same thing, only much more slowly. "I'll kill every one of you bastards! I swear it!!" Zylus suddenly shouted out, turning his pain into rage. He suddenly felt one of his shoulders dislocate with a sickening 'pop' sound. His eyes lolled back for a second, the pain sending his head reeling. That chain stopped pulling. They apparently didn't want to tear the victim's arms off. Not yet anyway. Suddenly the other shoulder followed the first in dislocating. A sharp gasp was all the noise they got from him.

Zylus ground his teeth together, biting back the instinct to cry out in pain. The man stepped away, leaving the cork-screws in Zylus's arms. The anthro looked to either side, seeing the wounds having been torn open by the stretching of his arms. He winved at the sight. Another man stepped forward, a large man with a square-shaped face. He growled lowly, apparently not one for speech. The large man put a hand against the chest of Zylus, along the bottom three ribs. The human pressed suddenly and Zylus felt the three ribs snap painfully. He groaned in pain, glaring the man in the eyes. The human's eyes seemed to smile maliciously back at him. Zylus breathed painfully now, every breath moving the broken bones in his chest just a little. "Ah...damnit...bastard..." he gasped. The big man seemed to dislike being called names and reached for the anthro's collarbone. He grasped it and squeezed his fingers down, snapping the bone easily. Zylus whimpered slightly, the feeling of his collar-bone being broken coupled with his shoudlers having seperated leaving him in agony. The captain stepped back in front of him, smiling gleefully. "Well, have you had enough?" the man asked. Zylus responded simply by spitting blood in the man's face. With a deep sigh, the man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood away. He drew his sword swiftly and plunged it through Zylus's stomach, just enough to the side to avoid any vital organs. He groaned loudly at the pain and lurched forward, trying his hardest to gnash his teeth on the man's neck. He couldn't reach however and slumped back against the cold table. His eyes gleamed with anger, pain having been dulled by adrenaline. He looked almost feral now, painfully trying to pull on his chains. His feet wouldn't move at all, just like his hands. "Finish up here, I have another plan" the man said before walking swiftly from the room. The three men left behind proceeded to drive nails into the anthro's thighs. Then they started running razor-sharp blades across his torso, causing ultimately harmless but painful cuts. The blood-loss began making him woozy but he sprang back into conciousness when they started poking and prodding the wounds he had with a liquid substance that burned the wounds worse than fire. His body felt like it were burning alive. The torture continued for another hour before he finally fell unconcious from the pain. He never screamed or cried out.

"We're going to make an example of him. We need to show the resisting forces what happens when they cross us" the captain stated simply, having walked back into the room. The men nodded, understanding his meaning. They undid the chains from Zylus's wrists and ankles. When they grabbed under his arms to carry him, the muscles stretched a little. The held him up while the larger man shoved his shoulders back into place with a dull, popping sound. They grabbed him under the shoulders once more and dragged him out of the room. His limp form was dragged through the streets, the morning sun having already risen. Humans left their homes and watched the spectacle. Some threw rocks at the unconcious anthro, shouting out obsceneties and insults. Others merely watched, though a few actually seemed mortified at the sight of his broken form. They reached the front gates of the city and dragged him up the steps to the top of the high wall. They dropped him on the hard stone and grabbed some rope, beginning to tie it around his wrists. They tied the other ends around the stair's hand rail. They lifted Zylus and, with a snicker of laughter, dropped him over the edge. He fell and the ropes caught about halfway down the 150 foot drop. He spun and slammed hard against the stone wall, resting to lie with his back flat against the stone, facing the forest's edge. His arms were stretched high above his head, possibly dislocated once more. The captain was standing over the gate, looking out over the forest. "This is a lesson to all you bastardly creatures out there! I know you hide amongst the edge of the very trees at times, waiting to strike at us! This is what happens when you carry through with that!!" He called out, taunting anyone waiting in the trees. Zylus suddenly opened his eyes, though they could barely be seen from under his golden hair that had fallen over his face. He glanced around him, unsure of his current whereabouts. When he realized his predicament, he roared in outrage. He silently swore to himself afterwards. He struggled against the ropes but to no avail. After wearing himself out further, he let his head droop in defeat. Gentle sobs shook his body, though they could not be heard. "Mia...I'm sorry...elder...I'm sorry...I failed..." he muttered to himself.

From the trees, a small group of anthros watched in disgust and horror. "What have they done to him? And they call US the beasts?!" said a deep, growling voice. The voice belonged to a wolf-anthro, one with black fur and golden eyes. The wolf bared his fangs, his wolfish snout snarling in anger. "Niles, calm down" said a young female tiger-anthro. Her fur was white, with black stripes. A massive paw-like hand clasped Niles on the shoulder, followed by a low grumble. That was Lars lingo for "She's right." The large bear-anthro nodded when the wolf turned to face his two comrades. "Lars, Nira...we need to save him soon. They'll probably kill him if he isn't already dead" Niles's low voice told them. They both nodded to him. Lars stood and stretched, standing a full twelve feet tall. Nira's eyes followed his head as it nearly disappeared in the trees above, always surprised by his sheer size. Even for a bear-anthro he was fairly large. They began laying out a very simple, but hopefully affective plan. A plan that would take place that very night. It would be suicide to attack in broad daylight, they knew. For now, all they could do was watch as Zylus hung seventy-five feet from the ground, beaten and broken. Late in the afternoon, there were children standing out in front of his dangling form, hurling stones at him. He simply took the hits without saying a word or even flinching, his eyes showing defeat but no pain. Night soon fell, and Niles and his group started to slowly stalk up the field, laying flat to blend in more. When they were about a good one hundred yards from the wall Zylus lay suspended from, Lars stood suddenly. Nira drew two long daggers from her waist and crawled up into the bear's massive paw. "Don't miss" she said as Lars arched his arm back, took two hopping steps and hurled the young girl. As she left his paw, Niles burst forward, running towards the spot under Zylus. Nira soared up high and twisted in mid-air acrobatically as she fell towards the top of the wall. Two guards stood next to one another and she fell between them. Her daggers sliced both before they even knew she was there.

The tiger-anthro sliced the ropes holding Zylus and he began to fall from his place. Niles swore to himself as he ran faster. "Damnit, you're too quick sometimes Nira" he murmured to himself. The falling anthro tried to slow his descent, not knowing exactly what was happening. Niles reached the spot just in time to have Zylus land flat on his back. "Oomph! Gah, would you mind getting off of me? We need to run now!" The wolf shouted. Zylus jumped up as quickly as his limbs would allow. Suddenly, an alarm sounded within the city. Nira turned to face the inner part and saw many guards leaving the barracks with lots of weapons. She crouched low before springing up and backward, flipping in the process. She fell over the edge of the wall, suddenly digging a dagger into the stone about halfway down. Her fall slowed dramatically and she landed next to Niles and Zylus with hardly a sound. "We have company" she said in what Zylus thought was a rather empty tone. They could hear the gates beginning to swing outward. Lars suddenly lumbered past them and slammed a shoulder into the gates. They slammed shut, at least a dozen voices on the other side shouting out in surprise. The bear reached back and grabbed a seven foot long object wrapped in cloth on his back. The cloth fell away to reveal a massive sword, fitting for the large creature. He brought the blade around whirling it quickly overhead before pounding it against the stone wall, breaking off a massive chunk. He picked up the large rock, it being nearly as big as he was, and slammed it down in front of the door, blocking it for at least a little while. "Time to go" he said in a voice so low, you'd think it was nothing more than a growl. Zylus along with the others sprinted across the wide-open plains, nearing the forest. They could hears shouts of outrage from behind them. The moment they were safe in the trees, they all stopped. Zylus fell against the trunk of a tree and slid to the ground, his adrenaline wearing off and his injuries getting the better of him. He could barely lift his arms. "Thank..you" he managed to say before falling into unconciousness again.

To be continued...



[Well if there were those of you hoping that Zylus would die...sorry to disappoint. Can't kill the main character in the very beginning now can I?]