The Fifth World

Cynric: I stare at Colt and he stares right back at me. Hell, I can't take him. He'll snap me like a twig. He's huge - abnormally large for a Thorne too. I have no idea what he can do. I can't take him, I'm injured as well. Nobody here could take him. Everyone here is hurt in some way or another. If we work together, maybe we could.

I take in a deep breath, a very deep breath, this could be it. This could all be the end but really, what life is this? Has every second of my life come down to this very moment? This can't be the end. I'm not prepared to leave this world now.

Colt takes a step towards me and in a blur he moves, to anyone else's eyes he'd be difficult to see but somehow, for some reason, everything begins to slow, everything is slow motion except for Colt... I can see him move, even with the speed he is moving in. I don't even turn around when I hear him jump and appear behind me, my hand is already behind my back, my Angelican dagger directed straight out towards anyone who gets too close. I hear Colt jump again and I immediately swivel my body around, he has avoided my dagger and is jumping from place to place in order to distract me. He'll make a move, so quickly, so cleverly in hopes that I won't realise what he is doing... but I know exactly what he is doing. I may have little experience in combat but I have lived in this world longer than him. I have seen people's lives flash before my eyes. I have seen Thorne's lives... their hatred and disgust towards the majority of the world and how they live their lives in order to kill and gain control... Colt will do anything to kill me.

I suddenly feel a large weight on my shoulders and my knees almost buckle. Somehow I manage to stay standing. A sharp pain shoots through me, I look to my left, realise that Colt has his legs wrapped around me, his arms too and then I see a blade... well, I don't see the blade but I see a handle of a knife, with Colt's hand wrapped around it... in my shoulder... the blade has already dug deep into me. I let out a very large yell, then my knees buckle. Colt rips the knife from my flesh, disappears and my hand instinctively flies to my shoulder. Blood pours from it. I look up slowly and feel my head spin. Not now. Colt appears in front of me, I stare at his boots and then my eyes run up his huge body. He looks down at me, as if I am nothing but dirt, and the corner of his upper lip curves upwards.

"Goodbye, Angelican."

I grunt as I feel his boot kick at my ribs a couple of times. I roll over and manage to get on my knees. Almost there, Cynric. Colt jumps and appears before me again. He holds the knife out towards me, my fresh blood dripping from it and he puts it to my neck, the blade lingers at my flesh for a while; he is taunting me. I am sure he wants me to beg him for mercy. He wants me to surrender.

"Come on, Angelican," he whispers.

This is all a game to him. He just wants me to give up, to surrender, to lose my dignity... that is all he wants. That is what satisfies him.

I feel my voice shake quietly as I try to stand but an idea pops into my head... an idea so great that it could give me an advantage in all of this. My fingers, sore and bloody, leave my shoulder and quickly touch him, he steps back instinctively, but is not quick enough. He was not expecting me to reach for him. My fingertip slides along his warm flesh and images flash before my eyes.

I hear conversations, hear voices, all unfamiliar... I see images of Colt as a child, his parents barely present in his life... I see him training, running through many corridors, running across mountains and through forests... I see him lifting weights and hear the many voices of men and women yelling at him. He was just a child and they were working him as if he were some star athlete. He had no childhood. I see him being beaten by other Thornes... he is just a child and they are physically hurting him... bruises and scars bloom across his body as the years go by... and an education of the terrible world outside of the mountains is reinforced in his mind for years... it's as if he has been brainwashed. I knew that this Thorne... that this Thorne's life would have been prepared for today but never did I imagine how brutal his life had been. More voices and images flash before me, "Colt, this is Bo... the hybrid that I believe everyone in the mountain is buzzing about. I wanted you to meet her because I know that she would be very curious about you..." I see Colt and a female Thorne with Bo in a large room. This is all through Colt's eyes and for some reason... while I cannot feel what he is feeling at that time... I can see how he looks at Bo... and it is strange. While this Thorne may have been taught to hate every other kind of human but the Thorne his entire life... you cannot help another feeling... a natural feeling, a natural instinct... a sexual attraction. I don't understand. This Thorne is only young, probably younger than Bo, a few years too and these false beliefs have been forced into his mind for years... yet he is actually attracted to Bo but hates her and everyone else at the same time. I see more images of different syringes and needles being injected into Colt... different serums and mixtures of unnatural characteristics. "You could be different. You could be good. Think of the good you can do. What life is this, Colt-" I hear Bo's voice and I see the memory of them both in the forest. She is yelling at him. I see his hand wrap around her neck as he thrusts her up against a tree, choking the life out of her.

I snap out of it. I stare up at Colt in disgust. He looks down at me and hisses at me as his hand wraps around my neck. He lifts me off of my feet and my entire body begins to ache as the breath is knocked out of me.

"Any last words, Angelican?"

I hear a shooting sound, a sound so sleek and perfect that it makes me smile. The sound of an arrow shooting through the breeze. Colt jolts forward and his fingers let me go. I fall to the ground and manage to crawl away a little as he spins around to see where the arrow came from. I look too and see bright red hair in the distance. I feel myself smile. I see a blur rush by me and then Felicity appears behind Colt, her fist punching as hard as possible into the back of his head. I stand up slowly and look back in the distance. Nancy approaches, an expression of determination on her young face. Her blonde hair blows in the wind. She passes me and I keep looking ahead. Over the dead bodies and alive ones who continue to fight and kill, I see a woman, young and beautiful, black hair and pale skin, approaching. She moves perfectly, an Angelican dagger in her hand.

Bo moves towards me, the same look of determination on her face. She looks down at me, smiles softly as her fingers slide across my face. I watch her as she passes and she stands in front of me defensively. She is protecting me. I watch, with such interest, as Nancy and Felicity both take on Colt. He moves so swiftly and quickly that at times Felicity is too slow but Nancy is watching anyway and can sometimes pick up on his next move. A slice is slit across Colt's chest, he growls at them but continues as if he barely feels it. Suddenly, Felicity is knocked so hard that she is sent flying at least ten metres from us. I watch her roll across the grass and her movements begin to slow. She lies there. Still. Nancy watches Felicity in such shock and a hard kick is sent across her chest by Colt. Nancy flies even further. Once she is out of the picture Colt's eyes move to Bo.

He smiles, "this is the one you have been lost without. The one I have seen in your eyes over these last few days."

Bo stands still, her fingers clutching the dagger very tightly, "touch him again and I will kill you."

He laughs loudly, "that is impossible."

"Maybe not."

I watch behind Colt, as a blur with red hair runs as fast as possible towards Colt. Felicity. I feel myself smile a little. I turn my head slowly to find Janine or Nancy. I do not see Janine anywhere but I definitely see Nancy. I watch how she slowly gets up from the ground and runs towards Colt too. Colt lurches himself forward at Bo and she thrusts her Angelican dagger into his stomach. He falls on her slightly, growls into her ear and attempts to swing at her face. My stomach churns. One flick of his finger and he could knock the life right out of her. I stand up, yell at the pain aching across my body but I am too late...

Before Bo, Colt or I know it, Felicity is straddling Colt, her legs wrapped around his back, her hands around his neck. Nancy is at Bo's side in a second, ripping her away before Colt can get his hands on her.

"No, wait!" Bo yells at Felicity.

Felicity looks up at Bo in shock as well as disgust. Why is Bo stopping Felicity? Colt deserves no mercy, no forgiveness, nothing. If we give him enough time, he could hurt Felicity... or worse.

"Just wait," Bo whispers at Felicity, her eyes move to Colt, he stares at Bo, anger in his eyes, I think he is just as surprised as the rest of us, "Colt, we can help you. It doesn't have to end like this."

Colt tries to shake Felicity from him but her hands just tighten around his neck, she chokes him lightly and while he feels it he pretends he does not. Nancy puts her sword to his neck and holds it there. Colt stops moving. Bo realises she has his attention.

"Please, Colt, we don't want to kill you."

Oh, believe me, I want to kill Colt.

"I do not need your help, kill me, I am better off dead!" he hisses at us all.

I manage to get on my feet, properly, and I stand beside Bo. Colt's eyes move to me and he watches my hand take Bo's carefully. His teeth clench and his muscles begin to flex. I watch how his body begins to shake and convulse. He is angry, very angry. He disappears and Felicity falls to the ground, landing on her bottom, I look around cautiously as I know that Colt will appear at any moment ready to kill Bo or me. My breathing catches, I blink and when the vision returns he is standing directly in front of me. My heart begins to pound. The only thing I can think of is... kill him, kill him, kill him.

There is a sharp sound... a blade or something... entering someones flesh. I accept, at this very moment, that this is it. I look down at my chest, expecting to see Colt's hand and a knife or sword or something... but there is nothing. I look up to meet his eyes and I gasp quietly. His eyes are... wide and open... shocked... I then see the arms around him, Bo, like Felicity was before, is straddling him, her entire body wrapped around him with her Angelican dagger directly through his heart.