When Reality Diminishes

Dust. Smoke. Flying cement. Flying bricks. Screams. Yells. Orders. All in which assaulted his ears. All he had to ignore. His hand flipped forward before he moved. The others took the signal and followed, sticking to their alignment. He could sense them easily, but couldn’t see. That he had expected, he had even anticipated it. Which was why Audrey’s hands were on his back as she followed him in. She was human, and that mere factor disabled her in many aspects. For one, she couldn’t react in time, she couldn’t have the strength to fight of an offender, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to sense where he was to stick to their order.

In her defence, though, she only stumbled a couple times. And they still made it in place before the smoke began to settle.

He wanted to shout; to yell out. He wanted to let out the rage, the anticipation, the fear, the dread, he wanted to let it out. This was it. No matter what, this was the end. No matter what, he would be free after this night. Whether that be living or dead, he didn’t know.

The room they had entered was the ball room, with marble floorings and a ceiling that was too high to serve any purpose other than decoration. Lights scattered the room, from red shaded ones, to black, to normal. It let off eerie shadows and put a more luminous effect on the guests. Long tables scattered the outsides of all walls, in which food and drinks were held. Humans were also present, some in chains, others in ropes. Some were dressed to look somewhat in place, others wearing only snippets of clothes that seemed to be drenched in dirt. However, what they all held in common were the bruises. All seemed to have a bruise, or multiple, on their body.

At the front of the room was a raised platform, maybe a foot higher. On it lay a chair, or as the king would call it, a throne. The king sat in it, with his wife to his left, his son, the heir, to his right. Next to his son was, much to his surprise, Jasmine. She looked a little worse to wear, with bruises on her lower jaw, and her posture favouring her left side, but she was alive... which he was betting was more than he could say about the man who had gotten a hold of her. Had he managed to get what he wanted, or was he now fertilizing the ground?

None of that mattered. What mattered now was finishing it. The guards had entered shortly after the explosion, and he could now see them. Each had vicious swords and the strength to kill. But if he had managed to kill the ten best of the kings men, he could certainly kill these guys... however, maybe not if all rushed him. They didn’t even move when they took sight of them, instead they waited for the kings signal.

The king was getting fairly old, which was why he needed his son to take over. Even though aging was a slow process, it still occurred. The king was beginning to show, and that was never a good sign for a leader. He needed to pass on the torch, and fast. Grey was now threading through his hair and beard, and his once top-shape body, was beginning to sag in places it shouldn’t. His eyes which used to strike fear into the hearts of everyone with a single glance, were now dulling and glazing over. All these things were tiny and almost un-noticeable, but it was still there.

“Now this I didn’t expect.” The king leaned forward, his eyes briefly scanning his small group, before meeting his eyes. “It takes guts and stupidity to try this, and I’m not sure which one suits you more.” His voice still held the power it always had, and it still sent a small urge in himself to bow down and murmur your majesty. It was embedded in all of their thoughts to do so when in the presence of him, but he had long ago stopped doing so. But that didn’t stop the small part of his mind from twitching when presented with an opportunity to do it.

“I’m trying to figure out the same thing.” He said, with a tiny smile. There was no reason to taunt the king... yet. There were no men rushing him, so, for the time being, he would act nice. The king let out a small laugh, albeit faked, before speaking.

“Now Damon, why such behaviour? I thought we discouraged this a while back? Why must you keep walking into the clutches of my power? If I wasn’t as impressed as I am with your entrance, there would be no discussion at all. As it is, I am highly impressed, and amused, by your actions. So make whatever you have to say, or do, quick. I don’t wish to waste the entire evening.” It took all his will not to clench his fists or spit back some cunning remark. The king wasn’t even worried of what would happen, wasn’t even breaking a sweat. And he had the nerve to bring up his previous torture? He may not be up to taunting the king, but the king certainly had no problems with it.

“I’m glad I can make an impression and serve as amusement,” he said, his eyes never leaving the king. “And maybe with such actions making an impression on yourself, you can find my proposal not as... outrageous, as you certainly would have in the past.” The king shifted now, his eyes going blank.

“You’ve piqued my curiosity. What is it, that a mutt such as yourself, would want? Would go through the process of killing many of my men, hiding from my soldiers, and blowing a wall in my ballroom, on one of the most important nights, to gain? What is it that would have you setting a death upon your head? Please enlighten me.” His voice was full of scorn and mocking now. Not that he was surprised, he was just surprised it lasted this far, and the king still hadn’t sent his guards after him. It was going good so far, which had him worried. It was sure to go down hill, for it was going too good.

“If I thought you would hear me out without doing as I have, I would have went straight to you. As it is, and as you’ve stated, I’ve made an impression, which was one of the only ways to get it through your head who I am. I’m sure you had to be reminded of my past doings, for my name isn’t something that would stick with you, and you know it. But now as I have done things none have dared to do, none that are either brave enough, nor stupid enough, to attempt, you know me. You recognize me enough of as an equal to talk with me before allowing your guards to come at me. In your previous statement, you asked what a mutt as myself would want? I’d like you to think about that. I’m a mutt. Always have been, always will be. Yet I, a mutt, have done what none others have done. I have captured your attention. So with that thought, I will make my proposition; I want mutts to be treated as equals. I have proved, with my actions, that we are capable of just as much brutality, possibly more, than pure breads.”

Silence followed his words, and even the guests were left speechless. All seemed to be waiting for their king to speak, to say what he thought. The others, behind and around him, were silent. He could, however, hear Audrey’s breath, and judging by it, her nerves were reaching their limit. He didn’t blame her, he was beginning to feel the same way, only he could hide it better.

The silence was finally broken... as the king laughed. At this he did allow his fist to clench as the ball rang with his laughter, and soon the laughter of the other pure breads.

“Smooth. Now what?” Hissed Austin in his ear.

“Wait. They make the first move, then we’ll attack. We may be able to salvage it... he may not be too impressed now, but if we can kill enough of them, who knows?” Austin snorted but shifted away, back to protecting his side and Audrey’s.

“I think stupidity better suits you, mutt. But I must thank you for providing tonight’s amusement. It was better than anything I could have dreamed up. However, it is time to move on with tonight’s plans.” All it took was a jerk of his chin to get the guards heading over.

His body tensed and lowered, ready to fight, but he didn’t attack yet. His eyes stayed locked onto the kings, and he gave a full teeth smiled.

“Consider my offer, and if I’m still breathing, maybe you’ll change your mind.” Once again the room was filled with his laugher, but he ignored it now. His eyes snapped onto the closest guard and he dived.

She couldn’t help the instinct to close her eyes when she heard the sickening snap of the guard’s legs. They flew open immediately afterwards, though. She couldn’t close her eyes. Not now. She needed to be alert, she needed to be ready... but ready for what? She heard what Damon had told Austin, but did she believe the king would change his mind? No. So, if that was the case, what was she waiting for? Her own death. Either by the hands of the guards, or Damon. Neither which seemed too appealing.

She was still in the center of everything, only they weren’t right beside her now. So far no guards had leaked by them, but so far, there were a lot of guards bidding their time. Why rush? There were tons of them, yet only four of attacking, five if you included herself, but she didn’t. She didn’t stand a chance with any of them.

It took her a few moments to realize it, but when she did, her head snapped up. The king was watching her, a smile toying on his lips. When he noticed her, his head tilted to the side, as if examining a dog, or an object. It brought anger boiling up, but she had no place to direct it, no way to release it.

“Don’t look so down, human, you’ve probably made the biggest mark out of all humans. Who cares if the rest of your life you’ll spend in agonizing pain? Who cares if your old owners are just dying to get back to you? At least you’ll be known, right?” He gave a small chuckle that she could barely hear over the fighting. “Out of all, I think I find you the most intriguing. A human in the midst of mutts? Now that is a tale for telling.” She knew she shouldn’t let his words taunt her, course through her like a wild fire, but she couldn’t help it. He was an arrogant bastard, and she wished for Zenon to kill him. To take him off his throne. Someone had to. But what made her emotions bubble even more, was the fact Jasmine was now whispering in his ear... and the king’s smile seemed to be growing by each word. Nothing good would come from that.

Nothing good did come from that, for soon she was stalking toward the brawl... her eyes locked onto hers. But of course that meant she had to get through, right? So she still stood a chance, a hope of not having to fight... if only she believed that. Luck had never been on her side.

She soon lost sight of her, in the midst of the guards. Her eyes continuously scanned the crowd, looking for her and taking in the fight. Damon was covered almost from head to toe in blood, but he wouldn’t quit. He was diving, launching, kicking, twisting, hitting, at all the right moments. He twisted necks, he ripped off arms, he beheaded guards with their own swords, and he caused the most terrifying screams to erupt from them.

Austin, for once, didn’t seem to be fighting for brutality. He had managed to get two swords, and he was now just swinging away, killing in the simplest methods. He beheaded, he stabbed their heart, he mainly just did quick kills.

Caleb was also doing quick kills, but he was doing it in a less painful method. The men dying at his hands didn’t release any terrifying screams, or screams of agony... they just died. They didn’t convulse, they didn’t scream bloody murder, and they didn’t gasp or choke or gurgle on their own blood.

Zenon was in the mix of Caleb and Damon. Some men died without a sound, others... others she preferred not to think about. He was using his own hand-made weapons, wielding them like a pro.

All in all, it was going better than she had hoped. Well it was, until there was a shout, a few yells, and a body emerged in her quiet, secluded, center. Damon’s eyes briefly glanced her way, meeting hers with a look, before he tossed one of the swords along the floor. It skidded to a halt right in front of her, and she didn’t waste time picking it up... her eyes now locking onto Jasmine’s. She didn’t know what it was about Jasmine, but for some reason, she did not seem to like her. Why? She hadn’t done anything wrong to Jasmine. Nothing she hadn’t started first, so why must she try to kill her? It was hard to forget the time she had been thrown in the air... and that thought scared her. If Jasmine was to throw her, she would land in the middle of all the guards, and there would be no hope then. So with what little confidence she had left, she stood up against Jasmine, the sword clenched tight in both hands.

Jasmine seemed weaker than the last time they fought, favouring her left side, but that didn’t boost her confidence. The only reason she hadn’t been killed was because of the poison dagger and Damon. Neither which she had at the moment.

“This will be fun.” Jasmine said, tilting her head to the side, as the king did. She didn’t bother responding, just took a deep breathe and locked eyes with her. Jasmine gave her one large smile, before launching. Her body barely ducked in time, but her grip on the sword did falter. So when Jasmine launched again, she found herself on the receiving end of her fist.

It collided with her jaw, sending her flying backwards. Her body skidded to a halt, not quite out of the center. Her jaw pulsated and her whole body now ached, but she didn’t waste time rolling and jumping up. She tightened her grip on the sword and waited. Jasmine didn’t take long to go after her again, and this time she was ready. As soon as she saw Jasmine’s muscles tense, she pulled her arm back and swung. By the time Jasmine reached her, and the sword had come around, it was perfect... or as perfect as she could hope for.

Her sword slammed into Jasmine’s shoulder, sending her toppling backwards with a small yelp and many curses. Blood now leaked out, and what sanity had remained in Jasmine’s eyes, left. They burned red with rage and anger. With humiliation and hatred. If there had been any hope of a quick death before, it was gone.

A snarl tore out of the crazed woman’s throat, and she couldn’t help taking a small step backwards. Her arm brought the sword back again, preparing for another leap. But it didn’t come. But what did come were arms from behind her. A scream tore from her throat as the sword was ripped from her throat so violently that she had a crack, and within seconds, she felt the blinding pain.

Another scream left her, but before she could even begin to think of a way to defend herself against the guard, he had grabbed her effortlessly and tossed her...

He didn’t throw her hard, he didn’t throw her towards the mass of guards, but he did throw her directly at Jasmine. Directly at an angry woman with claws and fangs ready to tear at her.

Her body smashed against the ground, earning a yelp from her, and before the momentum could cause her body to bounce, a large figure was on top of her, claws lashing out.

She screamed again, her arms instinctively lashing out. That only earned another scream as her broken arm shifted painfully. Her left arm, her good arm, shot upwards, but it did no good. She had it sliced open within seconds, adding to the pain.

The claws dragged across her stomach, her face, her arms... they dragged across her. Every so often the claws would form a fist and smash into her face, and within seconds, her whole body was burning.

She struggled. That was a given. But it didn’t do any good. Blood was covering her face, and her now broken nose had her vision blurring with tears. She couldn’t move her arm, and every hit that she received, sent her body jolting, and her arm twitching. And every time her arm moved, blinding pain reached her mind. Dimly she could hear yells, hear Damon yelling at Caleb, hear Austin yelling at Zenon... but it seemed to far away, so unimportant. She was getting her life beat out of her, none of that mattered! None of them mattered!

Her left arm lashed out for Jasmine’s throat, and for a brief second, she had a good hold of it... but it only lasted for a brief second, before Jasmine slashed it away and stood, bringing her body with her. Her arm screamed in protest of moving, and her whole body became a waterfall, the blood now rolling down. But as all waterfalls must come to an end, her body was slammed back to the ground. Her throat was raw from screaming, but that didn’t stop another one from tearing out.

A vicious blow landed to her head, and darkness swam in her vision before her arm was yanked painfully. An even more torturous scream tore from her. Hands wrapped around her head, and for a brief moment, she thought, at least she’s going to end it. But of course, her luck is never that good. Her head was lifted off the marble for a second, before slammed down against it. Pain ricocheted through her, but no scream left her. Her throat was raw and she could taste blood. She was beyond screaming, she was beyond struggling. She was going to die. There was no stopping the inevitable. She should have known that the day she had been lured from home, that she would die. It was bound to happen, and now it was coming true. Maybe if she could ignore the blinding pain, it wouldn’t be so bad... but she couldn’t. The pain was making a wimp out of her. Whimpers were still escaping her, and the tears were endless.

Jasmine continued to beat her head against the floor, and with every hit, darkness added to her vision. With every hit, the pain numbed. With every hit, she found herself eager. It would finally be over. No more waiting to see what happened, no more fighting, no more dreaming horrific events, no more watching people die... just no more.

As her head slammed down again, everything went dark, but only for a moment. When it cleared, Jasmine was being yanked off, but the darkness soon returned and everything grew dark.

“Audrey!” A voice. Damon’s voice. So loud, so deafening...

But it wasn’t his voice that was deafening, it was the sounds around. The screams, the pain. It had to stop! The black parted only for a second, for her to see Damon crouched over top of her, his hands on either side of her face, but as soon as their eyes met, the black came back.

Pain. Excruciating pain. A scream. Hers? Surely not... she didn’t sound that weak. But it was her, she felt her own throat sting from it, felt her own blood come up. Voices. Who? More than one... more tha-

This time when the darkness swept away, she caught snippets. Words. Half sentences. Were they not speaking properly, or was she not hearing properly?

“Of course.”

“As I said.”

“Impressive.”

“It was a deal!”

“Why?”

“My life.”

“One condition...”

It didn’t make sense. Why was she only hearing every other, or so, sentence? And why couldn’t she move? Why couldn’t she talk? What was going on?! Her panic was short lived, for once again the darkness cut off her thoughts.

It was all he could have done, it was what he had to do. It was cruel in a mis-happen way, it was not fair... but it had to be done. In the end, it was the best for everyone. In the end, it was better.

He may not agree, he may not be too pleased, but he would do it. He would do it for her, he would do it for getting the kings approval of mutts. It was ending. It had finally ended, so who cared of how part of it came to be?

Throbbing. Aching. So thirsty...

She ached for water. Her throat was torn and her mouth was bloody. She wanted, she needed water... but she wanted to know what was going on more. Pain was pulsing through her and everything was a blur. Her vision was swimming, her ears were ringing an-

Screeching of tires. Screams. More screams. Why?!

Yelling. Sirens... voices?

“Miss! Miss!” A female voice. A panicked voice. Who’s? She didn’t know it. Or did she? Why couldn’t she think? Why was her head pounding? Why were there voices yelling, why was there an incredible heat? What was that light? And where were sirens coming from?

A gasp escaped her, her eyes shooting open. Fear gripped her. Jasmine. She had to get away, she had to-

“Shh, calm down. There’s nothing to worry about. You’re going to be fine.” Her head snapped in the direction of the voice, but that was a mistake. Her head throbbed and her vision swam. All she could see was white, and more white.

Who’s voice was that? Where was she? And why was she getting more and more tired?

The next time she woke, she tried to calm her thoughts. There was no continuous beating, so surely she was fine, right?

She even began to slowly open her eyes, but it took a few moments before the blurriness cleared. An annoying beeping sound met her ears, and the room she was in smelt like bleach.

When her vision did clear, she found herself looking at the colour white. The walls were white, the ceiling was white. The blankets she had on were white, the bed was white. Everything was white.

The next thing she took in was the light... it was different somehow. It didn’t have that artificial look to it, it looked... real? It took a few painful moments before she realized it was real. She was looking at sunlight! Actual sunlight!

Her eyes quickly moved around the room again, and this time, she noticed a lot more. There was a large machine, beeping as lines went up and down. It seemed familiar, as if she had seen one once, but her mind couldn’t place it. Then there was an IV. That she knew. The needle was protruding from her left arm, whereas her right arm was encased in a white hard substance, which she briefly remembered being called a cast. Bandages lay across much of her body, especially on her nose, and a cup of water sat on the table to her side. She didn’t reach for it, though, because for once, she felt okay. Her throat wasn’t burning as it used to, but her mind was. She had a good guess where she was; a hospital. But how? Where was Damon? What had happened? Jasmine had been ready to kill her.

“I see you’ve awaken. Good.” It was the same voice from earlier, and this time, she moved her head slower. A man, around the age of thirty, and human, walked in. He was wearing a white long coat and his hair was combed back. His face held a pleasant smile, and she couldn’t see any ulterior motive in his eyes, as she did every time Damon had smiled at her. Before he could speak again, questions bubbled up.

“What happened? She was going to kill me! Where’s Damon? The king had said no, so why am I alive? Where... I... what’s going on? Why am I not shackled? Why?” Tears threatened to fall, even if her settings spoke only of peace. She didn’t believe it. There had to be an ulterior motive, there always was one. Was he a doctor ready to cut her up, to torture her? Was he there to make her spirits high, just so he could crush them? What was going on?

His face had a frown on it now as he sat down beside the bed. He had a clipboard in one hand, and with his other, he reached for hers. He gave it a gentle squeeze before giving her a small smile.

“Sweetheart, I think you’re delusional. No one was trying to kill you, no one would have locked you up, and there was no one else in the vehicle. You’re lucky to be alive. Sweety, you were in a car accident when driving to work.”