Seek & Destroy

“Fan out,” The imposing leader ordered.

He kneeled down next to the mutilated bodies as the rest fanned out along the shallow shores. His amber eyes winced, clutching his simple medallion. The wolf pelt draped over his muscular shoulders with his greasy hair swept over. His massive ax was sheathed along his broad back, held together with goat hide. His long, beaded beard rustled against his neck when turning his gaze toward the river dragon’s corpse; The side of its head was still steaming

“McKinley, you think the river monster done it?” a shorter and rat-faced ruffian asked.

“Does it look like it did this?” he winced.

McKinley noticed the light sheet of crystal floating along the shore, knowing it wasn’t cold enough to make ice. With the serpent’s blood running warm, the culprit was near. The two observed the pond’s disturbance, bubbling while drawing everyone’s panic. A river dragon lunged at them, revealing its row of teeth readied to bite down on one of them. His group scrambled as far as they could from the unassuming pond.

The leader unsheathed his giant ax, cutting off its lower jaw with a single slash. The beast crashed onto its side, squirming as blood gushed out. He turned to see the rat-faced man fallen on his back when he tried to escape, wetting his pants as well. McKinley walked over casually before delivering the killing blow to its head. From afar, the wanderer hid.

“Yeah, I hope you took some pointers from him,” Alejandro remarked.

Billy looked at his mentor, bewildered by his passiveness. After slaying the river beast, McKinley covered his nose upon smelling the horrid steam when he approached the other. The scrawny ruffian observed the crater on the side of the river dragon’s head, which McKinley pointed at with the axes’ tip.

“You think we did that, Clement?” he questioned.

“N—No,” Clement responded, his gaze following followed the ax toward the lodged sword.

“That doesn’t look like one of ours.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

A disgruntled sigh followed as he searched into the barren woods, finding disturbances along the brush. McKinley walked toward the edge, leading his group away from the pond. The silence of the area lent to his suspicion, stopping yards away from it.

“Halt!” he yelled.

“What’s wrong?” Clement looked around.

“I sense mana here.”

“Mana?”

“You really know nothing, Clement. Why the hell did you come along? The river dragon’s head was melted away and our men were crushed by ice. Plus, there’s a mana trap ahead of us. Do I really have to spell it out for ya?”

Clement looked in awe into the desolate woods, barely able to glimpse Alejandro and Billy as they pressed against their cover.

“But that would mean that—”

“We have a wanderer in our midst.”

“Damn,” the wanderer’s eyes narrowed.

“W—What?” Billy asked.

“Watch yourselves, you fools,” McKinley shouted.

A vine violently slashed the throat of the precarious ruffian, nearly severing his head off completely when he walked into the bush. Everyone fired in a panic, hitting nothing but trees while their leader stood firm. With his fist in the air, the gunfire quickly died down. After looking around him, he slammed his ax into the ground, dispelling the mana laced within the dreary flora. With a silent glare, the ruffians entered the rustling foliage, visibly unsettled by the death of their comrade.

“What do we do now!” Billy whispered.

“We push back,” he replied. “We take out the grunts, then the big guy.”

“He’s strong.”

“Yeah, and I—I could…”

“You’re not inspiring confidence.”

Alejandro swung around the tree, sending mana coursing through the dense vegetation. Billy reluctantly followed suit, firing away at the closest target he could find. Sprawling vines pierced through the ruffians, dismembering body parts without effort; It wasn’t long before the sizeable force diminished from the surprise attack. McKinley slashed against the wave of vines while Clement clung close.

He slammed his ax into the ground, delivering a shock wave toward the tree the wanderer hid. The wanderer dodged as the tree exploded into pieces. Alejandro grabbed the young man by his arm and made their escape. McKinley walked past the trail of dead bodies as bullets began to whizz by.

“Run as far as you can,” he shouted. “But, I will catch you.”

They reached the fast-flowing river, looking downstream.

“And how are we getting over this?” Billy panicked. “W—What are you doing?”

The wanderer backed up toward the nearest tree before dashing through to pick him up. Billy screamed at the top of his lungs as they soared. The weightless sensation made him feel like a bird, a flightless one at that. The wanderer used the airy momentum to extend the distance for a safer landing.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Alejandro said, setting him down. “We need to get toward the edge of the waterfall.”

“What are you planning?” Billy asked.

“I need you to hide as soon as we get there.”

“What? And what are you going to do?”

“I’ll figure that out. The last thing I need is for your father—”

“This has nothing to do with him!”

“Just fucking do it, kid!”

Billy ran further into the forest while the wanderer awaited a lengthy showdown. McKinley emerged across the stream with his massive ax in hand. The wanderer ran next to his foe, who picked up momentum. His sickening smile made sent an unsettling feeling as he approached the cliff’s edge. There was ample space to fight in the open terrain next to the waterfall; Alejandro looked over the other side to find his ever-present grimace.

“Where do you think you’re going, wanderer?” he shouted.

I wish En was here, this would’ve been done in no time, the wanderer admitted.

McKinley launched himself, delivering an overhead strike with the ax. The wanderer parried from the attack while it tore off the cliff’s edge. He saw his bloodlust within McKinley’s amber eyes while he ran against the nearest tree. The ruffian’s muscles tightened when slicing the tree in half as Alejandro leaped off. The wanderer back-flipped higher, finding an opportunity to counter.

“Let’s go!” he howled, twirling his mighty ax.

He’s a close-quarters kind of guy, Alejandro surmised.

Alejandro knocked down the cut-down tree toward him, but he held it off while it pushed him toward the cliff’s edge. The wanderer summoned a ravaging vortex as the ruffian launched the log at him. He dodged it after unleashing the whipping gusts upon the battle-hungry opponent. His maniacal laughter sent chills down the wanderer’s spine, especially hearing flesh being ripped away. When the gusts subsided, McKinley stood covered in blood with a murderous gaze; He opened his arms with gusto, walking forward with a smile fixated on the descending wanderer. Alejandro perched on the highest branch, unable to lax his heightened senses.

“Ah,” McKinley shouted. “The power of a wanderer! It ain’t often I come across your kind.”

“I’m flattered,” he responded coldly. “You were once a student of one?”

“You could tell?”

“You can sense mana, yet you wield it sloppily.”

“Well, I’ve killed a few of you before. Mana or not, I always get the job done!”

“I admire your confidence, but I’ve gotta shut this shit down. Dancing isn’t my thing.”

“Aw.”

He teleported in front of Alejandro, meeting his startled expression before delivering an uppercut that sent him tumbling away. McKinley teleported again, grabbing his foot, and flung him onto the ground. Alejandro couldn’t mitigate the plunge in time as he felt the full brunt of the earth. He felt pain coursing as he struggled to stand. The wanderer watched his assailant land, kicking up dirt and a small crater in his wake. He paced toward him, fists balled for a downward punch.

“You seem shocked,” he grinned.

The wanderer avoided being meshed into the crater by rolling away. As he observed the ruffian tire from his constant assault, he knocked him off balance with a simple sweep. His attempts to create a distance were followed by McKinley’s barrage of punches. The impact of each blow delivered excruciating pain, even as he blocked it.

Fuck, I’m in real shit now, Alejandro muttered.

Before the wanderer could break from his ferocious strikes, McKinley tripped him when they neared the edge. His elbow struck into his back, sending the wanderer further toward the edge. Alejandro spat out blood as he remained on his knees. McKinley approached him with fists clenched and ready to strike. The pain subdued the wanderer as he saw his unflinching smile. From the side of his eye, he saw Billy in wait. The hell is he doing here? he withheld his panic.

“Wow, look at you,” McKinley scoffed. “Not too confident now, are you?”

The wanderer looked at the saw-off tree, inspired with one last stand.

“Leave him alone!” Billy shouted.

“Oh?” McKinley mocked, though enticed by the young man’s battle cry. “It’s the little shit! I guess I can kill you first!”

“I’m going to be the one that kills you!”

A bloodthirsty little guy, the wanderer, smiled.

Alejandro uprooted the massive tree trunk with mana, sending it toward the combat-hungry ruffian. The impact broke his chest cavity as he stumbled in excruciating pain. Panting and out of breath, the young guard ran to deliver the final blow with the rusted weapon, seeing McKinley stumble toward the edge. Billy drove it into his abdomen, letting out an uncharacteristic roar.

No fucking way, McKinley thought.

The ruffian’s body weakened when he tried to reach over, violently shifting as the cliff crumbled. Alejandro caught pulled him away as the ground gave way. The hulking foe felt the chilly wind against his back, although his eyes never left those they defeated him. Their faces faded from sight as he plunged to the bottom of the waterfall.

They watched the river carry off his body while the young man helped his mentor stand. The long-winded battle came to an end, albeit a close call. The wanderer’s pain surged throughout his body with the slightest movement, but he reduced his reactions to a wince.

“You did good, kid,” he spoke tiredly.

Billy set him on the tree stump, sitting next to him to watch the sunset.

“I—I did it,” his voice trembled in excitement, meeting Alejandro’s nod of approval.

“You were reckless, though. If he were more focused, we would’ve both been done.”

“As my pops says, a win is a win.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Billy snored tiredly, resting his head upon the wanderer’s shoulders. Alejandro chuckled before turning toward the city. An uneasiness overcame him, wondering what would happen next. Dozens of ruffians dead along with their leader, someone would want answers. Matters of Gardenia seemed more complicated with this, but Alejandro allowed himself to revel in the momentous victory.

“That concludes today’s lesson,” he said.

Kenneth arrived at the edge of the woods, accompanied by a few guards to investigate the reported disturbance. He hoped they didn’t get caught up in whatever happened. The rambling of someone echoed lowly against the hollowed setting. The guards kept their distance, drawing rifles upon seeing a silhouette. Kenneth strained his eyes, parsing the man’s identity as the dimming sunset revealed him little by little. Clement emerged from the depths, alone and unhinged. He cocked the hunting rifle, the only warning he’d provide, but he kept walking.

“Stay right there,” Kenneth shouted. “Who are you?”

“What does it matter?” Clement snarled.

“He said stay back,” a guard reiterated.

The guard’s trigger finger trembled, but the seasoned guard gently lowered the barrel.

“No need to be rude, asshole,” he continued.

Clement chuckled while leaning against a tree. Kenneth kept a tight lip, finding nothing funny about the deranged man’s behavior.

“Where is the rest of your group?” he probed.

“Dead,” Clement answered. “That wanderer and that boy probably killed McKinley.”

The old guard looked toward the others as the stranger laughed hysterically. He pounded his head against the tree, unsettling everyone watching. Clement slowly looked up to the seasoned guard with a stream of blood on the side of his head.

“There are more of us. When they realize my unit is gone, they’ll come looking. All of you are fucked!”

Kenneth turned away after looking into the deranged man’s eyes.

“Take this asshole away.”

His laughter echoed into the distance of the forest.

Seeing the trees for the forest?
TIMBER! It's all but a domino effect!
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