Sibling Rivalry- Chapter 4

Nature of the Beast

*** Hah! I can name my chapter Nature of the Beast and Pterry couldn't! Hahahaha! Sorry, I'll get on with it. ***

Elsa stumbled through the trees, her breath was burning in her throat and her eyes stung with the cold winds that whipped her winter cloak around her. She stopped to try and blink the dots out of her eyes and stop the world from spinning.

She heard the hunter's horn blast a short, horrible note and the terrible howls and her adrenaline, burning what little energy she had left, urged her forward.

She had to find the river; that was important, it lead straight back to the castle and it would be easier to stick to it. There were barns, dwellings, houses, boat docks and that meant some chance of shelter or help…

No, help wasn't an option, the people along the river were far too sensible to give help to those on the run in the Game. She carried on crunching through the snow and tried not to listen to her mind's ear, which could hear the sounds of wolves and hot, panting breath closing in on her.

Wolfgang almost leisurely trotted along in front of the army of werewolves behind him and when ever the others tried to run he would snap at them. One of the wolves, his cousin Unity, snarled irritably "Wolf! Why aren't we running, she could get away!"

Wolfgang turned on her with a grin "Did you not listen my dear cousin? She has gone to the river, probably following it to the castle. That's not terribly original, but at least it works with our plan."

"What plan?"

Wolfgang began to laugh, the kind of laughter you would expect from his kind, and he said, in a sickeningly gleeful voice "A trap my dear and a short cut!"

The sound of running water could not have come any quicker for Elsa, she almost cried for joy as she heard the sound of the river and she was spurred on. This was working! Oh Gods this was working! She would be able to leave and then she could send a letter or something back to Angua and-

She stopped, this was too easy! She turned back to see if anyone was following her, but nothing stirred in the trees or in the snow, she could see only her tracks and the scent was clear for miles around. Elsa took a deep breath and stopped, this wasn't right; surely they should be following her? She wasn't that fast and they were much faster than this! This smelt bad. Like a trap-

But a deep, animal part of her survival snapped angrily 'We've made good time that's all! Do you want them to speed up and catch you? Besides, what makes you think they'll be intelligent enough for a trap?'

Elsa, still feeling a stab of doubt in her stomach, pushed away the voice of panic and continued to follow the sound of the water.

After what felt like hours she came to the river bank, she sighed in relief and knelt down to splash her stinging hot face with the water. Her snow cloak was heavy with snow and she tugged it off and sent it down the river, a diversion for them, not a good one, but it will do for now. She got up and walked up the bank towards the sounds of a small port and boats. Elsa picked up her pace and tried running, but her legs felt heavy and her mind wasn't up to it. She felt physically and mentally exhausted from the chase already, how could she outrun them now? But she still had the river; she still had a clear route back to the castle and a way out of Uberwald-

If Wolfgang kept his word, but that was a leap of faith in itself, he could have killed Angua by now and what if mother was in on this and was now locking the doors as she thought this? Well, that was not an issue at the moment, she thought, cross that bridge when we come to it, right now it is important to keep running and keep going. Her hair was flying uncontrollably in her face and she pushed it away from her sticking forehead, clammy with sweat. Each breath was like ice and every step sent fire roaring through her legs.

"Oh help me," she sobbed, "I'm so scared…"

She brushed the tears away and carried on running, she would make it! Just keep running, keep… running… keep…going….

The small port was in front of her; she sighed and punched the air in relief! She made it and still no sign of the werewolves…

But something filled her nostrils like a sudden stab, the smell of blood lust on the panting jaws of her family and the smell of hair standing on end.

"How?!" She muttered, fear burst her hope and sank her to her knees in the snow, tears springing in her eyes once more, "How did they get here? I couldn't smell them behind me…"

A sudden realisation made her choke and nausea bubbled in her throat; they had been here the entire time! They knew what she was going to do, they knew! They had prepared!

"Fancy seeing you here Elsa."

Elsa turned and saw him, the gleeful, smug, animal smile of the successful hunter. She met those glowing eyes again and her heart sank.

"Please, don't hurt me…" she sobbed, "I don't want to be here, let me go…"

"Let you go!" Wolfgang laughed "And let you spread that filthy, wastrel blood of yours with other humans?! Why would I want to do that? Here, with your death, the strong will arise and the weak will be cut away!"

He grabbed her by the throat and raised her up "You can't outrun the beast for it can smell your every move and your fear like the stench of a corpse!" He watched her gasp for breath and try to wriggle away "Angua isn't here now; you can't run to your precious big sister for help!"

Elsa felt her oxygen being chocked away with Wolfgang's grip; she could see the world spinning away and going black and then-

Something blurred past her and caused Wolfgang to roar and drop her. She shook away the confusion and the spots and she saw Wolfgang, in wolf form, wrestling with an indistinct shape…

"Andrei!" She shouted, recognising her brother as Wolfgang fought to gain his balance. She heard his growl, a rumble in his throat "Run!"

Elsa, tearing her eyes from her brother sped her legs into a dash, but the werewolves' initiative sprung into action and they followed her, jaws snapping.

She panted to find shelter and a weapon, she could fight them off and then try running again for now, she couldn't out run them just yet she was too tired and exhausted to run just yet-

She saw the barn just ahead and she burst through the doors just ahead of the werewolves and pushed them shut. She heard several thumps as they barged into it to get it open, but she held fast. She breathed hard and looking around for something to hold the doors. She found a rusty, but strong looking chain a few feet away and reached for it quickly. Just in time she wound it round the door handles and tied it tight as she could. The doors shook as they fought to get the door open, but the chain held true and Elsa sank to ground and tried to gain her composure.

Andrei was out there, he was being mauled by Wolfgang, the thought brought yet more tears to her eyes and she hugged her knees. How many more people would die for her? Angua, lots of Gavin's pack, now Andrei… Gods it was unbearable! She wanted to curl up and wait for it all to be over; she was so tired of running…

Then the rattling of the doors stopped.

She looked up to make sure she wasn't imagining it, but sure enough there was silence from the other side of the door, she leant against it to listen for anything. She could hear Andrei's snarls and growls as he continued to fight Wolfgang.

Then to her horror, a cut off yelp and a roar of triumph.

'Oh no,' she breathed and drew a rattling, sobbing breath 'Oh Gods…'

Now she was trapped in here, the werewolves at the door and Andrei dead outside, there was no hope now…

She didn't want to do this anymore, she was so tempted to open the door and just let them in…

NO! She screwed her face up and stood up, resolution determined and set in she supported herself against the door. She was going to beat the game! She was going to win and beat them! She was not a beast, she wanted to live and leave this place! She wasn't going to give Wolfgang the satisfaction of defeat, she was going to be the first to outrun him and use her own intelligence and her so-called weakness to get out.

Wolfgang wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and grinned, blood smeared across his jaws and his eyes now alight with a grim fire.

"Perfect," he mumbled, "just where we want her."

He turned to one of his lieutenants and nodded they sprang away into the town and came back a short while later, in human form, with a torch burning in his hand. Wolfgang held it for a moment, letting the fire dance its reflection and then held it above his head and shouted "For our clan we will burn away the dead wood!"

Elsa heard far too late, far too late she smelt the lamp oil on the hay around her in the barn, too late she had chain up the door.

The torch crashed through the window before she had a chance to think and the hay went up with a whumth. She watched the fire spiral around her and the smoke filled her lungs before she got a chance to take her last breath of fresh air. She was already too weak to struggle at the chains at the door, the werewolves waited outside and the back entrances were blocked by the walls of fire. Tears, both from the smoke and from the defeat, cut down her cheeks as the she struggled to get up and find another way out. She could smell burning and very little else, she couldn't fight it now, she couldn't get up or get out and she collapsed to the floor.

She watched the fire engulf the barn and then she watched it engulf her… from a distance almost. She had lost the game and they had got her, so much for hope and the determination of the weaker species. Or maybe she just didn't know the nature of the beast, if only she had not tried to stand up to him, if only she had just thought like a beast for a moment… Perhaps to understand a beast you have to play by their rules for a moment and then… get more time to figure out a plan to really play to their weaknesses.

Someone will figure it out one day, someone will beat the game and they will have the last laugh. They will over come the beast, not just Wolfgang but their own inner beast; they will over come the nature of the beast to at least try to give humanity some credit.

She smiled as the flames finally overwhelmed her completely.

"Could have been worse," she said.

To be continued… Yep, still a bit more to go! I'm sorry, chapter one seems to have gone AWOL, I'll try and track it down but I suspect I've deleted it! I'll have to write it again, but still it'll be a chance to improve on it.

Anyway, please review! Fuel my ego! Or destroy it, either way…