We both froze. I heard a clink as the belt fell from Nik's hand, and then suddenly he was pulling me up and I was on my feet in front of him, his hands gripping my biceps.
His eyes stared straight into mine. "Cal?" he whispered.
I licked my very dry lips. "Nik?" I replied hoarsely.
He kept staring at me, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. I took a deep breath.
"Please." I swallowed again, trying to make my throat spit out more. It spasmed, cutting my words off again.
Niko blinked very quickly. "Why?" he asked.
"Fucking hurts," I managed to mumble. Nik shook his head.
"No, Cal. Why did you run away in the first place?" Well, duh. Niko knew that it hurt.
I shook my head. I didn't think that I could put that many words together at a shot.
And then suddenly I was face down across his lap again and his hand came down hard on my already sore ass. I let out a little yelp of surprised pain. But I was somewhat reassured by the fact that I could see the belt on the carpet by his feet. He couldn't use it down there.
"Tell me," Nik demanded. "I can do this all night if need be."
I swallowed again. "Grendels," I whispered. "Saw them. Not...safe."
"So you thought you'd, what? Go it alone? Because that's much safer." The sarcasm dripped from his voice.
I swallowed again. "For you, it is," I managed.
There was a moment of silence so profound I thought I'd gone deaf. When Niko broke it, his voice was chilling.
"You left to keep me safe." I could feel Nik's breath rising and falling against my side. "Are. You. Insane?" His voice was the kind of quiet that was more frightening than any amount of yelling.
He yanked suddenly at the back of my sweats, baring my backside completely and bringing his hand down with a noise like a gunshot. I let out a yell. I'd thought it sucked before. On bare skin though, it was so much worse.
"FUCK!" I yelled. "OW! STOP!"
He didn't.
"It is not your job to keep me safe. You are my little brother. Since the day you were born, I've kept you safe. Yes, I really dropped the ball two months ago, but that does not mean that we've switched roles here!"
"Oww!" I wailed, kicking my legs like some little kid, but I couldn't help it. Tears were coming now too. Niko shifted his position and my ass seemed to be higher in the air, my skin stretched tighter. The next blow nearly took my breath away. Fuck! He was going to leave handprints like tattoos on my ass!
"If you EVER do something this stupid again, no matter what your excuse, I swear to you Cal, I will take that belt to your backside and sitting down will be nothing but a fond, distant memory. Do you understand me?" Finally, he paused.
"Yes! F-fuck, Nik, STOP!" I begged him shakily. I was ready to promise him just about anything.
He pulled my sweatpants back up, but his hand was still firm against my back, keeping me from standing. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked me.
I shook my head, swiping at my tears.
"Are you sure? Because if there is and you don't tell me, when I find out I'll go outside and cut a switch."
"W-will anyway," I said to the bedspread under my chin.
"Now's your chance. Get out of trouble free," he said. He patted my back a couple of times. "Spit it out."
I sniffled again, wondering if he knew, or if he was bluffing. Ah, fuck it.
"H-haven't been sleeping," I admitted.
Niko took another deep breath. "For how long?" he asked.
I shrugged. He gave me a stinging tap on the backside that I read as a clear warning.
"Um...p-pancakes?" I tensed, sure he was going to spank me again, but his hand stayed on my back.
"Of course," Niko muttered under his breath. "Is that everything?"
I nodded.
"You're sure?"
I thought for a second. "Stole. Mountain Dew," I admitted finally, just to be safe. Usually something like that would be good for a lecture, not a paddling, but I wasn't about to risk it. .
Niko let out a small huff. "And that's everything?"
I nodded again.
"It better be," Niko said gruffly, but he pulled me up off his knees.
I sniffled again, feeling pathetic, and Niko sighed. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned against his shoulder, exhausted.
"I'll take first watch, Cal," he said finally, ruffling my hair. "Get in bed." He released me and pulled back the covers on the motel bed.
I wanted to protest, but the look in Nik's eyes let me know that would be a very stupid idea indeed. So instead I very carefully slid under the covers on my stomach, taking no chances that my weight would press my sore ass into the mattress. Niko very kindly pretended that he didn't notice, busying himself with the knife he'd hidden under the pillow of the other bed.
He sat on the end of the bed, watching the door. "Go to sleep, Cal," he said softly.
I shut my eyes.
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He drifted off faster than I'd thought he would. I watched him, even as I kept an eye on the door in case.
That little idiot. Thinking he's going to keep me safe by leaving? Like trying to keep someone's heart safe outside of their chest. I spun the knife in my hand, testing my reflexes.
At least he was talking again. I would have preferred if he'd done it some other way, but that was Cal for you-stubborn as the proverbial mule and twice as thick-headed.
I'd always taken care of Cal, ever since the day he was born. But now, I needed to take that to the next level. The Grendels were a threat about which we had grown complacent, and Cal had paid for that. I couldn't regret that any more than I already did. The miracle was that he'd returned at all. I wouldn't neglect him again.
It was going to take a lot of work. As soon as he'd fallen into my arms upon his return, I'd seen that he was at least twenty pounds underweight, physically and emotionally ravaged. Now I had proof that his endurance was next to nothing and his fighting skills were no better than your average child in a school-yard brawl. I'd have to remedy that, and soon.
As I sat watching the door, I began to run through ideas for a training regimen in my head. He'd need to learn to fight, how to use a knife, sword, and gun, and gain the kind of endurance that was really mandatory for a person who was literally running for his life. And I'd have to get him eating, both enough in terms of quantity and better in terms of quality.
That might be a lost cause. Ever since he'd been a little kid, bribing him with sugar was the easiest way to get him to do anything. That was probably my fault too-as a baby, sometimes sugar water had been the only thing available to feed him.
I'd also have to teach him. Not just basic life skills, tactics and strategy, and enough education that he could make something of himself as an adult; we needed to find out what these things chasing us actually were, and if there were other things out there. The Grendels were a nightmare come to life. They couldn't be the only ones.
The tremors shaking the mattress broke into my thoughts. Another nightmare coming.
I put my hand on his leg where it trembled under the motel's thin excuse for a blanket. "Cal, wake up," I said, giving his leg a shake. He kicked, tangling himself in the sheets.
"Cal! It's a nightmare, wake up!"
He woke with a snort, his head rearing off the pillow. "Nik!" he cried.
"Shh, little brother. You're ok. I'm right here." I gave his calf a squeeze. "You're safe."
He looked over his shoulder at me, eyes like slate seeking reassurance. His eyes grazed mine, then dropped to the knife I was holding in my other hand. It seemed to reassure him. He took a deep, shaky breath.
"Keep watch?" he said, his voice quiet.
I squeezed his calf again. "Always, Cal. Go back to sleep."
His head dropped back onto the pillow, his eyes falling closed again.
He was my brother. Whatever would keep him safe was what I would do. Always.
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The End