I felt like I owed you guys this chapter. It came out a bit shorter than planned, but I'm out of time to write it, and it's still good, and I like it, and now, I present to you, the last chapter of Bad Moon Hell Raisers. I have one warning; there will be blood. There will be a rather disturbing scene of blood and gore in this chapter. If you're not into that stuff, then this chapter is not for you. Don't say I didn't warn you.
If anyone asked him about it, Altaïr would say no, he didn't remember the incident all that well. Just a fuzzy memory of blood and death, nothing more. In reality, he remembered that night very clearly. How could he forget when images of that time kept re-surfacing in his mind, in his dreams? Still frames that he could easily sketch down on paper, line for line, detail to detail, a perfect picture of horror that had happened. Happened to him, to Malik, to Kadar.
Almost four years ago it all went wrong. Altaïr could probably still find the exact spot where it happened, could still go back there and know who went down where, what was lying where, what happened in each spot. It happened in Malheur National Forest, nearest city was Canyon City, Oregon. Their apparent target was camping out in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, a place full of tall pines, rocky terrain and several lakes. A pretty good place to hide if you knew where to go. And a Templar was hanging out in there.
What for, didn't know, nor did Altaïr really care. He was just excited about the hunt, the thrill of the upcoming chase, to seek out his prey and ends its life. He had always been a bit wild, a bit bloodthirsty long before he became the true predator he never imagined could ever actually exist.
Malik kept telling him the whole way there not to get too excited, less his gigantic ego prevent him from getting his head through the door of the jeep. The only thing preventing Altaïr from personally ejecting Malik from his seat in the still moving vehicle was their seat belts, and the road full of hard rocks and dirt Kadar was driving them on.
The younger Al-Sayf brother had been an absolute saint for putting up with them if Altaïr recalled correctly. Kind Kadar could handle him and Malik together in large doses until their constant bickering and innuendos made him want to tear his hair out. To this day, Altaïr still wasn't sure how Kadar had tolerated them on that last mission. Either he understood how exciting it was to hunt down a Templar, or he was doing his best to not spill the beans on Altaïr's master plan.
Because Kadar was one of the few people who actually knew about Altaïr's and Malik's true relationship together. Knew how long they had been lovers, knew pretty much everything there was to know that they guarded so zealously (but Kadar was always a nosy little brother, so of course he knew). This also included Altaïr's grand plan of a marriage proposal to the elder Al-Sayf brother. A proposal that still, almost four years laters, had yet to happen. A secret that Kadar had taken to the grave, along with Altaïr's courage to ask. Four years almost, and Malik still didn't know.
There had been all sorts of things wrong with that mission in hindsight. Why three Assassins were needed for one Templar, who reportedly was alone with no one else with him. The location, despite it being government owned land, was rather remote. What in the world was a Templar doing out there for? But perhaps the one important detail no one had ever thought about; it was the night of full moon. All sorts of details no one seemed to think about until much, much later. So many things wrong, and no one seemed to care.
Kadar had finally driven far enough to where the road just about ended, and they could all hop out. They had a map of the forest, map of the camp the Templar had set, and guns. Really big guns. Altaïr didn't think a gun like an M-16 was needed for one guy, but who was he to argue? Standard issue, but it was fast, it was efficient, and it felt so right in his hands. The only issue he had were the bullets given to them. They looked like M-16 bullets, fit into the clip like the right bullets, but they felt heavier.
(Then again, Altaïr had never held a silver before; why he needed them, the reason had never occurred to him.)
Radios were implemented, hidden blades were strapped on, handguns in holster, ammo, lights, trackers, important things. Everything they needed for one damned Templar. Really, all Altaïr thought he'd need at the time was one blade and one gun, and himself of course. Didn't think he needed anyone else. But he hadn't known what he was up against, and how not even a million of him could take this one particular Templar down.
"We'll split up" Altaïr had declared, tapping the map spread out over the hood of the jeep. "It's a big area, we'll cover more ground this way. Shoot him on sight, orders are to kill, take no prisoners. No problems, right?"
"Oh no, except we don't know what our big bad Templar has out there waiting for us" Malik said, both arms crossed over is chest. "What are we to expect out there? Traps? Hidden henchmen?"
"Maybe bears? And lions and tigers?" Kadar inquired jokingly, grinning at his own dumb joke when his brother shot a glare at him, but Altaïr couldn't help but smile back at him.
"This is no joke" Malik growled. "You two can have fun getting blown up while looking for animals that aren't there. I on the other hand, am actually going to do my job"
"Malik, loosen up" Altaïr said with a roll of his eyes. "As far as we know, he could be just sitting out there in the middle of the forest in his underwear all by himself. Can't you just be happy with that?"
"No" Malik snapped. "Sounds far too simple, too easy. It sounds more like a trap. We need to be cautious about this"
"It's just a fucking Templar, Malik. We've killed dozens of them already. Don't be a whiney bitch about it" Altaïr retorted. He nearly bit his tongue after he said that, Malik's dark eyes narrowing at him. His lover marched right up to him until they were face to face, breathing the same air. Altaïr was half tempted to punch the face in front of him, and half tempted to kiss it, maybe both.
"Don't be such an ignorant prick with his head up his ass then" Malik hissed at him. Without another word, he whirled around and marched off into the forest.
"Keep your line on!" Kadar called after his brother. The younger Al-Sayf glanced over at Altaïr. "You're an amazing flirt you know that?"
"Shut up" Altaïr grumbled, switching his line open and stomping off into the trees. Even still to this day Altaïr wished he had said things differently. Perhaps actually kissed Malik. Found him somewhere and just had just done it, ring in his possession or not. But how was he to know this would be the last time he saw both brothers like this? Because the next time he'd see them both would be under more unfortunate circumstances.
Despite the brightness of the sun, under the shade of the pines made the forest look darker than it should have been. Altaïr had no problem seeing though. He did keep an eye out for any traps or assailants, being cautious like Malik told him (and like how he had stupidly scoffed at). But for the longest time he got nothing but more trees. Every once in a while he thought he heard or saw something out of the corner of his eyes. But when he looked, there was nothing to be found.
He thought maybe there was an actual bear or maybe a cougar after him, but he didn't think an animal would take so long to try and pounce him. But if there was something after him, at least he could dispatch it easily. He had a gun after all, some animal had to be stupid to come and try to get him. But it was a tad odd enough to unsettle him.
Because he had noticed how quiet it was. There were no birds signing, or bugs buzzing. It was the middle of July, there should have been life everywhere. Like deer, or rabbits, squirrels or something. But no, not even that. Maybe it was the quiet getting to his head, making him think he was seeing things at the corners of his vision. But why was it so quiet? Where did all the life go? He was getting desperate for noise that he himself wasn't making. He switched his radio to the next line.
"Ey" Altaïr said aloud.
"Yo" Kadar's voice filtered into his ear.
"See anything yet?"
"Nope"
Altaïr sighed, stepping over a fallen log. "Same here"
"Yeah what's up with that? I haven't seen or heard anything. Not a single damn thing"
"Again, same here…I think anyway" Altaïr replied hesitantly. So it wasn't just him though, Kadar was having a similar experience as him.
"You'd think there would be something" Kadar grumbled. "But so, how's that amazing proposal coming along? Malik seems like he would be thrilled to have it happen"
"I don't even wanna think about it" Altaïr groaned,
"Right, right, apologies first, proposals later"
"What the fuck do I have to apologize for?"
"For being a dick, you dick"
"I am not!" Altaïr yelled loud enough for both Al-Sayf brothers to hear him wherever they may be. Silence answered him back, and a faint muffled voice came from his earpiece.
"Ow, blow out my eardrum why don't you" Kadar groused.
"My bad" Altaïr apologized.
"And yes, you kinda are. Take this mission a little seriously, for him at least?" Kadar asked.
"I can do that I guess"
"Good. Now apologize to him. Jeez, I shouldn't have to hold your hand in your own relationship problems"
"Yeah, thanks Kadar, goodbye" Altaïr grumbled, fiddling with the radio until he hit another line. "Malik, Can I-"
"Still me Altaïr" Kadar interrupted. Altaïr paused to stare down at the radio on his hip. How the fuck did he do that?
"Sorry" he mumbled", then played with the radio again. "Malik?"
"Did you even bother to change lines?"
Altaïr whined and fiddled with the radio again one last time, confident he'd get the right station this time. "Malik!"
"And the third try wasn't the charm"
"Kadar I'm going to beat your face in!" Altaïr snarled, tempted to rip the radio off his person and smash it into the ground.
"Whaaaaaaat? Not my fault you can't work simple technology"
Altaïr turned the radio off after that. He really fucking hated it.
[break]
Several hours later, Altaïr had still found nothing, heard nothing, or seen nothing. The sun had set, the forest had been plunged into darkness and yet not a single thing had happened since his failed attempt at trying to get into touch with Malik. He was just about ready to try again just for the sake of hearing something, It was rather unnerving walking out here alone in the dark like this. The pines were doing a fantastic job at blocking out any light, save for the patches of moonlight that managed to slip past the branches.
But Altaïr was starting to think there was nothing out here at all. He should have pumped into one of his teammates by now, or at that stupid Templar. Hell, his fake bear or cougar would have been welcome at this point. Yet, still nothing. Just him out here alone in the dark, and it really fucking sucked. With a great reluctance, Altaïr flipped his radio on and switched to the first line that clicked on.
"Kadar" he barked, noting how loud his voice was compared to the silence around him.
"He's the other channel. Do you not know who's line is who?" Malik growled at him, and Altaïr stared angrily at a tree, huffing in frustration because finally!
"Actually you're the one I've been meaning to talk to all day" Altaïr said, feeling a little less lonely hearing his boyfriend's voice.
"What do you want then?" And make it quick, I'm trying to work here unlike some people"
"I'm sorry" Altaïr blurted out, and there seemed to be a pause on the line.
"Pardon me, but what?" Malik asked, and damn him, Altaïr could hear the smirk in his voice.
"I'm sorry" Altaïr repeated. "I'm sorry for being an ass to you"
"Glad you realize it too. And here I thought that ego of yours was getting in the way"
"You're no better yourself there" Altaïr muttered under his breath.
"But your apology is accepted. Now then, can I get back to work?" Malik asked,
"Hold on for a second. Have you seen anything yet?"
"I might have"
"Really? When? Where?" Altaïr fired his questions off a bit too excitedly.
"Well not…Exactly. At least, I think I saw something" Malik corrected.
"You too then" Altaïr sighed. Fantastic, this was happening to all of them.
"At least it sounds like I'm not the only one. Kadar said he saw someone before sunset. Lost 'em though, and I haven't heard from him since"
"Switch to line four then, let's get in touch with him"
"Roger"
Line four was an open channel between the three of them, allowing communication all at once. And it was the only channel Altaïr could switch to flawlessly. When he did switch over, Malik was already talking to the youngest of the three.
"Kadar, do you copy?"
"Kadar, answer me dammit!"
"Kadar, do you copy at all?"
"Shhhh" Kadar shushed them. "I think I got something. I'm moving in, over"
The line fell silent, the only sound was the faint noise of someone running and stopping, running and stopping. "Goddammit" Kadar eventually swore. "i thought I had it, but it-SHIT"
Gunfire crackled over the earpiece, and the booms echoes through the trees moment later. Now Altaïr was the one running. "Kadar, where are you?" Altaïr yelled, heading in the direction of the sound of gunfire came from. The answer was more cursing and the chattering of Kadar's rifle going off.
"It was right there you guys, oh my god it was so fast I can't believe it! I missed it, it was that fast oh my god" Kadar cried, his ragged breaths could be heard clearly.
"Kadar what are you fighting?" Altaïr demanded to know.
"I don't know, but it's fast and I could use some backup like, right fucking now"
"On our way" Malik said. Altaïr was still running, glancing around for either of the Al-Says, the Templar, or whatever it was giving Kadar a hard time. At the time, Altaïr couldn't imagine anything too fast for an Assassin to keep up with, anything too strong or too powerful. Nothing could beat an Assassin. But after tonight, he would learn that there was indeed something out there bigger and badder than them.
There was more swearing over the earpiece, more shots ringing out through the trees and then…A bone chilling howl that made Altaïr freeze in his tracks. That was a wolf howl. A very, scary wolf howl. One that rang clear over the earpiece and echoed through the trees. No one ever told them there were wolves out here. Was that what Kadar was being attacked by? A damn wolf?
"Holy shit!" Kadar shouted, shooting off more rounds. "I can't even hit it oh my god. I cant'-FUCKING HELL"
This, both Altaïr and Malik would never forget hearing. The sounds that would haunt their nightmares for years to come. The sound of Kadar hitting the ground, horrible snarling and growling. The sound of something tearing. Kadar's screams of pain and terror. Hearing the ripping of clothing, then skin, and then the wet squelch of blood. And still so much screaming. Altaïr had to lean against a tree and hold his stomach with one hand, and cover his mouth with the other. Something being torn apart and the screaming, my god the screaming, to this day he could still hear the screams.
And then absolute silence. Kadar's screams just cut off like his radio went dead, except Altaïr could still hear the static. Altaïr remained huddled against the tree, willing the churning in his stomach go away. Kadar…No Kadar had to be fine. He wasn't…Altaïr pushed himself away from the tree, taking a deep breath and sluggishly continuing on. Yes he was an Assassin. Yes he killed people all the time. But never had he heard something so gruesome. And he still didn't know if Kadar was alright or not. Just…keep moving. Keep moving. Keep going. Find Kadar. Just do that.
"Altaïr" Malik said, and it wasn't from the earpiece this time. Malik had finally caught up to him. Utterly relieved, Altaïr crashed into his boyfriend with a hug, holding him tight because thank god Malik was okay at least. "Altaïr" Malik repeated. "Have you seen…Did you find…What was..."
"No, no, and no" Altaïr answered with a shake of his head. "But hey, hey listen to me" he said, resting his forehead against Malik's. "We'll find him, okay? He's going to be fine"
Malik did not look convinced, but nodded anyway. Altaïr gently let him go, and they set off together, rifles at the ready. Whatever it was that had gone after Kadar was still out there. And Altaïr would not let it get to Malik too. Nothing was going to stop him from protecting the man he loved to hell and back.
(This Altaïr still beat himself over about because he still failed in the end to do just that.)
The rest of the trek through the trees was quiet and nerve wracking. Their light was limited, it was hard to see where they were going, and aside from their own shuffling through the grass and their own breathing, it was still incredibly quiet. Kadar's mysterious attacker was keeping its distance, or it didn't know they were there yet. That Altair highly doubted, remembering how earlier that day he could have sworn something was out there with him. And now there was, but it hadn't attacked him before, and hadn't attacked Malik either when it was watching him. So why attack Kadar now? Because it was dark and easier to sneak up on him? Clever, but dangerous. It could be with them at that moment, just watching, waiting for them to split up so it could attack better.
"Got something" Malik spoke up. A light was flicked on, Malik had his flashlight trained on the ground. Looking down, Altair could see them, spent bullet casings twinkling up at him. Altair dug his own flashlight out, flicking it on and examining the area around them. Trees were riddled with holes, the only thing Kadar had managed to shoot instead of his attacker. Or perhaps not...there was a dark splotch on the ground there. And it wasn't just more grass. Blood. Maybe Kadar hit it after all and didn't realize it. Yes, yes that was it. It had to be.
"Shit" Altair cursed as he nearly slipped. "Watch your step, grass is wet over here too"
"More blood" Malik confirmed, and looking down, yes, there was more blood. A lot more. A trail of it zigzagging across the grass. The amount of it increased as they went along until they came to a rock in the path. No, not a rock. It was too slimy and...and..It wasn't a rock. Altair gulped, moving the light along until...Until they found Kadar. Or what was left of him. Altair dropped his flashlight, Malik's light and rifle clattering to the ground. The moon chose now to move above the trees to shine down them, casting Kadat's body in a rather ghostly light.
His arms were shredded, suggesting he had tried to protect himself from the attack that way, clothing and skin hanging off his arm. His stomach had been ripped open, his entrails were pulled out and were draped over his legs. His sightless stared down at his body, his head cracked at an angle, and his throat spilling out over his shoulders. Malik felt to his knees before his little brother, staring at with wide, disbelieving eyes. Altair...had to turn away to empty out his stomach. Never, in his entire Assassin career, had he ever see such a sight. There was killing, there was murder, and then there was slaughter. No human would do this, would they? Was it that Templar? It had to have been!
"Malik" Altair said, spitting at the ground before turning back to his love. "Malik, we...we're going to find who did this. We're going to find them, and make them pay, I swear to god we will"
Malik said nothing, just slowly turned his head to stare up at Altair. His heart ached for him, his love looked like he was on the verge of losing it, but Malik was strong. The time for mourning would come later, surely Malik understood that. They had a killer to take care of first. "We'll find them" he said, resting a hand on Malik's shoulder and squeezing. Malik growled at him in reply. No, Malik had not growled. Malik was staring at him with wide eyes, but he had made no noise. The growling persisted from behind them. Whirling around, they did find their comrade's attacker.
A wolf. A big, big wolf. But there wasn't supposed to be any wolves here, at all. The wolf dropped something from its mouth, the object dropping to the ground with a wet slap. And here, is where things got fuzzy, where everything began to lose sense. Altair remembered pointing his rifle at it, remembered firing, remembering missing because yes, it did move fast. But his perception, his movements and thoughts seemed to slow down. It charged at him, and he couldn't move. The beast only missed because Malik had knocked him out of the way. He remembered hitting the ground, remembered hearing the beast tackle Malik. Malik's cries, oh god he'd never forget hearing him cry, his screams.
And he still remembered barely being able to move. Just barely managing to lift his rifle, pumping off rounds at an agonizingly slow pace. Remembered seeing them slam into the wolf, and then...God it was his fault.
The wolf tore off Malik's arm as it was slammed to the ground. If they had been using regular bullets, then perhaps Malik's arm would have been saved. But silver...silver bullets did so much more damage. It would take weeks for Altair to get over the fact that it was his fault Malik lost his arm. Even today he still looked at the remaining stump and felt the guilt of being responsible for it. He could still hear that last scream from Malik.
The wolf had miraculously stood up. Blood was pouring from its side, but it got to its feet and launched itself at Altair. His gun was knocked away from hands, he still couldn't move to protect himself. The wolf tore his throat out. And then left him. It hacked up more blood all over him, but limped away to let him bleed out. It had happened so fast, in mere seconds. To Altair, the attack lasted forever. He was left there to die under the light of the full moon. He could hear Malik whimpering pathetically in pain, and he couldn't even move to get up and go to his aide. His body felt heavy. Too, too heavy. He tried calling out, but more blood bubbled from his wound. And why, why couldn't he move?
Altair could only stare helplessly at sky, at the moon looking down at them. He was helpless. He was dying. They were dying. They would be with Kadar soon. Mauled by a wolf. And still no Templar. Oh Allah...Help them. Someone, anyone would have been welcome. Altair didn't believe in higher powers but anything to save them would work. Anything at all.
Here Altair remembered fading into darkness, but the moon...the moon was still there. And there was...a woman's laugh. And he couldn't remember much else after that.
Thank you all for reading and following Bad Moon Hell Raisers. The Bad Moon series will continue in its next story, Open Season, coming soon. It will pick up a few months after Bad Moon, and will continue with the story of Desmond living the pack life with Altair, Malik, and Connor. It will continue the storyline, and will also feature many flashbacks that will answer, many, many questions. Thanks a lot you guys, you're all awesome.
Safety and peace.
8/28/15- Hey guys what's up. It's been a couple years since I've written BMHR here, and I've grown a lot as a writer. As such, this project keeps coming back to haunt me, cause now I have the sufficient writing skill to actually write the story that I originally envisioned. Plus with the way I want to take the series in its later chapters, I realized it would be really jarring and off-putting if the earlier works didn't reflect that. It's not gonna happen so, but do know I plan to re-write this series eventually. Consider this story all non-canon in my series. I'll leave it up though, because it's still a fun story people still love today. But in my grand master plan of things, I don't consider it part of the official series any longer. Thanks for reading and supporting the series after all these years though, you're all amazing and I love you.