Yohan: Huh?
Standing opposite of three - no, two wolves, he looked with suprise at the execution that occurred in front of his very eyes.
In between those two wolves was another wolf. Though, one would not be able to recognize it as a wolf at first glance. Rather, at any glance for that matter.
It had been reduced to a meer carcass, wounded beyond recognition. It was riddled with scars, gushing out blood like it was a leaking bottle. Its guts were spilled out like a mess of spaghetti. Its limbs were destroyed, almost crooked like a partially snapped twig. It looked to be in pain, such that warranted a shriek. However, it didn't have a throat to scream with. It was completely ripped off like a battery being taken out of a TV remote, leaving only bite marks behind. In fact, those bite marks were all that remained of the wolf. It was killed and mercilessly at that. Standing over the wolf. No, it wasn't a wolf anymore. It was a mere corpse now, doomed to rot into something far more unrecognizable. And it's killers could only smile at it with their fangs dyed in red.
But we're they really smiling? Animals, or monsters alike, weren't known as capable of frowning, as many are only seen contorting their cheeks upward. So, in any case, it was likely that they were frowning. Instead of triumphant over their victim, they were mourning over their friend.
Yes, they were friends. At least, that's what Yohan thought. Those wolves were of the same kind. They served the same master. They hunted together. They fit the bill perfectly as to what "friends" were. Well, at least to the standards of the 'monster kingdom'. An expanse not ruled by animals, where the lion stood at the apex, but a domain overrun with monsters beyond comprehension, with an apex unknown to him.
Though, looking back,maybe the giant was the one who stood at the top of the food chain.
Was there even a food chain? What was the hierarchy among these monsters that determined who would get to eat and who would get eaten? Yohan never knew.
After all, the only one who was likely to turn into food was him. He was the only thing those monsters wanted to eat.
So, really, it was a shocker that those wolves so attacked their own comrade.
Yohan: Hah... it's really dead.
With his finger still pointed at that bloody carcass, he was perplexed at what unfolded. Sure, this was what he intended to happen, but he was surprised that he still managed to execute his plan perfectly.
Yohan: Hah... I'm not dead.
He wanted to move his hand so he could feel himself, but he worried he'd be ordering his own death if he did that. So it remained pointed at the carcass. Though, he didn't need to touch himself to know that he was still breathing, still kicking, still living.
He was glad that he wasn't the one who became a corpse instead of the wolf. Nonetheless, it still worked.
Yohan: Hah... hah... hah...
He had finally done it. He was alive. That wolf was dead. This called for a celebration, but now really wasn't the moment. He wasn't in a celebratory mood anyway.
Yohan: Hah... hah... hah... hah...
Was he laughing or gasping for air? There was no clear distinction as to what it was, but one thing was clear.
Yohan: Hah... hah... hah... hah...
He was losing it.
*****
He didn't know whether to be glad he was alive and managed to succeed, or to be scared of the facr of that if things went slightly wrong, he would've the same fate as that carcass. Two feelings colliding with each other caused him to crack.
And it didn't help that the stench of iron violated his nose.
Yohan: Hah... hah... hah... hah...
The stench of death surrounded. Death was everywhere, at every moment. As a matter of fact, death was right in front of him. Every moment, the slightest mistake could mean his death, and he couldn't afford to make one. That reality was a frightening one. As such, those fears took control of his mind and made him crack.
Yohan: Hah... Hah... Hah... Hah...
He could do nothing but laugh. Though, he didn't laugh at the pitiful wolf that he finally executed, but at himself, who was standing at deaths door.
In any other situations, he might've broken down or cowered in fear. But he was still standing, despite his legs still trembling.
It took him all his willpower to keep himself upright, but no one could see that. And he was lucky for that. After all, if the wolves saw through him and realized that he was a weak person, they would kill him without hesitation. But that facade still remained.
The lie that he was the one who killed their master. They still hadn't doubted it to this moment. With the stench of their masters blood all over him, it wasn't farfetched to believe.
Yohan: Hah... Hah... Hah... Hah...
He was lucky they hadn't seen through it. So he kept laughing. If he hadn't continued to laugh, then it would be replaced with overwhelming fear.
So he continued to laugh. He smiled from ear to ear. His appearance grew for frightening for the wolves. His appearance became more eerie. His voice instilled more fear than ever before.
And he had to keep it going. Deep down, he didn't want to do this, but he had no choice but to. For the sake of his survival. To survive in this place called 'hell'. It was nothing like his other adventures.
His only objective in this hellhole was to be alive.
And right as he stopped pointing at the corpse, he made another decision for his own survival.
*****
These wolves were cowards
They hid in the tall grass, concealing their entirety to catch their prey off-guard. Sneaking up on others and killing for the survival that was the wolf's way of life.
These wolves were cowards.
They would do anything to remain hidden. Even if it meant staying away from their prey and potentially starving to death. Remaining in the tall grass till the day they died was the wolf's way of life.
These wolves were cowards, except for one of them.
They were a group of 4 with one wolf who abandoned their way of life. It was a brave one that wasn't afraid to show itself for the sake of hunting its prey.
These wolves were cowards, but it didn't work for one of them.
They had stuck to their way of life. However, one of them still died. They believed that staying in the tall grass was a guarantee of their safety.
These wolves were cowards, but they didn't need to be.
They could've stayed in the tall grass, but they feared that this person would drag them out from the tall grass and kill them.
These wolves were cowards, so they hated the brave.
They sunk their teeth into one of their own. The one who was the bravest among them had died by their hands. It was a betrayal that only a coward would have no problem in enacting.
These wolves were cowards, so they were easy to scare.
The scent of blood informed them of the threat to their lives. They were too scared to run from it. They were cowards, after all.
These wolves were cowards, so they'd do anything to survive.
Even if it meant betraying each other to save their own butt's. Cowards would do anything to live, no matter how evil their actions might be.
These wolves were cowards, so all who weren't cowards weren't wolves.
If that wolf wasn't a coward, it wasn't a wolf. Therefore, they hadn't killed their own comrade. They had simply been thinking of their own survival.
These wolves were cowards, so that finger had control over them.
They watched the hand that sentenced their fellow wolf to death. They had feared that finger would move. Unfortunately for them, it did.
It wasn't just one finger, but two fingers pointed away from the corpse. The wolves could only follow along to see what they were going to order them to attack.
These wolves were cowards, so they didn't want to dirty their hands.
However, they had already bullied their fangs, which was now dyed in the blood of their fellow wolf. Unfortunately, those two fingers wanted them to dirty their fangs even further.
Grrrrr
Those two fingers pointed away from each other. To different sides. They had each followed the direction the individual fingers had been pointing at. And then they saw each other.
They had met each other's eyes. They had looked almost identical to each other, down to the last follicle of fur. They were both cowards. They were both wolves. They were comrades.
Unfortunately, because they were cowards, they'd do anything to survive.
"Wryyyyyy!"
They'd even kill their closest friend so they'd get to see another day.