The Death Dealer’s Song

JP with Gonyaul and Hunter:

Gonyaul was baring witness to the mayhem and carnage. Yet in the midst of the storm, he also caught sight of the tender and sorrowful exchange between Hunter and one of the twins. He felt a sadness wash over him, triggered by that moment in time he was sure never to forget.

He stayed hidden, wanting no further part in this brutal exchange. His eyes darted to the trees on the other side of Hunter; between the assassin and the ritual clearing. There were more coming and he was content in keeping the “dealer of death” between them and himself.

Hunter heard more the sounds of rustling dirt, leaves and mud heading in his direction. He took a deep breath as he prepared to do his shadow dance of death. As a Hunter he was trained to kill in the dark with a fluid movement and his dance was both beautiful and horrifying at the same time. Each move had a purpose as he took a life without batting an eye. Oddly enough he was humming and odd tune as he was killing.

Gonyaul was simultaneously impressed and repulsed by Hunters massacre of the new people beginning to arrive on the scene. It was obvious to him, from the distant vantage point they were not looking for a fight. It was like lemmings running towards their own demise, and they didn’t even know it.

Why did people have to make such choices that led to this, he wondered.

He began to scan the dark surroundings. He was curious to what happened back at the ritual. He began moving cautiously through the woods giving any commotion a wide berth.

While on route he came across Wim’s kill from the original five pursuers. He would have lost his lunch if he had eaten anything in the last two days. It was a messy sight.

Each sway Hunter made in the darkness allowed him to sway and parry any feeble attacks before opening their throats. His muttered song grew a bit louder as anyone near him would hear it before dying except for the rabbit hiding behind him.

"To this day I guess I'll never know
Just why they let me go
But I'll never go dancing no more
'Til I dance with the dead...”

By the end of the song Hunter was standing over many bodies as blood dripped from his blades. With a quick flip he shook off the blood and began moving forward.

Gonyaul continued moving forward as well. He kept tabs on Hunter, the safety buffer, as they both proceeded to the illuminated ritual area where there were still sounds of combat going on. He stopped to collect his wrappings when he came back to them. It didn’t look like his idea had worked. He still believes it was a neat trick as he wrapped them carefully back onto his forearms. He was the first of the rescuers to show his face and now he was the last of the rescuers to arrive back to the scene.