"Wow, what the hell happened here?!"
Ajax exclaimed loudly. The sight before him was shocking. Valerie, the girl from Veleta, was lying on the floor, blood dripping from her forearm, her eyes closed as if she were unconscious or worse.
A small child hugged her legs and buried his head between them, his nails scratching her hair aggressively, looking as if he were about to tear her head open at any moment. Murmurs could be heard amid his crying. Toby did not look very well.
"It's not real!" "It's not real!" "It's not real!"
William stood between the two, his sharp nails had grown long and turned black, red blood covered both his hands, and his face was calm with a slight smile on his lips, not an expression you would make in a situation like this.
"Ah."
A slight sound escaped from Enid's throat as she stumbled backwards and almost fell to the ground, tripping over a root protruding from the ground.
Yoko and Divina didn't react much. Yoko was a vampire and was used to blood, and Divina could control her emotions. If she was afraid, she didn't show it.
30 minutes earlier - El Martillo del Juicio stall
"Here I have the wager from both gentlemen, which will be given to the winner of the competition. Whoever lifts the metal weight the highest will be the winner!"
Wilson announced to the crowd as he waved a wad of banknotes.
"Which one of you will go first?" (Wilson)
"I'll go first." (Bob)
Bob didn't wait for Enid to agree. He took the heavy wooden mallet and walked in front of the mechanical game, a pressure plate attached to a height gauge and a red bell decorated with a metal figure of a man spreading his legs and holding his head, the beads of sweat and his expression painted on it showing his nervousness.
"3, 2... 1, Go!" (Wilson)
*Thud*
The heavy wooden mallet struck the metal plate with a scratchy noise, and the gauge rose in an instant. 1.50 metres (4.92 feet) was the final score, about three-quarters of the possible total.
There was some faint applause from the crowd; most of them did not like the man's attitude, supporting a pretty girl was a better option.
*Deep breath*
Enid took a deep breath before grabbing the long handle of the hammer.
*Thud*
"Yeah!!!" (Enid)
Enid raised her fist excitedly and smiled. At 1.70 metres (5.57 feet), her final height was twenty centimetres taller than Bob's.
"She's so cute" (William)
William's words earned him a punch on the shoulder from Yoko. She had lost count of how many times she had heard William say that.
"Here you go, young lady" (Wilson)
"I'll bet another hundred dollars on a second round!" (Bob)
Bob said hastily. He was a narrow-minded man and couldn't accept losing to a little blonde girl, especially in front of so many people. He interrupted before Enid's hand could take the small wad of banknotes.
"Hey, no, you didn't have any more money!" (Bob's friend)
"Leave me alone, I'll pay you double when I win." (Bob)
(If you manage to win, you bloody fool.) (Bob's friend)
Bob's friend frowned angrily and grabbed Bob's shoulder tightly, but Bob just shook him off and walked towards Enid.
"Stop right there." (William)
Before he got too close, William stood in front of him, not allowing him to get any closer to Enid, let alone touch her hair.
"What do you say, young lady? Do you accept his proposal?" (Wilson)
"I accept" (Enid)
Enid shot Bob a defiant look from under William's arm.
"All right, for a total of $800, whoever lifts the height gauge the highest wins!" (Wilson)
Wilson was also excited, as was the crowd, who applauded his words. With some fireworks lighting up the night sky, the crowd became even more excited.
*Gulp*
(Come on, you can do it. That's all the money I collected from collecting the boss's debts. If I don't get it back, I don't know what he'll do to me.) (Bob)
Bob's hands were sweating. He belonged to a small gang of illegal bookies and loan sharks. All that money wasn't his or his friend's. Something bad would happen to him if he didn't hand it over at the end of the day.
"3, 2... 1, Go!!" (Wilson)
*Bang!!*
Maybe it was the adrenaline, the fear, or the excitement, but his swing was much stronger than the previous one, and with the sound of metal rubbing against metal, the height gauge rose to 2.10 metres (6.88 feet).
"Yes!!"
Bob felt that victory was his. He clenched his fists and waited to see the look of disappointment on the girl's face and her annoyed boyfriend's. Maybe he would tease them and mess with them a little.
(This gives me a bad feeling!) (Bob)
Bob did not see what he wanted to see. Both Enid and William's faces remained the same, and he even saw a hint of mockery in the way they looked at him. A bad feeling came over Bob, as if the young blond man had been playing with him from the beginning.
"Young lady, your turn." (Wilson)
"3,2...1, Go!" (Wilson)
"¡Riiing!" "¡Riiing!" "¡Riiing!" "¡Riiing!"
The metal figure of the nervous man waved his arms and legs back and forth, while the loud bell rang at full power, Enid's mallet strike reached a maximum height of 3.28 metres (9.80 feet).
*Applause*
Loud applause and excited exclamations immediately erupted from the crowd, and even the children thought the blonde girl was cool.
"I wonder why your first strike was so soft." (Yoko)
Yoko hugged Enid's shoulders.
"Weak?" (Ajax).
"Last year, she also easily won the grand prize by hitting the bell three times in a row." (Yoko)
"I knew werewolves were strong, but not so much in their human form." (Divina)
"Were...wolves?" (Bob)
Bob felt as if a vein was about to burst in his forehead.
(They played with me like I was a frog at the bottom of a well... I'm going to kill those brats!!!) (Bob)
"Not here, not now!!"
Before Bob could lunge at the group of young people, his friend Carson grabbed his arm tightly and dragged him away from the crowd.
"They'll do something to me if I don't get that money back!!" (Bob)
"Let's hope the lad is alone. You saw his wallet; there must be a lot in there, and with his jewellery, we'll get back more than you lost." (Carson)
Bob held his bald head with both hands, then smiled a little after hearing Carson's words. The two were together only because they were the same kind of scum of society, accustomed to hurting, stealing, and swindling for a measly extra dollar.
Set The Hammer of Judgement
"Here's your share." (William)
"Are you sure?" (Wilson)
"Yes, and I also want the grand prize." (William)
"All right, then I'll take it."
Wilson took the money William offered him. It was his share for putting the whole show together. Wilson wasn't going to refuse, especially with all the people who now wanted to try his game and the publicity he would get from the photos and videos taken that night. It was a bargain for him.
"Here you go. Come back next year too."
After taking the stuffed animal, William met up with his friends right in front of a frozen drink stand. A machine shook the glass bottles in a metal tub filled with water and ice. The movement and temperature meant that after opening the soda bottle, it would be like a slushie in a few moments.
"What flavour do you want, Will?" (Ajax)
"I'll share Enid's, I'm not that thirsty." (William)
"Urgh, look at those lovebirds." (Divina)
"Inseparable!" (Yoko)
Yoko stuck out her tongue at the couple's affection.
"Here you go." (William)
William took a rope out of his pocket and after a few knots, the stuffed animal was now a backpack that could go on Enid's back. Going back to the car would be a pain if the stuffed animal wasn't as big as the previous polar bear.
(Those two over there are following us... no, they're following me) (William)
(Let's see what they want.)
William separated himself from the group after saying he wanted to go to the toilet. He had noticed the two men looking at him. He walked for a while before heading into the woods a little way from the festival.
"What do you want? Your money back?"
"We want everything, including your rings." (Bob)
"Hand everything over and we won't hurt you." (Carson)
"Speak for yourself, I want to make you leave." (Bob)
"Then you'll have to take it by force." (William)
Carson was the first to attack. He ran towards William and punched him. He was an amateur boxer and never achieved anything in that profession, but he learned a little and that helped him in his job.
"You lack strength and speed." (William)
It was a low blow to the liver from Carson who tried to hit William, who easily stopped the blow by protecting himself with his forearm and arm, bending his elbow and covering his left side completely.
"Arghh"
Carson cried out in pain when William's fist hit his chin. Carson fell to the ground as a strange noise came out of his mouth.
"Your friend won't be able to eat solids for a while."
William took a few steps closer to Bob, who was holding his hunting knife..
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
After a shout to encourage himself, Bob stabbed at William's stomach, or at least tried to. William grabbed his wrist with his right hand and Bob's neck with his left.
(This was easier than I thought.) (William)
Bob grabbed William's left hand and could feel his throat closing and the air stopping from entering his lungs.
(This should be enough) (William)
William wasn't going to kill him. He just put his foot on Bob's thigh and applied pressure.
*CRACK*
"Arggguu!!"
Bob's bone broke in two and he was thrown to the ground by William as if he were a chicken. Something had caught his attention, something deeper in the forest.
(Blood?) (William)
Before checking where the smell was coming from, William did not forget to break Carson's arm bone into four pieces with a stomp, and soon the cries of pain attracted people.
'Wait, is he the idiot who lost to a girl?"