Near the shore of the island, Lily kept watch a few meters away from the girls as they rested. Azhir's abrupt arrival frightened everyone, even Kaitlyn who displayed sympathy toward the young man. No doubt, Lily trusted Azhir, but even she had limits.
He's already killed one person... but I know there's an explanation. Lily searched the terrain. That begs the question why Sean wasn't with him. That's it... I need to find Sean.
Lily turned to Kaitlyn and Mabel, consciousness organizing a plan to execute. She approached the girls.
"Where is everyone else? Shouldn't they have searched over here by now?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Maybe they're busy." Lily eyed the direction they came from then the opposite. If Sean isn't with Azhir, most likely he's out there dealing with the boy search party. He can only last so long.
"I'm going to find Sean."
"He's dead! There's no way...!" Mabel started.
"I know him better than any of you do!" Lily snapped but breathed.
"Azhir is unpredictable, sure. But unless he has a legitimate reason, he doesn't just... he doesn't do it for nothing. Most likely... Sean hasn't given him a reason." In fact, it may be the opposite. Lily assumed. Mabel glared at her.
"Does that mean... did Tim...?" Kaitlyn wondered. Lily couldn't give a firm answer.
"You... you knew about him? ... All this time?"
Before Mabel could claw at Lily, Kaitlyn grabbed her wrists and restrained her from moving.
"Let go! This bitch got everyone killed!"
"Calm down! Lily probably has her reasons."
The subtle gaze from Kaitlyn showed an open mind but her expression still communicated that Lily owed an explanation.
"I'll be back. You two hear anything, run and hide."
Lily dashed away. Mabel thrashed for a couple more seconds before she lost her fight and Kaitlyn finally let her go completely.
~
Pushing to his feet, Sean glared ahead. No one came into view, yet he heard trampling in a few directions. His head swished left and right.
Feeling danger, Sean rolled and shifted to his six-o clock.
There, Daniel stood panting.
"Attacking me is going to get us nowhere. Just stop and listen." Sean naturally retreated slowly. However, each step Daniel took, his pace increased!
Daniel threw a fist. Sean dodged.
"Hold still." Daniel reached but barely missed Sean's shirt. Lungs burning, Sean spun around a tree to run but he felt his shirt being tugged. What the...!
The fabric tore little by little, but Sean was still thrown backward into the trunk, meters from Daniel. Shit. Shit. Shit. Scrambling to his feet, Sean focused on Daniel as he arrived swinging.
His punches were much more intense than Oleg's. After blocking two, Sean reserved himself to pure evasion. He couldn't take any more hits, weakened or not.
This feeling... it's too familiar. Sean inhaled as he leapt back to avoid Daniel's kick that broke some bark off a tree. Sean kept himself from trembling.
Oleg slowed himself down as he saw Daniel and Sean facing off. His stomach dropped. Red... his eyes... Oleg stared at Daniel.
Daniel stopped and glanced at Oleg.
"Oleg, run! Go tell the others!" Sean shouted.
He walked toward Sean with a crazed smile on his face, eyes exuding that of a wild animal.
"Go! Hurry up!" Before Sean could refocus, Daniel grabbed his throat and started to squeeze. Sean tried pulling his fingers away, but they merely sunk deeper into his skin.
Abruptly Sean was released!
Oleg panted with his bruised fist near his waist. Daniel merely recoiled a few steps as he wiped his lip.
"Well, I'll be damned." Oleg spit on the ground.
"We need to run." Sean repeated. Although he'd never seen Azhir fight two people, there wasn't a reason why a khata would struggle against more than one individual.
"And what? Give him a chance to go around doing whatever he wants? Besides, there's more of us than there are of him." Oleg prepared himself as Jack and Reyes arrived.
Despite not knowing the full context, they read the situation and came over for support.
Shit. Sean readied himself.
"You'll need more than that." Daniel taunted.
~
Zuri leaned back to avoid a hook, but she ended up on the ground, a little red liquid staining the dirt. As she forced herself upright, she heard Azhir giggle. I'm... no... I'm not going to... She refused to finish the sentence.
"It's been a bit since I've had a good fight."
Azhir's wound remained in the same state and the bleeding had ceased.
Sweeping at his legs, Azhir shifted his foot. Zuri's boot connected with his calf. Nothing. Instead, Zuri receded as she breathed.
"Where are you going?!" Azhir charged and insured to punish Zuri for her hesitation.
She raised her guard to protect her body, her temples, yet every hit seemed as if her defenses were in vain. At the least, I can stay... conscious... Zuri faltered. Her lungs screamed.
Her arms pleaded to fall to her sides. Legs nearly buckled.
Two seconds. Exposed, Azhir landed a kick to her chin and she collapsed, vision blackening for three seconds before pain forces her to remain comscious.
"You did good..." Azhir complimented before he raised his boot.
Gazing into Zuri's eyes, he tilted his head as he smirked. The boot came down.
Zuri expected to see black again but for good. She'd lose her hearing, only the faint crushing of her bones beneath him. But leaves crunched in her ear. If she wasn't so exhausted and drained, she'd have gasped.
Azhir kept staring. His breathing shallow, but enough to speak, enough not to die... enough to live. She deserves it... she does... but I can't get carried away again. I've got to get to Sean... His gaze shifted toward the direction Sean was in then the direction where Lily and the girls traveled in. And I've caused you enough trouble.
Noticing Zuri's eyes trying to close, Azhir scoffed.
"We never finished our talk from last time." He nudged her cheek with his boot. Zuri wheezed as she peered at Azhir.
"Since you're in such a state, shake your head if there's something off. Do you understand? Nod if so." Azhir sat on the side of her, holding his wound.
Zuri's decided to be stubborn. Azhir sighed.
"Whoever this culprit is... I haven't detected a motive for any of them, so if he roams free, you'll eventually die."
Azhir wrapped his hand around her throat. He gritted his teeth from the wound, but it hardened his resolve.
"Know that whoever this person is, they aren't the only one with the capability to kill you." He squeezed. "Understand?"
Managing a gulp, Zuri nodded the best she could. Azhir let go of her throat and pondered.
"So... the murderer is in that search party... that's trying to find us right now?" With no nonverbal denial, Azhir continued.
"It's not Oleg... so it's one of the other three."
Again, Zuri kept wheezing. So... who is it? Better yet... He seethed as a needle of pain surged through for a second.
"I'll need you to tell me then... who is it?"
Zuri inhaled before exhaling out. "...Daniel."
"And instead of pointing him out, you decided to keep it from all of us."
She grunted and opened her mouth.
"Don't bother." Azhir leaned back as he breathed carefully.
"Given who we are... you should be in a better position to explain in a few hours. Unlucky for you, try to fight me again and I'll drown you."
Azhir said flatly. He narrowed his eyes before looking in Sean's direction. Fighting? Is he fighting Daniel right now? In my state... but, he's got help... is that...?
~
Panting, Lily ran to specific noises. Grunting. Screaming. Cursing.
Closer, the yelling and insults became clearer.
Finally arriving, Lily saw Jack lying on the ground, eyes staring at the sky. Reyes groaned as he squirmed on the ground.
Sean exhaled as he rested on one knee. Oleg stood in front of Daniel.
When Oleg advanced, Lily sprinted into a leap.
Daniel swiftly sidestepped and punched Oleg. Then he felt a strike slam into the back of his head, yet he merely stumbled forward a couple feet.
Lily landed and rubbed her shin.
"Ow." Daniel rubbed his head, registering the kick as a minor nuisance. He turned.
"Lily? I thought you'd know better." Daniel snarled.
"Are you...?" Oleg switched to Lily for a moment.
"No, I'm not one of them. I've just spent a lot of time around people like this." Lily took a stance as Daniel counted the reinforcements. Still not enough.
Combing his mind, Sean thought about ways to fight someone like Azhir and Zuri. Like Azhir. He recalled.
"Where's Azhir?! Sean demanded.
"He's confronting Zuri!" Lily shouted back.
"Oh...?" Daniel suddenly seemed more intrigued.
"Good. It'll be a lot easier to kill everyone on this fucking island." He approached the three and everyone tensed up. Reyes roared as he leaped on Daniel's back, holding onto him.
"Azhir... can he kill him?" Oleg asked desperately.
Lily nodded. Oleg looked to Sean for confirmation. Although Sean didn't nod, in his eyes, there were no doubts. Reyes shut his eyes as a couple of elbows hit his face. Blood seeped from his nose. His lip was busted. For a moment, it looked like he'd let go but his grip found better purchase.
If all four of us couldn't beat him before... Lily won't make any difference. Maybe she'd last the longest, but what would that be? A couple minutes? This isn't fair at all. Oleg's fists tightened.
"You two go and find, Azhir." Oleg made an ultimatum. Sean stared at him.
"Reyes can't do this on his own." Oleg charged in as Reyes kept holding Daniel despite the strikes to his abdomen and face.
Lily grabbed Sean's wrist to save any lingering thoughts and they ran.
"Lily, what if... what if... Zuri escaped?!" Sean managed to speak while his lungs worked overtime.
"No... he won't let that happen!" Lily kept dragging Sean with her until the figures of Daniel, Oleg, and Reyes vanished.
~
Azhir rested. He checked his watch. Half past eleven. The pain had subsided thankfully, so Azhir concentrated on detecting any notable sounds.
Vigilance over Zuri demanded little importance considering what he'd done to her. She'll probably need another two hours. Even still, she won't be at full strength for days.
His ears perked up.
Sean... and Lily? And a couple other girls. They're within distance.
A few minutes later, Azhir formed a small smile at the sight of Sean, Lily, and Kaitlyn. The other girl isn't with them. Did she run off like Tim? Why do something sostupid?
The three stood amazed at the sight before them. Neither Zuri nor Azhir were dead. And that dumbass didn't kill this time. Sean let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Where's Oleg and the others?" Azhir asked.
"... they uh... they stayed behind..." Sean informed solemnly. Azhir refrained from stating the obvious, not wanting to sour the mood anymore that it already was.
"So... can you start explaining yourself?" Kaitlyn glanced at Azhir then Lily.
"If I'd known it was Daniel, I'd have taken him the way I took you." Azhir stated.
"What's... what's his motive though? What does anyone gain from killing a bunch of high school graduates? Isn't he afraid of getting caught? Of the agency?" Sean expressed all his questions. Azhir eyed Zuri. Of course, she still couldn't move much but her ability to talk at least had to improve by now.
Zuri opened her mouth. "I like playing with puppets..." She chuckled.
"When Daniel killed Jason... he was such a damn simpleton. So... I offered to help him with his craving for death. The duos, the slight distrust... it worked out... for a bit...
"Though, my timeline for when anyone would act was a little off." Zuri smiled at Azhir.
"No... you we're threatened. Daniel could've killed you." Sean's statement sounded more like a pleading question. Zuri shook her head.
"Naive... little shit. Daniel could kill me... but not easily. He'd probably lose an arm. And if I got Azhir's help, he'd for sure be dead.
I should've fought Azhir for you." She purred eyeing Sean.
"Then..." Sean trailed off.
"Sean, khata abide by their own reason. If it feels good to them, there's not many people who can tell them no." Lily cleared Sean's doubt.
Azhir sighed. "... right."
Outright agreement? Sean appeared puzzled. Nevertheless, Lily smiled at Azhir. Turning his head a little, Azhir smiled.
"But... but there are exceptions." Lily whispered.
"So... can he beat Daniel?" Kaitlyn rearranged the conversation.
"... if I weren't in this state. Chances would be guaranteed but thanks to this woman here, there's a real possibility that I'd lose." Azhir didn't bother sugarcoating anything.
"... can we actually... what about if..." Kaitlyn scrambled for a solution.
"She's injured too. If she wasn't, she'd have run off." Azhir said plainly.
"... four of us weren't a match. But what happens if I fought you or Zuri right now? Could I beat you?" Sean asked hypothetically. Azhir laughed.
"In your dreams. Zuri though, you'd probably be able to do a couple of things, but you'd have to make sure she's dead. Otherwise, when she gets her strength back, your death is guaranteed." Azhir checked his wound.
"You two are still strong enough. At least one of you can help take him down. It's going to take all of us to bring this guy down. As long as he's alive, we can't rest easy. How long do you need, Azhir?" Sean inquired.
"A few more hours and I can move around more easily." Azhir gave his status. Asking if khata could be damaged by ordinary human attacks wasn't a necessary question. Sean saw that Lily managed to stagger Daniel and if Reyes held him for a moment, he was confident khata could be killed.
"Zuri, you're going to help us. ... If you give any more aid to Daniel..." Sean glared at Zuri.
"I'll make sure you die before all of us die. Azhir... whatever you want to do to get rid of her if it comes time, I won't hold it against you."
For once, Zuri's eyes widened with fear and a begrudging respect.