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“How many times do I need to press a weapon against your skin, to make you leave me be?” Hyde growled into Culore’s face, shouting so hard that Parker hid his face in his mother’s arms.
Culore wasn’t looking at him any longer. He was looking somewhere behind him, his stare blank and hopeless. There was no fear in his eyes. If there was, it was minimal. His colossal wish to become an evil leader was just a fantastic construct, one that had never seen the light of day, because of this man, a man who seemed to belong to a whole different world, with his own definition of wonder and what it really meant to live a good life.
“I guess this is going to be the last time,” Culore smiled a soft smile.
He raised his head and neck, then swiftly turned it to the left, before Hyde could do anything. Culore’s head fell back down on the ground with a loud thump sound. Blood gushed from his slit neck, and Hyde frantically pressed his hands, trying to stop the bleeding. Parker’s mother hugged the boy tightly, turning him to the side, so he wouldn’t see what was happening. Rene gasped, pressing both of her hands over her lips.
Hyde was bearing down heavily, not diminishing pressure for one second, but it was too late. Culore’s eyes were now untainted by any vision that belonged to this world. Instead, they looked far beyond, into the ever expanding universe, getting acquainted to the truths that would always remain far from the grasp of mere mortals.
Hyde released his grip, straightening himself. He sighed silently, having taken a step from the scary unknown, into the world that was now safe and welcomed him back with open arms. At first, he didn’t quite understand what exactly had happened, and this lack of knowledge pressed heavily on his heart. He wasn't a murderer. He never killed anyone. That was one of the reasons why he escaped in the first place. As the next one in line to be the leader, he had to kill someone from another clan, to uphold their supremacy. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Then, Culore attacked, and the rest was history, which led to this exact moment in time and space.
“Is he...” Ozul asked, unable to move.
Hyde just nodded. He lifted his gaze, and locked eyes with Ozul. Jesse did the same, eyeing him.
“I didn’t kill him,” Hyde said, his heart aching, even though he didn’t understand why.
This man wanted to kill him. It was Culore or him. This was the best kind of end. At least, that was what Hyde had been trying to convince himself of.
“We all saw it,” Rene assured him quietly.
Ozul watched the body of his former clan member, his leader, the one who made the world reasonable. Now, he was left to his own devices. He felt lost, like a little lamb, released among wolves.
“You are free to go,” Hyde told him, getting up, as blood dripped from his reddened fingers.
He looked like a butcher, an animal in its own right. He was frightening, underneath the moonlight that streamed through the windows and the door which was left ajar. But, Ozul didn’t move. He was too scared to take a single step, afraid that he, too, might end up the same way, by his own accord or someone else’s.
“You have my word, Ozul, no one here will harm you,” Hyde assured him. “Go back, and tell everyone of his death.”
“What do I say?” Ozul wondered.
“Tell them Culore went the way he wanted, and no one could ever take that away from him.”
Slowly, as if the weight of the world was on his back, Ozul turned around and walked out of the lodge. No one spoke for a while, everyone trying to gather the courage to say something, and not look at the body that was lying on the ground, in the middle of the room.
Rene was the first to snap out of shock.
“Isabella,” she addressed Hyde’s ex-wife as kindly as she could, “why don’t you take Parker out for a second?”
She even managed to smile at the poor woman, who looked like a scarecrow, with messy hair and her make up a mess from all the crying. She was still holding Parker pressed tightly to her, making sure he didn’t see the body, even by mistake.
“I’ll do that, thank you,” Isabella nodded, then hurried out, leaving the three of them alone.
Hyde rushed to the nearest bathroom, and washed his hands. Rene and Jesse listened to the sound of the running water. It was soothing, like balm to their tired souls. When Hyde walked back out of the bathroom, only his hands seemed cleaner. His face was equally exhausted, his t-shirt equally bloody. He stopped next to Rene, and sighed.
“Fuck…” he raked his fingers through his hair. “This is not how I wanted it to end…”
Despite everything, he sounded sad, as if Culore’s death hurt him.
“I know,” Rene placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”
“I just wanted him to go away, to leave me alone, and to leave us alone.”
“I know,” Rene repeated underneath her breath.
“I might sound like a dick saying this,” Jesse stated, “but this is the best way this could have ended.”
