Chapter 94 - Determined to Depar (1/2)

Chapter 94 - Determined to Depart

Concealed in the silent night, several large men gathered in a bar conspiring with each other. One of them was relatively smaller than the others, but made up for it with a particularly cruel face. There was a flash of metal, a thud, and suddenly a nasty looking dagger was lodged in the table between them.

“Brothers! It’s a fine opportunity!” His malicious, wolf-like eyes swept over the others. “Hydra is dead and so is that woman. There isn’t anyone left to lead, so chaos is soon to follow. It’s finally our time!”

Excitement gleamed in the other men’s faces. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, for with Hydra and his henchmen dead who was left to oppose them?

One of the men seemed less than convinced. “Ratscratch, boss, aren’t you forgetting the demonhunters? They killed a damn demon!”

“Demonhunters? Pah!” Disdain dripped from Ratscratch’s response. “Demonhunters won’t be here much longer. Now that the Caliph of the Sands is gone I suspect they’ll be leaving the outpost sooner rather than later.”

He wasn’t wrong. The demonhunters wouldn’t chose to live here, after all.

Ratscratch’s beady eyes glinted with an ominous light. “But there’s no time to waste. We gotta take control of the fort as quick as possible. I got eyes in the fort that tell me the demonhunters are wounded, so now’s our best chance to sneak in and put ‘em down.”

The others stared at him, shocked. Attack the demonhunters? He was crazy! Demonhunters were immeasurably stronger than Hydra had been. It was suicide!

Another one of Ratscratch’s subordinates chimed in. “We’ve all seen what the demonhunter can do. If she’s still got even a tenth of that power left she can easily handle all of us. It’s too dangerous.”

“Fuckwit! Why would we attack head on? Poison, ambush, traps… we already gathered some toxic spores and made a powder. All we gotta do is to find a way to sneak into where they live and slip it in their water. Poison doesn’t give a shit how strong you are.” Ratscratch’s face twisted into a nasty expression. “We got hundreds of brothers and the fort’s in ruins. They don’t got enough people to keep it locked down. All we gotta do is kill two people, and the whole outpost is ours! Relax, it’s under control. Once our people do their job we’re on the move.”

The others were uncertain, even fearful, but it was hard to conceal their greed. When Ratscratch’s eyes swept over them they were filled with awe.

Ratscratch was a well-known figure in the outpost. Now that Hydra, Artemis and Salamander were gone there was almost no one to stand in his way. As for the demonhunter and – what, her apprentice? They were outsiders, they didn’t have any clout here. What did it matter if they were strong? Sometimes in the wastelands it was better to know how to fight dirty than be strong.

“Alright!”

“We’re gonna beat the shit out of ‘em!”

“I’m with you, boss!”

Like gamblers they were all in.

If they could take the fort it didn’t even matter if they couldn’t hold the whole outpost. If the territory split they would at the very least be the major influence. Women, food, drinkable water – who would be there to stop them from carving it up for themselves?

Ratscratch nodded his head in satisfaction and picked up his glass. “Relax, brothers. Win or lose we do this together!”

The simple cups clinched together in a toast, sending alcohol splashing.

Now that the decision was made Ratscratch began his preparations. None of his ambitious men were going to back away from an opportunity like this. Besides Ratscratch was getting on in years, he didn’t want to throw away this precious moment. It was probably his last chance to turn things in his favor.

If there was one thing the wastelands didn’t lack it was scoundrels. Ratscratch wasn’t the only one with spies keeping an eye on Greenland leadership. If he wanted to take it for himself he had to be faster than them. The earlier he moved, the better.

“Number two, get fifty men together and set ‘em up to ambush the fort. Number Three, fifty men with crossbows to give ‘em cover. The rest of you are under my command, once we get the signal we’re on the move.”

“You got it!”

Everything rested on this operation!

After deploying his lieutenants Ratscratch started making arrangements. He was practically buzzing with fervor and excitement, like he was in his twenties again. He was already fantasizing about life as leader of the outpost!

But then an intense sense of disquiet filled him.

Ratscratch was near the bottom of the barrel when it came to the outpost’s elite, but he was a veteran of the wilderness. This experience had developed the instinct of a wild animal, a nose for danger!

He didn’t know where the danger was coming from but a sound from somewhere tipped him off. He flung himself to the side.

But it was too late!

A bullet shattered a nearby window and half a moment later a hole appeared in the back of Ratscratch’s head. It drilled through his right eye, leaving a ragged tunnel as it exploded out and buried itself in the wall behind him.

Ratscratch hit the ground rigid as a board. Just a moment ago he had been filled with spirit and gusto. One second later he was dead, the victim of a shooting.

“Sniper!”

Ratscratch’s men were all old hats around the outpost, so when their leader was shot down they didn’t panic, or get enraged or afraid. The first thing they did was hit the deck to protect themselves from becoming the next victim.