Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
The bell for the end of class rang signalling the end of the school day, a moment that Shaemus should have been dreading in Katie's opinion as well as the hunters that had heard Sandra's talk with Cole. Katie picked up her bag before leaning back into her seat as the students got out of the classroom, impatience playing a key role in her behaviour. Cole, once again, who had taken over Sandra's seat turned to Katie, "Where is this hunters' training ground?"
"It's a clearing in the forest not too far from here where junior hunters from around this area train from most of the time. It is rarely used by hunters because it's known by everyone and doesn't allow any sort of discretion. So the newbie hunters, or should I say hunters-in-training, are the ones who use it," Katie said, looking him in the eye. It was getting easier, in her opinion, to look him in the eye. Scanning those bright blue irises didn't seem to be a bad thing after all.
Katie remained seated even after the class was empty her eyes focused on something outside the window. Cole moved over for a closer look and was able to see the small groups of students that kept sneaking into the forest, probably heading to the clearing that Shaemus had decided to hold the fight. "Sandra speaks highly of your abilities… she says you even have Prometheus' gift," Cole spoke up when the room was left with six people, Kyle included. The boy was so quiet sometimes that he could have done well for an assassin.
"Did she now?" Katie shifted her eyes to Sandra who showed no sign of backing down, "Well it's no secret anyway. No one's ever asked, so I keep it to myself." Katie finally stood up, handing her bag over to Kyle, "would you hold this for me, just in case?"
"Sure," he replied, "but isn't it a bit excessive?"
"It is and I am hoping we won't have to resort to it, however, I can't shake the feeling that we might need it," Cole gave up on figuring out what was in the bag as the level of discretion in the room skyrocketed. The walk to the clearing began from there, everyone staying insanely quiet as Katie, Sandra and Kyle led the way.
Cole's mind began to soar, rushing through his memories to remind him of exactly what a Prometheus gift was. During the war between the werewolves and the humans, well… at that point it was more like a one-sided massacre; humans snapped and decided to train elites for the one task of killing werewolves. For a while, the war had been one-sided as the wolves were superior to the humans in more ways than could be counted, easily thinning their numbers every time they were attacked. At the time, the first hunters were being trained and each time a squad of hunters would be sent to fight the werewolves, they would be murdered or turned into werewolves. Those that did not give in to the transformation would even commit suicide just so that they were not used against their comrades and family.
It was a dark time and nothing was going well for the hunters. Each time there was a failure, the hunters would train more and soar to new heights stretching the limits of their human capabilities. Forging weapons that could help them bridge the gap of power. The first time the hunters managed to kill a werewolf counted as a great victory for them and they continued to train harder until one of them killed a beta.
The alpha of that pack was enraged and mounted an attack on the group of hunters. It was the first time hunters stood against a pack of werewolves and actually struck fear into the wolves that faced them. Fear, hatred, determination… these emotions fueled each and every one of them to fight back against the werewolves in this war. It was said that when the hunters showed this bravery, the patron god of the humans, Prometheus, gave each of them one of two gifts. The gift was either strength or agility.
This newfound power shone the first torch of hope on the human race, something that Prometheus had deemed to be mankind's greatest power. Once humans found hope, there was no stopping them. Everything changed on that day, hunters were trained at a very young age and only allowed into battle when they had been granted a gift by Prometheus and this was humanity's weapon against the werewolf that gave them equal footing in the world.
Combined with the intense training that the hunters went through, a Prometheus gift made them lethal. Agility made them impossible to even land a hit on while strength made them equal sparring partners. This allowed them the power to even capture werewolves and experiment on them, finding out their weaknesses and turning the tide of the war even more in their favour. Introducing poisons such as wolfsbane prevented werewolves from healing and weakened them at the same time. One might have said that this was going to make life better for humans, but alas, bloodshed breeds more bloodshed. The attacks on civilians increased exponentially and in retaliation, the attacks on the werewolf packs also increased. That was until the Royals and hunters called for a summit that set the rules that would then become our world today. The summit that happened two hundred years ago put an end to the pointless bloodshed and brought rise to the barbaric Rogues that still wanted to wreak havoc.
"We are almost there," Katie spoke up snapping Cole out of his thoughts. The rich scent of damp nature hit Cole's nostrils as he took in a deep breath, along with the scents of all the humans who were waiting at the clearing not so far ahead. The turnout was unexpectedly high and there was no kind of rule on conduct, noise came from the on-lookers as though they were in some underground fight club placing bids on fighters. Their numbers littered the sides of the clearing ahead that was the training ground for the junior hunters.
The clearing soon came into view, Shaemus standing in the very centre of it with his hands crossed across his chest and a smirk on his face. His heartbeat was somewhat erratic, going up and down as though he was trying to calm himself and failing miserably at it. Katie took some time to look at the crowd from the shadows. She spotted one of the less involved hunters and called him. "I want you to get all the hunters that still have a sane mind and surround the area," she said.
"What is our assignment?"
"Guard the civilians and if you notice anything out of the ordinary, stop the fight and alert me immediately."
"Are you really going to fight him? This is pointless," he said.
"All the more reason to keep your guard up," everyone finally picked up on Katie's logic at this point. The hunter she had called then quickly left to inform the others that were not caught up in the chaos. "These dummies, they are all slacking off. Their trainers would be disappointed in them… I guess all newbies deserve lessons."
"You say it like you aren't a newbie like them," Cole chuckled, only to stop when Sandra gave him an alarming look to get out of the territory that he was starting to tread in from behind Katie's back.
"Oh well, we might as well get this over with," Katie said, raising her hands up in mock defeat before stepping into the clearing from the shadows. The people who saw her appear immediately gave her way to pass. As she walked through them, she could soon tell that the people in attendance weren't only students. Townspeople as well had come to watch it all with their own eyes.
"If it isn't the soon-to-be-history head hunter," Shaemus spoke up, arousing the portion of the crowd that was on his side.
"Shaemus, this is a waste of time and you know it… anyway, you still have time to back out. If you do, you won't suffer any consequences," Katie said.
"Sandra is not here to save you, you know," Katie couldn't help but facepalm on hearing that. There was no getting through to him. The only way Shaemus was going to snap out of it is if he lost and was brought to the realization that he was indeed out of his league.
Dexter came from the crowd along with two of his wolves flanking him. "Hey, Katie. You ready to get your ass handed to you?" he said, sparking laughter amongst them and earning a disappointing sigh from Katie. "I'll be the referee for this match. Now if you could just begin so we can get this over with."
That seemed to be the signal for the start of the match as Shaemus started circling Katie, keeping his footwork flawless as he did so, always keeping his back foot with more energy than the one at the front to allow him the chance to dart forward given the chance. Katie, on the other hand, put her hand into her pockets and retrieved what appeared to be a stop-clock. She was totally relaxed and even seemed more focused on the clock than Shaemus as she messed with the winding wheel.
"What are you doing?"
"I did say that I will give you five minutes into the fight for you to surrender before I myself take the fight seriously. In the meantime, feel free to attack in whatever way you wish," Katie said. Shaemus face transformed from one of fury to one of rage, the difference being a slight facial distortion that made Shaemus look crazier and much less composed. If there had never been a difference between the two, now there was one and Katie could see it clearly. A vein pumped in Shaemus' forehead and he seethed uncontrollably before lashing out, a fist aimed to connect directly with Katie's jaw. 'Going for the kill already,' Katie thought as she stepped out of Shaemus' way allowing him to pass by, losing his balance in the process.
Shaemus' struggled to find his balance, his back turned to Katie who had sidestepped him without breaking a sweat. "What the hell…"
"Didn't your trainer teach you never to turn your back on an opponent?" Katie said, watching what had become of one of the most promising hunters in the school. He had even been helpful during her climb to the top to earn the title of safest school in the world. From the time Katie had been admitted, there had never been a single human casualty and human-werewolf hostility had plummeted tremendously. Shaemus was in the same year as Katie and at first, when it had been clear that Katie and Sandra were ahead of him, he had looked up to them and even come to them for training tips. 'Oh, Shaemus, how did it get to this?' Katie asked herself. If this had been a life and death battle, he would surely be dead by now. An attack out of pure anger was just the quickest way to get you killed.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
Six years ago.....
The moon goddess finally reached the grand palace that was home to her former foe. The two had long since become friends in an attempt to save the two races. He became sympathetic to her when he found that she had fallen for her creation that she had made simply for the purpose of destroying the race of her foe and the two had then teamed up to save the two and end the bloodshed.
"Why do you think he has summoned you here?" her mate asked her while she walked up to the stairs.
"I don't know, honey, but I need you to wait for me here," the request was one that she knew he would not accept so easily. "You can easily know if I am in danger, so don't worry about me."
"Don't take too long." With that, she ascended the large staircase that led to the entrance of the gigantic palace. Her heart would not stop beating anxiously as she entered the palace. Something about Prometheus' summons made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on ends. Two of the guards at the gate led the moon goddess through the large hallways until she got to a small insignificant door. The guards stood on both sides of the door and said no more signalling that this was where she was to find the god of mankind.
She approached the door, her heartbeat rising even higher before she pushed the door open. "Celeste, I'm glad you could make it. Come and take a look at this."
Prometheus… of all the gods, was the most approachable due to his calm personality that seemed to light up the room and relieve tension whenever there was any. His cheerful mood quickly affected Celeste, bringing her heart rate back to normal. She walked into the somewhat small room. A quick survey suggested it was some kind of lab where Prometheus would carry out his own experiments for his own amusement.
Shelves lined both sides of the room, poorly stacked with most of the books randomly strewn across the floor. Pots, test tubes, some with chemicals and others without, some even shattered and left on the work surfaces… this was the current state of the room. The room had one window at the very front of it that was raised high probably to keep the room dim while it was mainly lit by a fireplace. One might say it was always nighttime in the workshop of the god of mankind. The state of this room however didn't bother him one bit… it was probably that way to fuel his creativity or simply because he did not care.
The closest thing to the fireplace was a set of sofas and a short glass table between them that could be used to view events that were happening on earth. Prometheus sat on the sofa, staring into the glass of the table looking like a child who had just found their favourite show on a kids' channel. Curiosity got the better of the moon goddess making her peer over his shoulder to see what it was that had caught his eye.
Her heart skipped a beat on seeing what it was he was watching. Tom and Marie Chase, the hunters that she had sent to rescue Katie Sirius were training the girl of now twelve years in the ways of being a hunter. "That girl is heavily talented."
"How…"
"I know what all my hunters do at all times… but that's beside the point. This is one of the two children that were supposed to put a stop to the war that has raged on for centuries, isn't she?" he asked, his eyes glued to the girl going through her training with her adoptive parents.
"Yes, that is her."
"At age twelve, without the powers of her wolf, she has been able to surpass many hunters that I have already granted my gifts," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"What are you trying to say, Prometheus?" Celeste asked.
"I wanted your permission. This girl… She has earned the right… No, she is more than worthy of possessing my gifts," he said.
"But she is already a werewolf. You have never granted a werewolf your gifts," Celeste tried to reason with him.
"While that may be true, the girl is currently training as a human to become a hunter. She is completely oblivious to her nature as a werewolf. She is working hard and tirelessly to be worthy of my gifts, as a human. If you look at it that way, we won't have to worry about her safety if she got a gift. It would also be unfair to her if I didn't grant her a gift," he said.
"But still, what you are suggesting will create the most powerful creature born of the human race and the werewolves. She would be a monster, not to mention, she is a Royal."
"She will be the one to bring this war to an end. This only ensures that success," Prometheus spoke, "besides, I have been watching the girl since she was born. She has been raised well and strictly. The laws are ingrained into her mind like they would be carved in stone. With your permission, I will begin…"
....................
Present time….
Shaemus was now panting badly, having gone four minutes making futile attempts at hitting Katie in the face. His anger seemed to skyrocket every time he tried and failed to land a solid hit. Sweat beaded his forehead, his face contorted in a permanent scowl of hate as he stared at Katie, trying to calculate what way he could land a hit on her. 'The power gap between us is unreal… What's her secret? What makes her so powerful?' he thought to himself while panting. Earlier that day, one of the hunters that stayed out of the commotion had come to him to recount to him everything that Sandra had told him about Katie.
Thoughts of retreat had rung through his head when he heard this… but there were a number of reasons that he could not put an end to all this even if it meant that he was going to lose. Besides, if he backed out now after everything that he had said, it would have wounded his pride. Standing here now facing the monster that they had described to him did not compare to the stories. No matter how hard he pushed himself, to Katie, he was moving way too slow and it almost seemed like she had all the time in the world to evade him.
'Hey, Chase, could you teach me as well? The way I saw you teaching Sandra yesterday,' the memory of a time when Shaemus had been close to Katie and learnt from her, training together with Sandra even then under Katie's instruction. One thing that made them more jealous of him was that even as they worked their butts off to try and catch up to him, he kept getting further and further, widening the gap between them like he was some sort of superhuman. This discouraged Shaemus as the talent that worked hard was hard to compete against, but that didn't bother Sandra one bit. She kept pushing on even when it looked hopeless, a trait in the girl that he deeply admired. Two years… that's how long it had been since he had trained with him. Taking in a deep breath, Shaemus made a fist once again. There was a lot he could not say… why he was doing this? Why he couldn't give up on doing this? The reasons behind his actions fueled his next attacks against Katie.
He attacked Katie in a flurry of controlled fists and strokes… strokes that he was only able to perfect because of the help he got from Katie back then. If only Katie could see through his actions, maybe then she would know what it was that he was trying to tell her. The thought ran through Shaemus' mind, a tear escaping his eyes before he stopped attacking, his body now reaching its limit. The stop clock in Katie's hand rang then. Shaemus' energy had been spent in the span of five short minutes, but still, he didn't back down. Katie was now free to attack him, and with how weakened he was now, there was nothing he could do to stop her.
The crowd had gone silent when they realized how one-sided the fight had been. It was clear who the winner was going to be before long. 'Shaemus has no reason to do any of this,' Katie thought, 'or doesn't he?' she froze on seeing the one minuscule detail on his face that didn't fit the picture he was projecting… a single stray tear. It was hard to see within the sweat that covered his face. Something else was going on here.
Shaemus stood, his legs shaky, barely supporting him. His vision kept blurring in and out of focus as he looked at Katie. Katie stared him in the face, her blue eyes trying to discern the reason for the stray tear that fell down his cheek. "You're an idiot, Shaemus," Katie said to him, drawing upon her Prometheus and dashing forward at an unperceivable speed, for a normal human anyway and with how tired this hunter was, there was no way he would be able to follow her actions. She struck the nerve in his neck with a swift chop knocking the exhausted hunter unconscious.
Shaemus' last words registered in Katie's mind the moment she was done knocking him out, "I'm sorry, old friend." Her eyes widened on realization, confirming each and every suspicion that lurked within her mind. Her heartbeat went into overdrive as well as the senses that she had been honing since she was a child. Every single person in the clearing at that moment was in grave danger and they had no idea.
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