10 |Werehyenas I

Rhou leaped out of the forest vegetation with the three on his back, bolting in the direction of the village square.

It immediately pulled to a halt at the sight of the frightened Diowo villagers huddled together with their gazes locked on the distant sky filled with smoke.

Danji and Ajefe slid off Rhou's back, pacing to the others.

Danji briskly walked up to Negu and her daughters. "Is everyone okay!?"

Negu turned, "W- We are fine..."

Ajefe then asked, "What happened?"

Another villager responded, "We were just carrying on with the ceremony when suddenly we heard an explosion from afar".

"It seems to be coming from the next village", one added.

Ajefe stared up, watching the wide fire on the other side of the light forest increase.

The devilish laughter then echoed even louder, followed by the terrified human screams.

The villagers gasped. "Wait..."

"Could that be..."

"Impossible..."

"Oh no..."

"Danji!"

Danji snapped his head in Kamyla's direction —she launched his kuiza sword at him — grabbing his sword by the shaft.

Kamyla quickly pulled out hers, clutching Rhou's fur. "We need to be quick!"

"Hm". He turned to one of the men. "Get my horse!"

He nodded, running in the opposite direction. "Ajefe!?" He called.

"Yes?"

"Move all the women and children to a safe place!"

"Okay!"

The man finally arrived with his horse, handing him its bridle. Danji quickly mounted his equine, turning it in Kamyla's direction.

"The rest of you!" He turned to the men. "Assemble and equip yourself with any weapon you find and join us as soon as possible".

They nodded.

He looked up at Ajefe. "Make sure all the women and children are secure before you join up".

"Yes, Commander".

Danji tightened his grip on the leather, looking up at Kamyla, "Let's g—"

"Kamy! Dan!"

The two turned their heads to look at the twin sisters running toward them.

"Bimo? Biwa? What are you doing!?" Danji frowned.

The two halted next to them, panting. The oldest, Biwa, looked up with a sad grimace. "P- Promise us..."

"What?" Kamyla knitted her brows.

Bimo then looked up, "Promise us you will come back. All three of you".

Danji and Kamyla stared pitifully at the little girls' dilated eyes. Danji smiled weakly, "We promise".

He leaned to the side, stretching out his hand to pat their heads. "All three of us".

The sisters smiled, having their eyes still filled with tears.

"Okay! That's enough goodbyes!" Ajefe said behind the girls, immediately sweeping them off their feet and throwing them over his shoulders. "Let's go!"

He turned back to the female villagers, "Everyone! Follow me!" He ran in the opposite direction with the people trailing after him.

Danji then turned to Kamyla. "You ready?"

"I wish I had a choice not to..." She grimaced in worry.

Danji chuckled, "Don't worry. Before anything happens, I'll be there for you".

Kamyla's brows dropped. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Danji rolled his eyes, looking back forward as he pulled the horse's bridle. "Tsk! You are so unromantic!" He whipped the leather, directing his horse to race forward.

Kamyla frowned. "Huh!? Wait! What do you mean by that!?" She pulled Rhou's fur to run after him.

Danji smirked, fastening his horse in the direction of the fire.

They raced forward.

• • •

Panicking villagers scattered over the heated land clouded with fragments of burning straws and black smoke — their painful screams pierced through the air, merged with the vile waves of laughter of the terrorising creatures.

On reaching the burning village, Kamyla and Danji immediately halted as their eyes widened to the sight before.

Massive hyena-looking creatures standing on their hindlimbs with height equal to Rhou — rampaged the small community; smashing, biting and snapping everything in their reach.

Their yellow-brownish spotted fur coats were decorated with splattered blood of the unfortunate victims caught in their sharp grasp — which in a single jaw snap, their bodies were crushed between the razor-sharp teeth and swallowed as a whole.

Kamyla's breath hitched, feeling her entire body paralyzed in fear.

One of the creatures then snapped its ears in their direction. Kamyla's heart thudded.

The beast slowly craned its head, locking its bright yellow eyes and narrow pupil on Kamyla.

She forgot to breathe.

"RUN!" Danji spurred to the left. Before Kamyla's mind could think, Rhou jumped to the right — the werehyena sprung to their previous position.

Kamyla shrieked, quickly regaining herself on Rhou's back.

"Focus, Kamy!" Danji yelled, standing opposite her.

Kamyla looked up at him with a fluttered expression as her chest heaved rapidly.

"Kamyla! Use Rhou to your advantage while I try and get all the survivors rounded up at South before Ajefe arrives".

Kamyla nodded, still trying to calm her shaky breath.

Danji pulled his horse, "Don't let the fear control you! Stay calm!" He charged at the village.

Kamyla then snapped her eyes at the growling beast, watching it lower itself to its four limbs as it crawled forward.

She frowned, stretching her hand backwards to pull out her sword. "Okay, Rhou. Just like we practised".

Even though they had never actually faced such a creature before — with all their training being based on history books and folktales.

But that wasn't the time to be thinking of such...

She tightened the grip on her weapon, slowly controlling her breathing as she shut her eyes for a second.

"Go!"

Kamyla immediately leapt off of Rhou's back — Rhou charged forward, pouncing on the were-animal with full force.

Both beasts went head-on.

Kamyla landed perfectly on the ground, separating her weapon into two and splitting towards the village.

Racing on her heels between the burning huts and structures — she suddenly bounced off the ground to land on a safe roof patch.

She raised her blades in the air.

Her eyes instantly locked on the back neck of the closest hyena brute — In a straight double swing, her blade slashed across its neck, sending it flat on the ground with a cry.

Kamyla landed on its dead back.

She snapped her eyes around, sighting the next hyena with an old woman in its grasp. She bolted forward, shooting a blade in the air — it stroke the hyena's eye — the woman slipped from its grasp.

The beast roared in pain, clutching its bleeding eye.

Kamyla jumped forward, shooting the next blade into its chest. It howled in pain, launching its claws at her.

Kamyla flipped in the air, barely missing its claws by a few inches. She landed with her two feet, watching the beast fall on its back. She then rushed to the injured woman, quickly helping her off the ground.

"Are you okay?"

The elderly woman nodded, hissing in pain as she clutched her arm.

ROAR!

They snapped their heads up, sighting the werehyena slowly stand up as it pulled out the swords from its chest and eye and toss them to the side.

Kamyla's brows quirked.

The beast's claws elongated, snarling at them with slitted eyes. They stepped back.

ROAR!

Rhou sprung from the side, grasping the hyena's neck and casting it to the ground. Kamyla immediately rushed to her blades, reassembling them.

"Run south!" She shouted at the old woman.

The old woman nodded, turning around and limbing away as quickly as possible.

Kamyla turned back to the wrestling beasts, watching Rhou strike and bite the hyena, successfully ripping off its head after trials of injuries.

Two more hyenas suddenly charged in Rhou's direction, laughing in provocation of vengeance for their kind.

"AHHH!"

The screams of children erupted from one of the distant buildings, seizing Kamyla's attention from the incomers. Rhou then jumped forward, blocking the hyenas' path as approval of their challenge.

Kamyla dashed in the direction of the children's cries, entrusting Rhou to handle the two.

On reaching the locked bamboo door of the house, Kamyla shielded her face, immediately kicking down the door and rushing in. Her eyes then fell on the fur blanket at a corner, with four children underneath.

She strode forward, causing the children to cry even louder.

"No! No! It's okay! Calm down! Calm down..." She whispered, slowing her steps as she gingerly approached them.

The children shivered even harder as she held the blanket and gently lowered it. Her eyes locked on the twelve years boy, hugging his three sisters looking between the age of four to six.

Her expression fell, watching the absolute terror in their eyes.

A terror that looked too familiar she could almost feel it. She slowly stretched out her hand to touch the boy's head.

"It's okay... It's okay... You're going to be okay".

Their shoulders slowly relaxed.

CLASH!

They instantly flinched, snapping their heads up.

The straw roof above them suddenly ruffled and crashed together by a pair of long black claws that ripped off completely.

Kamyla turned around slowly, widening her eyes at the sight of the atrocious were-beast above.

The werehyena looked bigger than all the rest, with a line of metal blade-like spikes sprouted out along its spine, covered in blood and body fluid.

And unlike the others, its eyes were of two different colours; yellow and red — with its razor-sharp teeth all visible as it snarled, leaning closer and clutching into the clay walls of the house.

The kuiza sword slipped from Kamyla's grip as her lips unconsciously gapped, having her pupils slowly dilate in fear.

The beast of beasts huffed, hitting her skin with its hot breath as saliva drooled from the side of its mouth.

Kamyla's heart skipped.