Fight By My Side

Our troops routed at the sight and the enemy faltered. Jack was just as deranged as Alex. Overhead, the flights of birds dropped firecrackers and bombs that blew up lines of Guardians that marched towards us. The pockets allowed Austin and I slip through towards our goal.

Behind our back, Alan and Kellin both raged on. I could hear the screams mix with the enraged calls. Above, Ronnie was having a delightful time dropping explosives on anyone unlucky enough to be underneath him. Vic and Mike were working together to slash and hack the foes to pieces.

The flood turned in our favor.

Austin and I left the rest far behind as we raced through empty streets to a large white building in the middle of the city. The maze of cobble and tar roads twisted and turned, but all ended at the main hall.

Austin turned to me, leaning into my side as a way to ask, are you ready? I put my head on his brown shoulder. His sides heaved as he panted. The golden brown fur was a halo of warm light around his neck.

After a moment to rest from the battle that roared on in the streets, we pushed the doors open and trotted softly inside. I had never been in this large room before. It was a grand hall with doors leading to separate halls and room on either side of the walls. The ceiling was high and vaulted. A table like a reception desk sat at the far corner. A ceiling fan whooshed half-heartedly, ruffling my fur.

Out of nowhere, a spotted jaguar leapt over the desk and prowled towards us. I knew from the over confident stride that and angered snarl that it was Aaron. There was no need for words between us; only one side would make it out alive.

Austin snarled by my side, the hair raising on his back. I flattened my ears against my head, barring my teeth. Aaron seemed to take it all in stride. Neither of us were willing to Shift forms, knowing that we were strongest when armed with teeth and claws.

He was the ultimate enemy. When we thought that the Guardians were the worst foe we had, we were all wrong. Aaron was the one who started this war. He was the one that corrupted the Guardians. He was the one who cost thousands of men and woman their lives.

It was time for him to die.

I leapt at the jaguar, not wanting to stall any longer. The red eyes went wide as I leapt on his back, biting down hard on his thick pelt. The taste of sour blood filled my mouth and gagged. Aaron took advantage of that to roll me off. Austin came to my side to help me as I yelped.

Aaron was quicker than I could imagine. He was stronger than we thought. Without warning, I was pinned to the floor with my shoulder being yanked at. I flet my flesh rip off and I howled. Austin knocked over Aaron with a low growl.

I couldn’t stay down forever! Getting back to my feet, I advanced with Aus by my side. Aaron was backed into a corner. He hissed and yowled in pain as we took turns lunging at the wounded beast.

It had been so long since Aaron had actually fought anybody that he was out of shape and out of practice! I bet he wasn’t expecting this!

Austin managed to get swiped a few times, earning a series of marks on his side and a little ounce of pain. It looked like this was the end of Aaron. His tail was tucked between his legs, his fangs barred. No matter how hard that he tried to pin one of us, the other was there to force him back into the corner.

Just as one of us was about to strike, the door was flung open as a figure ran in, screaming like a psychopath that took to many Monster Energy Drinks. Aaron took the moment to stare into the crazed eyes of a man seeking vengeance.

Jack Barakat stood with a lit stick of dynamite in his hands. WHAT WAS HE DOING WITH THAT AND WHO GAVE HIM MONSTER?! That thing was going to blow in less than ten seconds!

Aaron stood there, dumbfounded at the sight of Jack, who chucked the dynamite into the corner with Aaron.

“RUN, FOOL!” He screamed. Austin and I turned tail and sprinted out the door. Jack was right behind us. As the seconds ticked down, he slammed the doors closed, locking a yelping Aaron inside.

We ran as fast as we could before the entire building exploded in a shower of wood, plaster, and blood.

The entire battle fell silent. There were no more Rogues, just the few corrupted Guardians that were falling to their knees in dying pleas of mercy.

Aaron was gone. The Rogues were done.

Aaron just exploded.

Aaron. Just. Exploded.

Woah. The entire battle had been done and finished with in the space of an hour. We were free. The Shifters were free! No more hiding! No more war!

The sun seemed to shine brighter than before.

Jack panted, standing next to us as we ducked behind a house at the explosion. Aus and I Shifted back, each bending over and stretching out the sore muscles.

“What just happened?” Jack asked quietly. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think you just blew up Aaron.” I grinned. Jack smiled for once. I had seen this boy go from mourning over Alex’s death and being too sorrowful to even Shift, to going and changing forms like crazy and blowing up a building.

“ALEX TOLD ME TO!” Jack blurted out and his eyes widened. I just stared at his expression.

“Um, Alex told you to?” I questioned again. Austin seemed a little worried. I gave him a quiet and brief summary of the events that had conspired.

“Alex told me to light the dynamite and blow it up. He said that Aaron was in the building and someone needed to go out with a bang.” Jack responded. I smirked. Alex must’ve traveled all the way from the grave to tell him!

We walked through the crowds of cheering victors. Shifters were reunited with family members that worked in the City, as others with the Gift gleefully yipped and barked, crowed and called happily in delight.

Austin swept me up in his arms, wrapping me tightly to his chest. Austin was alive, the bond was strong, and I had my family with me once again. His lips met mine in a passionate kiss, happy that we were together and nothing could stand between us anymore.

The war was over.

There was no more hiding.

Nothing seemed to be better than this day.

Notes

So last "official" chapter! I'll do an epilogue after this to show you what happens with everyone's life in the next chapter :D

Thank you everyone for reading this story! It's been fun and exciting to get to write just a simple idea that came to mind one afternoon as I was attempting to take a nap. XD

Big thanks to....
I_Ship_Aliver: Because you're awesome and deserve a gold star! XD Anyways, you've stuck with the story (and many others) and have dealt with my ranting for many long hours. Plus, you've done some pretty big things for me and I like, owe you my soul or something XD We'll work out the details later!
I_love_balz: Thank you a bunch for sticking with my craziness and joining the story bandwagon after reading Shattered :D It's been awesome getting to chat and I really hope you enjoyed this story as much as Shattered! You're a preeeeetyy awesome person, so I hope I get to talk to you on some other stories that are coming up in the near future!
thetrekkie: Thanks for commenting and chatting with me a little while ago. (PS I still love your username!)
Anyone else who commented/subscribed to the story: You're all just too awesome for words, so yeah, that!