Put That Kid Down

Chapter Twenty Two

"NOW, Nikki!" Max shouted, and her war-cry sounded from the bushes.

Amusement crossed Daniel's face in a cold flicker of interest before he easily dodged the foolish girl and, wait no girl, but- "Fuck!" Fireworks. Why in the nine hells were there fireworks shooting across the field instead of the green-haired hellion? Horizontally? At Daniel?

Neil gave Max a thumbs up and ran. Like hell he was sticking around on that side of the clearing when Nikki was coming through next. Plus he'd already lit the fireworks and they were packing more punch than he'd thought, given their small size. It was Max's opinion the best feint was just another, different attack.

Singed but not down for the count, Daniel dodged another firework and laughed, low and eery. Had Max really thought that would take him out?

"You barely managed to slow me down with beginner's luck on your side." His words dripped with condescension, breathing even and steady despite the footwork taking him back and forth across the archery range at a not insignificant speed. "And now, without your protector-" While it was always nice to simply talk his enemies into defeat, it appeared there were more pressing concerns. The feral child had lunged at him for real and he smoothly dodged her, but with her came- what was wrong with this camp?

Daniel shook his arm, but the beaver refused to dislodge, and the sheer confusion of being attacked by an herbivore in addition to the small girl he had seen coming meant the wolf and its friends took him entirely by surprise.

As he tumbled to the ground under just a few hundred pounds of angry woodland animals, Daniel clawed a hand out of the pile. His fingers met loose dirt but he gained just enough traction to momentarily free his torso.

"I will kill you for this-" he growled through teeth bared in a crazed smile, clothing askew and torn, hair every which way and eyes locked on Max.

"Can't forget the platypus!" Nikki exclaimed, tossing said creature onto Daniel's face and prompting a scream as she dug venomous spurs into his skin.

Nikki was the only one who didn't wince.

"You know," she said, bouncing on her heels a little and smiling as the mob of animals did their work, "This was a really good plan, Max."

Daniel's screams took on an inhuman tone, rage evident even in the strange distortion.

"...Thanks," Max decided, pushing the slightly unsettled expression from his face and waiting for Daniel to lose consciousness. Behind them, Neil slid down the trunk of the tree in which he'd taken cover, looking green.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he informed them.

A cheer from Nikki, and she encouraged him, "Spew on Daniel!"

"No," he edged warily back towards the edge of the archery range. "No, I don't believe I will." The sound of him losing his lunch was nearly drowned out by Daniel's continuing wordless screech, but Max managed to take in both sounds at once, along with the monotonous drone of the speakers. What a joy to have fully functioning, youthful ears. Of course, with Daniel's impossible volume and lung capacity, other problems arose.

"Someone's going to hear this," he thought aloud.

A hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed, just this side of painful.

When it finally came, David's voice was tight and angry, "Yes, they will."

Half an hour later, Daniel watched with a hooded gaze, skin knitting slowly back together, as David paced just outside the wolf cage in which they'd imprisoned him.