BREAKING RULES, Combining two worlds (Part 3)

WOUNDED

An indefinable feeling crept over Wende as she heard a low rumbling sound.

Quietly, so as not to wake her sleeping clansmen, she went outside and looked around the corner of the entrance. Even though it was the middle of the night, there were no clouds in the sky, so the snow reflected the moon's light, allowing Wende to have a good look around.

Nothing...

The rumbling she had heard moments before was gone, but there had been something about the sound that made her hair stand on end.

A movement to her left made her heart jump in fear, then she began to grin at the sight of the bundle of red curls belonging to Rianne, her Clanmate.

The sturdy redhead had never been one of her friends, she had always found the young woman far too straightforward, but now, after all the misery, she had become a valuable ally and Wende had gained a deep respect for the woman because of her brisk manner.

Rianne's behaviour had reminded her of her daughter and a pang of sadness shot through her. Ava was gone, and even though she and her daughter had not always gotten along, the memory of her lifeless body made her heart ache.

Mohr'kad had gently tried to prepare her for seeing her daughter, which she thought was very sweet of him, but Ava wasn't the first Clan member to be killed in her life, and given Ava's position in the Clan, Wende had always known that there was a possibility that she would outlive her daughter.

It wasn't just the Shri'Traccal men who had threatened female hunters and warriors, bears and wolves had also claimed many lives, not to mention the freezing cold.

"Can I help you, Wende?" The red-haired woman looked at her inquiringly.

"I don't know... Did you also hear that rumble in the distance?" Wende looked over Rianne's shoulder as if the answer was there.

The woman nodded her head and turned her neck slightly to look in that direction as well. "Yes, and out here it sounded quite ominous."

Rianne turned back to Wende.

"Honestly, it seemed to be coming from the underground corridors. I know Jada and the Shri warriors are there and I don't want to worry you... but those corridors can't be trusted, you know that... right?"

Wende nodded slowly. "Yeah... I know..."

~~~~

A soft finger slid teasingly down his cheek to his neck. Mohr'kad grinned at the sight of his lover's smiling and blushing face. "What are you doing, eyséah? I have to help the others..."

A sting of pain shot through his chest as she poked him hard with her nails and his grin turned to a snarl. "What are you doing Eyséah? AHH!!!"

Her nails had turned into sharp points and her sweet smile had turned into a vicious grin. "Wende?"

A new sting of pain made him roar, and he tried to grab her hand, but his arms refused service, as if they were bound with steel cables.

Mohr'kad... ikat... Mohr'kad... Ikat!!!

Slowly, a voice penetrated him, contorting Wende's face into Du'gan's worried one. "Ikat! Are you all right?"

Mohr'kad sat up straight with a groan. His chest and right side were burning with pain, and he felt as if an elephant had sat on his chest.

"What happened?" He asked the younger warrior as he checked himself for injuries.

"Half the ceiling collapsed, but luckily nobody was seriously injured. Before the whole thing came down, I saw that Gunnar, Koba and the woman had managed to dive away on the other side, but this means that we will have to go on without a guide."

Mohr'kad nodded. "Too bad, but we've faced hotter fires before..."

A soft curse escaped him as he stood up. Fucking fates! Why did his right arm hurt so much? Annoyed, he looked down. Much to his dismay, he saw that there was a rather deep wound on the back of his arm that he had missed a few moments earlier. He would lose too much blood if he didn't bandage it immediately.

Quickly, his eyes swept over the group of men and finally rested on the eldest son of his old clan mate. "Du'gan, when I've finished bandaging my arm, I want you and Lagraja to lead the way."

After the old warrior applied a tight bandage, the group moved deeper into the dark corridor. Much to Mohr'kad's relief, they found themselves standing in front of a locked door after just under ten minutes and without any further incident.

Standing in front of it, Du'gan motioned to the others to stay put and pressed his ear to the old, weathered door, but could detect no sound on the other side.

With a simple nod of his head, he motioned for Lagraja to have the rifle ready when he opened the door. After one last look at Mohr'kad, Du'gan grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open with a hard jerk.

As the door's hinges had seen better days, the hard pull of the Shri'Traccal warrior almost caused the door to pop out of its rebate.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh! I didn't see that coming!" Waving his hands to clear the dust from his vision, Du'gan was relieved to see Lagraja dive through the doorway, rifle at the ready.

Quickly, he slipped behind his Clanmate and his eyes widened in surprise as he gazed around the room. The corridor had led them into a small room, no bigger than a large bathroom. Though the room was old and unused, the walls were solid and still standing.

Slowly, the two men made their way to the entrance of the room. The door had probably disappeared years ago, as there was not even a remnant of it on the floor.

Cautiously, Du'gan glanced around the corner but saw nothing and signalled to the rest of the team.

Like a well-oiled machine, the men made their way outside.

Mohr'kad had worked his way forward and was now standing with his back against a wall. He quickly swept his eyes over the small group. "Lagraja, you and Du'gan and Kiba take the left, the rest follow me!"

~~~~

Wende's heart leapt when she heard the shots. At least some men had emerged from the underground corridors and she could only wait and hope that Mohr'kad would be one of them. She'd already lost her daughter, losing the man that had turned her world upside down in just over a week, was unbearable.

~~~~

To Mohr'kad's surprise, the opposition was almost non-existent. It seemed as if most of the enemy had retreated.

Having dispatched the rest of Latarji's warriors, the men made their way through the high snow back to the bunker.

"HALT!!! WHO IS THERE?" Koba's harsh, dark voice rang through the twilight.

Grinning, Mohr'kad stepped forward. "Calm down old friend, it's us!"

With a broad grin around his mouth, Koba stepped forward from the shadow of a bay window.

The two men embraced fraternally. "Nice to see your ugly face again!"

With a hard slap to the back of Koba's head, Mohr'kad broke the embrace. "Morron... Where are the others?"

Hearing female voices approaching, the old warrior quickly turned his head in that direction, something he shouldn't have done. His vision began to blur and he felt his legs give way beneath him. Fucking fates! was the last thought that flashed through the head of the old warrior.