The Danish Slaughterhouse by: IntraSule

Chapter 19: Broken Spell

"We have to fight back."

Emil lifted his head off Lukas's lap, jolted awake from his half-sleep by his older brother's words. They were hiding together behind the bathtub of the guest bathroom after moving to another safe spot, following one of Mathias's rule to move periodically, yet still following an unspoken agreement to disregard the other rule of separating from each other. Even though they didn't say it out loud, they knew that separation this far into the hunt was pointless, especially when one of them- if not both- was going to die, anyhow. It was decided in that split second when Lukas and Emil met again that they were going to hide and stay put, and hope they can run the clock to its final second and make it out alive.

Which was why Emil was absolutely confused and stunned at Lukas's suggestion when he replied, "You're joking, right?"

Lukas shook his head and sighed softly, already predicting a protest from his younger brother coming. He couldn't blame him, though; even though Lukas contemplated fighting back against Mathias and escaping with his little brother, he himself didn't know how he was going to do that with them both at a disadvantage. "Urgh..." Lukas groaned and pressed his palm against his head where pain pulsed against his skull.

And that damn headache...

"Lukas, are you okay?" Emil asked as he reached to cup Lukas's face in his hands.

Lukas waved Emil's hands away. "Ugh, yeah, I'm fine. Just those nanobot things getting to me, I think."

"Okay, then. But still, what you just said is ridiculous."

"And why's that?"

"You know why!"

"Keep it down, Emil, you don't have to yell."

Emil lowered his voice to a harsh whisper as he continued, "We can't because we'll be killed! Mathias went against all of us and he's still walking around like some indestructible freak and- I don't think he even got any sleep! And these little robot things; he still has the remote control to set them off inside us if he wanted to, and Lukas- no."

Lukas grimaced, pained by the terror plaguing Emil's eyes but still adamant on his stance. "And the alternative is better? Staying in one spot for hours on end and praying that he doesn't find us? Only moving out in the open where he can find us and then he can surely get us? Emil, we're screwed either way, and we might as well fight back."

"Lukas, not every time we switch hiding spots Mathias comes out to get us; we got here without him spotting us, right?"

"Yeah, but he's looking for us-"

"And this is safer! Lukas, please don't make me go out there..."

"Emil, please. We can't keep hiding like this, just trust- agh, my head..."

"See! You can't even fight, yourself. You're not feeling well enough to face Mathias, especially with that wrist and headache of yours, and I'm still injured, so neither of us can do it."

"Emil, I'm fine, okay? They're just random migraines and a sprained wrist. And even if I do have some head trauma, I can still fight. We can still fight. In case you didn't know, Mathias has to be very exhausted and injured too, and there's two of us. We can do something, two against one."

Emil's eyes started to glisten, and Lukas could practically feel the fright and pleas intensify before Emil opened his mouth again. "Lukas..."

"We'll do something about our predicament. We'll make a strategy of sorts and go against him two to one. Not even that determined-to-a-fault Dane can withstand a fight from two people at once while he's weakened."