The men screamed as almost the entire square turned into a sea of flames. Clothes caught fire on some, others tried desperately to stamp out the fire as it approached the cars, to no avail.
When the first car exploded, it started a chain reaction. The sea of fire became an inferno through which men staggered in flames or lay dead on the ground.
More explosions followed as the next cars blew up. Men came running, gazing in horror at the war-like spectacle unfolding before them. In panic, they shot at any hiding places they could make out. Others fled headlong, leaving everything behind.
As one man reloaded his gun, an arrow struck him squarely in the chest, pinning him to a pillar behind him. More panic broke out and the rest of the men shot in the direction where they thought Ben was. Shooting and screaming.
Slowly, Ben approached. He had put down his bow and replaced it with the machine gun. With it he aimed at the lying on the ground figures, but from these no more danger came. There was no one left to oppose him.
Sergey sprang up like the proverbial demon from hell and fired. Ben was jerked around as one bullet grazed his left arm and another bored into his leg. Falling, he just managed to take cover behind a pillar that protected him from the next shots. However, he had dropped his rifle.
Sergey staggered toward him, holding his weapon in front of him. His clothes, skin and hair were singed and partly burned. He had escaped the explosions only with great difficulty and now seemed to have trouble staying on his feet.
Ben leaned against the pillar and held his arm.
Sergey smiled mirthlessly. “Anna was right: I should have shot you right off! Way too much machismo!”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, she knew you wouldn’t stand a chance!”
Sergey looked at Ben, then laughed. “Are you serious about this? You’re coming with that now? You’re appealing to my ego?”
Ben smiled weakly. “That’s all you’ve got.”
Sergey’s eyes glinted. “You’re down. I won.” He grinned. “Like against your friend. He was good. Surprisingly good. But in the end, he got the feel of my knife. And I hurt him so bad with it that there was no saving him. I wanted him to perish slowly. Which he did.”
Ben didn’t let on. “But with Russev, you were more pragmatic. Just shot your comrades and then your boss. Apparently, you had been waiting for this for a long time.”
Sergey took a breath. “That was part of the plan. We had to force-feed it and adjust it a bit. But yes, it was always part of the plan. And if you’re wondering, I could just kill those: it wasn’t that hard. I never had much to do with them. And Russev? He always treated me like his chain dog, scaring others with it. I only stayed with him because, well, money has to come from somewhere. But Anna showed me another way. And Russev was in the way. He wouldn’t have approved. As I said with your friend, nothing personal. It was purely business.”
Sergey’s smile widened. “But killing you now is personal. I’m going to enjoy it.”
Ben smiled. “I advise you to shoot me, as you did Russev and the others.”
Sergey shrugged his shoulder. “That was purely pragmatic. I was looking forward to plunging my knife into Russev. But, after all, I wanted it to look like there had been a robbery. I had to improvise. But with you, I’ll enjoy it all the more.”
“You won’t have much time for that. The police will be here any minute.”
Sergey laughed. “Don’t expect too much from them. Whose bread I eat, whose song I sing. If you know what I mean. I’ve always liked that saying. It’s so clear, so realistic.”
Ben nodded, looked past Sergey and his smile widened. Sergey looked at him in wonder.
“What’s so funny?”
Ben pointed his chin at a vague point behind Sergey. He turned his head and recognized there three of the men who had just fled and were now scowling at him.
“You killed Russev!” one of the men stated. “And our comrades!”
Sergey glanced at them, then turned back to Ben. He lifted one of the walkie-talkies that he had taken from one of the men.
Sergey closed his eyes briefly, then nodded with a smile. “Not bad. Old school. Effective. Really not my day today. But it doesn’t change anything.”
The man in front of him snorted. “Yes it does, because now they’re going to shoot you.”
Sergey smiled. Then he turned abruptly and pulled the trigger before the men could pull the triggers of their weapons. One after the other, he fired several shots and kept firing even when the men were down. Only when he had made sure that none of them was moving did he realize that he had made a mistake.
Quick as a flash, he turned around. Ben punched his arm, causing Sergey’s gun to fly out of his hand. Ben let his fist crash into his face.
Sergey went down and tried to get right back up. As he did so, he reached for one of the men’s guns, but Ben was on him in an instant and stepped on his hand. Sergey cried out, rolled to the side and reached behind him. As he rose, he held his knife in his hand and looked down the barrel of Ben’s pistol.
“I’m sure you know the saying,” Ben commented.
Sergey’s shoulders slumped powerlessly and he dropped the knife. “Never bring a knife to a gunfight.” He paused for a moment. “I should have just shot you. And just killed your friend.”
Ben shook his head. “You did kill him. Now get your phone out and unlock it.”
Sergey laughed out loud, but did as instructed. “What are you going to do? Call the police? Please, I’d love to.”
With that, he tossed the cell phone to Ben, only to immediately jump to the side, where there was another gun on the floor. Ben, his face contorted in pain, caught the cell phone and aimed it at Sergey before he could point his gun at him. Then he pulled the trigger five times, putting a bullet in each of Sergey’s shoulders, knees and stomach.
Sergey collapsed screaming and remained shaking on the floor, unable to move, like a fish out of water.
Slowly, Ben came to him and picked up Sergey’s knife. “There is a man facing you. He is your enemy. Then act accordingly. An enemy deserves no mercy.”
He squatted down next to Sergey. “So if you have a chance to kill him, then kill him. If you can shoot him, then shoot him.”
Sergey’s eyes grew wide and he seemed to want to say something else, but Ben jammed the knife into his chest. Sergey’s body went limp.
Ben looked at the lifeless body for another moment. The approaching sirens, however, jolted him out of his thoughts and he limped away to the last car, which had been parked off to the side and remained unharmed. He sat down in it and pressed some buttons on the cell phone so that it would not have to unlock.
When the first fire truck arrived, Ben blew open a side gate with his car. Now that he could be sure that no one else was going to stab him in the back, he had only one goal.
Anna.
And he knew where he would find her.
15
Finn ran as fast as he could. Faster than he could. Out-listing the guards had been the easiest part, but Odin had apparently expected him to escape. He had not been able to deceive him.
Finn had wondered all along why Odin hadn’t just killed him. Killed him himself, because that seemed to be exactly what Odin wanted. They had all seen Odin break someone’s neck for a lesser reason, or just beat them in a fight. Like Wolgar, who challenged him by questioning his judgment.
Wolgar was tired of waiting for the big day. Surely others were too, but Odin saw this as a good sign that the community was aware of their attention and burning for it. Wolgar, however, did not want to wait any longer. He did not think it was right to wait any longer, since the Verfassungsschutz was getting more and more on their trail. Already the killings of the last time had been too much. It was only a matter of time before the State Security would show up. So the order of the day for Wolgar was to strike now. It was the first time that a murmur went through the community, indicating approval.
Odin listened to Wolgar’s word
s. He heard more and more voices agreeing with Wolgar. Then Odin nodded and stood up.
“So you disagree with my decision, Wolgar?”
Wolgar took a breath. “Your caution honors you Odin. But I think we must strike. If we wait too much longer, it may soon be too late.”
“Are you calling me a coward?”
Wolgar contorted his face. “I would never do that. You are our Odin.”
Odin nodded. “I am. And so this decision is mine to make. There is nothing more important to us than the great day. This is what we live for. This is what we are willing to give our blood for. If necessary, our lives.”
“Without hesitation.”
Everyone cheered.
Odin nodded. “I know that. But I am not willing to sacrifice their blood and lives for nothing. I am your Odin and you can expect me not to make my decisions lightly and not to send you into danger that could cost your lives without reason. That will be the case for one or the other on the great day. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. But they will fall, knowing that we will have the victory. Because it is the right time.”
“So it shall be!” cried the community.
Odin stood up. “But you, Wolgar, say that I am not willing to put your lives in danger. That I shrink from sacrificing it for the right cause. That I am too weak to make that decision. I’m not. When the time comes, I will make the decision and I will bear the consequences. But to strike now would mean sacrificing the community. For nothing.”
Silence. Everyone saw the blaze in Odin’s eyes.
“You, Wolgar – you trained our warriors. You are the supreme of the Deathbringers. You know them best. Are they ready for the great day? Is our community ready? Will we be successful?”
All eyes rested on Wolgar. He looked around and tried in vain to hide how nervous he was. Nobody wanted to be looked at by Odin in this way. But then he moved his shoulders back and stirred his chin.
“Yes, they are ready. The time has come!”
Everyone cheered. Of course. To finally fulfill their calling to do what they had endured so much hardship and prepared for with complete conviction made them express their approval frenetically.
Odin smiled and raised his hand. Immediately they all fell silent.
“I have no doubt about the loyalty and willingness of every single person here to do exactly what we were born to do. And that’s exactly why it’s so important to take advantage of that and let them run to their doom. When everything is ready, they will fulfill their destiny, I have no doubt. But not until then. But the time is not yet. And I am not willing to sacrifice even one for your delusion.”
“Delusion?!” exclaimed Wolgar, standing up as everyone else held their breath.
“That’s right. Delusion. And that’s what separates you from me.
“You train warriors, but I lead them. But it is not the generals who tell a people when they are ready for war. It is the leader. And you are not the leader. Thus, it is not up to you to decide whether everyone here is ready or not.”
Odin paused for a brief moment. “But obviously, you want to be. Obviously, you want to lead our people into battle, to be their leader. That right to demand this is yours. But I am not willing to simply stand aside and watch you endanger them all and the fulfillment of our sacred task. You will not recklessly endanger their lives for your delusion. And as their still acting leader, it is my duty to protect them from misguided ones like you. And so I challenge you to unarmed duel.”
The murmur that followed was even louder than anything before.
No one was surprised that Wolgar did not stand up directly. But if Wolgar had not stood up, he would have lost face and been banished from the community. That would have meant his death. So he had no choice but to face Odin.
Wolgar was a great fighter. He was one of the first in the community to earn the honor of wearing the Mark of the Dead. Over time, many runes had been added, showing that he was willing to go the distance and bring death to many unworthy, more than Odin. If anyone was Odin’s equal, it was him.
The two men stood facing each other, as the aspirants did again and again in training, their hands bound with hemp ropes, their upper bodies free. The ring was formed by the community standing around the two opponents.
Wolgar showed from the beginning what a great fighter he was. The best of the community. He had once attacked eight unworthy people alone, weaponless, and slain them all. Everyone knew that. Odin might be the most feared of the community, but Wolgar was the one who got the most respect. The fighter everyone aspired to be, the one the aspirants had as a role model, and not just because he was their chief instructor.
“You have two minutes to get me to the ground and make sure I don’t come back up,” Odin said, looking at Wolgar with a look that foreboded bad things. “Two minutes in which I won’t fight back. And then the two minutes end.”
Odin kept his word. While Wolgar let his fists crash against him, he made no effort to fight back. Blow after blow, Wolgar landed one terrible blow after another. Odin’s bearded, expressionless face kept flying around and after a short time he was bleeding from several wounds. But even when he went down, he got up again. Breathing heavily, but unwavering in his gaze, which he kept steadfastly fixed on Wolgar.
“Is that all?” sneered Odin. “Verily, this shows how inferior the inferior races are, if you were able to slay their kin so easily.” Again Wolgar struck. The audience, always feasting on blood and violence, cheered, cheered him on.
Blow after blow struck Odin and he stumbled back. His eyes were already swollen, several lacerations adorned his face, but he was still standing.
“Is that all?” he shouted at Wolgar.
Wolgar’s face changed color in anger and he rushed toward Odin. But his expression suddenly took on a hardness that froze the blood in the veins of anyone who saw it.
“Two!” was all he said. Then he blocked Wolgar’s attack, grabbed his punching arm and simply broke it away.
While Wolgar screamed in pain, everyone else fell silent.
Odin forced Wolgar to his knees and his eyes glinted.
“By three rules we fight: No retreating! No surrender! And above all, no mercy!”
Wolgar’s eyes grew wide and Odin struck. Again and again he let his right fist crash into Wolgar’s face. Again and again and again. Blood splattered with each blow. The bones, already broken with the first blow, were literally bursting. With each blow, Odin turned Wolgar’s skull more into a bloody pulp, even when Wolgar was long dead and his body no longer twitched.
It was precisely this moment, when everyone just looked at Odin in disbelief, that Finn used to escape. The guards, who had noticed what was going on, could not suppress their curiosity and were distracted. A unique chance, as no second chance would come so quickly.
Finn ran and ran. He had spent years in the impenetrable forest that he knew his way around, even in the darkness lit only by the moon. His many years of training had been designed to teach him his way around here and to find his way immediately in any unfamiliar terrain. But the same was true for his pursuers.
Of course, his absence had been noticed. He thought he could hear the dogs chasing him, but there was no typical, frightening barking. Had Odin ordered to hold them back? Probably. So Odin wanted to end it himself.
Of course, it was Gunnar, Matt and Erik who were right behind him. Finn had no doubt that they were most eager to kill him, the traitor from their own ranks who had brought so much shame upon them as well, in order to restore honor. Only because Odin had restrained them, they had not followed it before. Now, however, they were let loose, were his bloodhounds to rush Finn. Probably they had asked for it themselves, they had been waiting for it for so long.
Finn knew all too well that he could not escape them like this. They had enjoyed the same training as he, had learned lesson after lesson together with him, and were even firmer in their pursuit than he was. They would hunt him relentlessly and exploit all his weaknesses.<
br />
Finn had one goal: the north slope, which was right next to the Brunin, the raging river that led to nowhere. If he jumped in there...
Freedom was so close. Ever since he had first stood on the slope that led fifteen yards down into the raging river, he had dreamed of jumping in. To leave everything behind. And coming out as someone new.
Each of the candidates in his group had talked about the slope and had his own idea of where the river led to and what it would be like to jump into it. What it must have been like in the world outside.
Gunnar, Matt and Erik knew for sure where he was going. Therefore, they had also recognized his feint and had run directly this way. If only he had had a little more time. But that was the way it was. His way to freedom was not through Odin, but through his comrades. That’s the way it was supposed to be.
It was him or them. It was that simple. No retreating. No giving up. No mercy. This was what it meant for them now, too. Odin would certainly not forgive them if they let him escape. Their lives depended on taking him down. They needed no more motivation than that. They had been taught from childhood that every fight was about their lives. More than that. The life of the community. The life of their people. To lose such a battle meant to lose everything, for themselves and for the people.
Gunnar, Matt and Erik split up. They were like well-rehearsed hunting dogs who could blindly rely on each other. Each knew his position and always knew where the others were. Finn, however, also. He had grown up with them and thus knew their ways, since he himself had once been part of their group. Which now seemed completely insane and very far away to him.
Matt was the first one he took out. It would have been easy for him to break his neck with his bare hand, which would have been the most sensible thing to do. Then he would truly have become the bringer of death to his comrade, the bane and destruction of all things seen in him. So instead he lay in wait for Matt and slammed his head with full force against a tree, so that it even seemed to tremble. But when Matt sank unconscious to the ground, he did not kill him.
Ultimate Rage - Ragnarok (Thriller) Page 15
