Derek advanced slowly, his eyes still fixed on the fallen body. The rusty chains creaked in the silence, reminding him of the risk he was taking. Even unconscious, the boy didn't seem human. It was as if something alive still breathed in the air around him.
Silence filled the room. But inside Davyd's mind, something stirred.
===
[Flashback – Davyd's Perspective]
Hell never changed. There was no day, no night. Only darkness, only emptiness.
I wandered aimlessly. I felt no hunger. I felt no thirst. I simply existed. Until one day... something came after me.
A grotesque creature leaped at me, its claws piercing my chest. I didn't think. I just acted. I grabbed the monster and... felt.
Something inside me snapped open.
Its scream echoed. Black smoke escaped the creature's mouth and entered me like liquid fire. I burned. I burned. And suddenly... silence.
His body turned to ash. My wounds were gone. I just stood there, not understanding. I didn't choose this. But it felt like Hell had chosen for me.
Others came. Always the same ones. They fell, and I absorbed them. I didn't want to. But I couldn't help it. It was instinct.
Soon, the stares began. The rumors.
"The wanderer who devours souls…"
"He doesn't belong here…"
"An anomaly…"
Every whisper followed me. The more I fought, the more fear I spread.
I didn't want to be feared. But deep down… a part of me enjoyed it.
Time doesn't exist in Hell. Days, years, centuries. There's no way to count. All I remembered was the feeling. Every battle made me stronger. But also emptier.
Until I saw him.
A figure standing still in the middle of the flames. Silent. Just watching me.
He didn't attack. He didn't run. He simply stared.
And for the first time… I felt fear.
Not mine. His.
A voice cut through the void:
"You were never meant to exist here."
Before I could answer… everything turned to darkness.
===
[Back to reality]
Davyd's body shifted in the chains. His eyes moved under his eyelids, as if he was fighting against something. The metal creaked, echoing loudly through the silent house.
Derek narrowed his eyes, taking a step back, alert.
"What the hell are you?" he whispered.
Davyd slowly opened his red eyes, which soon returned to normal. Still dazed, he blinked a few times until he remembered what had happened.
I fainted... fuck, I really am a mess, he thought, letting out a tired sigh.
He looked at Derek, then the surroundings, and finally down at his own body. A crooked smile appeared on his face as he understood the situation.
"Look at that... chains. And old ones, at that." Irony dripped from every word. "You know, I expected more from you. A magic rope, maybe? A mystical cage? Something that wasn't bought at the blacksmith's thrift shop, you know?" He laughed low, lightly shaking the chains. "I'm almost flattered by the consideration... but rusty chains? That one really caught me by surprise."
Derek didn't answer immediately. The muscles in his jaw clenched, anger and distrust struggling to stay under control.
"I don't need those things to hold something dangerous," he finally said, his voice loud and firm, but heavy with uncertainty.
Davyd raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Oh… How cute, I almost pissed myself with fear. But seriously, you should thank me." He tilted his head slightly, his smile becoming sharper. "If I wanted to, I would've finished you off before you even blinked. These chains are nothing but an annoyance."
The words echoed in the room like sharp blades. Derek took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on him, trying to ignore the shiver crawling up his spine.
"Then why didn't you?"
Davyd let out a low laugh, almost a growl.
"Because it would be boring. And because, deep down, you might be useful. I'm pretty sure the world has changed since I woke up… and you seem to know what the hell is going on around here."
Silence returned, heavy, broken only by the distant sound of the wind seeping through the cracks of the Hale house. The shadows around Davyd moved as if reacting to his mood, but didn't advance.
1... 2 minutes passed, and nothing happened.
Davyd grew impatient, the chains trembling with each tug on his arms, as if the metal would snap at any moment. Derek didn't wait. He lunged forward like a caged animal.
BAM!
Derek's fist connected with Davyd's face with such force that the crash echoed like thunder, knocking Davyd backward and pinning him against the wooden wall, nearly throwing him out of the house. Blood sprayed into the air, staining the floor.
Davyd slowly stood up, laughing, cracking his neck. He ran his tongue over his bloodied teeth and spat blood from his mouth.
"Damn... you hit me hard. But I've taken much worse beatings in hell, believe it or not."
Before Derek could strike again, Davyd moved at high speed, raised his leg, and kicked him in the stomach with violence.
THUD!
The impact was so brutal that Derek's body crashed through and sank into the old wooden stairs, shattering everything into pieces. The werewolf came back in fury, his blue eyes burning with rage, and before their bodies could collide again, Davyd broke the chains with pure physical strength.
Claws extended. Then Davyd pierced Derek's shoulder, slashing deep until blood sprayed in jets. Derek roared, but instead of retreating, he sank his teeth into Davyd's shoulder.
His scream echoed through the room.
"AAARGH, FUCK!" Davyd struggled, trying to push him away. "SON OF A BITCH! A BITE?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, IS THIS A FIGHT OR WHAT?!"
He grabbed Derek's head with both hands and tore him off his shoulder, slamming a brutal knee into his jaw.
CRACK!
The sound of bone breaking was clear, and Derek was thrown back, spitting blood.
Davyd took a deep breath, then looked at his bitten shoulder with a shocked, almost comical expression. It was as if he never expected that guy to actually bite him. The torn flesh, dripping with blood, began to slowly heal, and he let out a rough laugh.
"You really have dog's teeth… and you bite like one."
Derek quickly stood up, his face covered in blood, spitting teeth onto the floor. He was still growling, even with his jaw out of place.
Davyd crouched down and picked up a piece of the broken chain from the floor, raising it as if it were a whip. The iron dragged across the wooden floor with a sharp screech.
CLANG!
His red eyes glowed in the darkness, as a wide, insane smile spread across his face.
"Now… let's really play."
---
until the next chapter...🫡