Becoming a Monster

Chapter 60 Playing Chess With Words

”If youʼre looking for Noah, heʼs here. Without even trying to listen, he killed two people in cold blood. The blood of one of them is still by that beast with him! Will you help us get rid of him? Iʼm afraid of what he would do when he returns.”

Neal tried to show an expression of fear. He didnʼt have to play the part of being a scared victim. The look on the othersʼ faces showed how much the people there feared Noah.

With a look that said impossible, the people who actually knew somewhat of Noahʼs character looked towards Fenrir. They could see the puddle of blood lying near the steps. Wet blood could still be seen on Fenrirʼs mouth.

”No thatʼs impossible…Noah wouldnʼt…Heʼs not someone who would do that unless he was pro-”

”I fucking knew it!” Mark interrupted Ailetta and turned to Jasmine. ”Jas, I told since he killed those people here before what kind of person he truly was. Do you see what he did to my hand? And how he watched people die when the zombies broke through? Not to mention that he didnʼt bother to tell us about those spiders! The man is a murderer! Will you still continue to stick up for him?”

With Noahʼs track record, when his actions were being discussed it really did make him out to be the worst kind of human there was. Part of Jasmine agreed with Mark, but then her eyes peaked towards Ailetta who was clearly emotionally frustrated by what was going on.

Her gaze thought about all the times sheʼs encountered Noah since the start of all everything happening before her gaze turned resolute.

”First I want to hear what happened and then we can wait for Noah to hear his side.”

Mark, as well as the people in the lobby, were astonished when they heard her. ʼWhat else did she need to hear?ʼ They all silently agreed that Noah was in the wrong and the blood was there for all to see, clearly Noah killed someone!

”What do you mean, wait for him to return? Heʼs in the room right behind us, letʼs kill him now!” Regina raged, she didnʼt care if Noah was guilty or innocent, she needed for him to die so she can feel at ease again.

The bickering between the two sides continued, there were only a few people like Bailey, Isabelle and Ailetta who believed Noah was innocent. Then you had people like Paul who didnʼt care if Noah was innocent. They just didnʼt want to incur his wrath. Everyone else was either undecided or was for trying to take Noahʼs head.

The discussion started to feel more like a way to vent their emotions for such a chaotic day until something drastic was discussed.

”If you feel so strongly for it, then what do you suggest we should do? We arenʼt capable of fighting Noahʼs wolf and as you can see, we arenʼt in the best of shape either.” Jasmine got to the heart of the issue, she didnʼt really want to fight Noah if she could help, she was like Paul, Noah was enough of a problem. She looked over to Fenrir and recollected how they fought just to survive its onslaught, a beast that never stopped no matter how much you hit it. She didnʼt want to experience it again.

”To her question, the people obviously wanted to say for everyone to attack the wolf at once, but from what she suggested, it didnʼt seem possible. The people who had yet to fully experience the terror of battling against Fenrir felt that Jasmine and her group were just too afraid and were making excuses. However there was still one person who had a suggestion, a suggestion that surprisingly, people began to consider.

”What about her?” Regina pointed to Ailetta who stood beside Bailey and her small group. From the distance, everyone else couldnʼt tell who she was pointing to, but it became apparent when the look of confusion began to show on Ailettaʼs face.

”I remember her, sheʼs friends with that maniac! If we use her then maybe we can force Noah to give up without fighting him. See? Even now she defends him, Iʼm sure that using her would work.”

No one was sure when, but when the murmuring began, discussing the possibility. The people began to look towards Ailetta in a weird fashion. The looks were uncomfortable for Ailetta at first, but soon she began to grow worried.

”Do you hear yourselves? You guys sound worse than what you make Noah out to be! I wonʼt let you put one hand on her.” Bailey screamed, but since the group that was defending her was small, her threat only amounted to so much. Jasmine couldnʼt allow this to continue. ʼAt this rate, he may try to kill all of us!ʼ

”Everyone wait! If thatʼs your plan then why donʼt we wait for him to come out? If itʼs as you say then I will try to convince Ailetta to cooperate, but you canʼt expect us to agree just because you said so.”

The people began to quiet down after hearing her and looked towards Neal. She wasnʼt totally against their idea so now what?

Even though she meant well, Neal didnʼt like it one bit. If Noah were to really say what happened then wouldnʼt what they did be told to them as well?

ʼSmart move…ʼ Neal complimented Jasmine inwardly.

”Thatʼs not something we can do sadly.” Neal said while shaking his head, similarly in disappointment.

”How so?”

”Well, itʼll just be his words against ours. You would rather believe one person when all of us here witnessed him killing two people unjustly? It kind of makes me wonder if youʼre bringing in your own personal feelings into the matter.” He paused to give a dramatic effect while he made his way to the top of the stairs.

”We canʼt wait any longer, but if you adamantly insist on hearing his side then do so now. Heʼs just inside the room here, Iʼm afraid we donʼt have much time…”

Inwardly, Neal was feeling regret at having to do this. He couldnʼt bear watching someone he fancy die, but he also couldnʼt allow Noah to live. Just his presence alone could disrupt the leadership he had built and Noah wasnʼt as easy to handle like he used to be.

He watched Jasmine and the others in anticipation, his words to the public meant well, but he was only aiming for the beast to take another life. And if that person just so happened to be Jasmine, he was sure that Mark would do everything in his power possible to avenge her.

However he didnʼt account for the possibility of Jasmineʼs group not wanting to approach Fenrir either. Jasmine showed a look of embarrassment, she wasnʼt foolish enough to try to pass Fenrir, but if she didnʼt then they would go back to the idea of using Ailetta. She was stump for words and everyone could see it.

Unlike Noahʼs situation, words have power, but when compared to a fist then itʼs better to keep the mouth shut. Jasmine on the other hand didnʼt have the power to control the conversation.

”Fools…” Due to the silence enveloping the room, they could all hear the soft voice originating from Ailetta herself.

She had a small smile on face that said I have nothing to lose as she looked at everyone with confidence.

”You donʼt know him as well as I do. If you think you can use me in any way you please to get to him, you will only regret it later, but by then itʼll be too late.”

To everyoneʼs surprise, she started to walk towards the steps that were still being guarded by Fenrir. His ears perked up when he noticed the woman approaching and began to rise on all fours.

”Nooo! Ailetta! Come back, we donʼt have to stay here. Letʼs just go!” Bailey yelled. She wasnʼt like Mark and Jasmine, she didnʼt care about having a large group to lead, she would rather be with people that she can trust. Ever since Ailetta sacrificed her safety to save Paul, Bailey began to view Ailetta as one of those people.

Jasmine fell to her knees, starstruck by what was occurring. ʼHow did it come to this?ʼ She asked herself over and over. She wanted to call out to her, to run to her side and be the friend that she has been before this hell started. But she couldnʼt, her thoughts and feelings were conflicted.

ʼItʼs my fault…ʼ her thoughts turned to negative criticism. She believed that if she defended her friend better than Ailetta wouldnʼt feel the need to throw her life away. Thats what her and everyone else thought she was doing, it was suicide to go near the beast that viewed everything as prey.

Nealʼs eyes widened in horror when he saw what Ailetta was about to do. ʼIf she gets herself killed then our plan is doomed, even worse! Heʼll probably have that beast try to kill us all!ʼ

”Idiots, why are you standing there watching? STOP HER!” Neal yelled at the top of his voice. Not everyone knew what Ailetta was planning, but when they heard Neals cry, the people who could respond fast enough began to run towards her.

Boom Boom!* ”Aawwhhhooooo!”

Fenrir saw everyone approaching and took the incoming people as a form of challenge. When at first he stood on all fours so it could properly eat the woman approaching, he soon raised his upper half and planted both legs into the ground with his claws extended.

The shift in his weight caused cracks to appear from under him and he roared to show its dominance. He may be a mindless beast for now, but his pride as a Werewolf was never lost.

His towering image caused everyone rushing towards Ailetta to stop immediately and run away to where they returned.

Ailetta also stopped where she was and tilted her head to observe the beast. Tears began to run down her face, when she thought about how she was about to die if she took a few more steps. But she would feel worse if she was the reason Noah slaughtered everyone here and she still died.

Muffled sounds of crying could be heard coming from her, but she held her hand pressed against her mouth. Closing her eyes, she attempted to walk forward again.

”Screw this! Kim, Larry, Phong! We need to get her out of there. Try to avoid a long out fight with that thing as much as possible. The goal is only to retrieve her. Kim, me and you will start the attack, hit him with everything you got. Everyone else who has a bow, attack him when we shoot our spell!”

The two both took position by the ledge to get a clear view and prepare their spells. Meanwhile, everyone else got into position, Neal saw Ailetta take another step and was becoming more anxious.

”Now!”

A purple gas flew from his hand and traveled to Fenrir at the speed of a paper airplane. Kims spell on the other hand reached first, wind, in the form of an arc, flew towards Fenrir and hit against the side of his face.

The impact caused his face to turn ever so slightly and a growl emanated from him as he turned his face to find the attacker.

Whoosh!

Thatʼs when the barrage of arrows came raining down upon him. Instinctively, Fenrir raised its overly sized paw and guarded its face and snarled while the arrows impacted him. Thankfully for them, Fenrir didnʼt plan to move or Ailetta wouldʼve been in harmʼs way from the attack of arrows.

Bang!

The other two under Nealʼs lead were about to descend the stairs when a sudden collision came from behind them. The plan was no longer in their thoughts when they quickly turned around to inspect the sound. Neal and the others on the ledge were the first to see who it was, but they knew it could only be one person.

Noah was standing at the entrance, but he wasnʼt mad like they would expect, he actually looked amused?