First of all, my apologies to all of you readers. I have failed. And I'm not joking about my low self-esteem or writing qualities or anything, but I really messed up this last chapter. It depresses me, really. >< I couldn't find the inspiration I wanted, but I really felt like ending it. I really had enough of it. It's over now.. it's done...

Maybe someday, when I feel like it, I'll rewrite it. I just feel like the last 2 chapters drained all of my writing skills. My next big story isn't going to be english either, I just suck at it!

Oh and there maybe SOME gore and violence, but not much. But be warned anyway!

***
CHAPTER TEN

'Who are the skull soldiers?' Silvery asked curiously. The couple was running through the forest, making their way to Nimlin's sleeping spot. Fenqua realized it was the first time she would be asking the Alpha's mate for help.
'The Skull Soldiers are deer that were chosen to guard the forest against humans. They were trained by Orphrite himself and they are the strongest deer around.'
'But why are they called the Skull Soldiers? It sounds rather horrifying.'
Fenqua smiled at the young adolescent. That was her first thought too, when she met the soldiers for the first time. What as mistake she had made...
'They're called Skull Soldiers because they all wear the Skull mask. That mask is capable of hiding someone's identity partially. Nobody in the forest knows who they are, it's much safer that way. Also, the Skull mask seems to be succesful in scaring humans. It probably reminds them of death.'
'Humans are afraid of death?' Silvery seemed somewhat surprised. She never thought these fearless, cold creatures would be afraid of dying.
'Yes, they are. Probably because they aren't sure where they will end. We know our fate, eventually we'll meet the Twin Gods and stay in their heaven. Humans are still unsure of what will happen to them. They even fight over religion, isn't that ironic?'
'It sure is...'

Fenqua stopped when she heard Skokey's familiar Butterfly bellow. His cry went straight to her heart, making her swallow her last tears. She felt guilty for leaving him behind, but she knew she had to do this. For him, her fawns and everyone else...
'Are you okay, Fen?'
'Yeah, we're almost there.'

When they arrived at Nimlin's place, the doe was right awake, as if she was expecting their visit.
'Good day, my daughter.'
'I'm not your daughter.' Fenqua replied. 'But leaving that aside I'll come straight to business. I need your help, Nimlin.' She bowed before the white antlered doe.
'Don't bow for me. I know it's fake, Fenqua. You don't respect me at all.'
'True. But I'm still aware of your position in the forest. You are an important matter in this case. But we don't have much time left, so I'll let Silvery explain the situation.'
Fenqua took a few steps back, while looking at Silvery and tilting her head in Nimlin's direction. The young one nodded and slowly approached Nimlin and bowed.
'Greetings, lady Alpha. We have come here to share some terrible news with you. The threat of human beings is getting bigger. In a few hours, they are going to enter the forest once more. This time, they will not only bring their self-made thunder, but they will also bring fire. They are planning on breaking the barrier, expose the land beyond it and set it on fire. No deer will be spared but the few they'll take for experimenting.'
Nimlin's eye widened in disbelief. 'How the hell do you know this?'
'I was born to this world with the curse of fortunetelling. Every night my dreams tell me about the horrible things that are yet to happen. This is one of those horrible things.'
'Are you sure this is true? Because I'm not interested in panicking the whole forest just because you had a certain nightmare.'
Fenqua stepped forward again, looking straight into Nimlin's eyes.
'I'm afraid we don't have much choice. You could presume it's just a joke and wake up dead the next morning knowing your beloved forest is no more. Or you could just give us permission to take Orphrite's army and let us guard the barrier.'
'What?! The Skull Soldiers? Are you insane?
'I'm perfectly fine, Nimlin. But we expect them to come with many, so we need a strong army to oppose them.
'All right. But I'm going with you to keep an eye on this.'

His eyes were red from crying, he still couldn't believe it. She just took off so swiftly, leaving him behind with their two bubbles of happiness. It wasn't fair. Life just wasn't fair. His life had been enriched with the birth of two beautiful fawns, but soon his love and their mother was going to be taken away from them. He wanted to go after her so badly, but she had been clever enough to know he would never do that. Somebody had to stay with the fawns.
'Skokey?' a soft voice approached him from the dark.
'Y-Yes?'
'I am here to help you.'
From the shadows, a young brown doe appeared. Her head was crowned with small black antlers and the was wearing the same Orca mask Fenqua wore. She smiled and lay next to him.
'Who are you?' For some reason he did recognize her, but still he couldn't figure out who she was.
'My name is Micarena, I'm a friend of Fenqua's.'
His eyes widened when he heard her name. Micarena? The young doe that had been Fenqua's rival for so long? But, more important, she was here to help him!
'You go after Fen, okay? I'll take care of the little ones here. You can trust me.'
Skokey nodded without saying anything and swiftly took off, trying to catch Fenqua's scent.

'Okay my Soldiers, listen!' Nimlin yelled, making sure she had their attention. She had been able to gather all of the Skull Soldiers, which contained like thirty deer in total. Like Fenqua said, they all wore a Skull mask but pelts verying from the Nightfall pelt to the Butterfly pelt.
'Tonight is going to be an important night for us. We are facing the most terrible threat we have ever seen. As you may all know, this army was created by the Alpha Orphrite to defend our important barrier from the coldhearted creatures called humans. Many brave soldiers that aren't with us anymore sacrificed themselves to save the forest. For example, Tenkovan and Rowgamia, also know as Fenqua's parents. They gave their lives to give the rest of us a future. And now we are going to do the same for the rest!'
The soldiers nodded and bellowed when Nimlin finished her speech. When she caught a familiar scent, she turned around and took off, with Fenqua and Silvery by her side. The soldiers all followed, heading straight to the place the humans were entering.

'What will we do when we finally meet them?' Silvery asked Nimlin.
'We're going to kill them, of course.'
'K-Kill? I've never killed someone before...'
'That's your problem. But it's to eat or be eaten. And I rather rip those fuckers apart with my own teeth, instead of being shot or captured for deer-unfriendly tests.'
Silvery turned her head to Fenqua, expecting a protest from her. But the Great Argus doe remained silent, only giving Silvery a small nod. She knew they would have no choice. What those humans did was unforgivable and she would gladly eat their heads off.
'Fenqua!' a familiar voice shouted. Skokey had managed to catch up to the does and they stopped. Fenqua turned around to face him. 'What the hell are you thinking? GO HOME NOW! What about the fawns?!'
'Please Fen... calm down, everything's under control. The fawns are fine, Micarena is taking care of them. That way I can join you in battle.'
'Are you mad? Do you want them to grow up without parents? You know how horrible that is?! Especially if you are dumped at some crazy caretaker.'
Nimlin shot her a look, but decided to ignore Fenqua's comment. Silvery couldn't help to smirk.
'Listen Fenqua, what you're doing isn't fair. I love you and I want to stay by your side forever. If I can't stay while living, than I'd rather die instead of being left alone.'
'But the fawns...'
'If you're gone, I'm just going to be a sad excuse for a father. I rather have them remember a hero instead of a depressed old stag. Because I know for sure I won't be happy without you.
'... Well okay... if you say so.' She came closer and gave him a kiss. 'For good luck.'
Nimlin sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Can we get on with it already?'
'Shut up, foster-mom.'

After running for a while, they reached the border of the forest. There was nobody in sight, the humans hadn’t arrived yet. Nimlin murmured something about Silvery’s vision being wrong, but Silvery protested and said they were just early.
‘I think this is a good opportunity to discuss our strategy.’
‘What strategy? I thought we were just going to kill them’ Nimlin asked.
‘Well, they’re armed and dangerous, so it may be a good idea to discuss a plan first. I might have an idea: We could hide in the bushes and ambush them when they arrive.’
‘And we go for their weapons first!’ Skokey yelled. ‘That way we’ll disarm them and won’t get hurt in the process.’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea.’ Fenqua looked at him smiling.

The group decided on their hiding places and soon they were all hidden in the bushes, their antlers becoming one with the tree branches. The soldiers had some troubles, because their white masks were standing out. But Skokey had a brilliant plan by covering those with leaves and mud. They waited for a long time, but after a couple of minutes they heard something that sounded like voices.
‘They’re coming…’ Fenqua whispered, catching the familiar human scent. ‘On my mark, ready, ATTACK!’ she shouted.
The human beings were obviously shocked by the sudden ambush and flinched back. One of them said something and the other ones nodded, aiming their weapons at the group of deer. Nimlin managed to slam one of them with her body, which made him let go of his gun. Immediately she planted a hoof in his face, stomping on it until the man stopped moving.
‘That’s how we do it!’ she yelled at Silvery, who was unsure of moving towards the man in front of her. Fenqua and Skokey fought as a team, one of them kicking the hunter in his stomach, the other making sure he couldn’t reach his weapon after dropping it. The soldiers were in good shape as they ripped apart two or three of the men within seconds. Silvery accidentally looked the wrong way, which made her see the horrible bloodbath. She closed her eyes and tried to flee, but one of the humans managed to grab her hind leg. She screamed as she tried to kick the guy off.
Fenqua turned around and sped towards her, kicking the guy until he let go of her.
But he seemed to hide a small version of a weapon in his pocket and aimed at Silvery, making Fenqua stop kicking. Silvery gasped and looked at Fenqua, who didn’t seem to be afraid at all.
‘Die… you filthy animal.’ Fenqua suddenly heard. In a flash she realized it came from the human, she was reading his thoughts! And she was able to understand his language…
‘Forget it.’ she said and bit in his arm.
The man screamed and let go of his gun, but it accidentally still fired, hitting Silvery in her tie muscle. The doe cried and fell to the ground, unable to stand up.
The other deer perked their ears and looked at Silvery. ‘Ignore her!’ Nimlin yelled at them, ‘or you’ll all be killed!’
Despite what Nimlin said, Fenqua gave the man a kick to the head and turned to Silvery. Blood was pouring from her wound and she looked at Fenqua with tears rolling down her cheeks.
‘I can’t do this Fenqua… I’m a worthless fighter.’
‘It’s okay Silvery, you don’t have to fight. I’m sorry I dragged you into this…’
‘No silly, it was the other way around. It was my vision, remember?’
‘Still, I knew you didn’t want to fight. You should’ve stayed in the forest, where it’s still safe. I’m responsible, you’re just a child.’
‘I can’t… walk…’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you.’ Fenqua lowered her head and pushes softly against Silvery’s side, hoping she could bring her to a safe place quick.

Skokey sniffed the air when he found something suspicious. He turned to the other humans, still shocked from the fact their partner had just been torn apart by a legion of skull-faced deer. One of them whistled and the next thing Skokey saw, were a group of wolf-like creatures coming from the bushes. They sat quietly beside the man that whistled, like they were waiting for his command. Did wolves and humans work together? No, he thought. They weren’t exactly wolves, they looked smaller. But still, they obeyed every command the human being gave them. Were humans able to control other living creatures?
The man shouted something and three of the wolves suddenly attacked Skokey, their white fangs shining in the moonlight. Skokey managed to kick one of them off, but was brought to the ground by the other two, who had their teeth pinned in his flesh.
For a moment Skokey thought it was going to end, when a white skull bashed right into one of the wolf-likes, which forced him to let go. The other wolf draw back in fear and escaped.
‘Thanks a bunch…’ Skokey said to the Skull soldier. But the deer just nodded and continued his job.

After a while, the fighting had stopped. The deer were on one side and the humans on the other side. There were only a few of them left, but the deer had also suffered majorly. A few of the soldiers were shot to death and Silvery was injured and unable to move. There were still a lot of the wolf-like creatures left and because they were quick and swift they weren’t easy to kill.

‘I don’t get it!’ Fenqua said, obviously irritated. ‘why would wolves fight aside humans? Are they mad or something? They’re just being usesd.’
‘Those aren’t wolves.’ Skokey answered. ‘They are called dogs I believe, humans breed and train them for several goals. I saw a few when I went back to retrieve Fulu.’
‘Are you serious? Because that’s a really crazy idea to come up with.’
‘To be honest, it is a rather smart idea of them.’ A voice interrupted Fenqua’s mind.
‘Vessel!’ Skokey shouted surprised when the stag was right next to him. ‘Why are you here?’
‘Because you obviously need some help.’ He said, while writing something in the soft earth. ‘I like writing here, it goes very smoothly.’
‘Good for you.’ Fenqua said, half laughing. ‘It’s very nice of you to help us Vessel, but I didn’t you know could fight.’
‘I’m not here to fight. Although I could pack a few punches, I am here to carry Silvery home.’
‘That’s great! Thank you so much.’ Fenqua happily nuzzled him, which didn’t overwhelm him anymore because he was getting used to her.
‘No problem.’ He lifted Silvery on his back and wrote once more.
‘Good luck to you all.’
Skokey and Fenqua bowed, but Nimlin gave him a strange look.
‘Who the hell is that?’
‘A friend of us.’ Skokey replied. ‘A very good one.’

‘Thanks for doing this, Vessel.’ Silvery softly said. She knew the tanned stag couldn’t reply by speech but she saw him nodding. Though, knowing she wouldn’t get much more feedback than that, she felt the sudden urge to talk.
‘You know Vessel, I feel quite guilty about this all. I’m useless already, after taking just one shot. Just because I’m chicken… Even though I know it won’t be me saving the forest, I wish I could help Fenqua some more… She’s really worth it. The forest is really worth it.’
Vessel again responded with a nod and then suddenly stopped. The silent stag perked his ears and turned around to expect something coming at him.
‘What’s wr-’ Silvery started, but she was interrupted by the appearance of dark brown dog from the woods. Vessel braced himself, but the dog didn’t seem to notice the couple, but instead went straight for his goal.
‘That was close…’ said the shaking pale doe, but Vessel didn’t feel at ease. He looked at her and carefully put her down. He started to write furiously into the soft earth.
‘I have to warn Fenqua… Her fawns are in danger.’
Silvery’s eyes widened from fear. ‘What? Are you sure? How do you know?’
‘I can’t take the risk, the dog is heading straight for The Playground. I have to warn her somehow. Wait here.’
‘Vessel, wait up! You can try to communicate with her by thinking.’
He looked at Silvery. He had to admit, for a young deer she was pretty smart. It might work, he thought. Fenqua, if you can hear me, your fawns are in great danger. One of the dogs managed to escape the barrier you said up and is heading for the playground.
It didn’t take very long for him to get a response. The response didn’t came in words or thoughts, but only seconds after he gave her the message the Great Argus came flying through the woods and rushed them by at an incredible speed.
Fenqua didn’t think for a moment when she heard Vessel using the words ‘fawns’ and ‘danger’ in the same sentence. The doe ran as fast as she could, even when her salty tears blocked her sight, she kept on running. It was as if she could smell the Playground, smell the scent of her sweet newborn fawns. And mixed with that, the scent of blood…

***

‘GET LOST YOU FREAK!’ Fenqua yelled when she slammed the dog with her antlers. Red coloured poppies were dancing in the wind and eventually landed on the lifeless body of the dog. She panted and rushed towards the little cave that was made into the biggest slab of the Playground. It was here where Skokey found them shelter from the rain and the cold and a protective place for them all. It was here when they nursed the fawns together and watched them fall asleep peacefully. It was here where Fenqua learned what true happiness was.
A trail of blood was coming from the cave and Fenqua couldn’t stop herself from shaking. Carefully she approached and looked inside.

‘NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!’

A long and painful scream went straight through their bones. Silvery and Vessel knew Fenqua had reached her goal. But they feared she hadn’t reached it in time. They decided to move forward, there was nothing else they could do.

The Butterfly stag wondered what Fenqua was doing and worried even more when he heard the sorrow in her voice. What happened? Was she at the Playground? Were the fawns okay…?
‘Stop dreaming, Butterfly. We still have enemies left.’ Nimlin said. Skokey looked at her but couldn’t say a word. His mind was with Fenqua and the fawns, that weren’t blessed with a name yet. Their two little miracles…
‘Skokey, you don’t know what’s going on right now, so it’s better to concentrate on what’s going on right HERE.’
He nodded but still couldn’t speak. He turned to the humans and felt something uncontrollable growing inside of him. An anger he had never felt before, even when the humans had taken Fulu with them. He couldn’t explain this new feeling, but he knew it had something to do with the fawns.
He suddenly yelled and caught one of the dogs with his antlers. Without thinking, he threw the animal right at one of the humans, who got hit hard in the stomach. He was ready to charge for them when he heard something behind him. When he turned around, it was Fenqua with blood-red eyes and ripped poppies on her antlers. He stepped aside and within seconds she jumped at the human, immediately taking him down. Her hoofs kept pounding on his body and her teeth started to rip his clothes apart. The man looked at her in fear, but she didn’t seem to care. She laughed and cried at the same time and laughed even more when she heard the man screaming for mercy in his own language. Tears were coming from his eyes as she brutally ripped the skin of his flesh.
The others watched from a distance with a horrified look on their face as Fenqua lost every sense she had while tearing the human apart. After a few minutes the screaming stopped, but Fenqua kept stomping her hoof into his stomach. Skokey came up to her and pushed her away, trying not to look at the lifeless, bleeding body.
‘FEN STOP! You don’t know what you’re doing!’
The doe looked at him, human blood being spread across he snout. At first it was as if she wanted to take him down too, but her eyes closed and opened again as if she awoke for the first time that day. She felt her head pounding as the tears came rolling down her cheeks.
‘They… they… killed her…’
‘Who did they kill, Fenqua? What happened?’
‘They… fucking… KILLED HER!’ she yelled in his face.
‘Calm down! Tell me, who was killed?’
‘M-M-Mic-car-r-rena..’ she stuttered as she burst into tears again, this time crying on his orange-black shoulder.

Nimlin tried not to pay attention to her foster child but focused on the humans, or at least what was left of them. One man and one dog were the only enemies they were currently facing. She smiled at that victorious thought. They had won, the forest was safe and there had been no fire. The white antlered doe ran up to the man and stood only a few inches away from him. He flinched back in fear and took out a little box. It was all he had left. No guns or other weapons, just a little box. The man opened it and pulled out a stick. After stroking it against the side of the box, Nimlin could see a flame coming from it. She looked surprised for a moment, especially when the man started to wave the flame in front of her. This pathetic attempt to scare her irritated her and she knocked her head against his arm, which made him drop the wooden stick to the ground. The flame hit the grass and immediately spread like a wall between the doe and the man.
Nimlin stepped back and watched the man call his dog and disappear from the Forest, between the woods and behind the barrier. Shit! She thought, he got away!
‘FIRE!!!’ she yelled, catching the attention of the other deer.
Skokey and Fenqua turned to Nimlin and the wall of fire that was quickly catching on through the trees, spreading across the whole forest.
‘What should we do?’ Skokey asked while looking at her.
‘I don’t know Skokey, I don’t know…’ Fenqua started to panic, there was no way she could stop this dangerous monster from eating the forest. Their lives were over. Their future was gone. There was nothing that could be done. Everything seemed to turn blurry and soon Fenqua found herself slipping away.

***

‘My bright eyes… please awake from your dream.’ A soft voice spoke to her, but it wasn’t the same motherly voice she had heard before. This voice was deeper, coming from a stag. It was as if he was whispering into her ear. She opened her eyes and saw her parents, again surrounded by a warm, blinding light.
‘Hello Fenqua.’ Her father said. ‘We have come to tell you something about the value of life. What you did to that human being was horrible, even when he was the enemy that is responsible for the death of your friend, you had no right to take his life like that.’
‘But…’ she tried, but she couldn’t think of anything to say.
‘Not only as your parents, but also as guardians, we are disappointed in both you and the other deer that helped to kill them.’
‘But father… what could I have done? We were defending ourselves and protecting the forest from any harm.’
‘It turned from defense into a massive slaughter and we disapprove. Besides, there’s one thing I don’t understand. One thing I would have never expected from you, my daughter.’
‘And that is?’
‘Why, in heaven’s name, didn’t you ask the Twin Gods for help?’

Fenqua was caught off guard by this question. The Twin Gods? But of course, it had been something concerning the whole forest, but instead of believing in the Gods she had always prayed for, she took fate in her own hands and decided she could manage this herself. But she couldn’t. She had prevented other deer from being kidnapped, but the biggest threat completely slipped her mind. Even though Silvery spelled it out for her, she hadn’t been able to prevent the fire. Her parents were right. She may have slaughtered most of the hunters, but it didn’t matter. It was still going to end the same way…

‘I believe you understand now.’ Her mother interrupted her thoughts. Fenqua only nodded and looked to the ground, at least, expecting to see something more than the white light beneath her feet.
‘To believe in yourself is a good quality, but you have to believe in your Gods too. Do you know why you pray Fenqua?’
‘Because I wish for salvation of my soul and safety for the ones I love and the environment they live in.’
‘There… you said exactly what it’s about. There’s not soul like you devoted to the Twin Gods, but you forgot why you pray for them. You forgot why you believe. They are there to protect you and grand safety to you and your loved ones. Remember that Fenqua.’
‘I’d love to, but what’s the point of it? We’re doomed anyway…’
‘Not all hope is lost.’ And with those last words, her parents disappeared in the light.

***

‘Fen? Are you okay? Fenqua, please wake up…’
She slowly opened her eyes and looked straight into Skokey’s. She blinked and stared at his face when it hit her.
‘THE FIRE! We’re going to die!’
‘Fenqua… there is no fire. Don’t you feel it?’
‘Feel wh-’ She was about the ask, when a soft, cold drip hit her black nose. She looked up to the sky and saw it was raining. The sun had already awaken, but kept her silence while the rain poured from the grey clouds that covered her warmth. Fenqua looked around, but saw the fire had gone out. Even the blood of the man she had killed had been washed from her mouth and fur. She looked at Skokey for a while and decided to stand up. Then she closed her eyes and bowed her head, planting her front legs in a praying position.

‘Thank you…’ she whispered.