Barry stood at the edge of the clearing, looking off into the forest. The urge to start running straight through the trees was a voice that lingered in the back of his brain like a hot coal pressed against his neck. But each time it surfaced, he dismissed it. There was no doubt the fake Angel would catch up and, most likely, kill him.

But those thoughts were coming back to him with vigor. Because if he didn’t start running, then he had to face off against the second most dangerous thing in the clearing.

She’d been heavily restrained against the tree, the… feral. Not quite human, a monster that almost looked like one.

And this feral, in particular, was one that had very nearly killed him.

The creature was naked; she had the figure of a young woman, a beautiful one at that. Her face was a near perfect almond shape, her skin smooth save for a couple scars near her right cheek, honeyed in color, interrupted only by the blotch of white paint that stuck to the bridge of her nose and around her eyes. Barry couldn’t keep looking into those seething dark green eyes, turning further down.

His eyes lingered on the monster’s naked figure, the slim breasts capped with dark nipples, the roundness of femininity that permeated her tanned form. The growl she let out kept any consideration of such beauty out of his mind, turning his attention to the wires that were holding this creature in place.

The metal wires kept her restrained against the tree. They were taut enough to bite into her flesh, through the fur covering her wrists, as well as into her throat. The feral was bloodied, her whole body battered and bruised, and it was clear she had difficulty breathing.

The injuries had come from the fight with Kajou, Pan having added a few of her own. By all accounts, the feral should be either dead or at least unable to fight against her restraints.

But she was a monster.

Her teeth were sharp enough her smile looked closer to a shark’s, her bite meant to tear flesh, the blood stains on her chin and neck clear proof of this. Barry might have considered cleaning them, but even when she was gagged with cloth, he feared she’d rip his hand off at the first chance. Maybe even if it was at the cost of her own limbs. The way the wire bit into her throat was proof enough of this.

“Less staring, more doing,” the voice was accompanied by a sting of pain that jolted through Barry’s left calf. Barry jumped a step ahead in shock. The human looked over his shoulder to find the angel pointing a finger at him and smirking.

“You don’t need to do that.” Kajou scowled from her spot next to the fire. Despite the complaint, she didn’t move. Instead, she turned her focus on the flustered Barry. The smile she put up was plastic, a rather feeble attempt to reassure him. “Just do the same thing you did back in the feral den, and everything should be fine.”

The look Pan was shooting his way added to the subtext ‘or else’.

Gulping, Barry turned back towards the feral. Trying to focus on what he might find the least threatening thing about her. It turned out to be the two furred ears atop her head. Almost cute if he ignored the claws she had for hands, or the superhuman strength she could wield, or the murderous gaze she was shooting his way. “I don’t…”

His thoughts turned to the cave, the hole, the nameless girl with wings for arms that was in pain and afraid and scared. The image was so vivid, so clear. His chest burned, the pain shortened his breaths and knocked the air out of him. A groan escaped the young man as he fell to his knees, clutching at the mental flame that burned through him. His ears rang with the girl’s misspoken attempt to call out his name. She’d been so scared, so afraid, so…

“Pan!”

There had been the sound of scuffling next to him. The young human’s blurry eyes turned to see the demonic Angel had stood up and moved to approach. Kajou had moved to block her off.

“I tire of his acting. He is fine,” the blond maiden snarled, her blade glowing with an ominous white light. “I’m just going to give him a damn reason to whine about.”

Barry moved with urgency, scurrying away from the pissed off angel as fast as he could. What else could he do? Wait and see what might happen? Dirt moved under his hands and feet, body clenching tight in panic as his gut twisted into an ugly knot. So focused was he on Pan that he did not see the direction he’d been moving in until his half-backwards-crawl made him collide against something soft and uneven.

The human looked up and found the snarling face of the black-haired feral. Her face lunged for him, an attempt to bite through the gag that ended when the wire around her neck grew taut. The piece of metal sank against her honeyed skin. Barry barely had the time to leap away, heart thumping against his chest.

Hate burned in her gaze as she pulled her head forward and desperately attempted to fight against the wire around her neck. Blood began to dribble down from where the metal cut into her flesh. Another handful of seconds and the creature had to stop, breaking into a coughing fit, wheezing for air through the cloth.

“I told you he’s just human.”

“It takes time, even with a collar. Do you expect him to do it instantly?”

“It’s your claim that he made a bond with that other feral overnight.” Pan spat into the dirt.

Barry turned to stare at the two of them, his chest tight like a spring about to break. “What do you want from me!?” He let the cry out, heaving, breathing hard, aching chest as he glanced between the feral and the two.

“Shut up, y-”

“Barry.” Kajou raised her hand, blocking Pan’s view of the human. “Just do what you did in the cave. Don’t let Pan scare you into rushing. A job well done slowly is better than one not done at all.” A slight smile, not quite as forced as the last one. “I know you can.”

The only effect her words had on him was to lower his face down to the ground, hands clenched tightly as his heart stabbed through him with every beat. Were they just toying with him at this point? He hadn’t done anything important in the cave, nothing worth writing about. He’d just been scared to death, sharing a dark hole with other things that made him scared, and the woman with wings had… Gulping, Barry shook his head, turning away from the memory as the heat and pain were becoming more intense.

It was a hard realization. He’d escaped the hole, but he was going to die all the same. This was just delaying it. He was powerless again. They were just waiting to get bored before they opted to finish it.

His eyes lingered on the black-haired monster, the restrained feral. Those green eyes were still locked on Barry in a glare. A tear streaked down her cheek, dampening the gag. The emotion being held there made Barry’s hands clench. “Why do you hate me too?” he whispered under his breath.

If the creature understood his words, she showed no signs of it, keeping her struggle against the wire. Dimly, the human noticed she’d already stopped bleeding from her previous attempts to escape. How long until the wound was completely gone?

Truly, she was a monster.

They all were.