Chapter ten

  You don't know hate

  Hate?

  I never hated anything and neither did you.

  To hate is something not every being is capable of.

  I can't tell you what hate is or what it feels like.

  But I saw hate.

  I have seen what madness needs to be committed to make a man hate.

  To hate means to be ready to die.

  To hate means to be ready to kill.

  To hate means to be ready to fight the whole world.

  In order to hate one has to lose love.

  And once that hate is reached the limitations of mortality will be forgotten.

  Once one hates one will never live again.

  -The only surviving member of a thieves guild

  I stood completely still, and so did she.

  Both of us cautios of what made that noise but nothing happened.

  In the quietest voice I could make I spoke to Mallia without moving.

  "On my sign, we both run back to the others."

  I only heard a soft clack as response, good.

  I'm in the best position to jump into any direction, whilst I still look like I have no clue.

  Nothing happened, that's bad.

  We're being watched, and we can't go back or else they will follow.

  "Sit with me."

  I say this time looking Mallia in the eyes with a light smile. She understands what I'm doing and sits besides me.

  "Do you think they understand us?"

  She asks with worry in her voice.

  "Probably not, how would they?"

  I put on the role of the carefree one and she notices that and from that draws my answer: I don't know.

  "What if they approach us?"

  She knows the answer to that, she wants me to throw them on a false lead. I grab a rock.

  "We run to the others, who hide near the hut next to our birth place and then take the elf there hostage."

  Another sound but not from us.

  I throw the rock as hard as I can and it hits its target. From the bush came a yelp of pain, that's all we needed to hear.

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  Both of us leap to where the yelp came from and then dash into the same bush where I threw my rock. Nothing there except my rock, but I won't fall for it. I thrash around the area and once I find what I'm looking for I grab it, a leg. One attached to a body. I pull with all my strength and in just one moment we were all out in the open.

  It's the elf from the hut.

  Huh

  I guess we weren't that stealthy.

  She yelled something out in a language I can't understand. Doesn't mater what she has to say it won't change anything. I bite down snd for the first time I use my venom. Her eyes are wide but there's no light remaining in them.

  I simply put her on my carapace and Mallia already started weaving her up. My gaze stayed fixated on the forest, no sound no movement, we have to leave.

  Once I can feel that Mallia is done I turn around and start to sprint, and she follows. Even in a dead sprint our eight legs make no sound whilst moving and with a few leaps and some running we were back.

  We are fast runners but out stamina is lacking.

  'I should really train'

  "What happened?"

  The first to notice us was Freya and in the distance I can see thinker also approaching us.

  "Huff.. she stalked...puff...us.."

  I said in between my breaths, I'm not a runner.

  "Is she dead?"

  This time it was thinker to ask the question.

  I shake my head and lift the elf with two of my arms and both Freya and Thinker stare at it for a while.

  "So what now?"

  Freya asked that with a blank expression. And I honestly have no clue, do we like just eat her or something? I look over to Thinker hoping for a hint.

  "Others will think she was eaten by a bear or something, they don't know about us."

  He said while shrugging. Leaving just as confused as before. I thought about it for a while and then I got it.

  "Bait!"

  "Bait?"

  "Yes, Bait. We will use her as Bait to catch more sentient ones!"

  I explained as if I guessed the answer to a difficult question.

  "Well, how do we do it?"

  "So first we will....

  Some time later

  I was tracking the footprints left behind by whatever assaulted the person next to the stream. It's four legged and seems to be quite heavy. A bear perhaps, but we have to find a corpse at least.

  I look over to the rest of my team, we're a total of 5 elven rangers we usually would be six but our sixth member is missing. Perhaps she's already investigating this.

  Perhaps, perhaps.

  We follow the trail of blood and pawprints until we find something. A corpse, two corpses both mangled and buried partly.

  "Well here we have our answer, it was a bear. It doesn't seem to be around so let's take the corpses back so that their families can hold their funerals."

  I said without any emotion, not the first time this happened.

  As we got closer some noise from the branches above us could be heard but we didn't pay it any mind. Probably just a crow.

  "Hey, there's something in the trees."

  Said a voice from behind. And then as if on cue a loud hiss could be heard then a group of arachnids fell from above effectively surrounding us.

  No words were spoken but all of us unsheated our machetes and we formed a circle to cover each others backs, not the first time this happened. But we had alot more people with us than now, so things aren't looking good.

  With a hiss from all directions they all charged at us at the same time some might despair but I came out from worse situations.

  The biggest arachnid I could see was charging straight at me, she wants to break our formation. I jump on her and cling to her face with one then I stab her in the shoulder and use it as leverage to swing on her carapace.

  With a screch of pain she halts and thrashes around wildly, hurting two arachnids in the process. I soon fall of and dodge the incoming claw. Before I get to draw another breath another arachnid was on me. She brought down both of her upper arms to make and upper head strike, I dodge to the side and try to slap her but it only leaves a scratch in her chitting. Before anything else could happen the arachnid from before struk me with a wild swing which sends me flying.

  I land next to the corpses and see who they are. I recognise both faces, the missing member of my team and my beloved.

  The world goes still

  Meanwhile

  I watched as the arachnids ambushed the elfs, they sure enjoy it.

  I'm not that good at such things but the friend of the leader told me that I'm more than capable.

  Oh well, but there's no need for that with the arachnids with us.

  Four arachnids each grabbed the same one and crushed him, painfully and slow. His flesh popped and his bones broke, they're much better at it than me.

  But then all of the sudden great amounts of rage and grief washed over the place and something.

  Something that's foreign to me.

  It's powerful and destructive,, even the host will be killed by it.

  It's hate