Nashatyr

      The heavy pre-dawn hours were approaching. Zoe lay awake, unable to sleep. It's uncomfortable enough to sleep while bound, but when you're consumed by fear and facing an uncertain future...       Yesterday, they had killed Rose — the girl had been less compliant than Zoe. She had tried to escape, and when caught, put up a fight. Who knows, maybe her fate would prove more enviable in the end. It was clear why they might have kept Zoe alive...       The gang leader stumbled into the tent. Zoe, lying on the cold ground, shrank at his appearance. There was nowhere to hide — she knew that — but she instinctively tried to crawl away. The man bent down, grabbed her, and pulled her close. Zoe caught a whiff of his foul breath. Your teeth are rotting, you freak! She grimaced. The bandit smirked and pulled out a knife. Slowly, relishing his victim's suffering and basking in waves of her fear, he traced the blade along her defenseless neck, slightly grazing the skin. Zoe began to tremble. Her heart raced erratically, almost choking her. Satisfied with the effect, the tormentor let out a hoarse laugh and started speaking in Spanish. Zoe's grasp of the language was poor, but what she could make out didn't bode well at all. The bandit reached for the fastening of her pants...       Suddenly, a commotion outside distracted the leader. Shouts erupted, followed by what sounded like cursing. The pounding of feet, more shouts. Gunshots. A burst of machine gun fire.       Swearing, the leader spat to the side and, shoving the woman away, rushed out to assist his men. Zoe's heart, already threatening to burst from her chest, now fluttered somewhere in her throat — not from terror this time, but from a spark of hope. Someone was attacking these bastards! She might be rescued!       Listening intently to the sounds of battle raging through the camp, the woman could only pray to any higher power that she wouldn't be accidentally killed along with her captors. And that her captors wouldn't fend off the attackers...       Something horrific was unfolding in the camp. A scream pierced the air. Inhuman, ghastly... No, human of course, but so blood-curdling it was as if someone was being torn apart alive. A burst of gunfire. A thunderous boom. The tent shuddered, nearly swept away by the blast wave; Zoe's ears rang. The woman, who had started to rise, fell back to the floor and tried to hide under a makeshift table cobbled together from crates. Her head filled with a deafening buzz...       Another frenzied yell broke through the still-piercing ringing in her ears. Several bullets tore through the canvas. The gunfire continued, but less frequently and with less conviction. The screams showed no sign of abating. And then...       A deep, guttural roar from some large beast shook the entire area. It burst into the general cacophony, drowning it out with its thunderous rumbles. Zoe had never heard anything like it before. What on earth...?       The growling sounded again, much closer now, intertwining with human screams. Another volley of gunfire erupted. As if in response — an angry howl, a series of pops, a bright flash — visible even through the thick fabric of the tent. A groan. The gurgle of someone choking on their own blood... Flash, flash, flash...       The soot-covered leader burst in. Zoe raised her head in fear. The bastard survived! He was looking around wildly, clutching an assault rifle; blood trickled from a gash on his forehead. After searching for his captive and spotting her, the man barked something and yanked her to her feet with one hand, pulling her from her hiding place. No, no! She wouldn't go with him! Zoe tried to break free, but her attempts were futile; she only received another heavy blow and lost her balance. As she fell, the woman caught a glimpse of an enormous figure throwing back the tent flap and stepping inside.       The leader raised his rifle and fired a burst. The figure darted sideways, evading the line of fire. The weapon clicked, sputtered, and died. A growl sounded just a meter from Zoe... Paralyzed with fear, she propped herself up on her elbows and saw a hulking figure advancing on the leader. The gang boss was no small man, but compared to the newcomer, he looked like a mere boy. Who could possibly be that huge? The bandit tore the useless rifle from his shoulder, tossed it aside, pulled a machete from his belt, and held it out in front of him. His opponent crouched and spread his arms wide. Something clinked, glinting.       Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Zoe crawled to the far wall of the tent and pressed her back against a pile of junk. From here, she had a clear view of the opponents and could observe the duel. Meanwhile, the leader and the stranger began circling each other in the confined space. The woman stared at them wide-eyed, unable to look away. She was simply stunned — not so much by what was happening, but by the appearance of one of the participants: Zoe finally got a good look at the giant...       God knows what it was. At first glance, she thought a huge African American with dreadlocks had attacked the leader, but now she doubted it was even human. Gigantic height, a half-naked torso covered in mottled, bumpy skin, a loincloth, metal plates on the chest... On the splayed, predatory fingers were... claws! Claws, for crying out loud! On its face — a solid iron mask framed by a tousled mane of braids. What the hell was this thing?! The creature crouched and began moving in a half-squat — sometimes smoothly, sometimes abruptly, shaking its misshapen head. Above the wrist of its almost human right hand protruded two serrated blades; the left hand was frozen in an open-palmed gesture, as if signaling to stop. The man opposite also moved, trying to maintain a safe distance. It's hard to say how long this "dance" continued, but suddenly the bandit lunged forward with a yell, swinging his blade. The stranger parried the attack as if playing, easily throwing his opponent back. Another attack — with the same outcome. A growl was heard again. Very close. Right here.       Is IT growling???       Zoe might have been more surprised, but she seemed to be in a trance. Now she could only watch as the man furiously hurled himself at the creature, and the creature each time tossed him aside like a feather, as if toying with him. The machete clanged as it flew off to the side. The bandit roared and... charged at his enemy with bare fists! Strangely enough, the creature allowed itself to be hit, then countered with a blow to the man's solar plexus so powerful that it sent him flying, overturning the rickety table. But look at that, he got up... Not knowing what else to defend himself with, he hurled an ammo box and a stool at the behemoth — both splintered under the strike of the fearsome blades. This seemed to finally push the giant over the edge. The stranger swiftly went on the offensive. He swung, but his opponent managed to dodge, and the blades only slashed through the canvas awning, leaving two clean, long cuts. Light flooded into the tent through the gaps. The leader rolled across the floor and, fumbling among the debris for a crowbar, tried to use it as a weapon. The crowbar was immediately knocked from his hands, nearly hitting Zoe in the head as she cowered nearby. The leader was visibly weakening, trembling with fear and the realization of the inevitable outcome. Judging by the silence that had fallen outside the tent and the fact that no one was rushing to his aid, the entire camp had already been wiped out...       Finally, the stranger tired of the game and moved to the final act of the duel. Advancing on his opponent, he delivered crushing blows to the futilely resisting human, accompanying his actions with furious roars. In his frenzy, he broke into an eerie screech several times, and with a final lunge, he abruptly grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Easily holding the bandit's body aloft with just one hand, the giant forcefully plunged his blades under the man's rib cage and ripped upward with a sickening crunch. Zoe swallowed hard: the leader had been wearing a bulletproof vest...       A death rattle escaped the loser's throat, but it was quickly drowned out by a triumphant rumble. The body, sliding off the blades, thudded heavily onto the earthen floor. The stranger proudly straightened up, standing over his fallen enemy. His chest heaved heavily, each exhale accompanied by a muffled growl.       Paralyzed with terror, Zoe continued to watch as the newcomer bent over the corpse, pulled out a curved knife, and, turning the victim onto his stomach, made a surgically precise incision along the back and skull, and then... Ripped out the exposed spine with one swift movement of his clawed hand!       What happened next, the woman didn't see. She finally felt faint, her vision darkened, and she realized she was losing consciousness...