CHAPTER 239: Alaska, a Safe Place - 6

CHAPTER 239: Alaska, a Safe Place - 6

Outside the fortress, the wind blew forcefully, dragging fine particles of snow through the air. The night sky stretched over them like an immense dark ocean, dotted with stars.

Selene stood beside the palisade, contemplating the frozen landscape. Beside her, Hank rested both hands on his wooden staff, his gaze lost in the mountains.

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Until Hank broke the silence.

—Your mother was a great woman.

Selene turned her head slightly toward him.

Hank sketched a smile charged with nostalgia.

—Too great for this rotten world.

The old man observed the warm lights of the fortress behind him.

—She was one of the people who helped found this community. When many only thought about surviving, she dreamed of building something better.

His eyes were lost on the white horizon.

—A refuge. A place where our species could exist without chains, without wars, and without kings.

Selene lowered her gaze.

—I barely got to know her.

Her voice was low, almost a murmur.

Hank nodded slowly.

—I know.

The wind stirred his long white hair.

—She died too young.

There was a pause.

—Too soon.

Selene clenched her jaw slightly.

—I've always heard stories about her, but... never my own memories.

Hank looked at her with an almost paternal tenderness.

—That doesn't change who you are.

Selene remained silent.

Hank let out a small laugh.

—She had the same look as you when someone contradicted her.

Selene raised an eyebrow.

—Then she must have gotten angry a lot.

—Constantly.

Both let out a brief laugh.

The air seemed less cold for an instant.

Hank looked at the horizon again.

—She was brave. Compassionate. And terribly stubborn.

His expression softened.

—She never accepted that the world was simply as it was. She always believed it could be improved.

Selene crossed her arms, feeling how those words settled inside her.

—Sounds exhausting.

—It was.

Hank smiled.

—And admirable.

The snow continued falling slowly.

—Your mother believed that someday someone would continue what she had started.

Selene looked at him.

Hank held her gaze.

—I think she was right.

The wind changed.

It was something subtle at first. A different murmur among the icy gusts.

Hank frowned.

Selene felt it too.

A creak.

Then another.

And then...

A growl.

Both directed their gaze toward the darkness beyond the walls.

Among the blizzard, several silhouettes began to emerge slowly.

Selene narrowed her eyes.

Her expression changed instantly.

Those were not normal lycans.

Their bodies were deformed, twisted by grotesque mutations. Limbs too long, bony spines protruding from the flesh, disproportionate jaws brimming with irregular fangs. Some walked on four legs; others dragged themselves with unnatural movements.

Their eyes glowed with a sickly red.

And their skin seemed to tear over hypertrophied muscles.

Hank gripped his staff tightly.

—Inside. Now.

There was no need to repeat it.

Both ran toward the fortress gates while the first creatures let out shrieks that froze the blood.

—Close the gates! —Hank roared as he crossed the threshold.

The enormous wooden and steel gates began to close.

But it was already too late.

The horn resonated throughout the fortress.

A deep, ancient sound that made every hallway and every room vibrate.

The calm disappeared in an instant.

The inhabitants came out of their homes. Warriors armed with swords, spears, and crossbows took their positions with impeccable discipline.

From the walls, the first projectiles were fired.

One of the mutated lycans fell.

Ten others took its place.

The creatures crashed against the palisade with monstrous violence. Their claws dug into the wood as they climbed with impossible speed.

One managed to reach the edge.

A vampire pierced its throat with a spear.

Another jumped over the corpse.

And then they began to enter.

The battle erupted.

Steel against flesh.

Claws against fangs.

Screams.

Dark blood splattering the snow.

The vampires fought with lethal coordination, but those aberrations were pure animal fury.

Selene ran through one of the interior corridors.

—Weapons! —she ordered as she descended the stairs.

Two warriors handed her their twin swords.

She unsheathed them in a single movement.

The steel gleamed under the torchlight.

Her eyes acquired that supernatural blue tone.

On the other side of the hallway, Hank was escorted by two guards toward a safe chamber inside the fortress.

The old man did not protest.

He knew perfectly well what his role was.

And what it no longer was.

Outside, the roars multiplied.

More mutated lycans jumped over the walls.

More vampires came to the defense.

The white snow began to stain red.

Selene gripped the hilts tightly.

Her breathing stabilized.

Her body tensed.

And then...

She smiled.

—Perfect.

She launched herself into the battle.