Pheo looked at Beam, it was undoubtedly a strong creature yet he didn't feel like it was acting on its own volition. There was something off with Beam, something amiss in the way it acted.
Help...
Pheo heard a faint voice cry out. He looked around, no one was calling out for help nor did they react to the voice. It confused him, the voice sounded so close by.
Over here...
This time he heard where it was coming from, he turned straight towards Beam. The creature was still busy trying to deal with Ryu and Wing.
Please...
Kill me...
His eyes widened, was Beam speaking to him? If so, how? The voice sounded desperate, as if it was pleading for him to help. It made him feel pity, he felt compelled to help Beam no matter what.
"Hey" Pheo called for Anora, "Can I use that?" He pointed at the gun. Anora looked at him shocked, "Why does a kid your age need a gun?" She looked hesitant, he could tell from her eyes that she wasn't planning to hand it to him anytime soon.
He pressed her wound, causing her to use both of her arms to cover it. Pheo then quickly grabbed the gun and ran away, "Sorry!" Anora was about to shout at him but stopped, "Ah, what the hell, I'm going to die anyways"
He ran far from everyone else and began shooting at Beam, "Come here buddy!" Beam looked at him, noticing that out of the three of them, he was the weakest. He jerked towards his direction, then lunged.
"Pheo, what are you doing?!?" Ryu shouted out, he was sprinting towards him to help but he got stopped by Wing. "Stop!" He grabbed Ryu, but he kept flailing.
"Come on, he needs our help!" Ryu told him, trying to pry his arms away. "Ryu, why do you think he's getting Beam's attention?" He asked, "He's trying to save you!"
"What?" Ryu looked at Wing, "But he can't handle that monster alone" He knew that Pheo was smarter than him, but not stronger. He started to think, his eyes opening wider at the realization. "Is he sacrificing himself?"
Wing nodded, "We came here to save them, but we ended up being saved instead" He felt bad about the situation, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "Come on, lets not waste his sacrifice"
Wing went to Ikra, "Can you walk?" Ikra tried to get himself up, but failed. "I probably can if you help me" He helped him up, slowly making him adjust to walking. As they went back, Ryu felt awful, like he was betraying Pheo.
They passed by Anora, "Hang in there, we'll call for them to come get you as soon as we get back up" Wing told her, he was glad that someone who knew first aid came by to help. He looked to Ryu, he was following them but his face was full of regret.
If only there was another way
They started walking back to the staircase with Ikra leading the way. Though they ended up being able to go back, they all had a bitter taste in their mouths.
Pheo ran around the caverns as Beam chased him down. Using the time he had spent down there, he was able to navigate through the terrain easily. Beam was already beaten up from multiple fights, he just had to think of a way to deal the finishing blow.
He was still looking for a way to defeat Beam. There was one piece to the puzzle that confused him, a factor that made Beam's existence an anomaly. According to all that he had learnt, Beam shouldn't be alive.
Beam was missing crucial parts of the body that would be needed to survive. Not only that, but his skin was deformed from the attacks, they weren't cut or wounded. In the first place, where would they get enough food to feed a creature of that size?
Kill me...
Pheo heard the voice again, he had been the entire chase. He doesn't know how or why, but only he can hear Beam's cries for death. "If you want to die that badly then stop trying to kill me!" He shouted out at Beam.
He tripped from the small debris scattered on the ground. Beam took advantage of this and slapped Pheo with a tentacle. He went flying, soaring through the long pathway and crashing at the end of it.
There was a sickening crunch of his bones as he landed. Blood spilled from his mouth, his bones twisted and turned. The pain could be felt everywhere at once. It was sharp and blinding, then quickly drowned under the shock.
His ears rang, the world felt far away as if he was submerged underwater. Pheo tried to focus his vision on Beam, but it slowly darkened, spinning into blackness. Slowly succumbing to the fact that he was going to die, he tried to at least complain to himself about the weight pressing into his chest but he wasn't even able to speak.
As Beam made his way to Pheo, all he could think of was the torment he had gone through. Funnily enough, he was still able to think rationally due to the constant abuse he had suffered from his father.
This world was so horrible. Everyday was full of suffering, each day a different way to torture me. I'm glad that now, I can finally be released from this place.
He closed his eyes, death was surprisingly easy for him to accept. The time he had spent was so short, yet he felt that he had lived way more than he should've. Maybe in the afterlife he could find peace from the violence he had been through.