//------------------------------//
// Paradise 
// Story: The Amulet of Anubis 
// by DemonWriterX 
//------------------------------//

"Paradise"

Izel wiped the sweat off his brow and wiped his hooves with a blood stained cloth before throwing it aside as he looked down at Daring who was breathing heavily, weak from blood loss. He had finished bandaging her waist, covering the wound with some stitches and medicine before wrapping it with clean bandages. 

"You are lucky, my son," Izel muttered, his throat scratchy from shouting instructions to Ahuizotl. 
Ahuizotl glanced at his adoptive father and nodded. 

"I fear the killer tried to make her his next victim." He said gravely. He notices how pale she was as she continued to sleep.

"What makes you say that?" 

"She won against Aila, the strongest of the untouchable, she was the obvious choice...I should have foreseen this!" He exclaimed angrily. If he had not left maybe, she would not have been attacked, and they would have caught him red-hoofed. 

"Do not blame yourself for your mistake, Ahuizotl..." Izel said sarcastically, earning him a sideway glance that turned into a glare. 

"Watch that tongue of yours Izel; I'm afraid you mispronounced that sentence." He growled. Izel let out a snort. 

"You are foolish, young, and inexperienced!" He stated harshly turning to him fully. "You should have left her to die! Instead, I save her just as a favor to you, my son, who had forgotten the basic rules of war!" He snarled.  "Never leave your weapon, unintended!"

Ahuizotl ears went low from his scolding, holding back his tongue. His father turned away shaking his head as he looked at Daring. 

"You still have a lot to learn, Ahuizotl.." He began. "And I hope you don't disappointment me when you deal with this killer." 

"Of course...father." He said lowly. "I shall make his fear for his death, with no mercy!" 

"I hope so..." He replied slowly, almost not believing his words. Izel took his leave gathering up his needles and supplies before leaving Ahuizotl's tent. Ahuizotl let out a sigh and looked back at Daring. Her chest rose slowly in a rhythm; cold sweat drenched her fur making it ruffled and stuck out of place. Her mane was wet from the cloth that he set to take away any discomfort of heat from the humidity of the forest. His pillows were still wet from her blood making him growl lowly in irradiance knowing that he would have thrown away. She was very close to death, if the attacker had stabbed higher, it would have hit a major organ, and there would have been nothing they could have done. He ran his fingers over her bandages, a spot of red appearing where the wound was, but it was nothing that concerned him. It will just be a while until it heals completely. He circled the red spot with index finger almost mesmerized. He felt her twitch against his touch making him pull away abruptly as she started to wake up slowly.
He moved his head closer to hers as she lifted her head, opening her eyes. 
One look and he were immediately punched in the muzzle, making him recoil in a shout clutching his nose. 
She let out a yell. "Get away!" crawling backward away from him before collapsing on her back, clutching her stomach. She grabbed the closest thing she had a weapon which was a dagger that Ahuizotl foolishly put down when trying to save her life. Maybe Izel did had a point. 

"You little witch!" He snarled as she pointed it right at him. "I just saved your life!" 

"N-no!" She shouted her voice hoarse; she shook her head seeing the room spin. She struggled to keep the dagger straight. "No! I know you wanted to kill m-me...." She said clenching her teeth. "I-I...the cave...you lured me...I....ow, my head." 

"You are delirious..." Ahuizotl stated calmly, putting out his hand, she shakily moved the dagger at him. "You lost a lot of blood; you are going to pass out if you keep moving." 

"Stay back!" She warned. "Or you will...be losing more than your f-fingers..." She stammered, her voice shaking. Ahuizotl eyes lowered, he would have to take the dagger away from her. He moved his tail inching it closer to her to the side. She immediately waved the dagger towards his tail, slicing through the air. 

"Get away!" She shouted, "I'll kill you!...I swear I...I will!" 

"Miss Do, if I wanted to kill you, I would have sliced your throat, not stabbed you" he explained inching his way closer to her. She was seething, breathing heavily from excreting herself too much. "..also if I wanted to kill you, why would I help you?" 
She reeled back, her back hitting the tent wall. 

"T-that's enough!" Her eyes began darting back and forth, her vision blurring. "Y-you...you.." Her grip of the dagger loosen, and he quickly took the chance. With a swipe of his tail, he knocked it away and tackled Daring, pinning her down against her back. She struggled against him violently, but he was stronger. 

"Stop!" He growled as she tried to kick him.. "You are going to open your stitches, you fool!" 

She finally succumbed to exhaustion, her breathing began to have a high pitched wheeze, and her eyes had turned bloodshot. Drenched in sweat from the struggle. Ahuizotl let out a breath, finding it best to keep her still until she is well of mind. 
He had his tail wrapped around her back legs as he moved her forelegs with his other hands. She let out a hiss the moment he touched her right hoof, immediately trying to retract it away. He raised a brow; he didn't grab her that hard. While keeping his grip, he gave it a look. 
It was a cut, a small one, at least a few inches across the front of her leg, from the struggle with the knife.

"Please-" he scoffed. "For a paper cut like that? It won't even leave a scar..." He smirked, Daring had her eyes closed. "this is an easy fix." 
He leaned forward his as he brought her hoof up, meeting it halfway he gave it a methodical lick. Again, he hit her left hoof managed to slip out of his grasp and shot out hitting his left cranium. It was a soft hit, because of her exhaustion that it made him jolt slightly. 
He snorted.

"You stupid mare!" He growled in a low voice, taking her left hoof and keeping it in a vice grip. She struggled slightly against him until she found a fascinating sight on her injured hoof, her small cut was healing before her eyes. Her lips pressed together in a slight grimace, her eyes ping-ponging, avoiding direct eye contact with Ahuizotl and onto the cut. It appeared as if her skin was zipping up the wound before it closed completely. 
She wrinkled her nose and blew her cheeks out, letting out a small release of air. 
Ahuizotl felt her body slowly relax and saw that her eyes had turned back to normal, losing its bloodshot appearance. 

"Okay-" she whispered, her voice raspy. "You said you didn't stab me?" 
Ahuizotl loosened his grip on her lifting himself off of her. 

"Yes, I did not-" he responds calmly as he watched her sit up. She rubbed her head. 

"I believe you…” She admitted. Why else would he heal her? Deep down she was supposed to believe that it was possible for Ahuizotl to stab her but, it was illogical to continue thinking that because there was also a lingering thought that convinced her that he did not. Slowly, flashes of her dream came into her mind. "It wasn't you, it was somepony else," She whispered slowly. "He was in my dream..."

"Dream?-" he let out a scoff wondering if the medicine was making her drowsy and incompetent. 

"I know it...sounds crazy, but in my dream, there was a pony made out of tar..." She let out a soft groan. "That sounds ridiculous out loud but, the thing in my dream stabbed me! and when I wake up I have been stabbed in the same spot!" she said gesturing angrily at her bandaged stomach. 
Ahuizotl pondered this, a killer that enters into dreams? It almost sounds impossible but...the wound in her stomach, the wounds he saw on the victims. They were similar. Could it be that would be the reason no pony heard their screams because they were asleep?
It's almost as if it is the-!
A high-pitched scream interrupted his thoughts, immediately sending him rushing out of the tent leaving Daring to struggle as she tried to catch up. He follows the scream towards the medical tent to catch one of the mares in the tribe, a healer-in-training, who stumble out of the tent. Hysterical and crying, she screamed and pointed inside. Ahuizotl sent the mare aside as he bursts inside to find Aila, her torso completely ripped open and her mouth opens in a silent scream. The killer had struck again. 
Blood was splattered around inside, covering the walls and ceiling, as if her torso burst open. He heard the horrified gasp from Daring; he turned putting his hand out to her not wanting her to stray close to the pool of blood inching its way towards the entrance. She covered her mouth, turning away from the sight. Ahuizotl felt his blood boil, the killer had killed again but instead of in the forest, it was inside his camp! It was as if the killer was mocking him.

"Miss Do-" he began with a serious tone. "I need you to see if the killer took anything out of her body-" 

She cursed bitterly under her breath, the intense smell of the blood was making her feel nauseous. With a small inhale she turned to the corpse. Peering carefully inside, while holding her nose in fear one whiff might send bile into Aila's body. With one look she retreated beside Ahuizotl. 

"Her kidney is missing." She stated darkly, quickly moving her muzzle towards the cool night air outside. 
He cursed bitterly under his breath; he placed a hand over his muzzle, a mixture of anger and confusion appeared across his face. 

"How could have this happen?" He thundered to himself. "Right here, in my campsite?...first you and then..." His hand turned into a tight fist. The situation had gone dire, and he felt powerless for the first time in his entire life.