Chapter 3-Invaders
Chapter 3- Invaders
I knew something was wrong the moment I heard the slick crack of our aged wooden door. My mother had just said goodnight to me when that sound interrupted my most peaceful thoughts, and I did not know what to do or think. Everything changed after I heard this sound, it is something that rings in my ears even to this day. I fear slams, cracks, and creaks of doors, my mind flooding back to the very moment it all began.
My mother sat up and ran to my bedroom door in a hurry, looking out to see what was going on. Immediately I asked what the matter was, but in my gut I knew that it was something not good. She turned her head quickly, and with a look in her eyes I had never seen before, she told me not to budge from my bed. I huddled under the covers, always seeming to find a safety in their soft, comforting folds. My mother flew my door open and started to quickly walk into the hallway. several minutes passed by, and I did not know what to make of it. Agonizing, terrible thoughts flooded through my young mind, but at the same time, I wished that maybe the wind was just angry, and blew our door open. After what seemed like an eternity, Cobalt came into our room and shut the door. His eyes burned with anger, his paws clenching into tight fists. I did not dare ask what was going on, as he prolly would not have answered me anyways. Cobalt walked over to me at a hurried pace, his paw Immediately clasping over my small muzzle.
"Whatever you do sister...please do not make a sound....." He said in a hushed whisper. I simply nodded my head, my ears folded back in a way that showed confusion more than fear. I felt change, something that was very new to me. As my brother and I sat in the dead of silence, I began to hear things from outside. Voices began to grow after each passing moment, becoming louder and louder. My ears folded back further, and I even noticed the stoic-ness of my brother begin to fade. I could feel my small heart making leaps in my chest, the effects resulting in a heavy lump in my throat. Suddenly, there was a very loud crash, a shatter and a scream. My mother had a shriek that sounded like her blood chilled beneath her veins. I could hear deep voices outside of our room, but as I was told, I did not move from my spot. Cobalt however, decided different. Almost Immediately he jumped up and ran to our door. His head spun, and he gave me a look that just dared me to leave our bed. Weighing the decision in my head, my curiosity got the best of me. Ever slowly I crawled out of our bed, and I peeked out of our door. I could feel my body begin to shiver, though not from the cold. I could sense and feel that something was wrong, but because I was so young, my mind could not wrap around every little detail. I saw my brother run out towards the main room, and from what I could tell, there was a stranger in our home. He was tall, and had a black shredded cloak around his neck and shoulders. On his hip was a sword, and he had my mother pinned against the wall.
"P...please...let me go...my children...." I heard her blubbering. Her eyes were swollen and red from fighting off tears, trying to be strong. The strangers paw was wrapped around her neck, holding her right beside our stone fireplace. Her body trembled, something I had never seen from her before. Such bone chilling fear in someone I thought never had any, made my own body quake. From what I could tell, Cobalt had decided that showing himself at this moment might not be best, so he hid himself right beside our bathroom door. My eyes were glued to my mother, and I knew that she was doing everything she could to be strong.
"Heh...what about your kids...do you honestly think I would let them live without their mother? I guess I'll just have to take them with you....but such a waste...a beauty like yourself..." He said in a gruff, scratchy voice. I watched him move, my eyes not leaving them. He lifted a paw and started to stroke it along her upper chest, in a way I had never seen before. By the look in my mother's eyes, I could tell she was more than frightened. Her body tried to squirm, but the moment she made any kind of move he lifted his paw, and lowered it towards his sword. I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to run and protect her, to cry and beg for this stranger to let her go. My footpads were frozen to the ground, the trembles moving down my short legs seeming paralyzing.
"Let my mother go!!" I heard my brother scream, and he showed himself from the door he was hiding behind. He gritted his teeth, and his paws were curled into tight fists. The stranger Immediately turned, as did my mother's eyes. They grew larger, and I could see the fear searing through them. Tears started streaming down her face, and she tried to speak, but the hold on her neck prevented her from doing so. Time froze, and everyone was looking at the young lion who was standing his ground. Never have I seen him so brave, yet so contemplative at the same time. I wanted to do something as well, but I thought better of myself and just stayed put. Cobalt began running towards my mother, and that is when it happened. As soon as Cobalt moved, the stranger reached into the worn pocket of his black pants. My eyes widened, and I heard a very loud bang just as Cobalt reached my mother. There was a flash of light, almost blinding as I heard a horrified shriek.
I could feel the sting in my eyes, and I felt the warm, salty tears begin running down my white face. My heart felt like it was being tied into a knot and pulled, the weight sinking down into my chest. Cobalt fell to the ground, his eyes wide open in a state of shock. I saw the stranger holding something small, and black. Smoke was seeping out of the tip, and he had a sick, twisted smile spread across his muzzle. The smoke wafted into my sensitive nose, causing me to want to choke and cough. I saw my mother's legs buckling, her silent tears turning into angry sobs. She shook her head and screamed my brothers name, his lifeless body laying sprawled on the floor. I saw blood around his head, pooling slowly as he just laid there drenching in it. The stranger just chuckled, and turned back to my mother.
"Such a stupid boy.....it's too bad he didn't get to watch me take you first....but, he seems to have dampened my mood. I think I will just let you join him and be done with it...." His voice trailed off, and he lifted the black piece of metal, pointing it to my mothers head. With another smirk, I heard the loud bang, and a flash of light. My mothers eyes grew wide, though instead of closing, they stayed that way for a short time. Her tears began to slowly turn red, running down her white cheeks, and staining them a sick pink color. The stranger let go of her neck, and she crumbled onto the floor in a pathetic heap. I saw him nudge her body with his footpad, and he put the smoking piece of metal into his pocket once more. I heard more voices approaching our home after the bangs were made, and I crept slowly back into our room for the time being. My paws Immediately covered my ears, the tears streaming down my own face. I silently cried, my whole body shaking almost uncontrollably. In an instant my mother and brother were lifeless before my very eyes, and I did not do a thing. I began to wonder what would have happened if I had run out there. Would he have done the same thing to me, or would he have spared them and listened to my pleas? So many things were spinning around in my head, that I was not able to think clearly for a single second. Almost as quickly as they came, the voices began to disperse, so I felt that it might be safe to come out.
As I slowly opened the door, I could hear nothing but the sound of my own breathing. My legs felt like jelly, and it was incredibly hard to walk. The shadows I saw in my home that used to comfort me, that made me feel relaxed seemed to overwhelm me now. I wanted to hide from those shadows, because they felt like they were chasing me as I moved. Several minutes passed, and I just stood in the middle of the room. My eyes fell onto the bodies of my mother and my brother, both not moving. I saw red all over the floor, a deep, sticky red. My mothers pure white, untainted fur was now stained. Her eyes had softened, but not by much. I watched her face look distorted in sadness, fear and anger. All three emotions were embedded onto her face, not able to move or change. There was what appeared to be a hole on the side of her head, the red leaking out onto the wooden floor. My emotions ran wild, from wanting to cry and scream, to just curl up and not say a word. In an instant, I knew that my mother was dead.
"Shi....shiyana....." I heard out of the deafening silence. I turned my head slowly, the tears having matted down my soft fur. My ears were flat against my head, and I turned to see the body of my brother. He was not moving either, but he was alive. For a moment I felt a smile on my face, but it quickly faded upon seeing his form. I dropped to my knees, feeling the stickiness of his blood on my paw-pads. I wanted to speak to him, to ask him how he was, to tell him I loved him, but there was that heavy lump still in my throat, so I stayed silent.
"It is too late for me.......please...." He said in a choked, raspy voice. "Run Shiyana.....run and do not look back....promise....p...promise me that you will live...." Cobalt coughed and choked a moment, lifting a very shaky paw off of the ground. I felt my eyes well up once more, that familiar sting that felt like needles. His bloodstained paw touched my cheek, and he rubbed it slowly. There was a look in my brother's eyes that I had never seen before. He was afraid. I could smell and see it written all over his face. Tears began forming in his eyes, and he cried in front of me for the first time in my life. Just the sight of how pathetic and ashamed he looked, made me lose all of my control. I began crying as hard as I could, screaming out and throwing myself onto the body of my pained and hurt brother.
"BE QUIET!!" Cobalt tried his hardest to scold me, his words being choked by tears and blood. I saw him sputtering and felt him wince the second I touched him, and I shut my mouth just as quickly. I chewed on my lower lip, my eyes watching him so intently. His breathing grew much heavier, and I could smell the fear leaking off of him.
"I love you Shiyana.....please live for me......" He spoke softer now, his eyes beginning to slowly roll with each word. His paw then fell from my cheek, and he became motionless. I sat there in a daze, my eyes locked to the center of the bloodstained floor. I saw it soaking into my fur, staining myself with the spilt lives of my mother and brother.
to be continued