I flapped my wings desperately to get away. I heard the hissing of him right behind me. That sound haunted my dreams every moment of my life. I flipped a wing in another angle and disappeared into the foliage of the tropical tree nearest me. I felt the twigs and branches scratching me and pulling at my fur as I hurled myself into the green safety. I landed and clung to a branch and went perfectly still.
"I'll get you Kian… just wait," came his voice nearby. I felt my ears fold back terrified at his voice. "I just have to find you and then your lovely sweet feminine blood will fill my stomach…" He growled tearing through the leaves. I could hear his searching echoes as he tried to find me. Then it went silent. I didn't hear anything, not his harsh growling breath or his echoes, just the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. Slowly I took a breath relaxing slightly. Suddenly from my left came the huge fanged jaws of Goth. I screeched as his teeth clamped into my flesh.
Kian woke, her silver-streaked black fur drenched in sweat from the nightmare. It was just a dream, she thought to herself. But she knew otherwise. The dreams of Goth finally getting her constantly assaulted her dreams. She shook her black furred head to clear the images then looked out of the tiny notch that was the entrance to her tree home to see the sun just setting. She shuffled and opened her dark wings, fluttered and clung just above it, sticking her head out to look around. The sky was clear and free of those pesky Vampyrum Spectrum nowhere in sight. It was different now, she reminded herself. After all most of the Vampyrum Spectrum had been killed in the explosion many months ago. The few left were led by Goth, who wanted me dead. Why? Who knows really, she figure it's because she's a silverwing and he despises that breed. She heard about the one known as Shade from a another Northern bat that had been left behind when the others fled back home. Shade saved the world or something like that, it didn't really interest her that much. The only thing on her mind was surviving. Getting through each day, slowly but managing.
She'd here more than half her life now. She'd been taken form her Silverwing colony when she was only a month over a year, had the disk tied to her then found herself stuck here. The Vampyrum Spectrum had taken her shortly after and kept her locked in a stone box. She thought she'd die but she'd made it out during the time of the explosion only to get knocked out for days and get left behind when the others left. She'd returned to Statue Haven to find it empty and that she was alone. That was until she met Clover, Shadow, Ester, Piko and Sorrel. Clover was a pretty young greywing that was dropped just a bit after Kian found herself alone. Shadow was young Vampyrum Spectrum that ate meat but didn't eat bats and hated Goth for killing his little sister. Sorrel was a very quiet, runty long eared who was left behind like me. Sorrel's wing was horribly burned when her disk exploded so she has a hard time flying but never gives up. In fact Sorrel was the one reason that Kian was alive. Kian would have most defiantly would have exploded with her disk had Sorrel not stopped her and helped her remove it. Ester had been a hoary and Piko a long ear, both had been eaten in the last two weeks. Ester had come with Clover's batch and Piko had come before Kian. He was the one that told her about Shade.
"Hey Sorrel, Clover," Kian whispered nudging Clover in the ribs with her nose. Clover murmured a few curses then opened her eyes.
"I'm awake, I'm awake," She muttered stretching her wings and yawning. Sorrel opened her soft eyes and shook her fur.
"Well it looks like a good evening," Kian said. "I looked already and haven't seen any Vampyrum outside," Sorrel smiled ever so slightly at Kian's words.
"That's wonderful," Clover said a grin creeping over her face. Clover was almost always smiling and that always helped to lighten the dreary mood the jungle put the small group of bats in. "Let's get out there and get eating before they decide to come out,"
"Good idea," Kian agreed slowly scuttling out the hole with her ears and eyes looking for danger. Clover was just behind her with Sorrel at the rear. Kian turned and looked at Sorrel. "You can stay if you want, me and Clover can bring one of those big beetles back for you," she said. Sorrel shook her head.
"No, I won't let you hunt for me. I will survive like before or die trying," Sorrel said softly. Kian smiled a little, Sorrel was always like this. Determined to live normal or not at all.
"Okay your loss Sorrel," Clover said opening her wings and launching into the air. Kian flapped and joined her. Both watched Sorrel struggle to get airborne then painfully make her way to them. Kian watched her with a worried expression. Sorrel was way to thin, she would most certainly die in the next couple weeks (if they weren't eaten) unless they left. But leaving the jungle wasn't really an option.
"Come on guys let's go already," Said Clover impatiently hovering in front of Kian. Kian nodded and joined her. The three flew into the dark trees quickly looking for bugs to eat. Though it took awhile they were pretty good here. They knew what bugs to go after and which to leave. They knew which beasts were friends and which were foes. Kian was happy that the owls here didn't generally hunt them because of what Shade did, that was at least one positive.
Kian used her echo vision and found a large fat beetle sitting on a branch a few feet away. She angled her wings and flew at it. This bug would feed them all tonight. It suddenly opened it's shell and started to fly away but Kian stayed right on it's tail, weaving through the branches as fast as she could. Clover rounded the tree ahead and they trapped the beetle between them Kian went to bite it when suddenly a huge pair of hound-like jaws snapped at her…