Together We Stand
x.X.x
MarshmallowClan Challenge
x.X.x
-PikaBolt101-
It was like ten thousand to one.
It was impossible, as it seemed.
I walked through the thick smoke, choking and coughing on every step. The earth beneath me was dry, dead, hard. It made my paws sore, seeing the jagged, tiny rocks that littered the ground. The cracks that split the dirt and the plants that all grew dull, wilted, and crippled, their leaves falling down and dying right beside my paws.
A filthy black smoke swept over the land. It made seeing difficult, and breathing even more hard. Every swallow of wanted oxygen only resulted in acid and fumes in our tainted lungs, having to hack up the unhealthy, dirty, inky air.
Our pelts were scarred, torn, matted with dirt, mud and blood. Our fur was drenched in that dark crimson liquid, thick and drying. It would stick to our bodies for as long as we were on this war ground. We didn't know if it was someone else's blood at that moment, or if it were ours. And frankly, we didn't care.
We could see a thousand claws and fangs glinting in the darkness, hiding behind burnt trees that fell with ashes. Cinder blanketed the ground and the fire had torn everything apart. We could make out a hundred thousand gleaming eyes. They were slitted, they were bright, they were intimidating and menacing, and if looks could kill, this whole world would be extinct.
This was the world of the clans.
A black hawk circled lazily overhead, emitting a mourning cry of both hatred, anger, dread and disgust. This was a disgusting place to live in. This was harsh, it was difficult, we all wished we could escape.
I could only barely make out the inky outline of the hawk above the closing, heavy layer of smoke that fell down and hung too low for comfort. It covered the sky and all we could see was grey and black, including the distant smoldering flames that glowed gold, scarlet and amber. They were extinguishing after they completed what they needed. They burnt down our home, and the enemies took that time to attack.
We were outnumbered.
It was unfair.
I could barely breathe anymore. I felt like I would faint at any second. My paws dragged on, my pelt was being ripped by jagged, bare branches that left ashy smears on my once clean fur. Now it was black, and my flesh was burnt. I was sure I would die any second, but for the last hope that glimmered beyond the mountain peaks, I would live.
I promised myself.
I promised every cat that ever meant something to me.
A yowl pierced the air. It was ear-piercing, shrill. Some were low, menacing. They were all blood-curdling. It meant the death of a cat, or the attack of another. Perhaps one caught another by surprise, and that marked the end of one of them's life.
I hoped it wasn't mine. But how can I be sure anymore?
Two gleaming lime green eyes narrowed and a shadowy figure suddenly burst out of the trees, shining claws aimed at my throat. My own eyes slitted in focus and I unsheathed my weapon. They were jagged, strong, sharpened, but maybe not anymore.
The enemy launched itself at me, tearing away at my very being. It hurt, but not as much as a shattered promise would hurt me. So that's why I needed, absolutely needed, to survive this time.
I felt claws at my spine, fangs at my throat. My teeth dug into the enemy's skin as well. Blood leaked out and pooled onto the ground, staining a once pure land. It sprayed and splattered onto inky tree trunks and rocks littered on the ground.
I growled. I could hear them emit a hiss too.
What creatures they were, I wasn't sure. Maybe cats. Maybe demons. They took the shape of a familiar feline but inside, they were cold-hearted, blood-thirsty, and all, everything, was meant to kill.
Do not look them in the eye.
I heard a few more screams and screeches, cries out into the black heavens. I hoped our side was okay. I hoped the enemies lost some more warriors. But with them having hundreds, maybe even thousands and us only having a few, what was the point?
I shook the enemy off and gave it a last bite to the neck. I could feel the blood pouring away and at last, the enemy faded, like it was never there in the first place.
I saw two more pairs of eyes. I lowered myself and my fur stood up. But it turned out to only be what was left of my clanmates.
I watched them in horror and sadness. Their pelts and bones and flesh were so destroyed that I was sure they would be dead. They almost looked like living skeletons. Their pelts grey, red and black, their figures so, so thin that it was frightening, and their fur torn out.
But maybe I looked the same.
I wanted to give up. Many times I did, yes. But looking at them now, I found a new hope. I found a new light to guide me. Maybe it was the firelight that burned in the distance, but maybe it was something that wasn't really there. Maybe it was something, a fragment in my mind that would lead to something better.
A better future, perhaps.
Enemies burst out and clawed their way from all sides. They surrounded us, their shadowy figures and glowing eyes. But I wasn't afraid anymore. I looked to my clanmates, and they stood strong. They panted, they hissed, but they stood strong. For that hiss and those growls were signals of anger, of authority, telling them they should run, or else.
I did the same.
I could feel their breath mixed in with ashes and smoke, but that didn't bother me. Because I saw the determination in their eyes, ones that matched my own. Suddenly, I had an urge to keep fighting. There was something left to fight for.
For our future. For each other.
Because together we stand. We are one, and we will be one until the end of time, and perhaps even beyond that.
I gave a crooked smile. They returned it. Then I took a deep breath…
…And leaped into the darkness.