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Crimson Regret

My name is Wedgeback. You probably don't know me. You probably haven't even heard of me. Well... maybe you have. I work for Slagar the Cruel. I'm one of his slavers. I help steal little creatures. I know I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. It doesn't matter now. I'll be dead soon.

You see, I let the slaves escape. Not just any slaves though. I let the Redwall lot escape. I'm really scared. Slagar isn't going to let me live. I walk nervously alongside Damper and Drynose. They're tense and stiff. They know what's going to happen to me, too. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my mouth is bone dry. I don't want to die. My paws are shaking as I grab onto the rope ladder that some rat had thrown down. I follow Damper up the ladder. We're going up higher and higher. I quickly take a look down. Below me is Skinpaw. Below him, I can see the ground. The rocks look like tiny lumps of dirt. I tighten my grip. Even though I'll probably die soon, I don't want to fall.

My paws are still shaking as I pull myself onto the plateau. I don't see Slagar, but I know he'll be here soon. A strange rat is standing in front of the slaves, examining them. I overhear him talking to Threeclaws. His name is Stonefleck. Finally, Slagar crawls up the ladder. I hear him talking to Stonefleck about the slaves. Then he calls me over to him, "Wedgeback, get yourself over here!"

My mind goes numb. "Who, me?" I ask dumbly as I point to myself. I'm really scared right now.

"Who d'you think, numb brain, the weasel behind you? Come here..." Slagar's voice is dangerous. My blood chills. I look around at the others. They all advert their gaze. None of them want to look at me. I stumble over to Slagar. He's standing near the cliffs edge. My heart is pounding. My tongue suddenly seems to large for my mouth. I look up at Slagar's mask and see nothing.

Suddenly his claws dig into my belly. I scream as the searing pain spreads through my body. I feel the warm trickle of blood dripping down my tunic. Slagar says something to me, but I can't hear him. My ears are ringing from the sound of my screaming. I can feel Slagar pushing me backwards over the cliff's edge. I don't feel the pain from my previous wound anymore. All I can feel is fear.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I fall farther and farther. I want to scream but I can't. I know the impact is coming soon. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll die instantly instead of lying on the rocks with every bone broken, slowly bleeding to death. I force my eyes open. I can see trees, at least I think they're trees; they're just green blurs. I turn my head to the side and glance below me. The rocks are coming very fast. I'm going to die soon.

My body smashes against the rocks. Horrible pain like I've never known shoots through every nerve in my body. Every bone must have been broken on impact. I can feel warm blood seeping from the back of my skull. I'm going to die soon. Hot tears roll down my face and dribble off my snout. A scream tears itself from my throat, and I pound my paws against the rocks. I don't want to die! I don't want to die!

My paws are becoming numb; I'm too weak to fight it anymore. A soft, sleepiness washes over me. I hear a voice in the back of my shattered mind saying that I deserve to die. I know it's right. I helped tear apart families. Because of me, parents may never see their children again. I feel awful. I never should've done any of this. More tears slide down my face. I wish I could apologize. I wish I could take back everything I've done, but I know I can't. I regret it all.

My whole body is becoming numb. It's getting really hard to breath now. I'm still scared. Through my half closed eyes I see a shadow fall on me. It's a hare. I recognize him. He came from that Redwall place. He knows I'm one of Slagar's slavers. He says something, but I'm too far away to hear him. He looks sick, and turns to leave. "I'm... sorry..." I gurgle as he walks away. My eyes close and I take on last breath. I wonder what the Dark Forest is like...

I actually feel sorry for Wedgeback now. Poor Wedgey. :(

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