Prologue
Brick lifted his head up off the ground and struggled to his paws. He could feel the blood flowing out of a wound on the side of his head, and the numerous scratches covering his body stung, but still, he stood his ground.
The crowd of cats who had inflicted these wounds upon him and had surrounded him parted to let a group of three cats come forward. One small, skinny pale gray she-cat and two large, hulking tabby toms. "So, do you give up?" asked the she-cat. Her voice had a painful grating sound, which was the result of a wound where her throat had been badly damaged in a fight once. Needless to say, the perpetrator soon found himself facing more than a permanently damaged throat.
Brick lifted his head up. Tired, determined green eyes met cold, hard orange ones. He spat at her and, the contempt he felt showing clearly in his voice, snarled, "Why would I surrender to filth like you? You don't even have courage enough to fight your own battles. You're nothing but a joke, Thorn. I'm ashamed to call you my sister."
"Hmmph. So that's all you have to offer? I thought so. Dear brother, not even brave words can protect you from me. This is my turf, and I'll show you just how we deal with law-breakers around here." Without warning she leaped at him, and Brick had to move fast to avoid her thorn-sharp claws from tearing through his ragged ginger pelt. However, his sister was not a cat to be deterred quite so easily. "So, running again? That isn't going to save you this time! You're more of a coward than I thought!" she jeered, swiping at him.
He ducked, and met her with a swift counterstrike to her back. Using his superior weight and size to his advantage, he made to land on top of her hopefully hard enough to break her spine, but no such luck. Quicker than the eye could follow she slithered out from underneath him and bit onto his foreleg, refusing to loosen her grip, and when she felt his blood welling up around the wound, she bit down harder, until her teeth reached the bone. Brick let out a loud, deafening screech and shook his leg, eventually managing to throw her off.
She landed hard on her side, not having had enough time to twist onto her paws. However she was quickly back on her paws, shaking her head and preparing to engage herself again in the fight. "Is that the best you can do?" she taunted, sheathing and unsheathing her claws. "That landing barely hurt, but I'll show you just how much pain can be caused in a fight, Brick." With that she lunged again, but this time Brick was ready. He braced his paws against the hard concrete ground and lowered his head, banging it against hers as she landed. For a while the two pushed and shoved each other, both trying to push the other back and therefore gain the advantage.
Brick felt himself slipping, and gave a last, desperate push, toppling her. Triumphantly, he stood over her and placed his paw against her neck, claws unsheathed. "Now the whole world can be rid of you, Thorn. Your time is over."
Surprisingly, Thorn just smiled and asked in her sweetest voice, "Is it really?" Just then, her two bodyguards leaped forward and fell on top of Brick, crushing him. Thorn got up and grinned a wicked grin, her sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the alley. "Good boys." she meowed to her two toms. "Now look whose time is over, eh Brick?" She laughed diabolically and got up and turned around, motioning with her tail for the rest of her cats to follow her. Without looking back, she called over her shoulder, "Finish him off boys. I'm tired of him getting in my way."
The last thing Brick saw before he was overcome by a wave of pain and the welcome blackness of unconsciousness was the silhouettes of the two large toms closing in on him.
When Brick awoke, he was utterly alone, and his entire body throbbed. At first he couldn't quite remember what had happened to him, then, as he gazed numbly at the wounds covering his body, it all came rushing back to him. And he knew, with unnerving certainty, that he had to leave this place. Not caring about the blood that was still gushing from his injuries and not seeming to notice the pain that hit him with every movement, he stumbled out of the alley and away. To where he did not know, he just knew that he had to get away.
Author's Note: So, what do you think so far? Was it enjoyable enough for you?
