LIVING IN THE PAST
Chapter 3: Escape
Calico Briggs was groggy and her head hurt. At first, she didn't remember what had happened then everything return with a rush...the Pastmaster breaking into her apartment, her attempts to escape him, and her last view awake of a lamp hurtling towards her head.
Carefully sitting up, she found herself in a round room made of gray stone. That told her one of two things; either the Pastmaster had succeeded in changing her city to the past or she was actually in the past.
Since she wasn't dizzy, she carefully got off the bed. She found herself still wearing her sheer nightgown which was rather too thin for how cold the room was. She looked around.
It was finely furnished, the bed comfortable, a tray of food with a drink sat on a small marble table but she touched none of it. There was a slit window in the wall not far from the door and she walked across the stone floor to peer out.
The sun was just rising and in the courtyard she beheld four huge pens, each filled with Kats. She could just make out some Enforcer uniforms and the colorful and familiar suits of the SWAT Kats. She sighed in relief. Despite their dire circumstances, she was very glad they were here. She hoped one of the Enforcers was Feral. No matter what she might think of him as a person, he was a good fighter and strategist and exactly what they needed if they were ever to get home.
That look outdoors told her something else as well, they weren't home in the future. Her shoulders drooped in dismay. 'How were they ever to get home from here?'
Suddenly the door to her room opened and the one eyed monster stepped in, grinning triumphantly.
"Ahh, I see you are awake. Had a good rest, I trust," he laughed, evilly.
"Why are we here?" she demanded, turning from the window and crossing her arms over her chest, glowering at him.
"That is for me to know and for you to find out when the time is right, Ms. Briggs. In the meantime, enjoy the view and get your rest, you're going to need it," he snickered then left her alone.
'What on earth did he mean,' she wondered. She glanced outside again and saw soldiers setting about feeding the prisoners. When the sleeping groups that had been huddled together for warm rose and separated to accept the food, she realized there were elderly and kittens among them.
"Oh no!" She cried. She knew what noncoms meant...blackmail against the healthy to ensure their continued cooperation. This was a side of the Pastmaster she'd never seen before and it chilled her to the bone. What else might he be capable of? Shaking her head, she drifted over to the food. She really wasn't hungry but realized she should keep her strength up for whatever was to come, so picked up an apple slice and nibbled on it, her thoughts on the ones outside.
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As they divvied up the meager food, Razor did a tally of the guards. He looked around the castle ramparts too to see how many were there. As he searched around, his eyes landed on the tower where the Pastmaster had taken Callie and saw her in the window. His heart tightened.
If they managed to escape, she would not be coming with them. Rescuing her was too great a risk and too difficult to accomplish, they had all agreed, . It made him sick at heart to be leaving her behind but he knew, since she was an integral part of the Pastmaster's plan, she wouldn't be harmed...at least at first. He prayed they got to her in time before her usefulness to the sorcerer was at an end.
After two full days of observation, they planned their escape for the third night. The Pastmaster had still not disarmed them giving them a huge advantage. As they'd hoped, the dragons and trolls were locked away at night, only Kat guards were left to watch them. They had also learned the moon would be up tomorrow. With so many invalids and kittens among them, some kind of light was necessary.
It was agreed that each group would stay in the group they were penned with as they sprinted for the woods heading for the a mountain range just on the other side of the forest to the west of them. What Feral and the SWAT Kats were truly hoping for was finding a cave of some kind large enough and hidden enough to hide them all in.
Some of the females had managed to wrangle that valuable piece of information from the guards, finding out that, yes, there were many caves in the mountains and they weren't as far away as they appeared, about five miles to the closest ones known. That was a relief but finding the exact cave for their needs was going to have to be done on the run, not the best way but the only choice they had.
Some had argued that perhaps only a few should escape to find a possible hideaway but Feral and the SWAT Kats nixed that idea.
"The Pastmaster would punish those left behind and more could be killed to force us to return. I won't have that on my conscious. So...no...we all go," Razor said, his face hard and unyielding.
"I agree. All or no one," Feral seconded it. No one argued further about the decision.
To make this all work, Feral had those, among their fighters, that had excellent throwing and marksman skills pick a primary and secondary target which would be their responsibility when the signal to escape was given. Razor and T-Bone had gas grenades which they divvied up to the throwers. The SWAT Kats would be the ones picking off the most distant targets as their weapons could be counted on reaching that far.
Secretly, they had tested their lasers and other weapons hidden by the rest of the prisoners so they could insure all were functioning. Feral had told them their radios no longer worked and Razor was afraid that might have included some of their weapons but, to their relief, it didn't. They could only think the Pastmaster must have thought the same which was why they hadn't been disarmed.
Razor thought it rather an arrogant attitude on their enemy's part but then that's how their enemies were defeated so easily usually and it would be how the ugly troll would go down this time, he promised himself.
"No killing!" Razor admonished them before they broke up to sleep for the night after their final preparations for the escape were completed.
"What? Why?" one of the mercenaries demanded.
"Because this is our past. If you kill one of them, who's to say that isn't your ancestor? You just might not exist when you get back," Razor explained.
Looks of shock and fear flitted over all the defenders faces. "Right, no killing, got it!" Felina agreed quickly, shivering. Everyone else nodded their heads then took off to get some sleep.
The next day dawned with a bit of overcast. Feral frowned up at it, worried. If it got too cloudy or rained, they would have to scrap their plans. He caught his niece's worried eye as she too realized what bad weather meant.
The day dragged on like the first two had. Each day, the defenders made the prisoners walk and exercise to keep fit for their run and insured all ate what food they received and drank plenty of the water even if it was rather brackish tasting.
At dusk, they finished eating and all drank their fill. Tonight was the night. The leaders of each group; Feral, Razor, T-Bone, Felina, went around and made sure all the weak, elderly, and kittens were sitting with the ones who were responsible for carrying them out of here which were the strongest males among them while other fit individuals would form a protective shield around them.
By the time they'd settled down and pretended sleep, everyone was in his or her place for the breakout. The shooters were near the gates, a small band of protectors were at the rear of each group to act as guards and insure none were left behind. Nervous whispers filled the air until their leaders hushed them. They couldn't risk giving the guards a reason to come check on them.
Tension rose the later the night got. The moon rose as the clouds blew off, much to Feral's relief. When it was about two in the morning, the signal was given. Staying silent, which is what the defenders drummed into the prisoner's heads, the shooters fired their weapons quickly and at nearly the same time. When the guards fell unconscious only then did the prisoners rise to their feet. The locks were quickly broken and the gates swung open.
As quietly as such a large group could be, they surged forward out of their pens but staying in their groups, they headed for the huge gate.
A group of mercenaries were tasked with raising the gate just far enough for everyone to duck under. It made more noise than they wished but it didn't bring any new guards so they breathed a sigh of relief and began pouring through the opening.
As planned, each group split off and ran for their lives through and around the village that lay in their path then into the forest. Behind them a hue and cry rose up and the roar of trolls filled the air. This made them run even faster.
Despite the moon, seeing under the heavy canopy of the forest was difficult and many fell as a consequence, slowing them down somewhat.
Unfortunately, because there were so many trying to escape, it was inevitable that the lagers which included the rear defenders, were recaptured and taken none to gently back to their pens. The Pastmaster was livid as he tried to collect as many prisoners as he could, but the darkness and forest made the task impossible. The ring leaders had managed to get away leaving him with only a handful of some twenty healthy specimens left to march back to the castle. The trolls and dragons weren't that good at hunting at night so were forced to turn back. His soldiers searched the forest but couldn't catch up and couldn't use horses in the dark to help them close the gap.
He spent much of the night aboard his flying gargoyle trying to catch more prisoners but his loud roars of fury only gave the runners more impetus to keep going even though it was hard to see their way at times. Close to dawn, the Pastmaster gave up the hunt, the forest was simply too thick and dark to see into and his soldiers just weren't catching up fast enough. He ordered a retreat and returned to the castle, fuming.
Cursing, he realized their weapons must not have been deactivated as he'd thought them to be. The spell he'd used obviously wasn't as good as he hoped. Now he was left with a paltry twenty slaves instead of the some nearly three hundred he'd started with. Well that would soon change. Let those fools try to exist in his world. Serves them right if they die trying to run in an unknown forest with so many weak ones holding them back. By the time he could make time to deal with them only the strong would have survived and that served his purposes just fine.
As soon as he had Queen Callista in his paws, he would combine their lands and magic, making him invincible and well able to find the miscreants and return them to his control. For now, let them run, he had no magic to spare on them right now.
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In her tower prison, Callie was awakened by an awful commotion. Going to the window she gasped when she saw all the pens were empty. A furious Pastmaster was riding some kind of monster toward the forest while yelling at his trolls below him.
"Thank God, they got away," she thought, relieved.
As she looked around, she saw all the Pastmaster's guards out cold everywhere. At least, she hoped they were just unconscious. She didn't think the prisoners would kill their captors, the repercussions were frightening if they had.
Silence fell when the Pastmaster and his army disappeared into the night. The thought came to her...can I escape too?
She quickly got dressed in local clothing with a cloak over her blond hair then went to her door. It was locked ...of course. Looking around, she spotted a heavy statue nearby. Hefting it up, she called for help through her door. Nothing happened so she called again, louder this time...still no response.
Groaning with defeat, she went to the window and checked to see if perhaps she could get down that way but she was far too high in the air. Angry and unhappy, she changed her clothes back to her nightwear...she didn't want the Pastmaster to wonder why she was dressed.
Some hours later, a thoroughly furious Pastmaster returned. She heard him yelling to someone. Looking out the window, her heart tightened at the sight of some of her people being brutally shoved into a pen but there were only about twenty or so left and none of them were the weakest ones.
A short while later, the Pastmaster stormed into her room, his single eye glaring at her. "I don't know how they did it, but they are gone into the forest. But don't worry, once I combine my powers with Callista's, I'll find them again and you are the key to doing that. I will not be thwarted," he threatened her then turned and stormed away, slamming the door behind him.
She heaved a sigh of relief. 'So some of them are safe. I do so hope it's the SWAT Kats and Feral. Though I'm not sure how they'll manage to stop the Pastmaster before he succeeds,' she worried.
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Not knowing the Pastmaster had ceased his search, Razor's group continued to blindly run through the forest until nearly plunging into a lake that appeared suddenly when the trees ended. They halted in a panting line, staring both ways along the beach, searching for a direction to take. Spying the waterfall at the far end, Razor had a hunch and had everyone follow him in that direction.
When they reached the majestic and very noisy falls, they waited as Razor searched its base for some minutes then vanished suddenly behind the wall of water.
Through the water, the small SWAT Kat had seen what looked like a hollowed area. Once he managed to get behind there, wet and cold from the water, he was overjoyed to find the small cave gave way to a huge cavern. A fast moving river moved through it to join the waterfall. The area was huge and could hold all of them as well as providing them with water.
Relieved, he returned to the anxiously waiting group.
"A huge cavern that will hold all of us is just behind the falls. Come on!" he shouted over the water then lead the way in.
Soon everyone was behind the falls and collapsing onto the soft sand in exhaustion. Leaving them, Razor went back out and headed off to find the other groups and lead them to safety.
As Razor ran through the dark forest searching for his partner's group; Feral and Felina were struggling to keep their own groups moving forward but it was tough going as all the weaker members were reaching the end of their endurance.
Feral's group found their way to the open plains they'd arrived on. He halted them at the forest's edge and let them rest. It was already obvious they weren't being chased so it was safe to stop. Feral and defenders tried to decide whether they should head toward the nearest mountain they could see or rest the night here.
Meanwhile, Felina had reached the foot of a mountain but there seemed to be no caves at this spot and it was simply too dark to search at the moment. Perhaps, since there was no sign of pursuit, they should wait until sunrise to move again?
While Feral and his niece tried to decide what to do next, T-Bone's group had come upon a clearing at the center of the forest. They halted and listened, it was silent except for the panting of the people sprinkled with whimpers of kittens here and there.
"Looks like they've stopped hunting us," a mercenary muttered to the SWAT Kat.
"Yeah, wonder why?" T-Bone mused, tightly, still looking around worriedly. Suddenly, there was a commotion to the left of the group which moved toward him, revealing itself to be his partner.
"Razor! Where's your group?" his friend asked as he could plainly see his partner was alone.
"Safe! I found a hidden cavern behind a waterfall. It's big enough to hold everyone comfortably. Head south and you'll reach a lake with a huge waterfall. I've got to get moving to find the others before they get too far. Later." Razor headed off before his partner could say anything more.
Shaking his head, T-Bone had his defenders spread out and gather the group to head out. With groans of exhaustion, the weary prisoners got to their feet and followed their colorful leader to safety.
Racing on through the night that was waning towards dawn, Razor finally came upon Felina and sent her off before heading for the plains. He was exhausted and his legs felt like rubber by the time he reached Feral's group which had stayed put, thankfully. Practically falling at Feral's feet, Razor gasped out his news.
Feral's heart leaped with relief as he bawled orders to get everyone to their feet. Razor tried to rise to join him but collapsed again as cramps struck his calves.
Without hesitation, Feral reached down and lifted the SWAT Kat into his arms and began a quick march toward the mountains and safety. Razor felt strange being carried this way but was too exhausted to argue. He insured the group headed in the right direction and just as the sun began to rise over the mountain, they finally reached safety.
To prevent anyone from following them, when they reached the edge of the lake, all the leaders had the people walk in the water to hide their footsteps, though the water was very cold, everyone did as ordered while kittens and the very elderly were carried. Feral's group was the last through, splashing their way in the cold water and up the hidden path behind the falls until they reached the sandy ground inside the cavern.
Feral sighed in relief as he set the SWAT Kat on his feet and they both looked around. Everyone had found a spot to drop and rest. No one moved for hours as they tried to recover from their headlong run through unknown territory in the middle of the night.
Later in the morning, despite being very tired, Feral forced himself to get up. He rounded up Felina, the mercenaries, and the SWAT Kats, leaving a squad of Enforcers to guard their people.
"We need to see if we're safe and find out if there's another way out of here," he told them.
"Good idea. Let's go and I hope we find food as well since, by the time everyone is able to wake up, they will be very hungry," Razor reminded him.
"Right, well I'm sure we'll find deer and other prey," Feral grunted, then lead the way out through the falls.
A first look at their surroundings showed no one around. Cautiously, they slipped through the trees and separated to do a recon. More than two hours later, they met back up at the falls, relief on their faces.
"Looks like the Pastmaster did indeed halt the hunt for us, though I'm a little surprised he didn't pick up the hunt this morning. I have a bad feeling he's just allowing us to exhaust ourselves and lose the weakest among us before hunting us down again," Razor said, concern on his face.
"Yeah, that is worrisome but we have a lot of people to take care of so whatever his motives are will have to remain a mystery. I spotted some deer track in the direction I went so let's go catch our dinner," Feral said.
They turned out to be extremely lucky. Three deer, some squirrels, and a brace of rabbits were killed and Felina found berries and an old apple tree. They would have to bring some more people out to collect this. Returning with all they could carry, they left the deer to be dressed by some of the more skilled cooks then took a slightly larger group back out to collect the fruit in their shirts as they had nothing else to carry things in.
While food was being prepared, Feral and the others from the hunting party went off to investigate their hideaway. The cave didn't go too far back and was pretty solid except for a slit in the rock that was just wide enough to allow a person to get through. On the outside it was hidden by brambles.
"This will make a good secret entrance for trips out of the mountain. We need to be sure to limit our need to use the larger, main entrance so as to keep from being discovered," Feral said, thoughtfully.
"We'll have to limit it to dawn and night time for certain," one of the mercenaries grunted. "I saw tracks that indicated that lake is a frequent watering hole hear abouts."
"Wonderful. Well, glad you noted that or we might have been discovered when we went to hunt next," Feral growled.
"Glad the cave wasn't barren. There's plenty of wood for fires and soft sand for sleeping though we'll have to find something to cover ourselves with. No telling how long we'll be here," T-Bone observed.
"Well, I have a suggestion to solve that," another mercenary spoke up. "I'm a survivalist by training. I saw plenty of tough grasses around the lake that will make excellent building material and grass mats for beds. We could have a mini village of huts inside here in very little time. The good thing is having fresh water, wood for fires which normally would give us away but the ceiling of the cave is very high up allowing the smoke to dissipate easily as long as the wood is dry and the roar of the waterfall to hide any noises we make. All in all a really good hiding spot."
"Then I'll leave you in charge of getting shelters built and teaching everyone on how to make a proper fire. Take all the able bodied people you need to get it done as fast as possible. Also plan on building a mini hospital and food prep/serving area," Feral told him, pleased they had someone skilled at this kind of work.
"We need to meet later to divvy out responsibilities. Builders, cooks, medics, hunters, guards, etc." Feral listed off.
"Yeah, good idea but right now, I could use some food and sleep," T-Bone grumbled, his stomach rumbling loudly.
Feral actually smiled a little at that then sighed. "Unfortunately, SWAT Kat, we need to take a new head count first."
T-Bone groaned but nodded. He was afraid what that count might show them, he didn't think they got off that lucky not losing some people. The group headed back to the camp being set up by the river.
As he'd been afraid of, they'd learned twenty of their number had been recaptured. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about that at the moment. People were rousing to the smells of food cooking, kittens were crying, and some were coming over to them to ask questions.
Smothering a yawn, Feral found a high rock to stand on and called everyone's attention to him.
"We're safe here for now. We have an expert in survival skills and he's going to need everyone whose healthy and able, to help collect grasses and build shelters. We only need large huts that can house several at a time. At least twenty singles per hut, one for females, one for males; four family groups per hut; elderly and disabled without family, will be in a hospital hut. A food center will be set up as well. We need a variety of skilled people to do what's needed to help us survive. If you're a cook, have building skills, can butcher deer, are a hunter, experienced with what plants are edible, are a medic, and can take care of kittens, we need you. Everyone else, volunteer wherever anyone needs assistance. We'll survive if we help each other. One further note, no one is to go outside the waterfall. The village apparently uses it. Keep noises down and no burning anything but very dry wood for your fires. Do this and we'll all stay safe. That's enough for now." Feral climbed down the rock and went to get something to eat and find a secluded spot to get some much needed rest.
Everyone wandered off feeling a little more secure and relieved that their leaders were doing the best they could to see to their needs.
Over the next few days, only survival was on everyone's mind. By the end of the week and with the help of their skilled members, they finished building shelters for them all. The cavern looked odd with its many grass huts, resembling mushrooms growing from the rocky floor.
By mutual consent, Feral, the SWAT Kats, Steele, and four squadron leaders shared one hut. Felina shared a hut nearby with the single females and the rest of the enforcers, security forces, and volunteer fighters, shared four fairly large huts.
The next things on their agenda was to rescue the ones who had been recaptured and Ms. Briggs. To do that, they had to find Queen Callista and enlist her aid.
