The trek down the mountain was a long and lonely one. Falling rocks had blocked off large portions of the road, forcing Flippy to make improvised snow shoes from tree branches so that he and Flaky could walk around without sinking up to their waists. Cuddles had lost consciousness during the trip, so Flippy now had to carry the freezing rabbit on his back, and his chances of survival were not very good if they didn't reach civilization soon.
It was quite dark out by the time Flippy spotted the lights of Happy Tree Town. The poor bear collapsed in the snow, fatigue and hunger catching up with him. The road here wound around the mountainside to avoid several precarious drops. If they could climb down those cliffs then they could shorten their travel time considerably, but he doubted that any of the trio could manage that in their current condition. To make matters worse, Evil Flippy was trying to make a comeback.
Listen up, you pathetic excuse of a soldier, the menacing voice barked. You want to survive? Then you've got to keep up your strength. That deadweight you're toting around on your back would make a nice meal.
Shut up! I can't just eat my friends!
What's more important to you, your friends or your life? Besides, their bones would make good climbing gear, and there are plenty of ways to make it look like and accident if that's what you're concerned about.
"Flippy? C-c'mon, g-get up." Flaky lifted Cuddles off of his back and staggered under his weight before dropping him in the snow. She gave him a concerned look before turning to help her bear to his feet, worry gnawing at her heart. He'd given her every scrap of food he'd managed to scavenge, claiming that he was tough enough to go several days without eating. As she held his shivering frame close to her, she couldn't help but think that good deed was coming back to bite them. "W-we just have to k-keep going and w-we'll reach town in n-no time."
The army bear didn't respond at first, which troubled Flaky even more. "W-we need to find some way down that sheer drop. Fast." He half carried, half dragged Cuddles along and stopped at the edge.
Flaky peered over and shuddered. One false step, and they could all go splat on the ground. There was a soft thud and Flaky turned to see Cuddles lying in the snow again and Flippy preparing to climb down. "Flippy, wait!" She hurried over to where he was. "Y-you're in n-no shape to try g-getting down there. L-l-l," she struggled to finish her sentence, "L-let m-me try c-climbing d-d-down."
His eyes widened at her suggestion and he hesitated before nodding in agreement. Despite the fact that he was a better climber, he was also more tired and more likely to make a mistake. "Be careful," he whispered to her.
She gave him a wry grin. "I always am." Taking one last moment to mentally prepare herself, she began the descent.
The task was far more daunting than the little porcupine had first assumed. Ledges were few and far between, each barely wide enough for her to place her foot on. The chill wind bit deep and threatened to knock her off her precarious perch if she wasn't careful. Twice she slipped and squealed as she struggled to regain her footing, the rocks scratching her paws and pebbles tumbling down below. The third time it happened, she made the mistake of looking down. She was only about halfway down, and the dizzying drop sapped at her courage. Whimpering, she clung on to the cliff face for dear life. Up at the top, Flippy and Cuddles would probably wait for help until they froze. As for her, she could either hang on until she froze or let go and plummet to her doom. Just the thought made her press tighter against the rocks. I'm sorry Cuddles. I'm sorry Flippy. I'm sorry I couldn't be brave enough….
Chnk. Chnk. Chnk.
The sound, accompanied by a light pattering of pebbles on her quills and head attracted Flaky's attention. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she turned up to see a familiar green figure making his way down towards her.
He continued down until he was about level with her and she could see that his arms and legs were shaking with exertion. On his back was Cuddles, tied down with makeshift straps. There was another chnk as he used his trusty bowie knife to cut another handhold in the rocks. He took her paw in his. Trust me, his eyes said.
Flaky took several deep breaths and the two continued their gradual descent, hand in hand. Despite how much the wind raged, despite how much he was shaking, the two held fast. They had almost reached the bottom when tragedy struck. The rock that Flaky jumped down onto crumbled and fell, leaving her with nothing to stand on. She held on tightly to her bear's paw and the three tumbled downward. Fortunately, it was not a long fall, and Flippy had enough time to turn so that he took the brunt of the impact. The trio crashed into a bush beside a highway.
The first to recover was Flaky. She stumbled to her feet and winced as she felt several shallow cuts her arms and face. Beside her was Cuddles who seemed no worse than before, though that was not reassuring in the least. Flippy though… Flaky stared in horror, unable to look away. His left arm and leg were twisted at an unnatural angle, a hint of bone poking out of the green fur. He was unconscious now and breathing in short, shallow gasps. Worst of all were the scratches on his right side. Flaky was sure if she checked her quills, she would find blood on them.
There was a lone payphone on the other side of the asphalt, and Flaky was relieved for a moment to see there were no cars or trucks. She picked up the phone and searched her pockets, but to her dismay, she had no coins. After a frantic and fruitless search of the surrounding area, she was ready to start screaming in frustration. She spotted a sign that said "Happy Tree Town, 2 miles". This is going to be long walk, she thought as she tried to drag her friends toward town.
Pop had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that the ceiling was finally settling down and he could think somewhat clearly. There was a flickering light at the edge of his vision, accompanied by a crackling noise and the smell of burning wood. It took several moments for him to realize that something was burning. He quickly bolted upright and immediately regretted it, clutching his head in pain.
Eventually the searing pain faded to a mild throbbing and Pop was able to look around. Glass littered the floor around the broken window that he had come through, cold air creeping in through the hole. Lumpy was snoring in the other side of the room in front of a large fire place where had had apparently managed to start a fire without burning the place to the ground. Pop decided it would be best to leave him be and went to search the other rooms.
Most of the rooms were dark and eerie, furniture scattered by the avalanche and the fighting outside, and a few were filled with snow. It was slow going searching each room, but Pop knew he found the right one when he felt something crunch painfully under his paw. He hopped about, hissing in pain at the glass disco ball shards embedded in his paw. Wincing, he sat down and pulled out each piece. Walking more carefully around the dim room, he approached the huge speakers that dominated one side of the room. "Mm-hmm!" Thankful that they appeared to be in good working condition, he turned the dials up to eleven, threw the microphone at the speakers, and ducked for cover. Nothing happened.
Pop crawled out of his hiding place and tried to turn on a light switch that he found. Again, nothing happened. He facepawed himself as he realized that the electricity had probably been knocked out during the avalanche. Hoping there was a generator outside and that it hadn't been buried in snow, he reluctantly made his way outside.
The surrounding landscape looked like an arctic disaster zone. Splintered trees were scattered like spilt toothpicks, some of which were burning. As Pop made his way around the lodge, he spotted huge furrows that probably carved into the mountain itself. There were several squirrel shaped holes in the ground, but no sign of either "hero". It concerned Pop that his mission might have been in vain, but the wind carried the sounds of fighting towards him. A sudden and intense gust forced Pop to seek shelter and hold onto his hat. That has to be some super squirrel's super breath. Shivering, he forced himself to keep searching.
The amount of snow covering the backup generator almost caused him to walk right past it. It was only a single wire that tripped him and left him sprawled on the ground that drew his attention to the machine. Hastily, he began to clear off the snow, afraid that he might miss his chance and that the two squirrels would fly off or his son would die. He knew that he had almost no chance of finding Cub on his own; he would need help, if only he could get them to listen for a moment. It was a long and arduous task, complicated further by his broken arm. Each sweep to clear off the snow only revealed even more snow beneath it. Pop's arms were numb by the time he managed to clear off the generator's vents, and some of his skin stuck to the frigid metal. The device, however, remained as cold and lifeless as the surrounding landscape.
"No." Pop stared at the generator in disbelief. "No." He kicked at it as hard as he could. "No no no no no no no!" He roared in sheer frustration and began to punch and kick at the machine. "Work, you useless hunk of metal! WORK!"
Inside the building, Lumpy woke to the sound of banging metal. Blearily, he stretched out an arm to shut off his alarm clock. When he realized that it wasn't anywhere nearby, he stood up in a huff and began looking in earnest. The wooden surroundings of the lodge confused him for a moment, but he shrugged it off as an interior decorating choice he had forgotten. Rubbing at his head, he discovered that his antlers were missing, and grabbed two evenly sized branches from the edge of the fire to use as replacements. Satisfied that his antlers were keeping him toasty warm, he began looking around the lodge to see where his alarm clock had run off to.
By chance, he soon found himself in the room where the giant speakers were. The broken glass on the ground glittered in the light of his burning "antlers" and made it easy for the moose to skirt his way around them. Figuring that his alarm clock had had a growth spurt, he stood up as close as he could to the device and began scolding the speakers for making such a racket.
Despite a several minute long tongue lashing, the noise did not relent. If anything, it got louder, now mixed with the wild roaring of an angry bear. Lumpy was now really confused and wondered if his alarm clock was sick. Turning about, he spotted a microphone at the edge of his circle of light and held it up to the speakers to try and hear any wheezing.
Outside, the generator finally sputtered to life, eliciting an elated whoop from the bear outside. Electricity flowed to every appliance in the lodge. Light bulbs flickered on, the refrigerator began humming, and a soft squealing could be heard coming from the speakers.
Lumpy leaned in closer to better hear what was happening when an incredible screech erupted from the speakers, sending him flying backwards. The burst of sound was powerful enough to strip the flesh off of his bones and then shatter the bones, along with every glass object within a mile of the lodge. The opposite wall exploded outward, and the wailing of feedback intensified outside, no longer dampened by any barriers. Unable to withstand producing such an unearthly din for a long period of time, the speakers soon exploded, leaving behind a very expensive pile of scrap metal and plastic.
Any howls of pain had been drowned out by the shrieking, including those of two figures that had been locked in combat above. One red, one blue, they plummeted together down to the harsh, unyielding ground.
Shifty began to toss and turn in his sleep, muttering and reaching out towards something unseen. With a gasp of terror, he lurched awake in a cold sweat. Images of water shining darkly and the sounds of splashing swirled in his mind. His breaths were deep and shaky, the sensation of drowning still fresh in his mind. "Just a dream. Just a silly little dream." He chuckled weakly and turned to tell his brother about the ridiculous nightmare he just had, hoping they could just laugh it off together. The words died in his throat, leaving his mouth dry as he realized his brother wasn't next to him
"Lifty? Lifty!?" Just a dream. It was all just a dream. The mantra felt hollow though, especially in the dim light of the dying fire. All that remained of the cheerful flames from last night were a few glowing embers that looked as though they would be extinguished at any moment. In the gloom, all he could see were the dark silhouettes of his companions, yet he didn't even have to look twice to tell that none of them was his brother.
It took a few moments for him to realize that the sound of splashing water wasn't just in his panicked mind. Someone's in the water. "Lifty!?" Just a dream just a dream just a dream…. Fueled by terror, he didn't even bother to grab a flashlight before running towards the pool from his memory. Every little stalagmite was an obstacle standing in his path, tripping and bruising the normally surefooted raccoon. Nearby, shrouded by the gloom, was a figure leaning over the pool of water, holding something, or someone in it. Lifty! "Noooooo!" The figure turned just as Shifty pounced, sending both them and the figure's captive sailing through the air.
A sudden light came from the campsite along with panicked scrambling as the other survivors searched for the source of the commotion. Shifty had to shield his eyes as someone shined the flashlight in his face. He looked down to see that his squirming captive was…
"Petunia?" Giggles turned to Shifty. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Erm, trying to save Lifty?" He tried to ignore Giggles' withering glare of disbelief. He had been sure. He had been so sure.
There was a gasp as Sniffles and Lammy found the third figure. "I wouldn't dismiss Shifty so quickly if I were you," Sniffles said grimly while Lammy fought back a sob. He held his discovery gingerly in his arms.
Giggles gasped in horror. "Petunia, what did you do?"
In Sniffles arms was the body of poor Cub, frozen under a thin layer of ice. Water was still dripping off the child's body, his face peaceful as though sleeping, save for his half-lidded, staring eyes. Just barely noticeable under the ice were several friction burns as though someone had tried to scour his skin.
Tears flowed freely as everyone mourned Cub's death. Petunia, despite being the killer, sobbed the hardest. "H-he was j-just looking so g-grimy and d-d-dirty from all that cave trekking that I-I just tried to clean him up. I-I was just giving him a b-bath." She gasped as she realized she was lying in dirt and kicked Shifty off with incredible force. There was a loud splash as she dived into the pool and surfaced, teeth chattering. "M-must be c-clean. M-m-must be c-c-c-clean."
"Petunia! Stop!" Giggles was forced to pull out her friend kicking and screaming and required Lammy and Sniffles' help to restrain her. "Shifty…." She hesitated and then looked back at her clearly unhinged friend. "Please… tie her up. But make sure you use clean clothes," she added when Petunia began to fight harder. "And Shifty…" He turned to see her eyes full of sympathy. "I'm so sorry about Lifty."
He grunted and turned away to hide the tears brimming in his eyes. "So am I," he mumbled. It wasn't just a dream. What was I thinking? The fire had completely died out by the time he trudged back to their campsite. A soft sobbing sound told him that Nutty was awake too, so he brought him over along with an extra scarf. Lifty's scarf, he noticed dully.
It was then that a ghastly shrieking like that of a thousand tormented souls reverberated throughout the cave. The rocks themselves quavered at the sound. Using the distraction, Petunia broke free of her friends' grasps and ran back towards the pool.
"No, come back!" Giggles tried to chase after her friend, but Sniffles held her back just as a stalactite crashed down in front of them. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling shortly followed by more of the rocky spikes like a rain of death. It was like the avalanche all over again, only far more deadly. Everyone screamed and tried to run in the direction of what they hoped was the exit.
The cave-in stopped just as suddenly as it had started. Clouds of dust made it difficult to tell the full extent of what had happened, but five Tree Friends found their way to each other.
"Is everyone okay?" Sniffles coughed and ran his hand along the floor, searching for his glasses. A weak sobbing told him that Nutty was still alive.
"We're fine." Two figures stood up and made their way through the dust. Sniffles found his glasses, albeit with one lens cracked, and turned to see Lammy and Giggles.
There was a click and a beam of light swept around as Shifty approached, sporting a nasty looking gash on his forehead. "It looks worse than it is."
The group searched the cave and called out Petunia's name, but there was no sign of her. Some were concerned that she might have died, others afraid that she was hiding in the shadows and would drag them back to the water. It wasn't until the dust cleared that they spotted a blue furred arm sticking out from under a blood spattered rock.
Nutty walked up behind them, having somehow gotten free of his bindings. His crying had stopped for the most part, though he still sniffed occasionally. "We're all going to die…" he said forlornly.
The world was silence and pain. As he tried to free himself from under the large section of wall crushing him, he wondered how his plan had gone so wrong. He lay down, resigned and ready to die as a failure again, when he spotted a splotch of red in the snow near him too bright and solid to be blood. Desperately, he poked at the figure until Splendont stirred.
The flying squirrel felt like several white hot knives had been skewered through his skull. Blood trickled down the sides of his head from his ears, just dark enough to be noticeable against his fur. He tried to focus his blurry vision on the bear in front of him who was trying to say something. However, his hearing was completely gone, and all he could do was shrug.
Pop's vision was starting to fade into darkness. Using the last of his strength, he wrote three short words and pointed to the hero.
Shock and shame washed through Splendont as he read the words and remembered the main reason he had come here. He nodded to the bear and watched as he died with a relieved smile on his face. I won't let you down, he promised silently. His first attempt to stand made him very dizzy and when he tried to fly, he ended up crashing back down into the snow. He realized that he wasn't as invulnerable as he had thought. His flying and super hearing had been disabled, and using super strength and laser vision were just as likely to kill as save the survivors if he didn't find them first. Now without his powers, he had to search through the snow like an ordinary person. How was he supposed to complete the bear's dying wish now? Save my son.
Author's Note: Happy first day of August everyone! It's hard to believe that I've been working on this fic for over a month now, but there's still plenty more to come.
JaMaL HaDeS: Voila, Chapter 10 has appeared! Lifty always seems to get the short end of the stick. Will he forgive his brother this time?
catbooklover2004: From personal experience and some articles on the internet, drowning is more emotionally/mentally painful than it is physically. It's supposedly a pretty peaceful way to go once the person stops struggling. Shifty doesn't know any of this though and just made a bad decision from stress and lack of sleep. Or did he?
Is it just me, or have these recent chapters gotten a little more... somber? Well, let me know what you think by reading and reviewing!