Chapter 29, never

Shadowflight was dragged along the hallway and into the room full of cages. Only five of them were full.

She instantly looked around for Raven, and found him sitting calmly in a corner cage, his dark blue eyes simple and set.

Before she could get another good look, Shadowflight was kicked into a cage. She groaned as the kick met her stomach.

The chains vanished off her, but Shadowflight was still trapped. She paced, swishing her skinny tail, banging it against the bars.

"Shut up," said a Mastiff blandly, almost as if he was so terrified for himself that he didn't even care if she stopped, he just had to hear his own voice.

Shadowflight looked down at the muddy ground beneath her paws, and whished so badly that she was not in a cage. This was not a safety cage, it was a death cage.
It reeked of thousands of animals. She sniffed out an Irish setter, two rabbits and a wolf. They had all been here before her, and all of them had died.

Raven was staring at her, blinking calmly. He seemed to be entranced by her bright green eyes. They were quite catching, really.

Shadowflight could feel her own breath quivering. She needed a comrade, anyone.

"Raven," she said unsteadily, "Please help me get out of here." She took a deep breath and gulped.

He stared at her blandly.

"RAVEN! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! I DON'T HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR THIS!"

He blinked again, as if the words hadn't even registered in his brain.

"AHH!" Shadowflight screamed in frustration, throwing herself against the cage.

There was a horrific, terrifyingly loud crack, and one log snapped.

She leaped out of her cage, and bounded over to Raven's cage. He continued staring at her eyes.

She started chewing at the vine, but suddenly the badger flew into the room, his eyes livid.

"Upstart!" he screamed, "Retard!" he shook Raven's cage, and Shadowflight was forced to come falling down.

"Recelio," he muttered, and she was once again covered with heavy chains.

He grabbed the neck chain again, and pulled her out of the room.

Shadowflight looked around as fast as possible at the bunches of animals. There was no sign of Robin anywhere.

She felt her stomach clench in frustration, and was jerked out of the hole.

She was standing on the sandy, moonlit beach. The badger dragged her over to the tin building.

"NO!" she screamed. She kicked him hard in the face, and he bled. She flapped her wings, but he held her down with the rope.

"Yes," he snarled, throwing her into the building.

The door slammed and Shadowflight felt the chains vanish. She stared up at the room she was in.

It was all dark silver and light silver, different triangles of each. It was bright, as if lighted by a hundred Twoleg suns, but there were no lights. Two skinny metal arms jutted out of the side of one wall, and the arms were covered in little red sensors. And the arms were holding two very sharp, jagged knives.

She turned around to see the badger poised at a control box that was covered in little buttons and knobs.

"I come from Earth," Shadowflight meowed. Her voice was loud, heavy and low-pitched. Every word shook with terror.

"I cannot change," she mewed in the same heavy voice, "I cannot change."

The badger glanced briefly her way, then batted some buttons and pulled some knobs.

The arms started to move, the sensors glowing. The arms came for her, the blades of the knives going up and down ever so slightly, and with incredible speed.

"No," she rasped, "never." She tore for the far corner, but the arms came for her and she leaped around the room.

There was a large, open cage in one corner, and Shadowflight knew instantly she must stay away from there.

The knives picked up speed, lunging for her, their silver blades flashing in the light.

Shadowflight flapped her wings and flew to the top of the room, but the knives came.

"HELP!" she cried, letting her wings flop down uselessly. She fell onto the floor and felt a bone in one paw snap. She swore loudly.

Shadowflight could hear her own breath, pounding in her ears. She was muttering something very quietly, but she didn't know what. She avoided the knives as much as she could. They would never get her if she kept moving around. But very soon she was going to get very tired.

She screamed and threw herself at the door. The knives came and she dashed to the other side of the room.

Then the badger leaped on her. Shadowflight slammed her claws into his body. Never had she fought so hard, not even against the horrible robot cat, Mudpaw. This was different.

She tore a piece of flesh from his flank, and kicked his belly, hard. He flew up and banged into a wall, but leaped for her again. She slammed her teeth into his fleshy shoulder, and bit so hard her jaw quivered and ached. He pulled back, almost crying with pain, but leaped at her again and threw his large, strong paws out. He slammed her hard in the flank, and she flew inside the cage.

Then the badger stopped, and the knives came. Closer and closer, Shadowflight could see every tiny point on each jagged bump…it went in and out of sight, her eyes were blurred with terror. She was alone in the world all of a sudden; her terror filled her whole mind. All she knew was her terror. And still she could see the knives. Coming, slowly, but coming, ready to separate her for ever and ever from half her life…

"Never," she rasped, lying weakly on her back, her paws hanging limp. She stared bleakly at the knives.

"Never," she whispered again. The world calmed her, filled her with a feeling of finality. She had lived her life.

"No, no, no, never," she soothed herself.

The knives were right at her left eye, ready to separate her for ever and ever. She blocked the whirring out of her mind.

"Never," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Shadowflight?"

Who called her name? Did anyone like the emotion and stuff that I included? Who liked this chapter? Please remember, I must have at least 100 reviews before posting the sequel, and this story is only 36 chapters long so I suggest if you haven't reviewed you should do that. I will also update at 3:00 mountain time today and ALSO at 6:00!!