Chapter 28: Underground
Resting at the edge of a large clearing, the Silverwing colony waited for their messenger to return with the information they needed.
''Where is that Mercury?'' Bathsheba growled with impatience, her mood being consistently sour since the moment Frieda returned unharmed.
''Give him time,'' Frieda said while hanging next to her and Ariel. ''It is better to be safe.''
Bathsheba's fur stood up in indignation. ''I don't need your advice.'' she scoffed and turned her back on the old bat. ''Mercury can catch up.'' She unfurled her wings and cried out to her colony, ''Follow me!'' Without another look at Frieda, she began to lead the colony onward.
With a sigh, Frieda glanced sadly at Ariel, whose eyes reflected the same feeling before following the stubborn elder into the open.
Soon after they heard Mercury calling out in alarm and looked to see the scout hurrying over to Bathsheba. Fear on his face.
''Owls!'' he cried out as soon as he caught up, ''right behind me!''
Bathsheba was shocked, ''Silverwings! Back to the woods!''
''No!'' the chief elder raised her head to see Frieda glaring at her. ''It's too far,'' she said.
''She's right,'' Mercury agreed. ''It's too dangerous!''
Scared and confused, the Silverwings had no idea whose order they should follow.
There was no time. Without thinking further, Frieda acted at once and raised her voice for everyone to hear.
''Follow me to that tree!'' she called out and took off to the direction of a lone tree.
''That tree isn't hollow!'' Bathsheba yelled after her. ''I said, back to the woods!'' She turned to fly in the opposite direction. But looking over her shoulder, she realized that none of the others listened to her and instead followed Frieda. Angered but with no options left, Bathsheba turned around with a huff and did her best to catch up with everyone.
At the tree, all bats hung upside down from the branches with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies. Giving them the appearance of leaves. Just in time as the owls came into view.
General Brutus himself was flying in front and circled around their tree, feeling suspicious that the Silverwings should be around somewhere. However, the camouflage was too much for him to see through. Grunting with annoyance, he returned to his soldiers and kept flying ahead.
A few minutes after they were gone Frieda felt safe enough to unfurl her wings, followed by Mercury.
''All clear!'' he announced.
One by one, each bat reopened their wings, looking anxiously around. Realising the danger had passed, they began to relax. Then they all looked up at Frieda, awaiting their next course of action.
Lucretia called for another quick leadership vote to decide who the colony should follow the rest of the way. And everyone, except Bathsheba raised their wing for Frieda, making her their chief elder again.
The old bat smiled. It felt good to have her colonies trust back. Without a word, she rose from the tree and led the Silverwings onwards to Hibernaculum.
No one looked back to wait for Bathsheba. Pure hate gleamed in the elder eyes as she glared after Friede before eventually following her as well.
''And did you get a load of that face?'' Marina asked with excitement, still enjoying the moment of Goth crying like a child while repeating 'I'm a naughty bat.' Over and over again. ''Oh, those teeth! How cool!''
Shade laughed as we landed on a branch. ''Zotz! The demon bat at the center of the Earth?'' he exaggerated a scary face causing Marina and me to break out into laughter.
''Oh boy,'' I rubbed a tear out of my eyes for laughing so hard. ''That was something.''
''Yeah,'' Marina chuckled, ''But you better hope you never run into the real Zotz''
''You think he even exists?''
She shrugged. ''Who knows? But I'm not eager to find out the truth.''
''Uh, guys?'' Our attention was caught by Orestes' frightened voice. ''I might think we should be more concerned about the- umm…'' he trailed off with a nervous laugh and I followed his gaze up to the sky.
The two bats and I gasped at the sight of an army of owls, right above the treetops. Led by none other than Orestes' father General Brutus. We all stood very still and waited for the birds to fly past.
''There's my father gathering his troops,'' Orestes glared after them with disgust. ''This war is so wrong.''
''Huh, I never thought I'd hear those words come from the beak of an owl,'' Shade crossed his wings as he looked curiously at Orestes, who turned away looking upset.
Shade let out a deep sigh. ''Hibernaculum is no longer safe,'' he admitted.
''What are we going to do when we get there?'' I asked with worry. ''If we and the Silverwings can't stay there. Where should we go?''
Shade shook his head, seemingly having no idea as well.
''Maybe Ursa can help us?'' Marina suggested.
''Ursa?''
''You know, the white black bear.''
''But how can she help us? Brutus banished her to the eastern valley,'' said Shade.
''I know but we need all the help we can get.''
I nodded. ''She is right Shade. We need to find Ursa and ask for her help.''
The young Silverwing looked unsure to either agree or disagree with our proposal.
''You guys have a point,'' he finally admits. ''But the eastern valley isn't small. Ursa could be everywhere and we need to get to Hibernaculum as soon as possible.
I sighed, knowing he was right and pulled my cloak closer around me because of the cold.
''Maybe I can find her,'' Orestes suggested, causing me to look back up.
''Huh? Are you sure?''
''Well, it is worth a try. I may not know the eastern valley like the back of my feathers, but father sometimes took me out for a flight around that area when I was younger. So I know a few places to look for her. Besides you guys need to reach Hibernaculum before my dad and those meat-eating bats.''
''Thank you Orestes,'' Shade said with a smile. ''Hopefully you can find her.''
''Yeah,'' I agreed, smiling as well but then thought about something. ''Wait, Orestes doesn't know where Hibernaculum is. How will he get back to us?''
Shade thought for a moment then lid up his eyes and snapped his fingers. ''The river! Just followed it to where it ends and we meet you there again.''
Orestes nodded. ''Alright. I will see you guys there then.''
With a smile we embraced each other in our wings and arms and said our goodbyes to Orestes before lifting off and parting our ways with the owl.
A few hours later we came to the edge of a huge junkyard that was filled with all kinds of stuff like broken car wrecks, battered musty wooden boxes and holey mattresses.
A foul smell lingered in the air and the absence of any life made me feel uneasy. Only a few insects were buzzing around the light of a street lamp. But other than that, it was quiet. Too quiet!
''I'm starving. Come on, guys let's go grab some bugs.'' Shade suggested while we hid in the shadow of a tree.
''I don't know Shade,'' Marina said, glancing round nervously. ''This place far too open. You saw the owl and who knows where Goth is.''
I nodded thinking the same. He and his cousin most likely left the mines by now as well, and I didn't want to imagine what would happen when they find us. If Goth had been angry at us after the incident at the power station, he surely must be pissed off after what happened in the mine.
Unfortunately, Shade wasn't as concerned. ''Oh what,'' he said, waving off, ''With all the stuff over there we can easily find a place to hide if necessary.''
''Shade...''
Not listening to us the Silverwing took off, leaving Marina no choice but to grab my hands with her feet and to follow him. Unlike Shade, she barely focused on catching mosquitoes and instead kept glancing around, expecting danger falling upon us any second.
"This place is so creepy."
''You can say that again,'' I replied under my breath and looked around as well. I had never been to a junkyard before and I had to admit, it did look creepy, especially since it was in the middle of the night.
We kept flying around some more until we spotted a beaten up red car and swooped down to it for some rest. Marina landed me on the car seat and then roosted upside down on the rear mirror with Shade to her left.
''Does this feel safer?'' he asked.
Suddenly I gasped noticing a dark shadow whooshing over the mirror screen.
''Guys! Did...did you see that?'' I asked, and another shadow passed by, causing all three of us to flinch.
''W-what do you think it it?'' Shade stammered.
''I-I don't know but I'm not going to wait and find out.'' Panic stricken, the young Brightwing wasted no time but to swoop out of the car as fast as possible.
Shade quickly grabbed my hands and hurried after her. Shortly after he landed on a crate between some wrecked car parts.
''Guys let's leave this place before...'' The sound of a bell ringing cut me off and my blood froze. Like in slow motion, I turned my head around and saw Throbb playing around with a bicycle bell.
He immediately spotted us and smirked with glee. ''Hola!'' he greeted us.
Then without warning, two muscular arms burst through the wood under our feet and grasped Shade and I by one of our legs.
Bright yellow eyes and a fanged smile stared back up at us from the darkness. ''Hola…'' Goth greeted smoothly and then yanked us inside, causing both of us to cry out.
''Guys!'' I heard Marina calling to us before painfully hitting the ground with my back.
''Ouch!''
I was lucky not to have broken anything and quickly rolled out of the way as Goth tried to launch at me with a roar. His fangs made a loud snapping noise when Shade crossed his way and he ripped another hole in the crate's ceiling trying to swipe at him.
Pieces of wood flew around and I hid in a corner not wanting to get struck while Goth and Throbb started chasing my friends through the junkyard. Knowing I had to help them, I left my hiding spot and dashed after the bats. I ran across the junk as fast as I could, not caring if my dress got ripped or torn.
By the time I finally caught up to them, Goth and Throbb had flown straight into a car's rear mirror, mistaking Marina's and Shade's reflection for them.
The two young bats used that opportunity to fly away, and I turned heels to get away as well, before the two Vampyrum would notice me.
Running around another corner, I accidentally slipped over a piece of metal and dropped down on my belly.
''Argh, great,'' I grumbled and picked myself up. Then something pushed me in the back and pressed me hard to the ground.
Hearing a dark chuckle behind me, I immediately knew that it was Goth who got me and tried to get up. But the Vampyrum was too strong.
''Got ya!'' I heard him say in a sing-song voice, his claws digging through my dress and into my skin.
I yelped in pain as he took a fistful of my hair and pulled me back, my spine protesting greatly of the lack of flexibility to bend backwards like that.
''Now, how should I kill you, hm?'' he asked smoothly, his hot breath close to my ear. ''Should I slice your neck and let you suffocate by your own blood or be more traditional and rip out your heart to offer it to Cama Zotz? I'm sure he would be delighted.''
I had enough. There was no way I would let him hurt me without even trying to fight back.
I quickly scanned the area, spotting a piece of glass and reached out to grab it.
Unfortunately, Goth noticed this and pulled me up, making it unable for me to reach the glass.
''I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you señorita,'' he growled.
I tried to punch him with my elbow but Goth wrapped his muscular arms around me and held me tight to his chest.
''Let me Go!'' I screamed, struggling, but it was no use. Fearing my end about to come, I shut my eyes and hoped it would be fast as Goth suddenly cried out and tossed me off.
I gasped as my butt painfully hit the ground and then looked up to see Shade scratching the cannibals face with his claws and pulling his ears.
Goth roared with fury and tried to snatch him from the sky but the small Silverwing skilfully avoided his grasp and rushed to me to grab my hands with his feet. Together we hurried towards an old pipe, sticking out of the top of a huge pile of junk. Marina already there, waiting for us.
''You two are ok?'' she asked looking at us worriedly and we just nodded, catching our breaths.
Then thunder struck, causing us to gasp and close our eyes before risking a glance out of the pipe. Rain started to pour down from the sky and for a moment we thought to be safe and allowed ourselves to relax. But just when we were about to sit down we heard the sound of claws scratching against metal and a devilish laugh quickly coming closer from the other side of the pipe.
Seconds later Goth and Throbb appeared again and Marina and Shade wasted no time but to grab me and jump out of the pipe. In their hurry the two Vampyrums crashed into each other as they tried to follow us, giving the two smaller bats the chance to fly back into the pipe.
''Don't stop!'' Shade called out to Marina, who was flying up front while I held on to him tight, hearing our pursuers right behind us
We flew out of the bottom side of the pipe and through an old tire when I noticed a storm drain on the ground right below us.
''Guys, down there!'' I called out, pointing down to it with my foot and Shade and Marina quickly dove down.
We barely slipped through when Goth landed on top of the drain with a loud clang. Being too big to squeeze through as well he stretched his arm between the bars and tried to grab us. Cautiously, we took a few steps out of his reach.
''You little ingrates!'' Goth growled with fury, ''When I ...'' Suddenly there was a scream coming from the sky, cutting him off and seconds later we heard another loud clang as Goth's head slammed onto the metal, causing his arm to go limp.
With bated breath we waited for a moment, then Shade carefully hopped closer and tugged a bit on Goth's arm.
''Ah, so sorry, mi amigo,'' Shade playfully said with a fake accent before unceremoniously dropping the arm again.
Marina and I started laughing at his joke and Shade quickly joined in.
But our fun moment was cut short when suddenly a pair of furry paws clasped our mouths from behind and dragged us away.
Meanwhile, in the eastern valley, Ursa continued to lead the animals around a mountain pass. It was snowing heavily and looking back the white she-bear could see how the others were struggling to keep up with her. By her side was Koda, the little black bear cub she adopted, and he too looked exhausted from walking through that storm. Ursa knew she had to find shelter for them all, otherwise they would freeze their fur off.
Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound coming right above them. Ursa looked up and gasped at what she saw. ''Avalanche!'' she cried out and grabbed Koda by the scruff of his neck before running into a nearby cave, followed by the rest of the animals who were screaming in terror.
Luckily, everyone made it inside before the snow crashed down behind them.
''We... we could have been killed!'' a raccoon stuttered.
Ursa sighed and put Koda back down. ''You'll be safer here,'' she told the animals before turning around and back to the exit.
''Where are you going?'' the raccoon asked.
''To help Vanessa and Shade Silverwing stop this before we have another great battle on our paws.''
Koda tried to follow her but Ursa gently pushed him away. ''Please, keep an eye on Koda. I will come back as soon as I can.'' The animals nodded and Ursa turned back around to walk out into the snow.
The smell was awful. Everywhere hung the musty smell of waste and decay in the air. I would have gladly covered my nose so I would no longer need to smell it, but unfortunately this was not possible, because a thick, orange-brown rat held my arms tightly together on my back. My two friends were also tied up by two other rats. One dark blue and one mud green. Guarded by four other rats we floated on a wooden raft through the sewer.
"I wouldn't even think about escaping if I were you. "the rat who held me down hissed into my ear. "My folks and I would have captured you quicker than you can say 'mouse'.'' He grinned. "And this could turn out really ugly. We don't want anything to happen to you or your pretty little pink dress. Wouldn't we, Dollface?'' The rat laughed sardonically, and I turned away from him in disgust.
The green rat, holding Marina, looked down at me and my friends, with his eyes scornfully narrowed to slits. ''Spies!'' He spit out in disgust.
''For the last time,'' Shade said with a groan, ''We are no spies.''
''Tell that to the king!'' growled the blue rat.
Moments later, the raft stopped on a wide shore.
''Move!'' ordered a rat, and I felt myself getting roughly pulled to my feet and pushed forward over the muddy ground. They took us into a huge hall whose walls were built of compressed cardboard, bent plastic and other garbage and filled with hundreds of rats all around us. The hissing and scurrying of their swift paws in the darkness was almost creepy.
On the other end of the room was a gigantic mountain of scrap and leftovers of food. On top of it sat a fat, purple colored rat with malicious yellow eyes. On his head was an inverted bottle cap that should probably represent a crown.
As we stepped before his ''throne'', his lordship simply enjoyed gnawing at an apple core and ignored us completely.
The orange-brown rat cleared his throat.
''Your Highness. King Remus, I hereby present to you the three spies.'' he solemnly cried out, stretching his hands out to us, while we got pushed down to our knees.
The king looked at his subject thoughtfully. ''Hm.. It takes a spy to know a spy.'' he took another bite from the apple and spit out a seed before glaring at the rat with the apple core pointing at him.
''Admit it guard. You are a spy!''
''What?'' the guard looked at his king with shock and fear. ''No no no no, y-you got it wrong.''
''I never get it wrong when it comes to spies. Guards!'' he called out and belched loudly. ''Take this guard away and ... guard him!''
The poor rat desperately tried to defend himself but two other rats scurried over and pulled him away without mercy. The king, however, nibbled a bit more on his apple before carelessly throwing it down into a corner. Immediately a dozen hungry rats pounced on it in hope to snatch some leftovers.
''Now then,'' Remus said, leaning forward on his throne to take a better look at us. ''What do we have here? Two bats and a teeny-tiny human. What are you doing in my kingdom?''
'' Well, we... uh...''
''We... eh... we came to warn you your highness,'' Marina lied. ''Giant bats from the jungle down south came to the north, threatening both the kingdoms of the bats and the rats.''
''I see.'' King Remus scratched his chin, not looking very convinced. ''And who may I ask send you here?''
''The ... eh...''
''The great elders from the mountain colonies.'' I said, trying to help and for a moment it seemed he was buying our story. But then he vigorously shook his head and glared down at us, his eyes sparkling with anger. ''You are lying.''
''No honestly we...''
''Who sent you?'' he demanded to know.
'' I already told you. The great elders of...'' But Remus cut me off. ''Guards!'' he shrieked. ''Take them to the drain and drown them. This should teach them a lesson for trespassing my kingdom. And with the human female you begin.''
Frightened Shade, Marina, and I tried to flee, but the rats were too quick and dragged us away.
''Ah! No!''
''Let go of us!''
''Take them away!'' the king ordered once more and no matter how hard we struggled. There was no way for us to escape.
AN: There you go. Another chapter ^^