11. Found Loss
Another couple of weeks would pass before Red encountered the wildcats again. During this time Red had noticed a change in Boss's attitude towards him, feeling less like a resource and more like an equal. Thinking and talking about saving Boss's life was something Red found highly uncomfortable for reasons he didn't really understand, however there was no denying the advancement it had given him in the hierarchy of the barn's occupants. He was looked after and fed better than he had ever thought possible, he didn't even need to go hunt for himself anymore. This had allowed Red to almost fully recuperate from the injuries he had sustained during his time at and escaping from the test lab. His vision had largely returned, his leg had fully healed, and he was starting to feel strong again.
It was early morning and Red had just woken from a less than relaxing night of sleep. His body might be on the mend however his mind was far from it, incessant thinking, nightmares and the reliving of the failures in his life plagued those moments of rest, denying him the basic respite that seemed to come so easily to others. The birds in the barn didn't help matters either, he might have grown in influence but that meant nothing when it came to controlling the din that erupted within the barn when daylight seeped through the cracks in the walls. At least it gets me up and out! he thought to himself as he passed through the large doorway at the end of the barn.
Once outside Red began making his way to the nearby river that flowed around the outskirts of the town. His usual morning routine was to head down to the riverside for a drink followed by a lazy saunter back to the barn where his breakfast would be waiting for him. Normally this was accompanied by a conversation with Macaw as the parrot headed out with Talon to go foraging, today however was to play out very differently.
When Red arrived at the river he settled himself on the bank, he took a long drink and then rested his head on his paws. Before he knew it the gentle sounds of the river flowing away into the distance had lulled him into a deep relaxing sleep, the sort he sorely needed. Red didn't wake till an hour later, waking to the sound of loud squawking and a painful tapping on his head that seemed to ring his head like a bell.
"Red! Red! Get up! Red!"
Red lifted his head groggily and recoiling away from the loud voice and tapping on his head. "Stop doing that!" Red opened his eyes but there was nothing there.
"Red! Red! He needs you!" called the voice again. This time Red figured out where the voice was coming from, Talon was perched up in the tree above him.
"Tell boss I'm taking some personal time, I'll come find him later," answered Red as he curled himself up into a ball and closed his eyes.
"Now! He needs you! He needs you!" Talon had dropped to the ground next to Red and was tapping on his head with her beak again.
"Okay! Okay! I'm up, I'll get over to the barn right away!" said Red as he rose to his paws and yawned.
"Not the barn," replied Talon, her voice wavering in the middle.
Red opened his eyes fully and looked down at Talon. She looked agitated, her feathers were unkempt, broken in places and missing in others. There was an anxious look on her face, Red felt his heart sink, something was very wrong. "What's going on? Is Boss okay?"
"Not boss, he needs you!" responded Talon frantically.
Red felt his breath quicken. "Show me!"
Talon took to the air and Red followed as quickly as he could from the ground. She led him along the riverside and up beyond the barn. Before long Red found himself face to face with the town square and the graveyard it contained. Luckily it was still early in the morning and most of the human populace were not up yet. Even so his mind cried out for him to turn and run, but he knew he was needed and couldn't let that happen. Red pushed the thoughts away as best he could and threw himself down the street after Talon. The chase ended at the entrance to an alley way at the side of a bakery. There all lined up along the roof tops were countless birds from the Barn, perched in the middle was Talon. She was shouting down at something further up the alley. Red pushed on and rounded the corner into the alley, the full picture came into view.
Standing tall in the middle of the alley were the five cats from the clearing, grins on their faces like they had just won a great victory. All around were feathers, some brown like those belonging to Talon, some red and blue like those belonging to the very still and unmoving bird that the ginger cat currently stood on top of. Red felt time slow down and stop, the image of the alley seemed to hang in front of him for an eternity. There was the best friend he'd ever had, a friend who twice saved his life, in the paws of an animal he had shown mercy. Red was suddenly back at his parents' den, he felt the same explosive anger, the same seething hatred as he did that day he took his brother's life. It was uncontrollable, Red exploded forwards into the alley. He was on the lead cat before any of the other animal's present had even registered his presence. He took the whole of the front of the cat's head in his jaws, twisting his neck so the left side of his mouth was parallel with the cobble stones of the alley and then he slammed the body of the cat up and down repeatedly. The ginger cat's neck shattered in a sickeningly snapping sound, Red felt the body go limp and he tossed it to the side. Red jumped at the white cat next, slamming a clawed paw into the fur of its neck. The white cat fell backwards, gasping and clawing at its throat, its clean white fur began turning a bright slick red as it collapsed to the ground.
The remaining cats had now come to their senses and were all moving in to attack Red from behind. Red was so incensed that he failed to register the sound of an animal rushing forwards behind him. The grey cat leapt into the air and slammed into Red's back with its claws fully extended. Red snarled in pain as the cat tore at his back. Swinging his head around Red grabbed onto one of the cat's front legs with his jaws. Then using all of his strength Red tore the cat from his back before thrusting it into the ground. Pinning the cat down with both front paws Red tore at it until it was silent. Red lifted his head and looked towards the remaining two cats, his jaws dripped with blood and a raging fire burnt in his eyes. It was too much for the remaining cats to cope with, their courage broke and they turned to run.
The calico cat was quicker than Red and was out of the alley and down the street before Red could catch him, the black cat however was not so lucky. The wound Red had given it the last time they met meant it had no chance to outrun the large black fox. Red was on it before it got anywhere near the road, catching one of its back legs in his mouth Red slowly dragged it back into the alley. Red flipped the cat over and pressed his front right paw to its throat. Red pushed down with all of his weight causing the cat to gag and splutter. The cat scratched and bit at Red's leg, trying to force the fox to relent. Red was so crazed with anger that the pain didn't even appear to register, if anything it made him press harder. His senses were closed off to everything outside of his need to watch this cat take its last breath, it was a mistake that almost cost him his life.
Just as Red felt the cat exhale for the last time something hard slammed into the side of his head. The force bowled him over and he slid into the wall of the alley. The furious anger that raged inside him took control again, he was on his feet and lunging at his new attacker before even knowing who it was.
The commotion in the alley had been loud and had drawn the attention of a couple of the bakers from the bakery next door. Initially they had watched some of the goings on through an adjacent window, after watching Red kill a couple of the wild cats they had decided to get involved.
Red lunged towards them in a blind fury, a second blow from the broom that the lead human carried drove him backwards and into the dumpsters that lined the back of the alley. Red's head was swimming, that second blow was disorientating enough to knock him back to his senses, his self-preservation instincts kicked in and he groggily attempted to make his escape. He picked himself up and dizzily stumbled behind the far dumpster at the end of the alley. Thankfully Red knew this place, there were lots of dead ends in the town, luckily this was not one of them. At the back of the alley was a drain with a half-broken grating, Red dragged himself through the opening. Inside was a three foot drop down to a wet and slimy concrete drainage system that ran around a portion of the town. Red dropped down ungracefully, slapping onto the cold damp ground below, he lost consciousness.