Hello! I am back with another, longer chapter! And I'm SUPER HAPPY because I got, I kid you not, FIVE reviews. FIVE! That's my new record! Thank you!
Sorry it took so long to update, I have midterms next week. So updates could be slow or nonexistent until Friday, when I get on break.
Review Replies:
Frost:Sorry! I'll try to make them longer.
Chickenspoon42:Yeah. And, he thought that because they were kits and the time she couldn't, and, yeah, he figures he's stronger and faster than her because of the training. Which he is, cuz Spark lived in a sewer for most of her life. And I never spoil stuff, cuz I hate it when people do it to me.
Ocelotjackel:I'll try to make them longer.
Guest:Yeah, I know. I made her that way on purpose. Every character needs flaws. Well, unless your purposely making a Mary Sue, which can be really fun.
Cobra: Yay! You've returned! And it's totally fine.
Thank you so much for reviewing! It means a lot to me. :D
Now time for you all to find out why this was rated T...
Ever since he could remember, Casper was a loner. As a kit, he didn't play with his litter mates. But he had good reason.
His brother, Teon, was a sadistic psychopath. He's often do horrific things to the poor mice he caught. Casper could clearly remember the time his mother had caught him.
Teon had just trapped a mouse and was now dissecting it-alive. It's squeaks of agony had caught their mother, Ara, 's attention. When we saw what her son was doing, and all the blood and even a few tiny organs, you could see the rage pass through her.
After a yelling-to that involved more curses than Casper had known existed, Teon had slunk off into their den.
His sister, Feola, wasn't much better. She was standoffish and rebellious, which was not tolerated in Shard's domain. So she was killed a few days before the guard dogs came.
It was a hot summer day, and Casper was laying on the cool stone his mom called concrete when he saw them. A huge golden retriever and a smaller, fiercer Border Collie. (I know I said they were both Golden Retrievers in chapter 2, but I changed my mind...XD)
He had ran back into his den, calling for his mother. "Mumma! Mumma, there are dogs!" She was immediately up, pushing Casper into a corner of the cardboard box den.
"Stay here," she hissed. "And don't make a sound."
Ara was a greying old tabby, who, in her younger days, had a luscious blue pelt. Her once green eyes were now a moon-yellow color, from 3 litters of trying kits.
She rushed out to meet the dogs, already having a plan. Casper tried hard to hear what they were saying, but only caught snippets, until a loud, deep voice boomed out.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT PATHETIC DELINQUENT KIT!"
It scared Casper so bad he nearly leapt out of his pelt. After a few minutes, he heard a voice again, but much closer to the den.
"Say, Ara, you had three kits, did you not? Your girl is dead, your one son is here, but your other son? You aren't hiding him, are you?"
Casper's pale green eyes went wide in fear. Would he find out? What would happen if he did? Would he kill him? Would he kill mumma?
"That measly lil' kit?" Came his mother's raspy response. "You wouldn't want 'im. He's small and cowardly and lazy."
The kit wondered what his mother was doing. He wasn't small- he was the biggest kit in the litter! He didn't really think he was all that cowardly, at least not as much as Teon. And he certainly wasn't lazy! Then it occurred to him. His mother was lying.
The dog closest to the den, presumably the smaller one, growled something under his breath. Then, Casper's world was spinning. He wasn't sure what happens until sharp teeth pierced his scruff, yanking him out as he yelped in pain.
"Scrawny, ah?" The border collie above him yapped at Ara. The poor mother was frozen in fear. The fear-sent radiating off her was nauseating, but the dogs, being dogs, loved it.
"I..I..." The old mother's futile attempts of explaining her situation were just a few stuttered words. The border collie snarled.
"I thought so. Lying to guards- wouldn't be your first time, cat. Or your offspring's. You're just a bad bloodline, tabby."
Before the 43-moon-old cat could say something that could get her killed, the golden retriever huffed, catching his companion's attention. "The sun"ll be settin' soon. We'd best round up the resta the kits in this section, Fang."
The leader of the two looked at the dimming sky before relenting. "Fine," he growled. "Grab the white one."
And just like that, Casper was carried away from his mother, and the hardest time of his life began.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
When Casper first saw the silvery kit called Spark make a break for it, he was sure she was dead meat. But, hey, he honestly had nothing to loose, so he ran after her. Unfortunately, Fang and the golden retriever, Bite, were closer to him than Spark. A searing pain shot through him, a deep, agonizing, terrible pain that stole a scream from his tiny throat. His haunches felt wet. After what felt like years, he felt himself being lifted from the damp grass into the cold evening air. What happened...? He thought. Did I die? Those were the last things he remembered before watching the world Fade To Black. (Metallica reference)
0o0o0o0o0o0o
When the kit came to, he was still being carried. He figured by Bite, because he could see Fang on his right. The ill-tempered dog stopped, looking ahead. Bite did the same. They were standing in front of a huge building, it's windows long gone, yet it was bustling with life. Dogs. So many dogs. They were being followed by kittens, most about Casper's age, but a few younger ones.
He was brought inside, and dropped next to Spark's siblings. A few minutes later, Fang's voice rang out.
"Attention, attention! All kits line up here! Move it!" He yelled.
So, out of fear, all the kits slowly made a line where Fang had indicated. By this point, he had realized what had happened when Spark ran away. His tail had been bitten off. This didn't bother him as much as the thought of the painful death his friend had surely met. Then, the dogs quickly threw- literally- the smaller, weaker creatures into three separate 'lines'(they were more like piles). A German Shepard walked in front of the 'line' Casper was in. "Follow me!" He barked. They did. But out of the corner of his eye, Casper saw another group being lead away, and the third one...he saw each and every one of those kits slaughtered in under 10 seconds.
He stumbled, still staring at their bodies, the terror on their faces. All the blood...Casper was jerked back into reality by a harsh smack to his head by a Black Labrador. "Keep movin'," she growled.
As the kit walked on, he couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten himself into.
After a night of literally nothing other then walking around, the kits who were with him were brought to a large room, where the other surviving kits were already waiting. The Black Labrador from yesterday walked to the front of the room.
"I am Quick-Kill, but you all are gunna be callin' me Master M. Got it?" After a few mumbled responses, she continued. "I am gunna be your main trainer here. Long-Claws and Bloody-Muzzle will help too, but mainly me. Now, for your first exercise, follow me!" Quick-Kill yapped, before turning tail and heading outside.
"Now," Master M said, facing the kits once more. "Run. If I catch any of you, I will kill you without hesitation!" So, the terrified kits ran as fast as their little legs could go, the lean black dog following.
When Master M finally yelled for them to stop, Casper was exhausted, and 5 kits were dead.
"Get inside!" Quick-Kill barked, following the kittens in. For quite a long time, Casper wasn't sure exactly the time, that was his life. Running, fighting, eating a few measly scraps, resting a few minutes, then repeating. After a while, when they ran or fought, kits stopped dying. All the weaker ones had been killed, the stronger ones survived. But that only made Master N train them harder. And Casper, 13 moons old now, was fed up.
He had made a plan to escape this boot camp. During their rest time, he would sneak into the main room and get lost in the crowd, then bolt for the exit. It was simple, risky, and not very well thought out, but it was the best Casper had.
So, when the night came and the guard dozed off like always, he slowly crept from the room, following the sound of chatter. Once he got to the main room, he realized how terrible his plan was. First, their were guards by the only exit. Second, there wasn't a single cat in the room, so he stood out like a sore thumb.
"Hey! You there! What are you doing?!" A voice behind him boomed.
Before he could think, he was dashing towards the door. The guards. Thanks a lot, instincts. He thought bitterly, swerving away from the guards. They lunged at him, but he, being the reckless daredevil he was, decided the opening he saw was worth it. What did he have to loose? He leapt on top of one of the guards, a Irish Wolfhound, using it's back as leverage to jump even higher in the night air. He hit the ground running, tearing away from his prison. He heard one dog give chase, barking curses at him.
The snow-white cat turned abruptly, hissing, before leaping at the dog with unsheathed claws. It was the guard he'd leapt on earlier. The young tom cat clawed relentlessly at the dog's hairy face, mostly eyes, while yowling at the top of his lungs. The dog tried to scrape the wailing feline off with a paw, but Casper held fast onto the canine's now bloody face. He leapt off, turning quickly and pouncing at the dog's open throat. It snarled, clawing at the white tom as it fell. It twitched before laying still. Casper released his hold on the dog's neck. It was dead.
He looked in the direction of the Building, which is what the dogs called it. Soon enough more dogs would come. He turned away, and began walking.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
Casper looked at Spark. "Sooo...we're gunna stick together this time?" He asked, hoping it didn't sound weird. "No running off?" He smiled playfully.
The silver tabby grinned back. "As long as no more tails are bit off, then sure." She said, grinning back at him.
Before anything else was said, Casper perked up, and tackled Spark into a nearby ditch. "Stay quiet," He hispered.(Hiss/whisper) He didn't have to explain why. Spark could hear the dog coming.
This was by far my longest chapter. By far. It took, like, 3 days to write. And a full day to type out on my computer. So yeah. Hope ya liked it! And I am determined to finish this by New Years! It'll probably be only like 20-something chapters long, but they will be closer to this length. Hopefully. Bye!
~KitKat