Well, welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I've recently gone back to school, which has made me feel as if I can't waste time or else I'll just think about it for the rest of my life until I die! (I had this thought while eating breakfast before school, so, that wasn't good for me! Spent the rest of my first day back having what some people would call, an 'Existential Crisis' ) Review Reply Time!
Kay Frew Harris- Thanks! I'm glad that I'm smart enough to remember how to spell!
I-Really-Hope-Not- Glad you like their heroic names! Hopefully you'll be seeing more of them in the next few chapters!
Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you at the bottom!
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Each step was painful. With every step forward, she would feel the pain start fromher pad, then reach up her legs, and finally spreading through her entire body. They hadn't had a break ever since they had sat on the hill, overlooking the forest that they were now in. The sun had set, and the moon was beginning to rise, giving each tree a ghostly glow. Shadows were everywhere, cast by the massive branches of the trees that surrounded her, looking almost as if it were trying to attack. The way the twigs made claw like shapes emphasized the thought of them attacking. Coal had tripped over so many roots, fallen into so many holes, she was surprised to still be walking. Dusk had also lost her happy bounce, and was plodding along just ahead of Coal with her head bowed. Everyone was tired, but her Mother had said that they needed to cover as much ground as possible before they even thought about sleeping. Coal remembered how jumpy she had seemed as they entered the forest, and the way she had snapped at her when she asked if they could stop. Coal sighed. Usually, she would apologize to her or give her a comforting lick after she snapped, but her Mother hadn't even looked at her, and her heart still ached from it.
Coal wished that she had eaten that mouse that she'd caught from earlier, but instead, she had felt too awful about killing it in the first place to even think about eating it. Her belly gave a loud rumble at the thought of food, proof of how hungry she was. Coal looked up at her Mother, but she didn't seem to have heard her belly, her eyes fixed straight ahead as she took long strides forward, keeping such a fast pace, that Coal could barely keep up. She'd never walked so far in her entire life, especially without eating anything for so long. She had eaten, it was the first thing she did everyday whenever she woke up: eat, wash, play, learn, eat, rest, play, eat, wash, sleep. That was what she did. Sometimes, their Mother would take her and Dusk out into the woods, but only for a bit, never as long as this. She was so tired. It was so hard to put one paw in front of the other, and she knew that she was falling behind, soon to be lost in the shadows...
Coal felt the fear build up inside of her. Too many shadows. Too many shadows. Too many shadows. She knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer, it was getting harder and harder to walk, her paw-steps becoming uneven and smaller. The fear was too much, she could barely handle it, her tiredness making it difficult to contain everything that was threatening to rush into her head. Coal screwed her eyes shut, stopping abruptly in her tracks, taking deep breaths, allowing her racing mind to calm down. A few heartbeats passed, and only when her head had stopped spinning and her breathing was normal, did she finally open her eyes. Suddenly, a new fear struck her heart, searing deep into it. Where's Mother and Dusk? Her eyes darted around wildly. They were nowhere to be seen, swallowed by the shadows, leaving her behind forever. She tried to run forward, but couldn't. She couldn't budge a bit. Exhaustion swept over her, almost knocking her to the ground, but her fear gave her determination. She lifted a paw, trying to take a step forward, to go search for her family, but as soon as it had left the floor, her other three legs gave way beneath her. Coal's breath was knocked out of her as she crashed to the ground, her heartbeats beginning to quicken again.
I'm lost. Mother and Dusk have gone and they'll never find me, and I can't find them. The shadows have taken them away from me... Coal curled into a small ball. The shadows were all around her, hungry for more to swallow, hungry to lose all of those dear to anyone. The shadows seemed to notice her sudden fear of them, and they began to slide closer, slithering on the uneven ground towards her, enclosing her in a black cage. Coal gave one last attempt to escape from their treacherous clutches, but to no avail. Her body was weak. Too weak. Her mind was weak. Too weak. Just as her Mother had said. She needed protection. She couldn't protect herself, and she never would be able to. The shadows had her in their grasp, and they'd never let go. All that Coal could do was let out a pitiful mew, before suffocating blackness enveloped her.
Her whole body ached, her paws felt as though they had been ripped to shreds, her legs and back stiff. Coal lay there for a moment. What happened? She couldn't remember much, just being extremely tired, then blackness engulfing her. She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head to look for her Mother. She wasn't there. Is she by the stream? Coal wondered. Instead of her Mother, she saw huge roots twisted together, forming a protective wall around her. Funny, I don't remember the Hawthorn having such large roots... Then it hit her. She wasn't at her home any more, she was in search for a new one, and she and her family had been travelling non stop until Coal hadn't been able to go on. What had happened after that? Coal looked around once more, and realized that she could see everything. She looked up and saw sunlight trickling through the leaves and lighting up the forest around her. The last time she was looking around was when darkness surrounded her. Shadows still lay here and there, but they didn't seem as threatening as they had when it was dark.
Coal sat up then stretched, wincing as her muscles screamed in pain. How far had she walked yesterday? She tried to take a step forward, but pain shot up her front paw, her legs buckled beneath her, and she came crashing back to the ground. Coal glanced down at her paw, What's wrong with it? She lifted it up and gave it a little shake, wincing as the pain shot through her again, taking the breath out of her lungs. Coal lay there in a heap for a few more heartbeats, then decided to try and get up again; she had to find her family, even if that meant searching all day, the next day, or even the day after. She was going to find them, even though the shadows had taken them away from her, she was going to be with them again!
This time, when Coal tried getting up, she did her best at putting as little pressure on her front paw as possible, but the pain still stayed. Coal let out a breath she hadn't realised that she was holding in; she was standing! Her other legs ached from walking so much, and she could feel them wobbling, straining to keep her body up, but they were keeping her up! She gave a little jump of joy, completely forgetting the fact that her paw was hurt, and when she landed, she let out a cry, the pain once again shooting up from her paw through her leg to her shoulder, and once again, she crumbled to the ground. Coal curled up, her whimpering muffled by her fur as she tried to comfort herself from the pain. She wasn't too sure how long had passed, but the pain eventually subsided, and Coal was able to try and stand again. Her paw ached as she stood there, allowing some of her weight onto it, she sucked in a breath, the pain shooting through her again, but slowly fading to a dull ache.
Coal took a step forward, testing her paw to see if it was able to withstand more pressure, and when the pain didn't flare up through her leg, she gave out a joyous cry. She took another step forward, and another, each time she took a step her breathing would quicken when she put pressure on her paw too quickly. Coal was concentrating so hard on taking slow steps, she didn't realise how far she'd gone until she walked into something- something hard. She stumbled back in surprise, realising she had just walked into a tree, and yowled when her paw hit against a root, tripping her up. She fell onto her side, tears blurring her eyesight from the pain in her paw. How was she supposed to find her family if she couldn't even walk? How could she find them if she could walk? After all, she had no idea where she was, no idea what had happened to them, no idea as to how to track anything or anyone. But, she had to try, or else she would never survive. Coal thought back to when the shadows had trapped her, separating her from her family, when she had curled up, scared to death, and realising just how much she needed to be protected. All the times when her Mother was protecting her, she had gotten annoyed at her, but now, Coal would do anything to be protected by her again. 'How about walking?'
Coal nearly leaped out of her fur, making such a sudden movement that her paw began to hurt again, not as painful as before, but still painful. She whipped her head around, searching for the source of the voice, peering into the depths of the shadows. She remembered when the voice in her head had told her never to trust anyone that had anything to do with shadows. The Voice! Coal instantly stopped staring at the shadows, and instead focused, closing her eyes slightly, allowing her to pay attention. 'Who are you?' She asked in her mind.
'That really doesn't matter.' Was all she got in reply, but before she could ask anything else, the voice continued. 'I noticed that you seemed to have lost yourself, and somehow hurt your paw, and I decided that it would be good of me to come and help you.' Coal lay there in silence, registering what the voice had just said. It had said 'come and help you', but how could it do that? It was just a voice, one that kept on appearing and disappearing, but still a voice, and anyway, where did it disappear to? 'I'd much prefer it if you called me a 'him' rather than just 'it'' the voice was polite, but Coal detected a slight edge to it.
"Sorry." Coal mumbled. She was stunned into a silence once again. The voice could somehow read her thoughts, without her knowing; how long had it- he been doing that? What thoughts had he read? What did he know about her? She paused for a second. Had she apologized to the voice, or had she spoken out loud? 'Sorry' She meowed in her mind to the voice. 'That's OK. And, I think that I know you more than you know yourself.' He ended his sentence in a sly tone.
'What?' Coal screeched 'But, how's that possible? I mean, I know nothing about you! For all I know you don't exist!'
'Ah, well, like you thought a little earlier, you don't know how long I've been here, for all you know, I could have just appeared in your mind to comfort you when you got scared, or I could have been here from the moment you were born, maybe even before then, watching everything you did, seeing everything that came to your mind. You see, you don't know, yet I know, which would make me the one who would know more about you than you.'
Coal, once again, couldn't speak, she couldn't even think of a sentence for the strange voice to, according to him, see. She lay there, eyes half closed, thinking over what he had just said. Eventually, thoughts began to spring into her mind. He had said that he would help her, as in help her find her family, she didn't believe him, but like he'd said, he knew more than her, so was it really possible? Could she find those who had been taken by the shadows? 'Yes,' was the reply, which surprised Coal as she hadn't asked him, but if he could read her thoughts, then she really shouldn't be surprised. 'But, there's one thing that you have to do first, before I can help you find your family.'
'What's that?'
'You'll have to walk, and you'll have to start now, or else it'll be too late.' Too late? What did he mean by that? Coal shook her head, like he'd said, she wouldn't be able to find anyone while lying in a heap on the ground.
She opened her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the bright sunlight, then began to untangle herself, hissing each time she moved her front paw. Once fully untangled, she slowly lifted herself up, favouring her paw, and waited until she was certain that her other legs wouldn't collapse beneath her if she tried to walk. 'Hmm...'
'What?' She meowed.
'You really have hurt your paw, maybe you sprained it or something like that...' Sprained her paw? She remembered her Mother saying something to her and Dusk about spraining a paw or something, saying that if either of them did that to themselves, then they should rest for a few days, allowing their paw to heal, maybe eat a poppy seed if it hurt too much... 'OK, ignore I said that, you don't need to rest, in fact, you can't rest, you have to find your family, remember!' Came the voice's rushed reassurance. Although Coal didn't believe him, she knew better than to argue about finding her family, so she pushed the thought of having a sprained paw out of her mind and focused on walking.
Slowly, carefully, Coal began to take a few paw-steps forward, this time focusing on where she was going as much as she was on taking each step. She really didn't want to walk into a tree again. Before she walked too much further, she looked behind her, to where she had woken up. It was a small hollow in the ground, surrounded by large, thick roots that twisted together, forming a barrier between her and whoever tried to hurt her when she was asleep. A few leaves drifted past her, swirling and dancing among the flowers, weaving around blades of grass, and eventually floating away into the distance. The sunlight falling through the branches allowed pretty patterns to form on the ground, a lot like the Hawthorn where she used to sleep, and she marvelled at the way that they looked so strange, yet so real. As she stared at the area around her, she forgot all about the shadows, they were only part of the beautiful forest around her, one of the pieces that completed the puzzle to the wonderland, they were no longer treacherous claws reaching out to her, trapping her and taking away her family, they now seemed like small pools of grey, filling in the spaces, calming Coal's racing heart.
Coal tore her eyes away, and turned around to carry on limping forward, she couldn't stand around all day, staring at the forest around her like she had when they had left her home, she had to just get started, and never stop until she had found her family, not even the shadows could stop her any more! Each step felt like her paw would drop off, but she carried on forward, trying her best to ignore the pain, but each time the pain started it flew up through her leg, and it seemed to strike right into her mind, making sure she knew it was there. She found it more and more difficult to focus on where she was putting her paws as much as it was placing one in front of the other. She found herself in the same position as she had been when she was travelling last night, tripping over every root, falling into every hole and small dip in the ground, finding herself unable to think about anything other than how her muscles ached, and how tired she felt. She knew that she had rested, but it hadn't been enough, and the pain was taking up too much energy, Coal knew that she would have to stop soon.
'No, don't think like that!' The voice yowled, startling Coal out of her trance that was keeping her going, and making her trip over another root, thankfully not falling. 'Hey, why did you do that?' Coal whined. Now, she was one hundred percent aware of the pain in her paw, and she closed her eyes for a few heartbeats, allowing herself to calm down. 'Sorry.' the voice said. 'Just, maybe I can help you with walking. You've managed to come quite far, but you are really too exhausted to be able to make this journey.' He sighed. Coal sat down, resting her paw. 'So, you definitely know where they are then?' she meowed. She wondered what she would say once she'd found them, would they be angry? Relieved? Would they ask how she had found them? Would they believe her if she told them about the voice in her head? Thinking about it, it sounded crazy, just like that dream she had had with the Star-cats, so maybe she should do the same, and not tell them, say that she had followed the setting sun like they had originally planned. 'Well, listening to your thoughts have just told me that you know where your family are too, heading towards the setting sun. Sure, they may be a little off track since they're searching for you, but I bet that heading that way would be your best shot at finding them!' Coal stared at the ground. That was it! The voice was right! She could find her family! She didn't need to track them or anything like that, she could just follow the setting sun!
Coal didn't waste another second, she got to her paws as quickly as she could, and began to wildly walk around, continuously staring up. 'What in the Stars name are you doing?' Came a really confused voice in the back of Coal's mind. 'Looking for a gap in the trees, obviously, how else am I going to see where the sun is?' Coal snapped.
'How about... that one?' He asked. Coal couldn't see him pointing, but felt the direction that he was talking about, and looked over there. Sure enough, there was a large gap in the giant leaf roof that sheltered her, and through it, Coal had a clear view of the sun, not quite reaching the middle of the sky, but not far off from it either. She stared at it for a few heartbeats, thinking of all the times she had watched the setting sun with her family, then heading off to sleep; but then a question formed in her mind. Was it setting, or was it rising? Coal had no idea.
She sat down, looking up at the sky. It was usually around this time that her Mother would go out into the forest and hunt, always bringing back something to eat, even if she was only out for a short amount of time. Her stomach gave a loud rumble, interrupting the sweet silence of the forest, and reminding her of how hungry she was. She glanced down at her belly. 'Wouldn't I have more energy to walk if I had some food?' She asked the voice. There was silence, then came the reply clear in her mind, almost as if someone were actually sat there in front of her, talking. 'I suppose,' He said carefully. 'But, we really need to try and find your family, so we might not have enough time to hunt and eat.'
Coal had no idea why, but she felt a sudden surge of anger towards the voice in her head; maybe it was because he hadn't told her anything about himself, only deciding to talk to her and tell her when a good idea was in her head, only partially helping her. Hunting was a good idea, she knew it, but the voice was saying that it wasn't. 'I don't think anyone would be too happy if I found my family then dropped dead because I haven't eaten! Do you know how long it's been since I last ate, or drank?' She snapped. She had to get her anger out, and yelling at the voice was the best way in her mind to do that.'You had your last meal yesterday morning, and almost drank an entire stream when you fell in one just before you left.' His voice was calm, making the tease even more infuriating. 'Shut up.' Coal grumbled
'Sorry.'
Coal looked up at the sky again. The sun had moved a bit since she had last looked, and she smiled noticing that the sun had been rising, giving her more time to search for her family. She got up and turned in the opposite direction of then sun, and started her journey again. Her paw kept on aching, sometimes it would change into a sharp pain, making her wish she could stop, but she couldn't; she had to find her family! There was silence between her and the voice, but she knew that he was still there, filling up her mind, his silence seemed to drain more energy from her. Coal took a few more steps forward. Every now and then she would check on where the sun was through another gap in the leaf roof just to make sure that she was going the right way. The sun had already reached its highest point, and would soon start to descend, allowing the moon to rise and fill the forest with threatening shadows once again.
'So'
'What?' There was a slight pause before the voice continued.
'I've been thinking,'
'Oh really!' She meowed sarcastically
'And, like I said earlier, maybe I could help you with walking. You're exhausted, and we don't have enough time to eat or rest.'
'How can you help me walk? I know how to place one paw in front of the other!'
'Well, I can do more than just talk to you, you know?' Coal stayed silent. Do more? What could he do? She knew that he could enter and leave her mind, speaking to her and seeing her thoughts as soon as they had reached her mind. Could he do that to other cats as well? Coal had never seen another cat which wasn't her Mother or Dusk, but she had been told stories of all the different types that there were; Ginger, Tortoiseshell, Snowy, Dark Tabby, Smokey and so many more. She had heard that sometimes, their fur could be more than one type, and it could be long, short, or what her Mother had called, a normal fur length, like Coal and Dusk. Coal had always wanted to meet another cat, maybe make a friend who wasn't family, learning about how they lived and what they did every day. Her Mother had said that she used to be part of a small group, where they all helped each other, hunted for on another, defended their home together, did so many things together, they were practically family. She'd never said why she had left, but she had said that she was even happier with them, a real family to protect, hunt for, care for.
'Hello?' Coal jumped. Why did the voice always have to talk so suddenly, with no warning whatsoever? Did he want to give Coal a heart attack? 'Sorry, it's just you zoned out for a bit there, and I couldn't get you to focus on me. But as I was saying, I can help you walk, by leaving you.' Coal stopped walking completely, the shock chased away any anger that was boiling inside of her, replacing it with a sort of numbness. 'L-leave me?' She stuttered.
'Yes, I'm taking up too much of you're energy, and you need it to be able to get to your Family quicker.' Coal felt her insides curl and tie themselves into knots. Why did he have to leave her? She didn't realise it, but she actually liked the voice, someone to talk to, someone to help her. Sure, he was just a voice, but, still. She didn't notice him taking any energy away apart from when he was silent. He couldn't leave, who would be with her then? Would she be on her own? What if the shadows came back, trying to attack her again? Who would help her find her Family? What if she didn't, then she'd be all on her own forever, no friends, no Family, no one to talk to. Coal felt like screaming, but her throat seemed to have closed, not allowing anything to pass through and let the world know how she felt. The horror from the previous night returned, filling her, blocking out any of the good thoughts that Coal used to have, blocking out the voice, the light, the world around her.
She collapsed onto... onto what? Everything around her had disappeared, leaving her in a black chasm, filled only with horror and despair. But there was something solid beneath her, holding her up, keeping her from endlessly falling through the chasm of darkness. Coal clung onto it, digging her claws into whatever it was, preparing to never let go. The shadows have come back. This time, they have managed to attack, and this time, they have taken me as well.
'Coal?' the voice echoed around her, filling her ears, filling her mind. It was full of so much power, echoing in the black chasm, overlapping itself, creating multiple voices, speaking to her from all directions. 'Coal?' It came again, but this time, louder, more forceful. It felt as if someone was actually shaking her, rocking her back and forth, trying to get her attention. But all that was there was her and the voice. 'LEAVE ME ALONE!' She screamed to no one. Why did she say that? She didn't want to be left alone, her only comfort being the shadows all around her, and the echo of the voice still sounding, still filling her mind. 'Help me...' She whispered. What was happening to her? Why was she here? How was she supposed to find her family if the only thing around her was darkness?
'Coal, you need to breathe.' The voice wasn't forceful any more, it held no power in it, and as Coal listened to it, she realised that it had a soothing tone to it, calm. It was like her Mother talking to her, telling her to wake up, to try something new, to cheer her up whenever she and Dusk fought. It was always the way she talked to her when Coal was upset, a way to calm her down, help her breathe. Was that what the voice was doing now? Trying to get her to breathe? He did say that she needed to, so did that mean she wasn't? 'Come on, Coal, just breathe in, and then out.' His voice was so gentle and calming, Coal began to feel herself relax. It filled her up with some sort of warmth, spreading throughout her entire body. She took in a deep breath, allowing the air to rush into her lungs, then slowly let it all out. She took in another one, let that one out, then took another. 'That's it, Coal, just carry on doing that, carry in breathing.'
As Coal carried on doing as she was told, something around her began to change. It was as if the sun were rising, slowly filling the land with light, chasing away the darkness, letting the world around her form again. Instead of black, Coal began to see colours, patches of green dotted here and there, each patch a different shade, filling in the darkness. Coal stared at each one, watching as the shapes began to morph into bushes, grass and trees; butterflies fluttered around her, and she could hear the loud, clear trill of a nearby bird. The ground beneath her paws was cool, refreshing, and the forest was full with life. The darkness had gone, and now the forest was back, keeping her safe, protecting her like a mother and her kit. Coal was still breathing heavily, and she lay there in a heap, waiting until she could breathe normally.
'Are you OK?' Coal didn't jump this time, the voice was full of concern, still gentle and comforting, and was so quite that it was impossible to get scared by it.
'Uh, I-I think I'm OK.' Coal waited a few heartbeats. 'What happened?' She meowed. Even though she was back in the forest, she was still terrified, afraid that it would happen again, and that maybe she wouldn't be able to get back if it did happen. 'It's OK, Coal, there's no need to be afraid. You just... stopped breathing, I guess. You just got so scared when I said that I had to go, that I guess your body couldn't handle it, and you stopped working.' The way he said it just scared Coal even more. 'Stopped working? Do you mean that I could have... could have died?' She meowed weakly.
'No! You were just in too much shock, it happens a lot with cats, and it's just the fact that you stopped breathing nearly made you pass out. You really don't have to be scared, Coal.' She was silent. So, she was OK, she just needed to calm down, then she could go and carry on searching for her family. Alone. No! She couldn't think like that, otherwise what just happened to her might happen again. She thought about the stream back at her old home, the way it was endlessly trickling by, a never ending supply of water, always calm unless touched, always there, always able to calm her down if she was ever angry. It never gave up, never let anything stop it, sometimes strong, yet calm and gentle if it wanted. She had to be like the Stream, she couldn't give up!
Coal felt herself relax. Her breathing was normal. The forest surrounded her, not the chasm. She was safe.
'I'm glad that your feeling better now, Coal.' he said, 'I know that you panicked when I said that I would have to leave you, and I don't want that to happen again, but I still have to go.' It was as if invisible claws were piercing her heart. She didn't want to be left alone, she couldn't look after herself, and what if- 'Stop thinking like that.' He interrupted, 'Otherwise it will happen again. All you need to do is stay calm, walk towards the setting sun, and find your family. Just don't think about anything else, OK?'
'OK.' Coal squeaked. She was still frightened, but the voice was right. She had to stop thinking like that, it was bad for her. It was her imagination that kept on getting her down, it was too vivid, but she couldn't help it. She'd just have to try and ignore it for the rest of her quest to find her family. And she would. She would do anything to be with them again, even stay on her own for a day or two, she would do it! 'OK.' Coal meowed out loud. 'I think I'll be fine if you leave.' she meowed to the voice.
'OK, just remember to not think about it.'
'I won't.' Coal assured him.
'Alright, well, I will be back, just not for a while, you're too tired to have me wondering your mind. Bye.'
'Bye.' And with that, Coal felt the presence of the voice leave her mind, leave her on her own with the forest around her.
Well, how was that? I know, it took me three weeks to write this, but I had to plan this as well, and I am a very unproductive person, so be happy that it didn't take as long as the last ones. But, I've set myself a target to write the next chapter in two weeks, it won't be as big of a chapter as this one (I don't think so anyway) so I may be on time for once! Well, give me any tips if you want to, and if you don't want to then, oh well! I'll see you in hopefully a fortnight! Bye!