Blossompaw's Escape
Part One: The Capture
The clanging of metal and the sound of claws scraping at glass startled Blossompaw awake. Her blue eyes grew large in terror as she saw the three twolegs enter the room. She didn't know what time it was, her sense of time had vanished the instant the door to the windowless room sealed shut. It must have been mid day or sun high if the twolegs were up. Or perhaps they were nocturnal and it was moon high, or maybe they were just monsters who never slept.
All of the other animals were in a panic as the twolegs circled the room. They were like vultures, waiting to pick out their next victim, a piece of prey. They were circling carnivores, ready to strike.
Blossompaw felt herself shrink into the far corner of her cage, trying to make herself as small as possible. It was to no avail, she had caught the female twolegs attention. She walked over to Blossompaw's cage, her stride short and firm. She was sure footed, the type of person who had grim determination. She turned the clamp and the cage door swung open.
Blossompaw flattened her white ears against her skull and let out a low menacing growl which quickly evolved into a sharp hiss. The twolegs hand was creeping into the enclosed space, Blossompaw's back was against the wall. She shot out her paw, claws unsheathed, and swatted the twolegs hand. Her claws made contact with soft skin. It tore delicately underpaw and crimson drops oozed from the wounds.
Before she could strike again the twoleg had Blossompaw in a death grip, her large spindly hand wrapped itself around the apprentices body. Something sharp entered her body, she saw a needle piercing her stomach and her eyes rolled back into her head in unconsciousness.
She woke up inside another room, it was all cement and gray. In the center of the room was a lake, a square pool of water. Blossompaw had no idea how deep it was, nor did she want to find out. The twoleg was stroking her back. Her long pale fingers scratched Blossompaws neck soothingly. The twoleg lessened her grip on the cat like she was about to release her. Blossompaw hung on out of shear nervousness. A strong smell of chemicals wafted out of the pool and made her eyes water.
The twoleg disentangled Blossompaw from her and dropped her right into the pit of water. Blossompaw hit with a splash and submerged. Her eyes burned and her body stung. She broke the surface quick enough and sucked in a huge gulp of air. Her short legs churned in the water as she swam in circles. She wasn't good at swimming, she was only staying afloat on instinct.
Seaclan cats were strong swimmers, they could fight the tide to catch small fish and bring in muscles. Blossompaw was from Ravenclan, she was good at climbing trees and stalking through undergrowth, those skills would be useless to her here.
Blossompaw paddled laps around the pool, afraid if she stopped swimming she would sink right to the bottom. But she was becoming fatigued, her focus was dimming. It didn't help there was a ticking thing on the wall, every minute or so it would buzz and the twoleg would write something down.
A cramp shot through Blossompaw's leg and she froze. She bobbed for a second before the weight of her water filled fur drug her back under the waters. The cramp spread up her leg and into her stomach, immobilizing her. It hurt to move. She tried to kick towards the surface but gave up and resigned herself to drowning.
It isn't so bad down here...it's almost serene. Peaceful even. The thoughts were lazy and drifted about her mind. Then she couldn't hold her breath any longer, bubbles escaped her lips and her lungs begged for a gulp of air. Blossompaw wouldn't give in. As a kit she had fallen into a creek and breathed in water, the pain was indescribable. The water seemed to go into her brain and she felt her chest collapse.
She assured herself she would not feel that pain again, she would suffocate herself before breathing water, she was a warrior - not a fish.
Something cold and metal scooped Blossompaws limp body out of the water. It was a net with a long pole attached. The female twoleg was staring at her with apparent boredom. Blossompaw opened her mouth one let out a loud gasp as she tried to take in as much air as she could. The twoleg plucked her out of the net and dropped her on a hard table where Blossompaw spluttered for a good five minutes. Eventually she was taken back to her previous cage.
Blossompaw sunk onto the mat, grateful for the small cushion when at first she had dismissed it. Her muscles ached and she was sore all over. Her head was spinning from the oxygen deprivation she had endured. She could hear Chance trying to speak to her, his raspy words filled her ears and made her head hurt more. She couldn't make sense of his muddled words. Why was he speaking so incoherently?
Over time his voice became clearer and she realized he was speaking normally, she was just in shock.
"Are you okay?" he repeated.
"I...I don't know," Blossompaw answered truthfully.
"What did they do to you, you smell like water," Chance asked. Blossompaw felt her legs trembling.
"They tried to kill me," she whispered hoarsely.
"No, if they wanted you dead you would be. They did something worse than simply killing you, they tortured you. And I fear they will do it again," his voice was solemn as he spoke the truth.
"But why..." she was afraid and confused. Why were twolegs so cruel?
"Twolegs have there reasons, even if we do not understand them. Perhaps it is research, animal testing. I used to live with twolegs, the neighborhood dogs spoke of evil places like this,"Chance rasped.
"Then what we must do is simple. We must escape,"
Blossompaw had promised herself she would be strong and endure whatever tests the twolegs came up with. She told herself they were collecting research on pain, and thus they did not want her dead, only hurting. If she could survive that then she would live.
But she knew there was only so long anyone could survive being tortured. Some animals had already given in to death and snapped, others had died in experiments. Chance had suspicions about what happened to the animals that never returned from the labs, he reluctantly explained his fears to Blossompaw.
"They don't want us dead, you said so yourself," Blossompaw protested as Chance explained the disappearances of several dogs and cats. His eyes were sorrowful.
"Accidents happen, sometimes it is too late to pull someone out of danger,"
"But-" Blossompaw didn't want to believe him. He was right of course, and someday she knew she would join them in death. Perhaps escape was impossible. Perhaps they were already dead. "But what happens to the bodies?" she questioned instead. Back in the clans dead warriors received vigil by the clan and a ceremonious burial so they could be welcomed to Starclan. She doubted the white coats preformed such honored rituals.
"Burned, most likely. Burying them takes too much work. Places like this have furnaces, a room where a contained fire will turn everything to ash,"
"That's monstrous!" Blossompaw cried. Chance didn't dignify her with a response. Everything that had happened since their abduction had been monstrous. Blossompaw's blue eyes narrowed, deep in thought. Their escape would have to be figured out as soon as possible. Chance had spread the message to all of the dogs, and Blossompaw to all the cats. Everyone was thinking their hardest of a plan. They had yet to formulate a single plausible idea.
"We need hope right now, more than a plan for escape," she sighed to herself. Chance let her words sink in.
"Hope is exactly it, instead of waiting for death we need to be inspired for life,"
His words comforted the young apprentice. Chance was clearly wise and ominous at times, despite his snarky attitude. If hope was what they needed they Blossompaw would make sure that was what they got. She settled herself into a comfortable position in her cage, with her paws tucked under her.
"There are many legends of the clans, how they formed, who created them, and how. Most are fabricated tails...but there must of course be one true story," Blossompaw's voice rang out about the room, in a deep and intriguing tone. She immediately caught the attention of all the animals. Chance whispered translations quietly to the dogs as Blossompaw continued the story.
"One legend, one of the oldest, simply tells of how the four founders of Cedarclan, Ravenclan, Seaclan, and Ashclan, met. Raven was a rogue who wandered into the silent forests, mysterious places devoid of life. He found Cedar and his daughter Sea, who had also gotten lost in the silent forests. A cat came to them in a dream, telling them they were brought here to bring life to the forest again. By introducing clans to the area other life would come in the form of prey,"
Blossompaw had rapt attention. All eyes were glued to her, curious about the story she was weaving.
"As the tale goes, the three original clans were formed. But with the three leaders as Seastar Ravenstar and Cedarstar, they had to sever the bond they had formed to focus on their own clans prosperity. Cedarstar cut ties with his daughter, but both were pained by the separation. It had to be done for the good of their clans however. But then Seastar sought solace in Ravenstar, who had fallen in love with her.
Cedarstar was enraged when he found out about this betrayal. Why should he have to sever the bond with his daughter when Ravenstar didn't? The two toms fought in an ugly feud, nearly claiming both of their lives. Seastar knew she had caused this turmoil and she would have to undo it otherwise their new clans would fall. Starclan, the ancestors of the three original clans, sent another cat to the silent forests.
His name was Ash, he was sent to bring peace. But he brought war instead. His ambitions were to claim the forests and the beaches. The war ravaged relentlessly. Eventually all the sides realized it was a loosing battle, they would all perish if peace was no resolved. They agreed to meet on the fortnight to discuss how to handle the situation. Starclan had plans of their own. The starry ancestors realized the leaders would never be able work things out, Ashclan had brought only more trouble. They must be punished along with Seastar Ravenstar and Cedarstar.
A great fire sprang fourth from the earth, vanquishing all of Ashclan in the lava flows. The other three leaders exiled themselves in shame out of the destruction and havoc they had wrought on their beloved clans. The dissipated back into the cities, never to be heard from again," the story ended and silence hung over everyone heads. Hushed murmurs descended int eh ranks of cages.
"What happens to the remaining clans?" one voice demanded.
"Yah! And Sea Raven and Cedar can't just abandon their own clans like that, who will lead them?"
"Tell us!"
Blossompaw blinked at the impact of her story, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. This was the hope they needed, her clans would give them hope to survive.
"I will tell the next part of the story tomorrow. In the mean time, keep thinking of escape. When we get out of here, I will show you my three clans," Blossompaw promised devoutly. Suddenly the door opened and the excitement that had been almost tangible int eh air vanished like lifting fog. Blossompaw didn't need to look to know the white coats were entering the room. Their feet clacked softly all the way to her cage before stopping.
The female twoleg stared at her intently until the apprentice dropped her gaze. Her vicious eyes seemed to say You will never escape.
The cage door swung open and Blossompaw was removed and taken from the room, along with several other animals. Their next trials awaited them.
