Chapter 2- Captured
Raimundo ran out of the cave and began to scuttle down to Clay. The many warrior cats were not far away from Clay, and one particularly large cat was only feet from his heels. Raimundo grabbed a rock and hurled it as hard as he could. He watched the rock strike its mark. One down, a hell of a lot to go, Raimundo thought.
He skidded down the last few feet to Clay, small rocks sliding down under his feet. "Clay, come on!" he yelled.
Clay scrambled upwards towards him, putting out his hand for balance. Raimundo grabbed his outstretched hand and yanked him up the loose stones, which crumbled under his feet. Together, they ran up towards the mountain passageways, the cats snarling right behind them.
"Where's Kimiko?" Clay shouted as they dashed up the steep slope.
"I told her to get a head start," Raimundo called back. Clay was silent for a brief second.
"Good. One of us has to get out of here alive to defeat Chase." Raimundo raised an eyebrow at him. "Just in case we don't make it out," he added quickly.
They were just yards from the cave, the cat's paws nicking their heels as they ran.
"Raimundo," Clay said uneasily. "We can't catch up to Kimiko-they're too fast!"
Raimundo's eyes darkened for a moment. "Then we have to make sure they don't get to Kimiko- come on!" He picked up his speed and dashed twice as fast into the rock passageway, Clay at his side.
"Help me cover the passageway," Raimundo said quickly. He stood in the darkness of the cave, listening to the fast approaching steps of the warrior cats. "We can still get out of here if-"
But he never finished. With a snarl, a cat came running at him and pounced. Raimundo felt the force of the attack snap him off his feet. He banged against the rock with a loud crack and fell to his knees. Seconds later, Clay suffered the same fate.
In an instant, Raimundo was yanked to his feet and slammed against the rock wall again. His eyes went in and out of focus as he locked eye contact with a human warrior, morphed from a warrior cat.
"Where is the third?!" he demanded, shaking Raimundo fiercely. Raimundo groaned as agonizing pain overcame him. He could feel his lip beginning to swell and blood drip down from his forehead, not to mention the excruciating pain in his head.
Raimundo barely stood, his knees shaking and had one hand steadying himself against the wall. He looked up at the warrior, who grimaced and struck him across the face. Raimundo cried out in pain and fell to the floor.
"Where is the third?" he demanded again. He kicked Raimundo in the side. Raimundo stiffened, but kept silent.
Raimundo shakily stood up. He spat out a mouthful of blood at the warriors and weakly smiled. "There is no third," he barely whispered, wiping his mouth with his hand. The warrior's face erupted with anger.
"Liar!" he hissed. "We know there is a third hiding here! Do you think you could hide one of your human traitors from us? Now tell me, where are they?!"
Suddenly, a strange look clouded over Raimundo's eyes. Gasping for air, he fell to the floor, breathing heavily. His eyes flickered, and he lay still.
Clay opened his eyes wildly. "Raimundo?" he said softly. "Raimundo!" He shook the body of the other monk, as if in hope to revive him.
"Leave him!" the warrior growled. With a massive punch to the chest, Clay flew backwards and collapsed on the hard stone. He too laid still.
Abruptly, a faint cry split the silence. The remaining cats cocked their ears to listen, and at once ran down the passage way.
The transformed cat glanced quickly at the still monks. "Why worry about the dead?" he mumbled to himself. "Let's capture the living." He morphed into a large jungle cat and disappeared into the darkness of the passage.
The bodies of two teenage boys lay illuminated by the moonlight. The air was still and quiet as the immense cats vanished into the narrow passage, searching for the third human.
The stillness of the air as interrupted by a quiet, rusty cough. The larger of the two's chest rose up and down slightly as a shadow passed through the moonlight. Clay sat up and looked around, breathing a sigh of relief. The silence cut through the night once more.
A weak, barely audible voice softly echoed around the cave. "Are they gone?"
Clay turned and squinted his eyes at the slowly rising body behind him. "Yup, Raimundo. They're gone."
Raimundo took a deep breath and let the quietness claim the air once more. "Shit," he whispered harshly. "Kimiko."
Kimiko ran through the darkness of the cave, her eyes trying to adjust to the no light. The shadows seemed to mock her as she ran, stumbling alone in the murky depths of the passageway. Her feet connected with something hard, and she fell cruelly against the rock floor.
Her body smarting from the impact and tears in her eyes, she stumbled to get up and leaned against the wall. Kimiko's heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to see where she was going.
Quickly, she began to run again, navigating her way throughout the sudden downward paths and sharp turns. Her heart was pounding fast. Where was Raimundo? He should have gotten here by now.
She could sense that she was near the end of the passage way. Fresh air mingled with the odor of the carved rock and darkness. Once she got to the end, there was about a mile of forest to get across that led to another mountain range. There was an endless series of caves and passages that she knew she could hide in until the warriors passed.
Suddenly, Kimiko felt her feet fly out from under her as the passage made an unexpected descent. She let out a loud cry as she hit the hard rock. Her dagger slipped from her grasp and clattered nosily a few feet away from her.
Kimiko lay still on the ground, her heart pounding in her chest and her body aching with intense pain. Her breathing was irregular as she tried to catch her breath. Slowly, she forced her self up. Feeling around on the cool rock, she located her dagger and stood up painfully.
At once she heard footsteps faintly off behind her. She paused to listen, and sighed with relief. Raimundo and Clay were coming.
Kimiko stopped for a moment, and leaned against the rock wall. She listened to the approaching footsteps. But something was wrong; there were too many. Kimiko's eyes narrowed as she listened. And then, it dawned on her.
Gasping for air as she blindly ran down the passage, Kimiko stumbled along the narrow path. She didn't dare use her element, fearing it would light up the whole passage and give her away. Her heart pounded in her chest as Kimiko's feet hit the hard stone again and again.
A faint light began to dimly shine in front of her, growing more intense as she neared the other side. Within a minute, moonlight exploded into her eyes as the passage came to an end. Kimiko was blind for a few seconds after her eyes adjusted from the pitch black darkness to the shining red light of the dark moon.
Kimiko reached the thick forest and plunged inside, listening to the sounds of the warrior cats behind her. She knew they were quickly catching up.
She was running, faster than she ever had before. The soles of her piteously thin shoes hit the ground again and again. Branches whipped around her ankles and her breath tore at her side.
She could hear them behind her. They were yards, feet, inches away from her.
Coming for her.
She ran faster.
Kimiko felt her pace weaken as she made her way through what used to be a forest. Not only was the dead undergrowth and trees wearing her down, she had been running all right. Her exhaustion was catching up to her.
Dead branches snapped behind her as the warriors neared. Kimiko glanced backwards and let out a small cry. The warrior cats were less than thirty feet behind her.
Kimiko's eyes blurred by the dense limbs and her long black hair whipping around her face. Her feet stumbled against the rough path.
Putting on a burst of energy she knew she didn't have, Kimiko felt her feet slam hard against a rock. She hit the ground hard, but quickly rolled herself into a standing position.
Kimiko was in the middle of a small clearing, the massive warriors surrounding her. Their teeth were barred at her, and they crouched ready to pounce. She narrowed her eyes, breathing heavily.
"Stay back or you die!" She snarled, holding her dagger out forcefully in front of her.
Kimiko locked her eyes with a cat positioned across from her. He growled and sprung out at her. She thrust her dagger forward.
Kimiko found herself face to face with a young human warrior, pressing a deadly sword forcefully against her. She pressed all of her weight and strength against her dagger in return.
The warrior was stronger than she was, and Kimiko felt herself fly off her feet as he threw more of his strength against her. She caught herself on the ground and, quickly but shakily, stood up.
Back on her feet, she swung her dagger at him. He dodged it and within a split second, fiercely thrust his sword at her. Kimiko ducked backwards, but not fast enough. The very tip of his razor-sharp sword sliced cleanly under her left eye. It was a shallow cut, but already Kimiko could feel the blood begin to flow.
Taking advantage of her weak moment, the warrior rushed forward and grabbed Kimiko. One of his thick arms went tightly around her neck. She cried out and immediately began to struggle ferociously. His grip tightened as Kimiko kicked him as hard as she could.
As she gasped for air, the Warrior pulled out something gold from his waist. Kimiko bit him on the arm, but he just grunted. He mumbled a few words, and slashed the object through the air. A portal instantly appeared.
Kimiko's eyes widened and she resisted him even more as he dragged her forward through the opening. Closing her eyes, she felt the familiar rush of the Golden Tiger Claws.
Her stomach dropped as she instantly sensed a change of surrounding. No longer was she standing in the dead forest. Cold drifted all around her, and she shivered in spite of herself.
Quickly opening her eyes, she faced a large stone wall. The stones were slimy, cold and damp. Torches positioned all around her cast off an eerie light. Many large wooden doors continued down the empty hall way Kimiko was standing in. She was in a dungeon; and she knew where that dungeon was.
Kimiko had barely enough time to sense all this as the warrior dragged her through an open door. He threw her inside. Kimiko slammed into the stone wall hard, and crumpled to the ground. In an instant, she was back on her feet.
She tore forward just as the warrior cat slammed the door shut and locked it.
"NO!" she screamed, banging her fists on the heavy wooden door. "LET ME OUT!" Kimiko looked around for her dagger, but saw that it was gone.
Kimiko slammed her fists on the door, "LET ME GO!" she screamed again. She banged her fists even harder and faster, even though she knew no one would come. The skin around her hands quickly cracked, and blood began to silently fall to the cold stone floor.
Standing back, her eyes ablaze, Kimiko raised her bleeding hands. "FIRE!" she cried. Large angry flames of fire erupted from her hands and around her. The flames surrounded her and grew intense as her anger raged. She let out an anguished laugh as she directed her energy towards the door. It blazed in fire, but was not affected.
Suddenly, immense pain shot through her body. The blaze disappeared as the lights from her eyes faded. Letting out a small cry, she crumbled to the ground. Sobs shook her entire body, and tears blinded her eyes. Her breath was slow and irregular.
Unwillingly, Kimiko's vision went in and out of focus as her exhaustion overcame her. She slumped to the ground and lay still. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her weak breathing.
All was silent as a single tear ran down her cheek.