Chapter 34

Left Behind


Yos Peonymaid couldn't look away from the dagger in her paw. Just a few hours earlier, the guards (well, only Ayers. Everyone else seemed reluctant) ordered her to go around and kill the other prisoners. She wasn't worried about it, though. For god's sake, they didn't even bother to escort them, so nobeast would know if she was doing her job.

With some of the choices they are making, I wonder if there is a way for the prisoners to outsmart them. That's a hypothetical question, of course. Everybeast would need to work together for that to happen, and I doubt anybody would do that, especially with how much fighting there was at the temple without me having to do anything.

It was every beast for themselves. That's what she thought, at least. It's always been like that in the past, so why would it be any different on this island? It was up to each prisoner to do whatever they could to survive. Some beasts had to work hard for it, and, well, some beasts just got lucky. Yos looked at the rat trudging along in front of her, Crookedfang, and sighed.

I don't understand why Ayers didn't just kill him, but this is fine.

At the very least, Crookedfang had strength. Yos knew she didn't. Then again, it only took one glance at the rat to have doubts he'd be effective in a fight. Even if you ignored that the right side of his body was falling apart, Crookedfang still hadn't gotten over his fugue on the ship. On top of that, he was now acting very twitchy. The rat had taken the lead on their mission, which Yos had a problem with, if only because of where they were going.

"Crookedfang?" Yos spoke up, "Why are we heading back to the temple?"

"I dunno," the rat snapped, his voice laced with worry. "I need t'see fer sure."

Yos gulped. "See what?"

"Wha' happened at d'temple! I dunno where anybeast went or if dey're okay!" Crookedfang stammered incomprehensibly before continuing, eyes twitching between the beach and Yos. "Gurn an' Riyan're gone, d'otters're gone, an' Noruff… I need t'know, alright?"

The mole's vacant stare burned back into Yos' mind, and she shivered. But the only thing worse than Noruth's death was the rat holding a dagger freaking out in front of her, so she kept her mouth shut. Crookedfang looked down at the sand and whimpered, "I shoulda stayed wit' Noruff. I shoulda stayed wit' Vhyn. Why'd I leave 'em? I need t'know what happened t'him."

Yos feigned a sympathetic nod and replied, "That's… um… very admirable of you, but we both already know what happened, right?"

Crookedfang stopped and turned towards Yos. The vole flinched, expecting his gaze to be filled with anger. Instead, there was exhaustion. The rat could only manage to shake his head before continuing onwards. With every step Crookedfang made, he got slower and slower.

When they arrived at the temple, Crookedfang stopped entirely.

An oppressive air filled the temple. Yos felt a tightness in her throat as she took the first step inside the building. Would Crookedfang do something? Was he going to freak out? What would he do if he figured she was partially to blame for what happened at the temple? Yos tucked her dagger in her pocket and padded closer to the body. Crookedfang stood by the entrance for a few seconds before shakily doing the same.

Noruth's body still lay where it fell hours ago. The blood that caked his tunic had dried, and the bolt that jutted from his side was still there. For a while, nobody moved. The two beasts simply stared at the corpse before Crookedfang mustered up the courage to walk up to the mole, crouch next to him, close his eyes, and rest his arms on his chest. The rat muttered something that Yos first assumed was a prayer, but she didn't think Crookedfang was the type to do that. Not because he wasn't nice, but because she didn't think he'd trust in something like that.

Eventually, Crookedfang stood up, turned to Yos, and solemnly asked, "What didja mean by, 'why're ya makin' me do more?' back at d'ship?"

Yos froze. In what little light floated through the entrance, she saw Crookedfang unconsciously fingering the dagger in his paw. Was revenge something he engaged in? She didn't know enough about him to know for sure. What she did know was that the rat was very emotional, a head taller than her, and pretty sturdy. To Yos, he almost looked like a monster with his body covered in bandages and unkempt fur. She wanted to be careful with how she answered.

"They had… um, before you arrived, they had me clean out the… lower… parts."

"D'brig?" Crookedfang tilted his head.

"Yes. 'Tis such a mess down there."

Crookedfang tilted his head. Yos couldn't tell if he was suspicious, but he definitely had something on his mind. The rat asked, "Why're ya helpin' 'em now?"

"Why are you?" Yos countered.

"I dunno," Crookedfang mumbled, ears flattening to the back of his head. "She said I'd, um, I dunno…" The rat trailed off. His ears grew red with shame. "She'd help some beasts."

Yos sighed and fumbled with her poncho before sitting on the steps. "What are we going to do?"

"Whaddya mean?" Crookedfang asked dejectedly.

"I mean about our, um, order. They wouldn't know if we tried to kill anybeast or not, but the faster the other prisoners die, the quicker we can get out of here," Yos explained. She didn't want to kill anybeast herself, but if Crookedfang was willing, she'd go along with him. "Do you want to go through with that?"

Crookedfang stared at Noruth's body for a long while and continued to fidget with his dagger. The rat's tail lashed anxiously behind him, but he eventually turned away from Noruth. "Mebbe."

"Really?" Yos looked up with mild surprise. "You're willing to go along with it?"

"I dunno," The rat repeated once more. "I wanna do sometin' t'help my friends, but I dunno how t'do dat on my own. Dey were right, I can' do anytin' by myself."

Yos narrowed her eyes. Whatever happened to Crookedfang in the few hours after the temple was attacked seemed to sober him up a bit. The rat was actually trying his best to think logically about the situation. Trying is the keyword here. "So, are we both doing this?"

Crookedfang folded his arms across his chest. His gaze still affixed on Noruth. "Have ya ever killed somebeast?" he murmured.

"No," Yos said. I've never stabbed anybeast, so 'tis not like I did anything. "I'm guessing you have?" I mean, come on. Somebeast like him has definitely killed someone.

"Aye," the rat said solemnly. "Well, I ain't know fer sure. I prolly did. Whenever I had t'fight, Tornear told me I didn't hurt 'em too bad, but ya can' slash an' stab beasts an' expect 'em t'always be fine." Crookedfang's breath caught in his throat before continuing. "I don' wanna watch somebeast die. Not again."

In the back of her mind, Crookedfang's words made Yos wonder if anything she did before she arrived here led to somebeast's death. Before she had an answer, though, she stopped thinking about that question. It wasn't as if it mattered right now, anyway. "You'll have to if you want to help your friends."

Crookedfang grimaced and tucked his dagger in his belt. "I don' wanna." The rat slowly backed away from Noruth's corpse before turning towards the entrance. He paused and told Yos, "'Fore we do anytin', I need t'see sometin'."

"What is it?" Yos asked, slightly annoyed.

"Vhyn," Crookedfang choked out. "I can' just leave 'im like dat."

"Vhynias?" Yos' eyes widened. Even though she betrayed the prisoners (well, was it betrayal? It wasn't as if she ever promised to help them), she didn't expect Vhynias to die. "What happened?"

"Somebeast shot 'im," Crookedfang snapped, anger seeping into his voice for the first time since they arrived. "Somebeast shot 'im from d'bushes an' I'm gonna kill 'em. I dunno who did it, an' I dunno why dey didn't kill me, too, but I'm gonna kill 'em. Vhyn didn' deserve t'die, so why did he…?"

Yos nodded in faux agreement, subtly moving her paws towards her dagger. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realise he-"

"Stop," Crookedfang glared at Yos, shutting her down. "Afta' I take care o' Vhyn, I'mma find whoever did dis."

Yos narrowed her eyes. The faster all of the prisoners were taken care of, the sooner she could get out of here. "Even if it was one of the other prisoners?" She asked.

Crookedfang paused. "Do ya tink it was?"

"It could be. Um, after all, they didn't kill you. If it was one of the guards, they wouldn't have let you go, right?"

Crookedfang took a moment to think about it, and when he was done, he asked, "Who'd do sometin' like dat?"

Well, she might as well keep going with this line of thought. It wasn't as if Crookedfang was smart enough to question it anyway. "I… I'd say the two otters. They didn't like you or the other vermin very much."

Crookedfang looked down. From where she stood, Yos could see the look on the rat's face change. His ears flattened, and any anger on his face had been replaced with resignation. The reality of the situation began to set in. If he wanted justice, he'd have to go after somebeast he'd just been working with yesterday.

Of course, Yos didn't believe they killed Vhynias, but what harm would it do her?

"Alright," Crookedfang muttered. "I guess we'll see. I dunno if dey did, but… I dunno. I just dunno."

Yos nodded and motioned for Crookedfang to leave. "Shall we get going?"

The rat shrugged and trudged out of the entrance, looking back once at Noruth before leaving. Yos followed after him. It was up to everybeast to do what they could to survive, and if she wasn't allowed to stay at the ship, Yos' way would be to follow Crookedfang. The rat would be able to compensate for what she lacked in strength.

All it took was for Crookedfang to do the heavy lifting. She'd be fine for now.


Strangely enough, out of everything on the island, the thing that was bothering Bolgash Wolters the most right now was the collar on her neck.

Sure, the wounds and possible infection were bad (emphasis on possible. She still didn't think it was infection but it definitely would make for a better story when she got out), but she felt that she was able to be just as effective with those anyway. The collar, however, was both degrading and infuriating. With no solid goals in mind besides "kill the little otter, mountain hare, and bat" and "eventually find Vhynias", she spent the past 10 minutes sitting in a destroyed house in the town fiddling with the disgusting chunk of metal wrapped around her throat.

"If only I still had that stupid file," she growled, sawing at the collar with a rusty kitchen knife she found instead. Alas, she lost the file when she jumped out the window to escape that otter. Eventually, she got frustrated and chucked the knife to the ground. "Gods. Where's Vhyn when ya need him?"

As amazing as she was, even she had to admit that Vhynias had his use at times. Specifically, it was having the other file. Speaking of which, was the fox still at the temple? Probably. The real question was if that useless little hogmaid was still there. She got pretty angry at her for bringing in that red vest, but what would the hogmaid do about it? Kick her in the shin? Yeah, it wasn't as if somebeast that small could do anything to her.

Bolgash was about to get up and head back to the temple when she heard a door opening. Her ears twitched rapidly as she grabbed her pickaxe and tilted towards a fissure in the wall.

Standing outside right across the street was Ahlrath Palaechia. Bolgash blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. No, it really was the mountain hare.

Bolgash was so stunned that she didn't move. Huh. What're the odds o' this? Didn't think I was this lucky.

Once she shook herself out of shock, she examined the mountain hare closer. Ahlrath was constantly looking over his shoulder, after which he'd scan the town ahead of him.

Bolgash let out a snort. Why was he alone? Where was the bat and the kid? Did he find them dead weight or something? She grabbed her tree branch/cane and was about to confront him when the mountain hare elbowed the wall as hard as he could. A cracking sound echoed throughout the air as a chunk of the building broke off and crumbled to the ground. Bolgash could see blood dripping from his arm as he casually wiped it on his coat and moved on.

"What in hellgates?" She muttered. She knew the mountain hare was stupid, but so much so to randomly slam his arm against the wall? Alright then. She grabbed her pickaxe, pushed herself up using her cane, and hobbled outside to investigate.

The first thing she noticed when she finally pulled herself out the door was that Ahlrath was gone. She growled and kicked the dirt with her footpaw. Why're rabbits so fast? Why can't they just sit there an' wait fer me ter get 'em?

Bolgash glanced at the broken bits of rubble Ahlrath elbowed. "Moron. Hey! Come back here! I ain't done with ya!" She yelled. Twirling the pickaxe in her paw, she limped forward, determined to reach the mountain hare before he got away. Unfortunately, her chance of catching up was dashed before she even had a chance to walk out the door. Still, she kept going.

Eventually, however, the pain in her leg was too much to bear, and she collapsed to the ground. Seething, she pulled herself up a set of cobblestone steps leading to the closest building, a store of some kind. Every bit of movement sent prickles and stabs of pain up her leg, but that didn't deter her. Even after everything was taken from her, if there was one thing Bolgash still had, it was determination.

By the time she made it to a safe spot indoors, hidden from any windows or holes in the walls, she slumped to the floor. Darkness clouded her vision as her body grew heavy.

Alright, just a bit tired. Nothin' too bad. Everybeast gets tired, even me.

She didn't know how long she lay there. However, It couldn't have been more than half an hour before she heard something outside. Bolgash raised her head, eyes narrowed as she looked towards the door.

Bolgash forced herself up with a grunt and limped towards a window. For the second time in the last hour, her luck blessed her. This time, she saw Tiviko Polonuk walking down the street. She kept an eye on him, even as he stopped and turned his back from her.

Tiviko entered the building across the street. Something she immediately noticed was the fact he looked absolutely pissed. So much so that he wasn't even trying to stay quiet. He jerked the door open with a growl and stomped inside before eventually coming back out with some kind of stone. He pulled out his journal from his bag and scribbled something on a page, before chucking the stone to the side and continuing onwards.

She held back a snicker. Did something happen to him? Probably. He was alone in the middle of the abandoned town. Bolgash wondered if it had something to do with the other sounds she heard before Ahlrath and Tiviko arrived (some kid running through the street with reckless abandon), but she couldn't be sure.

As Tiviko headed down the street, he noticed the bits of rubble Ahlrath smashed and stopped. He crouched and eyed the steaks of fresh blood painted on the rock. Bolgash tilted her head with amusement as Tiviko stood up, grabbed his bow, and headed straight in Ahlrath's direction.

"Moron," Bolgash muttered. "Why'd ya want ter lead the wildcat towards ya? Is he stupid?"

She considered going after Tiviko and Ahlrath, but she guessed one of the two would end up dead anyway, even without her help. Let them duke it out, sure, it wasn't her problem right now. Besides, she had more important matters to deal with: finding Vhynias so she could saw her collar off.

Bolgash glanced up at the sky. Although it was faint, the slightest purple and red hues leaked onto the jet-black sky. The sun would be up soon, she was sure of it. She grabbed her pickaxe, limped over to her cane, and pushed herself up. If she wanted to reach the temple, she'd have to get going soon. Still, she felt a bit reluctant to leave the town. Not because she enjoyed it or anything, but because she wouldn't get to see how Ahlrath and Tiviko's feud would go down. The mountain hare seemed to be leading Tiviko towards him, and the two would probably clash soon.

She let out a grim chuckle at the idea of one of them dying and ambled off, leaving the town right before the sun rose on the second day on the island.