Post by Renn on Jan 2, 2006 12:55:35 GMT -5
[glow=purple,2,300]“Sue!” I was running down a muddy path, surrounded by clumps of nettle, thin branches that whip back into your face when you push them forward. My bare legs were bleeding from many cuts and scratches, several places swollen by nettle stings. It was evening, getting darker by the minute and the first thin layer of frost was dusting the forest. “Sue!”
Then I saw her. She was lying on the ground; her inky-black hair knotted and caked with mud in several places. I dropped down into a half crouch, trying to get down to her level without hurting my tender legs. Her eyes were squeezed shut, underlined by dark shadows as if she had not slept for ages, mud streaked along her face and neck, darkening her pale skin. She was cut all over, the blood tattooing her body in crimson stains, soaking the ripped cloth that was wrapped around her small frame.
I sank down beside her, balancing on the balls of my feet. The barks of the hounds that chased me were piercing the silence, the shouts of the humans, the pounding of the horses’ hooves, all the noises terrifying me, but Sue held me back, the very essence of what the beasts would do to her: lock her up, torture her, test her and slice up a few limbs, leaving enough to keep her alive. So I ignored the hunt behind me, I grabbed Sue’s shoulders and hauled her up, leaning her on me. Her head was hanging down by mine, her tangled mane of hair hiding her face, a small tendril flicking my chest.
With Sue leaning on me, I began to run, dragging Sue’s feet along the stones that cut me. Her head was flying around, her hair whipping my face, stinging my eyes as I ran. Suddenly, her eyes opened, staring straight ahead, their sky blue iris so pale that she looked blind. The Hunt was catching up, one hound further forward than the rest, a great black and brown beast snapping at my heels. He could have easily caught me, torn my throat out, but he was under orders from the humans, to haunt my footsteps until the rest caught up or I changed. I could not afford to change if I wanted to keep Sue, to save her from being sliced.
She was breathing, strangled coughs, but still breathing. The dog was snapping at her heels too, trying to drag her away from me, to bring her back to his Master. I threw Sue forward into a clump of soft ferns, spun round on my heel and kicked out, my foot striking the brute on his maw, shocking him out of the chase. Sue was lying in a huddle, the cloth and the ferns hiding her from his searching eyes. I lashed out again, this time with my hand, grabbing the soft flap of skin that hid his ear, and pulled it sharply down, ripping it slightly. Loosening my grip, the hound flicked his head back and dark red blood spattered my face, the hound backed off, whimpering, searching for the Pack.
I grabbed Sue again, leaning her against me as I kept on running, deeper into the dark forest. Sue was still too weak to run, placing her whole weight on my shoulder, a burden that I was happy to bear, as we continued forward. I fought a hound, The thought was spinning around and around in my head, so clear in my mind that whenever I blinked I saw it imprinted on my eyelids. And I won…
The outraged shout dragged me out of my thoughts. Obviously the Master had found his beloved hound, and would now crave revenge. It hadn’t occurred to me that by fighting back I would place a definite death sentence on my head, probably on Sue’s as well. She was breathing better now, harsh shallow breaths that hurt my ears, but she needed to get back. There was a muddy brook to my right, running along the path. Desperately, I leapt diagonally into it, breaking the scent trail. Beyond the brook was a net of brambles, and I dived under them, welcoming the closeness of branches. Even if the dogs found us, they would not be able to get under the branches. However, it was only temporary, for the humans would have shock-sticks.
That was our word for them, but the humans called them Chargers. I shivered as I remembered what they looked like. They were similar to rifles, twin silver barrels, each one with a thick pointed wire sticking out, a red laser tracking device so that they could shoot a running target. All a human had to do was pull a trigger, and one wire would be thrust into the air, become embedded in the flank of the victim, electrocuting the victim, paralysing them so that the humans could drag it off. Shock-sticks were used on us alone, not one member of the human race was absent from a shock-stick, either a pistol-type one to defend themselves, or proper hunting rifle-types, ones that professional hunters never went without.
“C-Caiman…” The strangled calling of my name disturbed my thoughts. Sue was sitting up and looking at me, her pale eyes intense with pain. “Leave…leave me…they can’t hurt me anymore,”
“No!” My voice was weak and hoarse from the running. “I won’t leave you. I won’t let you die.” Sue laughed, a series of gasping coughs that rattled out of her.
“It’s too late for me,” She said, suddenly serious. “I can’t…can’t live after this.”
Her shirt had slipped down, revealing her abdomen and chest. She was bruised all over, as if she had been hit over and over again. Embedded in the soft tissue of her left breast was a dart. She had been shot by a Charger, at least a few days ago. The wound was greenish-yellow, the infection spreading throughout her, blood hard and dry around the hole.
“What happened…?”
“Before you found me…a few days ago, I was caught by a human…he shot me, aiming at my…stomach…but I slipped and it caught me. I had been…looking after my baby brother…feeding him myself…I hid him…in the ferns, eighty lopes from here. Please find him…look after him, Caiman, please!”
“I…I can’t leave you,” Why was my voice faltering? In our Blood Pact we had sworn to act like the other, to become closer than sisters, so close that we would know the inside-outs of each other’s lives. And she had kept this brother a secret.
“Caiman, find him!” Her voice was stronger now, her blue eyes flashing.
“I…Okay, I’ll find him, Sue,” She knew I was lying, knew the anger I felt burn away at my heart as I thought of her breaking the Blood Pact.
“Swear it…”
“I swear it by…by…us!” My voice was fierce now, matching the look in her eyes. I had sworn, my anger had been kept at bay long enough for me to promise her.
The shouts of the humans were closer now; the yelps of the foolish hounds and the pounding of hooves were brushed aside by the sharp crack of a shock-stick. Sue looked up at me, her face frantic with worry.
“Remember, eighty lopes, to the south. Go, now!” She was pulling her frail body forward, baring her teeth at me, her other half was fighting through, the madness of a petrified creature showing. I scrambled up, ignoring the screams my muscles hurled at me. Stumbling forward, I reached down and hugged her, careful not to squeeze to tight. She hugged me back, shocking me with the strength in her thin arms.
I was reluctant to let go, clinging to her as if I could save her. But the instincts of a wild animal were really showing now, I could see it in her eyes; she knew she was dying and wanted to get it over with. Suddenly, Sue pulled me down and kissed both my cheeks, saying goodbye in our customary fashion. Tears were streaming down my face, hers too, creating little lines of light in the mud and blood that stained our faces. Then Sue did tradition and broke the Blood Pact, for if one were to die with the Blood Pact still on them, they would eventually drive the other part of the Blood Pact mad. She reached down and grabbed a sharp stone, one end carved to a point. We had them buried all of the forest, ready to be used if a Blood Pact needed to be broken. Exposing her bare arm, Sue cut through her skin, twirling around, wiping away the blood that spilled. The mark she cut was a rough outline of an oval, matching the scarlet stone she had on her neck, tied with a thong of otter hide. Tearing her crimson stone of her neck, Sue pushed it into the wound she had cut, staining the ruby dark red. Sue grabbed my finger and pressed it down onto the stone, breaking the Blood Pact. My stone suddenly fell tom the ground, smashing on the hard earth. It was done.
Pushing myself up from the ground, I took one last look at Sue, before staggering backward, limping into a clump of sweet-smelling plants. It was jasmine, trailing along a large hollowed out log. Backing into it, I waited a few moments, listening for the sounds of traps, and changed. A fire flickering through the golden irises of my eyes, I could not tear my gaze away from Sue.
The dogs were there now, surrounding the brambles, somehow over-looking my scent. I looked down and saw mushrooms; scores and scores of mushroom sprouting up from the log sides, surrounding me like a giant halo. The first human arrived, dressed up in his lilac jacket and fancy jodhpurs and long boots, all of which matched the same shade of lilac as the jacket. It was strange, but we can’t see lilac very well, it sort of blends in to our vision line, blinding us to the deadly humans who wore them. The horse the human sat astride was a magnificent, mighty bay beast, hooves pounding the ground, like thunder. I saw how close his flesh was to the skin, so easy to sink my jaws into, feel the blood gushing down my throat… The arrival of another human dragged me away from my fantasy. This time it was a lady, with long chestnut hair falling down her back and bright green eyes. Suddenly she turned and looked in my direction, right at me, green eyes glittering with dangerous power.
The man uncertainly enquired on her sudden interest in a hollowed log, and she laughed and turned back to Sue. The rest had arrived by this time, each one astride a glorious mount, a whole herd that would have fed me for at least six Moons. Each one of them held a flare, old age yet with good range. Raising the flares to the sky, the humans shot as one, filling the air with red dye that hung in a mist, spreading throughout the forest and alerting any air-vehicle that may be crossing the area. Soon the news would be beamed along the world, a news flash would break any program on TV.
Still laughing, the red-haired lady pointed her Charger at Sue. It was different from the others, coal black and huge, and the sort that could be used to take out an elephant, a bazooka Charger. Sue cowered for a few moments, but picked herself up and sprang at the closest horse, a dapple-grey mare, causing the beast to spook and rear up, hooves flailing. The rider was flung from his seat and lying on the ground, groaning. Sue kept on at the horse, scaring the mare until it raced away, running over the man. The sickening crack of bones and muscle delighted me; it served them right for hunting our kind, exterminating us like rats.
The lady had stopped laughing now. She was aiming at Sue’s dancing body; she pulled the trigger…Sue stopped leaping about. She froze in mid-jump and fell to the ground. There were purple marks under each eye, darkening by the second until they were as black as the Charger that had shot her down. I felt the agonising pull at my heart as the hounds enveloped her still body. I couldn’t look anymore; instead I launched my lupine body forward, racing past the scene that had happened before me.
A great cry went up and the chase was on again. I swerved through the forest, leading the chase off. I headed south-east first, then swerved dramatically until I was going north, then changed direction and doubled-back, until I reached the hollowed log again.
Sue was gone. The only thing left of the scrap was a stain of blood and a used flare cartridge. I couldn’t bear to look at it; instead I raised my head to the sky, opened my maw and howled. My melody rippled through the forest, alerting others to the death of one of our kind, a lovely wolf song.
My silver fur was stained by the red dye that hung in the air, stinging my eyes and ears, the scent sickening. Pointing my snout south, I started running, steadying myself in a lope. Eighty lopes, that was what Sue had said, eighty lopes. A lope is five lupine strides when running; it was the easiest measurement to remember for my kind, as we don’t bother with pointless centimetres and millimetres. Not slowing, I lifted my head and sniffed, searching for the scent of a baby. There was a small trace of baby-scent, its milky flavour creeping over my tongue when I opened my maw.
It was streaming from a nearby rock. As I approached a little scream pierced the silence and I jumped back, startled at the sudden noise. Changing again to my other half, I scrambled forward, reaching out with scratched hands to pull away the tangle of thorns. The rock was split down the middle, a wide space, just big enough to fit a cat, and lying there, shrouded by cloth, was a little baby. A tuft of inky black hair sprouted from its scalp and it blinked up at me with bright blue eyes, darker than Sue’s but with a definite similarity. His lips were a light pink, protruding in as he surveyed me with those lovely eyes. I felt as if I could drown in those aqua pools; just take one look to find myself loving him, a bond strengthening between us. It occurred to me that my old Blood Pact with Sue would have made it easier for her relatives and I to bond.
I crept forward on my cut knees, reaching in to pick him up. The baby also reaches, clinging to my arms. His grip hurt slightly, but I swallowed the pain and gently lifted him up, clutching his soft skin and the cloth that was wrapped around him. He stared nudging my chest with his mouth, his hunger blatant as he struggled to feed. I slipped out my breast from the cloth I wore and he latched on, suckling. His hunger was great and it was a few minutes before he decided to let go, his breathing harsh as he regained his breath.
I gently let him lie in my arms, resting his head in the crook of my elbow. Somehow managing to get to my feet, I began to limp forward, the wounds and nettle stings still causing me pain. The sky was getting darker, the first few stars twinkling and the sickle moon hovering above us. The baby was sleeping, whimpering slightly and occasionally twitching a limb. His shock of black hair tickled my chin as I bent my head and kissed his forehead, breathing in his milky smell.
“Toby,” I whispered, “That is what I shall call you: Toby.”[/glow]
Then I saw her. She was lying on the ground; her inky-black hair knotted and caked with mud in several places. I dropped down into a half crouch, trying to get down to her level without hurting my tender legs. Her eyes were squeezed shut, underlined by dark shadows as if she had not slept for ages, mud streaked along her face and neck, darkening her pale skin. She was cut all over, the blood tattooing her body in crimson stains, soaking the ripped cloth that was wrapped around her small frame.
I sank down beside her, balancing on the balls of my feet. The barks of the hounds that chased me were piercing the silence, the shouts of the humans, the pounding of the horses’ hooves, all the noises terrifying me, but Sue held me back, the very essence of what the beasts would do to her: lock her up, torture her, test her and slice up a few limbs, leaving enough to keep her alive. So I ignored the hunt behind me, I grabbed Sue’s shoulders and hauled her up, leaning her on me. Her head was hanging down by mine, her tangled mane of hair hiding her face, a small tendril flicking my chest.
With Sue leaning on me, I began to run, dragging Sue’s feet along the stones that cut me. Her head was flying around, her hair whipping my face, stinging my eyes as I ran. Suddenly, her eyes opened, staring straight ahead, their sky blue iris so pale that she looked blind. The Hunt was catching up, one hound further forward than the rest, a great black and brown beast snapping at my heels. He could have easily caught me, torn my throat out, but he was under orders from the humans, to haunt my footsteps until the rest caught up or I changed. I could not afford to change if I wanted to keep Sue, to save her from being sliced.
She was breathing, strangled coughs, but still breathing. The dog was snapping at her heels too, trying to drag her away from me, to bring her back to his Master. I threw Sue forward into a clump of soft ferns, spun round on my heel and kicked out, my foot striking the brute on his maw, shocking him out of the chase. Sue was lying in a huddle, the cloth and the ferns hiding her from his searching eyes. I lashed out again, this time with my hand, grabbing the soft flap of skin that hid his ear, and pulled it sharply down, ripping it slightly. Loosening my grip, the hound flicked his head back and dark red blood spattered my face, the hound backed off, whimpering, searching for the Pack.
I grabbed Sue again, leaning her against me as I kept on running, deeper into the dark forest. Sue was still too weak to run, placing her whole weight on my shoulder, a burden that I was happy to bear, as we continued forward. I fought a hound, The thought was spinning around and around in my head, so clear in my mind that whenever I blinked I saw it imprinted on my eyelids. And I won…
The outraged shout dragged me out of my thoughts. Obviously the Master had found his beloved hound, and would now crave revenge. It hadn’t occurred to me that by fighting back I would place a definite death sentence on my head, probably on Sue’s as well. She was breathing better now, harsh shallow breaths that hurt my ears, but she needed to get back. There was a muddy brook to my right, running along the path. Desperately, I leapt diagonally into it, breaking the scent trail. Beyond the brook was a net of brambles, and I dived under them, welcoming the closeness of branches. Even if the dogs found us, they would not be able to get under the branches. However, it was only temporary, for the humans would have shock-sticks.
That was our word for them, but the humans called them Chargers. I shivered as I remembered what they looked like. They were similar to rifles, twin silver barrels, each one with a thick pointed wire sticking out, a red laser tracking device so that they could shoot a running target. All a human had to do was pull a trigger, and one wire would be thrust into the air, become embedded in the flank of the victim, electrocuting the victim, paralysing them so that the humans could drag it off. Shock-sticks were used on us alone, not one member of the human race was absent from a shock-stick, either a pistol-type one to defend themselves, or proper hunting rifle-types, ones that professional hunters never went without.
“C-Caiman…” The strangled calling of my name disturbed my thoughts. Sue was sitting up and looking at me, her pale eyes intense with pain. “Leave…leave me…they can’t hurt me anymore,”
“No!” My voice was weak and hoarse from the running. “I won’t leave you. I won’t let you die.” Sue laughed, a series of gasping coughs that rattled out of her.
“It’s too late for me,” She said, suddenly serious. “I can’t…can’t live after this.”
Her shirt had slipped down, revealing her abdomen and chest. She was bruised all over, as if she had been hit over and over again. Embedded in the soft tissue of her left breast was a dart. She had been shot by a Charger, at least a few days ago. The wound was greenish-yellow, the infection spreading throughout her, blood hard and dry around the hole.
“What happened…?”
“Before you found me…a few days ago, I was caught by a human…he shot me, aiming at my…stomach…but I slipped and it caught me. I had been…looking after my baby brother…feeding him myself…I hid him…in the ferns, eighty lopes from here. Please find him…look after him, Caiman, please!”
“I…I can’t leave you,” Why was my voice faltering? In our Blood Pact we had sworn to act like the other, to become closer than sisters, so close that we would know the inside-outs of each other’s lives. And she had kept this brother a secret.
“Caiman, find him!” Her voice was stronger now, her blue eyes flashing.
“I…Okay, I’ll find him, Sue,” She knew I was lying, knew the anger I felt burn away at my heart as I thought of her breaking the Blood Pact.
“Swear it…”
“I swear it by…by…us!” My voice was fierce now, matching the look in her eyes. I had sworn, my anger had been kept at bay long enough for me to promise her.
The shouts of the humans were closer now; the yelps of the foolish hounds and the pounding of hooves were brushed aside by the sharp crack of a shock-stick. Sue looked up at me, her face frantic with worry.
“Remember, eighty lopes, to the south. Go, now!” She was pulling her frail body forward, baring her teeth at me, her other half was fighting through, the madness of a petrified creature showing. I scrambled up, ignoring the screams my muscles hurled at me. Stumbling forward, I reached down and hugged her, careful not to squeeze to tight. She hugged me back, shocking me with the strength in her thin arms.
I was reluctant to let go, clinging to her as if I could save her. But the instincts of a wild animal were really showing now, I could see it in her eyes; she knew she was dying and wanted to get it over with. Suddenly, Sue pulled me down and kissed both my cheeks, saying goodbye in our customary fashion. Tears were streaming down my face, hers too, creating little lines of light in the mud and blood that stained our faces. Then Sue did tradition and broke the Blood Pact, for if one were to die with the Blood Pact still on them, they would eventually drive the other part of the Blood Pact mad. She reached down and grabbed a sharp stone, one end carved to a point. We had them buried all of the forest, ready to be used if a Blood Pact needed to be broken. Exposing her bare arm, Sue cut through her skin, twirling around, wiping away the blood that spilled. The mark she cut was a rough outline of an oval, matching the scarlet stone she had on her neck, tied with a thong of otter hide. Tearing her crimson stone of her neck, Sue pushed it into the wound she had cut, staining the ruby dark red. Sue grabbed my finger and pressed it down onto the stone, breaking the Blood Pact. My stone suddenly fell tom the ground, smashing on the hard earth. It was done.
Pushing myself up from the ground, I took one last look at Sue, before staggering backward, limping into a clump of sweet-smelling plants. It was jasmine, trailing along a large hollowed out log. Backing into it, I waited a few moments, listening for the sounds of traps, and changed. A fire flickering through the golden irises of my eyes, I could not tear my gaze away from Sue.
The dogs were there now, surrounding the brambles, somehow over-looking my scent. I looked down and saw mushrooms; scores and scores of mushroom sprouting up from the log sides, surrounding me like a giant halo. The first human arrived, dressed up in his lilac jacket and fancy jodhpurs and long boots, all of which matched the same shade of lilac as the jacket. It was strange, but we can’t see lilac very well, it sort of blends in to our vision line, blinding us to the deadly humans who wore them. The horse the human sat astride was a magnificent, mighty bay beast, hooves pounding the ground, like thunder. I saw how close his flesh was to the skin, so easy to sink my jaws into, feel the blood gushing down my throat… The arrival of another human dragged me away from my fantasy. This time it was a lady, with long chestnut hair falling down her back and bright green eyes. Suddenly she turned and looked in my direction, right at me, green eyes glittering with dangerous power.
The man uncertainly enquired on her sudden interest in a hollowed log, and she laughed and turned back to Sue. The rest had arrived by this time, each one astride a glorious mount, a whole herd that would have fed me for at least six Moons. Each one of them held a flare, old age yet with good range. Raising the flares to the sky, the humans shot as one, filling the air with red dye that hung in a mist, spreading throughout the forest and alerting any air-vehicle that may be crossing the area. Soon the news would be beamed along the world, a news flash would break any program on TV.
Still laughing, the red-haired lady pointed her Charger at Sue. It was different from the others, coal black and huge, and the sort that could be used to take out an elephant, a bazooka Charger. Sue cowered for a few moments, but picked herself up and sprang at the closest horse, a dapple-grey mare, causing the beast to spook and rear up, hooves flailing. The rider was flung from his seat and lying on the ground, groaning. Sue kept on at the horse, scaring the mare until it raced away, running over the man. The sickening crack of bones and muscle delighted me; it served them right for hunting our kind, exterminating us like rats.
The lady had stopped laughing now. She was aiming at Sue’s dancing body; she pulled the trigger…Sue stopped leaping about. She froze in mid-jump and fell to the ground. There were purple marks under each eye, darkening by the second until they were as black as the Charger that had shot her down. I felt the agonising pull at my heart as the hounds enveloped her still body. I couldn’t look anymore; instead I launched my lupine body forward, racing past the scene that had happened before me.
A great cry went up and the chase was on again. I swerved through the forest, leading the chase off. I headed south-east first, then swerved dramatically until I was going north, then changed direction and doubled-back, until I reached the hollowed log again.
Sue was gone. The only thing left of the scrap was a stain of blood and a used flare cartridge. I couldn’t bear to look at it; instead I raised my head to the sky, opened my maw and howled. My melody rippled through the forest, alerting others to the death of one of our kind, a lovely wolf song.
My silver fur was stained by the red dye that hung in the air, stinging my eyes and ears, the scent sickening. Pointing my snout south, I started running, steadying myself in a lope. Eighty lopes, that was what Sue had said, eighty lopes. A lope is five lupine strides when running; it was the easiest measurement to remember for my kind, as we don’t bother with pointless centimetres and millimetres. Not slowing, I lifted my head and sniffed, searching for the scent of a baby. There was a small trace of baby-scent, its milky flavour creeping over my tongue when I opened my maw.
It was streaming from a nearby rock. As I approached a little scream pierced the silence and I jumped back, startled at the sudden noise. Changing again to my other half, I scrambled forward, reaching out with scratched hands to pull away the tangle of thorns. The rock was split down the middle, a wide space, just big enough to fit a cat, and lying there, shrouded by cloth, was a little baby. A tuft of inky black hair sprouted from its scalp and it blinked up at me with bright blue eyes, darker than Sue’s but with a definite similarity. His lips were a light pink, protruding in as he surveyed me with those lovely eyes. I felt as if I could drown in those aqua pools; just take one look to find myself loving him, a bond strengthening between us. It occurred to me that my old Blood Pact with Sue would have made it easier for her relatives and I to bond.
I crept forward on my cut knees, reaching in to pick him up. The baby also reaches, clinging to my arms. His grip hurt slightly, but I swallowed the pain and gently lifted him up, clutching his soft skin and the cloth that was wrapped around him. He stared nudging my chest with his mouth, his hunger blatant as he struggled to feed. I slipped out my breast from the cloth I wore and he latched on, suckling. His hunger was great and it was a few minutes before he decided to let go, his breathing harsh as he regained his breath.
I gently let him lie in my arms, resting his head in the crook of my elbow. Somehow managing to get to my feet, I began to limp forward, the wounds and nettle stings still causing me pain. The sky was getting darker, the first few stars twinkling and the sickle moon hovering above us. The baby was sleeping, whimpering slightly and occasionally twitching a limb. His shock of black hair tickled my chin as I bent my head and kissed his forehead, breathing in his milky smell.
“Toby,” I whispered, “That is what I shall call you: Toby.”[/glow]
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