demanded Merula when the crowd turned to see someone walking high on their hind legs wielding my blade’s twin. It was Sanoka, my mother.
“I will lead you until my daughter returns.” Sanoka said limping forward using the blade as a crutch.
“But you are not well.” Syrugia challenged as Sanoka growled at her.
“I can lead, at least for a little while longer.” Sanoka said as the Death Stalkers left Merula’s side to stand beside Sanoka.
“What about the Death Stalkers? Who will lead them?” Syrugia asked as many turned to each other worried.
“We currently have everything we need so if Kyzudo is swift then there will be no need to lead the Death Stalkers on any particularly dangerous missions.” Sanoka said as the crowd yipped reassured.
“What if she fails?” Merula challenged, rising boldly onto her feet.
“I will entertain that possibility when I must.” Sanoka answered as my guards returned to my side with their heads bowed and their ears lowered, too ashamed to look me in the eye as they whispered apologies to my feet. Dabu and Maya were standing next to my mother, they both seen proud and hopeful.
“We can’t wait forever.”
“You are right. When a need arises and I prove to be too weak to lead the Death Stalkers then I will fear for the worst.” Sanoka said as Merula nodded.
“Find we will wait until we must move on and abandon these silly traditions.” Merula said as many nodded in agreement. I could not fail or my people would be trapped under Merula’s unrestricted rule.
“I will return victorious.” I announced as the crowd yipped and I left to join my mother’s side.
“How are you? I asked glancing down at her leg.
“I am good now that I know you are doing all that you can to prove yourself as leader.” she said proudly as I waved my tail in a wide arched pleased, for my mother was quite reserved so praise was a rare occurrence.
“Don’t worry I won’t fail.” I said as she nodded then touched my shoulder lovingly.
“Be careful.” she warned as I nodded.
“I should hurry to get the food for the trip.” I said as she nodded.
“Of course.” she said as I sank my teeth in the wooden hilt of the blade then ran off toward the palace where I told the servants to fill my bag with wrapped meats.
“Good bye Kyzo,” my mother said as I paused to stare at her, for that was what she used to call me when I was just a pup. When she said that, her voice used to be saturated with maternal love which was freely given independent of expectations. It was an endearing term that I had almost forgotten. It was a nickname she used to say before I was ever entitled her successor, when I was simply her daughter.
“Good bye Mom.” I said as she waved her tail in a large arch as if to encompass the world, as if it could shield me from whatever danger awaited me above ground.
I turned away with my ears flattened for I knew I was doing more than simply attempting to restore peace but I was also leaving my people, my home, and my mother behind. There was no guarantee that I would ever be able to return home , that I would ever see my mother again but if I chose not to go then my people will be at the mercy of their new leader’s greed, which would grow after she acquires absolute power. Also if I stay my mother would die so by leaving her and my home I was attempting to save them all from a morbid future that maybe all too real. I could not fail because I refuse to lose my mother and I will not allow my people to fall under a dictator’s rule. I must not fail as long as my heart continues to beat, as long as I can rationalize the existence of the impossible.
The Land of my Enemies
I ran down the long tunnel feeling that the land above could be no more than a myth for it felt as if I would never reach it. The smooth ground had a gradual slope that I convinced myself was climbing higher and higher. My powerful eyes peered into the darkness ahead of me as my pack bounced on my back. I must be nearly there.
I slowed for I saw a dull light up ahead. I pulled back my ears, fearing what laid ahead. I growled nervously as I reached a hinged door with metal bars. I pushed it upward then climbed out slowly, fearing the creatures that I knew must be near.
I continued down the hall at a crawl, shifting within the safety of the shadows. My footfalls could only be imagined as I braced myself high on my fingertips and toes, moving swiftly like a rat that goes unseen. My tail was kept low so it hovered like a snake poised for an attack. My ears twitched at the sound of every drop of water that dripped from the high ceiling, causing the walls to shutter with the single clear note. I sniffed the air as I leap into a deep ditch with an odd road of metal rods and wooden planks at it bottom.
After walking a few miles I noticed there was a dim glow ahead. I leap out of the manmade ditch then cautiously approached the flickering light. I froze for gathered around a metal cylinder were a gang of humans huddled together. They reached out toward the flames with grubby hands covered in grim. Their heads were bowed and their clothes were tattered and ill fitting. They looked like lumps of fabric that moved jerkily as if shivering from the cold. Their hands were like mine though their nails were caked with trapped dirt. Their faces were unsightly hairless blobs of flesh with a patch of greasy fur on top.
They did not seem to notice me so I crept by though my eyes never left them. I kicked an empty can with my forepaw, having failed to notice it. One of the humans turned to look at me. I was half concealed by the darkness but I knew I was visible enough. I snarled baring my teeth as another grabbed his friend’s arm staring at me unconcerned.
“The shadows have eyes here but if you ignore them they will pass.” the human said. I understood them thanks to my mother’s lessons that I once believe would only enable me to read the scraps of paper found by the Death Stalkers.
“What is it?” asked the first one who spotted me.
“A creature of the night, a demon.” the first answered as the other nodded.
“Do they pass through here often?”
“Yes but this one is alone and it’s puny compared to the others.”
“Do they attack?”
“No it is best to simply think of them as being odd illusions.”
“Am I going crazy?”
“That is the question we would all like to know but how can one judge the nature of the world when one is unsure if what one perceives is true? If the mind can lie then the truth can never be confirmed. The world is as we perceive as being whether it is a complex fabrication or inspired by sensual information is unrelated. The one who is insane is the one who believes there are multiply realities, conflicting worlds.”
I rushed away from the humans though soon I saw more of them. Some were lying on thin blankets with their heads resting on their hands or staring at the darkness watching my every move with mistrusting eyes.
After a few tense minutes I managed to find an opening at the top of the stairs. I slowly left the cover of the shadows then climbed up the stairs. I stopped to see the ground level out. I was surrounded by great walls of glass and metal that rose above to meet the dark ceiling though I did not understand how the pointed peaks could support such a ceiling for it was eminence. Lights were scattered everywhere. Everything shown with a stunning brilliance, that stabbed great holes in the darkness. Light pressed itself against the glass planes of the ever climbing walls and cast great orbs upon the paved floor. Lights zipped about affixed to odd machines that growled as they glide by.
I followed the towering wall of glass but paused for all about me there were humans. Some wore smooth fabric with deep creases and complex folds while others wore rough fabric with large stitching held by stripes of leather about their waist. A loose casing of fabric blew freely around their torsos as they sped about noiselessly, their feet encased in sturdy bright colored material and springy rubber.
I slipped into a pocket of darkness backing into a large metal box full of oddities and dark plastic bags. I watched them fearfully feeling trapped. I needed to think of a plan or I w
ill be spotted. I noticed that there were many dark narrow hallways like the one I was currently in so all I needed to do was dash to the next one across the street. I just need to wait for the coast to clear then I need to run and I will continue this way until I find a safe place to rest for the night.
When the streets cleared I raced from my hiding place across the well-lit street on the next patch of darkness as two men rounded a corner. I dove into the shadows as one of the humans paused to stare at me.
“That was one odd looking cat.” he said as his friend grabbed his arm swaying where he stood.
“Man, you are drunk. We need to sober up for work in the morning or we are going to be fired. Come on it is getting late.” he said before leading the other away.
“I swear I saw something.” the first one said again but quickly followed his friend down the street and out of sight.
I scampered down the street pausing at the dark rancid smelling semi enclosed spaces until I got to an area with brick houses behind chain link fences. Large wheeled machines of metal were parked along the street. Dogs barked somewhere out of sight and large chunks of the road seemed to be missing.
I paused when I saw a pair of shoes hanging from a wire overhead. I was at a collection zone, a place where the Death Stalkers come to steal objects from the humans. It was far enough away from the big city to be less populated making hiding easier yet close to many