08-24-2018, 06:10 AM
Burning
The sound of cackling fire echoed in Atbash's ears as she ran, her heart pounding with fear as she forced herself to continue on running. Vigenere wasn't far in front of her, his gaze focused on the sights in front of them. She knew what he was thinking: We have to get there before he does. Not only because she had telepathy, but because that was her own thoughts. She and Vigenere had to beat Caesar to their parents' den, because if not, they were going to be left to rot with the Dimension. Atbash couldn't understand what caused Caesar to snap like he did, despite all of the talks they had together. He promised. The she-cat thought to herself, feeling tears form in her eyes as she ran. He promised he wouldn't do this. And he did, that was the horrible thing about this. Caesar promised her that he wouldn't go after the King, that he'd abandon his plan, but he did the exact opposite and he succeeded.
By now, the King was dead. The only reason Atbash knew was because of Vigenere, and the fact that their Dimension was on flames. If Caesar hadn't succeeded in murdering the King, then his lackeys wouldn't have ran off and set everything on fire, along with Caesar himself. Vigenere told her himself that he saw the King's dead body, having just arrived just as Caesar impaled him. Atbash closed her eyes, not wanting to think about that mental image. Focus on Ma and Pa. She thought to herself, flattening her ears as if she was trying to block out the sounds of the flames that she and Vigenere were running past. The mere heat of the flames hurt her, and she was glad that they were running, because standing in one place definitely wasn't going to help matters.
Atbash nearly bowled into Vigenere as her older brother skidded to a halt, stopping right before their den. "Vigenere, what -" The she-cat started to speak before cutting herself off as she let her gaze travel to their home. The den was already ablaze, with the wood starting to break down. It's going to collapse! Atbash realized, her heart skipping a beat as she heard the sound of wood splintering.
"We're too late, we have to -" Atbash could hear Vigenere's voice over the roar of the flames, but she was already dashing forward. She had to make it through. Their parents had to survive, even if it meant risking her own life. She didn't care. She didn't care. She had to save their parents. "Ma! Pa!" She cried out as she leaped forward, narrowly missing Vigenere's paw as he tried to stop her.
Atbash groaned from where she landed on the ground, closing her eyes as her body was wracked with a pain. The flames had gotten on her fur and burned a few patches of it off, leaving the skin red and blistering. Black blood popped from the wounds, though they didn't exactly spill out of her body. The she-cat shook on the ground, her movements slow as she looked up at her parents, whom were cowering in the corner of the den. Her mother - a beautiful brown tabby - was leaning against her father, a tan serval. Her mother's body was covered in blood and burns, whereas her father seemed to hold less injuries. Both of them stared at her in shock and worry, though her father looked more worried than he was shocked.
"Atbash!" Her mother's worried tone cut through the sound of the flames, her bright green eyes reflecting the flames that covered the outside of their den. "You need to get out of here!" Atbash could tell how hard her mother was trying to be calm and it bothered her. It hurt, seeing her mother in obvious pain. Pain that Caesar, her own son, caused her. Atbash couldn't imagine how hurt she must feel, knowing that her own son was the cause of this. Atbash shook her head in response to her mother's words, slowly rising to her paws and gritting her teeth as pain shot through her body. She limped towards her parents and collapsed in front of them, letting out a whine as she did so, "You have to come with us. Please."
"You need to save yourself." That was her father speaking now, and Atbash could see the fear that shone in his brown eyes. His tone was calm despite the emotion that was being shown in his eyes and that was something to admire, if Atbash wasn't too worried about getting them safe and sound. "We'll be fine."
"No you won't!" Atbash cried back, closing her eyes again as tears fell from them. Did they not realize what was going to happen to them if they stayed here? What was going to happen to the entire Dimension? "You'll be killed. You have to come with us, please!" She tried to grab her father's paws, but he shuffled backwards as far as he could, avoiding his only daughter's paws. "Please!" Atbash cried out again. She couldn't leave them. She couldn't just sit outside and watch their den fall in on them, crushing their parents, assuming the flames didn't burn them alive first. If they had to suffer, then so did she.
Her father leaned forward and tried to gentle shove her away with his muzzle, but Atbash let out another cry of alarm and clung to his forearms, before the sound of wood splintering again made her attention snap back to the entrance of the den. Her heart skipped another beat as she realized that this was her last chance to convince her parents to leave. Atbash's head swung towards them, tears pouring from her eyes as she cried out to them, "Ma, Pa, please, we have to go." She was trying to urge them the best she could, but they seemed to have already accepted their fate. Why? Why would they listen to her? Why did they want to die here, left to rot with the Dimension? Had Caesar really shock them that much? Atbash's father shook his head and silently pulled him off her and shoved her towards the entrance of the den, and before she could react to anything, Atbash felt teeth grab the scruff of her neck and begin pulling her out.
"NO!" Atbash screeched, trying to claw at the ground in an attempt to stop whomever was dragging her away from her parents, but her attempt was fruitless. The last thing she saw before her body was forced through the flames once more was her parents' sorrowful, pained look, and that hurt worse than the pain she felt from the burns all over her body.
Atbash felt the grip on her scruff loosen and the she-cat immediately collapsed on the ground and sobbed into her paws, the realization that her body was covered in burn wounds finally hitting her. Her entire body felt like it was burning, and some of the previous wounds had opened up more and were bleeding more, staining her fur with black.
"Atbash..." It was Vigenere speaking to her in a quiet tone, which send anger through her. Atbash jumped to her paws, wincing as her body screamed at her to stop and glare up at her oldest brother. She was still crying, but she didn't care. He pulled her out of the den and now their parents were going to die!
"They're going to die!" Atbash yelled at Vigenere, flattening her ears. Her brother had his own wounds to deal with she noticed, but he didn't seem to pay any mind to them. Then again, she supposed she didn't entirely notice hers now that she was focused on the anger she had for Vigenere. "We could have saved them!" Vigenere only shook his head in response and Atbash laid back down on the ground, unable to stand up any longer.
"I'm sorry," Vigenere spoke again, slowly moving towards Atbash once he realized she wouldn't lash out at him. "Pa told me to. I can't... I can't let you die too, Atbash," His words were choked and she could tell. Her own words were caught in her throat, mostly due to her crying. "I need you. I can't lose another sibling. I already lost one,"
Atbash knew he was right. She knew there was no way of saving their parents, no matter how hard she wanted to. It was either her or them, or risk Vigenere's life as well. Atbash buried her head into her brother's body and continued to sob, unable to control herself anymore.
Word Count: 1,485