ENCHANTED HOME
Chapter One
Outlaw
Two furious pale gray and vibrant green eyes bored into Jeb’s fur from across an endless expanse of darkness. A low, threatening growl rumbled in the distance, sending shivers racing up his spine. Somewhere in the background, hidden behind the blackness surrounding him, he could hear the sinister crackle of flame growing louder and louder. Terror burned in his heart when the loud rumble of the fire roared in his ears. A wave of intense heat washed over him, dragging him down to the ground.
Flickers of bright red and orange flames leapt up through the darkness around him. A memory of the flames leaping up a tall tree and charring the bright purple leaves into ashes faded into an image of the roaring blaze racing across a long strip of pale green grass. The flames flickered higher and higher, covering trees and bushes and sending a billowing cloud of smoke rising into the cloudless blue sky. Screams echoed around him as the memories of the flames suddenly disappeared into darkness.
The light, mocking sound of giggling slowly pierced through the silence around him, making his heart burn with pain. Two scornful bright green eyes shone through the blackness, meeting his sad gaze and never seeming to blink. Gray and green eyes appeared less than a second later. A sharp, furious snarl echoed through the blackness.
“Get out of my Empire!”
Jeb’s eyes flew open and he shot upward into a sitting position, letting out a terrified gasp and looking around wildly. Frightened pants and gasps shuddered out of his chest and his bright blue and green eyes opened wide in terror. Struggling to calm the frantic beating of his heart and take deeper, slower breaths, he stared at the den around him and tried to push memories of the nightmare away.
Bleak gray walls made of rock rose up around him, curving upward to form a rocky ceiling above him. Shadows fell across the sharp, jutting edges of the stone, sending shivers of fear down his spine. Damp green mold crept across the hard, rocky floor beneath him. The cave den was completely empty apart from a tiny pile of fruit left in the corner. Flies buzzed around the measly leftovers, picking it apart piece by piece.
Taking a deep breath, Jeb slowly pushed himself up, trying not to let his paws shake against the rough, freezing floor. He glanced down at his bright yellow and black-striped fur, searching for any sign of wounds or injuries in case the dream was real. Looking back, he flicked his brown-tufted tail into view before glancing down and spreading out the green webbing between his yellow paws. A soft, shaky sigh breathed out of his chest when he realized he hadn’t been hurt.
Jeb shivered when he looked around the cave den and realized his father was nowhere in sight. Casting an anxious glance around the den, he tried to shake off the cold fear that lingered after the dream and padded cautiously to the gaping entrance of his den. He nervously peeked out into the Spring, searching for any sign of his father.
Rocky walls rose up on the opposite side of the underground Spring and covered the back and front walls, closing in a huge open space. The cold stone floor stretched out in front of him, leading to the back of the Spring that sat just a few feet to the right of his den. Hundreds of jagged holes had been carved into the side of the wall, marking the entrances to the dens of the other kraguers and tunnels that led back to even more dens. A bright, sparkling pool of shimmering, crystal-like water glimmered in a deep basin just a few paces to the left of his den. The brilliant blue waters lapped at the stony floor of the underground, dampening the pale green mold and moss growing on the very edges of the spring. A faint beam of moonlight shimmered down into the Spring from a tiny hole carved into the top of the underground cavern, illuminating the bright Spring water and casting dark shadows across the back of the cave. The outlaws living down in the Spring sat against the rocky walls, giving him dark, eerie glances.
Stumbling nervously out into the main part of the Spring, Jeb headed toward the pool of water and paused when he spotted another kraguer racing toward him.
Telku skidded to a stop and frowned at him. “What are you doing out here?”
Jeb avoided his father’s worried gaze and shrugged. “I was looking for you.”
Telku let out a sigh. “You should have stayed in the den. It’s dangerous out here.”
Jeb flattened his ears. He tried to take in a shaky breath of the damp, musty air of the Spring and his eyes narrowed with pain. “Why did Zerone have to force us to live here? We don’t deserve to live with these evil kraguers! We’re not criminals like them!”
Telku sighed. “Save the speech, Jeben. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
Jeb narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath. “I hate Zerone!”
Telku let out a long breath of air and rested his brown-tufted tail gently on Jeb’s shoulder to reassure him. “Let’s not dwell on this. We should get back to our cave den.”
Jeb nodded weakly and started to turn around to pad back to his den, then froze at the sound of a light, familiar voice. “Telku! Jeb!”
The two of them whirled around to see where the voice had come from and smiled weakly when they saw who it was. Jeb’s mother leapt down from the hole at the top of the underground Spring and landed neatly on the tiny strip of stony ground that sat on the other side of the pool of water. Her blue and gray eyes glimmered in the darkness, and the faint glow of moonlight from the hole leading to the upper world illuminated her yellow and black-striped fur. She had several pieces of fruit clasped tightly in her jaws.
Jeb’s blue and green eyes lit up with a tiny glimmer of hope, but he froze when a sharp hiss echoed through the Spring. A kraguer with a cold smirk stepped out from behind the shadows just a few paces away from Jeb’s mother and let out a chuckle. The faint light shone down on the outlaw, making Jeb shiver when he recognized the pale blue eyes of Citcha, an outlaw who had been exiled for ridiculous amounts of thievery. A crooked sneer spread across her face when she sauntered over to Jeb’s mother.
“Hand that over, Jati!” she snarled, flicking her brown-tipped tail.
Jati hissed and narrowed her eyes. “This is ours!”
Citcha snickered. “Not anymore.” Lunging forward, she rammed into Jati and sent her stumbling toward the pool of water.
Jati let out a cry of shock, sending the food tumbling to the ground. Before she could stop herself, she fell backwards into the spring water with a loud splash. Water splattered the stony ground and drenched Citcha’s face, but she barely seemed to notice.
“Citcha!” Telku let out a growl of fury, but the thief ignored him and grabbed the fruit, letting out a wild, crazed laugh and racing back to her cave den with her tail streaming out behind her. Before any of them could stop her, she lunged toward one of the jagged alcoves at the back of the underground and disappeared into the blackness.
Jeb’s eyes widened in alarm and he staggered to the edge of the spring. “Mom!”
His heart skipped in his chest, but before he could panic, his mother poked her head up out of the water, gasping for air. Her blue and gray eyes glinted with fury and annoyance and she spat into the water. “Citcha,” she muttered, paddling swiftly through the pool of water and stretching out the green webbing between her toes. “Always causing trouble!” Letting out a low growl, she swam to the side of the spring and hauled herself up onto the stone beside Telku and Jeb, dripping with water and scowling in frustration.
Telku let out a long sigh. “There’s nothing you can do, Jati. Come on now, let’s go back to our den. I think we still have some leftovers from last night.”
Jati crinkled her nose. “I hate leftovers. The flies have probably gotten to them.”
Jeb shuddered, but when his parents slowly began padding back to their den, he reluctantly fell into step behind them. He grimaced when he crept into their den to see flies circling the leftovers and filling the den with an annoying buzzing sound.
Jati curled her lip and turned away from it. “Gross!”
Telku sighed and lowered himself down onto a clump of mold. “Just get over it.”
Jeb’s mother glared at him and gritted her teeth. “You two just had to go and get involved in Zerone’s dirty business, didn’t you? If it wasn’t for you two, he wouldn’t have exiled us to this place and we wouldn’t be living around the filth of the Empire!”
Jeb narrowed his eyes and felt a sting of pain. “Hey, that’s not true!”
Telku gritted his teeth. “He’s right. We’re here because of Zerone’s doing, not ours. Maybe if we had a less selfish Emperor, we wouldn’t be here. How about that?”
“Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she muttered, flopping down on the hard ground. “You should have left Zerone to deal with his own fire.”
“I’m sorry,” Jeb muttered, looking hurtfully down at his paws.
Telku flicked his tail sharply. “Don’t be. Our coming here was Zerone’s fault.”
Jeb let out a soft sigh. “Mom’s got a point, though.”
His father narrowed his eyes, his green irises gleaming in the dim light. “So we should be punished for trying to help someone?”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “Apparently that’s how Zerone sees it. Look, I hate him as much as you or anyone, but he was kind of in a bad situation.”
“That was his own doing.” Telku flattened his ears and lashed his tail. “If he hadn’t started the fire in the first place…”
Jati glared at him. “If you hadn’t gone out in the fire in the first place, then we would be fine. If you had stayed where you were supposed to instead of getting involved in other animal’s business like you always do, we wouldn’t be in this disgusting place.”
Telku gritted his teeth. “If you’re going to keep blaming us…”
“If you’re going to keep doing stupid things…”
“Stop fighting!” Jeb cut off his mother with a sharp cry, his eyes wide with alarm. “I hate it when you fight, and you’re always doing it!” He shrank back when his parents whirled around to stare at him in shock and tried to avoid their stunned gazes. His fur prickled with unease and distress. Fights seemed to erupt constantly about that stupid fire and the Emperor’s decision to exile them ever since they had come to the Spring. Most of the time, he tried to take both of their sides and get them to compromise, but it rarely worked and he hated that he could never stop them from getting angry at each other.
A long silence spread out between them before Telku finally hung his head and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Jeb.”
Jati rolled her eyes and glanced guiltily at the ground. “Sorry,” she muttered.
Casting an annoyed glance at Jati, Telku took a deep breath and gave Jeb a weak smile. “Why don’t you get some water from the spring? I think the others are gone now.”
Jeb glanced uneasily back and forth between his parents. After a long hesitation, he turned around to peek out through the entrance to his den and gazed around at the underground. A relieved sigh breathed out of his throat when he realized the shadowed Spring was empty of any outlaws. Taking a cautious step forward and trying to ignore his fear, he stumbled over to the spring and crouched down on the fuzzy moss growing along the edges of the basin. After looking nervously over both shoulders, he slowly bent down and lapped up a few drops of the shimmering blue water, feeling grateful that the Spring held one of the only pools in the entire forest that wasn’t poisoned. Closing his eyes, he tried to enjoy the solitude and the cool taste of the water, then froze when a cool voice broke the silence around him.
“Hungry, Jeb?”
A tiny squeak escaped Jeb’s throat and he jumped up and whirled around in alarm, his heart beginning to race. He froze in place and felt a wave of relief overwhelm him when he peered through the shadows and realized he recognized the kraguer standing calmly behind him as Secka. A shaky sigh of relief breathed out of his chest as the outlaw stepped forward. The light from above cast a silvery glow over the kraguer’s smoky gray fur, pitch black stripes, and gleaming gray eyes. Sitting in the shadows near the back of the cave, the outlaw curled his black-tufted tail over his paws and watched Jeb calmly.
Nobody knew what crime the gray outlaw had been exiled for, but he didn’t have the cruel, sadistic personality of a murderer or the greedy attitude of a thief. Everybody assumed from his apathetic disposition that he hadn’t done anything too horrible to be banished to the Spring. Most of them thought he had simply caught Zerone on a bad day.
Secka raised an eyebrow. “I heard you had a bit of trouble a little while ago.”
Jeb let out a sigh and glanced down at his paws. “Yeah, Citcha took the food my Mom brought in. I guess I am kind of hungry.”
Secka leaned down to grab a piece of fruit hidden in the shadows and threw it to him, his half-lidded gray eyes bored and nonchalant. “Enjoy.”
Jeb managed a weak smile and started to step forward to take the food, then froze.
A cold, dangerous snicker sounded from the shadows covering the back of the cavern. Secka glanced back with a bored sigh to see a red-furred outlaw step out from one of the cave dens at the back of the Spring and stalk toward him. “Sharing with the arsonist?” the outlaw mocked, raising an eyebrow.
Secka rolled his eyes and glanced back at him with an annoyed look. “Shut up. I’m not in the mood for you, so lay off. Besides,” he muttered with a bored flick of his tail, “everyone knows Jeb didn’t start the fire.”
The kraguer narrowed his eyes. “Says who?”
“Says me,” Jeb squeaked. A shiver raced down his spine and he shrank back in terror when the outlaw cast a disdainful glance in his direction.
Secka let out an annoyed sigh and glanced over to mutter to the outlaw, his voice as calm and unperturbed as always. “Jeb is a coward who’s afraid of his own shadow. Cowards don’t run around starting the forest on fire.”
Indignation made Jeb’s fur prickle at the insult, but when the other outlaw gave him a dangerous glare, he shrank back and didn’t say a word. His heart beat rapidly with fear and he prepared to run. Secka’s words hurt, but he knew they were true.
The red outlaw sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I still don’t like him though.”
Secka snorted and glanced around him in boredom. “You don’t like anybody.”
“Is there any reason I should?” The criminal narrowed his eyes. “Everybody hates Zerone—even his own Empire—and all the criminals down here do is take up space and annoy me. You’re the worst one of the bunch, actually.”
“Fascinating,” Secka muttered, his monotonous voice tinged with sarcasm. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you committed a crime and got yourself exiled.” He raised his paw as he spoke and distractedly studied his sharp claws, as if the outlaw he was speaking to was barely worth his time.
The other criminal scoffed. “Look who’s talking! You’re a criminal, too, and you’re stuck down here just like the rest of us last time I checked!”
Secka just shrugged and flicked his tail uncaringly. “So? It’s not so bad down here. Now get back to your cave den. Talking to you is starting to bore me.”
The red kraguer gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes in fury, but after a long moment, he finally let out a low growl and whirled around. Muttering under his breath, he stalked back toward one of the jagged holes at the back of the Spring and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Jeb and Secka alone.
Secka glanced at the place where the criminal had disappeared with raised eyebrows and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going back to my den to sleep. Night, Jeb.”
“Goodnight,” Jeb murmured softly, gazing distractedly down at his paws. After a long moment of hesitation, he glanced back at the moonlit hole leading into the upper world. His heart skipped in his chest at the thought of the upper world, but when he heard the sound of paws thudding against stone, he whipped around to face the gray outlaw. “Secka, wait! Is anyone up there?”
Secka paused and followed his gaze up to the hole leading into the world above. Looking back down to meet Jeb’s wide eyes, he shrugged nonchalantly. “As far as I know, there’s no one up there. I was just out a minute ago. All of Zerone’s kraguers are asleep by now and far away from here. They won’t catch you sneaking around up there.”
Jeb heaved a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Thanks.”
Secka turned around and trailed off into the shadows. “If your parents freak out, I’ll tell them you went up for a while.”
Jeb glanced guiltily down at his paws. “Thanks, I guess. I just hope they don’t panic too much like they usually do.” He winced when he thought of the terror his parents felt at the thought of being caught up on the surface world by Emperor Zerone’s guards. Criminals were technically supposed to stay in the Spring and never leave to visit the upper world, but no one ever paid attention to that law and no one bothered to enforce it. A tiny glimmer of fear burned in Jeb’s chest at the thought of being seen in the upper world, but he pushed it away. The small risk of being up there was worth getting a breath of fresh air and getting away from the filthy grime of the underground for a few minutes.
Secka let out a tiny chuckle. “Your parents panic if a fly buzzes in their ear, but I’ll try to keep their noise down so the other outlaws don’t get mad.”
Jeb tried not to wince and simply nodded. “Thanks.”
Secka just shrugged and padded forward, vanishing into the darkness shrouding the cavern. Taking a deep breath, Jeb slowly turned around to stare out at the sparkling waters of the Spring, closed his eyes, and leapt forward. Shivers raced down his spine at the shock and sting of the sudden rush of freezing cold water washing over his body, but he ignored the chill spreading through him. Spreading out the webbing between his toes, he reached up with his paws and swam upward until his head finally broke the surface of the Spring. Gasping for air, he blinked water out of his eyes and paddled over to the tiny stretch of stone on the opposite side of the spring.
A cold wind breezed past him when he finally dug his claws into the stone on the other side and pulled himself up, but he tried not to shiver with cold. Shaking himself and sending droplets of water flying everywhere, he glanced up at the hole in the ceiling and leapt upward, digging his claws into the side of the hole. Narrowing his eyes, he struggled to pull himself up through the hole leading into the upper world and heaved a sigh when he finally hauled himself up over the edge and rolled onto the stiff green grass.
Towering trees rose up around him, forming a thick, dark canopy over his head. Pink, purple, green, and blue leaves rustled in a soft breeze, and the bright, shimmering moon above him cast a silvery glow down on the colorful trees. Orange, turquoise, white, and yellow bushes sprung up around the rough trunks of the trees and plants of every color of the rainbow grew up from the ground. The hard, cool green grass rose up high enough to brush his white belly. Shadows covered the woods around him, making shivers race up his spine when he wondered if Secka was mistaken and some of Zerone’s followers truly were hiding behind the enormous, rainbow-colored trees.
Taking a deep breath, Jeb closed his eyes and tried to relax. When he squeezed his eyes shut, he could still picture the terrifying images from his nightmare and the horrifying memories of everything that had happened just one year ago. The crackling, roaring sound of the fire seemed to echo in his ears as the images flashed through his mind. Through the darkness, he could still see the wild, eerie orange and red light of the blaze illuminating the yellow and black-striped fur of Zerone, the Emperor of the forest. The terror glowing in Zerone’s bright green and ashen gray eyes seemed to burn into Jeb’s mind, sending shivers racing through him.
Pushing away the memories of Emperor Zerone, he shuddered when a new image flashed through his mind. He remembered racing through the burning forest close beside his father, dodging away from the flickering flames and struggling to escape. His father’s narrowed green eyes had glowed in determination with the sickening light of the flames. The roar of the fire still burned in his memory and the intense heat that had wafted over him made him suddenly break out in a cold sweat. Cries and screams seemed to echo from over a distance as the memory played out in his mind. He remembered leaping over a fallen tree with his father, racing toward the sound of a terrified cry, and stumbling into a clearing flickering with fire. The desperate, pleading look of Emperor Zerone burned in his mind when he remembered staggering forward with his father and freeing the Emperor’s paw from where it had been trapped underneath a small fallen log.
A loud, thundering smack echoed in Jeb’s mind when he remembered helping Telku pull Zerone free from where he had been trapped by the fallen tree and pushing him away. He winced when he remembered feeling a whoosh of air rustle his fur and looking back just in time to see a flaming tree crash down right in the place where the Emperor had stood only moments ago. The memories seemed to blur when he thought of how Zerone had bounded away and disappeared behind a wall of flickering flames.
Jeb’s eyes shot open with fear and the echoing sound of crackling flames slowly began to die away, letting the clearing around him drift back into focus. Feelings of horror and dismay washed over him as strongly as they had a year ago when he had burst out of the burning forest into an untouched, peaceful clearing and whirled around to see the flames billowing up, turning the sky into nothing but a cloud of ash. Hours had passed by before the fire was finally stopped, but once the smoke had cleared, the terrified kraguers had been quick to ask questions. Backed into a corner, the Emperor had been quick to blame the ones closest to him when the fire had started: Jeb and his Dad.
The next few days had passed by in a blur. Jeb’s calm, peaceful home in Zerone’s Court on the outskirts of the Emperor’s mansion had become a land of hostility and accusations. In less than a week, a meeting had been held in Zerone’s Royal Court in the plaza outside of his mansion. He and his father had been accused as guilty of starting the fire and sentenced to live in the Spring with the other outlaws for the rest of their lives. It had been their word against the word of the ruler of the forest. By the time the trial was even half over, everyone in Zerone’s Court had turned against them and cheered for their exile. Keruni, Jeb’s ‘best friend,’ had been the first to agree to his sentence and had simply laughed when he had been forced to leave. As the Emperor’s daughter, she had instantly believed her father’s accusations over his protests. To that day, the only ones who knew the truth about who truly started the fire were the outlaws in the Spring.
Why Zerone had started the fire in the first place or whether it was an accident or not, Jeb didn’t know. All he knew was that he was trapped with a horde of outlaws for the rest of his life because of what he did.
Trying to shake off his bitter thoughts, he glanced around at the clearing and peered into the shadows behind the trees. Shivers raced through him. If he looked closely enough, he thought he could see a hint of light brown sand stretching out past his forest. The Land Beyond the Forest. The thought sent a wave of cold fear crashing over him, raising every hair on his back and making his heart beat faster with terror. Taking a deep breath, he tore his gaze away from the sand he imagined waiting just a few miles in front of him and tried to shake off the cold chills racing through his body. The idea of the lands waiting beyond their home terrified every kraguer. The forest around them was the only safe haven for his kind. To take one step outside their forest would be to die.
Shivering violently in the cold night air, he turned around to race back toward the underground to get out of the freezing surface world, then froze when he heard a soft rustling sound. Whirling around, his eyes grew wide with horror when he spotted a dense clump of undergrowth rustling just a few paces away from him. A tiny squeak of fear escaped his throat, and his legs turned to stone, freezing him with fear.
A cool, mocking laugh cut through the peaceful silence of the night. “Still afraid of your own shadow, huh, Jeben?”
Jeb’s eyes widened when he recognized the cold, high-pitched voice. Before he could speak or run, a tiny kraguer stepped out from the bushes, snickering and sneering.
“Still a scaredy-cat, I see.” The kraguer’s green eyes sparkled with amusement and arrogance as she sat back and smirked at Jeb. “You haven’t changed much.”
Jeb flattened his ears. “Shut up, Keruni! I’m not a scaredy-cat!”
She snickered and raised an eyebrow. “Sure you are!”
Jeb narrowed his eyes to protest, then sighed and let the insult die away. “Never mind,” he muttered. “What are you doing out here anyway?”
She lashed her tail in a challenge. “What are you?”
He flattened his ears. “I asked first.”
Keruni rolled her eyes. “What are we? Five? I’m here because I can go where I want. You, on the other hand, can’t. Outlaws like you aren’t allowed to leave the Spring.”
Jeb’s fur bristled in fury. “I shouldn’t be an outlaw! I didn’t do anything!”
Keruni rolled her eyes with a condescending sigh. “At this rate, you’ll be saying that on your deathbed. You’re such a liar, Jeb, and a bad one at that.”
“Oh, you mean like Emperor Zerone?” he shot back, lashing his tail in anger.
She bristled and let out a cold hiss of fury. “My Daddy is not a liar! You are!”
Jeb let out an exasperated sigh. “If you believe that, you’ll believe anything!”
Keruni snorted and flicked her tail, gazing at him with a flippant, condescending look. “Just give it up. Everyone knows you started that fire, so just drop it, you traitor.”
Jeb winced. “You’re the traitor! You were the first one to agree to having me thrown out of Zerone’s Court and exiled to live with the outlaws just because Zerone said I should! Why did you listen to him? You were supposed to be my best friend!”
“My Daddy’s always right, so why shouldn’t I have listened to him?” Keruni sniffed. “And we were never friends. I just hung out with you when I was bored.” She shook her head in disgust as Jeb gaped at her in disbelief. “‘Best friends.’ Ha! You were a worthless friend. Whenever something made a sound, you would run and hide! If something bad happened, you would just cower under a bush and leave me to get hurt!”
Jeb’s eyes widened in shock as sharp pain stabbed into his heart. Shaking his head desperately, he faced Keruni and gritted his teeth. “That—that’s not true!”
She smirked at him and let out a cold, humorless snicker in her high, lofty voice. “Sure it is. Who would want to be friends with a dumb, pathetic coward like you?”
Jeb blinked and shook his head, trying to push back the sting of tears and the memories flashing through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he stumbled past her, trying to block out the grief rising in his chest. “Forget it, Keruni. I have to get back to the Spring.”
Keruni sniffed and glanced over her shoulder when he stumbled past her. “Really? So what’s it like living with the scum of the forest?”
Jeb winced and gritted his teeth, freezing in his tracks and feeling a surge of anger overwhelm the sorrow in his chest. Not bothering to turn around, he stood rigidly in place and let out a cold hiss. “You know, Keruni…it’s a lot like being with you.” Without waiting for her reply, he turned away from her and leapt into the hole leading into the Spring. Guilt burned in his chest only seconds after he had bolted away from her, making his heart skip with regret and grief. Trying to shake it off and ignore the guilt, he sat back against the cold stone and heaved a sigh. He seemed to sag with tiredness and exhaustion and he longed to get back to his den and fall asleep, but a tiny part of him knew that his own regret would keep him awake. Letting out another long sigh, he took a deep breath and turned to face the darkness around him.
When he woke up the next morning, he would remember the night as the night he had a painful run-in with his enemy. In the future, he would remember it as the night before the creatures invaded.
Stars twinkled in the black night sky miles away, shining down on a lone animal trudging painfully across a bleak landscape. His head sagged and his paws felt heavy with exhaustion, but he forced himself to keep moving, desperate to find the ones he missed. Some part of him wondered if he would ever see them again or if they had already moved on and he was searching for no reason, but the other part of him refused to stop. Even if they had forgotten him, he could never forget them. Searching for them to make sure they had found a safer home and better luck was all he had left.
Other worries nagged at his mind with every step he took. As if his own nostalgia wasn’t bad enough, he was starting to find it a bit difficult to hide from the ones who hated him so strongly. Avoiding them was a priority. If he slipped up and got caught, his death was all but assured, and this time it would be permanent. To make his suffering worse, food was getting harder and harder to find and the thought of trying to take food from around the homes of his enemies was anything but assuring.
Letting out a soft sigh, he glanced down at the journal tied around his neck and wondered what the animals he missed so badly thought of him. Were they upset by his fate? Or had they recovered and gone on with their lives? Feeling a tingle of pain and guilt, he hoped they were smart enough to leave his memory behind. They would have enough to deal with without having to mourn over what might have happened to him.
He padded wearily onward, wandering alone through an endless expanse of barren land and thinking about the animals he missed. Deep down he wondered if he should give up and leave them alone. He had already done enough and a tiny voice in his head whispered that they wouldn’t care about seeing him again. Trying to ignore the voice and the grief prickling his fur, he pushed the thoughts away and forced himself to take another step. Even if they didn’t want to see him, he had to check up on them. He could always leave after he was sure they were all right and continue wandering alone. Forever.
A tiny hint of loneliness haunted him, but spending hours upon hours and days upon days alone didn’t bother him too much. What bothered him was the guilt that filled the emptiness left by the never-ending silence. With every step he took, every breath he breathed, and every memory he tried to relive, the guilt haunted him, tormenting him without mercy or any hope of stopping. The guilt was his only companion in his lonesome journey in daylight and his only shelter at night. Sleep seemed to always be just beyond his grasp. Not a single moment passed by without his conscience reminding him of his horrible deeds, but he accepted the guilt. He knew he deserved it.
Despite his best efforts to overcome his own self-hatred, his mind was constantly riddled with guilt and grief. Not a moment passed by without him remembering the past. Every day he replayed what he had done over and over again, seeing the terrified look in the amber eyes beneath him a thousand times and experiencing the taste of his brother’s blood in his mouth as if he had done that horrible deed all over again.
Copyrighted Material. Copyright © 2012 Sarah Renee.
Flickers of bright red and orange flames leapt up through the darkness around him. A memory of the flames leaping up a tall tree and charring the bright purple leaves into ashes faded into an image of the roaring blaze racing across a long strip of pale green grass. The flames flickered higher and higher, covering trees and bushes and sending a billowing cloud of smoke rising into the cloudless blue sky. Screams echoed around him as the memories of the flames suddenly disappeared into darkness.
The light, mocking sound of giggling slowly pierced through the silence around him, making his heart burn with pain. Two scornful bright green eyes shone through the blackness, meeting his sad gaze and never seeming to blink. Gray and green eyes appeared less than a second later. A sharp, furious snarl echoed through the blackness.
“Get out of my Empire!”
Jeb’s eyes flew open and he shot upward into a sitting position, letting out a terrified gasp and looking around wildly. Frightened pants and gasps shuddered out of his chest and his bright blue and green eyes opened wide in terror. Struggling to calm the frantic beating of his heart and take deeper, slower breaths, he stared at the den around him and tried to push memories of the nightmare away.
Bleak gray walls made of rock rose up around him, curving upward to form a rocky ceiling above him. Shadows fell across the sharp, jutting edges of the stone, sending shivers of fear down his spine. Damp green mold crept across the hard, rocky floor beneath him. The cave den was completely empty apart from a tiny pile of fruit left in the corner. Flies buzzed around the measly leftovers, picking it apart piece by piece.
Taking a deep breath, Jeb slowly pushed himself up, trying not to let his paws shake against the rough, freezing floor. He glanced down at his bright yellow and black-striped fur, searching for any sign of wounds or injuries in case the dream was real. Looking back, he flicked his brown-tufted tail into view before glancing down and spreading out the green webbing between his yellow paws. A soft, shaky sigh breathed out of his chest when he realized he hadn’t been hurt.
Jeb shivered when he looked around the cave den and realized his father was nowhere in sight. Casting an anxious glance around the den, he tried to shake off the cold fear that lingered after the dream and padded cautiously to the gaping entrance of his den. He nervously peeked out into the Spring, searching for any sign of his father.
Rocky walls rose up on the opposite side of the underground Spring and covered the back and front walls, closing in a huge open space. The cold stone floor stretched out in front of him, leading to the back of the Spring that sat just a few feet to the right of his den. Hundreds of jagged holes had been carved into the side of the wall, marking the entrances to the dens of the other kraguers and tunnels that led back to even more dens. A bright, sparkling pool of shimmering, crystal-like water glimmered in a deep basin just a few paces to the left of his den. The brilliant blue waters lapped at the stony floor of the underground, dampening the pale green mold and moss growing on the very edges of the spring. A faint beam of moonlight shimmered down into the Spring from a tiny hole carved into the top of the underground cavern, illuminating the bright Spring water and casting dark shadows across the back of the cave. The outlaws living down in the Spring sat against the rocky walls, giving him dark, eerie glances.
Stumbling nervously out into the main part of the Spring, Jeb headed toward the pool of water and paused when he spotted another kraguer racing toward him.
Telku skidded to a stop and frowned at him. “What are you doing out here?”
Jeb avoided his father’s worried gaze and shrugged. “I was looking for you.”
Telku let out a sigh. “You should have stayed in the den. It’s dangerous out here.”
Jeb flattened his ears. He tried to take in a shaky breath of the damp, musty air of the Spring and his eyes narrowed with pain. “Why did Zerone have to force us to live here? We don’t deserve to live with these evil kraguers! We’re not criminals like them!”
Telku sighed. “Save the speech, Jeben. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
Jeb narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath. “I hate Zerone!”
Telku let out a long breath of air and rested his brown-tufted tail gently on Jeb’s shoulder to reassure him. “Let’s not dwell on this. We should get back to our cave den.”
Jeb nodded weakly and started to turn around to pad back to his den, then froze at the sound of a light, familiar voice. “Telku! Jeb!”
The two of them whirled around to see where the voice had come from and smiled weakly when they saw who it was. Jeb’s mother leapt down from the hole at the top of the underground Spring and landed neatly on the tiny strip of stony ground that sat on the other side of the pool of water. Her blue and gray eyes glimmered in the darkness, and the faint glow of moonlight from the hole leading to the upper world illuminated her yellow and black-striped fur. She had several pieces of fruit clasped tightly in her jaws.
Jeb’s blue and green eyes lit up with a tiny glimmer of hope, but he froze when a sharp hiss echoed through the Spring. A kraguer with a cold smirk stepped out from behind the shadows just a few paces away from Jeb’s mother and let out a chuckle. The faint light shone down on the outlaw, making Jeb shiver when he recognized the pale blue eyes of Citcha, an outlaw who had been exiled for ridiculous amounts of thievery. A crooked sneer spread across her face when she sauntered over to Jeb’s mother.
“Hand that over, Jati!” she snarled, flicking her brown-tipped tail.
Jati hissed and narrowed her eyes. “This is ours!”
Citcha snickered. “Not anymore.” Lunging forward, she rammed into Jati and sent her stumbling toward the pool of water.
Jati let out a cry of shock, sending the food tumbling to the ground. Before she could stop herself, she fell backwards into the spring water with a loud splash. Water splattered the stony ground and drenched Citcha’s face, but she barely seemed to notice.
“Citcha!” Telku let out a growl of fury, but the thief ignored him and grabbed the fruit, letting out a wild, crazed laugh and racing back to her cave den with her tail streaming out behind her. Before any of them could stop her, she lunged toward one of the jagged alcoves at the back of the underground and disappeared into the blackness.
Jeb’s eyes widened in alarm and he staggered to the edge of the spring. “Mom!”
His heart skipped in his chest, but before he could panic, his mother poked her head up out of the water, gasping for air. Her blue and gray eyes glinted with fury and annoyance and she spat into the water. “Citcha,” she muttered, paddling swiftly through the pool of water and stretching out the green webbing between her toes. “Always causing trouble!” Letting out a low growl, she swam to the side of the spring and hauled herself up onto the stone beside Telku and Jeb, dripping with water and scowling in frustration.
Telku let out a long sigh. “There’s nothing you can do, Jati. Come on now, let’s go back to our den. I think we still have some leftovers from last night.”
Jati crinkled her nose. “I hate leftovers. The flies have probably gotten to them.”
Jeb shuddered, but when his parents slowly began padding back to their den, he reluctantly fell into step behind them. He grimaced when he crept into their den to see flies circling the leftovers and filling the den with an annoying buzzing sound.
Jati curled her lip and turned away from it. “Gross!”
Telku sighed and lowered himself down onto a clump of mold. “Just get over it.”
Jeb’s mother glared at him and gritted her teeth. “You two just had to go and get involved in Zerone’s dirty business, didn’t you? If it wasn’t for you two, he wouldn’t have exiled us to this place and we wouldn’t be living around the filth of the Empire!”
Jeb narrowed his eyes and felt a sting of pain. “Hey, that’s not true!”
Telku gritted his teeth. “He’s right. We’re here because of Zerone’s doing, not ours. Maybe if we had a less selfish Emperor, we wouldn’t be here. How about that?”
“Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she muttered, flopping down on the hard ground. “You should have left Zerone to deal with his own fire.”
“I’m sorry,” Jeb muttered, looking hurtfully down at his paws.
Telku flicked his tail sharply. “Don’t be. Our coming here was Zerone’s fault.”
Jeb let out a soft sigh. “Mom’s got a point, though.”
His father narrowed his eyes, his green irises gleaming in the dim light. “So we should be punished for trying to help someone?”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “Apparently that’s how Zerone sees it. Look, I hate him as much as you or anyone, but he was kind of in a bad situation.”
“That was his own doing.” Telku flattened his ears and lashed his tail. “If he hadn’t started the fire in the first place…”
Jati glared at him. “If you hadn’t gone out in the fire in the first place, then we would be fine. If you had stayed where you were supposed to instead of getting involved in other animal’s business like you always do, we wouldn’t be in this disgusting place.”
Telku gritted his teeth. “If you’re going to keep blaming us…”
“If you’re going to keep doing stupid things…”
“Stop fighting!” Jeb cut off his mother with a sharp cry, his eyes wide with alarm. “I hate it when you fight, and you’re always doing it!” He shrank back when his parents whirled around to stare at him in shock and tried to avoid their stunned gazes. His fur prickled with unease and distress. Fights seemed to erupt constantly about that stupid fire and the Emperor’s decision to exile them ever since they had come to the Spring. Most of the time, he tried to take both of their sides and get them to compromise, but it rarely worked and he hated that he could never stop them from getting angry at each other.
A long silence spread out between them before Telku finally hung his head and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Jeb.”
Jati rolled her eyes and glanced guiltily at the ground. “Sorry,” she muttered.
Casting an annoyed glance at Jati, Telku took a deep breath and gave Jeb a weak smile. “Why don’t you get some water from the spring? I think the others are gone now.”
Jeb glanced uneasily back and forth between his parents. After a long hesitation, he turned around to peek out through the entrance to his den and gazed around at the underground. A relieved sigh breathed out of his throat when he realized the shadowed Spring was empty of any outlaws. Taking a cautious step forward and trying to ignore his fear, he stumbled over to the spring and crouched down on the fuzzy moss growing along the edges of the basin. After looking nervously over both shoulders, he slowly bent down and lapped up a few drops of the shimmering blue water, feeling grateful that the Spring held one of the only pools in the entire forest that wasn’t poisoned. Closing his eyes, he tried to enjoy the solitude and the cool taste of the water, then froze when a cool voice broke the silence around him.
“Hungry, Jeb?”
A tiny squeak escaped Jeb’s throat and he jumped up and whirled around in alarm, his heart beginning to race. He froze in place and felt a wave of relief overwhelm him when he peered through the shadows and realized he recognized the kraguer standing calmly behind him as Secka. A shaky sigh of relief breathed out of his chest as the outlaw stepped forward. The light from above cast a silvery glow over the kraguer’s smoky gray fur, pitch black stripes, and gleaming gray eyes. Sitting in the shadows near the back of the cave, the outlaw curled his black-tufted tail over his paws and watched Jeb calmly.
Nobody knew what crime the gray outlaw had been exiled for, but he didn’t have the cruel, sadistic personality of a murderer or the greedy attitude of a thief. Everybody assumed from his apathetic disposition that he hadn’t done anything too horrible to be banished to the Spring. Most of them thought he had simply caught Zerone on a bad day.
Secka raised an eyebrow. “I heard you had a bit of trouble a little while ago.”
Jeb let out a sigh and glanced down at his paws. “Yeah, Citcha took the food my Mom brought in. I guess I am kind of hungry.”
Secka leaned down to grab a piece of fruit hidden in the shadows and threw it to him, his half-lidded gray eyes bored and nonchalant. “Enjoy.”
Jeb managed a weak smile and started to step forward to take the food, then froze.
A cold, dangerous snicker sounded from the shadows covering the back of the cavern. Secka glanced back with a bored sigh to see a red-furred outlaw step out from one of the cave dens at the back of the Spring and stalk toward him. “Sharing with the arsonist?” the outlaw mocked, raising an eyebrow.
Secka rolled his eyes and glanced back at him with an annoyed look. “Shut up. I’m not in the mood for you, so lay off. Besides,” he muttered with a bored flick of his tail, “everyone knows Jeb didn’t start the fire.”
The kraguer narrowed his eyes. “Says who?”
“Says me,” Jeb squeaked. A shiver raced down his spine and he shrank back in terror when the outlaw cast a disdainful glance in his direction.
Secka let out an annoyed sigh and glanced over to mutter to the outlaw, his voice as calm and unperturbed as always. “Jeb is a coward who’s afraid of his own shadow. Cowards don’t run around starting the forest on fire.”
Indignation made Jeb’s fur prickle at the insult, but when the other outlaw gave him a dangerous glare, he shrank back and didn’t say a word. His heart beat rapidly with fear and he prepared to run. Secka’s words hurt, but he knew they were true.
The red outlaw sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I still don’t like him though.”
Secka snorted and glanced around him in boredom. “You don’t like anybody.”
“Is there any reason I should?” The criminal narrowed his eyes. “Everybody hates Zerone—even his own Empire—and all the criminals down here do is take up space and annoy me. You’re the worst one of the bunch, actually.”
“Fascinating,” Secka muttered, his monotonous voice tinged with sarcasm. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you committed a crime and got yourself exiled.” He raised his paw as he spoke and distractedly studied his sharp claws, as if the outlaw he was speaking to was barely worth his time.
The other criminal scoffed. “Look who’s talking! You’re a criminal, too, and you’re stuck down here just like the rest of us last time I checked!”
Secka just shrugged and flicked his tail uncaringly. “So? It’s not so bad down here. Now get back to your cave den. Talking to you is starting to bore me.”
The red kraguer gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes in fury, but after a long moment, he finally let out a low growl and whirled around. Muttering under his breath, he stalked back toward one of the jagged holes at the back of the Spring and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Jeb and Secka alone.
Secka glanced at the place where the criminal had disappeared with raised eyebrows and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going back to my den to sleep. Night, Jeb.”
“Goodnight,” Jeb murmured softly, gazing distractedly down at his paws. After a long moment of hesitation, he glanced back at the moonlit hole leading into the upper world. His heart skipped in his chest at the thought of the upper world, but when he heard the sound of paws thudding against stone, he whipped around to face the gray outlaw. “Secka, wait! Is anyone up there?”
Secka paused and followed his gaze up to the hole leading into the world above. Looking back down to meet Jeb’s wide eyes, he shrugged nonchalantly. “As far as I know, there’s no one up there. I was just out a minute ago. All of Zerone’s kraguers are asleep by now and far away from here. They won’t catch you sneaking around up there.”
Jeb heaved a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Thanks.”
Secka turned around and trailed off into the shadows. “If your parents freak out, I’ll tell them you went up for a while.”
Jeb glanced guiltily down at his paws. “Thanks, I guess. I just hope they don’t panic too much like they usually do.” He winced when he thought of the terror his parents felt at the thought of being caught up on the surface world by Emperor Zerone’s guards. Criminals were technically supposed to stay in the Spring and never leave to visit the upper world, but no one ever paid attention to that law and no one bothered to enforce it. A tiny glimmer of fear burned in Jeb’s chest at the thought of being seen in the upper world, but he pushed it away. The small risk of being up there was worth getting a breath of fresh air and getting away from the filthy grime of the underground for a few minutes.
Secka let out a tiny chuckle. “Your parents panic if a fly buzzes in their ear, but I’ll try to keep their noise down so the other outlaws don’t get mad.”
Jeb tried not to wince and simply nodded. “Thanks.”
Secka just shrugged and padded forward, vanishing into the darkness shrouding the cavern. Taking a deep breath, Jeb slowly turned around to stare out at the sparkling waters of the Spring, closed his eyes, and leapt forward. Shivers raced down his spine at the shock and sting of the sudden rush of freezing cold water washing over his body, but he ignored the chill spreading through him. Spreading out the webbing between his toes, he reached up with his paws and swam upward until his head finally broke the surface of the Spring. Gasping for air, he blinked water out of his eyes and paddled over to the tiny stretch of stone on the opposite side of the spring.
A cold wind breezed past him when he finally dug his claws into the stone on the other side and pulled himself up, but he tried not to shiver with cold. Shaking himself and sending droplets of water flying everywhere, he glanced up at the hole in the ceiling and leapt upward, digging his claws into the side of the hole. Narrowing his eyes, he struggled to pull himself up through the hole leading into the upper world and heaved a sigh when he finally hauled himself up over the edge and rolled onto the stiff green grass.
Towering trees rose up around him, forming a thick, dark canopy over his head. Pink, purple, green, and blue leaves rustled in a soft breeze, and the bright, shimmering moon above him cast a silvery glow down on the colorful trees. Orange, turquoise, white, and yellow bushes sprung up around the rough trunks of the trees and plants of every color of the rainbow grew up from the ground. The hard, cool green grass rose up high enough to brush his white belly. Shadows covered the woods around him, making shivers race up his spine when he wondered if Secka was mistaken and some of Zerone’s followers truly were hiding behind the enormous, rainbow-colored trees.
Taking a deep breath, Jeb closed his eyes and tried to relax. When he squeezed his eyes shut, he could still picture the terrifying images from his nightmare and the horrifying memories of everything that had happened just one year ago. The crackling, roaring sound of the fire seemed to echo in his ears as the images flashed through his mind. Through the darkness, he could still see the wild, eerie orange and red light of the blaze illuminating the yellow and black-striped fur of Zerone, the Emperor of the forest. The terror glowing in Zerone’s bright green and ashen gray eyes seemed to burn into Jeb’s mind, sending shivers racing through him.
Pushing away the memories of Emperor Zerone, he shuddered when a new image flashed through his mind. He remembered racing through the burning forest close beside his father, dodging away from the flickering flames and struggling to escape. His father’s narrowed green eyes had glowed in determination with the sickening light of the flames. The roar of the fire still burned in his memory and the intense heat that had wafted over him made him suddenly break out in a cold sweat. Cries and screams seemed to echo from over a distance as the memory played out in his mind. He remembered leaping over a fallen tree with his father, racing toward the sound of a terrified cry, and stumbling into a clearing flickering with fire. The desperate, pleading look of Emperor Zerone burned in his mind when he remembered staggering forward with his father and freeing the Emperor’s paw from where it had been trapped underneath a small fallen log.
A loud, thundering smack echoed in Jeb’s mind when he remembered helping Telku pull Zerone free from where he had been trapped by the fallen tree and pushing him away. He winced when he remembered feeling a whoosh of air rustle his fur and looking back just in time to see a flaming tree crash down right in the place where the Emperor had stood only moments ago. The memories seemed to blur when he thought of how Zerone had bounded away and disappeared behind a wall of flickering flames.
Jeb’s eyes shot open with fear and the echoing sound of crackling flames slowly began to die away, letting the clearing around him drift back into focus. Feelings of horror and dismay washed over him as strongly as they had a year ago when he had burst out of the burning forest into an untouched, peaceful clearing and whirled around to see the flames billowing up, turning the sky into nothing but a cloud of ash. Hours had passed by before the fire was finally stopped, but once the smoke had cleared, the terrified kraguers had been quick to ask questions. Backed into a corner, the Emperor had been quick to blame the ones closest to him when the fire had started: Jeb and his Dad.
The next few days had passed by in a blur. Jeb’s calm, peaceful home in Zerone’s Court on the outskirts of the Emperor’s mansion had become a land of hostility and accusations. In less than a week, a meeting had been held in Zerone’s Royal Court in the plaza outside of his mansion. He and his father had been accused as guilty of starting the fire and sentenced to live in the Spring with the other outlaws for the rest of their lives. It had been their word against the word of the ruler of the forest. By the time the trial was even half over, everyone in Zerone’s Court had turned against them and cheered for their exile. Keruni, Jeb’s ‘best friend,’ had been the first to agree to his sentence and had simply laughed when he had been forced to leave. As the Emperor’s daughter, she had instantly believed her father’s accusations over his protests. To that day, the only ones who knew the truth about who truly started the fire were the outlaws in the Spring.
Why Zerone had started the fire in the first place or whether it was an accident or not, Jeb didn’t know. All he knew was that he was trapped with a horde of outlaws for the rest of his life because of what he did.
Trying to shake off his bitter thoughts, he glanced around at the clearing and peered into the shadows behind the trees. Shivers raced through him. If he looked closely enough, he thought he could see a hint of light brown sand stretching out past his forest. The Land Beyond the Forest. The thought sent a wave of cold fear crashing over him, raising every hair on his back and making his heart beat faster with terror. Taking a deep breath, he tore his gaze away from the sand he imagined waiting just a few miles in front of him and tried to shake off the cold chills racing through his body. The idea of the lands waiting beyond their home terrified every kraguer. The forest around them was the only safe haven for his kind. To take one step outside their forest would be to die.
Shivering violently in the cold night air, he turned around to race back toward the underground to get out of the freezing surface world, then froze when he heard a soft rustling sound. Whirling around, his eyes grew wide with horror when he spotted a dense clump of undergrowth rustling just a few paces away from him. A tiny squeak of fear escaped his throat, and his legs turned to stone, freezing him with fear.
A cool, mocking laugh cut through the peaceful silence of the night. “Still afraid of your own shadow, huh, Jeben?”
Jeb’s eyes widened when he recognized the cold, high-pitched voice. Before he could speak or run, a tiny kraguer stepped out from the bushes, snickering and sneering.
“Still a scaredy-cat, I see.” The kraguer’s green eyes sparkled with amusement and arrogance as she sat back and smirked at Jeb. “You haven’t changed much.”
Jeb flattened his ears. “Shut up, Keruni! I’m not a scaredy-cat!”
She snickered and raised an eyebrow. “Sure you are!”
Jeb narrowed his eyes to protest, then sighed and let the insult die away. “Never mind,” he muttered. “What are you doing out here anyway?”
She lashed her tail in a challenge. “What are you?”
He flattened his ears. “I asked first.”
Keruni rolled her eyes. “What are we? Five? I’m here because I can go where I want. You, on the other hand, can’t. Outlaws like you aren’t allowed to leave the Spring.”
Jeb’s fur bristled in fury. “I shouldn’t be an outlaw! I didn’t do anything!”
Keruni rolled her eyes with a condescending sigh. “At this rate, you’ll be saying that on your deathbed. You’re such a liar, Jeb, and a bad one at that.”
“Oh, you mean like Emperor Zerone?” he shot back, lashing his tail in anger.
She bristled and let out a cold hiss of fury. “My Daddy is not a liar! You are!”
Jeb let out an exasperated sigh. “If you believe that, you’ll believe anything!”
Keruni snorted and flicked her tail, gazing at him with a flippant, condescending look. “Just give it up. Everyone knows you started that fire, so just drop it, you traitor.”
Jeb winced. “You’re the traitor! You were the first one to agree to having me thrown out of Zerone’s Court and exiled to live with the outlaws just because Zerone said I should! Why did you listen to him? You were supposed to be my best friend!”
“My Daddy’s always right, so why shouldn’t I have listened to him?” Keruni sniffed. “And we were never friends. I just hung out with you when I was bored.” She shook her head in disgust as Jeb gaped at her in disbelief. “‘Best friends.’ Ha! You were a worthless friend. Whenever something made a sound, you would run and hide! If something bad happened, you would just cower under a bush and leave me to get hurt!”
Jeb’s eyes widened in shock as sharp pain stabbed into his heart. Shaking his head desperately, he faced Keruni and gritted his teeth. “That—that’s not true!”
She smirked at him and let out a cold, humorless snicker in her high, lofty voice. “Sure it is. Who would want to be friends with a dumb, pathetic coward like you?”
Jeb blinked and shook his head, trying to push back the sting of tears and the memories flashing through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he stumbled past her, trying to block out the grief rising in his chest. “Forget it, Keruni. I have to get back to the Spring.”
Keruni sniffed and glanced over her shoulder when he stumbled past her. “Really? So what’s it like living with the scum of the forest?”
Jeb winced and gritted his teeth, freezing in his tracks and feeling a surge of anger overwhelm the sorrow in his chest. Not bothering to turn around, he stood rigidly in place and let out a cold hiss. “You know, Keruni…it’s a lot like being with you.” Without waiting for her reply, he turned away from her and leapt into the hole leading into the Spring. Guilt burned in his chest only seconds after he had bolted away from her, making his heart skip with regret and grief. Trying to shake it off and ignore the guilt, he sat back against the cold stone and heaved a sigh. He seemed to sag with tiredness and exhaustion and he longed to get back to his den and fall asleep, but a tiny part of him knew that his own regret would keep him awake. Letting out another long sigh, he took a deep breath and turned to face the darkness around him.
When he woke up the next morning, he would remember the night as the night he had a painful run-in with his enemy. In the future, he would remember it as the night before the creatures invaded.
Stars twinkled in the black night sky miles away, shining down on a lone animal trudging painfully across a bleak landscape. His head sagged and his paws felt heavy with exhaustion, but he forced himself to keep moving, desperate to find the ones he missed. Some part of him wondered if he would ever see them again or if they had already moved on and he was searching for no reason, but the other part of him refused to stop. Even if they had forgotten him, he could never forget them. Searching for them to make sure they had found a safer home and better luck was all he had left.
Other worries nagged at his mind with every step he took. As if his own nostalgia wasn’t bad enough, he was starting to find it a bit difficult to hide from the ones who hated him so strongly. Avoiding them was a priority. If he slipped up and got caught, his death was all but assured, and this time it would be permanent. To make his suffering worse, food was getting harder and harder to find and the thought of trying to take food from around the homes of his enemies was anything but assuring.
Letting out a soft sigh, he glanced down at the journal tied around his neck and wondered what the animals he missed so badly thought of him. Were they upset by his fate? Or had they recovered and gone on with their lives? Feeling a tingle of pain and guilt, he hoped they were smart enough to leave his memory behind. They would have enough to deal with without having to mourn over what might have happened to him.
He padded wearily onward, wandering alone through an endless expanse of barren land and thinking about the animals he missed. Deep down he wondered if he should give up and leave them alone. He had already done enough and a tiny voice in his head whispered that they wouldn’t care about seeing him again. Trying to ignore the voice and the grief prickling his fur, he pushed the thoughts away and forced himself to take another step. Even if they didn’t want to see him, he had to check up on them. He could always leave after he was sure they were all right and continue wandering alone. Forever.
A tiny hint of loneliness haunted him, but spending hours upon hours and days upon days alone didn’t bother him too much. What bothered him was the guilt that filled the emptiness left by the never-ending silence. With every step he took, every breath he breathed, and every memory he tried to relive, the guilt haunted him, tormenting him without mercy or any hope of stopping. The guilt was his only companion in his lonesome journey in daylight and his only shelter at night. Sleep seemed to always be just beyond his grasp. Not a single moment passed by without his conscience reminding him of his horrible deeds, but he accepted the guilt. He knew he deserved it.
Despite his best efforts to overcome his own self-hatred, his mind was constantly riddled with guilt and grief. Not a moment passed by without him remembering the past. Every day he replayed what he had done over and over again, seeing the terrified look in the amber eyes beneath him a thousand times and experiencing the taste of his brother’s blood in his mouth as if he had done that horrible deed all over again.
Copyrighted Material. Copyright © 2012 Sarah Renee.
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