Post by Brownie on Jul 30, 2017 18:13:42 GMT -5
Tick.
He ran swiftly and silently. It was as if he could see: he swerved around pillars, leapt over chasms driven deep into the earth, ducked through tunnels just tall enough to keep his stride.
Tick.
His heart screamed. Panic painted his black vision with violent splashes of red and gold.
Tick.
He tried to pull the seconds longer, tried to force more pawsteps into each beat.
Tick.
He was stretched between realities, between time. He'd never tried to stretch this far before. He felt the pain, like if he pulled any further he would snap.
Tick.
He grimaced and he pulled. He stretched the seconds, screaming in pain and fear.
Tick. . . Tick. . . . . Tick. . . . . . . . . .
His paws slipped on the blood. His legs gave way, speed turning to force as he fell. He smacked his chin against the floor.
SNAP.
Ticktickticktick.
- - -
She was a whirlwind of claws and fangs. The darkness was her ally and she used it to her advantage, descending on foes who were blind and helpless. Blood marred her fur, giving her more crimson patches than her tortoiseshell pelt had at birth. It dripped from her jaws, hanging in ropes from her chin.
One cat grabbed her tail. Another threw itself on top her back. She was driven to the ground, her breath pounded out of her lungs in a powerful burst. More weight piled upon her limbs. Her kicks caught fur with every blow, but her mind swirled from lack of oxygen and her blows lacked any force behind them.
A cat bit her ear, punching holes in the thin skin beside her skull. The pain was of a thousand fires, but she could only whimper and try to block it out as best she could. She didn't have an inch of freedom, completely pinned by the weight of several cats on her back and paws. The cat on her shoulders, the one who bit her, had his paw on the back of her skull. His claws went in and out, not painfully. Possessively. His breath clouded her fur in hot waves. She could feel the sneer on his muzzle. "Gather up, we're moving out!"
- - -
He came to slowly, his thoughts sliding in and out of focus. His jaw throbbed where it rested on the ground.
Tick. Tick.
His eyes snapped open and he panicked as the white glow was quashed by blackness.
Tick. Tick.
The clock kept beat and eventually his heart slowed to match the pace. The regular sound was comfort in the darkness.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
He felt the blood sticky against his paws. It made a crinkling sound as he peeled his chest from the floor, rising on unsteady paws. He didn't need sight to see what had happened.
Tick.
Bodies littered the cavern like lonely stones scattered with a lazy hand. None of them were hers: they smelled of damp and blood, but also of leaves and light.
Tick.
He followed her scent, her wonderful, familiar scent. The smell of water and stone and darkness and shared breaths.
Tick. Tick.
He could smell her when he brought his nose to the stone. The scent had pooled out here. His pawpads still felt the heat of her body as she lay against the cold stone.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
He whimpered, dropped to the ground where she had once lay. He pressed his muzzle to the floor, feeling her heat, smelling her scent.
Tick.
His head snapped up, eyes boring down the tunnel. To his finely tuned senses, he could feel the fresh air trickle downwards. He set his eyes on his goal and he started forward, the clock timing his paws.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
- - -
He ran swiftly and silently. It was as if he could see: he swerved around pillars, leapt over chasms driven deep into the earth, ducked through tunnels just tall enough to keep his stride.
Tick.
His heart screamed. Panic painted his black vision with violent splashes of red and gold.
Tick.
He tried to pull the seconds longer, tried to force more pawsteps into each beat.
Tick.
He was stretched between realities, between time. He'd never tried to stretch this far before. He felt the pain, like if he pulled any further he would snap.
Tick.
He grimaced and he pulled. He stretched the seconds, screaming in pain and fear.
Tick. . . Tick. . . . . Tick. . . . . . . . . .
His paws slipped on the blood. His legs gave way, speed turning to force as he fell. He smacked his chin against the floor.
SNAP.
Ticktickticktick.
- - -
She was a whirlwind of claws and fangs. The darkness was her ally and she used it to her advantage, descending on foes who were blind and helpless. Blood marred her fur, giving her more crimson patches than her tortoiseshell pelt had at birth. It dripped from her jaws, hanging in ropes from her chin.
One cat grabbed her tail. Another threw itself on top her back. She was driven to the ground, her breath pounded out of her lungs in a powerful burst. More weight piled upon her limbs. Her kicks caught fur with every blow, but her mind swirled from lack of oxygen and her blows lacked any force behind them.
A cat bit her ear, punching holes in the thin skin beside her skull. The pain was of a thousand fires, but she could only whimper and try to block it out as best she could. She didn't have an inch of freedom, completely pinned by the weight of several cats on her back and paws. The cat on her shoulders, the one who bit her, had his paw on the back of her skull. His claws went in and out, not painfully. Possessively. His breath clouded her fur in hot waves. She could feel the sneer on his muzzle. "Gather up, we're moving out!"
- - -
He came to slowly, his thoughts sliding in and out of focus. His jaw throbbed where it rested on the ground.
Tick. Tick.
His eyes snapped open and he panicked as the white glow was quashed by blackness.
Tick. Tick.
The clock kept beat and eventually his heart slowed to match the pace. The regular sound was comfort in the darkness.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
He felt the blood sticky against his paws. It made a crinkling sound as he peeled his chest from the floor, rising on unsteady paws. He didn't need sight to see what had happened.
Tick.
Bodies littered the cavern like lonely stones scattered with a lazy hand. None of them were hers: they smelled of damp and blood, but also of leaves and light.
Tick.
He followed her scent, her wonderful, familiar scent. The smell of water and stone and darkness and shared breaths.
Tick. Tick.
He could smell her when he brought his nose to the stone. The scent had pooled out here. His pawpads still felt the heat of her body as she lay against the cold stone.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
He whimpered, dropped to the ground where she had once lay. He pressed his muzzle to the floor, feeling her heat, smelling her scent.
Tick.
His head snapped up, eyes boring down the tunnel. To his finely tuned senses, he could feel the fresh air trickle downwards. He set his eyes on his goal and he started forward, the clock timing his paws.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
- - -