A Dark History, A New Story... (Chapter 1) - "A Father's Death"
#2 of A Dark History, A New Story
Hello my fellow anthropomorphic creatures. After a long time of inactivity one the site, but after reading a few books to improve my writing, I have finally finished the second chapter of my story.
I revised the prologue and changed it in a few ways, so you may want to read it again. I have also decided to add music to my story (I love music, in case you don't know) and so there will be some links to a few songs that fit into the plot. Clicking on them is recommended but it's your choice to do so or not. Enough of my prattling, enjoy and please comment, share your opinion and tell me what you think.
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What's the difference between destiny and fate? One of them is optional. It only presents opportunities and it's up to us to take them or not. It does not involve anyone else but us. The other one... the other one is unavoidable, no matter what we do, we can't stop it. And not only does it interfere with ourselves but with all those around us too. The latter one... is fate.
A Dark History, a New Story...
(Chapter 1)
"A Father's Death"
An indistinguishable silhouette walks through the vast hallways of the seemingly endless castle; lights are dim and shadows prevail, the rainy night and the mighty roar of thunders create the perfect atmosphere for this grim scenery. He is being escorted by two men following closely behind him, and the harmonic sound of the falling rain is broken only by their firm footsteps. The group arrives to a large corridor and turns left, another huge passage awaits them. It is adorned all the way with enormous carved pillars, and at the end there is an immense double door with the coat of arms of the Tyranny in the center.
The Tyranny's heraldic symbol consists of a richly engraved shield which has the mark of a paw on its center. In the outside, the shield has two wings, one on each side of it. From the viewer's perspective, a scaled wing is in its left and a feathered one in its right side. In the shield's bottom there is a cetacean tail-fin protruding. And finally, above the shield there is a sword resting horizontally, pointing right and showing it's blade with a golden inscription in it that says: "Iunctus Pro Libertas".
The group maintains its pace and quickly arrives at the impressive door, which has a visual and audio recognizing mechanism right below the Tyranny's insignia. As soon as the machine senses the group, says with a buzzing voice:
"Please stand in front of the door, say your rank, forename, surname, and your specialization branch in the armed forces." The shadowy character takes a few more steps ahead and stops right in front of the door saying with a firm voice:
"Colonel Julian Sears, Special Forces."
As soon as he finishes saying that, a bright light turns on above him, perfectly showing the adult ocelot's features. Just then, a horizontal light-beam generates from the center of the device scanning the feline's body meticulously, taking special interest in his face and eyes. After a little more than a minute of inspection the voice says:
"Welcome, Colonel Sears, you are cleared to proceed."
Internal machinery in the door starts running and the double-door opens slowly, revealing another hallway adorned too with gigantic carved pillars and a ceiling that reaches up to thirty feet. In the lateral walls of the room there are a few small windows carved in the stone walls letting some light into the chamber. In the floor, through the middle of the hall, runs a black carpet with golden rimming. The hallway ends in a magnificent set of stairs formed by at least twenty steps decorated with the same carpet. At the top of the stairs there is a golden throne with the Tyranny's emblem engraved on its back, its armrests are shaped as snake heads and it has a red velvet seat surrounded by engravings all over its golden structure.
That was the Tyrant's throne,and of course, that was the Tyranny's throne room.
The throne room is empty, and the group stares in amazement before the now open door, gazing at the majestic chamber. It's not the first time they're here, but a view like this is always astonishing. The colonel quickly snaps out and says to his men:
"Wait here... I won't be long."
"Yes sir!" They say in unison and stand at attention before the huge door.
The feline starts walking down the throne room, and after some steps, the immense door slowly closes behind him. He continues walking silently, only hearing the soothing sound of rain and watching the flashes of lightning coming in through the windows. He finally stops about 8 feet away from the stairs.
The ocelot remains still and does nothing, like waiting for something to happen. After a minute or two, the ocelot finally hears some footsteps approaching from somewhere upstairs. They sound heavy and metallic, like a hammer hitting an anvil again and again. The more they approach, the louder they sound. After some seconds, a creature wearing a suit of armor from tip to toe appears in the top of the stairs, it is none other than The Tyrant himself.
He's an imposing seven feet tall creature wearing a heavy looking suit of dark gray armor. His body is covered entirely by it, and not a single part is unprotected. Starting at his feet, the armor's sabatons have the shape of gardukian dragons' claws, having three spiky ends in the toe and a jagged side in the area of the heel resembling the fore and hind claws respectively. From his greaves, and all the way to his waist, his armor has small spiky scales all over it that look very similar to dragons' skin. In his lower back, a metallic cetacean tail can be seen attached to his body. On his torso, the Tyrant's armor tightens around his body, mostly within the area of the abdomen, and broadens onto a massively shielded area on his chest. His large armored shoulders are covered by a black fabric cape that flows on his back all the way to the floor's level. Both of his arms have the same matching scaled pattern as his lower armor, but his gauntlets are both different. His left gauntlet has a rough texture and metallic claws at the ends of his fingers; his right gauntlet has the shape and features of a human hand. He also carries a magnificent sword sheathed in the back of his right hip, its only visible thing, is the complexly designed hilt. Finally, upon his head, he wears a metallic mask and helmet. His mask has the shape of a canine's skull which covers his entire face, having only two holes in front of his eyes and two smaller holes at the end of the snout. His helmet is plain with only two metallic feline ears protruding in it, like two horns overhead. It also runs down to the back of his neck, shielding that area with cold metal.
As The Tyrant makes his way down the stairs, the ocelot stands at attention, giving a respectful stare at his superior as he approaches. The colonel then salutes him with his right paw as the creature climbs down the last steps. When the Tyrant is as far as 5 feet away, the cat lowers his paw and forms a fist with it placing it over his heart, flexes his left knee and bows to the Tyrant, all in a single move. The enormous being stops right in front of him and a deep, hollow voice comes out from his emotionless mask saying:
"Stand up, Julian. We have got much to discuss, follow me." The Tyrant turned around and started walking back to his throne. The cat followed and asked:
"Then you know why I'm here, right?" The creature remained silent until he climbed back the stair and sat on his throne. He slowly gazed at the feline standing in front of him before answering.
"Let me guess. You never come here unless you disagree with one of my decisions so..." He stopped for a brief moment and interlaced his hands. "You are here to discuss your promotion. Am I right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then you already know my answer. I will not change my mind. I need capable people at my side, Julian, and you have proven to be the most capable."
"With all the respect I have towards you, my answer is no." The cat gave a defiant look at the Tyrant and continued. "I vowed loyalty and obedience to you but I have a family now. The higher my rank is, the more risked they are of becoming targets to our enemies."
"And the higher your rank is, the more protection it is available for them." The Tyrant pressed a button on the right armrest of his throne and said "Besides, you will be able to spend more time with them. Was not that what you wanted? There are no excuses Julian, accept already!"
A doubting grimace appeared in the ocelot's face as he remained silent and with a lost stare. After some seconds, he heard some hurried footsteps coming from the hallway right of the throne followed by a known voice that said:
"I came here as fast as I could, sir, is everything alright?"
The cat turned to face the male speaking, he was a Blue Great Dane, 6'3'' tall and with a strong build. His ears were cropped but his tail was intact and hanging behind him, his serious but light blue eyes contrasted with his bluish-gray fur. The dog was wearing a black military greatcoat with no insignias, emblems or any indication of his rank.
Pleased by the presence of this man, the feline smiled and said:
"Romeo, is that really you?" The canine looked back at the cat and answered with a big grin on his face:
"Juliet! Been quite some time, ah? How's the family man life treating you?" The Tyrant stood up from his throne and both animals got quiet instantly, their superior then said:
"I am sorry to interrupt your reacquaintance, gentlemen, but we have a matter at hand. Ralph, did you brought what I asked?"
"Yes sir, I've got them right here."
"Good. I want an answer, Julian. Now."
The ocelot looked down for a few seconds, raised his head and gave a last look to the two men standing in front of him before he said:
"Alright sir, I accept."
"Wise decision, I knew you would accept!" The creature then turned to the dog and said: "Give them to me."
The Dane smiled and grabbed something from the left pocket of his coat and gave it to the Tyrant, the creature nodded and faced the feline once again:
"Well Julian, I know you very well and I am sure you do not want a ceremony or a big speech about your new rank so..." He extended his left arm and handed the ocelot a pair of silver stars. "...congratulations, Brigadier."
"Congratulations Juliet!" Said the dog enthusiastically, while wagging his tail, and continued "Now that you'll have more time on your paws, we should get together some day! Just like old times! You know, to share old memories!"
The ocelot smiled falsely, still questioning in his mind the decision he had just made. He removed his silver eagles from both of his shoulders and put them aside in his pocket, then took both of the silver stars and attached one to each of his shoulders. The feline looked back at his superior and said:
"What are your orders, sir?" An unnoticeable chuckle came out of the Tyrant's mask before saying:
"You are eager to work as always, Julian. But as a Brigadier you are no longer required to spent time here in the base." The creature stopped talking for a while and continued. "And by not required I mean that I do not want to see you at all."
"What do you mean, sir?" The feline asked.
"It means you will come here only when I require you to do so. Is that clear, Julian?" After a few seconds of silence, the ocelot responded with a low voice:
"Yes sir... very clear."
"I will also send an additional unit to guard you and your family along with one of my most trusted officers at its command. I'm sure you know him really well, but he is in an assignment right now and I am afraid he will take some time to get back. The unit will be dispatched immediately."
"May I ask who he is, sir?"
"You will find out when he gets back from his mission in four weeks. You have command over the unit until then."
"Understood. Is there anything else, sir?"
"No, I will contact you by the usual means whenever I need you here. Enjoy the... 'family man life', Julian." The Tyrant then motioned the cat to leave.
"Will do, sir." The cat placed his paw on his chest and said: "Iunctus Pro Libertas..."
"...Non versus inimicus." Completed The Tyrant and nodded as he sat himself back in his throne.
The ocelot turned around and started walking to the door as he heard the Dane saying: "See ya Juliet! I'll call ya, yeah?" The cat smirked without looking back, raised his right paw and waved it once.
The door opened in front of him and the feline saw his men standing at attention in front of it. One motion of his hand later, they were following behind him. The dark owl that was accompanying him asked:
"Is everything alright, colonel?" The only thing the ocelot said was:
"I'm not a colonel anymore".
The day my father was promoted we had a feast as we used to when we celebrated something, he told us he wouldn't be working as much as he did from then on and that some more men would come to guard the house. Nothing else worth mentioning happened, I went to sleep and that's how I ended the day.
The next morning some lights and engine sounds woke me up. I looked at the time to see it was 05:15 in the morning. I decided to get up and see what was happening through the window. I saw three military transport vehicles in front of the house, beside them was my father with twelve fully equipped men getting ready.
I would normally ask David what was happening but he was the only one who didn't spend the night here because of his family, so I decided to go see what was happening on my own. I quickly got dressed up and ran downstairs finding my father just outside of the main door of the house, as I got close to him he noticed my presence and said to me without even looking back:
"Good morning, son. I'm sorry if we woke you up so early, but come see this." I walked up to him and stepped at his right, he placed his arm on my shoulder, smiled at me and said: "Can you see that?"
"What? All those soldiers outside?" He chuckled and continued:
"No... the sun... it's rising again. Greet the new day, Jack!" I thought he was joking with me, but when I looked at his face I realized he was happy, like I'd never seen him before. I smiled and hugged him and said sympathetically:
"It's awesome." He remained silent for a few seconds and then said:
"Jack, I know I haven't been a good father but I intend to make things right from now on. Can you give me a second chance?" I smiled as I felt my heart warm with those words.
"Of course I can, you're my dad!"
As I finished saying that, one of the new soldiers approached and said to my father:
"We await your instructions, sir."
"Ok then, form up!" As the soldiers moved as fast as they could into formation, some of them seemingly panicking, my father smiled at me, grabbed me by the shoulder and started walking with me towards his men. "Let's go, I'll introduce them to you."
Three weeks passed and my relationship with my father grew rapidly, no day passed without spending time with him and I enjoyed doing so. In these weeks we did as many things as others would in a year, and that day was like any others.
Since my home was in the outskirts of a forest near Perun, my father and I decided to go picnicking together. I got my things ready and walked downstairs where I saw mom and dad apparently arguing, they stopped as soon as they saw me and smiled at me.
"Are you ready to go, Jack?" My father asked as he grabbed his backpack from the floor and walked out the door.
"Sure thing dad, I'm ready. Bye ma." I got close to my mother and kissed her cheek. "Zulu is going to stay with you, right?" She looked back at my father standing near the door and then smiled at me.
"Yes, he will stay here. You two go and have fun." He looked back at my father and said "Please take care of him, Julian" My father just nodded.
"Let's go" He said and walked outside as I followed behind him. The two black Humvees were outside the house waiting for us, both of them were armored. David, the dark owl named Lorenz and the Komodo dragon named Alvar were already waiting for us, as we approached them, my father said:
"Is everything ready boys?"
"Yes sir" They said almost in unison.
"Ok then. Delta, you drive. Lima, Alpha, you take the other vehicle and keep up with us."
They all nodded and took their positions. We got on the vehicle and started moving shortly after that. My father then asked to David:
"You know where we're going right?" David looked at us through the rear-view mirror and nodded.
"Yes, I still remember, to Whisked Juliet's Glade, right?" The black wolf laughed mockingly.
"Oh, c'mon David, it was fun the first five years." Lorenz's voice popped up in the vehicle's radio saying:
"And it's still fun!" My father sighed and shook his head after hearing that.
I can't remember all the things that were said after that, I wasn't really paying attention and most were jokes only they could understand. What I do remember was the trail we were taking through the forest. The humid and wooden smell, and the massive trees in both sides of the path creating shadows below them, the wildlife running free... it was all beautiful.
Like half an hour later we finally reached our destination, a peaceful and huge clear in the forest where both of the vehicles stopped, it was sunny and the place was perfect, we were completely surrounded by forest and not a single soul was around, only us.
My father and the guys started unloading all kind of things from the cars. Portable grill, food, drinks, sport balls... and anything needed for the day. In fact I asked myself why my mother and Zulu weren't with us, I was sure they would've enjoyed it. Anyway, after some minutes of getting things ready we started the picnic and it was a great time, a time that I have not forgotten up until now. All of them, even my father, stopped treating me like a child for just a few hours.
The time for meal came and we were all starving so David put the meat in the hot grill and realized I was staring at him curiously, he smiled and said:
"Are you hungry Jacko?" I nodded and said.
"Yep. Very hungry, actually." He just chuckled and looked behind me, my father and Alvar were approaching, the only one missing was Lorenz. "Where's Lorenz?" I asked.
"He's taking a leak." Said Alvar in his whistling and vibrating voice. I immediately regretted asking.
A minute or two later, motor sounds came from the same trail we came through and three Humvees just like the ones we brought appeared in the edge of the forest, they formed a barricade 100 feet away from us, and as the vehicle's doors facing us opened, I realized everything was wrong.
As soon as those doors slid open, armed personnel quickly descended from their transports with their guns ready, and without any wait or warning, they started shooting at us. As soon as he heard the first shots, my father rapidly held me in his arms and took cover behind our own vehicles. It all was happening so fast that I wasn't able to see what was going on, the electric buzzing of lasers being fired was the only thing I was able to hear. Alvar and David managed to take cover behind the other vehicle, right beside ours.
"Delta, get the box!" I heard my father shout behind me.
"Yes sir!" David replied and opened the vehicle's rear door, and got on it. A few seconds later he stepped out carrying a green box the size of a small trunk, dropped it onto the ground an quickly opened it, grabbing a disassembled laser rifle. As David reassembled the weapon, Alvar grabbed a laser handgun ready to shoot and shouted:
"Juliet, catch! You're going to need it." Then threw the gun at my father.
My father easily caught the weapon and instantly started shooting back at them. A few seconds later, David and Alvar finished getting their weapons ready and started shooting back too. I carefully took a peak and saw no less than ten armed people shooting at us. The atmosphere was very tense and the smell of burning metal took over my nose. No one said a word, my father and the boys just kept firing back at the enemy, letting their guns reload themselves when needed. It was just then when an enemy shot caught Alvar on his right upper arm, his purplish blood started pouring out of his wound but he kept firing nonetheless.
It was obvious, even for an eleven year old boy like me, that my father and his men were quickly being overrun by the superiorly equipped personnel shooting at us. The Komodo dragon sighed in pain and then said with a breathless reptile voice:
"Juliet if we keep like this we'll all be dead in a few minutes; however, I have an idea..." The lizard stared directly at me and then continued "...but it's too dangerous to keep the boy here. Delta should take him somewhere safe."
"And leave you two here against all of them?" Said David looking at the reptile "Not a chance."
"He's right, Delta. Take my son into the forest behind us and take care of him, that's an order!" My father looked at my panicking self and added "We'll catch up with you later." He switched his eyes back to the wolf "Now Go! We'll cover you. Alpha, take the left! I'll take the right" David pushed me and said
"Let's go Jack! We don't have much time, run!"
I ran as fast as I could, as fast as my legs allowed me to, without looking back and with David easily matching my speed while watching our backs for possible pursuers. A few minutes more after entering the forest's dark jaws, David finally told me to stop. I was totally exhausted, but when you literally run for your life, you don't care how tired you are, you just keep on going. He was not tired; rather he was worried for not knowing what had happened with my father and Alvar, not forgetting about Lorenz...
The forest's smell was calming, the humidity in the air and moss on the ground, all that helped me clear my mind for a little while. I was about to say something to David when a loud explosion was heard and smoke started pouring up into the sky. Unfortunately, the explosion took place in the same place my father and Alvar were in. Tears filled my eyes as I sat on a fallen log, asking myself if what had just happened was real or not. David lowered his ears as if he was a scolded puppy, then took a moment to breathe deeply and get a grip, then said to me:
"C'mon Jack, we need to keep moving." He carefully pulled my arm but I tugged it and said:
"I'm not going anywhere without my father! You saw the explosion, we need to go back and check if they're ok!"
"You know we can't, Jack. They'll catch up with us if they're... Let's just keep going."
He motioned me to follow him and began walking once again, as I stood up, a flashing bolt of light, and a buzzing passed near the left side of my head, and pierced in the back of David's right shoulder, making him yell in pain and drop his weapon.
"I'm afraid you are not going anywhere, sergeant Thorne. Well... not with the child anyway."
I turned around to face the male voice speaking, he was a 6 foot tall tiger, with brown eyes and a strong built. He was wearing olive tactical clothes and had a laser handgun in his left paw aiming at David. Three fully equipped soldiers came in from behind him aiming at the black wolf too.
"Jack, get behind me" He said in a serious tone I had never heard him use. I quickly got behind him like a newborn creature hiding behind its mother. "What do you want?" He said in a furious tone.
"Do not play stupid with me! You know we came here for the child! Give it to us immediately and we will leave you unharmed."
"If you want this kid..." he stopped for a moment and continued "...you'll have to get through me first."
"Hmph. That won't be a problem, we don't need the child alive after all." He smirked with a devilish stare then said "Soldiers..."
As soon as David heard that word, he knelt in front of me and covered my body with his own, turning everything into darkness "Forgive me, Jack." he whispered into my ear. The next thing I heard was the tiger say:
"...open fire!"
The electric rattling I had heard before fixated in my ears once again as the soldiers started shooting their weapons mercilessly, and though no laser made contact with me, I could feel every single impact on David's body... I felt no less than forty.
The ferrous smell of blood took over my nose as they kept firing. I heard even more people shooting but I could no longer feel the lasers striking. The gunfire stopped a few seconds later, and silence finally reigned.
I heard footsteps approaching and David's body started moving, I knew I was done for no matter what. The first thing I saw after all that darkness was a feline silhouette looking at me.
"Are you alright Jack?" I heard my father's voice ask me as he laid the black wolf on the ground facing up.
"Y-yes, I'm... ok." I was in shock, but I remembered David had caught all of the shots and I instantly worried about him. When I looked at him, his mouth was filled with blood and I instantly freaked out. I got atop of him and shook his shoulders with both of my paws as strong as I could.
"Wake up, David! Wake up!!" I cried out at the top of my lungs as I shook him. I felt my father's paw grab me by the shoulder and pull me.
"He's dead, Jack, there's nothing we can do."
"Leave me alone!" I said and removed his paw from my shoulder. I then locked my arms around David's neck and hugged him as tightly as I could. 'He's not dead, he can't be dead.' I thought, tears were pouring from my eyes as I said sobbing:
"I should be dead, not him!"
"But you're not dead, Jack" My father knelt beside me, watching the way I was hugging the black wolf's corpse and continued "And you're not dead because he saved you... he gave his life for you, and yes, you should grief him, but you need to let him go."
Thanks to those words I realized what had really happened, David had died, and he had died because of me. I released my hold on him, feeling unworthy of even touching him, and stood up, wiped my tears away and looked at his body. Remaining that way until I heard my father say:
"It's not your fault, Jack."
A sudden rage took hold of me and I replied coldly looking at him with a serious, almost demented, stare:
"You're right, it's not my fault. It's yours!"
"Jack..."
"It's all your fault! He died because of you and I'll never forgive you!!
I walked away from my father and I felt more tears flowing down my cheeks. Suddenly, rain began falling wildly from the sky. I looked up and sensed the water run through my face, as if the sky was joining my lament. I stood there, letting the rain soak me in its liquid magnificence as its drops of water mixed with my tears.
A few seconds later I heard some voices, it was my father speaking to Alvar and apparently giving him instructions. He was calmed as if nothing had happened. He finished speaking to the lizard and walked up to me.
"Let's go Jack, we're going home."
"What about David?" I asked in a low voice.
"Alvar will take care of it, don't worry." He placed his right paw on my shoulder in a sympathetic manner "Let's go home now, Jack."
I nodded and began walking with him back into the forest. I looked back and saw David's corpse for the last time, beside him was the lizard with a radio in his paw, probably contacting someone for help.
We were back home, and as soon as I stepped down of the vehicle, I ran straightly into my room. I wasn't in the mood to talk or listen to anyone, I locked my room's door and jumped into my bed to weep.
After a few hours of silent wailing, the sky had darkened and the moons were awakened. I heard a vehicle arrive and the doorbell rang shortly after that, I didn't care who it was and decided to get some sleep.
After the doorbell rang, the brown lynx named Zephyr slowly opened the door. The creature standing in the other side amazed him, and he was only able to mutter:
"Wi-William?"
The creature stepped in. He was a completely white tigon in his late forties with blue intimidating eyes staring directly at the brown lynx and a face that had a serious and nearly mad expression on it. That, along with a muscular 6'10'' tall body covered in a black suit and a red tie, could easily tell you he's not someone to mess with.
"Where is he, Zephyr?" Said the tigon with a grievous deep voice.
The lynx was going to reply when he heard a voice behind him say:
"William... is that... you?"
"Yes, Julian, it's me" After he said that, he pushed the lynx out of the way and approached the ocelot.
"What are you doing here? Is it because of David?"
"I heard what happened to you in the morning... and about David's death too." He paused for a moment "He was a great boy, but that's not the reason why I'm here."
"What do you mean?"
"Julian... the Tyrant sent me to command the unit protecting you."
"What?!" Said the ocelot confused.
"You heard me. As soon as I finished the assignment I was in, he ordered me to come here and take full responsibility of your security." The ocelot had an intrigued expression in his face as he stared at the tigon.
"Let's go to my office."
After the spotted feline said that, the white tigon followed behind him.
As soon as the two of them entered the room, the ocelot closed the door and locked it. His office was a medium sized room with a mahogany desk right in front of the entrance, behind it, a wall full of bookshelves; right of the entrance was a couch and small bar with all kinds of drinks in it; and finally, to the left, was a pool table. The ocelot turned around to face the white feline and motioned him to sit on the coach. The ocelot himself sat on the opposite side of the coach and slowly looked at the tigon, then said:
"It's been too long since the last time I last saw you. How have you been?"
"Aren't you going to ask why he chose me?"
"The Tyrant may take some strange decisions, but in the end he's always right."
"I see. Well... I retired for some time after... you know what... but he ended up finding me a few years ago and asked me personally to come back and work for him in his 'secret assignments'. I've been doing so until now."
"I'm sorry to bring up bad memo-" The tigon interrupted the ocelot and placed his right paw on the spotted feline's thigh.
"Past is in the past, Julian. Good times, bad times, they're all back there somewhere and that's exactly where they'll stay." The white feline smiled, stood up and approached the nearby bar "Mind if I take a drink?" He asked.
The ocelot shook his head as he stared at the tigon. William took a bottle of whiskey and poured some in two glasses, placed the bottle back on its place and walked back to the ocelot with both glasses on his paws.
"Here, you need it." He gave a glass to the ocelot and sat himself back in the couch. "About this morning... I want you to tell me how it happened and why Zulu wasn't with you"
Julian told the tigon what had happened in the morning, and how had David died protecting his son. The white feline listened carefully, staring at the ocelot's eyes, taking a sip of his drink every now and then but remaining silent until his friend finished speaking.
"...and that's how it happened."
"Poor David... but I'm sure you're proud and grateful of him. Your son must be in shock, have you spoken to him?"
"I've tried, but he won't hear a word I say. He blames me for David's dead, which is good as long as he doesn't blame himself."
"Yeah, but you know he'll blame himself soon, Julian. Keep an eye on him."
The ocelot nodded and took another sip of his whiskey, then heard the tigon ask:
"So, Lorenz disappeared right before the attempt, right?" The spotted cat looked at William with serious eyes.
"Yes... what are you getting at?"
"You know perfectly what I'm getting at. He knows everything about this place and its security, we must take preventive measures."
"You can't possibly imply that-"
"I'm not implying anything, I'm saying it! Lorenz might be a traitor."
The cat remained silent for a few seconds while thinking, he stood up and approached the pool table then began playing with a cue and finally sighed after some seconds.
"Alright, there's no point denying it. Let's hope they find his body somewhere in the forest." He stopped for a moment and then continued "I'd rather know he's dead that knowing he's a traitor."
"We must be ready anyway, there's only a few of us left and you're one of their prime targets."
The ocelot nodded and sat back on the couch, both felines remained silent, drinking their whiskeys and staring at each other. Both had too many questions to ask, but none had the courage to do it. The killing silence was making them feel uncomfortable, but in the end, the tigon broke the silence with a question:
"How are you holding up, Julian? You seem fine on the outside, but I learned to see through your facade, so tell me what's wrong." The ocelot sighed and said:
"Looks like I can't hide it from you, huh?" He stopped for a while, gathering enough courage and thinking where to start, until he continued "Firstly, my unwanted promotion; secondly, the problems I've been having with Grace; then today's assassination attempt and David's death, along with the possibility of Lorenz being a traitor; and finally... my son hates me." He took a deep breath and let out a sigh "So no William, I'm not holding up alright."
"And now I'm here to pester you too, my friend." Added the white feline.
"I'm actually glad you're here, right now I need someone I can really trust... and you're that someone." The tigon smiled at that remark and continued the conversation.
"So, you said problems with Grace?" A melancholic expression took over the spotted feline's face as he replied:
"Yeah, she... we fell out of love a long time ago, William."
"Let me guess, and now she's dating someone else?" The ocelot nodded and the tigon chuckled and continued "You were always an over-jealous partner, Julian." The spotted feline narrowed his eyes.
"It's not that, I'm actually glad she's dating someone new but..."
"But...?"
"But she's dating Zephyr!" Silence prevailed in the room for a moment as the tigon almost drops his glass.
"What did you said?!" Said the tigon amazed with an awkward look on his face
"My sentiments precisely"
"And why haven't you told him anything?"
"They're adults. Besides, I'm not in a place to tell them anything without seeming jealous of something I'm not."
"You're right. I, on the other paw, am in the perfect position to talk a few minutes with that lynx. Yes... don't you worry; I'll teach him a lesson myself."
"I'm sure your sole presence will be enough to calm him down."
"I'll keep an eye on him... just you wait until he makes a move..." The tigon smiled at his evil thoughts as he took another sip of whiskey. He then looked back at the ocelot. "What about you? Haven't you found someone new or... someone from your past to spend your time with? After that question, the white feline smirked discreetly.
"Please, William, it's not the time!" Said the ocelot mildly annoyed.
"Sorry Julian, I wasn't thinking..." He paused for a brief moment and then continued "...But I never forgot about you, and you know I'll do anything for you."
"I know. And though many years have passed, I never said sorry for hurting you."
Silence reigned once again as memories and melancholy filled their minds, both of the felines could feel the pain of years past as they stared into each others' gaze deeply. Unable to utter words, the tigon pressed his muzzle against the other feline's. He quickly leaned back, trying to understand why he had done that. Both felines remained silent until the tigon broke the harmonious silence once again.
"It's not too late, Julian. We can still try again." The tigon tried to read the ocelot's eyes, hoping to see in them an answer "But first... I'm going to protect you from those bastards!" The ocelot's eyes filled with both hope and dismay as he replied.
"We could try again, but... how long will it last? They'll kill me sooner or later, and we both know that."
"I would like to say it will last forever..." Said the tigon "...but you and I know they won't rest until we're all dead, none of us will survive. No, but we are going to delay them as much as possible. We are not easy prey, not us! There's no reason to waste our last years."
The tigon stood up with a pair of crystalline blue eyes and a fake smile on his face. He approached the bar and poured some more whiskey in his glass, then turned around to face the pensive ocelot and finally raised his glass high in the air saying with a cheerful voice:
"To the Tyranny!"
After saying that, he took the glass to his muzzle and gulped down all his liquor to the last drop. The ocelot smiled at him although he was lost in his own thoughts. He suddenly snapped when he heard the tigon speak back with his serious and formal voice.
"I'll go gather the men and give them new instructions, Julian. Do you need anything else?"
"No... I'm fine. I'll see you in a while." The tigon nodded
"Later then."
The white tigon walked out of the office, closing the door behind him and leaving a self-contemplating ocelot sitting in the couch.
[Interlude](%5C)
They say that nothing is more ours than our dreams, but can something in a dream be entirely real?
On that same night I was upstairs, lying in my bed... dreaming. In my dream I was in the exact same place where David had died, that dreadful forest. The humid smell, the mud, the log I had sat on... everything was just the same. Suddenly the forest got covered in fog, little at first but then the whole scene disappeared in the fog and I was unable to see past my nose.
"Jack" I heard a nearby echoing voice say.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" I shouted nervously.
"Jack... It's me..." This time the voice was a lot clearer and I was able to recognize it.
"David? Is that you?"
As soon as I said that, the fog began fading, showing a blurry silhouette in front of me. When all the fog vanished, I was able to see clearly, I was nowhere. Everywhere I looked, there was just gray. No floor, no sky, no horizon and no light or dark... nothing but me and the man standing in front of me, that man was David.
"Da...vid?" Was the only thing I was able to mutter.
"It's me Jack!" He smiled "I would say in the flesh... but that's not quite true."
"So you're... you're dead?"
"I suppose so, Jack. I know as much about death as you do. There is something sure though, I'm not alive and we're not in the real world. I've been wandering in this... place for quite some time." I approached the wolf curiously and tried to hug him. I was able to do so after all, I could touch him!
"Jack... I'm so sorry for letting you down."
"You didn't Dave. You... you died because of me! You lost all you had... because of me." Tears poured down my eyes into my cheeks as I felt the wolf's paws wrap around me.
"You're wrong. I CHOSE to die for you, and I would do it again, Jack. It wasn't your fault. Promise me you'll never forget that, promise me you'll never feel responsible of my death." I hugged him with all my strength.
"I promise."
I felt a cold quiver run through my body as a cloaked being appeared 10 feet behind David. I could not make out his features even though he was relatively close. I was just able to see the tip of a red muzzle, everything else was hidden behind his hood and cloak... I would never forget that creature.
David looked behind him and stared at the figure keeping a bold attitude, then looked back at me and said:
"Well Jack, I think that's my wake-up call..." He turned around but stopped, turning back to see me again. "I want to ask you one more favor..." He took out a chain hanging from his neck holding his dog tags and a beautiful silver locket with an oval shape. He opened the locket and showed me a picture of a young black wolf around my age, he had beautiful blue eyes and a big smile on his face "Jack... this is my son, his name is Cole. I..." He stopped for some time before continuing "Sorry, this too hard for me to say. I... I want you to take care of him. Could you do that for me, Jack?" I nodded and said to him sobbing:
"I promise you I'll do my best, It's the least I can do." David placed his right paw in the back of my head and stroked it.
"I know you will Jack, you're a good boy... I'll miss you." He placed the chain on my paw "I want you to have this" He closed my paw and pressed it "But now it's time for me to go wherever it is THAT guy..." He looked back at the cloaked creature "...will take me." He leaned down, hugged me warmly and kissed my cheek. "Goodbye my little friend, remember me but not with a tear..." he caressed my cheek and smiled "...do it with a smile."
My tears wouldn't stop flowing as the black wolf turned around and started walking towards the hooded creature. I wanted to move but I couldn't, I could only watch as he walked away bravely without looking back. Soon after that, everything became blurry and I passed out in my dream. I woke up in my bed and felt something in my paw, I looked at it and David's chain, locket and dog tags were there...
...I just smiled and wiped a tear from my eye.
[Outro](%5C)
Thank you for reading. If you found something which I could improve, please let me know because I can only criticize my work to a certain degree, and need someone from outside my mind to let me know what is wrong. All comments are very appreciated.