Prisoner on the Run

 PRISONER ON THE RUN

Episode Six, Season Five, of Rise.

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Prisoner on the Run
“W-what do you mean?” I stammer.

“Your parents were Aura and Smokey, were they not?” The tom shakes his head, “Don’t tell me you don’t know about their deaths.”

“They died!” I flatten my ears and Terran holds me closer but I shrug him off. “Isn’t knowing that enough?”

“Your father was into stocks,” The tom tips his head, “you didn’t know that?”

I inhale sharply. I had long suspected my parents were involved with the Blood Army to have been murdered, but I hadn’t had a real confirmation until now. My eyes slide to where I know my friends are hiding. Aleric must have known, but I hadn’t ever thought about asking him.

My silence is enough to make the tom snort. “Your father betrayed the Blood Army and so he paid for his crimes.”

“Betrayed?” I echo, “What did he do? Withdraw from doing stocks?”

“He tried to reveal the High Committee to the world.”

That is new. The tom sees the confusion on my face and he gapes at me. “Your father never told you what he did?”

Before the tom can keep talking, I feel a rush of anger overcome me and I step threateningly towards him. How dare he tell me about my parents as if I don’t know them myself? Especially with that mocking tone.

I want to launch myself at him but suddenly a slim brown figure pops out of nowhere and pins the tom down. “He’s a High Committee member,” Aleric says quietly, “we should keep him prisoner instead of killing him.” He must have seen the rage in my eyes to have stepped in so early.

The tom turns his glare on Aleric. He snorts in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re siding with them. How long can you keep this facade before they discover you?”

“What does he mean?” Karina asks Aleric, emerging behind him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he snaps, “he’s trying to trick you guys.”

Aleric gags the tom so he won’t talk and ties him up nearby. He looks very tired suddenly, as if the encounter drained him.

I nudge him. “You know about my parents, don’t you?”

Aleric’s green eyes are sympathetic. “Yeah, I do.” There’s a hint of sadness in them that I don’t understand, but I don’t ask about it.

“What did my father do?”

I remember his death so clearly. I know Jewel does too, because she wakes up in the middle of the night, crying softly for a father who died of blood loss. I know she also wakes up for Aura.

Emerald probably remembers all this too, but she tries to bury that with Ruby and our past. I can tell by the way she desperately clings to new friends.

I shake the thought of my sisters away. Dwelling too long on them would require me to think about Ruby and how she might have dealt with our parents’ death other than bullying Emerald.

“Exactly as the tom said,” Aleric admits, “your father tried to reveal the High Committee to the world.”

He lowers his eyes. “In fact, your father wasn’t the first to do so.”

“Really?” I tip my head, “It’s a wonder how you guys are still so secret.”

“Them,” Aleric knits his eyebrows together, “I am no longer affiliated with them. I have no ties with them. Or I won’t once we’re done with them.” I know with a chill he means after we kill them all.

“How did my father know the Committee?”

The brown tom stares at me curiously. “You really don’t know anything about them?” When I shake my head, he sighs, “Your father was on the High Committee, Bryce.”

That took me by surprise. Except it does make sense; how else would my father know the High Committee members when they are a top secret group?

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Aleric shakes his head.

“It’s fine,” I say briskly. I realize everyone is still listening around us. “Terran, Karina, go hunt. We might have to stay here for awhile until we figure out what to do with him.” I jerk my head towards our prisoner.

Nightshadow and Feathershine are watching over them while Terran gives me a lingering look before he heads after Karina.

Aleric lays down and closes his eyes momentarily. “I honestly don’t know why your mother was killed, before you ask.”

“I can imagine it has to do with my father,” I give a hopeless shrug and settle down next to him. “She came down with a sickness first. I couldn’t figure out how to cure it but then she was murdered too.”

Aleric furrows his brow. “Definitely the High Committee’s work, but I can’t imagine why. The poison that made her sick would have killed her eventually, so why the sudden rush?” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry I don’t know.”

I’m not so sure I want to know anymore. “Thanks for telling me about my father.”

Aleric gives me a long look. “You know, I never knew my parents. I never knew what they did or why they died.”

He smiles wryly at my expression. “I have feelings and thoughts too, don’t worry, Bryce.”

I smile weakly. “How did you parents die?”

It’s the wrong thing to ask. Aleric’s face hardens. “Murdered in a fight to protect me,” his eyes take on a distant look. Not for the first time, I wonder how much he’s gone through, despite looking around my age, maybe a bit older. ''What has broken him beyond repair? Or is the good in him somehow still fighting?''

I open my mouth to say sorry, but Aleric stops me. “Don’t be sorry,” his green eyes are like liquid fire. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Like everything he’s said, there’s a hidden meaning behind Aleric’s words. “I’m sorry about your parents though.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I repeat his words back at him.

Aleric gives me a shake of his head. “I’m still sorry.”

I want figure out what he means but Aleric turns away just as Karina and Terran come back. Terran bounds over and touches his nose to mine. The gesture is so carefree I instantly relax.

“Are you okay?” His gaze locks into mine and roots me to my spot.

“I’m fine,” I say gently.

He smiles and I smile back.

~

Karina sat next to him and Aleric could feel his heart beat faster. He tried to control it, but his stupid heart just kept speeding up with Karina so close to him. Her golden eyes were bright, a contrast to her dark pelt.

“You’re tense.”

“I’m always tense.” Aleric informed her.

“Not like this,” Karina nudged him and Aleric felt his fur light up from the contact. “Is it because of the High Committee tom?”

“I’m not any tenser than I normally am.” Aleric insisted.

Karina tipped her head. “I won’t judge you if you’re feeling on edge because of the tom. We all are.”

It’s not just that. Aleric held back his response. He gazed at the tom, who was glaring back at him balefully. Aleric normally wouldn’t gag his own prisoners—mostly because they’d be dead—but he wasn’t going to take chances around this tom.

“What did the tom mean earlier?”

“When?”

“When the tom told you we’d find out sooner or later. What was he implying?” Karina’s eyes didn’t show any hints of betrayal. Aleric still felt his heart drop.

“Nothing,” Aleric repeated what he told her earlier. “The tom was trying to play games with you guys. He’s lying. I’m not keeping a facade.”

Karina searched his eyes and Aleric let her. “Do you believe me?” He asked softly.

The she-cat hesitated before nodding.

“Yes,” she whispered, “I trust you.”

Aleric almost wished she hadn’t said yes.

~

“Okay,” I round up my friends, keeping a close eye on the tom. “What should we do with the High Committee member?”

“Kill him,” Karina lashes her tail, “I don’t get why we’re still keeping him around. He’ll just be a danger to us.”

Aleric shakes his head. “We can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Karina asks hotly, for once turning on Aleric to question his words. “He’s not use to us alive.”

“He will be our bargaining chip,” Aleric leans forward, “we can bribe the rest of the Committee like this without risking our own lives.”

I have to admit he has a point. “We should try to head back to camp with him then.”

Aleric peers around. “It’s dark,” he drops his voice into a whisper, “if we stay here, I can make it so we’re not discovered. The Committee has recruits everywhere at night. We shouldn’t risk traveling at this time.”

I am reluctant to stay, but Aleric has more knowledge than I do on this. I give a nod. “Does anyone have objections to this idea?”

Nobody speaks up, though Feathershine looks nervously at the tom we have as our prisoner.

Aleric gets to work immediately, doing as he said to cover up our mini camp and make it seem like we’re just apart of the scenery. I can see why he’s never been discovered before or captured by any enemies of the Blood Army. Aleric is simply invisible to the eye unless he chooses to be seen.

We set up watch and Aleric volunteers to go first. I settle down, a little nervous still at the thought of sleeping in the Twolegplace when we’re surrounded by enemies, but Aleric promises we’ll be okay.

Terran curls up around me and I lean into his warmth, falling sleep almost immediately.

~

Rough paws wake me up. I jerk away to see Karina’s frantic expression. “The tom is gone!”

“What?”

“Our prisoner!” She gestures at the tree where he was being held. I curse at the empty sight and turn around and do a headcount.

“Aleric isn’t here,” I say grimly.

“There’s blood on the floor,” Karina whimpers, “do you think he took Aleric prisoner because of Aleric’s high status?”

“Possibly,” I agree.

Terran is already awake as well. He surveys the minor damage around us. “There aren’t any scents anywhere. We won’t be able to find Aleric like this, especially since we’ll be easy targets.”

“We’re going to try though, right?” I’ve never seen Karina so panicked in my life.

“After we figure out a plan back at camp,” I tell her firmly. I wake Nightshadow and Feathershine. When Karina tries to protest, I stop her. “We need to think this through, Karina. No use in rushing and getting all of us killed. They won’t kill Aleric yet; he has valuable information I’m sure they’ll want.”

We trudge back to camp, feeling more discouraged then ever before.

A feeling of annoyance settles in my stomach even though I’m worried for the brown tom.

After a day, we still didn’t get anything done and we’re forced to take a step back with Aleric gone.

Terran brushes his pelt along mine. “We’ll figure something out,” he reminds me.

I cling onto his words, desperate to believe them.

The End.