Abyss

 A byss BladeOfHope

B ottomless Pit

I stand at the bottom of the darkness and wait.

Out of the shadows, my companion whispers, "Wait until they're right above us." She shifts on her paws, her fur brushing against the claustrophobic rock walls around us and causing them to sing. "Wait... until they're right above us."

"Shut up," I hiss. I don't dare look away from the sky - or where it's supposed to be, at least. For us, the sky is a little pinprick of light far, far above our heads, in a place where we can't reach. The sky is not something that concerns us... except when they come down from it to confront us.

At times like this, the sky is all we care about.

"Just a little longer," I breathe, mostly to myself. If Letta hears me, she doesn't let on. ''Good. She's learning.''

Finally, ages later, something blocks out the sky.

"Go, go, go!" I spring from our hiding place with Letta following close behind. Together we rush towards the far wall, making quite a disturbance as we brush against the walls. We start wailing, our high-pitched voices echoing eerily throughout the entire cavernous space. The effect makes us sound like wraiths.

The intruders are still far above us, falling freely down into our empty home. "Surrender!" They speak in a collective roar, addressing us in their terrible voices. "Surrender to the sky - to your true home!"

"Never!" We reach the other wall just as they cross the dividing point, and I hastily pull Letta into the tiny hidden space with me. My hurried actions create a raucous din, and even I have to wince as the sharp noise pierces into my ears.

They finally touch bottom, and every one of their heads swivels in unison, searching for us in the darkness. However, as dwellers of the sky, they can't find us in this dim light. They can't see us, but we can see them in perfect clarity. That's the only reason we've survived this long.

One voice eventually rises above the rest, and it's a voice I know all too well. "Come out," he commands. "Asoku Ruen! Isofar Letta! Jusun Kisveth commands you to show yourselves and face your judgment!"

I throw myself against the wall, counting on the noise to block any chance of them being able to pinpoint my voice. "I will never go back!" I howl. "I will never go back to that place! I will stay here, cast away into my own personal hell, until I die!"

My words carry a kind of horrible, final weight to them, and just as I anticipated, the Jusun warrior pauses. In the silence that follows, I flick the tip of my tail ever so slightly. Letta exhales right on cue, and the most beautiful music whispers off the walls.

"This is beautiful to me," I say quietly, speaking loud enough that they can hear me, but not loud enough that the music will fade away. "The sound of my own voice may drive me crazy, and I may despise ever having met another cat, but there is beauty in this place. Don't you dare try to take it away from me." I yell one final time, breaking off any echoes my voice may have produced, and wait for it to die.

The Jusun are silent, and then their commander nods once. "Very well," he growls. "I will leave you alone for now. But we will still return to you, and we will return the sky into your world." He barks the command to jump, and as a unit they start sprinting up the steep, steep walls. It's an ability I would kill to have.

When I'm sure they've crossed the dividing point again, I let go of the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"It's okay," Letta tells me, her voice barely more than a breath as she leans gently against my shoulder. "Ruen, it's okay."

"No," I reply just as softly, a single tear running down my cheek. "No, it's not."

We fall into silence once more.