Avenge the Dead

 AVENGE THE DEAD

Episode Ten, Season Five, of Rise.

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Avenge the Dead
We find Myrick holed up in a dark alleyway, glaring up at us balefully. “Any last words?” Aleric sharpens his claws on the rocks beside him, not really looking at Myrick. His lack of interest makes the other tom infuriated.

“I do have last words,” Myrick snarls, “and I’m going to say them regardless of what you miserable cats say.”

I don’t particular want to hear him talk but Aleric doesn’t make a move so I’m stuck with listening to the High Committee member talk.

“I think it’s time Bryce learned the complete truth about her parents and their deaths,” Myrick bares his teeth at me. I stare into his hateful eyes, trying to quell my anger and fear. Still, Aleric doesn’t move.

I lift my chin, trying to stay strong. “And what makes you think I don’t already know about my parents’ deaths?”

“I bet you didn’t know Aleric was the one responsible for their deaths.” Myrick gloats.

The brown tom stiffens ever so slightly, giving me the confirmation that Myrick is telling the truth. I try to silence the pain I feel at knowing the brown tom has betrayed me so many times. I remember when Aleric was telling me about my parents, and how he had told me he had been sorry about my parents. In a way, Aleric had been apologizing.

“It doesn’t matter,” I decide, “he was ordered to by the High Committee.”

Myrick gives a shrug. “He had never been good at saying no to the High Committee,” the tom’s malevolent eyes drift towards Aleric, who is flexing his claws.

When I don’t give him a satisfying response, Myrick continues. “You’re not the only one he’s betrayed,” he sneers. His eyes flick to Terran, who narrows his eyes. My heart beats faster. Terran?

“Your father,” Myrick says with deliberate slowness.

Terran tenses. My heart aches for the tom and his sister. They never knew their father and never would. “What about my father?” Terran growls.

Aleric suddenly whirls around. “I killed him,” he snaps, “I killed him and I killed so many more cats so you should know that I’m not just some poor tom who happened to do the High Committee’s bidding a few times. I don’t want your sympathy, and I don’t think you want my apologies anyway.” Then he spins back around and pins Myrick down, so fast the other tom can’t react.

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a cat, Aleric,” Myrick hisses, “thinking you can walk away with so much blood on our paws. How many people have you killed? How many more will die at your paws?”

“You’re going to be the last,” Aleric vows. “If you’re not the last, it’ll be because I am ridding evil from this world before my time ends.”

“The only evil left will be yourself,” Myrick shakes his head. “It’s a pity you couldn’t have been more loyal.” His eyes flit to Karina. “It’s a shame I won’t be here to see you destroy her like you destroyed Elena.”

Aleric stumbles back, his eyes wide as if someone had stabbed him. I almost think that Myrick had stabbed him, but the other tom just lays there. “Don’t talk about Elena,” Aleric’s voice is a thin whisper.

“Tsk, tsk,” Myrick sneers, “you used to be so emotionless; a perfect slave to our cause. You had so much self control that I admired you for some time. Perfect talent, going to waste. And for what, love? Don’t you remember what happens to love, dear Aleric?”

The brown tom looks as if he wants to throw up. I want to help him, but this is his own personal fight. Feathershine has wrapped her tail around Applepaw, while Nightshadow just looks grim. Karina has taken a few steps forward, but Terran tugs her gently back.

Myrick keeps talking, murmuring words I can no longer hear. He walks closer to closer to Aleric, and the brown tom doesn’t move. He just stays where he is, bent over.

I’m afraid. Myrick has his claws out, and Karina lets out a cry. In a sudden flash of movement, Myrick is slashing at Aleric, moving at a speed I can’t follow. My heart jumps to my throat.

There’s a splatter of blood and Karina lets out a choked cry. I hold my breath in shock, praying it’s not what I think it is. I edge forward slowly, trying to figure out whose blow hit first.

A huge moan escapes Aleric and he pushes Myrick off him. His claws had dug deep into Myrick’s stomach, stopping the tom’s attack.

Karina lets out a cry of relief, dashing forward and nearly tackling Aleric, who stumbles slightly from exhaustion. His eyes, vacant and reserved, have started to regain some of its senses.

Terran gives Myrick’s body a little kick. “It’s scary how they knew so much about us,” Terran sighs.

I see him glance at Aleric, who has collapsed from not sleeping for so long. Karina curls up next to him and I give a half-hearted shrug. “Guess we’re going to clear out Myrick’s body and just sleep here for the day. I’d dare say Aleric’s not moving for a long time.”

~

Aleric tried to erase the memories of his sins. It had hurt to look at the pain in Bryce and Terran’s faces when they learned about their parents’ deaths. Karina had just looked shocked beyond words.

When Aleric woke up from his fitful sleep, he finds Bryce sitting up and awake as well. Everyone else is knocked out from two days’ worth of walking around. Aleric slid from where he was curled next to Karina, careful not to wake the dark gray she-cat.

The little black she-cat didn’t start when Aleric sat down next to her. She was gazing at the stars.

“I keep thinking about them,” Bryce murmured to him, “The fun memories I had with them, the way they took care of me, and then their deaths.” It didn’t take a genius to know that she was talking about her parents.

Aleric stared at the stars with her. “I’m really sorry about your parents,” he finally said. “This won’t make it any better, but I didn’t actually know your parents. I remember you father well enough, but I made no real interactions with the High Committee because I was their top recruit. My addition to the High Committee happened after your parents’ deaths.”

He didn’t know why he told her all that. Bryce was quiet for a long moment. “I’m not mad at you,” she admitted, “Sure, it was a low blow from Myrick, but what’s done has been done. It’s been so long since they died, I’m not sure if I’m really all that sad anymore.”

“You’ll always be sad,” Aleric told her, “it just won’t hurt as much anymore.”

After he said that, Aleric realized it was true. It wasn’t just words of comfort; it was how Aleric truly felt. His parents died before Aleric could truly enjoy having the comforts of parents, but he had memorized their faces. Aleric would never forget the cream colored look of his mother’s eyes as she wiped the dirt off his face and scolded him for playing in the mud, or his father’s round gray eyes that were only stern when he was trying to protect Aleric.

Those faces that Aleric remembered mirrored a tom that could have been.

“Thank you for helping us in the end though,” Bryce turned so she could stare at him. Aleric was taken aback by the intensity of her eyes. “You didn’t have to turn your back on the Twolegplace.”

“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have defeated the Blood Army,” Aleric scoffed, trying to keep the mood light.

He was rewarded with a soft laugh from Bryce. “Very true. But seriously, thank you.”

Aleric stared at the stars for a long time before replying. “You don’t have to thank me; I think anyone would have been honored to serve you instead. You really did change my mind, Bryce.”

She blushed slightly, taking the praise like a leader would. “I’m not the only reason you reconsidered your loyalty,” Bryce snorted. “I’d be a fool to say I haven’t noticed the way you and Karina look at each other.”

Now it was Aleric’s turn to feel faintly embarrassed. “It’s nothing,” he muttered, “She revived me.”

“More like you revived each other.” Bryce smiled. “Tell her about how you feel, okay? Karina has suffered enough heartbreak.”

Aleric felt his heart clench at the thought of trying to tell Karina his feelings. “I can try,” he reluctantly said.

“Thank you,” Aleric continued, “if you and the other hadn’t come into my life, I would have lost my soul a long time ago. I don’t really think I had one until I met you guys. You made me realize my position in the Blood Army didn’t mean everything.”

“You’re more than what they made you,” Bryce said softly, “You’re a lot more than just a murderer at their disposal. And that’s why you’re still alive when all of them are dead.”

Aleric dipped his head to indicate that he heard her and he watched the night pass by. The two of them sat in silence, waiting for dawn to come.

~

Home is a relief. Of course, the leaders are immensely relieved to know that we didn’t die on our journey to the Twolegplace. Emerald and Jewel have been frantic but not completely terrified for our safety. I hug them close before telling them to go play with their friends.

Terran tugs me to our den. I fight off a smile and follow him. As much as I want to sleep—I didn’t get any sleep in the Twolegplace; I couldn’t fight off my dreams—I don’t mind spending a few hours with Terran first.

“How are you?”

“You know how I am,” I roll my eyes, “I’m happy and we’re not being threatened so everything’s perfect right now.”

“You’re taking your parents’ deaths really well,” Terran comments lightly. I can tell this is what he really meant when he asked how I was.

“They’re gone,” I say simply, “Nothing I say or do now will bring them back. Does it matter that Aleric was the one who killed them? Perhaps I should hate him because it was something he could have avoided, but it still wouldn’t bring my parents back. Aleric is our friend now anyway.”

I lay my head on his flank and he curls up closer around me. “I’m trying to imagine what my father would be like.” Terran admits, “I never knew him. My mother never talked about him either.”

“Did you ever try to ask about him?”

“Karina did. To her, family had been the most important thing ever. She couldn’t understand why a father would leave his children.”

“What about you?”

Terran is silent for a moment. “No.” He sighs, “I never saw the reason in asking. If my mother didn’t want to talk about him, then fine. He must have left for a good reason. Maybe it was better that he didn’t stay around to try to get me and Karina to join him. We could have been more than just two random Viper recruits.”

“I wonder if we still would have met the same way,” I murmur, closing my eyes. “I mean, would we still have fallen in love?”

“I wish I could say yes,” Terran fidgets under me, “it’s a scary thought, knowing that if the Vipers and the Coalition hadn’t been in war—no, if the Twolegplace hadn’t been such a terrible place for you to live—we wouldn’t have met.”

“Maybe fate would have brought us together anyway.”

I can practically see his smile. “Of course.”

I close my eyes, feeling more content than I have in a long time. The Blood Army has been defeated; the Twolegplace is safe again. Even with this thought, I know I won’t ever return to look for a home. Home was where my heart lies: with Terran.

~

“Bryce,” someone shakes me awake with light paws. For a moment, I think it’s Emerald or Jewel and I groan, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep.

“Bryce,” another voice repeats my name and this time it’s a gruffer one. It’s a tom’s voice, and it’s someone I know.

I open my eyes in a flash and leap to my paws. Their warm scents wash over me and I feel like a kit again. “Aura, Smokey,” I whisper.

“Hello Bryce,” Aura purrs. “We’ve come to thank you for avenging us. You have done well by defeating the Blood Army. The reign of tyranny in the Twolegplace has ended.”

Smokey steps forward. “But do not think that all your worries are over. The Vipers will fight back harder now that they have seen the Blood Army’s fall.”

I nod. “I know; we’ll be ready for them.”

Aura’s eyes are sympathetic. “But the most troubling hardships will come from your inner circle of friends.”

“My friends?” I echo, “What about them?”

My parents shake their heads. “We can’t tell you,” Smokey says finally, “but be careful what you decide, Bryce.”

As they fade away, I cry out, asking for more answers.

Be careful what you decide, Bryce.

The End.