When All is Lost

 WHEN ALL IS LOST

Episode Ten, Season Two, of Rise.

Enjoy <3

When All is Lost
I wish I could say that everyone was calm about the situation and that we silently split into our three groups and we all marched out into the night, ready to fight for our lives. We went out in glory.

The Coalition did the opposite of that. Cats ran around screaming and shrieking as if the sun had died (maybe that did happen; it is abnormally dark). Five to ten minutes passed as Amberstar and Whitestar tried to get everyone’s attention. “Gather together!” Amberstar shouts, “Get into your groups!”

It takes awhile to get everyone together and finally we’re off, leading the separate groups. “Stay safe,” Terran whispers, pressing his muzzle briefly on the top of my head.

“I will,” I smile at him, “you’ll be careful too, right?”

Terran’s eyes don’t leave me. “I promise,” he murmurs.

I join the patrol that is going to set off against the Blood Army. To my surprise, Applepaw is with me. “Don’t you want to go with Nightshadow?”

“Nope,” Applepaw shrugs, “I can do whatever I want.”

I’m reminded of Ruby’s nonchalance and indifference, as if she could have done anything even when I told her she couldn’t. Without thinking, I lean down and lick the top of Applepaw’s head as I would do if she were Ruby.

“Hey!” Applepaw squirms away, rubbing a paw ruefully over the top of her head. “I’m not a kit anymore!”

“I know,” I smile at her. But the words also tell me something different. ''Emerald and Jewel aren’t kits anymore. They’re six moons old…''

“Let’s go,” I nudge Applepaw to her paws, “the Blood Army is waiting.”

~

Terran stared at the cats around him, unsure what to do. Karina was already bounding around, shouting orders, rallying the troops in a very anti-Viper way. They knew Viper armies the best and wolves second, so he constantly questioned if he should go and switch places with Nightshadow (the tom seemed to be barely holding on with the idea that he had to go fight wolves again).

But his sister pushed him, hard. “Wake up, Terran! Help me with these cats, okay? You can daydream after the battle.”

“Sorry,” Terran mumbled as he followed Karina to the front of the aligned troops. “When are we heading out?”

“Now, dummy,” Karina snapped. “Bryce already led her group out and Nightshadow and Feathershine are heading out too. We’re the only one still here and the Vipers will get here first most likely.”

“Why do you say that?” Terran asked as he padded alongside Karina. They quicken their steps until they’re running alongside one another, the pounding of their army behind them.

“Because Korin will want to the first blow. He has say on the wolves, so he can restrain them, and I bet the Blood Army is farther out. Korin will rush his Vipers to get here first, so perhaps there’s a chance we’ll be able to detect chinks in their armors.”

Terran hadn’t thought of all that, but he had thought about ways they could defeat the wolves. He considered yet again if he should ask to switch.

But the wolf army was already far to the right, and Terran didn’t have enough time. Karina was still going on and on about their strategies and Terran tuned her out. He was more distracted by a single cat, running behind all of their Coalition cats, dark compared to the orange furred cats in front of her.

“What is Shadeflower doing here?”

“Shadeflower?” Karina jerked her head back to look, only to half stumble on a root. “Stars,” she muttered, “I can’t see her, what are you talking about?”

When Terran looked back again, she was gone. Perhaps he had imagined her dark fur following the cats.

He blinked again and again, trying to spot her, but she wasn’t there anymore.

~

Nightshadow was shivering. The night was warm and it was almost newleaf. There was no reason for Nightshadow to feel cold. Feathershine brushed against him gently. “Are you all right?” Her green eyes glittered in the night sky.

“I’m fine,” he shook out his pelt, “just worried about the battle.”

“We’re all worried,” Feathershine rested her head briefly on his shoulder before drawing herself up again. “I wish you could be anywhere but fighting the wolves but it would pain me to be away from you.”

Nightshadow managed a grim smile. “I would never leave you alone, Feathershine. All the positions make sense.”

Feathershine shrugged and Nightshadow watched her move gracefully to the front of the group, speaking quietly with the Coalition cats, asking them if they knew the plan and if they were ready.

She was so beautiful and Nightshadow felt so blessed to have her by his side. He remembered when they were apprentices and she had first approached him. It had been when the Coalition hadn’t been formed. They had met at a Gathering and Nightshadow found himself enchanted by her glowing green eyes and kind affable demeanor. Soon they had become friends, but in different Clans. Only a few moons ago had they started dating, as the two Clans had finally agreed to unite against the Vipers. Nightshadow could only dread what would happen after both the Vipers and the Blood Army were defeated.

But that was for another day, Nightshadow reminded himself, the two armies had to be defeated first.

He bounded after her as their group raced out together, toward the sound of baying wolves. Nightshadow twisted his head to look back and for a moment, he paused, because he thought he saw the glint of amber eyes peeking out from the medicine cat’s den, indicating Shadeflower’s watchful gaze.

Would she be okay?

“Nightshadow?” Feathershine slowed so he could catch up, “Was something wrong?”

“No,” he shook his head, “nothing’s wrong.”

It was a lie, but even Feathershine didn’t say anything. With the wolves ahead, everything was wrong, but neither of them dared to say so.

They had to believe everything would be fine, they had to.

But the scar on Nightshadow’s side throbbed and told him differently.

~

I can already see the advancing Blood Army from where I’m standing. We’ve stopped not so far from the border and I’m feeling anxious. Applepaw fidgets next to me and I can see her eyeing the troops as well.

“That’s a lot of cats,” Applepaw mumbles.

“I know,” I nod, “but we have enough cats to match their numbers.”

It’s a lie because they seem to outnumber us. I have no idea how the Blood Army managed to round up so many cats in the Twolegplace. Did they recruit everyone?

As they draw closer, I see that I’m wrong. They actually have fewer cats than we do, despite the fact that I only have a third of the Coalition army. The Blood Army is rather tiny compared to the sheer size of the two Clans or to the Vipers.

“Clan cats,” one of the cats leading the army curls his lips, “thinking they can stop us here.”

A few snickers rise from within the troops and I can see that it’s not an organized army that trains together to fight together. They’re just cats lumped together with one goal in mind: defeat the Coalition.

“We can stop you!” I declare, even though I’m aware I’m not really a Clan cat.

The cats behind me yowl their agreement. The tom who spoke first shrugs. “If you insist, we will test your word.”

As one, they lunge for me and I snarl before slamming into a random tom. The dark brown tom rolls over and I stare into unfamiliar green eyes.

“Oh hello, Bryce.”

I draw back in shock. “How do you know my name?” I whisper, “Who are you?”

The tom sits up, looking amused. I notice he doesn’t make a move to attack me again, despite the cats fighting all around us. “My name is Aleric,” he smirks, “or at least that’s what everyone calls me.”

For a second, I don’t recognize who he is. Then I remember the tom that Terran had told me about, threatening to hurt Terran if he didn’t back away from the Twolegplace and tell me to stop snooping around.

“You,” I hiss.

I throw myself at him but he’s good. He slips out of my grasp like fish in a water and trips me with ease. “Don’t the Coalition teach you how to fight?” Aleric murmurs into my ear, “Your white tom was much better at fighting than you are but he was a Viper. That’s different. I haven’t fought a Coalition cat. This is refreshing.”

“I don’t fight like a Coalition cat,” I mutter.

“That too,” Aleric keeps his claws on me even as I struggle, “But I’m sure if I fight another cat, I’ll be able to fight a Coalition cat. It’s not a huge problem.”

“How did you know my name?” I repeat, “Why do you know so much about us if the Blood Army has never attacked the Coalition before?”

“Spies are common,” Aleric tips his head, “you do realize that, right?”

Spies. “The Blood Army excels at secrets,” Aleric continues, “so good that even now, none of these cats know who the real leaders of the Blood Army are.”

“Do you?”

Aleric’s eyes twinkle but he doesn’t give me an answer. Instead, he steps off me and gives me one last smile. “I suspect we are fighting a losing battle.”

I glance around me and realize that he’s right. While Aleric had been keeping me busy, the Coalition cats were managing to defeat the Blood Army.

“Organization is not one of our key points,” Aleric shrugs, “Goodbye, Bryce, I’m sure we will see each other again.”

“I hope not,” I say under my breath, even though I suspect he’s right.

Aleric weaves his way through the fighting cats and one by one, the Blood Army cats begin to streak away in submission. A shout of victory raises from the Coalition cats but I watch as Aleric races after his cats, glancing back once to wink at me.

~

Terran felt as though they were losing. He was grappling with familiar cats he knew the moves of but the Coalition cats around him were faltering. Karina was fighting alongside Terran, but they had no luck in pushing the Viper cats back.

“We’re losing,” Karina said flatly.

“I know,” Terran muttered, “Don’t remind me.”

Once in awhile he thought he saw a flash of a brown pelt that would indicate a certain she-cat he would rather forget. His suspicions were confirmed when Karina cursed. “I spot Vicky.”

Terran didn’t respond. He was too busy trying to beat back one of the Vipers he was fighting. “I’ll go deal with her,” Karina told him, “who knows what will happen if you end up fighting her instead.”

Terran rolled his eyes but let his sister go. Vicky wasn’t one of the cats he had left on good terms with. Ex-girlfriend or not, Vicky would gladly tear our Terran’s throat.

Someone caught Terran from behind just as he sent the two Vipers running. He grunted and spun around, ready to slash his claws at his attacker.

He froze when he saw the flash of amber eyes that indicated Shadeflower. “What in the world--?”

She lunged for him and Terran ducked, letting her sail over him. He turned again, raising his paws in time to block her next blow. Terran frowned and tried to pin her down. The she-cat’s eyes were glassy and unseeing, in a menacing way. Something was wrong.

“Terran!” Karina shouted, “What is Shadeflower doing?”

“Attacking me,” he yelled back, “what does it look like?”

At that moment, Shadeflower relaxed in Terran’s grip, her eyes returning to normal. She didn’t say anything, just laid limp on the ground.

Terran stared at her but he didn’t have time to ponder over this. He looked up to see Karina scream as the Viper delivered a hard blow to her head. “Karina!” He leaped to his paws and at the other Viper, knocking him away.

He knelt next to his sister but before he could do anything, he felt someone press something against his nose and all went black.

~

Nightshadow was barely holding it together. The wolves were everything, their vicious jaws snapping, and their claws tearing through skin.

He was already nursing several wounds but thankfully there weren’t too many wolves so at least five cats could attack on wolf at the same time.

Feathershine fought alongside him and Nightshadow was grateful for that. He already felt as though his nerves had been shot and he was about to break down.

“We can do this,” Feathershine murmured, “just a few more wolves.”

“I know,” Nightshadow inhaled sharply, only to regret it as he smelled the tangy scent of blood everywhere.

They fought in silence, each cat working with their group to complete their task. The wolves didn’t give up easily, but Nightshadow found that there was a limit before the wolf would turn around without another sound and bound away, ignoring other wolves.

Nightshadow would have thought that other wolves would protest against the other wolves fleeing but weirdly enough they didn’t make a noise as their comrades fled. It was as if they were being controlled and commanded.

Slowly, the Coalition cats pushed back the wolves and forced each and every one of them to flee.

Nightshadow felt woozy from the pain but Feathershine supported him. “We did it,” she whispered, “we did it.”

Nightshadow wanted to agree, but his tongue felt so heavy and he found that he couldn’t keep his eyes open for much longer.

~

I race for the other two patrols, the other cats streaming behind me. But when I arrive at the Vipers’ site, the Vipers were gone and the Coalition army was licking their wounds.

I couldn’t find Karina or Terran. I pull aside the nearest cat who happened to be Goldenfrost. “Where are Terran and Karina?”

“I don’t know,” she apologizes, “I saw them during the battle.”

Fear for the two spurs me to run faster. After much searching, I finally see Karina’s crumpled form. I let out a gasp and rush forward, Applepaw following me. “Bryce,” I turn, expecting Terran, but instead it’s Feathershine. The wolf section of the army had returned.

“Can you find Terran for me?” I plead.

“We looked already,” Feathershine says gently, “we don’t know where he is.”

My breath hitches. Karina is out cold, and she looks terrible. Terran is who knows where. “Where’s Nightshadow?”

Feathershine winces. “He’s pretty banged up but he’s fine. He’s resting since he’s really worn out from the battle.”

I glance at my friends, from Applepaw’s wide eyes to Karina’s limp form.

The battle may be over…but how long before all my friends will be healthy and present?

I found that I don’t know to answer that.

The End.