Grandeur Defector

XXVIV

Nobody moved.

And then chaos erupted.

"CADET!"
Warren screamed at the top of his lungs, horror flooding every inch of his face. His voice cracked in agony, grief already beginning to take its ugly toll upon his heart. He darted towards his partner's body, who lay slumped on the ground's unforgiving cradle of earth.
Soldiers scrambled towards their tents in a desperate attempt at grabbing weaponry; overhead, the sounds of gunfire began to sound more frequent and loud. Truffles stared at Cadet's body from afar, watching Cass roll over the corvid to check for a pulse, but the bullet hole in his forehead told everything she needed to know.
She shook her head.
Dead... he's dead.

Behind Truffles he heard rustling tall grass; he lept to his feet with a startled growl. Instantly, 3 tiger soldiers rushed forward with guns in hand, fierce ferocity in each glare of hot hatred. A tiger soldier flung himself onto Truffles without hesitation, teeth bared. Truffles was knocked down to the ground, slammed into the dirt from the force to his chest. He punched upwards directly into the tiger soldier's jaw, connecting the blow and earning a loud CRACK! in response. Stunned, the soldier faltered for a second; Truffles slung his attacker off of him with speed, climbing back to his feet with a snarl. The tiger soldier grabbed his jaw in anguish.
That's for Cadet, you asshole!

Truffles extended his claws.
The tiger soldier flattened his ears, the fur on the back of his neck standing up. He flinched as Truffles walked closer with his claws ready, and with sudden hesitation, he bolted back into the tall grass in a panic.
Truffles stood there, furious his opponent fled.
Tiger soldiers are NOT taught to cower like weaklings in battle!
Turning around to face the chaos, he watched Flippy grabbing Warren backwards towards a tent to safety. The wolf howled to the stars above in grief, completely shaken and not nearly as rough-exterior as he normally was. He howled and howled, his voice the loudest ringing out with the sound of guns shot back and forth. On the other side of camp, 5 tiger soldiers had snuck in and were firing upon the Animalia soldiers. Truffles hissed under his breath.

This attack doesn't make sense-!
Why would The General— my uncle— attack midday like this? Tigers are weakest when the sun is highest because of the heat... he knows that! There was no point to Cadet dying!
Why? WHY?
Truffles shook himself and balled his fists, claws still out and ready for blood. A tiger soldier shot at Cass, who dodged just in time. She was dragging a shot soldier into the medic tent and looked frantic, Dr. Burns trying desperately to aid her. The man on the ground lay injured, stomach bleeding from multiple bullet wounds, sobbing in pain.
Truffles ran as quickly as he could over to the medic cheetah, gripping the injured soldier's uniform collar and tugging beside her. Faster with one person helping her, they dragged the man into the medic tent, the poor soldier screaming from a small rock hitting his spine on the dirt. Cass breathed heavily from adrenaline, but stared gratefully at the feline.

"Th-Thank you-!"

Truffles didn't respond; he ran out of the medic tent in haste, peering around for anymore Animalia soldiers needing help. Mouse and Sneaky were in the hand-dug trench behind sandbags, struggling to fire shots at the rouge soldiers attacking their comrades. A tiger soldier leaped into the trench with them, snarling.
NO! NO NO NO!

Flippy grabbed the soldier mid-air.
Hatred beyond words could describe shone in the depths of his eyes and heart, a fierce loyalty to his friends in every move. And wordlessly, he glared into the tiger's eyes, making his enemy struggle in his strong grip. With nothing to say and yet everything said in his gaze, he bit into the soldier's neck and yanked. The flesh ripped away like paper to a paper shredder.
Blood flew everywhere.
It sprayed Sneaky and Mouse; it stained Flippy's uniform scarlet red, the exact color of war. The tiger's detached head dropped to the ground. His teeth were so sharp, he had ripped entirely through the throat. Blood continued to spray out of the severed artery and brain stem, the esophagus torn to shreds and leaking oxygen out of the soldier's lungs. Useless and now mindless, the soldier's body stopped twitching.
Coldly, Flippy— or rather, Fliqpy— dropped the carcass to the ground without any ounce of respect.
Holy shit.
Truffles' throat tightened.
Being a tiger himself and instinctually knowing to protect his throat, he felt horrified at the sight. Fliqpy kicked the body away from him, slinging it. He stepped towards an Animalia soldier who was firing his gun into another tiger soldier. The soldier fell over dead from a bullet to the heart.
Fliqpy's eyes trailed, meeting Truffles'. Their reflections stood in each other's eyes, two sides of the world looking back at one another— and yet, neither of them hostile. The bear grunted and grinned proudly, blood staining his teeth. Truffles shook the blood off of his pelt.
Living weapons, breathing machines.
Almost as quick as it had started, the noise died. All 9 tiger soldiers who had ambushed the camp were dead, their bodies littering the camp ground. Flies and crows had already started to circle overhead, waiting.
He could only watch.
Corporal Olive helped Jarvis up, the soldier having been shot in the leg. Alex was in the trench alongside Sneaky and Mouse, gripping his gun. Nobody said a word.
What was there to say?