Crimson Stains

Prologue

Rain pounds down onto the dirt, washing sediment onto my paws. My kit writhes, mewling in my jaws as I run. The trees sway under the storm. Leaves shower into the mud. I run, not looking back at the cats chasing me. Blood causes my ears to ring. I need to find shelter. I need to run. The cats yowl and run faster as my paws catch on the loose mud. I look back and see them chasing me. They bare their teeth. I continue running, the wound on my leg dripping blood, my eyes wildly searching for a place to hide.

I turn a bend, jump over a log, run through a flooding tunnel, they don't back down. I hear a river rushing nearby. It's flooded. I know there's a cave past it. I can make it. I can save my kit. The icy rain reaches deep through my skin to my bones. My kits shivers and her wriggling slows. I become more desperate.

As the cats gain on me, I turn towards the flooded river. I can make it. I just have to jump. I reach the river, water sloshing at my paws and washing sediment from the rocks. I look behind me. They're following. I leap, my paws lifting from the ground. It's not enough.

As I begin to fall, I attempt to toss my kit into the small cavern across the river. She lands with a small yelp, but she's alive. I breathe with relief as frigid water fills my pelt and mouth. I'm quickly washed down the river, trying to pull my face above the water. I choke down water and cry for help. My body crashes against the rocks and I'm able to lift my head above the waves. I see the cats spitting at me as I drown, but they have no interest in trying to cross the river. My kit will be safe.

I crash into another rock. The floodwater turns red with blood around me. My vision blurs as water fills my lungs. It burns. A strange sensation of calm fills me as I close my eyes.

My kit will be safe.