Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 3- Golden Fire

Chapter Twenty-One

"What is he doing?" Twistertail gasped. Neither Ambereyes nor Bumblebounce answered her. They couldn't see what Adderlash was up to, but could hear furious screaming from the tom. Twistertail quickly remembered when she and her brother first met Adderlash when they all were apprentices. She knew the cocoa-colored cat was a fighter.

And now he was taking on two humans all by himself. It was not at all like facing foxes or badgers. Cats just... didn't really fight with humans.

But Adderlash felt threatened. Even more so when the male human stormed over, carrying a flat wooly pelt, and scooped up the warrior. Adderlash flipped out, thrashing wildly against the towel. The human took the towel in one hand and didn't let go. Slowly, the towel stopped thrashing.

Oh, no. Can he breathe? Twistertail squinted. Can he, or did he just give up? He's not suffocating, is he?

Clearly Saffronsmolder was having the same thought. The large tom peeked out from behind the shed.

"Adder!" he hissed. "You can escape! It's above you! Bite at the top, not at the sides!"

The female human dropped her broom. Then the husband handed the bundled cat to his companion. They barked at eat other for a moment, then the male turned and stomped towards the shed. Saffronsmolder ducked back into hiding.

The female human was holding the towel shut with both hands. She uttered something, either to her partner or to the cat she was holding captive.

"We can escape now." Twistertail said, looking back at Ambereyes. You two can use the fence and follow in until you reach the far side where it doesn't reach the ground. You can lean on it, and no one will see you behind the bushes."

"Yeah." Ambereyes looked behind her as well, planning her route. "Yeah. I think I can make it."

"Where's the fence?" Bumblebounce rose to his feet.

"Over here. Follow me." Ambereyes said, leaning herself against the wall.

"Okay. Let's go." Bumblebounce went after her. But he paused for a moment. "Twistertail, are you coming with us?"

"Um..." Twistertail hesitated. These warriors were injured. But this was a strange threat. "No. just get out of here. Quick."

Bumblebounce lowered his head and, brushing his pelt against the fence, slipped away.

Then the male human let out a loud bark and Mosscurl streaked out of the shed. The female human squealed as the cream-colored tabby streaked away and under the fence. She disappeared, and the male came out holding another stick with a flat piece of metal on the end.

The female human's voice rose in pitch. "What are you going to do with that, James? Let's just put him in the garage and call animal control."

The male said something in return. "Nah. Grab his head, Cindy. Put 'im on the ground.

The female took a step back and swayed back and forth nervously. "I'm not doing that. It's barbaric, James."

Saffronsmolder's face reappeared from the corner of the shed. "Adderlash! They're gonna kill you! You need to get out of there!"

Adderlash shrieked like an eagle and started flailing again. The female human was taken by surprise and dropped him. The cat leaped out of the bag and ran in a half-circle. The female human screamed, and the male human raised the shovel. As Adderlash was running past him, he brought down the shovel. It hit its target.

Adderlash's head was severed cleanly. It was separated almost exactly where the neck began. It was a quick, clean cut. Twistertail ground her teeth in agitation as she watched. The two humans began to bicker at each other.