Blackhole

Chapter 3

Boom!

Blackhole rose her head up to a loud sound echoing through her sleeping chamber. She turned her head left and right as she tried to find the source.

Her parents were already up. They stood at her side, their tails raised up and their neck feathers roughled. She had never seen her father's long feathers raised so straight, nor had she ever seen such a look of horror plaster her mother's face.

She could hear the clamoring of footsteps outside the door. The wooden frame itself shook, the latch wobbling about, as a dark shadow moved past it swiftly. There was a loud crack and the roar of pain, and a sickening thud. Blackhole stiffened when she saw the shadow come upon the door. She instinctively bared her teeth. But then the shadow suddenly veered in another direction, leaving her confused.

Before she could move too close, her father held out his tail in front of her and blocked her path. "Stay put, dear. Your mother and I will take care of this."

Blackhole felt a sense of indignation at this. She was old enough to fight. Why won't her parents let her?

But now wasn't the time for her to complain about things not being fair. Something was going on here. Something was wrong. Her instincts were telling her to flee, to get away while she could. She found herself turning her head from side to side as her racing mind tried to find an exit. But here in this room, there was no way out except for the door.

And there was something just beyond it.

The door started to clang and shake. Blackhole took notice of the lock that was in place. Her mother must have set it. It was doing a good job with keeping the intruder on the other side. But this intruder did not give up, and again and again they struck.

Blackhole moved back away from her parents. Her body hunched low, her head nearly touching the ground. She bared her teeth and kept herself quiet. Her orange eyes fixated on the door. She felt her gut twist as a crack began to spread through the door at an off centered angle.

She felt her claws digging the ground. She watched the door intently. She felt her mind race, every part of her body tensing up for an attack. She held her tail out straight at an upwards angle, as stiff as stone. She spread her claws outward, her dewclaw flicking back and forth in eagerness. She felt a light growl rumble in her throat. Her mind was screaming one word at her.

Attack.

That was when the door had broken down. In mere seconds, it now laid on the ground, the center of it bent and broken.

In a flash, Blackhole dashed forward. She forgot about her father's words. Her surging emotions had won over her more logical side, and she responded to this instinct. She jumped in the air and slammed against the intruder.

"Blackhole! Stop!"

The voice of her father stopped her from striking her claws down. Her eyes widened as she recognized this intruder.

"Browndwarf?" Blackhole backed away and lowered her head in shame. "I am sorry. I did not recognize you."

Browndwarf did not respond to her. He clammered up to his feet and turned his attention to her father. "Oh great leader! It is terrible! We are under attack!"

This was no secret. The brown alimon had two or three bloody holes in him. His left hind leg was raised slightly, and the contortion of his face was enough to reveal he was in agony. Blackhole watched as her mom rushed over to provide some support.

"What is going on?" Her father asked. He took a step towards Browndwarf, his eyes becoming level with his. "What happened?"

Browndwarf looked as if he had seen a thousand deaths. "Humans..."