The Lost Kits

Chapter 9

Of course, Sootpaw just wouldn't give up.
The annoying tom followed her along the fence without a word (for once) and Ella did her best to ignore him. She had a mission to save her littermates, and she would not let him distract her. She didn't even know what kind of cat she was facing, though she hoped the alley cats would give her some insight on her enemy.
They reached the alley the kittypet had mentioned fairly quickly. Sure enough, there were quite a few cats gathered there, half hidden by No-Fur boxes and barely visible, since their dirty, ragged fur helped them blend into the shadows.
As Ella and Sootpaw entered the alley, the cats stood up, wide-eyed in shock. An elder tom with dirty brown fur and a half ripped collar with teeth embedded in it stepped forward.
   "Scourge's kit has finally arrived." He meowed softly, but he wasn't looking at Ella or Sootpaw. She turned and almost fell over when she saw her littermate, Alice, with her head held high. When she saw Ella, her eyes flashed with surprise and anger.
   "Yes, I'm here to ask for your help in rescuing my littermate." Alice meowed. She padded forward, and Ella noticed how nervous she was- Her tail was twitching, and paws trembled slightly. When she saw Ella watching her, she gave her a glare that made her feel like cowering behind Sootpaw. Who is she, and what happened to Alice?
"Not just yet. First you have to prove yourself as a worthy leader." The tom bared his teeth. "Fight the other newcomer."
Both Ella and Alice stiffened. "Me?" Ella asked nervously, shuffling her paws. Sootpaw moved closer to her, ready to help her fight. She was too stunned to react to that, for the alley cat had given his reply- "Yes."
Alice turned to her, and Ella knew this wouldn't be an easy fight. Alice had always been more timid, like Ace, but now she was out for revenge. In her eyes, Ella had left her and Ace to be taken by strangers and had now returned to rule over the alley cats and forget about her.
Before she knew what was happening, Alice leaped at her, hissing. Ella darted to one side and swiped at her flank. The alley cats were gathering around them, eager to watch the fight. Sootpaw didn't dare to try and intervene.
   "Claws unsheathed!" One cat yowled, and Ella stared at Alice. Would she actually do it?
   Alice lashed out, and pain spiked across her muzzle. Alice's claws gleamed in a ray of sunlight, and Ella hesitantly unsheathed her claws as well. I can't believe I'm really fighting her, my own kin.
   Ella knew there was no more time to worry about who she was fighting, and what might happen. She stared at her kin for a moment before she let all her feelings consume her- Her anger at her mother for leaving her, her anger at the No-Furs for causing this, her fear that she would never see Ace again if she lost this battle. She never liked how timid both her littermates were, but she didn't want to lose Ace. And she didn't want Alice to hate her forever, but she had no choice.
Ella leaped at Alice, who let out a screech and ducked under her, raking her claws lightly across Ella's soft underbelly. Ella darted past her and gave Alice a few deep scratches on her flank, hissing. Alice growled and rose up on her hind paws, but then fell to the ground as Ella swept her paws out from under her. She leaped back up and dodged Ella's next blow to her muzzle, then grabbed Ella's tail in her jaws and bit down. Ella yowled and swung around slamming her paw into Alice's side. Bother she-cats stumbled away from each other, and Ella felt her wounds burning like fire.
She had only ever play fought with her sister, but this was real. Ella felt her rage building and, with a shriek of rage, she ran forward and slammed a shocked Alice to the ground, hooking her paws into her littermate's fur. She pinned her down with one paw on her chest and the other poised over her throat.
"Stop holding back." Ella snarled, leaning forward. The words came from the hateful part of Ella, the part of her heart where she hated her weak littermates, who almost always held back.
"Kill her." Came the sharp meow from the tom who had ordered the fight. Alice's unique purple eyes no longer held anger, only pure terror.
"Please don't do this, Ella." She whispered shakily. Ella stared at her, then bared her teeth in a twisted smile. All sad thoughts had left her, replaced with a cold anger.
Before she could move, Alice went limp in her paws. "Alice?" No reply. "Alice?" Ella meowed urgently, panicking. The rage seeped out of her, and she shook her sister frantically.
Unexpectedly, Alice surged upwards, ramming into Ella and throwing her backwards. Ella lashed out wildly with her claws as she flew through the air, hearing a cry of pain from her sister. She slammed into the ring of cats behind her and hit the ground, hard.
Her vision hazy, Ella attempted to push herself to her paws but only succeeded in twisting her paw beneath her as she fell to the ground once more. A calico she-cat stepped into view above her and helped her up. She led Ella away from the ring of cats surrounding her sister, trying to block her view, but as her vision steadied she glimpsed something that almost made her collapse.
In the centre of the group of cats was Alice, lying limp and bloody in the No-Fur alleyway.
What have I done?

A/N- First time writing a battle scene (the dog earlier didn't really count), so hope you enjoyed!