Dark Moon: Tell-Tale

Chapter 25

Monty gulped as he saw Jasper grin from the corner of his eye. His father had been secretly working with these evil monsters? Without any warning, Tell-Tale sprang from his position while Monty was distracted, landing a heavy blow to Monty's face. He staggered backward, feeling warm blood welling on his cheek. Hopping to his paws, he flicked the blood from his whiskers and darted under Tell-Tale, swiping at his underbelly as he did so. The huge tabby yowled in fury, turning on his rear paws and baring his teeth in a snarl. Monty was caught off guard as Tell-Tale lunged for his throat, pinning him to the hard, stone floor.
Jasper hissed, pouncing on Tonks and pushing her to the floor with a thud. She growled in fear and defence, attempting to claw Jasper's face to no avail. Jasper raised a paw, clouting Tonk's ears, crimson dripping from the tips of his claws. As he was about to land a second blow, Kali dashed toward him, grasping him by his abdomen and tearing his claws from the she-cat's pelt. The dog growled, Jasper still hanging from her jaws. She shook her head a couple of times as Jasper caterwauled in her grip, before flinging him toward the giant rock that the other dogs were standing upon.
Storm hopped from the boulder, bowling Homer over. The tom hissed, kicking the wolf off of his pelt and lashing out, clawing Storm's mouth. Storm shook his head, dazed for a second, and put one paw on his lip. After looking down at the bloodstained paw, his gazed snapped back up to Homer. He growled menacingly, baring his claws.
"You're going to regret doing that." He hissed, licking scarlet droplets from his tooth. Homer backed away as Storm began to stalk toward him. Tell-Tale flicked Monty away with powerful hind paws, and stalked over to join Storm, growling evilly.
Toxic snapped his jaws around Venus' tail, dragging her to the ground where he pinned her down with powerful forepaws. The she-cat arched her back forcefully, flipping onto her back as Toxic stumbled a bit. Only then did she realise it was a bad idea to expose her underbelly to the huge boxer. He growled, his jaws gaping as he prepared to bite Venus open, but she rolled aside, landing neatly back on her paws a second later. She swiped at Toxic's flank, causing him to howl in furious pain.
Nightmare lunged forward, aiming for Blizzard's neck, only to miss as the tom dodged aside. He winced in pain, staring down at his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he flicked the leaf off, revealing the still fresh wound beneath. He had to take it off, no matter what Monty said; it would get in the way. Whipping around furiously, Blizzard pounced on Nightmare's shoulders, knocking her off her paws and almost getting crushed beneath her weight. He flinched as he landed heavily on his wounded shoulder, but quickly recovered, standing up once more and swiping at Nightmare's unprotected stomach.
Jasper hissed, shaking on his paws as he glared with one eye at Kali. The other eye was closed as blood oozed over it, from a cut on his forehead which he received by hitting his head on the sharp rock wall. A deep growl rose in his throat as he lunged for Kali, his claws digging into her shoulders, his teeth meeting with her neck. She staggered backward, howling as she tried to bend her head and snap at Jasper's back.
Monty winced at the deep gash on his forearm, and the bleeding scratches on his cheek. However, he didn't give up, stumbling quickly to his paws and glaring at Tell-Tale. But the tabby wasn't there. Instead, he and Storm were slowly making their way toward Homer, cornering him as he cowered against the wall of the taller mountain. Without a second to spare, Tell-Tale slammed one huge paw into Homer's face, knocking him to the ground with a cry of pain and fear. Storm watched with a devilish grin as Tell-Tale drove one claw swiftly across Homer's neck, a river of crimson flowing from the open wound. Monty couldn't do anything. He just stood there, numb, his paws frozen to the ground like ice. Tell-Tale suddenly caught sight of Tonks, staggering to her paws, and bounded over to stop her, with a snickering Storm on his tail.
Monty darted over to Homer, who was trying to push himself up, coughing.
"No, Homer, stop." He instructed the older tom, laying a paw on his shoulder as he sat up, his back against the cold stone.
"Monty." Homer's voice was ragged, and his sentences were interrupted by coughs. "Go. Help the others. I'll be fine..."
"Save your breath, Homer. I'm not going to just sit here and let you die." Monty yowled, quite angrily, pressing his paws gently over the wound to stop the blood flow. Tears began to well in his eyes.
"There's nothing you can do." Homer grabbed Monty's paws, pulling them away, then quickly winced; he had shouted too loud and made the gash worse.
Monty fell silent, his ears drooping. Homer had been like a father to him, ever since Jasper disowned him and Marley. He had looked after him, played with him, and comforted him when he was upset.
"I can't let you die." He muttered, his eyes watering. "I won't let you die."
"Hey." Homer smiled, lifting Monty's chin with one, shaking paw. "It's going to be alright. You're going to grow big and strong okay? You're going to protect everyone else, and I'm going to watch over you and think, 'I am proud of this little bundle of joy.'" Homer smirked at the young tom, lifting his paw away from Monty's chin, struggling to keep his eyes open.
After a long silence that seemed to stretch on for years, Monty spoke.
"Homer." Homer looked up at Monty, who was now smiling back, with tears still in his eyes. "Say hi to Marley for me."