Legacy: Timeless (Book 2)

Chapter 58: Chasing Clouds

Chapter 58: Chasing Clouds

Time swirled all around her. No, not time, but noise. It sounded a lot like time. Or maybe time sounded like noise. Scorch was aware of the incessant noise that surrounded her head like a cloud of buzzing flies and filled her insides with inescapable pressure.

Darkness held her close, a thick black wing shielding her eyes from the world around her. Pain lanced through her face, her eyelids squeezed tight as if it would make the pain go away. But even without her eyesight there were other observations coming in from her senses.

She could feel her cheek laying flat again the ground in some sticky liquid that she could smell was salty; blood? And then there was the noise outside her head. The battle was still going on, high over her head she could hear the screeches of battle as she once heard the faraway screeches of seagulls.

But there was closer noise. She could hear a roar above her head and the sounds of blows being landed, the meaty thump telling her that claws weren't being used but pure power against a cat without a will or the ability to defend itself. What was going on? She wanted to call out, but pain kept her mouth shut tight.

Scorch tried to find her paws, but it was like trying to find the bottom of a dark pool of water. Finally she felt all four of her paws touch the ground and slowly she pushed herself up, rocking back onto her haunches and swaying as she lifted her head. There was no way to tell which way was straight up while the noise and pain made her nauseous, making it more difficult to stay upright.

A gurgling cry close to her ear startled her in her haze of pain and she jumped, nearly falling but managing to catch herself jerkily on the ground. By scent she recognized Pinefur, but only barely could she tell through the overwhelming scent of blood.

He has to be dying, I did cut his throat. But he got me too. She could feel his claws feebly pulling on her fur and she backed away, her paws trembling in uncertainty against the cold ground. "Scorch, are you okay?" the thumping blows stopped as the desperate mew sounded in her face. She could hear paws scuffling as if something were being kicked away.

She turned her face toward the voice, blackness still cloaking her vision. "Boulderfall?" her voice mewled like a pitiful kit and she heard his cry of dismay as he looked at her.

"Your eyes... oh," there was pain in his voice and Scorch felt hollow cold, knowing that it was for her.

"I can't see anything, I can't open my eyes," she mewed.

Boulderfall shivered beside her and she stiffened, "Scorch, your eyes are open."

"But I can't see anything!" she exclaimed, her lip quivering as heavy fear filled her.

"Just rest," Boulderfall sounded lost as he guided her through the darkness.

She sat down with her back to something hard and cold, a rock? Scorch couldn't see anything and she kept turning her head, searching for some light but nothing so much as flickered at the edges of her vision. "Is the battle almost over?" she asked Boulderfall who she sensed was perplexed and scared.

"No, but with Pinefur dead it's only a matter of time before-" his voice was broken by a yowl and Scorch flinched as gravel sprayed her face as some cat leaped down in between her and Boulderfall.

"Flameclaw!" Boulderfall's furious hiss reached her before the intruder's scent. Snarls erupted in front of her and Scorch got to her paws, padding clumsily along the wall of rock as the two rolled and thrashed about.

"You fox-heart, you killed Pinefur!" Scorch was helpless as the orange tom sprang on her back, rolling her over so that her belly was exposed and landing heavy blows on her aching face which she feebly tried to block with her fore paws.