Warriors: Echo of Darkness

Extras: Crystal's escape

"It's finally the day we get out of this Felidae forsaken place," Crystal thought relieved. She wanted to escape with as many cats as she could, but she knew the truth. The more cats she tried to save, the increased chance they would be found. Her best friend Tails had told her they could only bring two more cats.

"I wish I could save them all," she thought despairingly.

She looked across the den at her sleeping father. His white tipped tail was curled over his face as he slept. Leviah was totally oblivious to her plans. 

She lived in the center of the city, totally abandoned by humans. The closer you lived to the center, the more important you were. Leviah... he changed after my mother fled. He started ruling with fear instead of respect. His mother was tired of living in this dumb. Crystal was too, but she was leaving for different intentions. Her mother, Snowflake, abandoned her and her father to rot in the city. 

Crystal loathed her mother, but she wasn't going to pursue it. Tonight was about being free from the everlasting nightmare that was her home. 

Crystal stepped outside of her den. It was an old twoleg den that Leviah made his subjects repair. It was covered with brambles and thickets, it was hard to tell twolegs made it anymore. Her white fur gleamed in the moonlight as she scanned around her den.

"Princess, are you ready?" 

Her guard slipped out from the cover of the shadows. He had pale grey fur, two green eyes, and more notably, two tails. He was her guard, best friend, and the cat she cared about the most. 

Behind him were her two other friends, Tack and Prez. Tack was in Patch's unit, making him very dangerous. She would need strong cats like them if they were going to make it out. Even though she was Leviah's daughter, there was a heavy price to pay for treason. 

Prez lived near the outskirts. Like other cats who came from her parts, she was a scapegoat. She got the worst jobs, and received the most abuse from my father's inner circle. It hadn't weakened her spirit though, it ignited it. 

I carefully bounded after my friends in the cover of darkness. 

We had only made it around three blocks when the alarm went off. The guards were relaying yowls of emergency. We ran even faster than we already were, knowing what would happen if they caught us. They didn't kill us, they maimed us so we couldn't live on our own. They took away a limb or an eye to make sure that cats had to stay here to live. Death was considered too good for traitors. 

Crystal looked at Tails, the one who was leading them out of the city. They had befriended each other at a young age, which was possible back then. Back when her mother was still here and everyone looked out for each other. When the social boundaries started to arise, Tails was quick to get a place so we could stay friends. He did a lot to get that far...

"You seem worried," Tails murmured slowing down a bit so he could run beside her. 

"We are running for our lives, of course I'm worried," Crystal sighed. We knew there was more to life. The four of us decided that if we couldn't be free, it wasn't worth living in this world. 

"That should only make us stronger," her guard purred. 

Crystal nodded then frowned, she knew Tails was just trying to sound cheerful and confident for her. She looked at his face again, this time she could tell he was worried. He looked at her then faked a smile, "Knew it."

We took a route that not many cats knew. Tack knew where to go, he knew the lesser known routes the guards never took. 

Guilt took me over from the cats I was leaving behind. Father, who was already suffering from the loss of his mate. Would I cause more suffering by leaving? A few weeks ago, a party of guards had injured a cat for looking me in the eyes. I was suppose to be their princess, they were suppose to feel safe around me. But when I looked at cats, all I see is fear.