Stoneslide - Chapter 11

Hazelwood gave a scornful glare out the birdhouse’s doorway. “Well,” he started. “Today’s the day. Where is he?”

Serica looked helplessly at the doorway, fur bristled. “Look. I’m not in control of Highwhisker-”

“Well you should be,” he spat back.

“It doesn’t matter,” a voice rang from below the birdhouse.

Hazelwood’s dark gaze met Serica’s, and she stepped aside. Highwhisker’s tall figure shone in the sunlight. “I’m here now.”

“I was asking about Trill,” Hazelwood said, fury tipping his voice.

“In the Healers’ complex.” Highwhisker held his calm air, infuriating Hazelwood even more.

“Well? Take me out and get done with it.”

Highwhisker looked down solemnly. “You know that’s not how things are done.”

Hazelwood raised a brow. “Like you’ve ever done anything.”

He already began to see Highwhisker’s fur bristling. Every little word he said, he meant it for Carin, Trill, and any mouse that’s been separated by the Guilds.

“Take him to the porch, Serica.” Hazelwood noticed that Highwhisker didn’t have his spear with him. Scared of getting the tables turned on him, again? “Just hope they’ve made it out,” he whispered under his breath. He must have forgot Hazelwood used to be a guard.

“Made it out?” Hazelwood echoed, slyly tapping the edge of the birdhouse. “I see. Who?” He snuck a glance at Highwhisker’s side, covered in a patch of moss and then a string of cobwebs to keep it together. His throw was sloppy, but he still managed to hurt Highwhisker. It wasn’t serious, but it was definitely painful. He smiled, then realized that would be his last satisfaction. He wouldn’t even see his daughter, before that was it. As Serica grabbed his paws and held them tight with strong arms, Hazelwood’s anger began to surge back to him. But he would never give Highwhisker the satisfaction of him squirming.

All he did was train his hard black eyes on Ketani. “Remember,” he spat, “that we, the Guildless, will live on. I’ll die, and that’ll be the end of you. My death will be enough to cause them all to convert. Then, you’ll-” He was cut off as Serica’s hard elbow hit his head. He felt his head fall, his body going limp.”

“Please take him, now. I’ll ring the bells,” he heard Highwhisker grunt. Then darkness fell over Hazelwood.

***

“Come on, guys. We have to leave.” The toll of the porch bell rang in Tulun’s ears. “That’s the signal.”

“Let’s go,” Tyranos said, hopping down a branch and spreading his arms to keep balance.

As Tulun swung down from the branch, she looked back. Fleck tried hopping down, but just hopped from the bark onto the pine branch. Edvard on the other hand took slow and methodical steps along the pine bark.

“Hurry, Edvard.” Tyranos began running down another branch, and once more hopped off at just the right time. Tulun noticed his white fur bristled.

They continued running down the branches, pausing at times as they waited for Edvard.

Edvard was about two branches above as Tulun sat down next to Tyranos. She risked a glance at him and touched her cheek. “Have you ever thought?”

“Thought what?” Tyranos asked.

“That we might never see Wolf Plains again,” she murmured, kicking her legs. Fleck finally caught up, Edvard following soon after.

Tyranos didn’t respond but once more began running down the pines. Tulun picked herself up and started following. She jumped off another branch with strong legs, rolling over as she realized she wouldn’t land it.

“You coming? This is serious!” Tyranos picked Tulun up and gave a glare to the others. “Stop.” Tyranos flattened himself to the bark and waited until a mouse walked by. Raven. Her dark fur shone in the midmorning light, but she disappeared into the shadows of the pine trees. “Now. Keep going.”

Tulun ran in front of her brother, who patted her on the back as she passed. She grabbed a small branch jutting out from the trunk of the tree and swung down to another. She landed in the tall grass below the trees, and looked up. “Hurry up.” She glanced around her. Nobody was around, not even hiding behind the tree trunks. Of course they weren’t. The bell was a summons. Always were.

She stopped at the rusted gate, her dark satchel hanging by her side. Tyranos, Edvard, and Fleck stopped at the edge.

“What are you waiting for?” Edvard growled.

“Just - you go ahead.” Tulun wanted one last look at the city. Maybe she would never see it again.

It seemed so tranquil in the morning, with no mice running around the city getting things done. The bell still rung, killing the peace and reminding her that things were happening here. And the four were abandoning the problems. Even through Highwhisker’s excuses she could see that.

Tulun looked across the gravel road, where the other three mouse stood. She took a step and checked if the coast was clear. She didn’t even take notice of the growling sounds of a car.

Then she heard it fully. The rumbles, the growls, the clattering of pebbles that didn’t belong to a normal car. It was one of the much larger ones, that carried extensions of them with cows inside of them.

The clouds of dust began to rise over the small slope, that hid anything behind it. The car was close.

Now, it was a race between care and mouse. In quickly paced steps, Tulun tripped over a pebble that she didn’t even see. She rolled over, getting scrapes all along her body. Her satchel had flung itself away from her. She coughed up the dust that was looming closer to her and started running again, on all fours for as much speed as she could possibly muster. She still continued running, forgetting all about the satchel. She just needed to live.

She could nearly see the wheels of the truck.

One look at Tyranos’ face told her she wouldn’t get past the car before she got hit. And by one look at the car, he was right. She turned around and started running again, but her feet stumbled on another pebble. Mixed with the mud, the momentum sent her flying, once more skidding into the ground. She clenched her jaw to keep the pain out of her mind, as she always knew, but from where, she didn’t know.

She was three-quarters the way off the road now, staring wide-eyed at the white truck.

Struck by horror, she was only able to stare from the ground up at the beast. The tires were becoming closer in front of her now, sending rocks and pebbles flying away.

“Jump, Tulun!” Tyranos shouted, bringing Tulun out of her trance.

She to the side, but it was too late. There was a searing pain in her tail, the pain so sudden that it blurred Tulun’s vision. She rolled in the muddy gravel. The dust covered her, and a pebble flew, hitting her on the side. She hurt so much that she rolled over, and darkness fell onto her.

***

Bring him in,” Ketani said coolly, trying to avoid the stare Rozalin was giving him.

He flicked his head, giving an icy stare to Morlyle. He’d regained consciousness, but now he looked forlorn and sad instead of the fiery determined creature Morlyle always was. He looked like some sorry old creature instead of the ruthless mouse he was the night before.

In front of them, beneath the raised platform under the porch, stood nearly the entire population of Wolf Plains, including the mice that were still in healing.

“I’ve avoided killing you for this long, Hazelwood.”

Hazelwood seemed to regain his usual determination, however infuriating yet terrifying it was. “Ha. I could tell that much. I nearly kill your son and yet you still won’t hurt me.”

Hazelwood was wrong. Nearly killing Flekkanos was what set his trigger.

Mice started murmuring, and Highwhisker lowered his ears, trying to drown out their sounds. Yet, the threat given to him by that one mouse rang in his mind.

The mice loyal to the Guildless talked freely, shaking off their “loyal” disguise.

“It’s your time now.” He held his spear high, but as he swung it down, a swift paw caught it.

“Tut, tut, Highwhisker. You didn’t think I’d go without final words?” He stood up, smiling madly.

Trillium, the mouse that was the sole guard to Hazelwood, smiled. She had a moss cap on her head, and she stood next to a healer, but that didn’t make her seem weak or feeble.

Highwhisker shot Hazelwood a deadly glare. “Fine. Say your final words.” He tried to hide the contempt in his voice. “Requests, speeches. You’re lucky you were once my friend.” He ripped his spear from Hazelwood’s paw.

“First, I request that as soon as Highwhisker is dead, the Guilds get destroyed. All ‘Whiskers are the same, and they will do anything to separate us,” he said, pausing with a smile. “And as for last words, kill me, and you’ll make them angrier. And one more thing. Come closer, Ketani,” he said, smiling sweetly. His eyes narrowed angrily though.

Highwhisker curled his lip and leaned in, his ears cocked.

“First, you are a lying toad not even worthy of Frozenmoon,” he whispered. Then his voice began to raise. He began to spit insults out port and starboard. “You are a silver tongued toad in a mouse’s pelt. How you managed to become leader is beyond me. Oh yeah!” he shouted, smiling.

“That is enough. You’ve spoken!” Highwhisker growled.

“I’ll tell you how. I killed Brightwhisker. Just for you.” He paused as Ketani raised his spear, anger in his glistening blue eyes. Hazelwood couldn’t have done it. He couldn’t have. But then, he killed Hjerral, and tried killing Flekkanos. It wouldn’t be beyond him.

His eyes flickered to Roz, who stood there, nonplussed.

“You want to know what else I’ve done? I might as well say everything right here and now.” Hazelwood broke free from Serica’s grasp, kicking her away. “I did it. I-”

He was stopped as Highwhisker struck his spear down in a mix of fury and fear. Fury because of what Hazelwood had already done, and fear to hear what else he had to say.

As Hazelwood fell to the ground, blood dripping off of Highwhisker’s glass spear, he looked up. Blue eyes met black, but Hazelwood only smiled, however pained it was.

“And I killed Juniper,” he growled, then laughed.

Highwhisker stood there in silence. His mouth went dry, and it felt as though his heart stopped. Juniper. His spear clattered to the ground, and Highwhisker didn’t do anything to pick it up. Hazelwood did it. Hazelwood killed Juniper, and he blamed it all on a Frozen mouse. Hazelwood was once his best friend, now murderer and traitor.

Hazelwood fell flat to the ground and rolled onto his side, before giving a couple pained groans. He chuckled once, and then his eyes dimmed. His mouth closed, and blood stopped flowing from the hole in his chest. Shards of bone lay on the ground, small bits of tissue still attached to it. It was a gory scene, but it was what Hazelwood deserved. He looked down at Hazelwood’s body, and felt anger rise in him once more. He gave a guttural cry of both physical and emotional pain. Hazelwood really was the one who did it, who wrecked Highwhisker’s life.

The fury died in him and he looked at his spear. The nearly transparent glass, coated in blood, fell from Highwhisker’s paws. He gazed at Roz. “Beat the nail down. I did so,” he mouthed to her silently.

“To the rest of you Guildless, leave. You have no leader anymore. Get back to your Guilds and get these ideas out of your head. I have no fear of executing any mouse who stands for this.” He clenched his paws into fists. “You have until the next morning.”

Then there was Trill, her face bent into a snarl, but she just stood there, shaking with tears. “You monster,” she whispered. Her dark grey paws shook. “Never!” she shouted. Then were the words that Highwhisker feared most to come from her mouth. “We will never obey you, never again!” She then stood up taller, dried blood clumped onto the moss onto her head. “Hazelwood was right. To Highwhisker, the phony king of Wolf Plains!”

The entire porch echoed with the words.

“The phony king of Wolf Plains!”