Username: harvestberry
Choose Your Clowder: Cityside
Previous Prompt Response: Prompt 4Prompt Response: Prompt #4Characters:
Pyla #F271,
Waxwing #F270, and
Asclepias #E13Asclepias was just coming back to her senses when the bang sounded. She jumped, a small gasp echoing around the room. The first thing she did was look to her companions; not a single motion. That is, not a single motion until Pyla lifted her head, blinking and looking around. She looked where Asclepias once was, flicking her ear and searching the dark room.
“
Asclepias?” she called, careful to not wake Waxwing. The kit turned to her, tilting her chin up.
“The rain stopped. I heard a loud bang… I think something bad happened.” She whispered, meandering her way back to Pyla. The cream molly stood up, stretching. Concern filled her amber eyes.
“Oh? Well, I’m sure it won’t hurt to,” her voice was cut by a yawn, “check it out, no? I’ll wake Waxwing. You should be able to look out the window by climbing on the sofa to see.”
Asclepias nodded, trotting to the sofa and making her way upwards, putting her paws on the frame of a smashed window. A short, horrified breath was all she could draw in, Pyla turned to her, Waxwing now awakened.
“Everything alright?”
“The building across the road…… it fell! It fell down!” She turned around, panic in her voice. Pyla’s eyes widened with alarm. Waxwing shared the same expression.
“What if… there were cats in there too? What if they were sheltering, just like us? Oh, this is terrible!” Asclepias cried. She jumped down from the sofa, running for the window next to the fire exit. Pyla caught her by the scruff.
“Slow down. I’m sure a crowd has already gathered to help - we don’t need to be there right this second. We
should get going, however.” Waxwing stood up as he spoke, stretching and kneading his claws into the carpet before padding to the exit.
Pyla placed Asclepias on the floor, and she followed Waxwing, falling into step next to him and jumping out the window to the fire exit. As soon as all of them were down on the city streets, they worked their way to the building, crossing the street to the building. Some city cats had already gathered around, chattering anxiously. Some were already entering. Asclepias looked up at Pyla and Waxwing.
“Can we… go in?” She murmured, looking up. Waxwing nodded slowly.
“It’s only right. Come on.” Pyla led the trio, carefully picking her way around the crowd and into the building. It reminded her of one of the beach caves, or a cave inside the shoreline rocks. They were quickly surrounded by the crumbled concrete walls, a tunnel to what could be stranded and injured cats. Water fell occasionally from the ceiling, creating an eerie echo of dripping water and pawsteps. They pressed on, calling to see if any cats were inside.
But if there were any, they obviously weren’t here. The calls fell on deaf ears, if any ears at all, and soon they were standing in the darkness of a rich smelling, soaked concrete tunnel. Pyla sighed, twitching her ear as it echoed throughout the passage.
“Let’s go back. Nobody is h-“
A crash sounded, just down the way they came. All three turned quickly, watching as their only known escape - the passage - collapsed. No other way out was in view, at least not yet. Waxwing’s heart dropped, and Asclepias whimpered, backing up into and pressing against Waxwing’s leg. Pyla’s tail dropped, and she drew in a shaky breath.
“W-well…. Uhm…. I guess… the only way to go is forward.” Her head dropped, and she nudged Asclepias along, Waxwing following suit. While they were going, they kept calling, hoping for a sign of at least one cat.
Nothing. At least, nothing they could hear.
Finally, after what felt like moons upon moons, a light flickered through. A hole in the side of the wall from where it had collapsed again, the caved in section a blessing amidst darkness. However, across from it, stood another point of interest. Another hall, with more light coming from it. The group stopped, looking down the hall. It was long, with plenty of spaces where injured cats could be. On the other hand, they’d been through enough stress in these tunnels already. What if it happened again? Pyla and Waxwing turned to eachother.
“Let’s go down the hall.”
“We should get going.” Both cats spoke at the same time, eyes widening. Waxwing sighed, turning to the kit who was still shaking from shock.
“Asclepias? What do you think?”
“Either one works for me….”
Pyla frowned.
“Well, Waxwing… present your point. Why should we go down the hall?”
Instead of sighs or calls, it was now passive arguing that filled the passage.
(786 Words)