Of Lights from Within: Part Nine

"He's there!" Kylan cried, thrusting his paw towards Maddi's former hiding spot. "I saw him! GET THE LITTLE RUNT!"

     Maddi gasped, horrified by the abrupt call. They had caught sight of him! His cover was completely blown! "Oh, what I have done?" he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

     The Kougra took two deep breaths, and started dashing like mad through the eerie woods. "Must… get … to… the… castle…" he whispered to himself, his paws pounding furiously on the dead leaves that were scattered all around the ground.

     He ducked under the twisted branches of the wild trees surrounding him, sped by the untamed creatures that silently stared, and tried his absolute best to get as far away as he could from the three who were following.

     Suddenly, as if a precious miracle had dawned down upon him, Hubrid's Nox grand castle came in to sight through Maddi's eyes. It was standing on a curved hill, its window and doors creaking throughout the deadly night.

     "Where is he?" Maddi heard a voice call out. The sounds of branches being broken by hands, and feet stamping on the soil suddenly came to a halt.

     "Darn it! I think we lost him!" Kylan yelled angrily. "Hubrid's going to be furious when he hears about this! I'll just have to blame it on you two…"

     "What?! That's so not fair!" Jacob cried.

     "Just shush! Let's head back to the castle quietly." That was Lila.

     To Maddi's already petrifying shock, the feet started trudging towards his direction. Oh no! Maddi yelled to himself. They're going to see me in seconds!

     The Kougra was standing at the borderline of the forest, and even if he did hide behind a tree, the trio would notice him. So, Maddi did the only thing that he could think to do. He fell down to the ground, and wrapped his arms around his body, causing him to become a ball-like figure. He was completely covered in dirt and mud, and he already was awfully skinny. Hopefully, this would cause the three to not notice him.

     Kylan was the first to appear through Maddi's eyes. The faerie Gelert was peering around the forest, a heated look plastered onto his face. Next was Lila, who was a red Kacheek with an especially chubby face. She was panting, and carried a distressed expression. Jacob was the last to come into view. He was shivering with his arms tightly wrapped around his chest. This minion was an orange Gelert, and didn't seem all too bright.

     "Ooh, it's so cold out here!" Jacob whined, his teeth clattering loudly together.

     "I told you NOT to speak!" Kylan barked, holding up his already balled fist.

     Jacob's maw immediately shut. The orange Gelert began gazing at the ground, as if he was terribly humiliated by the other Gelert's comment.

     Maddi held his breath as he long as he could, eyeing the trio that was standing inches away from him. "Let's get going," Kylan finally grumbled.

     To Maddi's relief, the three began pacing away from him, the crunch of the leaves echoing all through the woods.

     Maddi waited for a few more seconds, his body not even moving a millimeter out of place. Then at last, he released his held-in breath. Masses of tears had fallen from his eyes during the terrifying period, and they stung terribly for some odd reason.

     "I hate them," the Kougra moaned, kneeling up from his aching position.

      Talking wasn't the smartest thing to do, really. Because the area had peculiarly silenced and Maddi's comment could be heard for a long way around. Two of the three betrayers hadn't heard it, however. It only entered the ears of one. The others were too absorbed in being angry, too wound up in thinking of how to inform Hubrid of what had happened. Lila and Kylan hadn't heard. But Jacob had.

     "Did you hear that?" Maddi could hear him hiss off in the distance.

     "Hear what?" Kylan grunted.

     "Yeah, hear what?" Lila questioned.

     "Talkin'," Jacob replied.

     "You're probably hearing things," Lila stated.

     "I agree," Kylan muttered.

     "Nu-uh. Just listen," Jacob demanded.

     Lila rolled her eyes at the orange Gelert, skeptical and annoyed. He had always irritated the Kacheek; they had always possessed clashing personalities. She was obedient, always following orders, witty and independent in some situations, yet vaguely clueless and reliant in others. Despite her low rank among Hubrid's minions, she was one of the most loyal - always ready to do whatever dangerous or simply unfeasible task he had in mind. She never questioned his reasoning, never gave his orders a second thought. She was like a puppet, basically.

     Jacob was different. He was pretty dim in the head - definitely not the roundest bowl in the cupboard. He did, though, have opinions… quite strong ones, might I add. For a minion, he was pretty disapproving of his leader, and although he did trust him to some extent, he was doubtful at times. Jacob also felt as if some things were better kept hidden amongst those in the highest ranks. He didn't want to know about how the faerie's planned to do this, or how Hubrid planned on recruiting new minions. It wasn't his problem. Never would be, probably. So why should he worry?

     "Just listen," Jacob said again. He closed his eyes gently, straining his ears to hear the voice another time. It didn't speak again. Silence. Pure and absolute silence.

     "You're definitely hearing things again, Jacob," Lila grumbled. She stomped a foot angrily on the ground and let out a huffy sigh.

     "I'm NOT!" The orange Gelert exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

     "Are too!"

     "Am not!"

     "Stop ARGUING!" That was Kylan. He was so getting so frustrated - so absolutely annoyed and frustrated. Bickering was the only thing those two seemed to do. He glared at them, and let out a long breath. "Let's just go back to the castle and explain to Hubrid what happened - okay?" His tone was slightly calmer.

     "Yeah, whatever," Jacob mumbled. He started walking off to the palace in the distance. Kylan and Lila quickly followed.

     Meanwhile, Maddi was beyond relieved. He almost wanted to scream out in joy, wanted to go around hugging the trees and bushes. But that would've been dumb. That would've gotten him caught.

     The Kougra quietly rose to his paws and let out a soft breath. His eyes were glazed with tears, but he didn't truly notice. He didn't notice anything really. Not the cold air whipping against his fur, or the dead leaves on the plant behind him scraping restlessly at his leg. The world almost seemed frozen in time for Maddi - still as ever, noiseless. And truth be told, he liked it this way.

     And then he let go. He stopped staring ahead into the blackness and blinked. The world came back in a split second. Everything; the smells, the sights, the weather.

     Maddi raised a single paw and advanced one step. A single step, another paw, another step, another inch. Another second in his life gone, tucked away in the past. He continued on like this, slowly, relishing every moment that passed.

     He eventually arrived at the foot of the hill where the palace sat atop of, and he didn't even care about the mass of guards surrounding the gates. He didn't mind that he was in plain sight. It was almost like he was screaming out for them to capture him. Telling them that he was there. He had arrived. They could take him prisoner now; he would escape. He always had. Nothing would change now.

     Maddi let out another breath, and then started up the hill. Guards soon spotted him. They recognized him too. Running; they were running at him. Fast as they could, flying down that hill. To get to Maddi. To get to that little baby Kougra who no longer knew anything. The little Kougra who no longer knew how to feel emotions. That helpless pet. They wanted him. And they got him. There was no struggle, no attempts to flee. No flailing, or kicking, or thrashing around. To quite a few of those capturers, it almost seemed as if Maddi wanted to be taken. It almost seemed like he wanted to be dragged along the dying grass and into the dungeon of the castle. And maybe at that moment, all those guards who thought that were right.

     The guards began walking to the gloomy castle and stepped inside. They paced through a narrow corridor, flew down a long-winded staircase, and finally arrived to the dungeon cell. The tiny room was so dark, so lightless, that many of the guards tripped onto the cold concrete flooring. Maddi blinked for a second, and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling more exhausted then he had ever been.

     "You guys are so dense," he whispered, his voice on the verge of being inaudible.

     The guards, luckily, did not make out the comment, and simply threw him into the corner of the cell, as if he were a rag doll. "Don't you dare move an inch!" a large brown Skeith grunted, his eyes flashing an evil glare. "Hubrid will be here to settle matters shortly."

     The guards then slowly shuffled out of the room, the brown Skeith finally slamming the gateway shut. Long and thick metal rods were what made that gateway. Perfect,, Maddi thought.

     The Kougra gradually stood up from the ground, ignoring the deep gashes and aching bruises that covered his body. He crept towards the entryway, and slid his body through the bars. It was as simple as that. Those fools hadn't even realized how skinny Maddi truly was.

     Suddenly, Maddi perceived the slightest noise. At first, it sounded as if it was merely a murmur, but it grew rapidly to be more like someone yelling eagerly. Maddi immediately knew it was Hubrid, and this caused the Kougra's stomach to churn unpleasantly. He had to find room where the Chia kept the puzzle box, and then escape this dreaded castle as quickly as possible. He rapidly began racing to his right, his eyes frantically gazing around his surroundings, trying to find that specific room.

     "Splendid job, Krag! I will award you extra meals for five months!" Maddi could hear Hubrid exclaim gleefully. "This is absolutely w-- ….WHERE… IS… HE???!!!"

     "What are you talking about, master?!" Krag, the brown Skeith, cried.

     "THE KOUGRA ISN'T THERE!"

     "W-what?! But we locked him in there with the highest security!"

     "WELL IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T HIGH ENOUGH, YOU DIM-WIT!" Hubrid roared intensely. "NO MEALS FOR YOU FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH! YOU'LL BE EATING THE SCRAPS FROM THE DINNER PLATES! NOW FIND HIM!!"

     Maddi gasped as he heard the guards beginning to run all throughout the castle. "I'm doomed…"

To Be Continued…