“Sorry Vin, I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t move,” she whispered.
“It’s alright. It happens to everyone. You just gotta learn to be ready for it.”
He raised his head to check it was clear. “We should wait here for a while, let them move on, and see where we stand.”
“Okay, but do you think you could get off me now?” she winced. “I can’t breathe!”
“Sorry.” He rolled away to lay by her side.
With the collapsing of the gateway and the dimming of the crystal’s sphere of light, they were plunged back into the gloom of the forest.
Ahead of them, they heard breaking branches, grunts, and snarls, along with the ever-present stink of diseased and rotting creatures, on the path to war.
In the mix, Kerri could still discern the smell of Sonny. Laying on her belly, she scanned the forest floor ahead. The noises of destruction slowly faded into the background, and the forest fell silent.
“Looks quiet at last,” Vin whispered.
She raised herself to a sitting position, sniffing the air. “Pity we can’t say the same about the stink,” she said. “It’s so heavy, it feels like you’re chewing on it.”
“Don’t, Kerri, my stomach’s not that strong today. Do you have a plan?”
“Nope.”
“You do realize you can’t just charge in there, give Sonny a good beating, and run away, don’t you?”
“I was planning on being a bit more subtle than that,” she said with a smile.
“You also realize this should not be our priority, don’t you? We should concentrate on recovering the crystal and stopping Him from attacking your clan.”
“You should be doing those things, Vin. I’m here to stop Sonny from causing mayhem everywhere he goes.”
Vin opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. Changing his mind, he said, “Revenge is a dark road to follow, Kerri.”
She flashed a look at him, then saw the softness in his eyes. She understood he was trying to advise her, so she, too, held her tongue and looked away.
“No matter what people tell you, revenge does not taste sweet,” he said, “and it’s not better served cold. It’s better forgotten about and put in the past as a bad idea. It’ll never bring back what you’ve lost.”
“Carter’s death was needless. It was a waste of a life. A waste of someone capable of changing all our lives for the better. He risked his own life to save Holly and me. He fought to the very end to save Naz. His life was taken by a worthless coward that’s only ever had his own self-interest at heart. Carter deserves revenge.”
“The short time I spent with Carter, I thought he was one of the most generous and brave people I’ve ever met. Did he tell you he was made an honorary Guard? A Ranger Scout, no less. One of the Elite. I remember his red face when he received it.” Vin laughed at the memory.
“He didn’t tell me,” Kerri mumbled.
“That doesn’t surprise me. He was kinda shy about putting himself forward. But, having met him, I really feel he wouldn’t want you to risk your life to get even with a mangy cat like Sonny,” he said.
“This is not just for Carter; this is also for me. I blame myself for what happened, for not speaking up, but I’ve also been trying to retrace things. And do you know what? It always comes back to Sonny and his family.”
“What d’you mean?”
“It was Duma who started all this by stealing the crystal from your people, and it was Duma who sent his cats into the Southlands to kidnap my friends. But it was Sonny who betrayed his own people, then lied to Sam, and lied to Lulu. Not only did he betray you and Carter while you were trying to recover the crystal, but he also betrayed us a second time when he led those apes to attack us. There is evil blood in his veins, and he needs to be stopped before he causes more grief.”
They lay in silence for some time, watching and listening to the forest around them. Vin could see Kerri’s brow had wrinkled, and her eyebrows were going up and down. He guessed she was chewing something over. “What’s on yer mind?” he asked.
“I’m thinking you’re right, no matter how much I want to, I can’t go charging in there, give Sonny a good beating, and then run away. I need a plan.”
He nodded in the gloom.
“I gotta get Sonny alone. I need to separate him from that lot,” she said.
“And then?”
“And then, I can find out what he knows. Where the crystal is, who has it, what’s his weakness, what their plans are… and then batter him.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me. Only one little thing I’m unsure of. How do we separate him from that lot?”
“Hmm…” she said.
They both lay with their brows wrinkled and their eyebrows going up and down.
In the darkness, the silence was broken by creatures of the night rising to feed or be fed upon. A screech overhead signaled an owl on the hunt. A crash of branches and snapping twigs meant one animal would not see the sunrise. Vin rose to his feet, swinging his sack over his shoulders.
“Let’s go and see what we can see,” he said.
Kerri was on her feet instantly, ready to move.
“You lead, I’ll have your tail,” he said.
They stepped lightly through the forest, conscious of making little noise. Each footstep was tested before committing their full weight to it. Making good progress, they could sense the apes getting close. Vin tugged Kerri’s tail, calling her to stop.
Stooping low, he whispered in her ear, “Can you still pick out Sonny’s smell? Can you find him in that mass of apes?”
She nodded. “I could find him anywhere. He sweats a lot because he’s a coward. It’s a unique stink I’ll never forget.”
As they moved on, she could feel the apes around them. Stopping again, she crouched down behind a tree.
“They’re just in front of us. I think they’ve stopped for the night. Sonny’s moved over to the side, probably to get away from the smell,” she whispered.
Silently, she made her way around the area where the massed apes had chosen to rest. She felt her heart pounding in her ears; her breathing seemed impossibly loud. The snorts, grunts, and snores gave them a little comfort. She stopped mid-step, then backed up. Putting her mouth directly next to Vin’s ear, she whispered, “He’s just ahead. He’s asleep and alone.”
Vin looked her in the eye and nodded.
“D’you think we can kidnap him?” she whispered.
Vin thought about it. Cupping his paws around her ear, he whispered back, “Leave it to me. I’ve got an idea.”
“If it goes wrong, run north. I’ll find you,” she whispered.
Vin nodded, then stepped out from behind the tree. On his paws and knees, he crept to a break between the bushes ahead of them, to where he hoped Sonny was sleeping. Very gently, he pulled aside a branch to peep through the screen of foliage. There on the ground, at peace with himself, lay Sonny, fast asleep. Vin turned his head, nodding to Kerri. She stepped forwards and held the branch for him while he stepped between the bushes into a small clearing. Vin squatted down, preparing himself, trying to figure out exactly what part of Sonny’s body was where. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could make out Sonny laying on his stomach, his chin resting on his crossed paws. Perfect, Vin thought.
He took a step forward. Everything remained silent. One more step, and there was a crinkle of crushed dry leaves. He froze, holding his breath, but Sonny didn’t move. Vin held his hands in front of his face, then let himself fall forward, face-first to the ground.
The moving air around him made Sonny’s ears twitch. With the breeze of Vin falling his way, he opened one eye and tried to turn his head, but it was too late.
Vin fell on top of Sonny, smothering him and knocking the air from him. His paws immediately came around Sonny’s face and clamped his mouth closed. He lay with his full weight pinning Sonny to the ground.
The noise of breaking twigs and rustling leaves flying into the air was dampened by the bushes surrounding them; Vin’s fall was silenced by Sonny’s soft body beneath him. Vin lay, not moving, holding Sonny tight, waiting to see if he’d been heard.
Sonny was flattened and couldn’t move beneath Vin’s massive bulk. Vin counted to ten in his head, but the ape camp remained still, apart from the background noise of apes snoring, coughing, and farting.
Vin whispered into Sonny’s ear, “If you try to struggle, I will break every one of your legs.” He waited a moment for the message to get through to Sonny’s panicked brain. “If you try to shout, I will break your neck and leave you here for the apes to eat for breakfast… Do you understand?”
Vin felt Sonny’s head nodding vigorously up and down. He held him from behind with one massive arm pinning Sonny’s front legs to his side, while his other paw was clamped firmly over Sonny’s mouth and snout. When Vin stood up, Sonny was like a limp stuffed toy in his grip, completely compliant. Then Vin felt a stream of warm liquid run down his leg where Sonny had soiled himself.
Kerri could smell Sonny’s loss of control and looked at him in disgust. She pulled back a branch to allow Vin to squeeze through the bushes with a minimum of noise, then led them silently away from the sleeping apes. As soon as she felt they were a safe distance not to be heard, she turned around.
“Great job, Vin. Now let’s run,” she said.