Past Collar and Leash: Part Five by moonstripe |  |
The barks of their pursuers were lost, as they plunged into the icy abyss.
Water swirled around them, and their breath had been whipped. Kyro’s head broke
first, fur firmly plastered to his face. Coughing and spluttering, he looked
up river where the bemused Lupes stood, barking in rage and still trying to
figure out what had happened. He had lost Rieni’s paw, but was reassured as
she broke surface only five feet away.
Now he looked into the dark wonder with a weary mind… what would happen next?
***
Two Kyrii, soaking wet and scraggly furred pulled themselves up the sandy bank,
strewn with sharp rocks and river weeds. Spewing up bile, they made their way
tiredly up to the dark forest edge. Slumping at the base of a huge oak, they
sat in silence, blinking water from their eyes and trying to adjust their vision
to fit the dark forest.
Finally Kyro spoke in a rough, subdued voice, "I can’t stay." Rieni wrung water
from her hair, saying jokingly, " Of course not! Why, it’d take weeks just to
build a shack out here…" Kyro stared at her seriously, "Me and Paroko have to
leave Neopian Central." Rieni didn’t like the tone of his voice, "You… you can’t
be serious? Where would you go… and… we… Oh please, you can’t leave!" There
was a quaver in her voice that made Kyro choke… but he’d made up his mind.
Almost angrily, he stood up, "I can’t risk The Gangs' lives. Boar and Black
will do anything to get at us, it’s too dangerous for you." Rieni too shakily
stood up, and yelled, "This isn’t about us, is it Kyro?! You’re just leaving
to save your own hide!" Tears began streaming down her face, and she clenched
her fists, and continued, Kyro silently wishing he could evaporate on the spot,
"You don’t know how much you mean to us, do you?! DO YOU?!"
Kyro couldn’t take anymore, and with a twist bolted off along the river bank,
yelling as teardrops rolled down his face, "I’ll do what I want, Rieni! This
is goodbye!!!"
In the darkness that night, with the clouds now completely hiding the silver
moon, Rieni stood watching Kyro’s dotted figure disappear beyond the trees…
and along with a single tear, said under her breath, "Goodbye… Kyro"
***
Dust motes floated lazily down in spirals, circling and spinning in the golden
morning light. Once again, the musty city swirled around Kyro, as paw worn he
padded into the alley. It didn’t take him that long to find, as Rieni had given
him directions. Now, still angry, he began stuffing meager rations into an old
potato sack.
Unexpectedly, Paroko floated in, ruffling his feathers and landing on an old,
broken sofa, "’Ey ‘ey ‘ey! ‘S my man Kyro! Where yew bin?! Nice place, dis alley
huh? I choose it… Just takin’ a break from the excitement, The Gang’s out at
Obbio’s, munchin’." Suddenly, he saw the look on his friend’s face, as Kyro
turned to face him. "That bad, huh…" He said, avoiding the sinister stare. "We’re
leaving." Kyro announced, and turned back to his packing.
Paroko was in shock, disbelief, "Wha’? L-l-leavin’?! Why, I don’t…" Kyro put
a knot in the end of his bag and threw it over his shoulder, "We’ve got problems,
Paroko, I’ll explain them on the way to the Train Station." The red Kyrii began
walking towards the entrance, expecting his bud to follow, when Paroko spoke
up, "No." He didn’t understand what Kyro wanted, and wasn’t ready to leave his
new friends, just because ‘they have problems’. Now it was Kyro’s turn to be
in disbelief. How could his best friend be doing this to him? Paroko, the one
who’d done it all with him… He didn’t have the heart to answer, and instead
ran out into the street and away from the alley… forever.
Kyro was alone… no one to turn to… Where was Rieni? Paroko? The Gang? Had he
made it past Boar and Black, Scabiar’s tormenting and the Skeith’s attack for
this pain?! What was left for him? It seemed that the second he stepped on that
train, his life would come to an end. There was only one person left in the
world for him… Tye.
***
The day was well in, before Kyro found himself standing on he sidewalk in front
of his very own NeoHome… But the sight that should have brought joy to his heart…
instead only brought confusion…
Before him stood his white painted home… windows boarded up and the door blocked.
He peeked into the house, pressing his face close to a crack in the boards…
the room he saw was very different from the one he had known… empty, and white
walled…
Had he really been gone that long? Where was Tye? As he walked out of the gravel
driveway, he knew it was over. He really was alone… he couldn’t even think what
had happened to him…
Suddenly, he spotted something tangled in the brush of a dying bush. It was
a slip of paper. Carefully he extracted it, but he could seen it had already
been previously torn.
Holding the damp scrap of paper close, he read the faded lettering:
Huston Royal Park, A Pl
1924 Aisha Avenue
The wind rustled the dry leaves, herding them along the ground.
Kyro stood, almost in a trance, dejectedly in the graveyard, surrounded by gray,
forbidding head stones… surrounding him like ghosts of tragedy.
The sign squeaked in the wind, rusty and dull. It read: Huston
Royal Park, A Place for the Dead. Kyro ran his paw over the name engraved in
the stone before him; Tye Ranings, 1989-2001.
Wing beats stroked the silent air, and Paroko landed softly beside
Kyro. He saw the gravestone, and stared ashamedly at the ground, "I’m sorry
man…" Kyro wiped the tears from his face with a paw, and choked, " It’s not
your fault Paroko…" His eyes were red, and Paroko could tell he was grieving
greatly. He put a wing on Kyro’s shoulder, "I’m here for you, pacha. Let’s get
out of here. This is the past." Kyro nodded, and took one last… long look at
Tye, "You were a great owner."
***
The trains howled along the tracks, the scent of oil was misted
on air. The gray sky loomed forbiddingly over the scene, as Kyro stalked across
the train yard, Paroko at his side. The great red steam engine stood before
them, billowing gray smoke. Kyro coughed, and put a paw up into a box cart.
A raindrop fell from above, and landed in the gritty soil of the train yard.
The Kyrii took one last look, past the buildings and fencing to the city beyond…
the city for half a week, was his home. The conductor yelled above the whistling
trains, "Last Call!!! Allll Aboard!!!"
Kyro turned to join Paroko in the overcrowded car, when a familiar
voice echoed across the train yard, "Kyro!!! Wait!!!" It was Rieni. She came
panting up, her fur drenched and soot covered. Kyro looked down at her, as she
struggled to catch her breath. Heartlessly he asked, "What do you want?"
She stared up, her blue eyes sprouting a fresh flood of tears,
"Kyro, I… I’m so sorry… I should have…" He turned his back to her, "Tell it
to your Gang, we’re not interested." She sobbed back, "Kyro, Kyro please listen
to me! I…"
Suddenly, with a lurch, the trains whistle blew, and a shout from
the engine room sounded, "Leaving for Mystery Island Ferry!!! Alllll Aboard!!!"
The train began to chug slowly down the track, and Rieni began to run along
it’s side, desperately trying to get what ever she needed to say out, "Kyro!
I’ve… I’m… Oh Kyro I’m a Flyer!!!" Only now did Kyro recall the strange conversation
he and Rieni had had when they first met… Rain drops pattered down lightly…
"A Flyer… a… a member of Scabiar’s gang!" She sobbed, now at a
swift jog as she tried to keep up with the train, " I’m so sorry… you have to
go! He’s gonna… Ahhhh!…" She gasp as she tripped heavily upon a stone… Kyro
couldn’t believe what he was hearing… How could she?! How could she be in league
with that… that…
Rieni looked up, and shouted, "Kyro, please! I’m leaving Scabiar…
I regret joining! Please… I…" The train was heading towards a tunnel, where
into it, it would disappear, and be headed far away…
Rain began pouring down, drenching every beast. Kyro was leaning
out of the car, torn between a desperate decision… staying, or moving on…
As the train roared faster, coming nearer the tunnel, Rieni yelled
out, "Kyro! I… I love you!" It was his last chance, and grabbing Paroko by the
wing he leaped from the train, just as his car hurtled into the tunnel.
He hit the gravel hard, splashing into a muddy puddle. Rieni ran
up to them, her face dripping wet. She helped him up, choking, "Kyro… why’d
you…? We have to go… he’s coming… he saw me going…" Thunder boomed in the distance,
and Kyro whipped mud from his face, "What? What are you trying to say Rieni?"
" It’s Scab- Ahhh!!!" She was knocked aside, as mingled with the thundering
of the train, a blood curdling roar ripped through the rain, "Craaaaaawwww!!!"
Scabiar, his feathers dripping with dark rain and his fearsome
hooked beak glinting in the dim, swooped out of the dark. Or was it rain? A
heavy wing knocked Kyro off his feet, and a needle sharp array of claws pinned
him to the brick wall behind him. He wriggled hopelessly, staring into his arch
rival’s blood red eyes…
"Time to get rid of you once and for all… Good bye, Kyr-aaaawww!"
He lurched back, releasing Kyro for a moment. In that second, the Kyrii ran
free of his enemies grip, and saw what had saved him; Paroko clung to the fearsome
Eyrie, holding on with claw and beak…
"Run Kyro!" Rieni’s voice shouted from the dim. Scabiar tore Paroko
free from his back, and rose to the air, leaving the little Pteri in a bundle
of feathers. Kyro was running… he was running no place, from nothing and for
no reason... but he had to run. Through fogged darkness and drizzling rain,
through his life… past those he knew and loved… all he knew was that he was
running...
Suddenly, he felt Scabiar’s razor claws send him to the ground,
and the gravel scraping his knees. Horrified, he looked up into his rival’s
face… dripping with rain….
"No Kyrii makes a show out of me!!! Yours won’t be an end, Kyro…
it’ll be a forever going nightmare!!! Craaaawwwwwwww!!!!" He raised his head
in a victory call, ready to bring his sharp beak down into Kyro. But, just in
that instant, a curdling roar seemed to bash Scabiar aside, and he was replaced
by the snarling face and red eyes… of Boar. "Back off Birdie, he’s mine!!!"
Kyro watched, as barely visible in the clouded scene, Black slashed the Eyrie.
He stumbled back, and seemed to trip over something. With horrified
fascination, Kyro saw the blinding light of the steam engine, and Scabiar’s
last words, "There are others! I haven't been destroyed!" And then… with a scream…
he was gone…
Boar sneered at the seemingly helpless Kyrii, "Just yew n’ me."
But Kyro had seen Scabiar go, and was not ready to do the same. As his last
resource, he bit down hard into the forepaw of the black demon. He howled, rearing
back much like Scabiar had only minutes before. And, again, Kyro dashed away,
now breathing heavily, as he ran through the sheeting rain.
He could hear it all, as if it were floating through the raindrops…
The pounding footsteps of his pursuers, the trains, Rieni, crying out… Paroko…
silent… he could hear Paroko’s quietness…
A huge brick building, seemingly deserted in the rain, loomed
up through the mist. He ran faster, and skidded to halt at the steel platform
of the fire escape. Looking back, he saw both Boar and Blacks ruby jewel eyes
running through the dark…
Kyro began to scramble up the slippery steel… through the still
pounding raindrops. Soon the ground below was gone, swallowed up by the night…
And there was no sign of Boar or Black. Yet still, higher he climbed, passing
dark windows, boarded up and unused for years…
Suddenly, Boar’s howl wrenched the air, not far behind. Kyro began
to move faster, sometimes slipping… and always wiping rainwater from his eyes.
After what seemed like hours of work, Kyro pulled his soaking body over the
brick, and found himself upon the roof. It was dark… forbidding.
Snarling and barking arose from the fire escape, and Kyro slipped
on the wet floor, as Boar and Black leapt over the rail, breathing heavily,
"Now it’s personal!!!" Boar snarled.
Kyro knew this was it… the final showdown. He stood up, and looked
around desperately for a weapon, but found nothing but his claws and teeth.
He braced himself, as the two Lupe began to circle.
Boar jumped, and Kyro slid sideways, punching his enemy in the
ribs. Boar growled, and slashed with his claws… but missed. Suddenly, Kyro felt
a sweep across his left shoulder, and then it began stinging in the rain. Black,
for once, shone triumph. Kyro turned on her, and dug his teeth into her neck
fur, holding on doggedly. She yelped, and began circling and jumping, trying
to toss her burden off.
Kyro’s grip was loosening, and suddenly, he flew away from Black,
hitting the floor.
Boar and Black formed up, and began to prowl towards Kyro. The
Kyrii stood up again, bracing himself… all he’d ever done seemed to lead to
that moment… and it was at that time he realised something…
What would happen… if he lost? Rieni and Paroko would be alone,
Boar and Black left to terrorise the Neopets of Neopia… But of course, he was
the good guy… and the good guy always wins, right? Right?!?
Boar sprung at him, and Kyro, who wasn’t expecting such a move,
took a step backward… and found himself with his back to the empty space… if
he went any further, he’d fall. But Boar noticed this too, and with a grin,
began to stalk towards him. With a huge black paw, he swiped at the Kyrii. Kyro
tried to avoid the paw, but instead, took another step towards the edge. He
slipped and found himself gripping the edge of the railing, the rain blinding
him, and only Boars gleeful cackles in his ears. His feet dangled in the space.
Boar put a paw on one of Kyro’s, and dug his claws in deep. Kyro looked up at
him… but he was not afraid. He stared at Boar cold and hard, so much that the
Lupe began to feel uneasy. He heard Black, "Hurry up, finish him Boar!"
But Kyro had already made the next move. Pushing against the wet
brick with his hind legs, he propelled himself back onto the roof, scratching
Boar with his claws as he passed under him. Black was frozen with horror as
she watched what happened next…
Kyro slid out from beneath Boar, and immediately wheeled to face
him again. Boar did the same, but as he turned, red eyes glowing deep, Kyro
ran full speed at him, going in for a tackle. He hit the huge Lupe in the chest,
making him withdraw, his breath totally winded. He skid on the rain soaked floor,
and his back legs disappeared over the edge of he building. He began to whimper,
clawing at the slippery floor, as Black began to pace, not knowing what to do.
Kyro knew he wanted to get away from the duo, but he couldn’t
bear seeing Boar dye. He ran to the edge, shouting above the patter of water,
"Boar, grab on!" As he approached, Boar lifted one paw to swipe at Kyro. He
missed, and with horror plastered on his face and a howl of pain, slid back
into the darkness, and was gone.
Black seemed to spring to action, barking, "Boar! Boar!!! Come
back…!" And so Kyro defeated his greatest enemy, and suddenly life glowed perfect.
In the rain, on that night, one whom deserved it…
***
The sun glowed over the building tops, shining the dew of last
nights rain. Kyro, Rieni and Paroko stood in the train yard, packed with a number
of things. The Gang stood waiting with them and saying their good-byes, as the
Train was packed and boarded. Blossom sniffed sadly, and blew her nose on a
kerchief, asking, "Do you really have to go? What will the gang do with out
you?" Rieni hugged her, saying, "Ya, Blossom, we’ve got other places to see.
But you guy’s ’ll be okay with Roararo as Leader."
Roararo barked in salute, saying dumbly, "Ahh… I’ll do ya proud!"
Napa was admiring Paroko dreamily. He was bandaged in crude pieces of cloth,
many of his feather torn out. "Woe, Paroko my man!!! Some scrap yew where in
last night!" Paroko nodded, " It all started with a call from the Faerie Queen…"
Runnaro was occupying himself, watching a Kiko sitting on a sunny wall top.
It hadn’t moved since they had gotten there. It looked as if it were sleeping,
but it’s eyes were open…
"So where are you headed?" Roararo asked. Kyro put an arm around
Rieni, "I think we’re high tailing it to Mystery Island, how ‘bout you guys?"
Paroko smiled, "We gotta stop in Tyrannia!" Rieni pecked Kyro on the cheek,
"The Lost Desert’s for me!" The train’s whistle blew, and the conductor (who
happened to be a Chia) called, "All Aboard!!!! Leaving for Mystery Island Ferry!!!"
"That’s our call." Kyro said, the added, "Don’t worry, Gang. We’ll be back with
a lot more stories to tell." And with a smile, the three boarded the train,
bound for new adventures…
The End |
