Today Has Just Gone to the Pits

[Vera Silvertooth]

?Uh, oh!? Scully said as the mongoose hunting party came into the village. Vera looked over the dozen or so weasel-like beasts who carried a huge, dead snake over their heads. Around her, mongooses chattered in excitement at the sight of that snake. Sunlight glinted off the remains of gold paint on its scales. Vera gulped and took half a step back from the large serpent. Her leg ached in reminder.

Behind them came more mongooses, these ones leading a group of beasts bound with leather cords and roped together by the neck with vines. Vera recognized the hedgehog named Gerro and realized that these were the Waverunners who had captured them on the beach two days before. The same ones that Scully and Ciera had said were captive to snakes.

Looking at the deceased serpent in the lead, Vera guessed that the Waverunners' captors had changed in the last day or so.

Scully took a step back to hide behind Ciera as his former allies were led up to the High Priest. No words passed between the Waverunners and their traitor, but the cold glares spoke far more than words ever could.

Little brown mongoose kits darted back and forth with clumsy quickness, hissing and spitting at the snake and captives. A big mongoose warrior spoke to the High Priest in rapid fashion. Vera tried to follow the thread of conversation, but to no avail.

The high priest dismissed the warrior and regarded them again with a smirk. ?Terms of peace comah too late, ayah! Snekk king ve deed! Now allah you beastahs ve sacrificed to te Fiyah Gott!? To the warriors, he said, ?Teek anything of value as ee gift for te greet Fiyah Gott. Den trow dem in de pit wit de rest.?

Plink and Scully both squeaked as snake-skin clad warriors darted in and grabbed them roughly. Ciera half drew her cutlass before the mongooses descended upon her and wrestled it away.

Vera grimaced as the mongooses began feeling her up and down, taking her knife and crab mallet. She turned toward the high priest of the mongooses. ?Great Priest, this child carries the blade of the Fire God. He is a messenger chosen by...?

?I, Shuga, am te only messeenger to te greet Fiyah Gott!? The high priest pointed his snake-skull scepter at Vera. ?You ve liars!?

A glint of silver and ruby caught Vera?s eye. No, no, no!

The savages had found her amulet in Ciera?s pocket! She took a step toward it, paw outstretched, but a mongoose spear jabbed her in the belly. Ciera shot her a warning glare and Vera let her paw drop. She stared after it as the mongooses deposited in a woven basket with their weapons. She swallowed as two young mongooses took the basket away somewhere in the village, suddenly realizing that it might be completely lost to her forever.

Tough leather straps were brought out and Vera, Ciera, Plink and Scully had to submit their paws to being bound tightly. Then they were shoved further into the village, following the same route that the Waverunners had taken. Vera stumbled along on her wounded leg, which a particularly malicious mongoose took great pleasure in prodding once he realized it caused her pain.

Hope you choke on a snake bone, you mangy runt!

Vera glanced over her shoulder as she heard some whimpering behind her and beheld the two terrified faces of Scully and Plink. Two youngsters who didn?t deserve this sort of cruel fate. She returned her gaze the front.

The mongooses led them past rows of holes adorned with snake skin and bones, along with brightly colored feathers from various jungle birds. Female mongooses in brightly dyed skirts watched them from the shady doorways with the littlest mongoose kits held close. Older kits feigned attacks at them.

They stopped at the edge of circular pit similar to a doughnut. The first outer pit was divided into open air cages by bamboo poles. Each cage had a pair of dirt walls and perpendicular to those, a pair of bamboo bars. The mongooses worked in groups to lower the Waverunners into the cages. A walkway stretched across the first pit to the ?doughnut? of dirt and Vera could see a second, round hole in the center of this. From this inner pit, she heard angry bellowing rumbles.

That must be where they put the badger.

Shuga the high priest shook his staff over the pit. ?Here you weet til midnightah!?

In front of Vera, two mongooses looped a vine rope around Ciera in order to lower her into a cell. The captors who were not helping stood clustered around the pit, pointing and jeering at those already below.

?They... They?re going to kill us, aren?t they,? Scully whispered behind her.

Vera swallowed. It sure seemed that way. Even if I could get away, this leg would slow me down. Running away is hopeless. But...

Vera didn?t consider herself a brave beast. Bravery was shown by those like Sarn and Fildering. Beasts who were willing to sacrifice themselves for another. Beasts like Scully, who defied his captain in order to give his friend a burial.

Vera wasn?t brave, most of the time. But maybe, just once, she could do something brave.

She looked at Scully and Plink again. When Scully?s eyes met hers, Vera mouthed one word.

Run!

Vera pushed back from her captor and fell against the mongoose holding Scully as if in a sudden faint. He released his grip on the young hare to grab at her. She twisted around and gripped his snakeskin belt with her bound paws. The young hare bolted away amid cries of alarm from the mongooses. Plink tried to follow, but her guard held her too tightly. Some of those from around the pit chased after Scully.

Vera?s captors hauled her back and somebeast cuffed her hard on the head. Dazed, she barely resisted as they shoved her over the edge of the pit and into one of the cages. She hit the bottom, crying out at the jolt of pain sent through her leg. Ciera thumped down beside her with a grunt. In the cage next to her, Plink yelped as they pushed her in.

A small rock hit Vera on the head and she glanced up to see a mob of youngsters clustered all around the edge, chattering and jeering. They pelted her with more rocks, so Vera curled up with her arms over her head to protect herself as much as possible.

?Ayah! Gettah back, pikapiks! Tair for di Fiyah Gott. No spoilah dem!? The rocks stopped.

Ciera rubbed her head where a stray rock had pegged her. ?Did you really just help Scully to get away??

Vera shrugged. ?He?s just a kid.?

Ciera gave her a long look, then sighed. ?Aye.?

?You helped that traitorous little leveret get away, eh? Where does that bloomin? leave the rest of us??

Vera recognized the hare who shared their little cell, though his name escaped her. ?Forgive me, but I don?t think we were ever properly introduced??

?Colonel Killian Wrightbones t? you! What?ve you done with young Fildering, wot?? The hare, still bound like she was, got to his feet and approached her angrily.

Vera smiled. ?I have done nothing to Fildering. In fact, before we got separated, he entrusted me with something.? Though it was difficult with bound paws, she dug into her hidden apron pocket and pulled out the little parchment that Fildering had carried. ?His sister gave this to him before he left home.?

Killian took it, looked at it and then regarded her with suspicion. ?Why would he give this to a pirate??

?Oh for...? She forced a smile that made her jaw hurt. ?Colonel, I?m a cook. Not a pirate.?

"Cook or pirate, you're still flippin' vermin to me!"

Vera noticed Ciera watching her, but she kept her easy smile focused on Killian. ?Fildering?s quite the promising young warrior, isn?t he? You see, he saved me from a snake while we were out in the jungle. I trusted him with my life, and he didn?t let me down.?

?That didn?t answer my question, fox.?

She sighed. ?I?m keeping it safe for him.?

The hare raised an eyebrow. ?How do I know you didn?t just murder him, eh??

Vera shifted herself into a more comfortable position, but her stomach rolled within her. ?I promise you. I did nothing to harm him. I owe him my life.?

The hare?s ears twitched and he looked to the child?s drawing and back to her several times, then handed the paper back to her. ?If I find out you?re lying to me, those mongooses won?t have anything left to sacrifice, understood??

?Of course, but I have told you the truth.? She tucked the paper back into her pocket.

Vera took stock of her surroundings. Bamboo bars stood on either paw and rocky dirt rose before and behind her. She looked to her left where there sat a female squirrel and a hare in the tattered blue uniform of the Waverunners. In the next cell, almost out of view around the curve of the pit, was a big hedgehog in Waverunner colors. To her right, Plink stared around wide-eyed. On the rat?s other side sat two hares, one obviously injured. If anybeasts were in the cages beyond that, they were hidden from sight by the dirt.

An additional ruckus on the rim of their pit drew all eyes upwards. One final prisoner joined Plink in her cage.

Scully hadn?t gotten far. Vera?s shoulders sagged.

Plink helped her friend to sit up, then squeaked as Killian reached his bound paws through the bars and made a grab for Scully. ?You backstabbing runt!? He yanked Scully hard against the bamboo bars.

Vera and Ciera struggled to their feet and dragged Killian back from Scully. Killian continued his verbal abuse of the younger hare. ?You?re a disgrace, sah! Siding with these vermin scum over your own crew!?

Ciera got in Killian?s face. ?You might want to rethink who you?re with, Waverunner. Right now, you?re with two ?vermin scum,? one of whom you?ve already threatened.?

?Stand down, Colonel Wrightbones!? Colonel Fredrick Swiftpaw ordered from a few cages away. ?An officer like yourself shouldn?t behave so brashly. Besides, fighting amongst ourselves won?t get us out of here.?

?Aye, sir,? Killian said reluctantly.

?The old hare?s right,? Ciera said and gave Killian a light shove. ?Anybeast have any ideas??

As Killian went over to one corner of their cage and sat, the big hedgehog a couple cells over spoke to Ciera. "We got two squirrels over here. They can climb the walls, an' I don' think these things know they're pretty good at it."

Vera limped to the corner opposite from Killian and slid down to sit on the hard packed earth. She leaned back against one of the bamboo bars and closed her eyes as she listened to the prisoners try to work out some sort of escape plan. She heard a soft scraping noise behind her and felt the slight warmth of the young hare and his rat friend pressed against her back.

Great... am I now playing mother hen to these two?

"Thanks, for... trying," Scully said in a strained voice. "But... I'm just not fast enough."

She shrugged, ?I gave you what I could. A pity it wasn?t enough.?

"I'm glad you're my friend," he said, resting his head back against the bar

The vixen snorted. ?No beast calls me friend anymore, Scully, and neither should you. I?m not your friend. I told you before. Watch who you trust and definitely watch who you call friend.?

"What about that Fildering beast? Why'd he give you that paper if he ain't yer friend?"  Plink said.

Vera hissed softly, glanced at Killian, who was deep in conversation with the hare in the neighboring cage. ?We weren?t friends,? she whispered and jerked her head at Killian, ?and I didn?t tell him everything. Fildering is dead. Murdin killed him.?

Plink?s mouth formed a round ?O? and she looked at Scully.

Scully shrugged.

Vera closed her eyes again, then grimaced as she heard Plink draw a breath. "You ain't got any friends at all, Vera?"

?Not anymore. Last friend I had died eight seasons ago.? She felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She took a few slow, soft breaths and in the long pause that followed, she thought Plink would drop the subject.

She was wrong.

"Eight seasons is an awful long time ta be alone..." Plink said quietly.

Vera snorted. ?I know.?But I would have been a fool to make friends at Fort Blackfur.

"Ain't you made any pirate friends?" Plink persisted.

?No, of course not. Never even knew a pirate until I made the mistake of getting on that da...? she glanced at Ciera and cleared her throat, ?um, Captain Ancora?s ship.?

?How'd he die??

?I don?t know. Hylan was a merchant. He left on one of his trips...? Vera swallowed a lump in her throat, ?And he never came back.?

?Oh. Well then... How d'you know he's dead?"

Vera picked at a little dirt that had gotten under her claws. Her voice dropped to a whisper. ?Hylan always wrote me, no matter how far away he traveled. I got one letter after he left, then nothing. He never would have stopped writing unless something terrible happened to him.?

The little rat fell silent and thankfully asked no more questions.