A Series Of Bad Nights

Chains rattled with each movement. Manacles pinched her ankles and wrists as she was marched down the dark hall. 

Something wasn't right. 

There was no definition to the walls - simply tall, foreboding, featureless black slabs. No windows, no torches, there was absolutely nothing puncturing the span of black. Despite the apparent lack of any light source, the corridor was still lit - dimly so, Skyla could scarcely see a foot in front of her. Yet her 'guide' seemed to know exactly where they were going as they marched her forwards without a sliver of hesitation. Each clink of claws, every rattle off chains, echoed tenfold around her, a never ending symphony of her entrapment. 

Sharply, the dark corridor transformed into a wide room - still dominated by the same, featureless black walls. Skyla hesitated for but a second. Her guide however, did not. A sharp shove pushed her onwards, towards a wooden railing in the centre of the room - a 'pen' almost, like those used for the livestock back on the farm. She was all but thrown into the wooden structure, the gate slapped shut behind her. The dark room was empty yet all around her she could hear the whispers and murmurs of a crowd, a crowd that wasn't there. 

Wood sharply rapped on wood. The piercing noise echoed around the room, silencing the whispers, and drawing Skyla's attention to the form before her. It was a podium of some form. Made of wood - like the railings - and stood out starkly from the black stone that surrounded it. The podium stretched upwards, towards the sky and towering above Skyla. If she craned her neck back far enough, she could make out a shadowy figure sat atop the podium. Its pale yellow eyes glared down at her, filled with malice and contempt. 

"Good morning, your honour!" A voice chirped suddenly from beside Skyla. 

She tore her eyes from the figure to stare at the one who spoke. Her breath caught in her throat as recognition struck her. 

"The prosecution will plainly show the prisoner who now stands before you, was caught red handed in the act of hypocrisy of the highest degree." Pepper introduced, reading proudly from a small note book. 

The child would not meet her eyes. 

"The trial of one Skyla De Serio shall begin. Call the first witness!" 

A chair shrieked across the floor, crashing to the floor as it fell. 

"I always knew she was trouble!" Growled yet another familiar voice. 

Salvador appeared on her left, his blue eyes glowing fiercely as he frothed at the mouth in rage. His fur was dirty, matted with blood around his throat. Clumps pink and purple fur were stuck in his claws and bared teeth - not Kamishiba fur, Skyla knew that instantly. She knew deep down who the fur belonged to, but the name and face escaped her. 

"I told them that this would happen, that she would end up here - but no one dared listen to me." Salvador spat as he stalked around her cage, head lowered so he could glare directly into her eyes. "Now look where we are. Still starting fights, just like when you were a child."

"Tell the court about the fights." Ordered a voice. 

It wasn't Pepper's voice - in fact, Pepper was not there at all, a quick glance to her right confirmed. The voice was new and oddly warped. Skyla found she could not hear the words in the strange tone yet still understood what was said. 

"Bah!" Her attention snapped back to Salvador as he retreated slightly. "She always got into fights as a child; at school, at home, on the streets. She seemed to delight in pointless violence - blood thirsty beast that she is-" 

"That's not true!" Skyla snapped back in her own defence. 

Sure she had always resorted straight to violence when others were giving her grief but she wasn't 'blood thirsty' and she certainly wasn't going to sit back and let Salvador of all Kamis slander her in such a way. 

"I was defending myself! And you know that damn well-" 

The sharp knocking interrupted her. The gavel slammed on the podium, silencing her with its echoing bang. 

"Silence!" Roared the disembodied voice. "Sir, continue."

Salvador scoffed, tilting his head to glare down his nose at her. 

"This is exactly what I am talking about."

He paced around, circling the pen that held Skyla, forcing her to twist her neck to keep him in her sights. 

"Violence is all she knows. Death and violence."

"Yet she thinks herself a hero." Scoffed another voice. 

Whirling around at speeds enough to give herself whiplash, she came face to face with Harper. 

The normally golden Kamishiba was consumed by the dark look on his face as he loomed over her. 

"You kill those you deem criminals, completely oblivious to the hypocrisy of the ideals you spout!" 

"At least I put my money where my goddamn mouth is!" Skyla snapped back. 

Spittle flew from her lips, dampening his fur as she leaned up into his face. Harper’s face darkened further as he brought himself up to his full height, leaning over Skyla in a pitiful attempt at intimidation. 

She bared her teeth in response. 

Hushed whispers erupted around the empty room. The invisible audience disturbed by her response. 

"So aggressive."

"Violent too…" 

"A blood thirsty beast."

Anger bloomed in her chest. She would not be judged by ghosts for doing what was right! White teeth snapped as she twisted and turned in a fruitless attempt to locate the ones who murmured. 

Her aggressive display only caused the whispering to increase, the spirits now talking more fervently. 

Down came the gavel, dispelling the whispers. 

She opened her mouth, prepared to defend her case. 

"You're really in it now, aren't you?" Hissed a voice. 

It was not Harper - who had since disappeared into the dark that consumed the room. 

Two eyes glowed from the dark. Mismatched, one blue, one green, but both furious. They moved forwards, slowly coming into the light. 

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" Spat Karma. 

Fire crackled as she whipped her tail. Contorted shadows were cast over her face, accentuating her fangs. 

"Always think you know best. That you don't need help from anyone, not even me!" 

The angry look faded, wings drooping as her eyes grew watery. 

"I would help you, you know that!" her voice quivered. "You should have talked to me more often than you did."

In a quick flash, the fury returned to Karma's eyes as she whipped around to face her, nose to nose. 

"But no! You had to go your own way!" 

Karma turned away, staring up to the glowing points of the 'judge's'... Eyes? 

"Who else have you hurt?" It was Karma speaking, but her voice was distorted, as if someone was speaking over and through her at the same time. "How many more lives and hearts must you break before you realise?" 

Skyla reached out, for her… for her partner but was stopped by the wooden railings that surrounded her. She was truly trapped. 

The crowd murmured in disapproval. Harsh whispers. Baseless accusations. Fish wives and weaving circles! The lot of them! Claws scraped wood as they flexed in anger. Oh how she would love to teach these gossiping housewives a lesson! 

"Hey! Who do you think you are to judge me?" She yelled back at them, no longer paying attention to Karma. "What would you have done in my place? Died like a dog?" 

"SILENCE!" 

The very ground shook as a distorted voice boomed from all around. 

An unearthly silence befell the room. Not a whisper. Not a murmur. Not even the sound of her own breathing.

The wooden podium creaked and groaned.

A dark shape moved on top of the podium. Weaving back and forth like a snake about to strike. Yellow eyes narrowed dangerously. 

"There is no need for more evidence! I have reached my verdict!" 

"Isn't that meant to be the jury's job?" Skyla shot back without a thought. 

Bad move. 

A crack of thunder. An echoing roar. 

The podium split in two. 

Massive paws landed in front of her. A dark shape loomed above. Yellow eyes. Purple fur. 

… Oh fuck it was her - she was looking at herself. Or rather it was Storm? Somehow separated from herself?

"There's no need for the jury to retire." Skyla was snapped out of her shock by the booming voice. "Never before have I heard of someone more deserving of the hand of justice! The manipulation and lies you tell those who care about you! The blood on your paws and the blood you continue to spill while spouting ideals of justice. You are just what they accuse you of - and worse!"

"No!" Protested Skyla "That's not true-" 

"ENOUGH!" Storm slammed her massive paw into the ground, dark stone slabs splitting beneath the force. "No more can we sit by and let you cause misery to those around you! As judge, jury, and executioner, I sentence you to a death worthy of a pest like you!" 

The massive paw raised into the air, casting a long shadow over Skyla. She tried to move, she truly did. Intended to hop the fence and fight back. To flee from death. Anything really. But her paws were frozen, stuck to the black rock beneath her. 

There was no escape. 

The paw descended. 

Air whistled through claws and fur as it grew closer and closer. 

***

For a moment her heart stopped. Only to restart again once her eyes snapped open. She sat upright in an instant, paw pressed to her chest as her heart raced uncontrollably. 

'Just a dream.' She thought to herself in a feeble attempt to calm herself. 'It was just a dream.'

Around her waist, a pair of arms tightened their hold. 

Panic seized her heart. Blood froze in her veins. Muscles stiffened. She went completely rigid. 

Somewhere nearby, a voice murmured. 

Shit. She needed to get out of here.

As gently as she could, she pried the arms from the death grip they had around her. Their owner whined unhappily but quickly latched onto the pillow she left behind. 

Skyla breathed a short sigh of relief. She had no belongings to collect, all she needed to do was find the exit. The room was dark, suffocatingly so, and not even the glow of her eyes could help her navigate to the door. Blindly she fumbled, taking extra care not to knock anything over. 

"Mrm?" Murmured the voice. "Skyla? Babe what are you doing?" 

Skyla froze. 

Shit. Shit. Shit! 

"I urm… have to go." She answered. 

A shuffle of sheets behind her. 

"You know you can talk to me if somethings wrong."

'You should have talked to me more often than you did!' 

"Gotta go." Was all Skyla could squeeze past the lump in her throat. 

Her paw hit the door finally and she threw it open as she made her hasty escape.