Chapter 5 of Signal in the Sky


Great Fire
By Purrsia Kat


Mumm-Ra stared into the churning cauldron. The Ancient Spirits of Evil saw fit to interrupt his eternal rest to show him the source of great power that had originated from the Cats’ Lair. The magical waters of the cauldron held an image of a lioness clutching a golden book.
“So,” the demon priest mumbled, “the new addition to the ThunderCat clan possesses the sacred Book of Omens.”
The stony eyes of the four towering statues surrounding the cauldron glowed red. “It’s worse than that, Mumm-Ra,” came the deep voice of the Ancient Spirits of Evil. “The lioness scholar knows many of the Book’s secrets. She is able to use the Book with the Sword of Omens to unleash powers the likes of which do not bode well for our evil purposes.”
“Then I will simply dispose of the one called Felina. Without her ability to interpret that accursed Book, it’s powers will be impotent,” the mummy schemed.
“It would be wiser to ‘persuade’ her to reveal the Book’s secrets before you destroy her, Mumm-Ra,” advised the evil spirits. “The Book of Omens holds the secrets to the ThunderCats’ power. With that knowledge, you will be able to rid Third Earth of all the ThunderCats.”
“Yes,” Mumm-Ra agreed with a laugh. “I have met this Felina before and she is a sorry excuse of a ThunderCat. She will be most easy to ‘persuade’.”
“Go then, to the Emite’s jungle village. The lioness is vulnerable there with none of the other ThunderCats nearby to protect her,” ordered the ancient spirits.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tygra finally had a chance to speak privately with Lion-O when they pulled a joint shift on watch. Even Snarf wasn’t around due to his morning ritual of tidying up after breakfast. There would never be a better opportunity to broach the subject with his youthful leader, Tygra decided.
“I can’t help but have noticed,” he began, “you have seemed a little distracted lately, Lion-O. Anything you want to talk about?”
Lion-O swiveled his chair around to face the tiger. “Well,” he sighed, “there’s a few things weighing heavily on my mind. Even though there’s nothing I can do about it all, I can’t seem to stop dwelling on it.”
Tygra nodded. “Perhaps I can offer some insight.”
“The first thing has to do with the betrothal and Panthro’s temper flare up the other day in council.” Lion-O paused searching for the right words. “I just don’t think he understands where I’m coming from. My entire destiny has been decided by codes and laws that I had no influence on. My free will is being stripped from me.”
“I sympathize with you,” Tygra began. “But, when our ancestors were given the gift of ThunderCat power, a great responsibility came with it. We live by those old laws because they give us a structure in which to maintain the hierarchy. If we were to discard it all, then the chaos that followed would destroy everything we’ve worked for.” Tygra watched Lion-O stare pensively at the telescreen for a moment before continuing. “As for Panthro, he is a staunch loyalist to the Code of Thundera with good reason...”
“Do you know what the story is behind that?” Lion-O asked suddenly. “I would ask Panthro himself, but he won’t talk about the past.”
“Well, I was just a teenager at the time, but I do remember the event,” Tygra confessed. “It was during the war with the Moons of Plundarr; the same war in which Cheetara lost her parents. Panthro was probably just a few years older than you are now. Some Mutants had captured him, his wife and young cubs. When he refused to betray Jaga by giving them inside information, the Mutants slaughtered his family before his very eyes. They allowed him to live so he could suffer with the memory of that horrendous deed.”
Lion-O was stunned. “By Jaga, that’s terrible....at least I know where Panthro’s coming from now.”
“Yes. He lives so fiercely by the Code because that’s all he has left to live for,” added Tygra. “Now, what else has been troubling you, young man?”
“Ha! My ‘problems’ seem a bit trivial now, after hearing what Panthro has had to endure,” replied Lion-O.
“Nothing that bothers you so is trivial. Please, go on,” Tygra urged.
Lion-O heaved a sigh. “It has to do with Jaga...and Grune.”
Tygra’s interest piqued. He had been curious about just this subject since witnessing the exchange between Lion-O and Felina following Grune’s last attack.
“Grune revealed something to me on that battlefield and I just haven’t been able to forget about it,” continued Lion-O. “He claimed he sought revenge on all of us because Jaga had an affair with his wife. Do you know anything about that?”
“Anything coming from Grune you should take with a grain of salt, Lion-O. It‘s true Jaga never did wed Felina’s mother, but that doesn‘t necessarily mean anything illicit was going on. After all, Cheetara and I aren‘t officially wed.”
“I know I should consider the source and forget about it,” agreed Lion-O. “But I just have this feeling....the look in Grune’s eyes was definitely one of a man scorned. And if he does indeed speak the truth, that means Jaga betrayed the honor and loyalty parts of the Code.”
“Yes, carrying on an affair with a fellow ThunderCat’s wife would surely qualify as a breach of the Code. But since his relationship with Leonda and Felina’s birth both had the blessings of Claudis and the ThunderCat council, I can’t see how Grune could be speaking the truth,” Tygra reasoned.
An alarm on the control console shattered the conversation. The male cats’ attention focused on the image the telescreen projected.
“There’s trouble in sector three,” noted Lion-O. “It looks as if smoke is rising from the jungle.”
“Yes, more specifically near the Emite settlement...and Felina,” Tygra gravely added.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Felina stood outside Amenita’s hut, soaking in the morning sun. The air still held an earthy scent brought on by the previous night’s storm. She had wanted to spend the morning studying under her favorite tree by the river. But something in what Lion-O had said about her lack of ability to truly guard the Book of Omens had prompted her to bury the Book deep in the ground. There it would remain for the duration of her stay, safe from anyone who might attempt to confiscate it.
“ ‘ell, she-cat. Do ya aim to come downriver with the rest of us an’ help with the harvestin’ o’ the fruit or are ya gonna daydream all day?” Amenita inquired, giving the startled lioness a playful nudge.
“Of course,” replied Felina. “Let’s head to the boats.”
As nice as it had been to reunite with fellow Thunderians and spend time at Cats’ Lair, Felina truly delighted in being back in the jungle. She found something liberating about returning to the lush vegetation and the relaxing sound of the River rushing by. In just the few months she had spent with the villagers after landing on Third Earth, she regarded their reclusive jungle settlement as home.
“It’s wonderful to be back,” her heart sang as a colorful bird flew overhead; her spirit felt as if it were hitching a ride on its wings.
They were halfway through the village square when Felina got the feeling that evil eyes were upon her. She turned to see her jungle dream turning into a nightmare. There stood the fiendish Mumm-Ra and his henchman, Grune the Destroyer.
She grabbed Amenita by the wrist. “Run!” Felina frantically ordered her friend. “Run for your life.” The frightened Emite needed no further urging.
“Go ahead and run,” chuckled Mumm-Ra. “Nothing you do will save you from my dark powers.”
Felina felt frozen to the earth, as if her body was made out of lead. Mumm-Ra grabbed her by the nape of her neck, pulling her close to his hideous face.
“Now girl....you will bring me the Book of Omens and reveal its secrets or pay the consequences,” he hissed.
“Never.” Felina cried out in pain when Mumm-Ra yanked her head back.
“Do you know what I can do to you?” demanded the devil priest, throwing her to the ground. Felina struggled to get back on her feet. She didn’t like the lustful look in Grune’s eyes as he circled her, watching her every movement.
“It’s amazing,” Grune said, “how much you favor your mother.” Her stomach did a sickening flip flop as Grune ran a clawed finger over her shoulder and down her back.
“Speak up, girl!” Mumm-Ra roared. “Or I will let Grune have a go at you first.”
“Please...no...I can’t!” she begged. To her horror, Grune grabbed her roughly by the neck and began to kiss her. Felina slapped him fiercely across the face, her claws tearing his flesh.
Grune roared angrily. With a mighty backhand he sent the lioness sprawling to the ground. Felina remained lying motionless on the moist earth, the throbbing pain in her head saturating her consciousness. Grune set about searching the village for the Book, destroying hut after hut while the terrified Emites stood by. His quest proved fruitless.
“Tell me where you’ve hidden that Book or I will burn this jungle to the ground!” howled Mumm-Ra.
Felina pulled herself to a sitting position. “If I don’t tell him, no doubt he will destroy this place and everything in it. But if I’m forced to give him the Book, he’ll have the means to destroy the ThunderCats,” Felina struggled with herself. “Most importantly, I am bound by my sacred oath as a scholar to sacrifice my life in order to safeguard that with which I have been entrusted...”
She lifted her eyes and peered into the evil depths of Mumm-ra’s face. “The secrets of the Book of Omens will go with me to the grave.”
Mumm-Ra raised his hands to the sky, casting a spell which caused a wall of fire encircle the village.
“You have just sealed your fate and that of your pathetic friends. If I cannot have the Book, then neither will the ThunderCats. Grune, torch the village! Destroy everything that lives!” With that Mumm-ra vanished, only his echoing laughter left behind.
Felina looked on helplessly as Grune went about gleefully setting every building and boat in the village aflame. Horrified Emites ran in all directions. His destructive job finished, Grune likewise disappeared, leaving the rapidly spreading inferno to do its deadly work.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


As the Thunder Tank neared the jungle, the ThunderCat foursome where aghast at the scope of destruction the flames wrought.
“A forty square mile area is on fire.” Panthro related the information from the Tank’s computers. “Looks like the entire jungle is going to be burned to a cinder.”
Cheetara shook her head in disbelief. “And Felina and those poor Emites are trapped in there. How will we ever get them out?”
“The fire is just too vast for our water cannons to handle it,” lamented Tygra. “I don’t see how we can attempt a rescue.”
“Take your seats,” Panthro told Tygra and Cheetara. He shut the doors to the rear compartment of the Tank. “We may not be able to go through the fire, but we can dig under it. If my calculations are correct, we should surface beneath the River, right next to the village.”
The ThunderTank surfaced in the River and promptly ran aground on a sandbar. The air was so thick with black smoke, visibility was down to almost nothing.
“Better put on the gas masks. With all that smoke we’re not going to be able to breathe out there,” advised the panther.
With masks secured, the cats exited the Tank. The ThunderCats could hear several villagers’ excruciating wails, chillingly aware that they were listening to those villagers’ final cries of agony as they burned alive. Panthro led the way to the riverbank, following the sounds of the cries. They didn’t get very far inland before the intense heat drove them back to the River’s edge. A sense of hopelessness settled over the group.
Cheetara noticed a small animal crawling toward them along the river bank. She gasped when she realized it was Bela, her fur singed and smoldering. Cheetara rushed to the ailing snarf’s side.
“Bela! Are there any other survivors?” asked the cheetah.
“Felina....and Amenita...are in the River,” came Bela’s exhausted reply.
Cheetara cradled the injured snarf and allowed her to lead the way downriver to Felina and Amenita. Both lay unconscious in the shallow waters of a sandbar and covered in black soot. A small band of Emite children sat in the water nearby.
A young girl timidly spoke. “They kept returnin’ to the village ta bring more of us to the River. We think th’ smoke finally overcame ‘em.”
Tygra set about the task of assessing Felina’s condition, while Cheetara tended to Amenita.
“This one’s still breathing,” Cheetara said. “But her pulse is weak.”
Tygra shook his head and removed his mask. “Cheetara, run back to the Tank and get those oxygen masks. I’m going to see if I can resuscitate Felina.”
Panthro and Lion-O exchanged shocked looks as they watched Tygra try to blow the breath of life back into Felina’s lungs. The minutes ticked away agonizingly slow. Finally, Felina’s body jolted back to life amid a flurry of hacking coughs and raspy breaths. Cheetara arrived shortly afterward.
“Sorry,” she apologized. “I would’ve been back sooner but I had a hard time finding the Tank in all this smoke.”
Felina’s breathing smoothed out considerably after Tygra placed the oxygen mask over her face, although she remained in a semi-conscious state. Tygra lifted the limp lioness.
“Let’s get these two back to the Tank,” he ordered. “And gather up the village children--” Tygra stopped himself in mid-sentence when he realized the children had fled.
“We can’t worry about them now,” Panthro reasoned. “We need to get these two out of here fast. Let’s just hope those frightened kids have the brains to stay in the River.”
Lion-O took the fallen Emite into his arms and followed the group, fighting the River’s current back to their vehicle. Once safely inside the Tank, the ailing pair were laid upon mats in the rear compartment. Tygra busied himself tending to Bela’s wounds as the Thunder Tank burrowed its way out of the smoldering jungle. When they finally surfaced, Cheetara noticed Amenita’s skin had changed from a pale blue to ashen.
“Tygra, look!” The cheetah brought his attention to the dire situation.
Tygra abandoned his efforts on Bela and rushed to the Emite’s side.
“Moons of Thundera, her heart’s stopped!” He immediately began compressions on Amenita’s chest. He labored for the better part of the hour’s ride back to the Lair to no avail. Felina roused to consciousness just as the spent tiger finished his last round of compressions.
“She’s gone,” he said between labored breaths. “I can’t bring her back.”
Felina’s eyes widened as she realized the implication of what he had said. She pulled the mask from her face and struggled to reach her dead friend.
“No,” she wailed hoarsely, “you can’t stop working on her.”
“Felina, you have to lie back down,” Cheetara urged. “Tygra has done all he can for your friend...I’m sorry.”
“NO!” Felina wailed. She crawled to Amenita’s lifeless body, the effort dizzying her as her lungs struggled to get enough air. “You may have given up, but she’s my best friend. I can’t let her die.”
Cheetara tried to push Felina back onto the mat, surprised at how much strength the determined scholar still possessed.
“Lion-O, help me subdue her,” Cheetara pleaded. “We don’t need her going into cardiac arrest too.”
“Yes,” Tygra agreed. “Hold her down and I will sedate her.”
It took the Lord of the ThunderCats little effort to pin Felina onto her back, his strong hands clasping her shoulders. She tried to protest but her voice was lost amid shallow, ragged breaths. Cheetara fought to replace the oxygen mask while Tygra injected a sedative into Felina’s arm. In but a matter of moments, Felina drifted numbly into sleep.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Felina’s eyes fluttered open as the first rays of the dawn filtered into her room. The bright light caused her head to reverberate with pain, the evidence of Grune’s brutality still with her. She forced her eyes open again when she heard Tygra enter. Felina suddenly became aware of the fact that she had been bathed and dressed in her gown. Her cheeks reddened slightly, hoping it was not Tygra who provided that service.
Tygra sat on the edge of the bed and shined a pen light into her eyes, making Felina flinch in pain. “You have quite a concussion young lady,” Tygra noted.
“Have you got anything for the pain?” Felina asked.
“I’m sure I can give you something for that. How did you come about such a blow to the head?” the tiger wondered, observing the ugly purple bruise spanning the side of her face.
The memories from the prior days’ events came flooding back to Felina. “It was Grune....he and Mumm-Ra are the ones who burned down the jungle.” she replied softly. “How’s Bela?” Felina asked, recalling her faithful companion.
“She’ll recover...would you believe Snarf is tending to her?” Tygra informed Felina with amusement. The idea brought a slight smile to the scholar’s lips. Her thoughts quickly darkened however. She suddenly remembered the fate that had befallen Amenita.
Tygra noticed the tears welling up in Felina’s eyes. “I’m sorry about your friend,” he said gently. “I really tried to save her, I just--”
“I know you did everything you could,” interrupted the lioness. “I just didn’t want to believe she died...and because of me. I brought that scourge down on the Emite village.” Felina’s tears were openly flowing. “It was me and the Book of Omens those bastards of evil were after--”
“Felina, you mustn’t blame yourself like that,” advised Tygra.
She barely heard him, her mind focused on the Book of Omens. “By Thundera, the Book is still buried in the jungle! I must go retrieve it now before that wretched mummy senses it survived the fire.”
Felina leapt from her bed, all thoughts of modesty forgotten. She rushed down the hall in her nightgown, making it to the top of the staircase before stopping to gasp for air. It seems she couldn’t take a deep breath, her lungs still reeling from the hot smoke she had inhaled. Lion-O passed the panting lioness on his way to breakfast.
“Felina, what are you doing?” he asked. “You should be in bed resting.”
“The--the Book...have to...get it back before...Mumm-Ra...” her voice trailed off.
“By Jaga, does Mumm-Ra have the Book of Omens?”
Felina shook her head. “It’s buried...in the jungle.”
Tygra caught up with the pair. “Blazes, woman, you’re never going to recover running around like this!”
“She has a point though, Tygra,” Lion-O observed. “We should go retrieve that Book before Mumm-Ra finds it. Felina and I will head out in the Thunder Tank. The rest of the ThunderCats need to stay at the Lair. Our routine maintenance has been neglected lately.”
Tygra nodded in agreement.
“We should also take Amenita’s body back to the village. Ironically, it is Emite custom that their dead be set afloat on a pyre down the River,” Felina explained, having finally caught her breath.
“Fine then,” Lion-O conceded. “I’ll prepare her body for travel while you, uh, get dressed.”
Felina looked down at her flimsy night gown and blushed. “Oh...of course,” she stammered.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Felina nibbled absentmindedly at the biscuit she’d brought along, not really feeling much like eating on such a sad sojourn. She and Lord Lion-O had traveled in silence for much of the trip. Finally, the charred remains of the jungle came into view.
“You were right about my not being fit to guard the Book,” Felina confessed. “If I had just stayed at the Lair like I was supposed to, this whole tragedy would’ve been averted.” Her eyes filled with tears as they drove through the devastation of what was once a glorious paradise.
Lion-O wasn’t sure how to comfort her. “I’m sorry about what happened, but there’s nothing we can do about it now...”
They finally reached the spot where the village once stood.
“Be careful,” Lion-O warned as they exited the vehicle. “Some of the coals are probably still pretty hot.”
Felina was nauseated by the stench of charred flesh that overpowered the acrid odor of the scorched wood. Several of the blackened bodies of the villagers were in view. Felina gasped and struggled for composure.
“I -- can’t even recognize this place anymore,” she lamented. “We’re never going to find the Book now.” Felina studied the barren landscape, hoping for any clue as to where she had hidden the Book. A spark of inspiration came to her. “My lord, use the Sword’s powers of Second Sight. It should show you where the Book is buried.”
“That’s a great idea,” he agreed. Lion-O was glad to see she was holding up so well in the face of a such atrocity. Although he sympathized with her loss, he wouldn’t know how to react if she broke down.
The Sword’s vision lead them just east of the village to a smoldering stump. They both got to work with shovels they had brought from the Thunder Tank. It didn’t take long before they struck the metallic cover of the Book.
“Do you think it’s damaged?” asked Lion-O.
Felina brushed the dirt off its cover. “This book was fashioned from Thunderian steel. It was designed to withstand quite a bit of abuse.”
“Well, that’s one task down, one to go...” Lion-O said.
The lioness knew there was no point in delaying the unpleasant job. She and Lion-O set about preparing Amenita’s body for the funeral. Felina had hoped during the course of their labor that she might see any survivors of the fire. But the charred jungle remained quiet as death itself.
Finally the moment arrived. The pair of lions gently laid Amenita’s shrouded body onto the pyre. After shoving the barge out into the River, Lion-O set it ablaze with the Sword of Omens. As Felina watched the burning vessel float away, she did not weep. Rather, she felt determination born of anger welling inside her heart.
“This is the last time I will be a helpless victim,” she vowed to herself.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Great fire burning
All because of you
Burning through the zoo
Animals are panicking....

--Great Fire, XTC

Continued

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