I blink several times and twitch my ears, certain that I just imagined that Name called my name. He is staring right at me, though, so I have no choice but to stand up. Out of instinct, I feel my tail curl underneath my hind legs as I feel my heart start to beat rapidly. I'm definitely going to die against these rebels.

The leader has stopped calling other names, though. That's because when I look up, I see that Mirage is whispering something into Name's ears. Her ears are flattened, and her tail is furiously lashing back and forth. I also notice that the fur on her back is ruffled.

In response to what Mirage said, Name flattens his ears as well and hisses a few words at her. Everyone around me is completely silent as the two cats argue, probably out of fear that if anyone says a single word, he or she will automatically get a strike or get called to fight the rebels.

Finally, when Mirage furiously growls a whole speech to him, Name sighs deeply. And as Mirage glares claws at him, he mutters in a voice that I can barely hear, "Forest, sit back down."

Confusion clouds me. Did he just tell me to sit? I open my mouth to clarify what just happened, but the spine-chilling look in his eyes makes me change my mind at the last moment.

"Yes, sir," I meow as I sit back down in the long grass.

Branch, who is still next to me, tilts his head and twitches his whiskers, looking just as puzzled as I feel. "Wow, what did Mirage just do?" he whispered, glancing at me with wide eyes.

"I have no idea," I mouth to him when Name and Mirage quietly converse with each other again. But as I said that, I know that what Mirage did is as clear as the eternally cloudless Gardinian sky. She somehow managed to keep me from being put into the Earth-Superior army against the rebels. But why? I thought she hated me. More importantly, though, what did she say to Name to convince him to change his mind?

I get so lost in thought that I almost miss who Name replaces me with: "Stripe."

My head springs up as I see Stripe's ginger body hesitantly stand. I'm standing behind her, but I can see her fear when her tail slips between her back legs, the same action I did when he called my name.

Name doesn't even look at Stripe to see if she followed his instructions to stand at her name. His gaze stares in the distance as he growls, "That is all. Everyone who is standing, follow Mirage."

Everyone who was called steps around the seated cats on their way to Mirage. Most of their steps are hesitant and slow, as if they're treading through mud instead of long grass. And I don't blame them.

Stripe glances behind her shoulder, and for a single moment, our eyes lock together. In that second, I forget how annoying and embarrassing she was. Her ears are flattened all the way to her head for a second, and there is a dark, apprehensive look in her eyes for a moment.

But it all goes away after that, and her head snaps forward. I see her ears lift as she runs to Mirage. "I'm gonna kill all those rebels!" she exclaims, her tail lifting confidently in the air.

Mirage turns her back to me as she walks toward the entrance, but I still catch her response. "You'd better."

I count thirteen cats following Mirage. As all of the cats finally surround her, Mirage turns around, and both Name and she scrutinize all of them, one by one.

Mirage lashes her tail and nods to Name. "I believe that is everyone."

But Name flattens his ears. He narrows his eyes at the cats standing. "I thought I called fourteen cats," he growls, slowly turning around.

"You did," a voice behind me says. Every Earth cat including me whirls their head around to see Snowflake standing behind us. "Flame, go to Mirage. According to my memory, you were the fifth cat to be called. I saw you sit back down when you were ordered to follow her."

Despite the entire drama situation that is happening, an interesting question about Snowflake appears in my head. How does she know that Flame was the fifth cat to be called? I can't even recall the first cat Name mentioned. Could it be part of her power?

A dark brown cat reluctantly rises to his paws. His voice violently shakes as much as his body as he meows, "Y-yes, ma'am."

A few seconds of silence pass as Mirage and Name stare at Flame like he has human hair on the top of his head.

Finally, Name commands, "Mirage, lead away the cats who have listened to me. Snowflake, go notify Moonlight about Flame so both of you can assist with administering the blue leaf to him."

"Wait, b-but sir!" Flame stammers. "I haven't g-gotten a single strike yet!"

"Ah, yes," Name replies, narrowing his ice-blue eyes at the frightened cat, "I have to apologize for not stating the new rule that the Superiors have decided."

"New rule?" I blurt in a whisper. The temperature in the air feels like it dropped a couple of degrees. I subconsciously notice Branch uncomfortably shifting beside me.

I must have said that too loudly, because Name and Mirage's eyes dart to me the moment the words slip out of my mouth. Name simply stares into my eyes and nods. His gaze flickers back to everyone else as he says in a monotone voice, "In case you have forgotten the previous rules, let us restate them before I officially add the new one."

He mutters a couple of words to Mirage. She swishes her tail once and shouts to the whole camp, "Rule one! Always listen and respect your leader. Bow down when he is coming through or addressing you."

"Rule two," Name continues, "Do not fight with other cats that are on your side."

        "Rule three: Don't leave the camp without permission!"

"Rule four: Always listen to your training instructor." Name pauses. He looks right at Flame as he slowly adds, "Rule five: Never resist the call to fight against the rebels."

        Flame's ears flatten to his head, and the fur on his back rises. "S-sir," he stutters, taking a step back. "But I didn't know about that new-"

         "Silence!" Mirage's loud shriek nearly makes me jump out of my stiff, seated position. She strides her way through the crowd of Earth cats and thrusts her nose against Flame's face. "We just recited the rules, you birdhead. What part of rule one do you not understand?"

        "What? Rule one?" Flame slightly tilts his head, his entire body shivering even more with the presence of Mirage next to him.

        "Yes." Her eye narrows, and suddenly, she looks much more menacing with the scar on her face. Mirage's voice deepens even more than usual as she growls, "You look very confused about rule one. How about you say what it is in front of everyone?"

        "Oh, um.." Flame shivers as he glances at either side of him, as if he has just noticed that others are watching. "Rule one was to respect my leader, and-" He pauses, and his eyes widen in horror as he realizes his earlier mistake.

        Mirage purrs in amusement at Flame. For a moment, I think she is going to leave it at that, but she pushes him onward. "And what? I meant the entire part of rule one." Her eye narrows as she shoves her face even more against his. "Say it. Now."

At this point, Flame looks so terrified that I'm not sure if he can even speak anymore. I want to scream at Mirage to stop, to just leave him alone or finally give him the stupid blue-leaf. Anything is better than this public humiliation. The only thing holding back from my standing up for the poor cat is the fact that I would have to say goodbye to my entire memory afterward.

At last, Flame seems to find his voice, because he backs away from Mirage, bows his head, and murmurs, "Rule one is to respect my leader and bow when he addresses me or comes by."

After a short silence that rings throughout the land, Mirage releases a satisfied purr. "Good job. You just learned the final lesson you will remember."

"Mirage," Name hisses abruptly, "Snowflake and I will handle him. Go add those chosen cats to the army."

Mirage turns around and meows, "Fine. Let's go, you chosen idiots. And don't you dare try to pull off what your little friend over there did. You will just receive the same fate as him."

Without looking back at the doomed cat behind her, she strides to the other standing Earth cats, pauses to glance over them, and walks out of the camp. The thirteen cats follow her. As I watch Stripe's ginger tail disappear out of sight, I wonder if I will ever see her again.

I don't know what overwhelms me more: the fact that I could have been taken into their army if not for Mirage or the blue-leaf that the various Superior cats are giving Flame right now. I am unable to watch Flame as he screeches and unsuccessfully fights Snowflake's strong grip as the blue-leaf is being shoved down his throat.

        The entire scene with Branch being punished is being repeated right in front of me, except that I am closer to all of them. The screaming, the helplessness of Flame and everyone else that is watching, the sickening nausea in my stomach that overtakes me as my paws are planted to the ground.

        Deep down, I know I can't save him because of the fate that would await me if I did, but my mind is desperately screaming at me to do something. Anything to stop the torture of watching Flame being force-fed the poison.

"Forest, are you okay?" I can't even detect the source of the voice as the world suddenly spins around me. My stomach heaves, and before I can run to a more private place, I vomit my lunch on the ground.

And right after I finish throwing up, everything turns black as I feel my eyes roll back into my head.

~~~~~

"Is he okay?"

"Hey, Forest, wake up.."

"Did that cat just die?"

A multitude of voices brings my vision back into focus. I feel the chilly ground seep into my fur on the side I am laying on.

I tilt my head up towards the sky, except that I don't see much sky. Multiple pairs of eyes are peering down on me. Cats are surrounding me in all directions, leaving barely any room to breathe other than a small patch of ground right next to me where I threw up.

At least I didn't fall on my vomit.

Many cats notice that I woke up, and their eyes widen as they ask me all at the same time if I am okay and if I need help getting up and if I'm sick.

"Hey," I croak, interrupting their chatter, "I'm fine. Just get away from me so I can stand up."

Once most of the cats lose interest and stop crowding around me, I haul myself to my paws. As soon as I'm standing, Branch is right next to me.

"Are you okay?" he exclaims, his tail lashing with concern.

"Yes," I meow, "I'm fine now. A little dizzy, but fine." Deep in my head, I know I'm lying about being alright. My stomach still wrenches with disgust when I try to remember what happened earlier. I have reached my limit to the amount of torture and humiliation I've witnessed the Superiors do to multiple innocent cats. Especially Mirage.

I know she wanted to be the one to force the blue-leaf down Flame's throat. She already did more than enough to him, though, when she rudely showed Flame's mistake in front of everyone. Her actions within the last few days both disappoint and disgust me.

But why did she she care whether I joined the Earth-Superior army or not?

"How long have I been out?" I ask, wanting to distract myself from my complicated thoughts.

Branch tilts his head. His soft brown eyes briefly inspect my face before replying, "Only a couple of minutes."

I nod. "Good."

His ears flatten. "Why did you pass out? You didn't react that badly when Mirage killed that cat the other day."

"You're right," I mutter, turning away from him. That's all I can give for a response. Maybe it was the shock of the situation.

I don't care about that, though. I need to talk to a certain cat as soon as possible.

Taking a deep breath, I turn back toward Branch and break the silence with a simple question: "Where is Mirage?"

~~~~~
Thank you for reading Chapter 13 of Forest's Fate! If you liked this chapter, feel free to vote and comment your thoughts.