“Which is why we’ll work together,” Matakh assured him, before wrapping his arms around one of the boards. “A little help?”
Shartha rushed over and grasped the wood just below Matakh’s hands. “On three. One… two… three!”
Both of them tensed their arms and pulled as hard as they could, their claws digging into the board as they heaved. For several moments they strained, seemingly without making any progress. Then Matakh felt the beam give slightly, and a small avalanche of plaster dust fell away from the door. “Keep going,” he gasped.
Suddenly, the beam seemed to break away from an unseen obstacle and came sliding free, the sudden release in tension sending both of them falling on their rumps. Without the beam to support it, the mound collapsed, a cloud of dust billowing up around it. The two cats coughed and covered their muzzles, batting their hands in an effort to clear the air.
“Good work,” Matakh told his friend. “It looks like just plaster’s left. No sweat.” He stood and began shoveling away clumps of debris, Shartha moving to help him. In less than a minute they had cleared away the pile completely, leaving Matakh’s closet fully exposed. Just as Matakh had hoped, there didn’t appear to be any signs of fire damage or cracks from the falling rubble. Taking a deep breath, he took hold of the bronze handle and gently swung the door open.
As he had hoped, the closet was more or less intact. The shock had sent many loose articles flying, but his clothes were undamaged, along with several pairs of shoes, his suitcase, and his survival kit. Matakh picked up the kit first, slinging the strap across his shoulder, before opening up his suitcase and starting to pack away his clothes while Shartha gathered up his shoes. Before long the case had been filled completely, just barely able to contain all of the clothes that the boys had managed to save.
Despite everything that had happened, Matakh found himself smiling as he zipped the bag closed. “You know, it’s good that I at least have clean clothes to wear. At least this way I won’t be running around in the same dirty rags for who knows how long.” Shartha nodded in agreement.
Their search completed, the two boys went back out to wait for their siblings, Matakh dragging his suitcase behind him. They found Timirza and Meea standing in the midst of a small collection of bags and totes, all filled to the brim with treasures from Meea’s room. Matakh briefly felt a pang of envy, but he suppressed it immediately. ‘It’s not her fault that my room was destroyed,’ he berated himself. ‘Don’t start complaining about something nobody had any control over.’
Meea turned to her brother, a bright smile on her face. “We’ve packed up everything I need, Matakh. What about…you?” Her words trailed off when she saw Matakh’s lone suitcase, and her smile faded. “Is that all you have left?”
He nodded wearily. “It looks like my room was a lot closer to the blast. It’s pretty much just a pile of rubble, but we did manage to find my comm and data pad, and I still have plenty of clothes. Oh, and this.” He held out the picture case and opened it for her to see, a smile blossoming on her face once more.
“That’s great that you at least have that photo. But what about your coin collection?” she asked.
Matakh just gave her a soft smile. “Well, most of the coins were lost, but…” He reached into his pocket with one hand, pulling it back out clasped around something. “This was still intact.” He opened his fingers to reveal the coin hidden within.
“Isn’t that…” she began, looking at the coin in awe.
He nodded with a smile. “Yes. It’s the same coin that our little fox friend left me the day we first saw him.” He returned the coin to his pocket. “You know, I may have lost a lot, but I still have some of my most treasured possessions with me, reminders of the people I love. I’m thankful for that, at least.” Meea nodded in silent agreement, wrapping her brother in a warm hug that was happily returned.
As the siblings separated, Matakh indicated to the multiple bags. “I’m guessing you found some things to put in the capsule?”
Meea nodded and unzipped a leather satchel. Inside were several photographs of their family, as well as a few albums and a good deal of her personal treasures. Matakh could see the glint of her martial arts medals and trophies, and he felt his heart swell with joy when he saw the wood carving that he had made for her when they were cubs. “Great choices, sis. Now let’s find that capsule and get these loaded inside.”
The four friends walked towards the stairway, with Meea leading the way. She had turned to look back at Matakh for a brief moment and was just about to step down when Timirza suddenly leapt forward. “Look out!” she yelled, grasping Meea’s arm and pulling her back, just in time to prevent her from tumbling forward into empty space.
“Ai,” she groaned, clapping a hand over her muzzle. “How did I forget that the stairs were down? I was the one who broke them!”
Matakh chuckled and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. “Don’t worry, Mee. You had other things to think about. Let’s just be glad that Timirza stopped you before it was too late.”
Meea nodded. “You’re right.” She looked at Timirza gratefully. “Thanks for that.”
The cheetah grinned broadly. “No problem.”
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Shartha asked. “I really don’t want to have to crawl down those ladders again, especially not backwards.”
Matakh chuckled good-naturedly and gave his friend a gentle shove with his elbow. “Scaredy-cat.”
Shartha shot him an irritated look. “Who says I’m scared?”
“Oh, come on,” the lion goaded. “We all know you’re afraid of heights.”
“It’s not that I’m scared of them,” the cheetah asserted, coughing awkwardly. “I just get kind of nauseous when I get up too high.” Matakh just shook his head and suppressed a chortle, while Meea and Timirza both started giggling.
“Anyway,” Matakh said as he got himself under control, “Shartha does have a point. We’re not going to be able to climb down with all these bags. We’ll have to find another way.”
Meea reached into her emergency kit, rifling through the contents for a few moments before pulling out a rappelling cable launcher. “Will this help?” she asked.
Matakh nodded. “It’s perfect.” He chuckled. “Even Shartha should be alright with this.”
“Shut uuup!” the cheetah complained, but he couldn’t help a small, exasperated smile.
Meea aimed one of the anchoring pins at the ceiling and fired it into an undamaged rafter. The jumagium head penetrated into the wood with ease, several flanges extending to secure its hold. After tugging on the cable a few times to make sure it was secure, the lioness hefted a few bags over her shoulder and hopped over the drop-off, letting the cable play out behind her. A few feet above the ground she squeezed the trigger, slowing her fall and coming to a graceful landing. Once she was sure of her footing, she let the bags slip from her shoulder before releasing the handle, letting the cable rewind. “Heads up!”
Timirza reached out, deftly snagging the handle before leaping after her friend. Moments later the cable rewound again. Matakh stepped forward to grab it, but Shartha beat him to it. “I’ll go first,” the cheetah told him.
Matakh grinned playfully. “You sure? I mean, it’s kind of high…”
Shartha gave him an aggravated glare. “I’m doing it.” With that, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt free of the balcony. Seconds later, Matakh winced as he heard the loud thudding of flesh and bone connecting with solid floor, followed by a weak moan of pain from the cheetah. He looked over the edge to