Hope ✓

Chapter Twenty

I looked at Flick, shock and confusion spreading across my face? "What did you just say?"

"I said we need to stay in Mistclan." The sandy tom repeated.

"But why?" I asked him.

Flick looked around and shook his head. "Let's talk outside." He lowered his voice so only I could hear him.

I nodded and padded out of camp. Flick followed me more slowly, probably making sure no one would follow them. Although I thought that just made him more suspicious.

We padded far enough away from the camp where we could still see the entrance through the fog but no one could hear us from inside.

"What's going on?" I asked with a lowered voice.

Flick's gaze kept darting around the misty forest. "There's something not right here."

"So what makes you think we should stay? If this place is dangerous then shouldn't we leave?"

Flick shook his head. "Cats here could be in danger. I keep seeing ghostly cats wandering around the camp. Some look lost but others . . ."

My eyes widened. "You think there's someone in the clan killing off its members?"

"I'm not sure." Flick responded. "I just have the strangest feeling about this place. If we leave I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the possibility of more cats in danger."

I shook my head. "Whatever's going on here is none of our business. We should get going or I won't find Shadeclan until I'm an elder!"

"Shhh . . ." Flick hushed me and pricked his ears. He looked at something I couldn't see through the trees and then back at me. "I know how bad you want to get back to Shadeclan, but what if the cats help us in return? Then you could probably get back to your clan even sooner."

I looked down. Flick had a point, and I was getting a weird feeling about this place, too. The feeling made me want to run away from this place, though, not stay even longer; but what if Flick was right? If someone in Mistclan was killing off cats, then I would feel guilty for not helping them. I sighed and finally spoke.

"Okay, we can stay a bit longer. But we'll have to tell Bella and explain to her." Then I remembered something. "Do you think someone could have harmed Lightstar?"

My ears pricked and we both went silent when we heard pawsteps approaching. A hunting patrol consisting of Amberblaze, a dark tortoiseshell she-cat, a white fluffy tom, and a smaller black and white tom. All four cats carried prey in their jaws.

Amberblaze narrowed her eyes when she spotted us and set down the thrush she had been carrying. "Cloudstorm, Rosepatch, bring Hailpaw back to camp. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

One look in our direction and the two warriors nodded. Rosepatch picked up Amberblaze's catch and padded into camp. Hailpaw kept glancing back in our direction but soon disappeared into the sheltered camp.

"What are you two doing out here?" Amberblaze asked, her tail tip twitching.

"We were just going hunting. We were discussing where to go since we don't know Mistclan territory all that well." I answered her. Flick nodded at what I said.

The Mistclan she-cat did not look convinced. "You should have a Mistclan warrior with you when you leave camp. You wouldn't want to get lost." She looked us up and down. "I'll talk to Fogbreeze. He can send you out with another cat or two." She turned and gestured to us with her tail. We followed her back to camp.

When we entered camp, it seemed nothing had changed. The kits could be heard playing in the nursery, cats were enjoying freshkill in different areas of the camp. A patrol left camp just as we entered. There were two smaller cats and two older cats, probably going out to train.