Tear the Trees Apart: Maple's Vengeance

Chapter 8: Snakes

Maple trekked back to the forest, skirting the edge of WindColony under cover of darkness and heading for ThunderColony's border with Twolegplace. She knew she would have to wait for Freckle to pass by on patrol; even then, Maple would need the luck of StarColony to get the molly alone. She plunged into the lush green grass at the foot of the Twoleg fences, then scrambled up and over the wooden barrier, dropping down into the small, strongly scented enclosure on the other side.

Almost at once, a fat gray-and-white tom heaved himself through a tiny flap in the side of the Twoleg den and lumbered toward her, mewling.

"Get out of here! You're one of those stinking forest cats, aren't you? My humans don't want you in their backyard! Shoo!"

Maple waited until the kittypet was a mouse-length away, then shot out one paw and raked his face. The kittypet leaped backward, screeching. Blood dripped from his blunt muzzle. "Ow!" he wailed.

Maple stayed where she was. The kittypet glared at her through screwed-up eyes before turning and shuffling back to the den. When the flap banged shut behind his plump haunches, Maple studied the enclosure. A tree grew beside the fence with broad enough branches to support her, and dense leaves to hide her from view. She would wait there for Freckle. She scrambled up the tree and settled on a bough that looked out over the forest. She had caught a squirrel at Fourtrees and drunk from a stream so her belly was comfortably full. Resting her chin on her paws, she let herself doze, one ear pricked for any sounds from below.

At dusk four ThunderColony warriors came past, creeping along the bottom of the fence as if they feared the kittypets were about to attack. Maple curled her lip in scorn. She had thought her Colonymates were braver than that. Freckle was not among them, though. As night fell, Maple dropped down from her branch into the long grass, hoping to hunt. ThunderColony scent surrounded her and for a moment she felt a pang of longing; then she pictured her Colonymates throwing her out, and she thought of Freckle stealing Larch, and her fury returned. She quickly caught a blackbird that was wrestling with a worm and carried it back to the tree. Behind her, the gray-and-white tom was bundled out of the den by a cross-sounding Twoleg. Maple watched the kittypet squat on the grass, its eyes huge with fear, then race back inside. Ha! He knows this territory is mine now!

Maple slept fitfully, the bark digging into her belly fur and sending a damp chill through her bones. Her dreams were filled with the past events. Birch's face floated in and out of view, being replaced by Freckle, Frost, Glide, Pine Marten, Myler... She woke with the first glimmer of dawn, feeling pangs of hunger. The blackbird had been old and scrawny. Maple scanned the forest for signs of movement. All was still beneath the trees. She jumped down and padded into the ferns, scanning for prey. A tiny rustle alerted her to a mouse scrabbling at the foot of a sycamore tree. Maple stalked forward, hoping her flashes of white fur wouldn't startle her prey. The mouse was intent on nibbling a seed so Maple was able to pounce unseen, killing the creature with a single blow to its neck.

Then she froze. She heard voices! Bloom was among them, directing his patrol to split up and hunt before meeting again at the lightning-struck elm. There wasn't time to get back to the Twoleg fence, so Maple crouched beneath a clump of bracken with her fresh-kill. Paw steps came closer, then a glimpse of pale brown fur through the green stems. Freckle! StarColony had brought her right to Maple. But she couldn't attack her here, not when the others were so close by.

Maple backed carefully out of the bracken, dragging the mouse. Its body was still warm so the scent it left would seem fresh. Sure enough, she heard Freckle sniffing the air and uttering a low growl that suggested she had picked up the trail. Maple let the mouse scrape along the ground a little more before daring to pick it up and move forward with it dangling from her jaws. She couldn't risk being seen by Freckle before she had reached Snakerocks.

Maple deliberately pushed her way through the thickest undergrowth so that the mouse left a generous trail of scent. She hoped that her own scent would be lost among general ThunderColony odors; she didn't think she had been out of the Colony long enough to smell unfamiliar. She could only just hear Freckle stalking her; the molly was one of the best hunters in the Colony and moved as lightly as a butterfly's wing over the leaf-strewn ground.

Suddenly dark gray stones loomed over the stems of bracken. Maple swerved, still carrying the mouse, which felt heavier and heavier in her jaws. She padded around the base of the rocks and emerged into the clearing on the other side. There was hardly any trace of cat scent; clearly the warriors were concerned that the adders might escape from their prison. Maple hoped the snakes were still there, but had no time to check. She left the mouse on the ground and raced to the heap of smaller stones that had been piled in front of the adders' nest. She pushed aside as many as she could, leaving a gaping black hole, then ducked behind a boulder.

Freckle emerged cautiously from the bushes, her jaws parted to scent the air and her fur bristling. She looked puzzled when she saw the dead mouse. Maple sprang out from behind the rock and snarled at her.

"Where are they!?"

Freckle stumbled backward in shock. "Maple! You shouldn't be here!" She arched her back. "Leave or I'll call the rest of the patrol."

Maple lashed her tail. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tiny flicker of movement from the pile of stones. Was that a snake slithering into the light? Maple took a step closer to the rocks. "Too scared to fight me yourself, Freckle?" she hissed. "You prefer taking kits from a grieving mother, don't you? I've been doing more for ThunderColony than any of you fox-hearts!"

The brown molly stiffened. "Your kits are safe and happy," she rasped. "Maple, please calm down!"

Maple sniffed. "I don't believe you! You're a fox-hearted coward. Just like Applestem!"

Freckle bounded toward Maple, her eyes flashing with anger. "Don't you dare compare me to that killer! I wish he killed you instead!"

Maple dodged sideways just as Freckle lunged at her. With a yelp, the molly stumbled into the pile of stones. Before she could find her footing, there was a hiss and a sleek dark brown head darted forward, tongue flicking.

"Adder!" gasped Freckle. There was a blur of movement, then Freckle staggered backward, screeching. Her face was bleeding from four tiny wounds around her eye. "It bit me! Help!"

"Like you helped me? By prying my kit from my grasp?" Maple growled. "Never! I hope you die in agony!"

Freckle yowled again, a wordless shriek of pain. Almost at once paw steps thrummed toward them through the trees.

"Freckle, is that you?" called Bloom.

Maple slipped into a clump of bracken at the far side of the clearing. She knew she should flee before the patrol arrived but she wanted to watch Freckle die. With a crackling of undergrowth, Bloom and two other ThunderColony warriors, Seed and Talon, burst into the clearing.

"Keep watch for snakes!" Bloom ordered. His Colonymates spun around and scanned the rocks. Bloom bent over Freckle, who was curled on the ground with her paws over her eyes. "It's all right, Freckle, we're here now."

"It bit me!" wailed Freckle. "I'm burning!"

Bloom shook himself and faced his Colonymates. "Seed, run back to camp and bring Ravenwing. Talon, find fennel!"

The two warriors darted away. Bloom placed his paw on Freckle's flank. "Lie still," he meowed. "We're doing everything we can."

"StarColony, it hurts!" Freckle whimpered. "Am I going to die? I can't die, not for the kits! And RiverColony, Bloom!"

"Calm down, you won't die," Bloom vowed, voice shaking.

Maple felt bile rise in her throat as her former mentor soothed the cat who had left her to drown. The wound was oozing pus and venom as Freckle thrashed on the ground in pain. Freckle would never see Maple's kits ever again. Maple knew she had to leave before the rest of ThunderColony rushed to help Freckle. She crept through the undergrowth to the thickest part of the forest, then raced back to the Twoleg fence. Cries of alarm filtered through the trees as more warriors arrived at Snakerocks.

The sounds faded as Maple scrambled over the fence and crouched on the bare brown earth, panting. Her revenge was almost complete.