Warriors #2: Midnight ✓

Epilogue

~

"[The monster] rammed its shoulder up against an ash tree; the tree shook under the impact, and then, with a shriek like all the prey in the forest dying at once, its roots tore out of the earth. The tree crashed to the ground. The monster rolled on. The destruction of the forest had begun."
~

The tall grass beside Thunderpath parted, and Firestar strolled out into the open, the fading autumn sun casting a warm glow on his flame-colored fur. Beside him, Graystripe sniffed the air suspiciously.

"StarClan, there's a foul stench today!" he exclaimed. Cloudtail and Mistyheart padded up to join them. Leafpaw, the youngest member of the patrol, turned away from the clump of marigolds she had been inspecting. Skytail let out a disgusted snort. "Every time I come up here, it takes me all day to get the smell out of my fur," he complained.

Mistyheart rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"There's something peculiar about today," Firestar meowed, his gaze scanning up and down Thunderpath. "No monsters in sight, but the stench is worse than ever."

"And I can hear something," Leafpaw added, her ears perked.

The wind carried a deep rumbling sound toward the group of cats, faint at first but gradually growing louder. Skytail turned to his Clan leader with a bewildered look in his blue eyes. "What is that? I've never heard..." His voice trailed off, and he stood there, gaping.

Upon a crest in the Thunderpath trail, there emerged the most colossal monster that any of the feline witnesses had ever laid their eyes upon. The radiant sunbeams danced upon its lustrous exoskeleton while its formidable shape undulated in the rising warmth that emanated from the very surface of Thunderpath. The reverberating growl swelled and crescendoed, seemingly engulfing the entire woodland in its mighty grasp.

With deliberate slowness, it advanced, followed closely by another and yet another. Twin engines buzzed overhead like relentless parasites, their constant quarrels nearly consumed by the loud bellow of the monstrous beasts.

As the foremost creature inched closer to the five vigilant cats, an inconceivable twist of fate unfurled. Instead of careening past them, it deftly swerved, shattering the tranquility of the narrow strip of verdant grass that lined Thunderpath, redirecting its path menacingly towards the startled felines. "What sorcery is this?" gasped Graystripe while Firestar's howl pierced the air, "Disperse!"

With swift agility, he sought refuge amidst a cluster of emerald ferns. At the same time, his deputy scampered deeper into the forest's heart, finally turning to peer out from beneath the protective thicket of a bramble bush. Cloudtail, in a breathtaking ascent, scaled the nearest towering tree, delicately crouching in the cradle between two intertwining branches, his watchful gaze cast downward. Mistyheart forged a daring path, venturing into a narrow ravine where a babbling brook whispered serenely below, only to glance back momentarily upon reaching the opposite bank, her fur a tumultuous blend of astonishment and anger. Leafpaw trailed closely behind, finding solace within the embrace of the swaying blades of tall grass.

The monstrous titan thundered forth on colossal, obsidian paws, obliterating everything unfortunate enough to cross its destructive path. As the five cats stood transfixed, trapped in the icy grip of terror, the behemoth thrust its powerful shoulder into the heart of an ash tree, causing the ancient giant to tremble beneath the impact. Then, with a spine-chilling cry that seemed to signal the demise of all forest prey, the very roots that anchored the mighty ash were wrenched free from the earth's embrace.

The colossal giant crashed, the forest floor trembling beneath its weight. And still, the marauding creature pressed on, leaving the cruel beginnings of an unforgiving reign of ruin and devastation upon the sacred woods.