Lost Hope: Book 6: Future of Hope

Chapter 10

Vixen knew that she might be missed if she skipped training tonight, but she also knew that there was a chance that no one would actually even notice, so when everyone had fallen asleep she had crept out of the barn.

    There wasn't any particular reason why she wanted to skip training other than it was getting extremely repetitive. She couldn't believe that some cats actually enjoyed fighting every night. She shook her head and sighed. She looked up at the starry sky and felt a sense of warmth course through her body, despite the chill in the air. Vixen just wished that things could go back to the way they were before her parents had been recruited by Viperfang.

    Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices nearby. Her ears twitched, straining to make out words. It sounded like three cats, arguing back and forth. Vixen padded quietly around the wall of the building, the voices getting louder as she grew nearer.

    She recognized the male voice; Dogtooth, the leader of the rogues. His deep and rumbling voice that sounded like he ate gravel every morning. The two other voices were younger and female, ones that she wasn't familiar with. Vixen peeked around the corner and saw the big burly tom standing close to a tall wire fence that was connected to the rest of the barn. There was a small overhang that protected the two she-cat's from the elements, but somehow how the ground was still covered in mud.

    "You will listen to me, or you won't be listening to anything again," Dogtooth snarled.

    "No," one of the she-cat's said. Her amber eyes glowed with fury and Vixen felt a spark of awe for her bravery.

    Dogtooth raked his claws across her face and she stumbled to the ground, the scratches on her face welling with blood.

    "Claystream!" the other she-cat cried

    "I will give you one last warning," Dogtooth growled. "Fight for me, or I'll send you to Viperfang and she can personally deal with you."

    The amber-eyed she-cat looked like she was slowly fading out of consciousness, but her sister just slowly nodded. "Okay," she agreed, a tremble in her voice.

    "Good," Dogtooth said. "You'll start training soon then. And maybe you'll even get to see some of your little Clan friends again."

    Vixen's tail twitched. What? Are they planning to move all the cats to the forest once Violetshadow becomes leader of EchoClan? She wrinkled her nose at the thought. And then she thought of Foxflame and Lilacsnow and an idea formed in her mind. The last time she had tried to help Clan cats escape from the rogues it had been a trick, although the plan hadn't been hers. Now was the time to redeem herself.

***

The next day, Vixen skipped out on training again. Her mother and father didn't comment about her absence last night, but the look that Jaguar gave her that morning told her that he knew and he didn't approve. She merely glanced in response and continued with her daily walk of the forest.

    Once again, when she saw that her parents were asleep, she crept out of the barn and followed the wall until she found Claystream and her sister in the little wire fenced in area. They were both sitting quietly, looking like they'd rather be anywhere but here. The she-cat with blue eyes kept almost dozing off, before she seemed to jolt herself awake again, and it took Vixen a moment to realize why.

    "Psst!" Vixen hissed, popping around the corner, and looking around wildly to make sure there was no one watching her. It only occurred to her now that if Dogtooth caught her, there was no telling what he would do to her.

    The amber-eyed warrior jolted to alertness. "Who's there?"

    "My name is Vixen," she introduced herself, coming up to the fence and waving her tail in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture.

    Claystream narrowed her eyes. The scars that now ran across her face had stopped bleeding, but they looked infected already and Vixen almost cringed away from her.

    "You're one of the rogues," Claystream's sister said.

    Vixen nodded. "And you're warriors." She lowered her voice and leaned closer. "Look, I don't like what the rogues are doing, I want to help you."

    Claystream snorted. "And hedgehogs fly."

    Vixen had no idea what a hedgehog was. "I'm serious!" she said. "Do you know Foxflame and Lilacsnow?"

    The sisters exchanged a look. "Our mentors," Claystream said. "Of course we know them. They're here, aren't they?"

    Vixen shook her head. "Viperfang staged a rescue, they're probably back in EchoClan now," she explained.

    "Where are we going to go if we do escape though?" her sister said quietly. "EchoClan isn't safe anymore."

    Vixen hadn't considered that. "I'll find someplace for you, I promise," she said. If she could do something good in the world, it was this