Warriors but Wolves: Into the Wild

Chapter 16

     They headed back the way they had come. The moon had disappeared behind a bank of clouds. It was dark, but at least the Thunderpath was quieter now. The only monster they heard was far off in the distance. The canines crossed the path together and pushed their way through the hedge on the other side.

Firepaw could feel his muscles growing stiff with tiredness as they hurried on. Spottedstar kept up a swift pace with her nose thrust forward and her tail high. Bearclaw loped beside her. Firepaw followed a few paces behind with Ravenpaw, but Graypaw was falling behind.

"Keep up, Graypaw!" Bearclaw growled over his shoulder.

Graypaw flinched and bounded forward until he caught up with Firepaw and Ravenpaw.

"Are you okay?" Firepaw asked.

"Yes," Graypaw panted, not meeting Firepaw's eyes. "Just a bit tired." They scrambled down a deep ditch and up the other side. The canines slipped under a hedge into a cornfield that glowed silver in the moonlight, and followed the ditch that ran around its edge.

"Wasn't it amazing inside?" Ravenpaw asked, breaking the silence. "I never thought the Moonstone would look like that."

"It was beautiful," Firepaw felt his fur tingle at the memory.

Graypaw nodded his head in agreement. "I can't believe the rock shines underground," he added.

Firepaw didn't reply. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the image of the Moonstone that dazzled his mind. Then pictures from his dream crowded into his head, and his eyes shot open. Spottedstar was right: they had to get back to camp as quickly as they could.

Ahead, Bearclaw and Spottedstar had leaped through a fence, out of the cornfield. The apprentices followed, squeezing under the fence, onto a dirt track. It was the path that led past the Twoleg nest they had skirted the day prior. Firepaw looked up and saw Spottedstar and Bearclaw trotting tirelessly together, silhouetted against a skyline tinged with red. The sun would be rising soon.

"Look!" Firepaw suddenly called to Ravenpaw and Graypaw. An unfamiliar canine had jumped out from behind the Twoleg nest, in front of the two warriors ahead of the apprentices.

"It's a dog!" gasped Ravenpaw. The three apprentices hurried forward.

The stranger was a young black-and-white Sheepdog, shorter than the warriors, but well muscled. A curtain of fur hung into his face, almost obscuring his eyes.

"This is Barley," Spottedstar explained to the apprentices as they caught up. "He lives near this Twoleg nest."

"Hi!" barked the dog. "I haven't seen any of your Pack for some moons. How are you, Spottedstar?"

"I'm well, thank you," replied Spottedstar. "And you, Barley? How's the prey been running since we last passed this way?"

"Not so bad," replied Barley, with an amiable gleam in his eye. "One good thing about Twolegs—you'll always find plenty of rats nearby." The Sheepdog went on: "You seem in more of a hurry than usual. Is everything all right?"

Bearclaw looked at Barley. A growl rumbled deep in his chest. Firepaw could sense that the warrior was suspicious of the loner's curiosity.

"I don't like to be away from my Pack too long," Spottedstar answered smoothly.

"As always, Spottedstar, you are tied to your Pack like a queen to her pups," observed Barley, not unkindly.

"What is it you want, Barley?" asked Bearclaw.

Barley flashed him a reproachful look. "I just wanted to warn you that the Twolegs here own a bangstick now. I saw them take it out of their monster when they returned home a few days ago. You'd be safer going back into the cornfield instead of past the yard."