A Night's End

Scream

[i]Nightkit wondered how any of her Clanmates could find their way in what seemed to be an endless maze of heather dotted with the occasional gorse bush, or rocky outcrop, or...a hill!

[i]That could give her a better vantage point of where she was. It looked like she only needed to have three...maybe four breaks while climbing it. Nightkit bit back a groan. She had never walked so much in her little life, and her paws ached so badly she thought she might have permanently injured them.

[i]*Hawksplash needs you,* she reminded herself. With a renewed resolve, she marched toward the hill.

[i]It took time, but eventually she reached the top, flopping onto her belly so that she could drink in a few deep breaths of the cool night air. As she rested, her eyes flickered shut. Maybe just a nap....No! Nightkit knew she would fall asleep if she closed her eyes, so she sprang onto her sore paws and stood tall, peering over the grass.

[i]More grass....

[i]More grass...

[i]She turned.

[i]Are those Twoleg dens?

[i]That looks like a river...

[i]There!

[i]Nightkit's eyes sparked when she finally caught sight of the Highstones. They were in the far distance and hard to see clearly in the night, but it had to be them!

[i]They're really far....

[i]Nightkit shook her head. Then they have to go now!

[i]Nightkit jumped forward–

[i]She hadn't seen all sides of the hill. If she had, she would have seen that this side was much steeper than the easy slope she had climbed. Her legs lost their footing immediately. She let out a yowl of surprise as she stumbled down, rolling over and over so fast she barely had time to think before she came to the bottom and–

[i]Nightkit had never screamed like that before. It was sharp, high-pitched like thin claws digging into her throat as the cry scratched its way through her. Claws. Claws on fire, that's what it was, burning, tearing though her as she tried, but couldn't escape the agony. As the only thing she could do was scream.