Dawn

Chapter 8

Squirrelpaw watched the monster pull away and her mouth fell open, but no words came out. The forest spun around her and she blinked, fighting the urge to lie down and never get up again.

Twolegs began running toward the trees, shouting and waving their paws.

They were not safe yet.

Brambletuft exploded from the undergrowth behind them. "Quick! Run!" He raced to Squirrelpaw's side and gave her a shove.

Squirrelpaw dragged her horrified gaze from the clearing and stared at Brambletuft. "What about Graystripe?"

"There's nothing we can do for him right now," he hissed. "Hurry! We have to get out of here!"

"Which way?" Cody yowled, staring into the trees.

"Follow me," Brambletuft ordered.

Squirrelpaw was thankful for Brambletuft. He wasn't the same brash, hot-tempered warrior he had been before they left. This was a completely different cat—an experienced, confident warrior, calmly issuing commands in spite of the huge danger they were all in. Pulling her paws free from the mud, she scrabbled through the undergrowth behind Leafpaw and Cody. Cloudpaw passed her, with Brightheart so close to him that their fur touched.

Relief flooded through Squirrelpaw when she saw the familiar pelts of Sorreltail and Rainwhisker flash through the trees up ahead. Mistyfoot was with them. All the trapped cats had been freed—but they had lost Graystripe.

She heard the Twolegs crashing through the forest behind them. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched them blunder through the bushes, swerving clumsily around the trees and stumbling over trailing brambles. Squirrelpaw knew they had no chance of catching them now. This was their domain; they could run much faster than the clumsy creatures, their bodies perfectly suited for slipping through the undergrowth like the wind.

The cats scrambled down Snakerocks. The Twolegs were far behind now, and Squirrelpaw slowed her pace. Leafpaw and Cody fell in beside her as they padded breathlessly into the leaf-strewn glade beside the Great Sycamore. The other cats were sprawled out on the ground, exhausted. Cloudpaw was licking Brightheart's ears as if he'd never get them clean. Mistyfoot watched them, her dark gray flanks heaving.

Cody looked nervously around the clearing. "Is it safe here?"

"The Twolegs won't catch us now," Leafpaw assured her.

"But what about foxes and badgers?" Cody's eyes were huge. "Aren't the woods full of all kinds of dreadful things?"

"Like wild cats?" Leafpaw joked weakly. She collapsed onto the soft leaves next to the other ThunderClan cats.

Rainwhisker struggled to sit up. His dark gray fur stood on end, and there was blood oozing between the claws of one of his front paws. "Are you sure they got Graystripe?"

Squirrelpaw flattened her ears. "The monster carried him away. I saw him!"

"But he was fighting like a TigerClan cat!" Thornclaw protested. "They couldn't have caught him!"

"There were too many Twolegs," Squirrelpaw explained,

Mistyfoot dipped her head toward Squirrelpaw. "I owe him my life," she murmured. "I thought we would never escape." She stared intently at her. "You saved us."

Squirrelpaw sat up. "It wasn't just me," she insisted. "We all risked our lives. Graystripe led the way."

Squirrelpaw noticed Leafpaw and Cloudpaw turning to look at her curiously. She knew what they were thinking without them having to speak. She was in much better shape than the warriors, and a moon ago she would've gladly accepted the attention.