Foxgaze's Haunting

Chapter 36

(Sorta cat above is Bear)
She was a ghost.

Or at least she felt like it. Her fur burned with fever and her vision was hazey.

The ghost hadn't eaten in days. Her last meal was a few worms dug up from the hard earth. Buzzards flew across the hot blue sky, waiting for her to die.

I don't need IceClan, and I don't need StarClan, she told herself. Hours on end, she would mumble these words.

Her mouth was dry but she didn't risk drinking any water. Her stomach groaned and cramped when she had drunk some filthy water from a puddle, making her cautious.

For once in her life, the ghost missed the pine trees of IceClan. They were sticky and ugly, but they protected her against the hot sun. The only thing that kept her moving was the encouraging voice inside her head. Keep moving, find them, keep moving, find the saviours.

One of her claws snagged on a weed, ripping it out but she was used to pain. Her long, thin tail dragged lifelessly on the ground.

When she tried to climb over a log, she collapsed from exhaustion. Falling back to the ground, she moaned quietly. This is it.

Jaws parted, she closed her eyes and fell back into oblivion.

The paws of a StarClan warrior awoke the ghost. She said nothing, only letting the paws poke her in the chest fur. "Is it dead?"

"No, I think she's unconcious".

"Should we help her? Charlie has always been fond of herbs and stuff, maybe he can patch her up".

"Do I look like I can carry a grown-up cat dung-face? She's probably dead anyway, or about to be".

Groaning, she opened her eyes. A tom, around the age of a small apprentice, was standing very close to her. He jumped back with a yelp, "Spring! It's alive!"

"That's a she-cat mousebrain", another tom came into her vison. He was a few moons older than the first tom, his pelt black and white.

Grunting, she got to her paws. A burr clung to her messy pelt but she ignored it. As she was about to pad off, the black and white tom got in her path, "Wait! We can help you!"

"Move it scrap!", the she-cat snarled. "I've got better things to do then be pitied".

The smaller tom cringed, but the black and white cat held his ground. He flicked his long tail. "We have a camp, just over that ridge over there. There's food and water...and we also have a good leader".

Now we're talking, "Is your leader good with helping cats get revenge?", the she-cat leaned down to the black and white tom's nose. "Because I need vengance on some cats".

He shrugged, "Umm...I guess so. He's also kind of crazy about revenge for some reason. Just follow me!"

"Excellent...", she hissed as the two toms lead her down a trail. Wolfpath, Foxgaze, and all of IceClan will pay for not acknowledging my strength and ideas.

"Oh yeah! What's your name?", the small tom mewed as they padded along. "My name's Thorn".

She grinned at the small tom named Thorn. I deserve my warrior name, don't I? She rasped, from the thirst for revenge in her throat was growing at the thought of blood, "My name is Beechtooth".

***

Foxgaze stared down at the camp. The hot greenleaf sun made her pelt prickly and hot.

She gazed out at the hills, wondering and worrying about what Beechpaw was doing. With this heat, she could be dead for all we know. But then again she is a tough cat. She could have met with the rogues.