Judgement Day

Chapter 2

Hi guys!! I finished the second chapter, where things finally start taking off. It feels a little rushed, but idk :s 

BUT ANYWAY HERE IT IS!!!

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Ash could only faintly remember what his mother had said to him before she left. He had felt her paw gently prodding his side, attempting to wake him up. He only groaned tiredly, and rolled over in response. He felt her paw again, a little harder this time. Ash only groaned louder.

"Ash," She whispered to him, a sense of urgency in her voice. "I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later, don't leave the den, and keep an eye out for strangers, alright?" Ash mumbled again, not fully understanding. He managed to open one of his eyes, but only caught her leaping up out of the den and into the forest, leaving him in his nest.

After Ash had actually woken up, he realized he had slept in. He couldn't tell the time of day, because the sky was clouded over, and heavy rain had begun to fall. Ash crouched in his usual spot, watching the storm as it cleansed the forest.

The world really changed when it rained. The air felt cleaner, there was less erratic bird call, and everything felt calmer. He watched the rhythmic drip of water on the bramble leaves beside the den, they crawled from one leaf to another before finally dropping onto the ground. He managed to reach his head out of the den slightly and catch a few drops on his tongue.

When he had drank enough, Ash stretched his jaws wide as his yawned again, letting a slightly embarrassing squeak out while doing so. After a short attempt to stay awake, his head fell to his paws, and he dozed off again.

His sleep was disturbed by a distant caterwaul. His head snapped up and his ears were forward in alert. It was night now, and now the rain was falling even heavier than earlier. The beat of it against the earth was hard to hear over. But eventually he could make out the voice...no, voices of several cats. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but they sounded angry.

Ash immediately dipped his head under the roots where he had watched his mother come home the day before. He tried to keep himself still, but his paws were shaking and his whiskers were frantically twitching. As the voices grew ever closer, he nearly stopped breathing.

A quiet sloshing of deliberate pawsteps came from above him. They were uneven, as if they were searching for something. The pawsteps stopped right above him, and he saw a bit of dirt fall from the edge of the roots. Whoever was out there, was looking right into the den.

There was silence, as both of them waited. Ash heard a louder voice, a bit aways off, and the cat above him scrambled backwards. He heard their pawsteps quickly run away from the den, and back into the forest. Ash exhaled all the breath he had been holding and slumped backward against the roots.

The exhale was cut short as a huge body dropped onto the floor of the den, nearly making Ash jump out of his fur. But when he recognized the dripping gray pelt of his mother, he nearly felt overcome with relief. She put a small lump of fur down beside her before looking up frantically.

"Ash?" She whispered in a panicked voice, looking desperately around the back of the den. Ash tumbled out from under the roots and ran to her, falling onto her paws. She gasped in relief. "Oh thank goodness, for a moment I was sure they found you."

Ash sat up, his fur still sticking up on end. "I thought they found you!" He cried. His mother just wrapped her tail comfortingly around him, but her eyes showed no signs of being content.

"They did." She said hushedly, sounding defeated. "They were after me because of this" She stood, and circled around a small piece of prey she had been carrying. Ash stared at it, and realized, it was still moving.