Judgement Day

Chapter 3

As the darkness of his unconsciousness seemed to slowly ebb away, Ash could make out muffled voices around him.

"Do you really think...?" A she-cat's voice spoke, in a scared whisper.

"No, I don't." A deeper, more gruff voice responded. He sounded closer to Ash, as if he was standing right over him. "I know what everyone's been saying, but..."

"It's obvious though, isn't it? We should do something before-"

"Quiet already!" The deep voice hissed. "You might wake him."

"Look, would you just-"

"No."

"Badger-"

"Just drop it already."

"...Fine."

Ash heard the distancing pawsteps lead away from him. Slowly, but carefully, Ash tried to open his exhausted eyes. He was blinded by the sharp light at first, but soon his vision cleared. He saw a black tom, with long shaggy fur standing in what appeared to be some type of cave with his back turned to Ash.

His head felt heavy, as if he had been asleep for ages. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't support his weight correctly, and he stumbled back down. The black tom turned, seeing he was awake and rushed over to him, pushing his paw down on his back.

"Stay down, you're not badly injured, just dazed. It's alright now."

As he said that, Ash realized he wasn't alright. He didn't know this cat. And he had no idea where he was. He struggled more against the tom's hefty paw, but he only pressed harder down. Using his teeth, he bit down hard on the black cat's paw. He recoiled, letting a pained grunt as he did so.

Just as his grip loosened, Ash made a run toward the mouth of the den. He didn't stop as he brushed past the stone walls on either side of him. He skid to a halt as reached the mouth of the den.

Bright light shone down from the treetops, clearly he had been asleep for almost a whole day. Around him, he noticed several cats were sitting in what appeared to be a low ravine. They individually turned to look at him, intrigued by his appearance.

Ash panted harder, in the gripping realization that he must be in the very heart of one of the clans. But he didn't care which one, he just knew that all of his instincts told him to get out of here. Desperately looking for an escape to the ravine, he noticed some of the cats were sitting up, as if wondering if they should go to him. Their gazes bore into him, and he could feel the hostility in the air begin to rise like smoke.

Something pressed up against his back, startling him into the only defense he had. He swiped, feeling the thick fur of the black tom's pelt part as his claws slashed at him. Ash darted away as he understood what he just did, and the tom only flinched. Ash wondered if he had hurt him at all, until he could see a few red drops of blood trickling between his fur.

Ash stammered to apologize, "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"Shh. It's alright. Just come here for a second, okay?" He whispered, keeping his gaze on the rest of the cats but tapping his tail to signal him closer. Ash carefully drew closer, but only because more cats had started making their way towards them. Soon there was an overwhelming amount of cats, especially since Ash was used to there being only one in his life.

In that heartbeat, he realized his mother was still out there. He saw her get away, but she had no idea where he was. I have to go find her!

Before he could plan his escape, parting the crowd, a muscular calico cat stood before him. The other cats hushed, waiting for him to speak. Ash immediately guessed that he was the one in charge.