Dark Moon: Tell-Tale

Chapter 18

How is it still raining? Monty thought with annoyance as large droplets of salty water landed heavily on his forehead. The sun had risen above the horizon now, but the sky was still stained a deep shade of red, scarred by steadily pouring rain. A single sparrow chirped somewhere off in the distance, fluttering from a tree and swooping over the group.
Jasper lead them over a small patch of rocky terrain, close to another, small mountain that was still flecked with a bit of snow. A vast landscape of stone and cliff stretched beyond that, too far for Monty to see.
They trudged on through the rain-soaked grass until Jasper abruptly halted, Kali almost colliding with him.
"Road." He warned, pointing with his muzzle toward the thick, black path spanning through the grass. One end of it seemed to disappear inside a tunnel, engraved in a mountain, same with the other end.
"That could lead to our humans!" Marley squeaked, bounding forward, only to be stopped by Jasper's tail.
"It's too dangerous to follow it." He murmured calmly, almost too calmly, pushing the kitten gently back. "It'll be wiser to cross it."
After a small grumble of annoyance from Marley, and nods of approval from the others, Jasper continued his trek toward the road, ignoring the harsh rain blasting into his face. The road was made of some sort of rank-scented, black rock, with a dotted white line directly down the centre. Jasper pulled to a stop beside it, glaring down at the dark stone.
"I'll cross first." He informed the others, turning to look at them, flicking droplets of rain from his whiskers. "Once I'm across, choose someone else to cross, and so on. If a car is coming, wait until it has passed before crossing. If you are halfway across, and a car drives out in front of you, do not run back; you are in risk of getting hit. Instead, stop on the white line, and wait for it to pass. Do I make myself clear?"
Everyone else nodded, except Marley, who still looked disconcerted, and Kali, who was busy shaking the rain from her thick fur.
"Jeez, bossy much?" Monty muttered to his brother, who gave a tiny smirk.
Jasper crouched by the black rubble, checking up and down the path. After a few seconds of emptiness, Jasper darted across, his lean black pelt invisible against the tarmac. Once he had reached the grass on the other side, he flicked his tail for the next cat to follow.
Blizzard stepped forward, volunteering to go next. He checked both ways, before dashing forward. A car veered toward him on the side of the road closest to Jasper, and Blizzard skidded to a halt on the white line, his white fur fluffed out. His muzzle barely missed the sleek, silver metal, swerving just an inch from its rain-drenched surface.
As the car made its way to the other end of the road, Blizzard took a deep breath, his fur flattening, before racing the rest of the way across. He landed heavily on the grass beside Jasper, panting.
"Me next!" Marley yowled, darting across the road without waiting.
"Marley wait!" Tonks tried to grab his tail in her mouth, missing by a mere few centimetres. Kali let out a warning bark in an attempt to stop him, to no avail.
Marley raced to the white line, just as a car swerved down the road. He pulled to a stop at the line as the wind swept his fur, turning in fear and dashing back the way he had come, completely oblivious to the car heading his way.
"Marley what are you-" Jasper was cut off as the vehicle struck Marley, knocking the grey kitten backward, onto the dotted white line. Blood stained the car's wheel as it veered away.
Everyone went silent.
Tonks stared in fear and shock, her eyes watering; Homer pressed close to Venus, their eyes wide, with Kali gazing in bewilderment beside them. Blizzard gasped from the other side of the road, sitting up straight, while Jasper simply glared at his unmoving son with no emotion.
"Marley!" Monty yelled, running over to his brother, ignoring his mother's yowl of protest. He skidded on the wet rock, prodding Marley's body with a paw. His head was stained with scarlet where he had been hit. Monty rattled his motionless brother with two shaking paws.
"Please..." He whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please wake up..." The rain beat down on the kittens as their forms were silhouetted against the sun.