Disguise

Chapter 3

   Without waiting to see if they were following, Thrushkit walked quickly, walking towards camp entrance. He padded next to the Warriors den, then sat down, looking around and seeing the other kits reach him. He took note of the Apprentices den being right next to the Warriors den, wondering if that would be important later on. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind for a way to slip out of the camp without getting caught. His heart pounded with anxiety.

   "What are you kits doing, so close to the entrance?" Thrushkit looked up to see the pitch black warrior, Batstrike, looking down at them. Thrushkit's heart seemed to skip a beat, trying to find an excuse.

   "Uh.. we're just playing!" Thrushkit had to gulp down how nervous he was to avoid stuttering. Batstrike's expression changed to suspicion, before nodding.

   "Alright. Don't be out for too long, it's getting dark." As the black cat walked away, Thrushkit and Moosekit both let out a sigh of relief. Thrushkit turned around, and while flicking his tail for the other cats to follow, quickly slipped out of the camp, feeling his heart rate increase

   "Woah.. are these the stepping stones?" Frostkit mewed in awe.  In front of the five kits were the stepping stones, the way outside of the comfort of the camp. The river was extra song from the rain from the day before, splashing over the stones and darkening the spots it touched.

   "Yeah.. This is enough, right?" Moosekit's voice quivered, not wanting to go any further. Rockkit shook his head.

   "What, are you scared? No! We're going across! Right, Frostkit?" Rockkit nudged Frostkit in the shoulder, practically shaking with excitement. A look of uncertainty flashed on Frostkit's face, but she quickly hid it, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts.

   "Yeah! But Thrushkit goes first!"

   Thrushkit's heart lurched, looking at the stepping stones with a gulp. One wrong move and he was gone. He would be carried off with the current, never to be seen again. He might even be part of the elders stories to teach kits to not leave camp. 

   He walked up to the first stone, and he outstretched a paw to touch it. It felt very cold from the rushing water, and wet. It didn't feel safe to step on. He looked back at the kits, and Rockkit and Honeykit's expressions were going impatient. Moosekit was obviously going to stay back and watch, and Frostkit's expression was the most surprising, full of doubt. But he didn't want to seem like a wimp, not again. He heaved himself onto the first stone.

   His heart lurched as he struggled to find his footing, and he sunk his claws into the stone, feeling them scrape against it. Thrushkit's heart began to beat even faster, threatening to break through his chest. The small splashes of water started to soak his paws, and he took a deep breath, and carefully got onto the next rock. This time, he was a little more steady.

   "Hey, Frostkit!" Thrushkit heard Rockkit meow a bit behind him. "Since he's going so slow, you should go!" Thrushkit went back to focusing on the stones, knowing if he looked back, he might lose his balance and slip. He climbed onto the third rock, nearing the other side of the river. The brown kit was ripped out of his focus when he heard a noise behind him. It took him a minute to realize what it was.

   It was a splash. He whipped his head around, looking at the other kits. Rockkit, Moosekit, and Honeykit were sitting there, looking horrified down the river. Thrushkit turned to where they were looking. Frostkit was wailing, being carried down the river. Thrushkit froze up, not knowing what to do. His claws loosened from being unfocused, which caused his paws to shift, and out of panic, he started scrambling. He realized he couldn't feel the rock under him anymore, and he was smacked into cold water.

   Thrushkit kicked his limbs out violently, and his eyes stung as water began to splash at them. He couldn't see anything, and couldn't hear anything but the loud current filling his ears. His head kept bopping up and down, and he couldn't tell if he was on the surface. He couldn't feel his heart that had been bothering him earlier. All he could feel was the river numbing him slowly, and his lungs starting to burn from holding his breath.

   He broke the surface, eyes squeezed shut as he gasped for air. He opened his eyes. He tried looking around, but his vision was still blurry. He couldn't see Frostkit or the others anywhere, and he didn't recognize anywhere around him.  Thrushkit's mind was completely blank, despite his panic. He didn't think to get to someplace dry.

   He didn't know he had hit something when the world clicked into darkness.

Hey, sorry for the rather short chapter. The next one will most likely be longer.