The Dawn of Night: A New Clan

Chapter 4

By the time Ryan had limped all the way down the damp alley way and around the same corner he saw Moo turn down, Amber was already climbing something else. The turn he made had taken him to a large concrete back yard with an assortment of human junk spread out around the space. Moonlight was bouncing off of many small things that Ryan couldn't pin down the exact shape of.

Ryan spotted the white of Moo's pelt and quickly limped over to them. "What's she doing now?" he asked his friend.

"I dunno, but she said to stay back," They responded.

Anxious, Ryan sat down and stared at the ginger she-cat who was moving around and climbing up boxes and pieces of wood. It looked like her goal was the high window of the back door.

"Shouldn't we be watching out for humans?" Ryan asked.

Shrugging, Moo responded, "Amber says this place has been empty for a while."

Looking around, Ryan noticed just how run-down the yard looked. The pieces of wood and cinder block on the porch showed that someone must have tried to come and fix it up, but had just given up. The pieces of trash and colorful marks on the walls showed that human children must have claimed this space as their own.

"Hey! Dude, come on out!" Amber suddenly called. Ryan looked up to see that her wood pile had finally made it to the window. She was now tapping the glass and calling out to someone inside the abandoned house.

"Come on! I promise it's safe!" she yelled. After another moment passed without a response, Amber sighed and jumped down from the wood pile. Turning back to Ryan and Moo, she warned, "I'm gonna go inside and get him. Don't follow me."

Both cats nodded silently in response. Amber hopped off the porch and made her way around the house to a window, swiftly jumping up onto the ledge and fitting herself into the thin open gap.

"I bet a squirrel she dies," Ryan challenged.

"Ryan!" Moo hissed. "Why are you being so sour about this? It was your idea to leave in the fi-"

A dreadful yowl from inside of the abandoned home had cut Moo off.

"Told you," Ryan flatly taunted.

Moo growled in frustration, "I'm going to go help our only lifeline, but don't think you're off the hook!" before running over to the window.

Ryan limped over to the window as well, and found Moo anxiously sitting below it. "Well?" he asked. "What's the hold up? Go be her knight in shining armor."

"Well, I, uh... I don't think I can fit through that tiny space..." They responded. After a moment of silence, their anxiety turned into anger. "How about you try fitting in then, huh? Seeing as you got us into this mess in the first place."

Ryan waved his limp, still slightly bleeding paw silently.

Moo glared at Ryan, but turned back to the window and yelled, "Hey Amber, you okay?"

Distantly, Amber yelled something, and wood hitting wood was heard.

"Amber?" Moo repeated.

Amber called out again, and the two cats on the outside could just barely hear her say, "Cody, come on, I swear it's safe!"

"Who's Cody?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Moo replied. "She never gave a name."

"Dude, you can trust them, I promise!" The she-cats yowls were muffled by the sound of creaking wood and falling objects. "We just gotta get out of here!"

She trusts us?

"Should we help her, or something?" Ryan asked, with a slight tinge of guilt in his voice.

"Well, what could we d-"

"Guys! Get ready to shut the window!" Amber yelled.

"Get ready to what?" Ryan asked.

Before he could get an answer, Amber came bursting through the gap in the window. Following her was a small black, brown, and white cat.

"Run!" Amber yelled, dashing across the yard.

"Rats!" the cat following her added.

Moo shot off after them, and Ryan tried to do the same. He forced his injured paw to the ground and tried to run, but every step hurt. Moo stopped at the entrance to the alley and turned back to see Ryan struggling. They raced back to their friend's side, letting him lean on their side.

"C'mon," they simply ordered.

The two walked beside each other, slowly getting faster as Ryan continued to force his paw to the ground. They turned the corner and saw that Amber and her friend were gone.

"Up here!" Amber called. Ryan and Moo looked up to find the two on a rooftop, panting. The cat that Ryan had assumed was Cody was laying down.

"I can't jump!" Ryan yelled back.

"Uhh... Go that way!" Amber replied, jerking her head to the gate opposite of the one they came in from. The gate had a small hole just big enough to fit both cats.

Ryan looked back to Moo. Moo nodded their head, and the two turned around, suddenly hearing scratching and squeaking coming from the yard. Ryan forced his paw to the ground and began running towards the exit. He easily fit through and turned around to see Moo raking their pelt through the torn metal, and a brown blur in the alley.

"Run!" Ryan yelled, taking off around the corner. Moo caught up with him fast, running close next to him. The two stopped at a low windowsill that Ryan felt confident enough to reach. Though it hurt, he made the leap, Moo following him. Stopping to breathe, they noticed the bunch of pine trees they'd slept under a few tail-lengths away that reached the house's roof.

"Do you think you can jump that far?" Moo asked.

Ryan paused for a moment, unaware if the rats were still after them. "I can try."

Moo jumped first, the branches swaying as they landed. When the tree settled, Ryan followed, landing on a lower branch than his friend. He made his way to the top with Moo, careful not to snag his already injured pad on anything.

By the time he'd reached the top, Moo had already made it to the roof successfully. Ryan reared up to jump, telling himself he'd be able to finally rest after this. He leaped and landed on the hard concrete roof, opening his wound again. He fell to his side as he landed, and simply lifted his limp paw to lick the leaking blood.

"Are you alright?" His black-and-white friend asked, leaning over Ryan to examine his paw.

Ryan didn't answer until he was sure the blood had slowed. "Just fine."