Warriors: Silent

32

      It had been five days since the cats left PineClan, and each day Frostcloud's feet felt more and more worn. No longer did they walk on the soft PineClan earth, but only on harsh gravel.

  Frostcloud kept her eyes ahead of her, focusing numbly on putting one paw in front of the other. There was roughly two days left of travel before the cats would reach Red Barn, but she longed for nothing more than to go home. Back under the protective shade of the trees. To Riverpelt, her loving mother. To Mosspool, her extroverted friend. To Littlefern, in his calming presence. To Cricketlegs, her wise mentor.

  She even found herself missing snippy comments from Leafear or Needlepelt, she missed Whitestar's collected stare, Crowfur's attentive glare.

  "Frostcloud!" Buckheart barked. Frostcloud shot her head around, a foxlength behind her stood a tense Buckheart. His apprentice at his side with his fur bristling as he stared into the sky.

  Frightened by the nervous energy emitted by the two, Frostcloud found her own fur rising. She shot her head up; following Duskpaw's gaze to something looming overhead.

  A silhouette of a large bird circled the cats.

  "Stay together!" Buckheart ordered immediately.

  "What is it?" Duskpaw asked, his voice high.

  "Large birds circle to find prey." He explained to his apprentice, his dark eyes dropping to his patrol, consisting of two small she-cats, and the still-growing Duskpaw.

  Frostcloud's heart pounded as she pressed her muzzle into Whitefur's side, urging her closer to Buckheart. What if the bird swooped and snatched Duskpaw or Whitefur? Either they would fail their mission to bring the lost cat home, or they would return to their own home without Sunfur's kit.

  Frostcloud winced at the image of the small tom being grabbed by the birds talons, pulled off the ground, and begging desperately for help while he's carried into the clouds. She could never look Sunfur in the eyes again, she would always carry the burden of her sons death.

  "Run!" Buckheart demanded, pulling himself into a light jog while the herd of cats followed him as they beat the earth on Monster Path. Frostcloud felt even more exposed outside of the grass, but there were too many rocks on the side of the path. Whitefur couldn't weave her way through them at such a fast pace and she'd fall.

  An image of Whitefur dragging her paws in the dirt as the bird gripped her flashed across Frostcloud's vision. Without claws, she would have nothing to help her grip; she'd extend her toes desperately but to no avail. She wouldn't be able to hear the Clancats cry for her, she would die so far away. Alone. Would she know they wanted to help?

  Frostcloud pressed her bristling pelt into Buckheart. Could they outrun the bird? She darted her eyes above her, where it continued to circle. Would they be able to fight it?

  The cats scurtled past a deer, spooking it and sending it bounding. "You can't outrun it!" An unfamiliar voice rang.

  Frostcloud halted before the others, whipping her head around for the source. There was a wall of grass on either side of the path, and one portion shuffled lightly before a white and black-spotted tom cat stuck his head out, "This way!" He called at the cluster.

  Frostcloud tensed. Why would a stranger help them? She swung her head to Buckheart, who watched the cat with as much scepticism, his side's heaving. "Who are you?" He demanded.

  "There's no time!" The cat snapped, "I'm trying to help you! You'll be an eagle's meal if you don't follow me now!"

  "We have no choice." Frostcloud said quickly. As uneasy as she felt about following a strange cat, she couldn't deny it was a safer idea than standing exposed beneath an eagle. Duskpaw or Whitefur would be dragged away, and neither she or Buckheart could do anything to stop it.