Reedstar's Selfishness (Zombie Warrior Cats)

Chapter 24 - Mudpaw's P.O.V.

Several voices woke me up. Blinking open my eyes, I was shocked by the bright sunlight. I sat up and rubbed one of my eyes with a paw. "Mudpaw, you're awake!" Lilypatch purred, her gaze filled with warmth. I nodded and stretched until my legs quivered.

Redfur was still sleeping but Eclipse wasn't. Lilypatch and Cloudjaw dipped their heads to me. "No troubles?" I asked as I shook out my fur. The two former deputies both shook their heads. "None," Cloudjaw murmured without looking me in the eye.

I tipped my head to the side. What are you hiding? Something was up and I had to get to the bottom of it. "There's something you're not telling me..." I growled, narrowing my eyes.

"We came across-" Lilypatch started but Cloudjaw slapped her jaws shut with his paw mid-sentence. "We can't tell him! He's only an apprentice," Cloudjaw muttered, glaring deep into Lilypatch's eyes. She rolled her eyes. 

"Hey, I'm just as mature as you two! I've been through just as much as anyone... Tell me!" I pleaded. My curiosity was boiling inside of me. Was it the herd? Twolegs? More cats that survived? I wondered, clawing at the ground with unease.

Cloudjaw lowered his voice and the two group leaders came closer, "We saw a group of dead cats, newly eaten to the bone. I made note where it is before I came here. It is right in the center of our path. On the good side, we got lots of prey." My jaw dropped. 

"Are they going to turn?" I asked. Lilypatch and Cloudjaw shrugged, "Beats me. They were almost completely eaten, but I'm sure their brains' weren't touched," Lilypatch mewed.

The white warrior narrowed his eyes at me and then gestured with his muzzle to the small pile of prey. "Now, eat up before someone takes what you want." Cloudjaw mumbled. I nodded. 

A pile of dead prey lay behind them. I padded over, my mouth watering and my stomach growling like a lion. I picked out a pigeon - my personal favorite - and ate it so fast I got the hiccups.

"I'm surprised you haven't puked! Eating that fast might make you heave..." Poppyheart yawned. Shrugging, I looked up at her tortoiseshell figure. Her eyes were half open, but after fluffing out her fur and letting out another yawn, she seemed to wake up fully. Did she hear what Cloudjaw and Lilypatch said? I wonder what she'd think? 

Poppyheart didn't wait for a reply, instead woke up Redfur to share the sparrow she had picked out. 

***

After several heartbeats of just laying there in the blazing heat and watching others wake, Cloudjaw finally announced we should start getting ready to leave. When I had woken up, it was in the middle of the day already. By the time we all had eaten and stretched, the sun was sinking. Stars started to reappear as the sun made its way down the horizon-line. Shades of pink and purple cascaded the sky below the sun. It was colorful and pleasing.

Too bad it couldn't be as peaceful as we had all hoped it would become. 

"How is your ankle, Squirreltail?" Redfur murmured as he sniffed around the wrap. The rush was wrapped safely around it and Squirreltail barely flinched when Redfur nudged it with his nose. 

The red she-cat glanced at it and shrugged. "I can almost put weight on it now. It feels much better," Squirreltail replied with a nonchalant look in her amber eyes. Redfur nodded and took apart the leaves with one claw. Poppyheart joined in and set down the leaves she had brought along. 

"Almost done? We have to head out in a bit. Sun's going down, stars are coming out..." Cloudjaw murmured to the two medicine cats, pacing back and forth. He let out a sigh. Redfur glared back at him with narrowed eyes, "You should have thought of that while you let the rest of us sleep in. This could have been done a while ago." He muttered with the twitch of an ear and then turned back to his sister.