The chosen ones

Chapter 11

Sunhigh was gone long, as Grayleg and his companions approached the twolegplace. They followed a small thunderpath, next to it occasional some twolegnest were located. The sun was almost setting as Beechfall mewed: "We should look for a place to sleep, perhaps you see the shadow cat again." as she said that she walked directly next to Grayleg and nodded to him. "But here aren't any trees or places we could possibly hide!" Riverpaw interjected. "Then we've got to be creative." Sprucefur answered to her.

Riverpaw jumped frightened to a side, as something next to began to shine. It looked like a tree, but thinner and not made out of wood but from a hard material in the color of stone. By now they had arrived deep in the twolegplace. Graylegs paws were scraped by the hard stone floor. "Look, over there!" mewed Sprucefur from the top of the group. With his muzzle he pointed to a narrow alley, between two nests from the twolegs. There stood green thing with small round paws, like a monster on a thunderpath. It stank like crow-food abut it seemed to be the safest sleeping place in the vicinity. In Graylegs stomach a bad feeling came up. He had seen this place in one of his dreams, the shadow cat had lead him to this place. After that dream it never came back.

Next to the green thing the four cats tried to make it as comfortable as possibly. The laid on the hard cold floor, and tried to sleep. Graylegs eyes almost closed, as he recognized a strangely familiar scent. In his head he went through all the cats he knew, but none of them matched this smell. As he thought he dreamed, the realization hit him like a lightning. It was the smell of the shadow cat from his dreams. Quickly he startled up, and unsheathed his claws. He looked around, but he could not see the black shape. As he considered the alley again, he noticed a light at the end of it. The light seemed like it came from an eye.

With quite and careful steps he approached the light. As he stood close enough, the gray tom could see the outline of a cat, he scared back, and let his claws unsheathed. Without making any sounds the strange cat jumped onto the shoulders of Grayleg. Howling in pain he sank down to the floor, in which he bared his vulnerable belly. Now Grayleg could see the cat, it was a burly brown tom, his brown fur was completely matted. His face was crisscrossed by many scares, it seemed like one of his eyes were missing, 'cause through it went a deep scar.

The tom took off to the beat, as Grayleg could see Sprucefur's tortoiseshells fur which tore the attacker from his paws. As the brown tom were pinned down by Sprucefur he croaked: "This is my territory! Go find something yourself!" Grayleg stood nest to his friend. "We are just passing through here. We just need a place to sleep." he mewed as calm as possible. "What are cats like you are doing at this place?" the tom snapped. "We're on a mission." Sprucefur explained. "A mission?" the tom asked. Grayleg nodded to Sprucefur, thereupon he released the stray again, the tom sat in front of the two young warriors. "Where are you four from?" as he asked that he studied Beechfall and Riverpaw, who were still sleeping, with his one eye. "We are from a forest far down the river." Grayleg told him. "From the forest!? Right, and hedgehogs have wings!" the stray mewed smiling. Grayleg and Sprucefur gave each other annoyed looks.

"Who are you anyway?" Sprucefur turned the subject around. "I am Oscar." he introduced himself. "Strange name..." Sprucefur muttered. "And who are you?" he added. "I am Grayleg, and this is Sprucefur." he looked over to Beechfall and Riverpaw. "And they are Beechfall and Riverpaw." Oscar started laughing and mewed: "I see, you are definitely not from around here. You can stay this night." Relief rose in Grayleg, he had feared that they had to move on through this place to find a place to sleep. Oscar crept away silently, and disappeared in a hole of a fence. Grayleg and Sprucefur looked after him before they laid next to the others. In this night Grayleg slept restless, he saw the camp of the FlameClan full with other cats. He recognized the leaders of the clan, but couldn't understand what they were saying.

Grayleg was startled at the nest morning when he heard battle noise in the distance, the others already were awake. "There is not a single mouse around here!" Riverpaw complained."We will find something." Beechfall reassured the apprentice. Grayleg scrambled to his feet, Sprucefur came to him. "Did you heard that noise to?" Sprucefur whispered into Grayleg's ear. Grayleg nodded shortly. "I had to think about it last night, did you think that Oscar left the traces that led us to this place?" asked Sprucefur, while he was stepping from one paw to the other. "It could be, but I am not sure." Grayleg replied. The gray cat just wanted to continue, as he heard familiar steps. Oscar, the stray from last night came with two voles between his teeth, through the hole in the fence and walked over to them.

The brown tom dropped the voles in front of Graylegs paws. And mewed: "I found you something to eat." Surprised about the gesture Grayleg didn't knew what to say. Beechfall jumped over to them, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Who are you?" she hissed at Oscar. The one-eyed tom wanted to answer but Grayleg came before him: "We had meet him at night already, he allowed us to stay here." Polite the travelers thanked for the fresh-kill. Grayleg steered the stray at the edge. "What do you want from us anymore?" he mewed directly but still polite. "I have asked around a little bit last night if anyone knows something about cats from the forest. And I think you have a problem, a group of strays had made a plan to go to the forest." Oscar gave back. Grayleg didn't believed him at all. Oscar continued: "They do not stop to kill, you have to warn those other cats before its to late." "That has to be the danger StarClan had told us about!" the gray warrior muttered. Oscar didn't seem to notice what he said.

Grayleg turned away from the stray, and set back next to his companions. "I finally know it..." he mewed, his eyes pinned down to the floor. Beechfall swallowed a bite and asked then: "You finally know, what?" "I know what the danger is, or rather who the danger is." he replied to the gray and brown she-cat. Her amber eyes widened as she looked at Oscar. "You trust this... this... flea brained stray, don't you?" she asked while he fur raised. "He warned me abut a group of strays that want to invade the forest. He told me that they do not stop shedding blood! That is it what StarClan wanted to warn us about, this is why we are on this journey." "I believe him!" Riverpaw added after she studied the one-eyed tom in detail. The tabby gray apprentice sat down next to Grayleg. Sprucefur, too set to the two other cats. He mewed: "Trust me, not as a friend, but as your brother. He is it, who will help us to save our clans from this strays." while he said that Beechfall gave Oscar a critical look, while Oscar was cleaning himself calmly.