Alone (A Warrior Cat Story) (Book 1)

Chapter 3: Barnyard

I just sat there not knowing what to say to the cat. He didn't look like he was a cat that had been born and raised out in the woods. He was in fact a bit on the chubbier side. I also had not been talking to any cats recently if you don't count Squirrelflight... Im pretty sure at this point she was dead. The last cat I had talked to was a few moons ago and that was Tristan.
"Buddy... Im talking to you, are you deaf or something?" He said to me. He seemed a bit annoyed that I was sort of just ignoring him. But I just didn't really know what to say to him. And I had other thoughts that were filling up the inside of my head.
"Sorry I got a lot on my mind. Lost my owners, and I've been seeing things." I said back to him. I looked at me slightly confused but then he laughed at me. Which slightly confused me. Maybe he thought that was funny or something?
"So you are a Kittypet, or rather... You were a Kittypet. How long have you been out here? I had a few that had lost their owners walking around this area for a while. Never had really seen them again... Maybe they just didn't like me or something." He responded to me. I was thankful that he didn't ask what I had meant by, "I was seeing things." I'm sure most cats would laugh it of and think I was crazy. And if he had a place to live for a while, or potentially forever, that would be fine by me. But I think I would be letting down Squirrelflight. She had a little quest I was supposed to do, but I wasn't quiet sure exactly what that was up to this point. All I knew is she said something about how I was the only one that could save the clans.
"Buddy hey! Wake up! Didn't sleep well last night or something? I asked how long have you been out here." He questioned me. I had to stop thinking so much and just responded right away. It's just so hard to do that with all that had been happening to me the last few days. I mean, I had been kicked out of my place, and then I had been imagining cats lately. Im sure any cat would think I was crazy. And if he could help me learn to hunt faster than Squirrelflight could, that would be pretty nice as well.
"Yes sorry! I've just had a lot on my mind the last few days, my owners kicked me out and all. I've been out here since yesterday." I said back to him. He squinted back at me as if he was trying to read my thoughts. I looked back a little Kind of scared, because I wasn't sure if Squirrelflight, being inside my head and all, was doing the exact same thing.
"Alright you seem to be as if you can't look out for yourself, so I have a cat we can go to and if you don't like the offer she gives than, you can just come back to my barnyard for a few days." He said to me. I had no idea what a barnyard was but I'd rather me there than out here in the woods like this. I had always dreamed to be out there, but now that it had actually happened it was nothing like I had expected. And I wasn't sure if I liked it all that much or not. I mean, I know that it was better off out here, than living inside an owners place for the rest of my existence, but I had just wished I had been trained to make it out here before I actually started out here.
I nodded my head and then he nudged me as if he was saying "follow me." So I did and we began walking, as I had all day. Non stop, I had began to grow tired, this was most definitely the most I had been walking in one day. It had already began to become night and I was just ready to lay my head down and sleep. Even though it felt like I had slept more than I ever had before. I had woken up so tired and had been walking till my paws had almost begun to bleed.
I heard a little noise as if it were a howl and I screeched. It was time to run! Tristan had told me about all the coyotes and all the wolves that had been it the woods out there, and they would tear me apart within seconds.
"Easy buddy! That's just an owl, clearly you have never been out here before if you don't know what that is... They are completely harmless." He told me. I shook my head trying to stir out the thoughts of I coyote or a wolf. I should have known, I had heard one of those before, that's why Tristan had told me about those in the first place. It sounded like nothing of what that sounded like. It sounded like a hoot hoot! Not a howwwwwwwooooooooo!
"Buddy what's your name? My name is Owl actually now that we had just heard one of those. But don't worry I wont try and kill you!" He told me. I thought that it was a little funny that he had the same name as that thing I had thought for a second was going to kill me. I looked up and saw it staring at me from a little tree branch. Its eyes looked like the sun had turned white and then I realized it was just the moon bouncing off of its eyes. Its eyes were just completely black otherwise.
"My name is Moon, like that thing that is in the sky right now. I wont kill you!" I said back to Owl. But then realized how stupid I had sounded from just saying that. Why would a moon try and kill you in the first place? That would make no sense.
"Well I mean it was funnier when I said it, because, well you know..." He responded to me and then laughed a little from behind my back. I had heard it but I would be laughing to if I had met someone as stupid as myself. I had just noticed that he looked as if he was only a few moons older than me. But he seemed to know his way around a lot more than I did. Me... Well I was just going to head in a direction and hope that Squirrelflight would help me from there.
I was trying to act like a normal cat like he did. He seemed like he lived in the woods, but he looked like he lived on a cozy little house held like I did. My jokes weren't even on point and it would make sense. I didn't know what in this world half the stuff really was out here. Tristan had told me all cats lived in houses and never really went out besides the cats that went by our place from time to time. I now see that it was not right, and there surely must be cats out here if Owl said there were cats out here that were trying to live alone.
"Alright Moon, we just gotta get up this little fence and then we will be at Nights place. Hah, I just realized. You too will fit great together, Moon and Night!" He said to me, Night wad a nice name, a lot better than Owl at least. That just seemed like a boring unoriginal name. But I didn't want to say that to his face. He was helping me and I was grateful for it, I didn't want to try and bring him down.
He easily hopped up the fence and I noticed it was slightly smaller than the fence beside my house. I ran back and jumped to it though, I knew I could just jump straight over it but Squirrelflight had taught me a better way. I hopped even further than he had and then landed safely beside him. We were at a little place that looked like it had been broken down. And it looked as if no one had been living there for several years.
"Nice jump, I thought I was better than most at it. But you, that was next level!" He told me. I nodded gratefully and then we headed towards the little torn down house that was in front of us. "Now I know this seems weird, but this is were Night spends her days. The doesn't sleep here, but for tonight we are going to because it's gotten a little to dark to me out there at this point."
We went ahead and then walked into the place ahead of us. It smelled a little nasty and I felt as if I had to barf just taking in the smell. But it soon went over me and I was fine. There was no sign of a cat anywhere so I had felt a little disappointed. "Its okay Moon, she will be here tomorrow, it just seems a bit strange th-!"
I cat jumped down from the middle of nowhere. Which I assumed was Night, she was all black, while me, as I was half black on one side and half white on the other. It scared the daylights out of Owl tho, he jumped straight into the air and then hissed at her and I laughed along with her. She seemed like an older cat but not near her last moons.
"Owl I get you every single time! When will you learn?" Night said to him. She ignored me as if I wasn't even there in the first place. Owl felt a little disappointed with himself that she had gotten him once again. "You brought I new guest for me? He lost his owner?"
"Yes but I'm not exactly sure I really want to be a kittypet." I said back to her. I had no idea what had gotten into me! That was not what I wanted to say at all. And its as if I was stuck not being able to talk for a few moments. "But I mean it I have to, suppose I will." I said to her. I knew what had happened because Squirrelflight was in my head scorning at me from my deepest thoughts but I just ignored them.
"Well you have to make up your mind because the cat place is right up the road. And they'll find you pretty soon out here if you're just walking around here." Night said. Maybe I didn't want an owner though, these last 2 days had been rough and I couldn't bare to have another owner leave me again. "You're not coming to my place. We have 5 kittens as is."
"Im not a kitten and I didn't say that I wanted to go live with you!" I said to her. I immediately regretted that though because she seemed taken aback by what I had just said to her. Owl came in to save the day luckily for me. I just wished I could have said it myself.
"Night he's just had a rough few days. I'm sure he wants to be a kittypet but his last owners left him." Owl told her. She stayed beck down her legs and then listened to what we had to say.
"I can see why, he's not a very friendly cat, I wonder how many owners he's had and nearly scratched to death." She said hissing at me. That was a little unfair that she had assumed that I was scratching my owners but I just sat there and listened to what they both had to say.
"Well you can stay here for the night before you make your decision, ill be back here tomorrow morning to check on you guys." She sad and then quickly left the area. I regretted being mean to her but it was in the past now and there would be no reason to be saying sorry at this point. I found a comfy spot on a little matt and Owl followed me over there.
"You're lucky I was here for you. She didn't seem to happy with the way you were talking to her." Owl said to me. It wasn't the most comfortable spot in the world but it would do. I just ignored what he had said and then left myself there ready to fall asleep at any second.
But time kept on passing and Owl had already fallen asleep at thus point. I was so tired but it seemed like I really could not fall asleep to save my life. Suddenly I saw her from the other side of the room. She looked a little upset with me.
"Moon, you can make your decision tomorrow but if you choose wrongly then you wont ever hear from again. The clans need you, you have to save them, make the right choice." Squirrelflight  said to me just squinting from the other side of the room. I still didn't understand what they all were talking about by clans and I just wanted to fall asleep and then wake up in the morning and find a new owner. I didn't want this life that Squirrelflight was trying to give me.
"What are you clans? You haven't even told me! How do I know what I'm supposed to do if you wont even tell me!" I said back an her. But she was already gone. And I was a little disappointed that she had left because I had so many questions to ask of her. I was so tired though. She would come to my dream tonight... She always did.
Those were my last words as I fell back to sleep.

I woke up and I was near the lake again. I looked around for Squirrelflight but she was nowhere near to be seen. However I smelt the same smell I had smelt the night before. There before me was a mouse.
I did exactly what Squirrelflight had shown me last night. Slowly heading towards it nowhere to be seen or heard. It wasn't except me. But then suddenly i stepped on a small stick from beside me. The mouse lifted its head up and then turned right at me. I jumped right away but was too late to catch it. I just laid there sadly almost wanting to cry. I failed what Squirrelflight had taught me and now she was going to leave me.
"That was close Moon, you almost got there... You will get one of those next time and it will be sooner than you expect." Firestar said from behind me, I turned towards him looking all disappointed. I failed her again I didn't even want to see this cat anywhere near me. I wanted Squirrelflight, I needed her to teach me, not some other cat that to tell me that I was close. Because close isn't good enou- "Close wont be good enough to feed your clan." That was not what I was thinking at all but how did he know what I was saying. But there was no way he had just been repeating what he had said before.
"Where is Squirrelflight? I want her... I need her to teach me how to hunt." I said back at him. He looked at me a little bit sad and a little disappointed. I didn't mean to say that he wasn't good enough to teach me how to hunt if that's what he was thinking. I just meant that I wanted Squirrelflight.
"She is disappointed in you, to be fair I am too. But she takes things a little bit differently then I do. She wont be with you the next few days. You are going to have to make some decisions on your own now." Firestar told me. I had so many other questions I wanted to ask but everytime I did they would always just disappear on me.
I found a mouse sitting there beside me. Although I was hungry I wasn't going going to eat it because I didn't actually catch it. Thats when, finally, I woke up.

"Hey Moon, time to make your decision! Night left a little bit of a bird for you but then she said she didn't want to talk to you and just head to the building over there if you wanted to be a pet." He said to me pointing towards the other direction showing me where the building was that had a lot of machines there. For one I didn't want to go near machines and I didn't want to go be a kittypet either. It was time for me to make my decision but I held it off for just a little but longer.
I went over, even though I said I wouldn't eat something that someone else caught for me I did want to try something new and I was just so hungry. A ate all of it in just a few moments and Owl kind of laughed at me and then ate his own piece of the bird. It wasn't bad at all, I would much rather take some of that then what the owners used to give me. But it was nothing like fresh mice.
"I don't think I want to be a kittypet. I want to try life out here before I make my decision." I told Owl. He nodded to me and just watched as I ate the remains of what was left of that bird. I didn't really know what else to say. And I didn't really want to tell him about the dreams that I had been having. He would mostly think I wad crazy or had some sort of mental issues.
"Alright... Well there's i place that I live with, Im not really I kittypet but I do have some of those things that take care of me in the winter and let me stay there... You could live there if you like." Owl said to me. I really liked Owl and he had helped me a lot but something was telling me no and I needed to help Squirrelflight do what she told me I was destined to do. "I call it, The Barnyard!"