Lurking Evil

Chapter 5

Whisperpaw blinked open her eyes, and her mouth stretched wide in a yawn. The first light of dawn shone in the sky, but low, fluffy gray clouds hid the sun's warmth. Frost glittered outside of the den and the air was brisk and cold, causing her to shiver.

She stood up and arched her back in a long stretch, her claws reaching out in front of her. She felt a twinge of pain from her wounded flank and turned her head to lick it. She winced as her tongue rasped over the wound.

She looked up at the sound of heavy breathing.

Cloverpaw and Hailpaw were still fast asleep next to each other. Their chests rose and fell and their fur was pressed against each other's. Echopaw had already left the den, probably for fresh-kill.

She got up and walked outside of the den. Whisperpaw could smell the cold in the air. She shivered again, her breathing quick and shallow. Her breath came out in a fog, and she watched it disappear into the air; it was really cold if she could see her own breath.

Around her, the camp was busy despite the chilly weather. Bronzepelt licked his wounds while Raykit shuffled and played around him, batting at his clouds of breath. Sagetail was bringing back pieces of fresh-kill for her, her mate, and her son to share.

Copperleaf and Sparktail were gathering up cats to take on the dawn patrol. Echopaw bounced forward and Whisperpaw heard her ask, "Can't I come?"

Copperleaf purred in amusement, "But Bronzepelt isn't fit for training. He got some bad cuts from last night."

Echopaw didn't give up. "But you can take me. I'm sure Bronzepelt won't mind." She flicked her tail eagerly, and Whisperpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement at her sister's determination.

"Oh, let her come," meowed Sparktail, staring warmly at her daughter. "I'm sure Bronzepelt wouldn't mind if we took the annoying furball out of camp." She purred in amusement.

Echopaw didn't even care that she'd just been called an annoying furball, she was bouncing around and purring. "Yes!" she squealed.

Whisperpaw ran toward them. "Can I come too? Gravelpelt probably won't mind either."

Sparktail nodded as she saw both of her kits' enthusiasm. "Why not? Let's go, then."

She turned and walked over to Eveningstar, who was sharing a blackbird with Twilightfoot. "We have the dawn patrol," Sparktail meowed, motioning with her thick, bushy red tail to Copperleaf, Whisperpaw, and Echopaw.

Eveningstar nodded, and a breeze buffeted his thick gray fur. Then he meowed, "Now, you'd better get going," and Copperleaf dipped his head, leading the dawn patrol through the bramble bushes and out into the forest. Whisperpaw trotted around the birch and aspen trees, letting her fur rub against the smooth bark. The excitement of being out on a patrol again made the pain from last night's battle disappear. Whisperpaw watched Echopaw jump through the ferns, her wounds not bothering her either.

Whisperpaw saw the Great Pine up ahead, it's branches reaching to the sky. The evergreen pine needles were filled with the sound of squirrels chattering, collecting acorns and pine cone seeds for leaf-bare. Whisperpaw's stomach growled as the squirrels' scent filled her mouth and nose, and she realized that she'd forgotten to eat before leaving. She tried to ignore her stomach's constant rumbling as they continued through the forest.

Soon they reached the stream, and Whisperpaw clawed her way across the log-bridge cautiously. Her claws dug into the slippery bark, and the stream rushed beneath her. With an exhale, she leapt off and landed on the bank safely. Whisperpaw watched as Echopaw swallowed nervously, and Whisperpaw felt a rush of sympathy for her sister. She didn't have very good experiences with rushing water.