Treacherous Skies

Chapter 7

Hailstorm opened his eyes, blinking away sleep.

He turned over and purred, remembering that Echoheart had promised to hunt with him today. He rolled around, looking at Echoheart's nest. But it was empty.

Hailstorm rolled his eyes. Probably gone out with Whispersong somewhere.

He stretched, his paws brushing against Echoheart's nest. It was cold. He got to his paws cautiously and sniffed around, but her scent was stale. His heart skipped a beat. Hailstorm padded cautiously to Whispersong's nest, but it was cold and stale too. Neither of them had slept here last night! That meant that they hadn't come back from their walk!

Hailstorm raced out of the warriors' den, nearly knocking Pinekit and Needlekit off their paws. He threw an apology hastily over his shoulder as he finally found the cat he'd been looking for. "Twigfoot!" he called to his father.

Twigfoot looked around. "What is it?" he asked worriedly, his dusky brown ears and tail twitching in concern.

"Echoheart and Whispersong didn't sleep in the warriors' den last night. They're gone! They're missing!" Worry for Echoheart was making him hysterical. "What if a fox got them? Or DayClan? Or—"

Twigfoot cut him off. "When did you last see them?" he asked.

"Last night, a-at dusk," Hailstorm stuttered. "They said they were going out f-for a walk, but they didn't come back!"

"I'm sure they're fine. They're full-grown warriors; they wouldn't let anything happen to each other. But we'll find them," Twigfoot promised, and he jogged over to the High-stone, Hailstorm following. "Eveningstar?" Twigfoot called.

"Yes?" Eveningstar was out of the den in a heartbeat.

"Echoheart and Whispersong haven't been seen since last night. They didn't sleep in their nests. Hailstorm is worried something bad has happened to them."

"What?" Eveningstar perked his ears in worry.

"What if a fox got to them? Or DayClan?" Hailstorm repeated, heart pounding.

"I bet they're fine. But I'll call a Clan meeting anyways," Eveningstar meowed. He jumped to the edge of the High-stone. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High-stone for a Clan meeting!"

Cats immediately gathered at the base of the High-stone, staring up at Eveningstar, Twigfoot, and Hailstorm in confusion.

"Cats of DawnClan," he yowled. "Hailstorm reported to me that Echoheart and Whispersong didn't sleep in their nests last night, and haven't returned from the forest since dusk yesterday." Fearful murmuring swept through the camp, spreading like fire and burning with just as much intensity. "Silence, please!" Eveningstar called, raising his tail to quiet the Clan. Then he continued. "There's no need to panic. They're grown warriors. But the tensions with DayClan are high right now, so we have to be suspicious of an absence of this long. Has any cat seen them recently? Or at least scented them since last night?"

Everyone shook their heads, glancing at other cats in worry.

Eveningstar blinked, and Hailstorm could sense that his leader's calm was dissipating, and was replaced with worry. "Okay. We'll find them. I don't want any of you to worry though; cats have been gone for this long before. But the forest is dangerous right now, so we ought to know where all of our cats are."

Rustypelt spoke up. "I'll lead a search party!" he volunteered.

"Alright," Eveningstar nodded. "Take only a few warriors with you; we need some here."

The gray-brown tom nodded, then stepped forward from the crowd. "Who wants to come with me?"

"I do," Sparktail replied at once, her brown eyes blazing.