Hawkwing’s Journey

Chapter 16

“Rogues!” Hawkwing yowled. “Rogues in the camp!”

He shot back inside the warriors’ den, stumbling over the sleeping bodies of his Clanmates as he poked and prodded them into wakefulness.

“Get up!” he urged them. “Rogues are attacking! They’re here in the camp! Lots of them!”

The SkyClan cats struggled to their paws, so confused by sleep that they were hardly able to take in Hawkwing’s panicked yowls.

“Take it easy,” Sparrowpelt yawned. “You’ve had a bad dream, that’s all. No need to wake the whole Clan.” He yawned again and added, “Stormheart’s on watch. She would warn us if—”

A screech coming from the bottom of the gorge interrupted what Sparrowpelt was saying. Hawkwing reached out a paw and roughly shook the senior warrior’s shoulder.

“That was Stormheart,” he meowed. “And this is no dream. We have to fight.”

Hawkwing rapidly checked that his mother and sisters were rousing. Then, knowing that Stormheart was alone beside the Rockpile, he darted outside again and bounded down the trail behind the wave of attacking cats. As he hurtled downward he let out more warning yowls.

Leafstar was already awake, emerging from her den and stretching her jaws in a long caterwaul before racing down the trail just ahead of Hawkwing.

A quick glance over his shoulder showed Hawkwing that his Clanmates were following, fully roused now and shrieking defiance.

Sharpclaw was in the lead, his paws hardly touching the rocks as he hurled himself toward his Clan’s enemies.

Yes! Hawkwing thought with a touch of pride. My father will fight them off!

He couldn’t spot Darktail, and briefly wondered where the rogue tom was, but there was no time to think about that now.

Pebblepaw and Parsleypaw bundled out of the apprentices’ den, their eyes wide and their fur bushing up. Bellapaw and Rileypaw followed.

“Stay back!” Hawkwing snapped. “This is no place for apprentices.”

“Fox dung to that!” Pebblepaw hissed through clenched teeth, as the four young cats fell in behind Hawkwing.

They’re all so brave! Hawkwing couldn’t help but be impressed, even while he felt that the apprentices would have been safer in their den.

A shriek sounded from the bottom of the gorge, abruptly cut off. Every drop of Hawkwing’s blood seemed to freeze.

Stormheart!

With a final massive leap, Hawkwing slammed into the rear of the rogue attack. For a few moments he struggled with fur pressing in on him from every side, unable to get any strength behind his blows. He thrust at the bodies surrounding him, finally managing to win a little space for himself. At last he could attack, his paws splayed out, his claws slashing in a hot surge of fury, as he struck out at random, not knowing or caring who his enemies were.

Then a face loomed up in front of him, and he recognized the ginger tom he had fought when Waspwhisker’s patrol were setting the border markers.

“Oh, you again!” the ginger tom snarled. “You want to finish what we started?”

“M ange-pelt!” Hawkwing snarled, raking his claws across the ginger tom’s muzzle. “Get out of our camp!”

The tom staggered back, clearly startled at Hawkwing’s swift response. Hawkwing felt a grim satisfaction as he saw dark drops welling out of the wound he had made, and the reek of blood hit him in the throat.

He ducked as the ginger tom swept his forepaw around in a blow aimed at his shoulder; the rogue cat’s claws passed harmlessly through his fur, and Hawkwing managed to butt his head into the tom’s belly, unbalancing him.

Another rogue—a black-and-white tom—pressed forward into the gap between Hawkwing and his opponent, his claws reaching for Pebblepaw, who was still fighting at Hawkwing’s side.

Instinctively Hawkwing slipped in front of the apprentice, shielding her as he dug his claws into the black-and-white tom’s shoulder.

“Get out of here!” he gasped to Pebblepaw.

The young she-cat didn’t even bother to reply. Instead, she leaped at the rogue tom on the other side and raked her claws along his flank. The tom let out a screech and backed off, disappearing into the fray.

Hawkwing felt furious with Pebblepaw, terrified and proud all at once. They exchanged a glance, Hawkwing gave her a nod of acknowledgment, then both cats sprang back into the battle.

The first heaving bundle of fighting cats had begun to split up into separate skirmishes straggling alongside the river. In a brief respite, Hawkwing saw that his Clanmates were holding their own, even though they were outnumbered by the band of rogues.

If only we had our daylight warriors! he thought. Then a sudden realization hit him. The rogues must have been watching us.

They must have known that the Twolegs were keeping our Clanmates inside because of the raccoons!

He noticed too that clouds were building up overhead, blotting out the stars. The moon gleamed fitfully through the gaps. The air was heavy and damp, and Hawkwing felt the first fat drops of rain spatter onto his pelt.

He had lost sight of Pebblepaw, and as he glanced around, desperately trying to spot her, he saw Sandynose near the foot of the cliff, pinned down by an enormous tabby rogue, who slashed his claws again and again over the Clan cat’s shoulders. Sandynose was writhing furiously in an effort to throw him off.

Hawkwing hurled himself across the ground and barreled into the side of the tabby tom, flinging him against the rock face. The tabby let out a yelp of pain, all the breath driven out of him.

Before he could recover, Hawkwing scored his claws down his hindquarters, and drove him off, yowling, into the night.

“Thanks!” Sandynose gasped, staggering to his paws, then bounding off to where Waspwhisker was tussling with a skinny tortoiseshell rogue.

In the darkness and the rain—growing heavier with every heartbeat—it was becoming harder to distinguish the Clan cats from the rogues. Hawkwing spotted a ginger tom racing toward him and whirled around, one forepaw raised to strike.

“Hey, it’s me!”

Hawkwing recognized Bouncefire’s voice, and lowered his paw.

“Sorry.”

Beyond Bouncefire, Hawkwing made out the pale pelt of Darktail. “This way,” the white tom meowed, angling his ears toward a cluster of the invading rogues who were battling Tinycloud, Rabbitleap, and Harrybrook at the very edge of the river.

Hawkwing sprang forward with Bouncefire next to him, and Darktail on the ginger tom’s other side. A rogue cat leaped into their path to stop them, but Hawkwing pushed him aside with one swipe of his claws.

With Bouncefire and Darktail beside him, Hawkwing suddenly felt more optimistic. We can win this battle!

Another rogue hurtled toward them, closest to Darktail; Hawkwing held off, expecting that the white tom would throw himself into the attack. Instead, Darktail whipped around, letting the rogue race past unscathed.

“Darktail… what—?” Hawkwing began.

Darktail ignored him. With a snarl of mingled fury and triumph, he sank his claws into Bouncefire’s neck.

Sheer shock kept Hawkwing frozen for a moment. Bouncefire too was so astonished that for a couple of heartbeats he was unable to defend himself. In that moment Darktail threw himself on top of the ginger tom, pinning him to the ground and tearing at his throat.

Blood gushed out; Bouncefire’s legs jerked spasmodically and then he went limp.

“Darktail!” Hawkwing choked out. “What are you doing?”

Darktail didn’t reply. For a moment he stood motionless over Bouncefire’s body, his jaws still red with the ginger tom’s blood.

He looks like a killer, Hawkwing thought in a whirl of confusion and grief. Who is this cat?

Darktail spun around again and flung himself into the tussle beside the river, aligning himself to fight on the side of the rogues.

Hawkwing forced his paralyzed limbs into motion and bounded after him as a horrible realization washed over him.

“Traitor!” he yowled. “Traitor! I trusted you!”

Was it all lies? If Darktail was fighting on the side of the rogues, then clearly he’d never been a true friend to SkyClan. What else had he lied about? Knowing the other Clans? The quests?

Hawkwing’s blood ran cold when it suddenly occurred to him that Darktail must have been planning this attack—manipulating SkyClan as he and his rogue friends prepared for it. Was every moment he spent here part of some twisted plan?

He thought again of the Twoleg food and thought he might be sick. He was up to something…

Spotting Hawkwing, the white tom stepped aside from the combat and waited calmly as Hawkwing drew closer and closer. He seemed as confident as if he was about to slam his paws down on a mouse.

I’ll claw that smug look off his face!

But just as Hawkwing’s claws were reaching for Darktail, a heavy body slammed into him from one side. His paws skidded and he fell, to find himself looking up into the face of the silver-gray tom who had led the trespassing patrol the day before.

How long has Darktail known these rogues? Hawkwing wondered. How long has he been planning this? From the moment he first showed up?

The gray tom swooped down on him, aiming for his throat.

Hawkwing’s foreleg flashed upward and he planted his paw in the tom’s face, digging his claws into his muzzle as he pushed his head back.

The rogue cat let out a screech, batting Hawkwing’s paw away and thumping down on top of him, almost smothering him. He tried to bring up his hind paws to batter at his enemy, but the tom was too heavy for him to shift.

Twisting from side to side in his struggle to escape, Hawkwing spotted his father, Sharpclaw, battling fiercely with two rogue cats: the long-furred black she-cat from the previous day’s patrol, and a mottled black-and-gray tom. In spite of his own peril Hawkwing had to admire his father as Sharpclaw whirled from one rogue to the other, beating both of them back toward the water’s edge.

As Hawkwing watched, Leafstar appeared out of the darkness and slashed her claws at the she-cat, who whipped around and fled.

Sharpclaw gave the mottled tom a shove; the rogue tottered for a heartbeat on the very edge of the river, then fell into the torrent with a shriek and disappeared.

Hawkwing wanted to let out a yowl of triumph for his father, but the gray tom had clamped a paw down on his neck, and he could hardly breathe.

Then to his horror he saw Darktail sneaking up behind

Sharpclaw, his belly pressed to the ground as if he was stalking prey. Hawkwing made a massive effort to call out a warning, but the feeble choking sound was all he could manage, and it was lost in the clamor of the battle. He felt a hot stickiness in his throat, as if this were a nightmare where he could only watch the terrible combat unfold, and not do anything to stop it. Sharpclaw, look out!

Darktail sprang, aiming to land on Sharpclaw’s back, but at the last instant Sharpclaw seemed to become aware of him, and slipped to one side so that Darktail landed hard on the rock. He was briefly winded; Sharpclaw stood over him, one paw raised, but clearly puzzled.

“What’s gotten into you?” he demanded. “How could you betray SkyClan?”

Kill him—now! Hawkwing wanted to cry out, but the gray tom was still pressing down on his throat. Hawkwing’s vision began to spin away in a dark spiral, but he kept on struggling to stay conscious and throw off his attacker.

He saw Darktail recover and spring at Sharpclaw again. “I was never part of SkyClan!” the rogue tom snarled.

Sharpclaw’s confusion was replaced by shock, but now he was no longer in doubt. He retaliated with a familiar battle move, leaping up and twisting in the air to land behind Darktail and lash his claws across the rogue’s hindquarters. Darktail spun around and reared up, bringing his forepaws down hard on Sharpclaw’s shoulders. Sharpclaw rolled away and jumped to his paws again, leaping out of range.

Hawkwing tensed his muscles and tried to get free, but the gray tom held him down. Hawkwing kicked and thrashed, but it was no good.

When he looked back, he saw that blood was dripping down

Darktail’s face as he stalked after Sharpclaw, who was crouched and ready to pounce. Then Hawkwing noticed that Darktail was holding his tail high, waving it to and fro like a branch in the wind.

He spotted a flicker of gray from the corner of his eye.

Painfully twisting his head around, he saw that Darktail’s friend

Rain was creeping up on Sharpclaw from behind. The waving tail was a signal!

Hawkwing made another desperate effort to cry out and warn his father, but the paw pressing on his throat still stifled his voice.

Despair filled him as he watched, helpless. This must be a nightmare. My father is in danger, and there’s nothing I can do!

Rain let out a hiss; distracted by the sound, Sharpclaw glanced over his shoulder. In the same heartbeat, Darktail leaped. He landed on Sharpclaw’s shoulders and slashed a paw over his throat and down his belly. Rain leaped on Sharpclaw from behind and held him down while Darktail slashed at him again. Blood streamed out of Sharpclaw’s body.

Shock and anger surged through Hawkwing, giving him a last burst of energy. He threw off the silver-gray tom and rushed forward to his father’s side. “Get off him!” he croaked out, his voice still hoarse.

Darktail jumped up, and Rain withdrew a pace, as if they were obeying Hawkwing’s order. But Hawkwing knew that wasn’t the reason. The rogues had finished their deadly work, and Hawkwing was too late. He saw his father’s limbs spasm in a final convulsion and then lie still. The last flicker of light died from his green eyes.

“No… no… ,” Hawkwing gasped. This can’t be happening.

This can’t be real!

Darktail stepped forward, putting himself between Hawkwing and his dead father. Hatred surged up in Hawkwing as he bunched his muscles to leap on the white tom, but Darktail simply gave him a push with one paw. Exhausted from his battle with the silver-gray rogue, Hawkwing staggered back.

“Why?” he choked out, stunned by the depths of the rogue cat’s cruelty. “Why have you turned on us? We never did you any harm.”

“I never turned on you,” Darktail sneered. “M y plan was to destroy SkyClan all along.”

Destroy SkyClan? Hawkwing remembered his conversation with Cherrytail, and her fear that being driven from the gorge would end SkyClan. Was that what Darktail wanted this whole time? But why would he hate SkyClan so much? He hadn’t even met us until a couple of moons ago.

Hawkwing didn’t know what to say. He could only repeat his desperate question. “Why?”

“Listen,” Darktail meowed, his tone softening. “I like you, Hawkwing. You’re different from the other SkyClan cats. You’re more like me. Surely you realize your best chance of survival will be with me and my rogues? We’re going to take the gorge for ourselves. Join us! We’re so good together, Hawkwing. We understand each other. I’ll make you my deputy.”

Hawkwing could hardly believe what he was hearing. We’re going to take the gorge for ourselves. And Darktail’s claim of affection made him want to vomit. “Even if I believed you,” he spat, “do you think I would join you? After you and Rain murdered my father? Never!”

To Hawkwing’s amazement, something flickered in Darktail’s eyes and he angled his head aside, as if he were honestly disappointed by Hawkwing’s response. But when he looked up again he wore a savage glare, his whiskers bristling. “If that’s what you want,” he snarled, “you can die along with the rest of your mange-ridden Clan!”

Full of grief and rage, Hawkwing leaped at him. But Darktail slipped aside, and was lost to sight in the rain and the darkness.