The Sun Trail

Chapter 24

Gray Wing was returning to the new camp, a rabbit dangling from his jaws, when he spotted two cats approaching from the forest. Dropping his prey, he waited for them.

As the cats drew closer, he recognized Jagged Peak and Frost, the big white tom who had joined Clear Sky. Jagged Peak was leaning heavily against Frost for support, and Gray Wing could see that he was hardly putting his injured leg to the ground.

It’s been more than a moon since Jagged Peak fell from the tree, Gray Wing thought worriedly. I’d have expected him to be able to walk properly by now.

“Greetings,” Gray Wing meowed, dipping his head as Jagged Peak and Frost came up to him. “Have you come to visit?”

Jagged Peak gave him a miserable look, while Frost didn’t acknowledge his presence at all. Helping Jagged Peak to lie on the ground, the white tom turned away without speaking and bounded back across the moor.

Rude furball! Gray Wing thought. “What’s happening?” he asked Jagged Peak.

At first Jagged Peak didn’t reply, glaring at Frost as he vanished into the distance. Then he glanced back at Gray Wing, giving his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.

“Come on,” Gray Wing encouraged him gently. “You can tell me.”

The young cat hesitated a moment longer. “It’s my leg,” he confessed eventually. “It isn’t healing well enough, and it looks like I’ll probably always limp.”

He paused again; Gray Wing gave his ear a sympathetic lick.

“Clear Sky says…” The words seemed to struggle out of Jagged Peak, “…that… because I can’t hunt anymore, I’m not contributing to the group. He says I have to leave his territory. I… I don’t think I can survive on my own, especially with the cold season coming. Gray Wing, can I come back to live with you?”

“Of course you can!” Slow anger was beginning to burn in Gray Wing’s belly, but he hid it from Jagged Peak. “You’re welcome… and we’ve got a new camp now. Come and see.”

Picking up his rabbit again, Gray Wing let Jagged Peak lean on his shoulder until they reached the hollow.

Tall Shadow was there, investigating one of the burrow entrances with Jackdaw’s Cry. She turned and bounded up to Gray Wing as he and Jagged Peak staggered down the slope. “What’s all this?” she asked.

Gray Wing explained, while Jagged Peak hung his head, looking desperately unsure of himself.

“That’s terrible!” Tall Shadow let out a snort. “His own brother! Jagged Peak, of course you’re welcome here. And I’m sure we can do something to help that leg. Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots are out right now hunting for herbs, but they’ll take a look at you as soon as they get back.”

“Thanks, Tall Shadow,” Jagged Peak mewed, blinking gratefully.

“Come sit under this gorse bush.” Gray Wing helped his brother to a sheltered spot and dropped the rabbit in front of him. “Help yourself, while I see about a nest for you.”

There was a good pile of moss and bracken just inside the main tunnel entrance; Gray Wing dragged some of it into an unused side burrow, digging out some of the soil to make the space wider. Then he went outside again to get Jagged Peak.

The young cat had finished eating, and looked up drowsily at Gray Wing. “It’s good of you to let me stay,” he murmured.

Once Gray Wing had settled him into his new nest, Jagged Peak drifted off to sleep; the struggle across the moor had clearly exhausted him.

Gray Wing waited until he was sure his brother was okay, then climbed out of the burrow again. “I’m going to talk to Clear Sky,” he told Tall Shadow, before leaving the hollow and bounding off across the moor.

The path that led to Clear Sky’s camp was guarded by Fox, who drew back as Gray Wing appeared. Gray Wing was slightly disappointed; for once he was itching to sink his claws into some cat’s fur.

When he reached the clearing, he found Clear Sky lapping from the pool at the center of the hollow.

“I’ve just been talking to Jagged Peak,” he announced as he stalked up to his brother.

Clear Sky raised his head and shook water droplets from his whiskers. “I thought you might want to talk about that,” he admitted.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Gray Wing asked. “Jagged Peak is your brother, and he’s always been loyal to you!”

Clear Sky nodded, but he didn’t look guilty at all. “I’m sorry Jagged Peak is hurt,” he began, “but the good of the group is what’s important. Every cat has to contribute, or none of us will survive. I gave Jagged Peak time to recover, but it doesn’t look like he’ll ever be able to hunt again.”

“But he’s family!” Gray Wing protested, hardly able to believe he was hearing these words from his own brother.

“That’s exactly why I had to be tough with him,” Clear Sky meowed. “The other cats won’t trust me if they think I’ll make exceptions to the rules for my own kin.”

Horror and disgust overwhelmed Gray Wing. This isn’t Clear Sky! Not the brother I love so much!

Hardly knowing what he was doing, Gray Wing leaped on top of Clear Sky, lashing out with his claws. Clear Sky bared his teeth in a snarl and clamped his forepaws around Gray Wing’s neck, lunging for his throat. Gray Wing fought him off with thrashing hind paws, but Clear Sky was too strong for him. Within a few heartbeats he lay on the ground, Clear Sky pinning him with one paw on his neck and another on his belly.

Clear Sky gazed down at him, hostility flaring in his blue eyes, his chest heaving. “Get out of here,” he growled, stepping away from Gray Wing. “And don’t come back.”

Gray Wing scrambled to his paws and headed out of the clearing. Grief and anger surged over him so that he brushed blindly through the undergrowth. When a cat appeared on the track in front of him, he almost launched himself into another attack, before he realized that it was Storm.

“Gray Wing—what’s the matter?” she asked.

Gray Wing gazed at her, forcing himself to calm down. Her belly was heavy with her kits, but her silver fur was as soft and shining as ever.

“It’s Jagged Peak,” he explained. “I can’t believe Clear Sky would do that to him.”

Storm nodded, her green eyes troubled. “I understand how you feel,” she mewed. “But Clear Sky would never have asked Jagged Peak to leave if he hadn’t known he could come to you. I know he seems cold, but he’s really not.”

“Then why do it?” Gray Wing growled.

“He’s worried by all his responsibility,” Storm explained. “He really does think he’s acting for the best.”

Gray Wing shook his head sadly. “That still doesn’t make it right. And you know that.”

Storm didn’t reply, but she looked worried as she dipped her head to him and continued along the track.

His heart surging with grief, Gray Wing returned to the hollow. Tall Shadow was waiting for him. “What did Clear Sky have to say for himself?” she asked.

Gray Wing gave an angry shrug. “Nothing new. Jagged Peak can’t hunt anymore, so he has to go ‘for the good of the group.’ I can’t believe it was Clear Sky saying those things!”

“Neither can I,” Tall Shadow agreed, her tail-tip flicking to and fro. “You should always put your own family and friends first—every cat knows that! It’s far more important than the good of the larger group.”

“Clear Sky doesn’t see it that way,” Gray Wing muttered.

He padded across the hollow to look in on Jagged Peak, and found him awake again and talking to Cloud Spots.

“I’m pretty sure we can improve your movement,” the black-and-white tom was meowing. “If your injured leg won’t bear your weight, you have to strengthen the other three.”

“How can I do that?” Jagged Peak asked doubtfully.

“I’ll figure out exercises for you,” Cloud Spots promised. “Even here in your nest you could bend and stretch your legs to make the muscles strong.”

Jagged Peak tried, pushing with his forelegs and his uninjured hind leg, then went limp again, puffing out his breath in a sigh. “It feels weird,” he complained.

“You just have to get used to it,” Cloud Spots pointed out. “Don’t forget you’ve been lying in your nest in Clear Sky’s camp for more than a moon. No wonder your legs are weak.”

“Cloud Spots is right,” Gray Wing agreed. And Clear Sky must have destroyed Jagged Peak’s confidence, throwing him out like that and calling him useless. “I’ll help you, and you’ll feel better soon.”

“Dappled Pelt and I will work on some more ideas,” Cloud Spots meowed. “You wait, you’ll be hunting prey again soon.”

Jagged Peak blinked sorrowfully. “I don’t think I’ll ever catch prey again.”

As the days grew colder and the last of the leaves fell from the trees, prey became scarcer. Rabbits were staying in the warmth of their burrows, only venturing out to feed quickly in the early morning and at twilight, so that the cats had to range further in search of something to eat.

Gray Wing had ventured into the forest and picked up the scent of a squirrel. Stealthily he crept through the undergrowth, trying not to set his paws down on crunchy dead leaves. Slipping silently around a bramble thicket, he spotted the squirrel nibbling a nut in the middle of a clearing.

I can catch that, he thought, pressing himself to the ground as he prowled forward. It’s well away from the nearest tree.

Each paw step brought him closer to his quarry. Gray Wing was readying himself for a pounce when he heard an outraged yowl and something heavy landed on him from above, knocking the breath out of him. The squirrel leaped up and fled for a nearby ash tree, scurrying up the trunk and disappearing into a hole.

Gray Wing squirmed out from under the weight and scrambled to his paws. Fox was facing him, his neck fur bristling and his tail bushed out to twice its size.

“Prey-stealer!” he snarled.

“The prey isn’t yours!” Gray Wing retorted, lashing his tail. “It belongs to the cat who catches it.”

“This is Clear Sky’s territory.” Fox took a threatening pace forward. “So the prey belongs to him and his cats.”

Movement at the corner of his eye alerted Gray Wing; he turned his head to see his littermate emerge from a clump of bracken at the edge of the clearing, followed by Storm. Gray Wing took a pace toward his brother. “Clear Sky—” he began.

Fox leaped at him, bowling him over and cutting off his words. He pushed his face close to Gray Wing’s, his yellow eyes glazed with fury and his teeth a paw-length from Gray Wing’s throat. Forced to defend himself, Gray Wing thrust at him with his hind paws. But Fox was a big, muscular cat, and Gray Wing couldn’t free himself. He felt Fox’s claws dig into his head and slash across his forehead. Blood trickled into his eyes, half blinding him.

Pure panic throbbed through Gray Wing. This was no light skirmish; Fox really meant to hurt him. What is Clear Sky doing? Does he want Fox to tear me apart?

Summoning all his strength, Gray Wing lashed out with his forepaws. Unable to see more than a blur of brown pelt, he couldn’t aim his strikes; he just knew that he had to get this cat off him.

Gathering all his strength, Gray Wing struck hard with one forepaw. There was a choking cry from Fox. Something warm gushed over Gray Wing’s paws. The weight that was pinning him down suddenly vanished. Gray Wing staggered to his paws and swiped blood out of his eyes to see Fox lying on his side among the debris of the forest floor. Blood was pouring from his throat over the dead leaves; Gray Wing’s pelt was sticky with it and it clogged his claws where he had dealt the blow. Fox gave one last powerful kick with his hind legs, and was still.

Clear Sky bounded forward to stand over the brown tom’s body, then turned a look of horror and accusation on Gray Wing. “You killed him!”

Gray Wing felt as if his whole body had turned to stone. “I didn’t mean…” he stammered.

Clear Sky glared at him, his narrowed blue eyes like chips of ice. “That’s it,” he snarled. “We’re finished. You killed Fox, when he was only doing his job.”

“But he—” Gray Wing began.

“I said, we’re finished,” Clear Sky interrupted, his voice cold. “I have no brother. Get out of here.”

“You can’t mean that!” Gray Wing protested. “After all we’ve been through together?”

But there was no regret in Clear Sky’s cold eyes. He said nothing, only sliding out his claws. Gray Wing realized that unless he left now, he would end up fighting his brother.

Gray Wing met Clear Sky’s cold gaze, trying to accept that it was the last time. Killing Fox was an accident, but Clear Sky will never believe that. What can I do but go and never come back?

But before Gray Wing could turn away, Storm stepped forward. Her belly was swollen and her movements slow; Gray Wing could see that she was near to kitting. She gave Fox’s body a regretful glance, then padded past him to confront Clear Sky.

“I’ve had enough,” she mewed. “I’m going back to live in the Twolegplace. There’ll be better shelter there for my kits when they’re born.”

Clear Sky’s eyes widened in shock. “Don’t be ridiculous. You need me to look after you.”

“That’s just what I don’t need,” Storm retorted. “You treat me like a helpless kit, and I’m sick of it. And I can’t bear the way you treat cats when they step over your so-called boundaries. You don’t have the right to tell cats where they can and can’t hunt. Fox would be alive now if it wasn’t for you throwing your weight around.”

For a moment Clear Sky was utterly dumbfounded.

In the silence, Storm turned to Gray Wing. “I’m sorry,” she meowed. “I should have understood all this when I saw how Clear Sky treated Jagged Peak.”

Dipping her head to Gray Wing, she gave Clear Sky a long, sorrowful look, then turned and padded off through the bracken.