Thunder Rising

Chapter 22

As Gray Wing led the way up the slope, he paused to speak to Rainswept Flower, who was watching, her eyes wide with concern. Angling his ears toward Jagged Peak, he meowed, “Look after him, will you?”

Rainswept Flower nodded. “Don’t worry, Gray Wing. I will.”

At the edge of the hollow Gray Wing sniffed around until he picked up Owl Eyes’s scent. “This way!” he exclaimed, waving his tail to beckon Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry.

But as the three cats headed across the moor, the kit’s faint scent was drowned in the reek of dogs.

“We’ll never find him at this rate,” Jackdaw’s Cry muttered.

Fear crept through Gray Wing as if the blood in his veins had turned to snowmelt. Gazing around, he realized how unlikely they were to find the kit he’d come to love as his own before he fell into danger. It could already be too late.

“He seemed to be going this way,” he meowed, setting out in the direction the scent had led.

His denmates followed as he forged onward, all his senses at full stretch to pick up the least trace of the kit. Weaving a path through a clump of gorse bushes, he spotted a smear of blood on one of the low branches. For a heartbeat his paws froze to the ground, he was so afraid that the blood belonged to Owl Eyes.

Tall Shadow padded across and sniffed at the smear. “I’m sorry,” she mewed. “The dog-scent is so strong, I can’t tell where the blood came from.”

That wasn’t much comfort for Gray Wing, but he forced himself to get moving again.

On the other side of the gorse bushes all three cats cast around to try to pick up Owl Eyes’s scent again. Eventually Tall Shadow raised her tail. “Over here!” she called out. “The trail is leading toward the forest.”

Gray Wing gazed at the line of trees in the distance. Somewhere among them was Clear Sky’s camp. Would he protect Owl Eyes if the kit was in danger?

The moor gradually sloped downward into a valley with a narrow stream trickling along the bottom. The dog-scent wasn’t as strong here, and everything seemed peaceful, but Gray Wing’s pads prickled with apprehension.

It’s too peaceful…

Glancing around he realized that if they were attacked there was nowhere to hide, not a tree or bush they could scramble into. The only cover was sparse clumps of reeds and long grass by the waterside.

They were heading downstream, still following Owl Eyes’s scent trail, when Gray Wing heard a shrill voice calling his name. He stiffened, gazing across the stream, and spotted Owl Eyes’s head popping out between the reeds.

“Look what I caught!” the kit called triumphantly, tossing a dead vole into the air.

Relief surged through Gray Wing, followed by a hot rush of anger. “You stupid, stupid furball!” he yowled, leaping the stream and bounding toward the kit. His chest had begun to ache again from stress and the effort of running.

Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry crossed the stream behind him, but as they reached Owl Eyes the clouds which had been lowering over the moor for most of the day suddenly released their rain. Fat drops splashed onto Gray Wing’s pelt and stippled the surface of the water.

“Now we’ll get soaked through!” Jackdaw’s Cry grumbled.

Gray Wing’s breath was wheezing in his chest. He couldn’t face racing back across the moor to the shelter of the camp. Hunching his shoulders as the rain grew heavier, he spotted a hole in the bank of the stream above their heads. “Up there!” he snapped at Owl Eyes, thrusting the kit in front of him and following him into the hole. “Come on!” he called to the others.

Little light filtered in from the entrance to the burrow, and there was a stale scent of rabbit. But there was enough space to move forward, Gray Wing’s pelt brushing the earthen sides. He could scent Tall Shadow and Jackdaw’s Cry following him, and when he glanced over his shoulder he could just make out Tall Shadow’s ears outlined against the dim light.

In the next heartbeat there was a slippery sound and the light was cut off, leaving the cats in pitch darkness.

“What happened?” Gray Wing called out, feeling his belly clench with the first stirrings of panic.

“The entrance collapsed,” Jackdaw’s Cry replied, sounding more annoyed than frightened. “The rain must have weakened it.”

“Then we’re trapped,” Tall Shadow rasped.

Guilt washed through Gray Wing, as overwhelming as the rain outside. He struggled to catch his breath, knowing that the others would be able to hear his wheezing in the silence. He had never felt so useless in his life. If it wasn’t for my bad chest, we would be halfway back to the camp by now.

“I… I’m sorry… ,” he choked out. “I shouldn’t have…” His voice was trembling too much from his sense of failure and he couldn’t finish what he wanted to say.

“It’s not your fault,” Jackdaw’s Cry meowed sturdily. “And it’s no big deal. All we have to do is keep going. There’s bound to be another way out.”

Gray Wing began to creep forward, gently pushing Owl Eyes ahead of him. “This is exciting!” the little kit squeaked, then added, “Mouse dung! I dropped my vole by the stream.”

Gradually Gray Wing realized that the darkness was giving way to a faint gray light, coming from up ahead. At the same time he began to pick up a strange scent: a strong reek that reminded him of the smell of foxes, though it wasn’t quite the same. The fur on his neck and shoulders began to prickle.

A few paces farther on, the tunnel widened into an open space where the cats could stand side by side and look around. More than one tunnel led away from the central cave where they were. Light was trickling down through small chinks in the roof, the earth held up by a tangle of roots. The floor of the cave was covered with dead leaves and bracken; Gray Wing wrinkled his nose at the smell.

“This place is yucky!” Owl Eyes announced. “I don’t like it here.”

Jackdaw’s Cry gave him a gentle cuff over one ear. “It’s your own fault for running away from Jagged Peak,” he meowed. “What were you told about not leaving camp? You can’t ignore Gray Wing’s orders like that, especially when he is our leader, and the most respected cat in camp.”

Even though Gray Wing knew that Jackdaw’s Cry was trying to make him feel better, guilt gnawed at him even more deeply. Respect? I don’t deserve that! But he had the sense to stay silent and not reveal to Owl Eyes how bad he was feeling.

“It was just a bit of fun!” Owl Eyes protested. “And I did catch a vole.”

“Fun!” Jackdaw’s Cry exclaimed. “You bee-brained kit, you—”

“That’s enough, both of you,” Gray Wing interrupted. “We need to decide which of these tunnels is best,” he went on, gesturing with his tail toward the exits from the cave. I can’t wait to get out. This damp air is making my chest hurt even more.

But as he led the way across the cave to the nearest tunnel, there was movement inside it. Gray Wing stared as an animal paused in the entrance. It had black fur with a white stripe down the middle of its narrow head, a wet nose, bright beady eyes and small ears. Its short legs ended in powerful, blunt claws.

Gray Wing froze with a mixture of fear and curiosity. “What’s that?” he whispered.

“It’s called a badger,” Tall Shadow replied in a no-nonsense tone. “I remember Shaded Moss telling me about them. He said they live in groups like us, and they’re really fierce.”

And we just walked into its den, Gray Wing realized. Struggling to think clearly, he could see that they only had one advantage: speed. This great hulking creature couldn’t possibly move as fast as a cat. We’re trapped down here—but we have to try to get away.

The badger heaved itself out of the tunnel and reared up in front of the cats, opening its jaws to show huge yellow teeth.

“Run!” Gray Wing screeched.

Making sure that Owl Eyes was following, he raced for the next exit tunnel and plunged into it. Almost at once he realized that he had made a mistake. They could only go as fast as his breathing would allow, and that wasn’t as fast as he would like.

I should have let the others go first. I could have faced the badger while they escaped.

But it was too late now. The tunnel was so narrow that the other cats couldn’t get past him.

Thankfully he realized that after the first few tail-lengths the tunnel opened up into a network with connecting tunnels on either side. Gray Wing twisted and turned, hoping to lose the pursuing badger. More chinks in the roof let in enough light for him to see his way.

Gray Wing hesitated at a screech of pain behind him, followed by the sound of a scuffle. Some cat is injured! But there was no way he could get back to help; he had to go on.

At last Gray Wing spotted an irregular patch of light ahead of him and realized that they had found the way out. He forced a last burst of speed from his paws and tumbled into the open.

The heavy rain had turned into a thin drizzle. Through it Gray Wing saw that they were close to the edge of the forest. One of the outlying trees was a few tail-lengths away. Checking with a swift glance to make sure all his cats were following, he hurled himself at the tree and clawed his way up the trunk until he could crouch trembling on a branch, his breath coming in great gasps. His denmates joined him and shrank back into the cover of the leaves.

Gray Wing gazed down and saw the badger thrust its striped snout out of the tunnel mouth. It raked the surroundings with a glance from its small, malignant eyes, then let out a grunt and withdrew underground.

Tall Shadow let out a gasp of relief. “It’s gone!”

“Owl Eyes, are you okay?” Gray Wing asked.

The kit was pressing close to him, shaking with fear. Gray Wing spotted a scratch down one of his back legs; it was slowly oozing blood. “You’re hurt!” he exclaimed. “It was you I heard back there.”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” Owl Eyes mewed bravely, though his teeth were chattering.

Jackdaw’s Cry flexed his claws. “I gave the badger something to think about.”

Gray Wing could hardly believe that the kit had been injured while he was still so young. It’s my fault, he thought despairingly. What sort of leader am I, when I can’t even protect my own kit?

The last of the rain stopped and the clouds began to clear. Gray Wing could see the sun dipping toward the horizon.

“I don’t think the badger’s coming back,” he meowed. “We’d better get back to camp. If we’re out here after dark, we’ll be in more trouble.”

Tall Shadow was first to jump out of the tree; she took the lead as the cats headed back across the moor. Gray Wing and Owl Eyes brought up the rear, Gray Wing still struggling for breath and Owl Eyes limping from his scratch.

“I’m sorry,” Owl Eyes murmured, blinking apologetically at Gray Wing. “I shouldn’t have left the camp on my own like that.”

Gray Wing twitched his ears to acknowledge the kit’s words, but he didn’t have any energy left to speak.

He looked up and saw the shape of Highstones outlined against the setting sun. It reminded him of his own more distant mountains. If only I had Stoneteller here to guide me, he thought. But she’s so far away. She can’t help me now.

As Gray Wing reached the top of the hollow, he saw his denmates huddled together in the middle of the camp, exchanging anxious meows. Then Rainswept Flower looked up and spotted them.

“They’re back!” she yowled.

Instantly Turtle Tail raced up the slope, flinging herself at Owl Eyes and covering him with licks. “I’m so angry with you!” she mewed. “What were you thinking, going off on your own like that? And you’re hurt!”

“I caught a vole,” Owl Eyes announced proudly.

“I don’t want to hear about it!”

Turtle Tail nosed her son down into the hollow, and the other cats followed, while their denmates crowded around, questioning them about what had happened. Gray Wing was still having trouble breathing, so he sat down and let Tall Shadow tell the story.

He noticed Jagged Peak wincing at the mention of their frantic scramble up the tree, and knew that the young cat must be remembering his own injury.

Pebble Heart and Sparrow Fur rushed up to their brother, burying their noses in his fur. Spotting the wound the badger had given Owl Eyes, Pebble Heart began licking it vigorously.

“This will help stop an infection,” he declared confidently between licks. “You have to keep wounds clean.”

“How do you know that?” Owl Eyes asked.

“Cloud Spots told me,” the little tom replied. “He’s teaching me all about herbs, too. He says when I’m bigger he’ll take me to gather herbs with him and Dappled Pelt.”

Meanwhile Gray Wing realized that Turtle Tail was giving him a long, hard glance. “How could you have allowed this to happen?” she asked. “That badger could have killed our son.”

“Me?” Gray Wing found himself forgetting his vow never to quarrel with Turtle Tail. “How is it my fault? I went to rescue him! If Owl Eyes hadn’t been so disobedient…” His voice trailed off. His chest felt tighter than ever and he found it hard to breathe. He felt himself swaying; the air sparkled in front of his eyes.

“That’s it!” Turtle Tail snapped. Through the glitter Gray Wing saw her turn to the rest of the cats, and her voice rose above their anxious murmurings. “Look at Gray Wing! Can you see how he can barely sit upright? Can you all hear the breath rattling in his chest? He’s ill—seriously ill. Am I the only cat with eyes in my head?” Her tail lashed furiously as she glared at the rest of the group. “If Gray Wing won’t face up to the truth, I will,” she went on. “He needs time to recover. He can’t lead this group of cats anymore. He can’t…”

A roaring like a gale sweeping through the forest rose in Gray Wing’s ears, until he could no longer hear Turtle Tail’s words. His vision began to fade, and he was faintly aware of his body collapsing to the ground.

The world shrank to a tiny dot of light and then winked out.