Shadowed Dawn - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"They're coming!"

Fang's head felt oddly light as he stared blankly forward. His mind kept circling back to the moment where the gigantic hoard of cats had descended on Thornshade. Everything felt as though it was falling in on itself. There has to be a way out of this...

"Fang!" Aspenpaw's cry caught Fang off guard.

He whirled about, realising that she had been talking to him. The sky was beginning to grow dark, and a chill was setting in. Above, the stars glittered coldly in the midst of the black, overcast dusk. He followed her gaze.

Climbing steadily up a ridge a little ways away from them was a giant mass of cats. He stiffened, recognising at once the occasional feathery wing or glowing patch of fur. Even farther still into the distance, he saw winged cats soaring above. It looked as though they were holding fast to the scruffs of other cats.

"StarClan give me strength," Brackenflight muttered, flattening what Fang could see of her shadow-obscured ears as the cats soared overhead. A thick-furred brown tom was dangerously low to the ground, as a small winged warrior struggled to hold him up.

"It's foxdunged Eagleswoop."

Fang gazed at the cat more closely, and realised that Brackenflight was right. Sure enough, Eagleswoop was flying in the air like the bird he was named after, a giddy sort of nervous yet smug excitement on his face. There were several other cats flying overhead that Fang vaguely recognized as clan cats.

They're all coming to fight. Right now. The thought scared him. He could see a line of ferocious yet thin cats emerging from the CoalClan camp. Their pelts were bony from evident hunger, but their eyes were all staring blankly ahead. Fang knew at once that Thistleheart had caught them.

With an even deeper pang in his chest, he thought he could recognize Robin on the frontlines. Countless scars and wrinkles creased her face, making her look seasons older. He turned to his friends.

"I think some of these cats are Midni-"

A sudden sharp blast of pain ricocheted throughout Fang's body. His voice cut off with a high pitched choking sensation. At once, he felt his vision swim around him, all while a cackle thrummed through him.

"YES! THEY'RE ALL COMING TO ME!"

Fang fought against the convulsions which rippled through him. He widely aware that he was on the ground. He focussed on the deep snow under his paws, and the cold of his fur. He glanced up, and saw Aspenpaw's worried green eyes.

"What did you just say?" She asked, pawing his shoulder. "Your voice just got all... weird."

Fang glanced at Brackenflight. The brown tabby wasn't meeting his gaze. Her amber eyes were trained on the steadily approaching line of mountain clan cats, padding grimly towards the line of Thistleheart's controlled warriors.

It was her, Fang thought, and he knew at once that he was right. There was no other voice that sounded so twisted, and yet so similar to his own. Swiftly, he leaped to his paws, trying to ignore the dull ache on the back of his head, and the throbbing wounds from the avalanche.

"We have to go," Fang replied, making towards the camp.

"Wait."

To his immense surprise, Brackenflight was the one to put a paw in his way. He saw Aspenpaw struggling towards the both of them, swaying from side to side like a leaf caught in a hurricane. Brackenflight flicked her tail, and unsheathed her claws.

"Don't you see!" Her voice sounded pained. "Going there is like walking right into a fox's jaws. We need a plan. We need something."

Aspenpaw blinked at her. "What about Nutpaw?" The ginger she-cat's tone held no malice, but it was enough to make Brackenflight recoil as though Aspenpaw had clawed her muzzle. The brown she-cat reeled back in shock, narrowly avoiding colliding with a black tom, who was sprinting away, oblivious to them.