Sandstar's Journey (COMPLETED)

Chapter Five

"What do you mean?" Sandstar asked in a cracked whisper. Raintail turned her head to look at Sandstar. "What do you mean?" Sandstar asked again, pleading. "We must drive the dogs into the river like Bluestar did all those moons ago." Raintail said, there was no sign of her usual happy face. Then the cats began to grow stiff and tired, "Well, who will sacrifice themself for the clan?" Stagface growled. Sandstar didn't't know what to say. There was obviously no volunteers. 

"I'll do it." Sandstar said. She saw the admiration in the cats' faces. She suddenly felt a prickle of pride through her fear. Suddenly, the dogs bursted through the camp.

The cats scattered. The dogs began tearing everything they could to shreds, torn out fur and blood stained the clearing. 

Everything was in panic. 

Then she felt a piercing pain on her back. A dog was raking it's claws through her fur. She yowled in pain, trying to knock it off. Bits of fur flew everywhere. She eventually managed to knock it off, large cuts in her back bleeding quickly.   She didn't know what to do. She felt adrenaline running through her veins, so she jumped up and began kicking every dog she could see, they all turned to her and began to bark, and she ran as fast as she could out of camp.

She could feel the dogs gaining on her, biting at her heels, but she didn't stop, she was nearly to the gorge where the river was, that was her only chance to save the clan. She ran and ran until her lungs were collapsing without the air, but she didn't stop. Eventually, she started to see rocky slopes jutting out from the ground, this was where the gorge should be. She leapt to the edge and turned to face the dogs, they were barking madly and jumping over each other in anger. 

It was too late for them to stop, the first few flew right over Sandstar's head and into the water, where they began trying to swim to shore, whimpering. The other few were quicker and they veered to the left and right and ran howling back into the bramble. She wasn't dead. Sandstar felt a sigh of relief as she laid down on the smooth pebbles. She looked back into the raging water to see the dogs were no longer there. 

She had done it, she had gotten rid of the dogs. 

She managed to catch a scurrying mouse in her paws. She knew she was betraying the clan by eating caught prey without bringing it to camp, but she felt she deserved it, just this once. Suddenly she heard the sounds of twigs snapping and the rustling of branches. Her ears perked up to the sound, expecting the dogs to come at her again. 

But it wasn't the dogs.

A cat stepped slowly out of the bramble, she recognized the smell almost instantly; Raintail! "Raintail!" She said in relief. "Your okay! How's the clan, are they safe?" Sandstar asked. But Raintail didn't answer.

 "Raintail? Are you okay?" Sandstar asked in worry. Raintail snarled at Sandstar. And then she smiled, not in a happy way, a malicious way. "You've been leader far too long now, Sandfur." Raintail said, smiling evilly. "Sandfur? It's Sandstar, Raintail." Sandstar said, lowering her voice. 

"Not anymore." Raintail said. And she pushed Sandstar right into the raging river.