Sandstar's Journey (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twelve

Once Sandstar knew they were fast asleep, she bounded out of the alley. The moon was out and the stars sparkled vibrantly. It was a nice night. She padded past twoleg dens and over Thunderpaths, until she came to a small, rusty old twoleg den. 

The door was slightly ajar, so she crept inside. It smelled like oil and rusted metal in the den. She scrunched up her nose in disgust. She searched the shelves until her eyes fell upon a large object. 

It had a strange propeller on the side, and the front had crisscrossing wires of different colors over it. She looked at this strange device. The smells of the musty room filled her nostrils, she gagged in small breaths and took a few steps back. She bit hard on the device and began dragging it to the door. 

Just at the moment, the sound of squelching footsteps filled her ears. 

Not wanting to be captured again, she dove into one of the shelves, hiding behind a few rusted pieces of metal. A large, beast of a twoleg walked into the den, sniffed the musty air and made a sound like a sigh. Sandstar crouched low and watched as the twoleg grabbed the device. 

No! She thought. The twoleg looked at it, then walked into a room, locking the door shut. 

I needed that! Sandstar thought, frustrated. She crept out of her hiding space and ran through the still left open door. She padded up to the little park, and walked through it, her paws squelched through the mud as rain drummed across the trees.

Now Sandstar was wet and cold, knowing it would take her a while to get back to the alley, she crouched down and scanned the area for a possible shelter. She noticed a little cave with a ledge overhanging, keeping it nice and dry. 

She crept into the cave and shook off the water, the rain droplets hit the ground in little clinks. She padded farther into the cave and sat down, curling her tail over her body. She was making herself comfortable using some dry leaves to keep her wet fur from clinging to the dirt. She rested her head between her paws and blinked drowsily. 

She was tired. 

Her legs ached from walking, and her stomach grumbled; asking for food. 

She mewed, tasting the raindrops as they landed on her tongue. At least she wasn't thirsty. She turned her head to the side of the cave, muddy dirt and roots clashed together. She looked back to the entrance, watching the worms struggle up so they wouldn't drown. When you stop to listen to what's around you, it's actually quite relaxing. Sandstar thought. 

Sandstar shut her eyes and listened to the sound of the rain thumping across the roof of her cave.

And then she caught a whiff of something. It was slightly masked by the downpour, but she could smell it. She almost didn't know what it was, it had been so long since she'd been catching prey in the forest. 

It was a mouse.

She opened her eyes wide, and there she saw the little brown fur ball. Guess it had also been searching for shelter, because it sat in the front of the cave. Sandstar looked her eyes onto it. 

Unsheathing her claws.

The mouse must've not noticed her because her scent was masked by the rain. 

And in one swift movement, she killed it before it could squeak. She grabbed the now dead mouse and tenderly bit into it's flesh, ripping it open with her jaws. The scent wafting off it was delicious, fresh kill. She purred in delight and munched on it's soft underside. Her mouth was smeared with blood, and when she was done, washed it off in the rain, the red water soaked into the ground, giving nutrients to the hungry plants. 

Feeling satisfied with a full belly, she curled up deep inside the cave, and fell asleep quickly, forgetting about Dart, about Raintail, or about Thunderclan.