The group of cats ran through the forest. Ahead of them were more trees. The forest seemed endless to the cats. Goldeye turned around while running, seeing the dog far behind. He met all these cats and now he's running from a dog? Goldeye didn't know what to think at this point. His mind messed with him as time went on.
The golden-furred tom tried thinking to before he met every cat. His clouded mind prevented him from doing so. Why? He thought. There must be something before all of this. I swear there is... His mind rushed again as he ran. Goldeye heard his heartbeat pound through his ears.
He kept his eyes on the dog for a while before turning to the group. "The dog is getting closer! Keep running!" Goldeye yelled.
"We need to sidetrack it somehow. It has enough of our scents to keep after us until we're tired. Unless it gets tired first." Amberthroat meowed.
Brindlestone turned to the group. "It seems to have endless energy. It'll get us first. We have to attack it and take it down."
"You're asking us to kill ourselves!" Owldusk exclaimed, gaining a terrified look on his face. "I don't want to die! I can't die! This isn't how I want to go out..."
"Calm down! We will not die." Goldeye replied. "We're taking down that dog. All of us are getting out of here alive." He said.
"I'll take it down by myself! You all don't have to worry!" Mothkit mewed with a smile across his face.
"You will not! You're too young to do any sort of battling!" Leafmist muffled while carrying the kit.
"Some of us should sidetrack the dog and the rest keep running. We'll meet up again after." Lostflame suggested.
"What if we don't find each other again?!" Owldusk exclaimed. "It's bad enough that we don't know each other, but what if we split and we're all alone again?" The tom rambled on.
"Enough of that." Goldeye cut him off before he could ramble longer. "Keep yourself together, Owldusk. The last thing we want is for us to lose our sanity." He meowed.
Amberthroat nodded in agreement. "Right. Who's going to distract the dog?"
"I could. But some cat needs to watch Smokepaw." Brindlestone said.
"I can help lead the dog away!"
The group looked over to see a small, lanky tom with cream fur and icy-blue eyes. Some noticed the scar on his chest. He had a wide smile on his face as he ran with the group.
"Who are you?" Goldeye asked.
"Silverlegs!" The tom replied. "I woke up somewhere else in this forest, and then I heard barking and meowing!" He meowed. "I can outrun that dog and come back to you all! How does that sound?"
"Go for it." Lostflame and Amberthroat meowed in unison. They looked at each other before looking at Silverlegs.
That tom is going to die. Goldeye thought as Silverlegs turned and headed toward the dog. Goldeye stopped in his tracks, and the others did as well, watching Silverlegs. The small tom ran up to the dog and then ran under it. "Follow me, dirty dog!" He called to it as he ran. The dog barked and headed after Silverlegs.
"He might not come back." Brindlestone said. "But at least we don't have to worry about the dog for a while."
Leafmist set down Mothkit, looking at Brindlestone and Smokepaw. "Are you two hurt?" She asked.
Brindlestone shook her head. "No. We got lucky and got away from the dog before it could touch us." She meowed.
"Good." She examined Mothkit, who looked around the area and wondered where he was. "Are you hurt, Mothkit?"
Mothkit turned to Leafmist and shook his head. "Nope! That dog wouldn't get me even if it tried!" He puffed out his chest.
Leafmist chuckled. The bushes rustled nearby, and the group looked at the bush. They got ready to run if needed. A little, stocky tom appeared out of the bushes. He had large cyan eyes and dull silver fur. "I-Is the dog gone?" He mewed. "I heard it..."
"Yeah." Amberthroat responded first, staring at the new tom. "Who are you?"
"Longstep.." He meowed, looking around anxiously. "Do any of you know where I am?" He mewed.
Goldeye shook his head. "Nope. We're just as confused as you. We don't know where we are." He replied.
"We should find somewhere before the moon rises." Lostflame meowed. "I'd prefer not to be hunted by a dog at night."
A few heartbeats passed before Goldeye heard the thumping of pawsteps coming close. He turned his head to see Silverlegs running up to the group. "I got the dog far away from us!" He meowed. Silverlegs didn't look tired.
The rest of the group turned to Silverlegs. Most cats gained looks of relief at the news. Goldeye noticed Owldusk wasn't as tense anymore, but he seemed worried still. Brindlestone gave a nod of approval to Silverlegs, which made him purr.
"Do we keep heading forward?" Owldusk questioned.
"I don't know yet." Goldeye replied. "Let's relax for a while first. Starclan knows how long we've run for."
"I found a territory we could stay in." A deep mew sounded nearby.
The group of cats looked over to a massive, tall, muscular brown-furred tom with dark-green eyes stand before them. He padded over to them. "My name's Spiderspring." He meowed, looking at Brindlestone. "If that dog comes back, you're attacking it with me." His gaze went to Silverlegs. "You're helping."
Brindlestone nodded, and Silverlegs hopped around in excitement. "Sure!" He mewed happily.
"Can I help?" Mothkit asked.
Spiderspring shook his head. "No, young one."
Mothkit sighed. "Aw... Whatever! I'll get big one day!" He mewed.
Leafmist nodded. "Mhm! That's a long way from now, though..."
Spiderspring turned to Goldeye. "What is your name?"
"Goldeye." Goldeye meowed back, padding up to Spiderspring.
"I will lead this group to the territory. I assume you are the leader of this group?" The brown-furred tom asked.
Goldeye hesitated before responding. He didn't feel like a leader. The one-eyed tom didn't know if he could lead this many cats. His mind rushed again, almost getting lost in thought. He took a deep breath in and then out. Goldeye knew he had to say yes.
"Yeah." Goldeye nodded. "I am."
"Alright." Spiderspring dipped his head to Goldeye out of respect. "Let us head to the territory." He turned around and headed off.
Goldeye stood for a few heartbeats before following. "Let's go." He called back to the group.
The rest of the cats followed Goldeye and Spiderspring.
*
The sun nearly set as the group of cats made it to the territory. Goldeye noticed many dens around the area covered in growth. It's weird how this is perfect for all of us. He thought.
Amberthroat sniffed the air. "There's another cat here. Who is it?" He looked at Spiderspring.
"Right." The tom replied. "Rabbitrock! Get out here!" He called out to one den.
The group looked over to the den to see a massive, blonde-furred she-cat pad out of the den. She yawned as she trudged over to the group. As she got close, Goldeye noticed she was well-muscled and had red eyes. "I was sleeping. Who are these cats?"
"New cats that I assume are like us... No memory of anything." Spiderspring replied. "Let them look around the territory first, before we all get to know each other better."
"That's if we can even remember anything about ourselves..." Goldeye sighed.
Spiderspring chuckled. "We'll do our best!"
The group split up as they explored the unfamiliar territory. Goldeye watched as they explored. I'm happy we found a place to sleep. Now, if I can just figure out who I am, that'd be great... Goldeye thought, sighing.
"It'll be a long night." Goldeye meowed to himself.
