The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 24

"Maybe they're friendly," Barkpaw suggested.

Tigerstripe wanted to slap the tom on the side of his head with his paw. There was no such thing as a kind dog. But then again, hadn't he believed there wasn't such thing as a kind fox? Rain had surely proved him wrong.

"They don't seem to be bothering us," Tigerstripe told the others. "Let's just keep walking."
Krait's fur settled down a bit, and she nodded. "I guess you're right. Let's get out of here before they notice us."

Silently relieved, Tigerstripe exited out of the bushes with the other cats, glad to be gone from the dogs. They managed to escape without capturing the dogs' attention, and soon enough, they were on their way again, the barking noises slowly fading.

They walked a bit further until Krait suddenly turned her head to the right. Tigerstripe looked in her direction and was shocked to see the dogs running by only foxsteps away, taking no notice of the cats whatsoever.

"What are they running from?" Dusty wondered. He had now stopped in his tracks and was watching the dogs rush by.

"Whatever it is, I hope we don't get involved," Krait glumly replied.

They continued walking again, though Tigerstripe had begun to grow nervous, wondering why the dogs had not noticed them. He could still spot them in the distance, and he froze when one looked their way, locking its eyes on Krait, before Krait turned away.

Suddenly, Tigerstripe heard one of the dogs yelp and run clumsily in the distance.

Krait's eyes widened, and she gasped. "Did you see that?!"

Dusty nodded. "It was slightly out of the ordinary."

"Slightly?" Krait snapped, clearly annoyed. "What if that shooting thing hits us?"

Tigerstripe froze, wondering if hunters were nearby. He was immediately reminded of the encounter of the hunters with Rain, also making him wonder if his ginger-furred friend was nearby as well.

A powerful boom suddenly echoed through the forest, and Barkpaw shouted, "RUN!"

The cats immediately began to pick up their pace and rushed through the forest, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Dusty froze suddenly, and Tigerstripe was about to tell him to keep running when he realized Dusty had paused to watch one of the bigger dogs fall to the floor, obviously hit by whatever weapon had been used against it.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE A MOUSEBRAIN!" Krait shouted at him. "RUN, DUSTY, RUN!"

Dusty shook his head slightly, coming out of his daze, and soon he had caught up to the rest of the cats again.

"I THINK THAT DOG IS HAVING KITS!" he shouted as they continued their race through the forest.

"IT'S NONE OF OUR CONCERN!" Krait shouted, her legs still moving without cease.

"Don't you mean pups?" Tigerstripe asked him.

Dusty gave a quick nod, and another large boom echoed behind them.

"RUN!" Tigerstripe shouted. He quickened his pace, taking the lead now. The cats struggled to keep up, but somehow, they managed.

As they raced through the forest, a few two-legs suddenly burst out of the bushes, fire-sticks held in their weirdly shaped paws. Tigerstripe yowled in surprise and spun around, trying to flee from the two legs.

Racing away from the two-legs, Tigerstripe turned to see another group of two-legs had gone in the opposite direction after the dogs. Meanwhile, the other two-legs trailed close behind, and Tigerstripe gasped as one grabbed Dusty by the scruff. Dusty yowled and flailed his legs, but the two-leg held a good grasp.

Krait gasped and slowed down her pace. Hissing aggressively, she unsheathed her claws. On the other side of him, Flamepaw hissed at the hunter and turned toward him, biting down hard on his leg. The hunter yelped and dropped Dusty back to the forest floor.

Dusty landed with a thud and whirled around, bristling. Krait meanwhile slashed at the two-leg's other leg, causing blood to seep out and stain his pants. The fire-stick holder yowled with pain and clamped his paw on his leg. Another one clumsily almost dropped his fire-stick and staggering, aimed it at Krait.

Tigerstripe hissed and jumped on the two-leg who was aiming at Krait. He bit as leg just as Flamepaw had done, but it seemed he did not do it hard enough.

The two-leg screamed, but in that moment, still managed to shoot Krait. Krait yelped in complete and utter shock. The metal figure had implanted itself in her shoulder, and Tigerstripe watched in fear as blood began to soak her cream coat. Another two-leg hollered angrily at the one who had shot Krait, and Tigerstripe glanced at them in confusion.

Dusty ran over to his mate, shouting, "KRAIT! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!"

Krait, still in shock from the impact, managed to nod her head a little. Krait stared at her wounded shoulder, and Tigerstripe breathed in relief, glad she was still alive. Suddenly, a third two-leg who had been doing nothing pointed his fire-stick at Krait.

Tigerstripe and Barkpaw both lunged at the two-leg and bit down on his ankle, causing the two-leg to drop his heavy fire-stick on Barkpaw's head. Meanwhile, Dusty was trying to stop Krait from bleeding any more.

Barkpaw fell to the ground, and Flamepaw immediately rushed to his side in worry.

"Barkpaw!" she called.

He slowly lifted his head, revealing a large bump. He got up slowly, shaking himself off.

"I-I'm okay," he managed to say.

The two-leg finally had his chance, and his fire-stick boomed as Krait was shot once more in the other shoulder.

"NO, KRAIT!" Dusty yowled painfully.

"KRAIT!" Tigerstripe yowled, running over to the fallen she-cat. His heart pounded with fear, and he knew already that there would be no hope for her. Tears began to gather in his eyes, and he wished he could've been able to prevent this from happening.

Krait was breathing heavily, and her eyes were slowly beginning to close. Memories of him and Krait flashed through Tigerstripe's mind, and he held back a sob, trying to remain strong in the face of one of his closest acquaintances.

"No, Krait!" Tigerstripe called, trying desperately to keep her alive. "We have to find Jetfur, remember?"

Krait shook her head. "C-Can't now," she said softly. "I will see you again in StarClan," she said to both Tigerstripe and Dusty. Tigerstripe found the statement odd, being that she was a rogue, but he simply pushed the thought away, overcome with grief. Krait's eyelids slid close, and Tigerstripe knew she was gone. Suddenly, one of the two-legs grabbed her, and before any cat had time to react, they'd thrown her into a cage.

"NO!" Tigerstripe screeched, staring at the two-legs wandering away in disbelief. He should've run after them and ripped them senseless with his claws, but his legs remained glued to the forest floor.

"I'm sorry," Flamepaw whispered quietly to Tigerstripe and Dusty.

"KRAIT, I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" Dusty shouted in disbelief. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE? WHY?!"

Tigerstripe was about to comfort Dusty when he turned, noticing that some two-legs were still present. And this time, there fire-sticks were pointed directly at the group of cats.