Warriors: Clockwise

<------ Chapter Twenty-Six --->

"We should have left this place while we had the chance," Kilter swallowed, fighting to keep the stutter out of his voice, "If it weren't for this war, maybe we could have escaped the earthquake. We could have saved everyone."

"They never would have left the city," Tags sighed resolutely, and Hero wondered why Tags had excluded herself from her judgements about the Faction cats. "But the sooner we get down there, the less blood will have to be shed.

More nods spread among the cats, and Tags veered to the right, having identified a safe path to the battlefield below and ahead of them.

"Woah, woah, wait," Hero interrupting, dashing in front of the spotted she-cat with a frown etched into his features, "You're going down there?"

Tags narrowed her eyes. "Sofi knows the enemy, she'll be a helpful asset to infiltrating the enemy camp."

"Sofi does't just know the enemy, she knows the South Faction camp inside and out," Hero pointed out, as the other cats came to a stop before him, forming a half-circle, "Sofi said that the enemy Factions' allegiances are unsteady; if we killed Alpha, the allegiance would break, and we could stop the battle entirely instead of trying to fight our way through. No more North and South Faction cats would have to die."

"They're the enemy," Tags retorted.

"They've got families, just like yours. They're fighting to save themselves and their home, same as us. Why should they have to die for that?"

Another moment passed, and as Tags opened her mouth, the other cats looked up at her expectantly.

"He's right," Dodge agreed, tilting her head slightly.

"There is good in these cats, I promise you," Sofi added.

Tags exhaled, claws flexing and scratching against the concrete. 

"Have it your way, Timekeeper."

< —————— >

Somewhere along their walk, Sofi had taken lead of the group, much to Tags' disgruntlement. The grey and white she-cat expertly picked her way around fallen debris, and upon noticing her talent of avoiding rough patches and sharp object, the other cats began to place their paws wherever she had placed hers as they followed along.

They natural fell into a single file line behind her, which they would have had to do anyway, as Hero soon found the path beneath his paws becoming narrower. As if nothing had changed, Sofi padded gracefully over the top of a fallen arch that was halfway embedded in the pile of fragmented bricks beneath it, and the other cats carefully ascended it after her. 

"You seem to know what you're doing," Tags commented, her trademark suspicion lacing each word.

"This is the exact route I left the South Faction camp from," she chirped, hopping off the edge of the arch onto solid ground once again, "I've got near perfect photographic memory, and it seems there haven't been any tremors around here recently, so not much has changed."

The cats accepted this, as they were too physically and mentally exhausted to argue.

Almost half an hour has passed since Hero had lost sight of any sort of familiar territory, meaning they were well into the North District, which lay across the bridge from their destination.

After a few more minutes, Sofi brought them to a halt.

"Here we are," she announced.

Tags flicked her ears. "Where is 'here'?"