Forest's Fate

Chapter 24

The indigo sky looms above me and everyone else as we stand by the East Tunnel. It's time to invade the Superiors.

        My heart is slamming so hard and quickly that I feel like it's going to leap out of my chest. I recall North's words earlier in the day that if someone kills me tonight, it will be certain that I will never see Earth again. What if I die? I don't want my death to be in Gardinia.

        While I panic, Ash passes by from behind and briefly stops right next to me. "You're with me," he growls in a low voice. "We're attacking the Earth-Superior army."

       Without waiting for an answer, he continues walking, only to halt again to talk to another cat in front of me.

        I wonder if that means if I will see Ice or not. He leads Camp Six, but back when I was there, I sometimes noticed that he was not in the camp. Does he occasionally go check on the Earth-Superior army? I really hope I don't have to see him on the battlefield. If I will, that means that I can basically say goodbye to my life right now.

        After some amount of time, Rain calls for all of us to be silent. Then, when a hush falls over all of us, she meows, "Alright, you've all been told who you're going with by now, yeah? Awesome, let's go!"

        Rain is speaking so quickly that I barely know what she's saying. Even from a distance away, I can tell that her eyes are shining with excitement, and that her tail is eagerly shooting up straight in the air. I still can't figure out why she's so cheerful about this. She must really hate the Superior side.

        I locate Ash's tall, black figure in the crowd and follow him with a bunch of other cats.

        Ash barely acknowledges any of the cats that he is currently in charge of. In contrast to Rain's perky, happy-go-lucky state right now, he looks even more dull and serious than usual, close to being melancholy. His tail hangs low to the ground as he gives a simple nod to all of us. Then, in a quick, steady pace, he walks in a specific direction. Everyone trudges behind him.

        We walk for a long time. The dark indigo of the sky matches my dreary, nervous mood. To occupy my mind, I count the number of cats who are walking with me. As I get to nine cats, I spot a familiar furry tail near the front of the crowd. It's North. I consider talking to him, but I decide against it. He didn't look like he enjoyed my company earlier today, anyway.

        Twenty-two cats? No, I have forgotten about some of the cats who are behind me. It's difficult to count when everyone is moving.

        Twenty-seven cats, not including me. That sounds right. I wonder how many cats there will be in our group after this battle.

        In the distance, despite the cats that are blocking the view, I notice that there's a lone, fairly small stone den in the distance. As we get closer to it, I realize that this is probably where the Earth-Superior army sleeps. Flattening my ears, I try to ignore my sudden urge to turn and run, and I press on.

        At last, we reach the stone den. It actually just looks like a big collection of sturdy rocks right now, since we have arrived to it from behind. I wonder if Ash led us here in this particular way intentionally.

        Ash is facing away from us. His tail is low to the ground, and his ears are tilted back. For a few seconds, his body is completely still, as if he were in deep thought. Then, suddenly, he snaps his head towards us and hisses in a low, rushed voice, "We are not in luck tonight. The wind is blowing from our direction to the den, which means that the guards can catch our scent at any second. Unfortunately, we are unable to sneak up on them. They are both Superior cats, one with super-speed and the other with enhanced scent abil-"