Forest's Fate

Chapter 27

My heart picks up its pace even more than before as I run to Ash's motionless body.

Rain appears beside me. "Is he still alive?" she asks. Her ears are flattened to her head, and her eyes are as wide as two moons.

I look at Ash for signs of life. Luckily, to my relief, his chest is faintly rising and falling.

"Yeah," I reply, "he's alive. Are we staying here tonight, or will we have to drag him somewhere?"

Rain sits down and bows her head, staring at Ash's face. Then, she shakes her head and stands back up. When she finally speaks, her voice is dry and grave. "This is important. We need a meeting right here and now."

I perk up my ears. "Right now? Shouldn't we wait until Ash recovers so he can be part of it, too? He'll probably be at least somewhat better by morning."

Rain stays silent as her tail furiously sways around. She doesn't look convinced.

"Besides," I offer, "everyone will be more rested in the morning than if we just held the meeting in the middle of the night. They'll handle the news of the experiment better."

The gray tabby blinks and glances backwards. I follow her gaze to the three young cats behind us. Their glowing eyes, appearing ominous with the dark indigo sky behind them, unblinkingly stare back.

"You're right," Rain meows in a quiet tone.

She turns her head back and calls out louder, "Hey, can you three do a favor for me? Tell the rebels in the North, South, and West Tunnels to come for a meeting at dawn."

The cats nod, and after a quick moment of murmuring among themselves, they take off in three separate directions.

I start, "I can tell the cats in the East Tunnel-"

"No," Rain meows as she pads to the entrance of the tunnel, "it's okay. I'll do it."

        With one swift movement, she slips into the hole, and I'm left staring at the dark sky, trying not to look at Ash's crumpled body. Now that the drama is mostly over, I notice that my legs are aching. After I check to make sure Ash is still breathing, I lie down next to him. I intend to stay awake. However, right after my eyes flutter shut, I fall into a deep sleep.

When I wake up, there are many cats moving around me and talking. The sky is a dark blue, which I guess means that it's dawn here in Gardinia. I pull myself to my paws and glance at Ash, who is still knocked out cold behind me. There's no indication that he woke up during the night, since he's still in the exact same position as before I fell asleep.

        "Hey, quiet, everyone!" a voice yowls. My eyes flit over to Rain, who is standing in the middle of the crowd of cats.

        Everybody stops chattering and backs up to make space for her. As silence hangs in the air, the small, gray cat slowly paces in a circle at first instead of speaking. Her tail brushes the ground as it swishes side to side, and her ears tilt back in deep thought. Finally, she stops walking and begins to make eye contact with every cat watching her.

"I may have told some of you," Rain starts, "that Ash and I were planning on experimenting giving powers to rebels."

        "And it failed, didn't it?" someone remarks. The speaker, who happens to be North, steps forward and faces Rain. As I go stand next to Ash instead of behind him, North glances at him with a look of disapproval, which makes several more cats notice Ash.