The Shadows - A Cat Story ✔

Chapter 13

Blade kept flickering in the darkness of her head. He had horns on his head, and wings. He looked terrifying. He seemed to be mouthing something to her, but she couldn't read it.

It played over and over in her head, until she awoke. The camp was silent, and it was dark outside. She got up, and quietly snuck into the darkness. Stars filled the sky, and every cat seemed to be asleep. She heard a wail of pain in the distance. It was that of a cat. Moon almost thought she'd recognized it.

As fast as she could, she went straight to Ash's den. "Ash! Some cat's hurt!" She yowled as she ran through the cavern before Ash's little cave. "Hurry!"

Stream padded out of the tunnel to the black tom's den. "Hm?" She meowed drowsily.

"Get Ash! A cat is hurt!" Moon screeched, but Ash already exited his den.

The two older cats were alert now, and Moon led them out into the camp. The kitten heard another wail, and darted out of camp, heading the direction it had come from. More wails came, every time they sounded more desperate.

They got close to the wails. So close they hurt Moon's ears, but Ash had signaled them to slow, and be quiet. "We have to see what's going on, it could be dangerous," Ash whispered as they huddled into a bush and peered through the branches.

"Rain!" Stream silently gasped. Moon knew Rain. She was a very nice cat.

"One bite, and you'll be dead." a voice that Moon recognized growled, and she saw Rain clutch her teeth.

"You no-good prickly pile of rat-scat!" Rain croaked. "You're evil!"

"Blade!" Moon shuddered as she recognized the long haired tom.

"We need to help!" Ash launched himself out of the bush, and Moon watched him barrel into Blade's side.

"I told you I'd get in your way," Blade chuckled.

"The only one getting in anyone's way is me! I'm getting in your way!" Ash snarled as dug his claws into Blade's thick fur.

Stream jumped out of the bush by now, and she was helping Ash hold the evil smoke cat down. "How dare you hurt Rain!"

"How many cats do you have hiding in that bush, Ash?" Blade tried to get up, and Moon knew she'd have to run.

She climbed out the opposite side of the bush and pelted back towards the camp. As she ran farther away from the wrestling cats, she started to yowl. "Help! We need help!"

By the time she reached the camp cats were flowing out, ready to help. Root, Flame, Spider, Branch, Dusk, Fern, Dawn, Clay, Tiger, and Storm erupted towards her, panicked.

"Rain is in danger! I can't take all of you, but I need Stone! Some cat get her! I'll take Tiger, Flame Spider, Fern, Dawn, and Root!" Moon explained briefly, and the cats nodded, and soon Stone had emerged from the camp. The cats who Moon didn't call for shrugged and went back inside the camp, while the white kitten ran through the forest, hoping the others were following. They arrived at the scene very quickly.

"Ugh!" Blade growled and shook Ash and Stream off him. Flame and Stone went straight to Rain's side, but the other cats launched themselves on Blade.

The long haired tom struggled beneath the five, six, seven cats. Moon lept at him as well. When he saw her, his eyes lit up with fear. Why was he scared of a kitten? Blade lifted himself up, and some of the cats fell off of him, he shook the rest off. The red-eyed tom threw himself in the air, transforming into the smoke, and fled.

"We scared him off!" Root yowled in triumph.

"That fleabag won't dare show up here again!" Tiger snarled happily.

"Don't be so sure. He is powerful, and even if we outnumber him, is strength outnumbers us all," Ash murmured. "Only one of us has the power to be-rid of him."

Who? Moon thought. Who could get rid of such an evil breed? She looked over at Rain. Her body was covered in gashes, and blood stained the snow. The tortoiseshell tabby she-cat looked like she was in a lot of pain. Flame was at her side, a worried look in his eyes. Stone was ordering cats to go and get stuff for her.

Hopefully, Rain would be okay, and this would all blow over, and Blade would never return. Hopefully, life turned into a happy world, where bright colored cats didn't know they were ever positioned lower than the dark colored cats. Hopefully, the cold season would be gone, prey would be rich, and all dangers would leave forever.

"Are you okay?" A scratchy voice whispered in her ears. She turned and saw Tiger, the bright orange tom with dark orange stripes down his pelt.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just shook," Moon replied, relishing Tiger's sweet scent. He must have only been a couple moons older than her.

"Yeah. Me too. Stream says I can be your training partner, since you were already catnapped once." The tom meowed happily.

Was life going to get any better? It was great, other than the pain she kept having in her head and in her back. And Blade. He was a nuisance. "Cool," She sighed.