The Path (A Warrior Cat Story) (Book 2)

Chapter 26: Are you ready?

I looked away from the cat for a few moments, to be honest, I was a bit afraid. I knew that a leader should not have any fear, it was a slight bit weak of me. I shivered, and then looked at the cat and then I nodded to him. This cat did not know me, he did not know what I was destined to become.
I looked at him for a few more moments, as he continued licking his fur like he had done when we first had begun talking. He was clearly bored, I looked down at the ground a bit upset, I just needed to find a way out of the place that I was going to be stuck in.
"If there is a way out, can you help me with it?" I said to the cat. After a few more moments, he stopped licking his fur and he turned his head up at me. He looked at me for a few more moments, and then he began to squint his eyes. I could tell that he was a bit afraid.
It was not hard to notice out of this cat. I could read him fairly easily, I was beginning to get chills down my spine, thinking about why the cat might even be afraid in the first place. He did not seem like one of those cats that got scared very easily.
"I can tell you... There is a way out, but I don't know if it is really worth it, you can just wait it out and then run away from your owners, well, depending on if there is a way out." He said to me. I looked at the cat for a few more moments, I was thinking about it for sure.
But then I shook my head, I should not be thinking about it. I was nearly out of time, it was all or nothing right now. If I did not hurry, those kits would be gone, stuck with the twolegs. The parents of the kits, they might have it even worse... They might very well die...
If I did even find them in the first place, I still had no way of saving them, I just had to hope that Starclan would come into my dreams tonight after I found them. I was not sure how much longer the kits had left, I shivered and looked back at the cat.
"Tell me how to do it... What is the risk?" I said to him. The cat looked at me for a few moments, and then he eventually nodded to me. I could tell that he was a bit afraid, which I was not sure why he would be. I was the one that was going to be doing this, not him.
He looked down at the box that me and him were both trapped in. He shivered and then he eventually looked back up at me. I could see the fear that was in his eyes. How could he be afraid for me? He barely knew me at all.
"The risk my not be worth the reward." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, and then I nodded for him to continue. At the same time, I rolled my eyes as well, he sure was wasting a lot of time, telling me how dangerous it was, but not even telling me how.
"Please just tell me, I have to do it, I can not fail Starclan." I said to him. He looked at me a bit confused and a bit surprised at the same time. I had not meant to spout out the words so freely, especially to a cat that had no idea what I was talking about.
I felt like he was about to go off topic once again, and ask me what I was talking about. I did not have the time for it, I was not sure how much longer that I had left. It seemed like, maybe he did not even know how to get out, and that was the reason why he was stalling so much.
"Okay... When we get there, the first place that they are going to take you, is to put something in your fur. It will be painful but it will calm you down, that way you don't think about running out." He began saying to me. I looked at him a bit confused, if they did that, then there would be no point in trying to run out in the first place.
I shivered, I had a small memory from such a long time ago, of being in one of those places, and them sticking something into me. It was a fair bit painful, but it calmed me down. I remember why I was freaking out, my mother had left me...
I would not say left me, I was beginning to remember what had happened that day more and more each second that I thought about it. I now was beginning to remember my mother... Yes, we were both sick... I was my brother and my sister.

"Moon... This is the end for me, promise me that you will stay alive... You will achieve greatness, I am sure of that my son." My mother said to me. I looked at her, not sure what to say back to her, I was so scared, I was not too sure what was going on.
I could tell that she was sick, and so was I, but she was far more sick than I was. I moved towards my mother, and held on to her as close as I could. She was all that I had left, I had lost my brother and my sister to the same sickness that was now going through me and my mother.
My mother was just going through the later stages of it right now. I don't know how much longer my mother really had left in her, I shivered, just holding on to her as close as I could. We were so close, she told me it was just around the corner.
The twolegs could save me, why could she not go any further? Could they not save her? I held on to her for just a few more moments, I could tell that she was in a lot of pain. My mother began coughing, she coughed up a fair amount of blood, worse than last time.
"Mother... Please come with me... I don't want to be alone." I said to her. She looked at me dead in my eyes, I could tell that she was in a lot of pain. Both mentally, and physically as well. I held on to her as close as I could, I knew that the end was near for her...
Could she just not make it any further? She had already gone so far... I sniffed her, I could smell the dretched smell of sickness on her body. I wish that I could save her, if the twolegs can save me then why cannot they not save her? I looked down at the ground a bit sadly, she was going to die...
"Moon... I have gotten it this far, if I could go with you, I would... They would not take both of us, I am near the end now anyways... My time has come, it is time for me to be with your father and your brother and sister, now go Moon... This is your time-" She began saying to me. But then she fell to the ground in a lot of pain.
I could feel the pain from her body almost, and I held on to her. This was the end for my mother, this was it, I was young... I knew that my mother was out of time now... It hurt me, I did not remember my father, but I remember seeing my brother and sister dying in so much pain.
My mothers body then went limp, I pushed myself against her, but I could tell that this was it... She was gone now, I coughed a couple times, no blood came out. I knew that she was gone. I held on to her for a few more moments, until her body went cold.
Then I turned over, and I looked at the area that my mother had told me to go to. I looked at it closely, we had slept at this same spot last night. I could hear the yells of all of the other animals from in the large monsters that they were stuck in.
I did not want to be like those animals, but it seemed as if I had no other choice, it was either do what my mother told me, or die like my mother just had. I closed my eyes for a few more moments, holding on to the last of my mother... Then I began walking to where my mother told me to go...

I closed my eyes, trying to clear that memory from out of my mind, I then looked back up at the cat that was talking to me, and then I nodded, still a bit confused as well, as I remembered what we were talking about in the first place.
"If that makes us not able to run out, then how are we going to get out?" I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, it seemed as if he was not sure how to respond to it. But he then eventually nodded, he now knew what to say to me.
I looked at him, he still did look a bit afraid, I had forgotten to ask him what the risk was. He looked very scared about it, which I was still confused about. Maybe he must have memories of his friends trying to get out of the place.
Had the twolegs done something to them? I thought twolegs were not dangerous creatures, but I knew that they were known to steal away a cat. They did not do anything to hurt you, surely right? I closed my eyes for a few moments, I was beginning to get a bit scared even thinking about it.
I had to find those cats to matter what, I did not know how much longer I had left, nor did I knew where I was even supposed to go when I got out of there in the first place... The day was already halfway done by the time I had been knocked out in the first place.
"Well, they take 5 of us out at once, and then they take us to another room, from there we can run out and then when we are out, we can try to find a way out of the place from there, but they will be running after us... You don't want to get caught." He said to me. I looked at him, still not sure what he was trying to get at.
They obviously did something to you if they caught you... I shivered, now remembering hearing something from Tristan about cats getting their claws cut off by twolegs... I hoped that is not what he was talking about... I did not even want to imagine having my claws cut out of me.
"What was the risk... If you get caught." I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then I saw him gulp. I almost wanted to as well, if I lost my claws then there was no way I would ever be able to hunt again... Or even fight another cat if we got into skirmishes.
I could not teach my clan mates any battle tactics, I would be a useless leader. I closed my eyes once again, and I waited for what it was that he was about to tell me. I opened my eyes back up as I heard him talking once again, I could hear real fear in his voice.
"They put a shot into you, and then you die... I've seen it happen, it is not something that you want to mess around with, that is why I am afraid." He said to me. I looked at him and then nodded, and then the same fear began to creep into my own body.
It was not death that feared me, but it was the fact of me dying... And Mint being alone, Oister dying... The kits all dying... If I failed this, everything that I cared about would be gone, they would all die... I could only imagine the pain of Kettle, day by day... Wondering where his mate was.
I could not fail them, if I did not try, then they would all die anyways... It was all or nothing now. I closed my eyes, and then I shivered, I was afraid not just for them though. But now I was afraid for myself, starclan would not take me if they knew I failed.
"Alright... I've got this... You don't need to be afraid for me, I will get out of there... What is your name? You will be remembered..." I said to him. He looked at me, still a bit scared for some reason, but he then nodded to me.
"I am coming with you... That is why I am afraid, if you know how to make it in the wild, then I want to go with you, and my name is briar." He said to me. I looked at him, a bit surprised, and I now understood what he was getting at. I was happy for him, I would happily take another cat that was interested in joining the clans.
The monster that we were in then randomly made a loud noise, and everything then slammed down onto each other. I heard all of the other animals freak out, they were all scared, and none of them knew what was going on... Much like me...
"What's happening?" I said to him. Trying to pull myself up since everything had just crashed into the walls of the cage that we were in. Briar looked at me, he shivered and then he did his best to smile at me, through all the fear that he had.
"We are about to get out... This is it... Are you ready?"