Squirrelflight's Hope

Squirrelflight caught her breath. Mounds rose before them, giving way to rocky mountain slopes in the distance. Forest sprouted here and there, opening into swaths of land where grass covered the rolling hills like a pelt. Squirrelflight could see streams cutting through the valleys like claw marks. Cascades of boulders clustered in ravines. “That looks like a good hunting ground.” Squirrelflight nodded toward a sunny hillside. “I think I can see rabbit holes.”

Leafstar didn’t comment. She was staring at the view, her nose twitching. Fresh mountain scent mingled with forest and water, and the smell of prey hung heavy in the air. Squirrelflight scanned the hillsides for signs of Twolegs, but there were no stone nests here. A Thunderpath cut its way along one edge, heading for the mountain, but no monsters patrolled it.

Hope welled in Squirrelflight’s chest. It seemed like good territory. She glanced at Leafstar, trying to hide her excitement. This had to be Leafstar’s decision.

Leafstar narrowed her eyes. “Let’s take a closer look.” The SkyClan leader crossed the hilltop and headed into the valley below. Brambles rose around them, cut by sandy tracks and growing thicker as they neared the bottom. Had Leafstar noticed the prey trails? What else could have carved those pathways? Squirrelflight fell in behind her as she veered onto a steep path down. At the bottom a stream chattered over a stony bed. Beyond it, woodland reached the bank. The stream was shallow enough to wade across, and Leafstar led the way.

Cold water swirled around Squirrelflight’s paws. She was glad to hop out the other side and follow Leafstar into the woods. There were wider tracks through the undergrowth here, and Squirrelflight’s fur bristled nervously as she smelled a familiar scent. Other cats had been here. Loners or rogues? She tasted the air. The scent was faint, almost washed away now, and there was no sign of movement between the trees. She glanced at Leafstar. The SkyClan leader’s pelt was slick from the rain, ruffled along her spine. Had Leafstar smelled the cat-scent too?

Leafstar slowed as they headed deeper into the new territory, her whiskers twitching. Squirrelflight sensed her caution and moved closer to her, scanning the trees as they skirted a hillside and followed the woodland down into another valley. As they neared the bottom, the forest opened. Shrubs clustered on the far side, sheltering a wide stretch of grass that covered the valley floor. Squirrelflight felt sunshine break through the clouds to warm her pelt and shook out her fur, relieved that she’d be dry soon. “This would make a good place for a camp,” she murmured.

“Look.” Leafstar nodded toward moss piled at the foot of a bush. Beside it, earth was scraped from beneath the branches to form a hollow around the trunk.

Squirrelflight stiffened. “It looks like someone’s made a camp already.” She jerked her muzzle around, noticing gaps between branches and patches of flattened grass. Her pelt spiking, she sniffed the ground. Cats! She couldn’t tell how many. The scent was no more than a trace; the rain had washed the place clean. “It smells like it’s been abandoned.”

Leafstar’s tail twitched. She looked around warily. “Why would they abandon this place?” she mewed. “They’ve taken a lot of trouble to make it their home.”

Squirrelflight uncurled her claws, hoping Leafstar was wrong. Her heart quickened as a breeze whisked into the valley. It carried fresh cat-scents.

Leafstar moved beside her, pelt bushing. “Some cat’s coming.”

“I know.” Squirrelflight’s breath caught in her throat. She suddenly felt a long way from home.

“Let’s get out of here.” Leafstar turned and froze.

Squirrelflight followed her gaze. A huge she-cat was staring at them from beside a dogwood. The cat’s long, fine gray fur was bushed out, and her eyes glittered with hostility. Squirrelflight’s heart raced as the cat stalked toward them, growling.

“We’re going to have to fight our way out,” she whispered to Leafstar.

“I don’t know if we can.” Leafstar nodded to the brambles at the side of the valley as three more cats, each as large as the first, padded out. Four cats followed the gray cat from the dogwood, and three more slid from beneath a juniper bush on the other side of the valley. “We’re surrounded.”

CHAPTER 4

The gray cat narrowed its eyes. “Why are you here?”

The other cats moved closer, pelts bushed, eyes flashing menacingly.

“We’re exploring. We didn’t realize …” Squirrelflight’s mew trailed away as she saw that the gray cat’s belly was round. She was expecting kits!

Leafstar shifted beside her. “We thought the camp was abandoned.”

“The rain had washed away your scent,” Squirrelflight mewed quickly.

The gray queen exchanged glances with a young white she-cat near the brambles. As the white she-cat flicked her tail, her gaze flashed back to Squirrelflight. “You must have seen our tracks and our dens.”