Sunrise

He could see that Hazeltail and Hollyleaf were still scared, their fur on end and their eyes wide with alarm. He knew he must look just the same. He braced himself to force his paws to carry him across the hard, black surface of the Thunderpath.

“Come up here beside me,” Brambleclaw directed them calmly. “We’ll cross one at a time. Brackenfur, you can go first, to show them how it’s done.”

Brackenfur twitched his ears in acknowledgment. “It’s not so bad,” he told the younger cats kindly. “The Thunderpath in the old forest was much bigger than this.”

Birchfall’s fur bristled. “Then I’m glad we don’t live there anymore!”

Brackenfur padded up beside Brambleclaw and waited for another monster to sweep past. Its roar died away in the distance.

“Okay, go,” mewed Brambleclaw.

Brackenfur leaped forward, his golden brown pelt almost vanishing in the swirling snow. When he reached the other side, everything was still quiet.

“Hollyleaf, go!”

Taking a gulp of air, Hollyleaf hurled herself across the Thunderpath. Lionblaze dug his claws into the ground, trying to stop himself from shaking, until he saw her reach Brackenfur’s side safely.

The growling of another monster was approaching through the snow. Lionblaze flinched back as it came into sight: a huge creature in glaring colors. His heart raced even faster when he saw several Twolegs in its belly as it flashed past.

Did it eat them? Will it eat us?

“Lionblaze, now you go.”

Summoning all his courage, Lionblaze stepped up beside Brambleclaw and launched himself forward. For a few heartbeats his world was full of the choking stink of the monster that had just passed by, and the black stuff scraped his pads as he raced across. Then he was standing on a narrow strip of grass between the Thunderpath and a prickly hedge, and Hollyleaf was pressing her pelt against his.

“We did it,” she murmured.

“You know, Birchfall is right,” Lionblaze whispered back, as his heartbeat gradually calmed. “If the old Thunderpath was worse than this, I wouldn’t want to live near it, either!”

A moment later Hazeltail joined them, and then Birchfall. A stream of monsters followed, leaving Brambleclaw marooned on the other side. Finally the last of the monsters disappeared, though Lionblaze could still hear their roaring in the air.

Brambleclaw bounded out onto the Thunderpath, racing for the other side. Another monster appeared in the distance, and Birchfall screeched, “Look out!” The Clan deputy didn’t break stride. Long before the monster swept past, he was safely across, among his Clanmates.

“See, nothing to it.” He flicked an ear dismissively. “Now let’s keep going.”

The wet leaves and debris under the branches of the hedge plastered themselves to Lionblaze’s belly fur as he flattened himself to crawl into the next field. A strong scent flooded over him as he struggled to his paws on the other side. He felt as though he ought to remember it, but the memory slipped away from him like an elusive piece of prey.

“What are those?” Hazeltail asked nervously, angling her ears toward the center of the field.

Lionblaze peered through the snowflakes. Ahead of them, clustered together in small groups, were several huge animals with black-and-white pelts. As he examined them, one of them raised its head and let out a low, mournful sound.

“Cows!” Hollyleaf exclaimed, coming to stand beside her brother. “You remember, Lionblaze. We saw them on the way to the mountains.”

“Cows—of course.” Lionblaze’s mind flew back to the time when they had encountered the old loner, Purdy. He had shown the cows to them as they passed a farm; his mother—no, Squirrelflight—had told them the massive creatures weren’t dangerous, provided they didn’t step on you.

“The cows are okay,” Brambleclaw reassured Hazeltail, as he emerged from the hedge. “They won’t attack us.”

Hazeltail gave him a doubtful look, and as Brackenfur took the lead across the field, Lionblaze was inclined to share her concern.

The cows gathered around them, gazing down at them with huge liquid eyes. Lionblaze was far closer to their stony feet than he wanted to be, and he didn’t like the looks of the big curved claws sticking out of their heads. Fighting techniques wouldn’t be much use against animals this size. The cows bent down and sniffed at the cats’ fur with hot, wet breath; Lionblaze thought he was going to choke on the strong reek of their scent, and their doleful moaning almost deafened him.

As Brackenfur led them calmly through the forest of legs, one of the long, swishing tails gave Hollyleaf a stinging slap in the face. She leaped backward, cannoning into Lionblaze.

“Fox dung!” she snapped.

Lionblaze steadied her until she got her balance.

“I’m starting to wonder if this is such a great adventure,” she muttered, with a glance at Hazeltail, who nodded vigorously in agreement. “The journey to the mountains was much easier than this, even with the dogs in the barn.”