Chapter One

Ravenpaw watched as his beloved clan faded off into the distance. Nothing would ever be the same again, the forest was crumbling, his friends had left, he would probably never see anything of his old life again. True, he wasn't technically a part of the clan, but he always would be in his heart. If things had been different, he thought, maybe I would be going with them.

He sat and watched the sun go down over Highstones. He heard pawsteps come up behind him. "I don't envy you right now."

Ravenpaw turned around and saw his closest friend sitting behind him. "What am I going to do without them Barley?" Ravenpaw asked quietly. Barley came and sat down next to him. "Life will still go on, they're on their way to a better future. Besides, you still have me don't you?" His wiskers twitched miscivously. Ravenpaw smiled slightly. "You're right I guess..."

Ravenpaw sighed, "I'll miss them." The two cats sat in silence as the sun went down and the stars started to appear overhead.

Barley yawned, "well, guess I'm off to bed. You commin'?" "Ya, I'll be there in a minute..."

Ravenpaw took one more mournful look where he saw the last of his clan and headed off after Barley.

The following days were pretty much average for Ravenpaw. In fact, he could amost believe that things were back to normal, if it hadn't been for the noises of all those monsters in the forest.

Ravenpaw walked along what used to be the Windclan border along with Barley. "It looks so different now," Ravenpaw said as he gazed upon the once beautiful moor. Now it was filled with trenches and holes that were filled with mud that could swallow a kit.

Barley just nodded as he picked his way through particularly muddy ground. Ravenpaw stopped to hear another tree crash to the ground and hear a monster grind it up.

Barley narrowed his eyes, "Imagine what things would be like if they stayed." Ravenpaw shuddered, "I don't even want to think of it."

Firestar had told Ravenpaw how much trouble it had been to get all the clans to come, he was just glad that they had managed to agree.

"Do you think we'll run into Graystripe?" Ravenpaw asked hopefully. Barley shook his head. "I doubt it, even if he did manage to escape those Twolegs I doubt he would survive long out here." Ravenpaw's wiskers drooped in dismay. Barley glanced over at his friend, "But hey, who knows, miracles do happen. I'll bet Starclan will help him make it through." Ravenpaw just nodded slightlly and carried on in silence.

Suddently, Barley stopped with his ears pricked. Ravenpaw looked back at Barley. "What is it?" He asked. "I don't know," Barley meowed puzzled, "I thought I heard a cry for help." He sniffed the air. Nothing. "Must've been my imagination," he said as he shook his head to clear it.

Ravenpaw paused. He thought he heard a faint call on the breeze. It was hard to distinguish anything with all the noise the monsters were making. He sniffed the air but that was also hard because of all the mud and oil made by the monsters.

Barley looked up at the sky, "The clouds are coming in, we should probably get back to the barn." Ravenpaw looked at the moor again, "But..." He looked down at his paws. "You're right, lets head back."

As they walked back toward the field Ravenpaw felt uneasy. What if someone got left behind? He thought. I can't just leave them out there. Then Ravenpaw reached a decision. First thing tomarrow he would come back and try to find this lost cat.