CHAPTER FOUR

Branches rustled overhead as we padded through the forest. I could sense that the others were uncomfortable with this, but I shook the feeling off. Maybe the other side of the island was dangerous, but it was my only lead to ever getting out of here. And I had no time to waste. I didn't want to waste my life here. I wanted to go back to ShoreClan and live.

"Thanks for coming," I said awkwardly. The toms said nothing. Sagewhisker smiled, and Willa gave me a sad look, as if she knew we were making a big mistake, but she'd go along with it anyway, just to protect us. I marveled at how serious she looked compared to her young, beautiful features. She should be twirling in the midst of a flock of young toms, not stuck here.

I wondered what cruel cat had set the enchantment on the island to ruin young lives, and my claws dug into the earth. Whoever it was, if I ever encountered them, it would certainly go badly for them. They'd regret ever making the island.

I was sure of that.

Aden glanced at me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then closed his mouth, gave a tiny shake of his head, and continued walking. I frowned, but brushed off his behavior. He was impossible to read, and I wasn't going to devote all of my time to trying to figure him out. I had other things to worry about.

The sun was high overhead by now, though the canopy of trees overhead blocked most of its glare. We were heading further away from the lake, a fact no one was pleased about. I reminded myself why I was doing this. I couldn't let life slip away like grains of sand in the wind. I had dreams and hopes for the future, and I wanted the chance to make them come true.

Dropping back so I could pad next to Togat, I said, "You're sure of this direction, right?"

He nodded. "You think I could miss a volcano? Trust me. You'll see it soon enough too."

Not sure how good that was, I dipped my head at him. "Thanks for mentioning it. I don't think I'd ever have figured out where to start otherwise."

His smile was small, but genuine. "No problem. I should be thanking you, actually. I was a coward to leave Rosemary there. It's haunted me since then, and believe me, the term 'since then' refers to a long period of time." He gave a rueful smile. "I doubt she'll forgive me, and I can't blame her, but it's worth a try."

"A try," I echoed, staring up at the foliage above. "It's always worth a try."

This time Togat's smile was bigger, and he quickened his pace, like my hope was contagious. I was glad someone was feeling cheerful, because the others all looked like they were attending a funeral. Willa caught my eye and gave me a grin too, which I returned gratefully.

Sagewhisker paused, her gray-flecked pelt brushing against a few fronds of orange-yellow reeds. I noticed that a few of them were tipped with sharp silver needles, and shuddered to think of what might happen if you touched one of those. Seeming to read my thoughts, the she-cat stepped away from the vicious-looking plant. "I think we should stop to hunt now."

Letting out what was quite possibly a sigh of relief, Dragonpaw said, "I agree. How about you and Aden go, and take Rainpaw with you?"

"Why Rainpaw? She doesn't even know how to hunt here," scoffed Aden. I stared at him, but he wouldn't meet his gaze. What was up with him? He had been helping me learn about the flora and fauna of this strange island just a little while ago, and now, suddenly, he was as distant and cold as the moon. But I had bigger things to worry about then Aden's mood swings.

Luckily, Sagewhisker cut in before I could let loose a stream of curses at the ginger tom. "Then this will be the perfect opportunity to teach her some more about hunting. It will only be useful on our journey." Her words were polite, but her eyes were icy.

He shuffled his paws, but said no more; obviously Sagewhisker was well-respected in the group. I couldn't help feeling a little glimmer of pride for the cat I supposed was my Clanmate, in a strange way.

"Okay. You guys do that. We'll wait here." Turby plopped down in the shade of a mint-green plant, nibbling on a blue ailiabsently.

Determined to prove Aden wrong about me, I sprang after Sagewhisker. The tom padded behind us sullenly, his green eyes seeing right through me. That stung a little- I had considered the option that we could be friends somehow- but I pushed through it.

Hoping to sound professional, I said, "What are we hunting? Rooks? Tampa?"

Aden's look was so scornful it could have curdled milk. "You have to hunt rooks in the morning, when they're just awakening. Right now, they're all out to sea. And tampa are sleeping, hidden away in plants and caches you wouldn't dream of."

Stunned to find myself blinking back tears at his tone, I stared at the ground, reminding myself that I was stronger then this, that I didn't care what that know-it-all said. And then, I got angry. Forget him! I didn't need him.

But I didn't need to start fights either. So I kept my mouth shut, for the greater good.

Sagewhisker spoke then, her tone gentle and sympathetic, soothing to my raw ego. "Don't worry about it Rainpaw. You've only been here a day, and already you're doing better then any other cat when they first came here. How about we catch some drenkeninstead?"

I blinked. "What are those?"

She broke into a smile. "You'll see. And you'll love them." She took off through the undergrowth.

Feeling a bit better, I tore off after her, careful not to touch any plants that looked suspicious, and not looking to see if Aden was behind me. Seconds later, he overtook me, tumbling me over into a large vine. I let out a small, instinctive shriek, imagining the feel of the tribos around me. Aden turned and raised his eyebrows mockingly at me as I scrambled out. Feeling miserable, and with a yucky green ooze stuck to my fur, I stumbled after the two cats. This sucked.

Resolving not to let my tormentor get away scott-free, I marched up to Aden and hissed, "Watch where you're going, clumsy furball! Knocking over she-cats isn't nice, in case you hadn't noticed."

Meanness glittered in his eyes. "Maybe it wasn't that I didn't notice. Maybe I didn't notice you were a she-cat."

I recoiled in shock, glaring up at him, and hoping desperately he couldn't see the tears pooling in my eyes. As I turned away, I thought I saw a his face twist painfully into regret, but I was sure I imagined it. He didn't care what he did to hurt other cats, and he certainly didn't care what he did to me. He was just a horrid tom, and I didn't know why I had ever thought of him as anything else.

Not that I had thought of him as anything else, but...

Sagewhisker was waiting for us, standing beside a large, fallen log. The dead wood was covered in frescoes of colorful fungi and mosses. Bright purple-and-orange mushrooms flashed their spots like alarm bells, and multi-legged, creepy-looking centipedes crawled across carpets of green. "Don't touch them," Sagewhisker advised. "Your skin will bubble up and scab over."

I shuddered. "Thanks for the advice."

"Though that would be amusing to see," Aden put in. I turned on him, but the look on his face was mild. When he saw my anger though, he gave me a sheepish grin, but didn't bother apologizing.

Still seething, and unwilling to forgive him even if he had apologized, I returned my attention to Sagewhisker. "Where is thedrenken?"

Flicking her tail to signal we should stay put, she crouched by the end of the log. "Go to the other end, Aden," she hissed quietly. "Rainpaw, you stay here with me."

I nodded and squatted beside her as Aden slipped away. Once we were sure he had had time to get into position, Sagewhisker outlined her plan. "Any moment, Aden is going to go charging into the log from his side. Our prey is inside; can you smell it?"

As I sniffed the air, I realized I did smell something living under the reek of toadstools and rotting wood. It was vaguely grassy, like the plains wind, and it had a hint of tantalizing warmth that made my mouth water, though it wasn't as enticing as the smell of tampa. "Yeah, I smell it. So he chases it out to us?"

"Something like that. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Even if we appear to have it trapped, the drenken could easily slip our holds. They're fast, long-legged, and not scared to kick or bite." She tilted her head. "Kind of like rabbits, but on a larger scale."

I dipped my tail to show I understood, though my heart was pounding inside my chest. Did I stand a chance against such a hard-to-catch prey? I had to. If I failed, Aden would torture me for the rest of my life, or at least, the remainder of the time I had here. Because I was not staying here forever.

At that moment, I heard the drenken, and I focused on the hunt.

All I had time to make out of the creature were a pair of large, frightened eyes and long outstretched legs. Then it was barreling onto me and past me- No! I had to get it.

Lunging forward with such speed that my hind legs skidded across the ground, I fastened my teeth into the drenken's scruff. The animal was midturn; it broke it's own neck against my jaws as it thrashed violently. Blood filled my mouth, and I spat it out, depositing the fresh-kill on the floor.

Aden came racing through the log, only to stop short when he saw the kill. A hint of amazement- and perhaps admiration?- crossed his gaze. Then he gestured to my bloody muzzle. "Gross."

"Nice kill!" exclaimed Turby as we approached the others.

"Rainpaw caught it," said Sagewhisker.

I blushed. "We all worked together."

Aden rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It isn't enough for all of us, so we brought some aili and waterpods to accompany it."

"Waterpods!" Turby rushed forward and fell on the round green sacks Aden dropped onto the ground. He tore them open along the edges, exposing a translucent gel underneath. I watched as he scooped the mush out and licked his paws.

"Are those good?"

He looked up, whiskers coated with the substance. "Good? They're amazing! I'd live here forever if it meant waterpods everyday."

"You are going to live here forever, mouse-brain," said Dragonpaw.

I glared at him. "No, he isn't. None of us will."

"In that case," Turby mewed around his full cheeks. "I'll have to pack a lifetime supply of waterpods when we leave."

Experimentally, while the others dug into the drenken, I ran my claw around the edge of a waterpod and broke it open. The cool goo spilled out, and I took some on my paw and licked it off carefully. It was wonderful; I could see why Turby liked them. The refreshing taste flooded my mouth, making my tastebuds tingle. "That's delicious!"

"Isn't it?" he agreed.

"Give me meat any day," Togat rumbled, but he was smiling at us. The others were too, particularly at me. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I raised a paw to my face, wondering if I had waterpod gel all over me.

"What?"

Willa spoke up. "You fascinate us, Rainpaw. It's been so long since we've had a newcomer, we've almost forgotten the innocence that youth brings. You're a blessing to us."

"Or a curse," Aden said darkly. Then he looked up, as if realizing he'd said it out loud. I expected another mean comment, but he just mumbled, "Sorry," and returned to his drenken.

Feeling slightly confused, I sat down and began to groom my fur, hoping to hide my worry. Why did Aden keep switching personalities? He acted like he wanted to get to know me, but something was preventing him. Would not knowing this detail affect our quest? Did he not want us to succeed? And why?

Suddenly, all the others froze. I pricked my ears, straining to find out what had perturbed them. Then I heard it. A crashing sound, like undergrowth being snapped. Seconds later, the most enormous dog I'd ever seen came bursting in on us. Except it wasn't a dog. "Wolf!" cried Dragonpaw, scrambling to his feet.

Saliva dripped from its mouth, and jagged fangs gleamed yellow. Its green eyes were bloodthirsty and dangerous. Slowly, it advanced on us.

This is it, I thought. I'm going to die.