Falcon was the first one to turn away. The rest followed suit, Hawk trailing along behind them, but I sat there, staring out over the red stone and the thin wisps of grass that struggled to survive along the cliff.
I crept towards the edge, peering over it. My stomach twisted as my eyes alighted on Shade's now-distorted body, his limbs laying at sharp, awkward angles. The rocks were glittering with water and blood, both from the cougar and from Shade. I could see Falcon and Hawk as they padded down a gentle slope into the gorgeto retrieve Shade. Falcon's head and tail hung low, but his eyes betrayed the pride he had in his friend for completing his mission successfully.
Suddenly, I felt very dizzy. I stepped away from the edge and laid down a few tail-lengths away from the cliff, wrapping my tail over my nose. My legs felt weak and my head pounded, and I didn't have the strength to go back, even though I knew I should have been returning to the camp by now.
Maybe I could just rest for a bit.
Sleep immediately overtook me, and I was cast into a dream, my paws slipping on an icy surface. It was the river at the bottom of the gorge, frozen, slick with melted ice that had thawed under my warm pads. Dark shapes hid under the ice, but I couldn't make out what they were. I tried to step off the ice and onto the stones, - my paws were freezing, - but my paws slid out from under me, and I collapsed face down on the ice.
A screech tore from my throat as I realized what the black sillhouettes under the river were. I scrabbled backwards, my claws skidding helplessly across the ice. "Ah!" I fell backwards onto the sharp stones and leapt to my paws, panting and shivering, until I was stable enough to compose myself.
Cats. Hundreds of cats, – cats I knew and cats I didn't – their eyes opened wide and pleading, their faces frozen in one last agonized scream. The expressions I'd seen on every cat I'd ever watched carry out their mission. The one where they realized there was more to life than what they had been taught.
Shade was under there. My parents and the rest of my siblings. My parent's friends, Falcon's parents, Twist's parents, everyone. All of their mouths stretched wide. All of their eyes begging me to save them. Their paws reaching out towards me, claws unsheathed.
Waves of nausea rolled over me, and I backed away, my legs shaking. I turned and sprinted across the gorge, my paws flying over the rocks. Behind me, I heard the ice crack. Risking a glance behind me, another shriek ripped out of my throat as cats rose from holes in the ice, their mouths opening and closing. Voices spilled out through the gorge, filling my ears, surruonding me.
"You could have saved us."
"You could have helped us."
"We didn't have to die."
"Why didn't you stop us?"
"You knew there was more."
"You knew we had a choice."
"But you let us die."
They came ever closer, chanting softly, their eyes aglow. I pumped my legs, terror coursing through me, but even though they were walking, I couldn't outrun them. It was as if I wasn't moving, as if…
As if I was frozen, just like they had been.
"Help!" I tried to cry, but no words came out. I tried to run, but my paws slowed until they stopped moving, until I wasn't moving, until I stopped breathing.
I was drowning, drowning in my own terror, their pain, the air, my screams. My lungs burned, failing to bring in oxygen, and slowly, the cats drew nearer, until the surrounded me. They crowded around me, growing larger as I shrank, and their mouths opened wide. A gaping cave swung down towards me, teeth glistening, and I was thrown into darkness.
"Arii! Arii?" My eyes snapped open. Twist was crouched down beside me, her face clouded over with concern. "What are you doing out here? The cougars could have eaten you!"
I struggled to my paws. My heart was still pounding, and my fur was standing up all over my body. "I'm fine," I muttered drowsily, taking a step and stumbling.
Twist slid beside me and pushed me up with her shoulder. "Arii? Are you sure you're okay?" She looked into my eyes. "You don't look as if you're feeling very well." Nudging me forward, she suggested that I rest in my den for a bit, but I didn't want to sleep. Not after the nightmare.
It seemed like I was having them more and more lately. As if they were warning me. Like they meant something. Did they? I'd never heard of dreams that held signs within their depths, but… What if they were telling me that I was right, that there was more to this life?
Maybe it wasn't that far off that the others could be wrong. Maybe I could show them that there was more. Maybe…
At last, we came to the camp. Twist dragged me forward, grumbling about me being so stubborn, and I finally followed her in.
But not before I saw a pair of dark green eyes watching us through the bushes.