Tired Journey

Night yawned yet again as she followed the others through the trees. She was exhausted and not use to being awake in the day. Yet she stumbled on, past the border of her territory and into unfamiliar land.

Never before had she been past the borders she new so well. And as the thick trees of NightClan territory faded behind her, she finally felt the sun's warmth.

They seemed to travel forever, following EmberClan's strong scent. As the sun reached it's highest point, Night felt the ground begin to rumble beneath her paws. A horrible stench filled her nose, and her fur prickled with fear.

Suddenly the trees ended, revealing a long stretch of black stone. "What is that?" She whispered.

It went on forever, without any sign of ending. "It's the Thunderpath." Replied Dawn. She turned to Night. "You've never seen it before?"

Night shook her head. "We don't have any in our territory." She looked again at the huge beasts that rumbled past. Her eyes widened a little in surprise when she realized there were creatures inside them. "What are those things?"

"They're called monsters." Dawn explained. "The creatures inside of them are Twolegs. The Twolegs ride around in the monster's bellies."

Night felt even more surprised than before. "Why?!"

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know. Twolegs are weird."

Night glanced down the Thunderpath, seeing no end to the flat surface. "How do we get around?"

"We cross it." Dawn meowed.

Night was a little shocked, those huge black paws could easily crush a cat, and the monster might not even notice.

They others gathered at the side of the Thunderpath, hidden in the shadows, wrinkling their nose whenever a monster passed throwing up more of the sickening stench. Then there was a gap in the stream of monsters. Immediately, The Fallen sprang from their hiding place and darted across the smooth stone. Night felt her heart pounding in her chest. The noise of a monster echoing in her ear, becoming louder by the second.

She tumbled into the grass on the other side, shivering, as a large monster rumbled past. She never wanted to do that again.

"You okay?" Asked Frost, a white she-cat.

Night nodded. "I'm just glad it's over."

"We'll still have to cross many more Thunderpaths." Frost told her.

Night groaned. She had barely lived through the first one.

...

It had been four days since they had left NightClan territory. Night had never felt so tired. Her muscles were sore from walking, and her pelt reeked of Thunderpath from the Twolegplaces they had gone through.

It was harder on her. Being forced to travel in the day when she would normally be sleeping. And then attempting to sleep when her body was awake.

She began to miss home. The thick trees had blocked out the hot sun. Where the thinner branches here let more light through, and her black pelt absorbed the heat.

She shook her head, instead focusing on the trees around her. Today was quiet. The grass was damp from the rainfall last night, soaking their pelts as they past. Few birds were singing in the damp air. Everything was quiet, very quiet. Like the silence before a storm.

A shrill, high pitched screech filled the air. Everyone's head went flying up in alarm. The scream had not been far off.

Fire held up his tail to stop the others, then flicked it towards Moss. She immediately broke away from the group and stalked forward into the shadows. Night blinked. Moss's pelt seemed to shimmer slightly, blending in with her surroundings. No, it must be the shifting light coming through the leaves of the trees.

Fire lead the group on, at a slower pace. Then the undergrowth rustled, and Moss stepped out.

"It's okay. EmberClan has moved on." She told them.

Fire nodded and stepped back so Moss could lead the group forward. The trees ended in a clearing, a large Twoleg den stood in the middle.

Night tasted the air. No Twolegs had been here for many seasons. Moss lead them right up to the entrance to the den. She gestured to the tall grass near the building. A solid gray she-cat lay dead in the tall stalks, with a small grayish brown kit lifeless her paws.

A set of claw marks scared both of their throats. It looked as if their deaths had been quick.

Fire sighed, his eyes full of sorrow. "They must have ran into EmberClan." He turned to the rest of the clan. "We'll rest here for tonight. Scar, Swift, could you bury them together. Night, could you check that the den is empty?"

She nodded, and entered the den, the stench of Twoleg everywhere. It took only a few moments before her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

She tasted the air, and realized that she was not alone. Other cats were here, but they smelled different from EmberClan.

Night followed the scent to a set of ledges that lead up to another space above her. She had to leap onto each step until she entered the new area.

Ahead, a shape moved, surrounded by a pile of Twoleg junk. It was a young golden she-cat, the scent of fear strong on her pelt. Night kept to the shadows as she wondered forward. The she-cat was whispering to two young kits. "No matter what, you need to stay here." She told them.

"Is mother okay?" Asked one of kits, a light gray she-cat.

"And Ray?" Questioned the other, a brown tom.

"Don't worry. I'm going to go check. But you must stay here and keep hidden until I come back." The golden she-cat told them.

"Are they dead?" Whispered the gray kit, her voice was shaky with fear.

"I don't know." Murmured the golden she-cat cat. Her eyes were clouded with loss.

Night found herself stepping out of the shadows. "I'm afraid both have died."

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