Chapter 5: Moving Fast
The five cats silently crept out from behind the bush, looking carefully around at the stretch of moorland. The sun had set and the clouds in the sky were pink with the dying light. Strange shadows were cast upon the hills. There was no cat or any other animal in sight. The moor seemed haunted and still.
Icepool shivered in her fur, disliking the eerie emptiness. She could smell no prey scents and could hear no birds readying for sleep. It made her nervous.
The party of cats walked single file along the edge of the lake, their paws dipping in and out of the clear water. The cool touch of the lake seemed to reassure Icepool; it reminded her of home. She could see Pinetail's brown tabby head in front of her, bobbing along as he stared out into the evening, looking for evidence of WindClan. Rainwhisker was trotting ahead of her, his tail straight up in the air, a sign that meant he was still angry with Icepool.
The cats were all silent, no one dared talk in case it brought about the attention of a patrol. Icepool hoped that all the WindClan cats that could fight were off in ShadowClan.
Icepool gazed across the lake, admiring the soft lapping of the waves on the shore opposite to them. WindClan's land alongside the lake sloped downwards so that there was a long length of narrow but sandy beach touching the water. Icepool grudgingly wished that RiverClan had an area of the lake like that; it would be perfect for training and swimming. She bet that WindClan didn't even use the beaches.
Icepool looked to her right, scanning the hills for signs of other cats but the territory seemed desolate. She supposed all the cats were in their camp.
At least there's no place where they could hide and ambush us, thought Icepool, grateful for once, for the lack of cover.
Pinetail had told the other cats that they would travel along the lake because even though it was dangerous to have their way blocked by water in case of an attack, it was the fastest way to get to ThunderClan. The edge of the lake curved inwards, making the trip to ThunderClan territory shorter and less noticeable.
Icepool heard her stomach gurgle. She hadn't eaten since they had left RiverClan. She had only managed to catch a small, slightly deaf mouse. Seapaw, however, had caught and feasted on a whole rabbit. When the apprentice offered to share the prey with Icepool, she became embarrassed and refused. Icepool hated that she still couldn't catch the simplest prey. She sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Crabclaw, who was trailing behind her.
The black and white tom gave her a small smile and a nod. She could tell he was getting weary of walking. Crabclaw was strong but somewhat stout and didn't like long distance running. Icepool returned his smile and then faced front once again.
Suddenly, Rainwhisker came to a complete halt in front of her. Icepool hissed softly as she bumped into the tom's back.
"What are you doing?" she whispered angrily, not forgetting his earlier remarks.
"There's a patrol coming, mousebrain," Rainwhisker replied, ducking to the ground.
Icepool gaped and saw Seapaw and Pinetail stop too and crouch to the ground. She turned her head and swept her eyes over the hillside.
There! She saw a small group of swift moving cats running across the slopes. They seemed to have come out of nowhere. Icepool knew by the cats' speed that they were WindClan.
"What do we do?" she asked, directing the question to Pinetail.
The RiverClan deputy looked around, panic in his eyes. There were no trees or bushes. The grass wasn't tall enough to cover the cats or mask their scent.
An idea popped into Icepool's head.
"The water," she hissed, jerking her head towards the lake, "we'll have to hide in the water. It'll cover our scent and we should all blend in okay. It's getting darker. They won't see us."
Pinetail considered her words, his eyes not leaving the rapidly approaching WindClan cats.
"Alright," he said, wading into the lake.
Crabclaw and Rainwhisker followed his lead and entered the water, careful not to make any splashes or noises. The three toms immersed themselves in the water and then crouched down so only their eyes and noses were above the surface.
Icepool nodded approvingly. As long as the WindClan patrol didn't get too close, they wouldn't notice.
Icepool was about to step into the water when she noticed Seapaw, her eyes widened in absolute terror, a faraway look on her face.
"Seapaw! Let's go," breathed Icepool, frantically prodding the apprentice.
The WindClan cats were fast. They were making a wide sweep of the hill and now were headed straight towards the lake. Icepool didn't think the patrol had seen them, but she couldn't be sure.
"No," Seapaw said, her voice soft with fright, "I can't go in the water."
"Seapaw! You're a RiverClan cat! You can't be scared of the water," said Pinetail hurriedly, staring at his apprentice.
Icepool suddenly remembered how she had fished Seapaw out of the raging current of the river many moons ago.
"Have you ever been in the water before?" Icepool asked quickly.
Seapaw shook her head. Her body was shaking now.
"Oh StarClan," murmured Pinetail.
"She's traumatized from when she almost drowned when she was a kit," Icepool told Pinetail, instantly understanding.
The deputy looked pained.
"We didn't have time to train in the water yet," he revealed, horror clouding his eyes. "They'll see her if she doesn't hide!"
Icepool rushed to Seapaw's side. She had never known the little cat to be afraid of anything, let alone water. But she was obviously scared out of her wits.
"I have another idea," Icepool said, thinking quickly.
She shoved Seapaw to the ground and began to dig, pushing aside the sand until a small hole was visible in the ground.
"You three stay in the water," said Icepool, still working, "and we'll hide under the sand."
Seapaw tore her gaze away from the water and looked up at Icepool.
"You're staying with me?" she said, amazed.
"Start digging," snapped Icepool, her paws flashing as she made the hole bigger.
Seapaw nodded and set to work.
"You're crazy," Rainwhisker said angrily. Icepool heard the panic in his voice. "They'll see you."
"No they won't," Icepool replied.
She could smell the approaching WindClan warriors; the breeze was blowing at her face. She swiftly settled into the hole and dragged Seapaw next to her. The two she-cat covered themselves in the sand and piled it on top of one another with their muzzles and paws.
"Now shut up and stay quiet," Icepool hissed to all five cats.
She watched as Rainwhisker, Crabclaw and Pinetail reluctantly sank their bodies into the water completely. Icepool knew she and Seapaw's disguise was amateur. They looked like unusually large lumps of sand and any WindClan cat who saw them would know what they were.
She could tell the cats were coming closer. Icepool shut her eyes and listening to Seapaw's ragged breathing. All they could do now was wait and hope luck was on their side.
