Preface

Do you grow tired of tragedy??? Say hello to a happy-er-ish chapter!!! Yay! ^-.-^ It's like the only one for a while, so enjoy. Oh, by the way, I kind of based the fields and houses and stuff off of the landscape around MY home, PA. :D

Thank you so much to: Laterose13, cassie glitter, leafpool407, Luminous Snow, Shadowave, sandra, and Flamesong. You guys pwn so much, I'm giving you Whisp plushies!! Enjoy!

Run For It

As a Clan cat would for any noble warrior, Firepaw stayed up until dawn, crouched by Whisp's body. She gazed at the moon blankly, which was not three days from being completely rounded; when the Gathering would take place back home. Had it been a quarter moon today already? She thought as the stars began to fade and make room for the sun. She was just nodding off to sleep when around her the she-cats were slowly, painfully getting up.

Something sharp prodded her rear, and Firepaw whirled around to glare at Torch. "Get up, she-cat. It's time to move," he snarled. The ginger she-cat forced her weary paws to move, casting a miserable glance at Whisp's body before joining the others. They began to trek along again, this time taking routes behind twoleg ne- houses, she mentally corrected herself. They only occasionally had to pass through roads, which were usually quieter than in the city.

Amber and another she-cat padded along beside her, supporting whom Firepaw assumed was Rainbow but didn't bother to look. Her vision was bleary and it hurt to put one paw in front of the other. Every time she stumbled, Torch nipped her from behind, making her remember the journey she had first made with Purnak and Prick, choking every few steps. She flattened her ears, but still couldn't seem to walk straight. She regretted staying up, but she couldn't regret honoring Whisp.

Beside her, the two she-cats had a merry conversation, padding along as though this was the dawn patrol and not basically a death march. "...once, I even caught a robin," the blue-gray she-cat puffed out her chest proudly. Firepaw could have snorted aloud, but she was too tired to bother.

Amber laughed. "Fire over here, she's a Clan cat, Bluebonnet. You should ask her what she's caught." Fire, Firepaw thought. She considered a moment taking on a rogue name. No! That would mean admitting you'll be stuck here forever. And if you admit that, she told herself, you're giving up!

"Have you Fire?" Firepaw jumped as she realized that Bluebonnet was talking to her. She turned her head slightly, giving her a questioning look. "Have you ever caught your own prey?"

"I always do," she meowed. "And I hunt enough to feed the elders and medicine cat," Then she swung her head back around dismissively, nearly stumbling again, forcing her aching paws to cooperate. She ignored the rest of their conversation, focusing solely on moving her feet. But by noon, she could barely move and felt almost numb, walking in a daze. Torch was nearly shoving her along, and her flank and rear stung with his bites. How could she go on longer?

A yowl went up and Firepaw jerked her head around, trying to see who was yelling. Purnak, at the front of the group, had pinned a she-cat down and was clawing at her belly. The group halted as he lashed his tail, snarling and threatening. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she sobbed, but with a furious growl, hooked her skin on his claws and launched her across the patch of grass and onto the road. It wasn't long before a car finished her off.

After the group got moving again, Amber and Bluebonnet remained silent, and behind her even Torch and Mange, who had been laughing about torture methods, quieted their voices and stuck to discussing meals they'd recently had. They plodded wearily on through the hot summer day.

The cats were crossing a wide field with tall, leafy plants that Amber refered to as corn when another she-cat was picked off, her throat bitten out for collapsing and refusing to get up. Fear spread throughout Firepaw. She was nearly dead with exhaustion herself. Purnak stopped them, and glancing up at the sky, yowled back to them, "We'll stop here for about an hour, hunt and get water." Immediately the she-cats flopped down where they were.

As Firepaw settled down and began drifting away almost instantly, she heard Purnak begin to give orders. "Thorn, Prick, Sallow and Iceburg, go to the trees on the far side of the field to hunt. Kite, take a group across the road to see..." and then she was out.

When Firepaw was awakened by Amber, the sun had crossed behind the clouds and it was no longer scorching hot; even a breeze ruffled their fur as they began to walk again. It hadn't been a very long time, but for now her nap had helped keep her going. She was more alert as they headed through the field, even joining in on conversing with Bluebonnet.

"So what do you do for fun in your Clan?" She inquired as they headed alongside a road. Firepaw was liking this part of their trip much more; although there were still many houses there was sometimes long stretches of field and trees that felt very much like home. Firepaw pasued as they began darting across the road at Purnak's command.

"After hunting, sometimes the elders tell us stories," she reflected. "Or after training we like to practice our battle moves. Once a moon we meet with the other three Clans at the Gathering, which is always a good time."

"Do the elders tell good stories?" Amber murmured. "My mother used to tell my brothers and me stories of the Clans. They're called Those Hidden, because they never show themselves and mark lines where no cat can cross unless they want to be murdered in their sleep the next night. They also say if you anger a Clan cat, you'll wake up one morning with the rest of your family dead or kidnapped."

Firepaw's ears pricked up. "That's like the story Cedartail told about the Fire Path cats. Did your mother tell you stories about them?"

"Everyone knows about them," Amber replied, glancing at Firepaw. "Once I knew a tom who lived nearby us, he always seemed really friendly. He even once tried to get me to visit his home. But my mother taught me not to follow strangers, especially not toms. Then two days ago, a she-cat named Yarrow's daughter went missing. And he totally disappeared."

"Was that Jink?" Bluebonnet asked, pausing to lick Rainbow's head. The blue she-cat was very plump and sleek-furred, and it was obvious she was a kittypet, or housecat, Firepaw noted.

Amber nodded. "Then you'll remember Salmon? She was so nice. That was last year... I wonder if he took her to the auction."

Firepaw was a little confused. "But he wasn't a Fire Path cat, was he?" she asked.

Amber shook her head. "Often rogues come to sell and buy she-cats as well. In fact, the auctioneer as far as I know isn't even one of them." Being with friends helped to cheer Firepaw up a bit and keep her mind off of Whisp. She was still exhaused again by the time they decided to stop for the night, in the middle of a field of shorter, but tall enough to provide shelter, dark green plants. But reality hit as she began to circle around to find a place to sleep. Resting her head on her paws, Firepaw reflected Whisp's dying words.

I trust you can escape.

"I will escape," she whispered quietly. But it would have to be soon. After all, tomorrow she'd be spending the night in a cage with all the other she-cats for sale, according to Amber. Maybe not soon...maybe now. Desperately, Firepaw glanced around. Torch, Mange, and Prick, who were guarding the rear of the group were on the opposite side of her, farthest away from her. She looked up to the other guards, who were grinning evilly at a very young tabby who was pressed to the ground.

Deciding it was now or never, Firepaw stood up and kept her eye on the three guards who were still laughing together. She began backing up slowly, slowly, hoping no captive saw her either. Once she had put three rows of plants between them, she turned around, scented the air, and made a run for it.

She hadn't gone far when someone screeched, "The Clan cat's escaped!" Terror lent her speed as she heard crashing behind her, and she picked up the pace, forcing her weary paws to run. She ran on and on and on, feeling like a WindClan cat. After she had run until she could run no more, crossed three roads and weaved around houses, she ducked into a ditch along a dusty path blocked off by a fence and collapsed.

Just before she let sleep crash over, she screamed to herself, You're FREE!