Chapter Nine
Sundapple tasted the air, trotting hurriedly after Flowerpaw. "Where are we going?"
The younger she-cat twitched her tail. "I told them about the dead oak in the middle of our territory. They're probably there, trying to hunt mice." She took a deep breath. "I feel so stupid. I shouldn't have mentioned it to them."
"It's not your fault," Deerleap responded. "You couldn't have known that they'd act on it. Regardless of what Sparrowstar decides, I don't blame you."
"Thanks." Flowerpaw was silent for the rest of the journey, the bristling fur on her spine the only signal of her anxiety.
When they reached the dead oak, an eerie silence greeted them. Sundapple glanced around, trying to figure out what was wrong. She sniffed, eyes widening when she realized. Coyote.
A weak caterwaul split the still air. Deerleap rushed over to a hole in the ground, too small for a coyote to fit into but just big enough for a cat. "Kits?" She meowed into the hole. "Are you in there?"
"Help!" A small, scared voice emanated from the darkness. "Hazelkit is sleeping, and she won't wake up."
"Rosekit?" Deerleap used a comforting, motherly tone. "Can you come out, please? Bring your sister, if you can."
The small calico she-kit came out of the hole backwards, dragging Hazelkit's still form by the scruff of her neck.
Sundapple rushed over to the kit, horrified. "What happened?" Hazelkit's eyes were still slightly open, staring sightlessly ahead. Her golden brown pelt was mangled, fur torn out and deep puncture wounds dotting her body. Sundapple nosed at her neck, still holding out a thread of hope that there would be a pulse, but there was nothing. "She's dead," she whispered.
"We were hunting," wailed Rosekit, looking stricken. "Then there was a coyote. It attacked us, and I don't know where Pebblekit went! It grabbed Hazelkit and was just shaking her around like prey. It dropped her after a while and I pulled her into the hole to keep us safe." She let out a low keen of sorrow.
Sundapple looked behind her. Flowerpaw stood frozen, a look of horror in her eyes. "This is all my fault," she whispered.
"Snap out of it, Flowerpaw," Deerleap ordered. "You can feel guilty later. For now, we need to find Pebblekit."
Flowerpaw looked stunned, but turned and yowled into the forest. "Pebblekit! Where are you?" A small cry echoed back, and Flowerpaw pinned her ears to her head and thrust herself into the undergrowth. Deerleap sprinted after her, leaving Sundapple with the distraught Rosekit.
"Rosekit, we should head back to camp," she meowed unsteadily. Rosekit just stared blankly at her, unresponsive. Sundapple nudged her gently. "Come on. We'll get you back to your mother." She carefully picked up Hazelkit and carried her back to camp, Rosekit stumbling ahead of her.