Chapter 24

The fur along Mistyfoot's spine prickled uncomfortably. Around her, the others were feeling the same – only Purdy moved confidently through the streets and alleys of the nighttime Twolegplace.

Mistyfoot had to admit that Purdy had been right, at least – moving at night was a lot less hectic. There were no Twolegs about at all, and only the occasional monster rolled slowly down the web of Thunderpaths that criss-crossed between the Twoleg nests. The bright yellow lights that shone out through the Twoleg windows, as Purdy called them, were going out one by one. Only a few stayed on.

"Some Twolegs're nocturnal," Purdy had warned. "Like most cats, y'know. But they don' much like goin' out at night."

As far as Mistyfoot could tell, there were two kinds of Thunderpaths – the big, wide ones that she was used to, where monsters ("cars," as Purdy called them) would barrel down with impunity, and these smaller ones, where the monsters were far less aggressive. Mistyfoot had no idea why – were the bigger paths for going into battle, and these smaller ones like hunting trails?

Either way, she knew that crossing these smaller Thunderpaths was much easier than the larger ones. Safer, too, since the monsters moved so slowly.

"What kind of path is this?" Nightpaw wondered. The small tom was limping beside Purdy, his eyes alight with adventure and excitement despite his injury.

"S'called a sidewalk," Purdy answered chipperly. "Twolegs use 'em to walk on when their cars won't take 'em."

Mistyfoot looked down at the hard path beneath her paws. It felt like a Thunderpath, but the color was different, and it was just off to the side, with a strip of grass between it and the big gray trail. A Twoleg hunting trail? She wondered. Why put it so close to a Thunderpath, then?

A hiss behind her made Mistyfoot jump. She spun, fur bristling, claws scraping against the sidewalk, expecting to see a dog or a hostile kittypet or worse, a Twoleg – but it was only Crowpaw, his fur standing on end in shock as he glared into a bush.

"What is it?" hissed Stoneheart, eyes blazing.

"I-I don't know!" Crowpaw insisted. "It… It was like a rat, just…"

"It was an opossum," Shadepaw purred, her eyes twinkling in amusement. She laid her tail along Crowpaw's bristling shoulders. "Trust me, Crowpaw; they're more frightened of you than you are if them."

Crowpaw grumbled, disgruntled. "I hate this place."

"Plenty'a opossum 'round here," Purdy chuckled. "Not much good fer eatin', gotta say. They eat outta those scrapcans, and it colors their meat."

"Scrapcans?" Stormfur queried. Mistyfoot frowned. There were so many kittypet terms she was starting to wonder how they remembered them all.

"These things righ' here," Purdy mewed, gesturing with his nose. A tall, squarish shape was on the grass between the sidewalk and the Thunderpath. Mistyfoot's nose curled – it had a sour, sweet smell to it, something akin to crow-food but not quite there. "Upwalkers put their old food in, and it goes't the dump just down the way on the backs'a big ol' cars."

"Smells like the Carrionplace," Stoneheart mewed with a curious sniff. "I suppose if monsters take them, the Carrionplace can't be that far off."

Purdy kept them moving at a leisurely pace, pointing out Twoleg objects here and there. Mistyfoot learned about how some scrapcans won't ever have food in them, and how to tell which houses had dogs that ran loose – they marked their fences with a horrid-smelling marker that penetrated the fog of Twoleg smells.

They crossed a few more Thunderpaths. Mistyfoot was losing track of their position – looking up at the stars wasn't helping, either. Nothing seemed to be changing, and despite Purdy's helpful directions everything looked the same in the dark, even to her night-eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Crowpaw groaned. The WindClan tom was testy, jumping at small sounds and getting no end of teasing for it. "Everything is starting to run together."

"Don' you cats walkabout at night?" Purdy wondered, looking back.

"Most Clan cats hunt by daylight, actually," Stormfur explained.

Stoneheart's whiskers twitched. "My eyes are just fine – ShadowClan hunts by night as well as day."

Purdy frowned. "That's real strange, gotta say."

"I'm sorry," Nightpaw sighed. He flopped down on his haunches, stretching out his injured leg. "This is taking so long because of me." Shadepaw padded forward and gave the poultice a check, licking her brother between his ears. Mistyfoot felt a pang – Nightpaw looked miserable.

Purdy shrugged. "S'no big deal, youngster," the old loner purred. "Told'ja it'd take at least two days t'get through the town. We're almost halfway there."

"Lead on, then," Nightpaw mewed, pushing himself to his paws.

Purdy nodded and obliged, leading the way across a small, quiet Thunderpath. Mistyfoot frowned, looking up at the buildings on this side. The sidewalk here was cracked and not as well kept, and the nests were tall and old looking. There weren't any wooden fences, either – instead they were made of a hard mesh that Purdy called "chain-links". At least it looked like a cat might be able to dash up easily.

"Care 'round here, youngsters," Purdy hissed suddenly, raising his tail. He pointed with his tail-tip to what lay beyond the chain-link fence – a flat space of earth, piled high with various broken Twoleg objects. There were several scrapcans on their side, their contents spilling out onto the ground.

Stoneheart pulled up his lip. "Rats," he warned.

Mistyfoot felt Feathertail stiffen beside her as Purdy nodded in confirmation. "Nasty things," the old loner complained. "Like hangin' out 'round here."

"Let's hurry, then," Feathertail insisted. Her blue eyes were round. "We don't need any rats messing with us!"

The cats picked up the pace, following Purdy along the fence, towards another Thunderpath. The other side looked more promising than this particular area, and Mistyfoot hoped that Purdy's resting spot was there, too.

Suddenly, a chorus of squeaks rose from behind the fence.

"Run!" snapped Stoneheart. "Rats!"

Purdy, bristling, took off. The Clan cats followed. Mistyfoot cursed the cramped confines of the Twolegplace – in the forest, the cats could have scattered into the trees, but scattering here might mean getting hit by a monster, or worse, getting lost in the maze.

Nightpaw was pushed to the front, Crowpaw and Shadepaw flanking him. Feathertail streaked by, Stormfur just a pace behind. Mistyfoot heard a hiss of pain and skidded to a stop, her pads burning against the sidewalk. She spun, and her heart dropped.

"Stoneheart!" she cried.

Her brother was standing squarely before the rats, using his bulky body to block their progress. He clawed at any that tried to test him, hissing and spitting curses.

"Go!" Stoneheart snapped. "I can handle rats!"

Mistyfoot, bristling, bounded to his side. She pinned a rat beneath her paws and killed with a harsh bite to the throat, tossing its body onto the Thunderpath.

"So can I," she declared, standing beside him.

The rats decided enough was enough. They swarmed as one, rearing up and crashing down on Mistyfoot and Stoneheart. Their deafening squeaks filled Mistyfoot's ears as she flailed with her paws, striking down rat after rat. Stoneheart fought by her side, tail lashing and eyes burning with ferocity.

"They're not backing down!" Mistyfoot mewed, worried. She pulled away from a rat trying to catch its teeth in her muzzle.

There was a flash of dark gray fur, and Stormfur was on her other side. He burst into the rats, using his huge, bulky body to displace the creatures. They tried to fasten their teeth in his fur, but found it too thick for their liking.

"We need ta move!" Purdy cried out from behind.

Mistyfoot knew the loner was right – but the rats might follow them if they fled. Stoneheart and Stormfur pushed into the creatures together as Mistyfoot took up ensuring none got past her. She killed one with a hard swipe that slammed it into the nearby fence, and another by landing on it with all her weight – but there were still too many.

She looked up from her kill to see Stoneheart drown in a pile of rats. "Stoneheart!" she yowled.

Stormfur, in a much better position, shook off his attackers and dove into the pile, slashing and biting and screeching, fluffing up his fur to thrice his size. He roared like a lion, and the rats flowed off of Stoneheart like a river, seemingly either scared of him or satisfied with what they accomplished.

Mistyfoot rushed up to Stoneheart. He was lying on his side, his blue eyes open in shock. Blood trickled down from a wound on his shoulder.

"I… hate rats…" the ShadowClan tom rasped.

"I hope I never see another," rasped Mistyfoot. She pressed her muzzle into her brother's fur, relieved he was alive.

She offered her shoulder to Stoneheart, who leaned on it as he pulled himself to his paws. He hissed in pain as he put weight on his injured leg, choosing to hold it up just a bit instead. Stormfur took up his other side, and together they hobbled Stoneheart to the others. The apprentice's eyes were wide, and Feathertail's fur was fluffed with anxiety.

Shadepaw sniffed his wound. "He needs treatment," she judged immediately. "Rat bites are very prone to infection!"

Purdy nodded. "M'safe-place ain't far," he promised. "C'mon."

The old loner had moved with twice as much speed. The Clan cats struggled to follow, but soon enough, as the moon began to set, they reached what Purdy promised was an abandoned Twoleg nest – and to Mistyfoot's eye, it looked like that was the truth. It was old, overgrown, with some of the window-holes lacking that pane of clear stuff that was in all the others. The grass was tall, too, hemmed in by a dilapidated wooden fence.

Purdy pushed aside a loose wooden board, ushering the cats in. Stoneheart had a hard time crouching, and as soon as she squeezed through he lay down where he stood, his eyes glassy with pain. Mistyfoot curled her tail around him, her heart beating in her ears. She didn't care about anything else.

You can't leave me, she thought, sorrow welling in her throat. She licked his ears fiercely. Please! StarClan, you can't take him!

Shadepaw was immediately tending him, cleaning the wound. Crowpaw found her some cobwebs, and she teased them onto Stoneheart's wound with a nod of thanks. The others looked on, their eyes glowing with worry in the gloom of the musty old nest.

"I've cleaned it," Shadepaw reported, "but infection might still set in."

Stoneheart's ears flicked. "I've… had worse," he promised weakly.

"This is your fault, you stinking loner!" Crowpaw snapped suddenly, dark blue eyes blazing. "You didn't have to lead us past that rat's nest! Now two of us are injured!"

Purdy flattened his ears, taken aback.

"Enough!" Stormfur yowled, lashing his tail. "Lashing out at Purdy won't do any good now! We need to take care of Stoneheart!"

Crowpaw flattened his ears, lashing his tail along the dusty ground. He turned away, however, and paced to a far corner of the den to sulk in anger. Nightpaw, frowning, limped over to sit beside him.

"I'm sorry about Crowpaw," Stormfur sighed, fur flattening. "But he's right. Our mission is important, and Stoneheart is one of the cats that StarClan spoke to. Him being injured… it puts our mission in jeopardy."

Purdy's eyes flashed. "I don' git your mission," he admitted, "but I am real sorry about those rats. This part'a the town is rife with 'em, and there was a nest'a mean cats not far off. I didn' want to cross into their territory. We'll be outta here by sunup tomorrow."

"Could there be any burdock around?" Shadepaw asked.

"Don' rightly know, youngster," Purdy mused.

Shadepaw's tail-tip flicked, and she stretched up onto her hind paws to stare out one of the window holes. "It's so overgrown out there… there just might be something I can use."

"You're not going alone," Mistyfoot declared.

"Go," Stormfur meowed. "Feathertail and I will find something to eat. I need to get the taste of rat out of my mouth."

"I'll help ya," Purdy promised, nodding at Stormfur. "There's mice 'round here, just you see."

While they arranged their hunting party, Mistyfoot leaped onto the window sill and down into the garden. The grass stretched up past her nose, tickling her whiskers and making her sneeze. Shadepaw landed with a huff just behind her.

"Burdock is easy to find," Shadepaw promised. "It's got big, round, spiky flowers – they're purple. It looks like burrs."

Mistyfoot nodded, putting her eyes to work. Shadepaw walked beside her. They pushed through the grass, Mistyfoot's ears pricked for any threats. There was no way she was going to let rats sneak up on she or Shadepaw.

Not for the first time, Mistyfoot was grateful that Shadepaw had chosen to come along on this journey. And yet… "Shadepaw, why did you come with us?" she asked.

Shadepaw jumped, clearly not expecting the question. Her whiskers twitched. "I, uh… StarClan told me to come, like I said."

Mistyfoot frowned, noting the way that Shadepaw wasn't meeting her eye. "You can tell me," she promised, flanking the medicine cat apprentice. "If you want, that is."

"There's nothing more to it," Shadepaw insisted, her eyes flashing with a familiar temper. "We need to find that burdock, not chatter like jackdaws."

Mistyfoot frowned, and decided to drop it. She's just like Tinystar, Mistyfoot sighed.

It didn't take much longer for Shadepaw to find the burdock. She purred as she dug into the roots of the plant, pulling up the thick tubers.

"It's not a lot," she admitted, "but it'll stave off infection for now."

"Good," Mistyfoot breathed. "Think it'll last through this place?"

"It should," Shadepaw said, "so long as there are no more rats."

Mistyfoot swallowed. Shadepaw picked up the pungent roots in her jaws and the two she-cats returned to the abandoned nest. Mistyfoot couldn't help but thank StarClan for Shadepaw being here, even if she was tight-lipped about why she'd come.

Without her, Stoneheart might have died here, Mistyfoot thought grimly. Thank you, StarClan, for sending Shadepaw. I don't know what I'd do without my brother…