Chapter 11: Travel
Raindrop walked across the plateau, her pads aching. No wind swept her thoughts and worries away here. It was hot, humid and sticky, muffling everything, making the horizon shimmer like it wasn't really there, just an illusion.
They had lost two prey-hunters last night, to the heat and dryness. There was no water here. They all knew it. They were fighting a losing battle. None of the kits were left alive, and Sky had died giving birth to kits that lasted only the night. There was no hope left. All they were looking for was water. A place to rest.
Mist stumbled, tripping over her own paws, and without a thought, Raindrop drew back to steady her. Mist stood up straight and looked right into Raindrop's abashed but earnest eyes. Raindrop met her gaze evenly, peacefully, but hopelessly.
Without a word, they continued along their journey side by side.
A thin, wailing cry rose eerily in the night. Raindrop opened her eyes slowly. A single cat sat on watch, wailing at the sky. The stars shone only dimly, and there was no moon. They'd been walking for more than a moon. There had been no Telling.
Even though the didn't know what was wrong, whether they had just lost hope or lost someone, Raindrop couldn't help thinking,
Another cat down.
There were stones lined up, each one unnaturally square. From where they sat on the hill, lapping water in their parched throats, it looked like bugs swarming in and out of it. Rock, Leafteller, and Windteller were talking quietly by the banks, deciding what to do next. To Raindrop and Eddy's surprise, Pounce's death (which Raindrop still refused blankly to talk about) had made Windteller stronger, braver and more willing to prove himself.
He was strong enough to be everything Pounce had been.
Raindrop walked over to listen to their conversation.
"... May be some prey down there," Leafstar was saying.
"But what is it? Its like square mountains or something," Windteller pointed out. "If we don't know what's down there, we shouldn't take the risk."
"What if it would save the tribe from dying of starvation?" demanded Rock, glaring. Raindrop could tell all he wanted was food.
"And what if it would kill us all off?" countered Windteller. "We don't know, and under the circumstances, with the tribe to weak to lift a claw to defend themselves, I don't think it's a good idea to take them into unfamiliar territory for something that might not even be there."
"Isn't that what this 'journey' is all about?" hissed Rock nastily. "Wandering aimlessly to look for something that isn't there?"
"What that isn't there?" interjected Raindrop. "A home? A place to go? Is that what you mean?" she challenged.
"No," replied Rock scathingly, "I meant hope."
Desert sun scorched their backs, the dust making them cough and squint. One of the few to-bes left walked into a large, green plant that had tiny claws sticking out of it and they spent a long time getting them all out. Bushed rolled by on slight winds, and vultures circled overhead.
The hazy horizon was the only place they saw hope. It was a mark of how bad the journey was going that the large and prosperous tribe had become a little knot of starving cats whose only beacon of hope was the dark spot in the dust.
It was a mark of their hopelessness that they were actually looking forward to getting there.
To the next mountains.
There were only a few cats left when they reached the mountains. Some had given up and stopped walking. Others had left in their sleep, slipping quietly away to the Tribe of Endless Hunting. A few had been lost to the heat, lain down in the desert and decided not to move again.
Only Eddy, Raindrop, Windteller, Leafteller, Rock, Mist, Leap, Dewdrop, Wing, Fire and Monkey were left. They stood at the base of the mountains, and watched the stars. The air was cooler here, the stars brighter, and the wide river reminded Leafteller so much of the one in the Jungle that it made her heart ache.
Together, they lowered their heads and prayed to the Tribe of Endless Hunting to keep them safe and together and to guide the cats they had lost safely to the stars.
Raindrop tipped her head back and looked at the stars, feeling calm and hopeful for the first time in moons. They could make it if they tried.
Maybe they had a chance after all.
