A harsh, cool wind ruffled the cats' fur as a monster sped past, its glaring eyes boring holes in the night ahead of it. Cherrypaw looked on in horror. She remembered the very first time she had to cross a Thunderpath, which was when she was being chased by Mudface with Dustcloud.
"Truthfully," Whitepaw meowed, breaking the stilling silence, "this doesn't look promising."
Frostfur nodded. "I agree," she mewed.
Cherrypaw saw Dustcloud roll her eyes. "Of course you do," she whispered under her breath. Cherrypaw stifled a purr of amusement.
"Whether it looks promising or not, we'll have to cross it," Snowstorm meowed decisively. "And if we don't now, when are we going to?"
Cherrypaw looked across the wide grey path. It wasn't a normal Thunderpath. It was wider than usual, and had a single strip of grass streaking through its centre. "It's really far," she mumbled. "How are we going to make it?"
As another monster hurtled past, Frostfur meowed, "The monsters don't seem to like that grass in the middle of the Thunderpath. Maybe we could cross halfway and wait on that small strip of land."
Snowstorm nodded. "That's a good idea," she agreed. "Let's cross two at a time. I'll cross by myself last."
Cherrypaw snuck a glance at Frostfur and Whitepaw, who briefly intertwined their tails before padding to the edge of the Thunderpath. The two peeked up and down the path before bolting across, landing safely on the natural strip of turf.
Snowstorm nodded to Cherrypaw. She caught a glimpse of Dustcloud ruffling up her fur, but ignored it and padded over to the edge of the Thunderpath.
Just like in EmberClan's old territory, the grass here was greasy and smelled of Twoleg rubbish and the carrionplace. Cherrypaw leaned down and took one short sniff before recoiling in disgust. Dustcloud wrinkled her nose in distaste, but the two peered up and down the Thunderpath dubiously.
"Now!" Dustcloud yelped, and the two RainClan cats pelted across the grey path.
Realization hit Cherrypaw like one of the monsters. The path was much wider, even between the strip of grass. A sleek, dark green monster was making its way down the Thunderpath, ready to collide with the two racing cats.
"We're not going to make it!" she yowled against the rushing wind, hoping Dustcloud could hear her. She vaguely made out Snowstorm's distressed meows behind them.
To Cherrypaw's horror, Dustcloud sped up and reached the others before Cherrypaw. She was left to struggle for herself, bounding across the hard path, causing her pads to sting and throb in pain.
"Cherrypaw!" she heard Snowstorm shriek as the monster advanced, soon hurtling by in a flurry of dust and fowl-smelling, acrid stenches. They were the last scents Cherrypaw smelled before blacking-out.
"Someone has to get that dark orange one!" a strange voice called through the stillness.
Cherrypaw peeked open her eyes dizzily, she tried to shift positions, but her body ached from flopping down to the stone-hard Thunderpath.
When realization hit her, she jolted open her eyes and glanced around wildly. What…where…? She stiffly got to her paws and glared around. Snowstorm, Dustcloud, Frostfur, and Whitepaw were nowhere to be seen.
"Snowstorm?" Cherrypaw called out blindly. "Dustcloud? Where are you guys?"
"It's awake!" the strange voice called again, more in an urgent whisper. "Someone get it! My hands are full with this big white one!"
Cherrypaw swung her head from side to side, trying to pinpoint the voice. "Where did you go?" she mewed helplessly. "Frostfur? Whitepaw?"
Suddenly, a sickening feeling swooned over Cherrypaw as she got the notion of moving through the air. Heavy, soft things were underneath her, lifting her from the Thunderpath! Cherrypaw looked up to see the massive head of a Twoleg staring her in the face.
Terrified, she struggled in the grasp of the Twoleg's paws. "Let me go!" she shrieked angrily, writhing painfully. But the Twoleg wouldn't move its oversized paws. It only struggled to get a better grip on Cherrypaw's body.
The Twoleg spoke again, throwing Cherrypaw off guard. "It's so confused," the Twoleg purred. "Let's get them home so we can decide what to do with them."
Them? Cherrypaw thought. They have the others! "Where are…" But Cherrypaw's voice trailed off as she meowed the words. How did she understand what the Twoleg was saying?
Suddenly, the Twoleg started walking toward a gigantic monster, bigger than normal. Its backside was open in display, and Cherrypaw winced in horror when she saw the others inside.
"Snowstorm!" she cried. "Let me go! Those are my friends!"
"Shh," the Twoleg hushed calmly. "I know they're your friends. Just be patient, okay?"
Cherrypaw blinked.
"What?" she mewed hoarsely. How did this mere Twoleg know what a cat was saying?
"I said, I know those are your friends," the Twoleg repeated. "Just hold on tight and I'll handle this."
Cherrypaw wanted to screech in protest, but something about this Twoleg seemed…right. When she inhaled deeply, she caught the faintest hint of unknown cat in the drift.
The eccentric Twoleg placed Cherrypaw in a box that seemed to made of stone twigs. Only they were shiny and silver. She immediately turned to the others.
"What happened?" she mewled. "Snowstorm, what just happened? Did the Twoleg talk to you, too?"
Snowstorm blinked. "Calm down, Cherrypaw," she purred with a slight chuckle of amusement. "I did heard the female Twoleg speak."
Cherrypaw turned to the others and mewed wildly, "Did you hear her, too?"
Dustcloud nodded, but Frostfur and Whitepaw remained silent. "We were picked up by the male Twoleg," Frostfur mewed.
Cherrypaw nodded. "Snowstorm, this must mean something. Could you understand her?"
Snowstorm nodded. She opened her mouth so say more, but the monster suddenly roared to life. Cherrypaw's hackles rose instinctively. She was inside one of her mortal enemies. She was inside a Twoleg monster!
"This is no ordinary Twoleg we just met," Snowstorm continued. "There's something odd going on, and I'm determined to figure out what."
Dustcloud nodded. "How about we wait and see what the Twoleg tells us?"
Whitepaw stood up, his fur stiffening. "Are you all mad?" he hissed. "You don't know what these Twolegs could do to us! You've seen what they can do! Thistleclaw was taken by Twolegs. What happened to him? He was made into a kittypet. I don't want to be a kittypet!"
Snowstorm nodded. "Whitepaw does have a point," she meowed, "but I still think we should wait and see what this Twoleg has to offer. It may just be worth it."
Whitepaw sniffed dubiously and sat down again, fur lying flat on his back. He leered off into the darkness of the monster's belly. Cherrypaw watched the rest of the cats share tongues before finally resting her head on her paws. The gentle rock of the monster eventually lulled her to sleep.