After resting, mother woke Tail and I up and made us continue on. The sun peeked over the outline of the ice, spreading a faint orange line across the ground. Unlike my brother I was not looking forward to leaving the ice, to leaving all that I'd known. The ice and snow was far better then mud whiskers which pop out of the ground. I wished with all my heart we could stay, but mother said that the ice would start to melt soon.
"Hey, Snow let's practice fighting in case we need to." Tail suggested, straying from the path to play with his tail.
"I don't know. Can we mother?" I asked looking up at my mother.
She flicked her tail dismissively and halted "Fine, I'll hunt and you play safely."
Tail pounced on me and started batting his paws on my back he wasn't using claws so I threw him off easily I batted his flanks. He went on his hind legs and roared then I heard the ice crack below our feet.
Tail and I both backed away. As the cracks in the ice spread, Tail began to run as did I. A giant fish appeared causing us both to shriek in horror, the fish flopped onto the ice blocking my view of Tail. The fish smashed the ice into pieces falling back into the water taking Tail with it. I looked down into the water, it was rippling and shimmering, returning me a reflection of myself.
I stared down into the water in worry, after a few heartbeats mother appeared with Tail in her jaws. She dropped him and murmured something I couldn't hear.
"Tail are you alright did that fish hurt you?" I asked scared what if it had hurt him badly and he would die like our older brother he died after the ice cracked and he was only a moon old.
Tail got to paws coughing and hacking violently"I'm fine just soaking wet," He said shaking his fur.
"It's too early for the ice to crack," She said, more to herself than to us "We move now and you learn how to swim."
I gulped I didn't want to swim if there were fish that big I wouldn't swim for all the fish in the water. Despite my internal refusal Night hopped into the water with Tail leaving me no choice but to follow them. We swam in the water until the sun sank into the sky and the moon brightened in the sky.
"We'll rest but tomorrow we will reach land." Night said tiredly, but determined
I didn't sleep well that night, I dreamt that I was swimming, choking on thick water. While Night was fighting the big fish and Tail was far away not doing anything. The fish killed Night and when I found Tail he hated me he hissed telling me I was dead I should go away and never come back. I stared at his back as he walked away on the ice, vanishing into the distance.
Despite my night terrors, I was the last to wake. Night and Tail woke up early only catching a small fish to eat, I was almost six moons, but I didn't think that I could take care of myself and mother said white cats live alone with their mate and kits, not mothers and littermates. When we got to land I would have to look after myself and probably find a mate just so I wouldn't be alone. I sighed at my thoughts, fearing the distant future.
It took us half the day to get to the water where we would swim to the other side, the dark murky water reminded me of my dream and made me shudder. I brushed off any form of resemblance I saw, it was just a dream. No cat can predict the future.
"Tail you go first come on." Night snapped
" No, " he said angrily, glaring at our mother" I'm tired and hungry, but you're too lazy to get me food if I could catch a fish it would fill us up not leave us to starve! " he growled
" Fine Snow get in the water and I'll push you across." Night said
I did what she said, and got into the water. Night helped me swim across and I could see a foreign colour getting closer. Half-way there my dream came true, the fish returned and attacked Night, forcing her underwater. I was scared I began to swim by myself in a hurry trying to escape the fearsome beast. Once I had made it across I yowled to Tail
" Tail come over here quickly! " but he didn't move and he disappeared from my vision and was engulfed within fog.
Yet what I did see was I would never ever dream of wanting to, Night floated to the top of the water on her side. Her eyes glazed, fur slick and mouth slightly ajar.
I stared at her frozen in fear, paralysed once I had summoned the strength I ran with all my might my paws pounding into the snow. Night was dead and if I ever saw Tail again he would hate me. Why did this all happen? Why did it have to happen? Why?
Why?