Chapter Ten
Linger
When I crested the hill, I had a terrible thought. For a moment, I wished it had been Wren's yowl I had heard. Fox would have been the one hurt, in that case. I felt ashamed the moment I had the thought.
I found Fox trying to drag Wren's body away from the thunderpath. He froze when he saw me. "Shatter. She, I, we-"
"We need to get her away from here," I meowed. I was surprised at how strong my voice sounded. "Come on, Fox. We'll pick her up together." Wren looked terrible. I almost couldn't bear to look at her. "Fox?"
He nodded. Together, we got Wren onto our backs and walked away from the thunderpath, towards the fields.
(***)
We gently lay Wren in the shade of a large tree. Fox lay down next to her instantly. He began to lick her, frantically trying to clean the blood from her fur. I tried to tuck her legs up against her body, but one of them was so broken that I didn't want to touch it incase I hurt her.
"Shatter," Fox meowed. "You have to go hunt. If we get her some food, she'll be fine."
I nodded, but I knew that wasn't true. Wren's breathing was so shallow, her body so broken... I knew she was going to die. I almost collapsed. My little sister, I was supposed to protect her. If I had been with her, I could have pulled her out of the way. I didn't go hunting. I lay down on her other side and helped Fox clean away the blood.
(***)
I felt the vibration of a purr before I heard it. I pulled back, to see that Wren had opened her eyes and was staring at me.
"Wren."
"Shatter," she meowed weakly.
Fox had fallen into a fitful sleep beside us, but he woke up instantly at the sound of her voice. "Wren? You're all right?"
"No. I..." she trailed of weakly and closer her eyes.
"Wren. You were hit by a monster."
"I know," she meowed. "Flare's not hurt?"
"I'm fine, Wren."
Her purr became slightly louder. "Good."
"But Wren," I meowed brokenly. "You're-"
"I know, Shatter. I can feel it. I... I love you both."
"No Wren," Fox meowed quickly. "Don't say that, don't you're going to be fine."
Wren tried to shake her head, she opened her eyes and seemed to draw in strength. "No, Fox. I love you. Our kits would have been beautiful..." for a moment she seemed regretful, then the strange strength came back. "Shatter. I love you. I'll tell mom and dad all about how big and strong you've become... how good a leader you are. I'll..."
"Wren... you need to rest," I meowed.
"Look after each other," she meowed fiercely. "Look after each other, and have hope. Always have hope... I love you... I love you... I..." the strength was fading, she mumbled 'I love you' a few more times before falling silent.
(***)
Fox and I stayed awake, watching her fade. Her purr silenced, her breathing slowed down to nothing. And then she was gone.