Chapter 11
"Wake up," a hushed voice hissed in Fleet's ear.
"Ngh...What?" he groaned, looking up to see Lion sitting patiently above him in the darkness. "Stars, Lion. Can'tcha lemme sleep?"
"I told you last night, I wanted to speak with you. Wake up."
Fleet rose to a sitting position, eyes half closed. "Whaddya wanna talk about?"
"I want to know what happened yesterday involving Tiger. I was planning on listening to you and Socks, but you went into her den, so I was unable to hear."
"Hmm. Well, Socks told me to follow-" Fleet yawned. "To follow him 'cause she was suspicious of him doin' stuff. Turns out he was leaving his scent in the forest cats' territory. Crazy, huh?"
"That is not good," Lion muttered darkly. "He is going to turn them against us-and the Diamonds and the forest cats have most definitely had a troubled history. With winter approaching, they will not hesitate to attack. Forest cats are incredibly protective of their food."
"You sure do know a lot about them," Fluffy said, impressed. "But wouldn't Tiger be blamed, too?"
"Oh, no, of course not. Tiger is an intelligent cat. He will present himself to them in their own territory when he deems the time is right, blame the encroachment on the rest of the Diamonds, use them to defeat us in battle, then take over as leader."
"How do you know all that? It's pretty specific."
"It is simply strategy. I have heard much of Tiger's other plans as second, and this is how he thinks. He prefers not to have to put himself in harm's way."
Fleet made a sound of amusement. "I can believe that. What should we do?"
"I do not believe that this battle with the forest cats is avoidable," Lion answered sadly.
"Oh."
A battle means death. A battle always means death, especially with cats like Socks and Tiger calling the shots. But from what Lion said, that the Diamonds and the forest cats have a history, I'm guessing things like this have happened before.
"Look. Tiger is doing something." Lion was squinting into the darkness, disrupting Fleet's thoughts.
"Is he coming over here?" he asked in a whisper, flattening himself to the ground as Lion had.
"No," the golden tom-cat breathed. "He is exiting the leader's den and climbing the scrap heap."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that he is taking over."
"Diamond cats!" Tiger yowled, shattering the dawn silence with his announcement. "Gather before the scrap pile and hear what I have to say."
"You go," Lion hissed. "I will watch from here."
Fleet padded slowly out to the clearing, joining a small number of light sleepers who had already woken up. It took a little while, but eventually nearly every cat had arrived, and all were looking up expectantly at the second. Socks was nowhere to be seen.
"Diamond cats," Tiger repeated, "a time has come for change. The forest cats have accused us of something we have not done!"
A loud chorus of outraged cries filled the air.
"The forest cats believe that we are trespassing on their territory, and they are threatening us with war!"
The angry voices echoed around the camp once more, but this time, one rose above the others. "Not to be disrespectful, sir," said the skinny she-cat that Fleet had talked to the day before, "but how do you know this? I know that none of us have seen any forest cats around here recently."
"You raise an excellent point," Tiger answered, unfazed. "I have met with their leader in the field that surrounds the city, and we discussed it there. He accused us of stealing prey, and though I denied it, he warned that if whoever was doing it didn't stop immediately, his warriors would attack."
"What will we do?" one cat cried.
Tiger looked pleased. "As I said, this is a time for change. I am taking over as leader of the Diamonds!"
Despite all his sweet talking before, the cats were furious, even more so than before. "Where is Socks?" they asked. "What did you do?"
Fleet himself was anxious for Socks's health as well, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. "Where is she?" he demanded. Tiger was busy trying to calm the masses, and so Fleet was able to slip into the den unseen.
"Fleet," he heard her rasp. "I knew you'd show up."
The multitude of cats crowding the entrance coupled with the darkness of the early morning blocked out most of the light, but Socks's eyes reflected what little there was. He sat down by her side. "What did he do to you?" he asked, and barely saw her shrug.
"Just a few scratches and death threats. If you ask me, I was lucky." Socks seemed uncharacteristically calm as she spoke of the event, her tail sweeping the dusty floor.
"What do you mean?"
"Usually whoever is taking power just kills the former leader. You know, just so they can't make any trouble later on. I don't know why Tiger didn't." She still sounded placid, a quality the she-cat didn't usually hold.
"You're not sounding too good, Socks. Let me check you, please," Fleet insisted. Socks sighed.
"Go ahead. But I'm telling you, it's nothing." Her voice was almost too soft to hear above the still raging crowd outside.
Carefully, Fleet touched her pelt with a paw, feeling for blood. He felt the sticky red liquid right away, and a lump rose in his throat.
"What is it?" Socks asked innocently.
"It's...nevermind," he choked, feeling around for more. Luckily, it seemed Tiger had mostly stayed in that one spot, except for a deep scratch in her muzzle and a shredded ear. Well, as lucky as Socks could be at the moment. "You've lost a lot of blood, though. I think it's...slowing down your brain."
Socks's only reaction was a grunt.
"I'll go get the healer." Quietly-not like it mattered-Fleet exited the den, searching for Flora in the throng of angry cats. The tortoiseshell pelted healer was watching anxiously from the back, her green eyes glowing with a mixture of concern and hatred. "Flora," he hissed, and the she-cat whipped around. "Socks, she's-"
"I'm coming," she whispered, and the two slunk back into the den.
"I've brought Flora," Fleet hissed, and the she-cat raced to her former leader's side.
"She's unconscious. Did you see where she's hurt?" Fleet had to admire the healer's focus as she sniffed Socks's pelt.
"Her ear and her muzzle, but the bad one's on her flank," he reported, feeling helpless as Flora went to work.
"I don't have much to work with, but go to my den and fetch me some cloth. I need to stop the bleeding." It was clear that Flora was in 'the zone', so Fleet raced once more outside. The white tom-cat was surprised at how long the Diamonds had kept up their rage.
They must really like their leader, Fleet thought as he rummaged through the healer's meager supplies. It wasn't difficult to find the rags, and he brought them back quickly.
"Got 'em," he panted, and Flora nodded.
"I need your help to lick the blood away so I can bandage it properly."
Fleet's eyes widened. "Lick...lick the blood...I can't," he stammered, backing away.
"What is it?" she asked, confused.
Thoughts of the metallic tasting liquid filled Fleet's thoughts, threatening to choke him.
No blood no blood no blood, he thought, images of drowning in the stuff flashing in his mind's eye. Not cat blood. Not her blood. No no no no no no no...
"Fleet, you're not looking too good," Flora said, sounding concerned. "You should lie down."
"No no no...take care of Socks," he muttered, before everything faded to black-or rather, red.