"Duskpaw, are you sure we should be doing this?" A black and white cat hissed as they slipped through a gap in the bushes and ferns.
"Don't worry! No one will notice that we're even gone, and we can be back before sunrise!" A calico cat said as he squeezed through a tight spot in the prickly bush.
"Ok…" the reluctant apprentice trailed off, following his courageous brother.
After wiggling through the bushes, both apprentices stood in the moonlight, a faint breeze ruffling their fur. The leaves in the trees rustled slightly, creating a calming song in the dead of the night. The tall and raspy fern grasses swayed, and the cats began slinking along, low to the ground.
"Do we really have to go to the creek? Why can't we wait until morning?" Dapplepaw asked, his ears flicking nervously, afraid of getting caught.
"There's no point if we wait until morning! If the rumor is true, we have to go at night. It has to be dark in order to see the cats."
Dapplepaw shook his head. He didn't really want to see the mystical cats, but his brother dragged him into it. Besides, he couldn't just let Duskpaw go out in the dark on his own. There were foxes and badgers and who knows what else. Why would Dapplepaw let Duskpaw risk his life?
Stars glimmered above, and Dapplepaw followed his brother through the undergrowth. He hoped Duskpaw knew the way to the river without a mentor- the territory was huge and they were only small, inexperienced apprentices. What if they got lost?
"Can you tell how far we are?" Dapplepaw asked, whispering.
"We should almost be there. And why are you whispering? There's no need for that," Duskpaw replied, his voice breaking the uneasy silence coating the forest.
Dapplepaw remained silent, his tail twitching as he stared at the dark shapes of the bushes and tree trunks.
After walking through the forest for a few minutes in silence, Dapplepaw stopped and opened his mouth, scenting the air. "Do you smell that?" He asked.
"Smell what?" Duskpaw asked, looking over his shoulder at his brother. "You must be imagining it. I don't smell anything." With that, the calico tom trotted off into the bushes, leaving uncertainty in his brother's blue eyes.
"I have to protect him," Dapplepaw reminded himself, chasing after his brother.
The trees gave away, and the yucky, crowfood smell increased. It made Dapplepaw's stomach churn. Surely Duskpaw could smell it now-
"Ah! Help!"
Dapplepaw could barely make out the outline of his brother in the shadows. He was waving his tail about, squirming, trying to get free of something; Dapplepaw couldn't tell what.
He stepped closer and the ground gave in- no- his paw sunk into the ground! He tried to pull his paw out, but he felt wet slimy goo seeping into his fur on his other leg. He was trapped!
"Help! Someone, help!" He yowled along with his brother, whose belly was already touching the marshy ground. "Help! Please! We need help!"
Dapplepaw could feel himself sinking deeper and deeper into the ground that smelled revolting. It burned his nostrils, and he could almost taste the wretched stuff because the scent was so strong. He caught the sight of his brother, who had stopped struggling.
"Don't move! You'll only sink faster that way!" He called.
Reluctantly, Dapplepaw tried what his brother suggested, and sure enough, it seemed to slow his sinking. "What are we going to do? We're going to be out here all night! By then, there won't be a trace of us!"
"Don't think like that, brother! We have to be strong! Think of what Smokesong would do!"
Smokesong wouldn't get stuck out here in the first place, Dapplepaw thought to himself, lowering his head in defeat.
Unexpectedly, Dapplepaw felt a tug on the fur in the back of his neck. He looked up, confused, and could see a silver cat out of the corner of his eye. "Who are-"
"Hush. We're here to get you out of the swamp."
Dapplepaw was slowly pulled out of the marsh, and dragged back on solid ground. He didn't see his brother; he must have already been pulled out or he had sunk… no. "Where's my brother?"
"I'm right here."
Dapplepaw turned his head and saw his brother laying on the ground a foxtail length away. Standing beside him was a… glowing white cat? He jerked his head around to see a similar cat standing behind him, also glowing. "What- who- who are you?" He stuttered, jumping to his feet and hissing.
"Don't be scared. Let us explain," the cat closest to Dapplepaw said, taking a step towards him. The apprentice couldn't help but notice the unsheathed claws. Did these cats truly want to help them, or were they going to kill them?
Thanks for reading this chapter of Cheating the Stars! Please review, and keep an eye out for the next chapter!