CHAPTER 4-Destination
I was running. I didn't know how or where or why, but I was running. My jacket flapped in the wind that ran alongside me, flipping my black hair over my face. I was a human again, my two legs strong and nimble. I dashed past a rundown fence, past a street of houses, and as I ran I realized that I was aiming toward my own home in the distance. I could almost make out its red cracked shingles, its tan walls, the fluttering curtains behind the windows and right as I was going through the front door, right as I could get inside, the house disappeared all of a sudden and was replaced with darkness.
I woke up with a gasp. Where was I? The house seemed so real, the running of the wind beside me, and I found, with a lurch of my stomach, that it was only a dream. The smell of something musty and faintly spicy filled the darkness of the air. As my eyes adjusted, I could make out the grainy, dirt walls of a low arching den. A mossy nest lined with feathers tickled my nose. The shadow in the far corner on the opposite side was only a stack of dried leaves. The sharp-smelling stuff seeped into my own fur so that I smelled like a part of the strange den.
It was so dark in here. So quiet. I didn't dare move. It was only the darkness and I in this cave, only me and the darkness and the ever-moving shadows in the-
"You're awake!"
The sudden noise almost made me leap out of my own skin, and I clamped my jaws over a gasp of surprise. What was that? Was someone in here with me? I glanced fearfully around, expecting a monster or a beast but was instantly met with the face of a light brown she-cat coming in from an opening in the walls. She was pretty, I thought, as pretty as a cat could be. Her hind legs were like a bundle of sticks; she had to drag them as she moved, as if they were nothing but a dead weight.
A brown she-cat. Something about it made my mind click and my heart beat a little bit faster, but it couldn't be. Could it?
As I gaped at her, not knowing what to say, she looked back and called, "See Jayfeather, I told you she wasn't dead!" The den didn't seem so frightening anymore with this cheery-eyed cat in here with me, but I pricked up my ears in surprise, wondering if I had misheard her.
Jayfeather? As I traced the familiar name over with my mind, the back of my neck prickled in disbelief. As if on cue, a gray tabby cat strode into the place, his face unemotional. I peered at his eyes, trying to see what he saw.
I jerked back as he leaned over to sniff me. "Well, it seems that you're fine. Just a bit tired. Where are you from?"
I ducked my head and averted my gaze. What should I tell him? That I was a human who had somehow been transported here as a cat accidentally? Briarlight smiled and asked gently, "Maybe you'd like a bite to eat first. You must be hungry, trekking all those miles."
Eat? My stomach growled in agreement, but what was there to eat here? I knew the answer, but at the same time I didn't want to know. Taking my silence for agreement, Briarlight quickly dragged herself outside and came back a moment later with a squirrel. I eyed it warily. Was it really okay to eat this?
"What's the matter?" Jayfeather asked gruffly. "It's not poisoned or anything."
I shuffled my paws awkwardly, and for the first time since I came here, I spoke. "U-um, it's just that I'm not used to eating raw meat, so..." My voice came out as dry and scratchy as sandpaper.
Jayfeather raised an eyebrow. "So you're a kittypet, then?" I instantly began to bristle at that, despite convincing myself that he didn't mean it as an insult. But then I let my fur lie flat and the feeling evaporated. They were only trying to help me. And the Warriors...the Warriors were real?
Before he could say anything else, I quickly piped up, "Actually, it's fine. I'll eat the squirrel." I gazed at the dead rodent. A little bit of its dried blood still smeared the corner of its mouth, and its black eyes were wide open and unblinking. It was as if it was watching me, watching me as I ate it. Pushing the creepy air away, I bent down and carefully, cautiously, I nibbled at a corner of it. And then I perked up in surprise. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Feeling the hunger in my stomach now, I tucked in and devoured it in ravenous bites, and pretty soon the squirrel had disappeared.
A dark brown tom shouldered his way through Jayfeather and Briarlight.
Brambleclaw?
He spoke in a deep and rumbling voice, "Greetings. I am Bramblestar, the leader of ThunderClan. Who might you be?"
Bramblestar. Of course, he was the leader now.
A bit intimidated by his wide shoulders and piercing eyes, I mumbled, "Uh...I'm kind of lost. Do you know where the nearest Twolegplace is?"
The leader blinked. "You don't look like a kittypet to me."
"I-I live there," I replied. I was teetering on a spindly bridge, not knowing whether to learn toward on side and tell him who I actually was, or lean toward the other and keep my backstory a secret.
"My name is Ashley. Can you help me?"
Bramblestar's eyes narrowed. The suspicion rode off him in waves. Jayfeather leaned closer and whispered something in his ear, something too low for me to catch. I hope it wasn't something bad about me!
The dark brown tom sat quietly for a minute or two, staring down at his paws. Something seemed to flicker in his amber gaze, as if he just realized something, and as he raised his head to look at me I saw myself reflected in the pools of his glowing eyes.
"Very well then, Ashley. You can stay here for a few days, and after you've rested I will escort you to the nearest Twolegplace."
I dipped my head in relieved gratitude and prayed with all my heart that my house would still be there. And the Warriors. The Warriors were real! It was exactly like a dream, a dream that had become reality.
My excitement died down as quickly as it came when I realized how sick with worry my parents would be. What would they do when they found me missing? Had they already discovered that I was gone? An empty feeling of anxiety clawed at the lining of my stomach.
Was this really what I wanted? To become a cat? To live here? Or was it better if I just went home and forget that any of this had happened?
I didn't know, but I had a feeling that I would find out soon enough.