CHAPTER 20-Dogs

A streak of lightning slashed open the clouds, and torrents of rain came bucketing down. Thunder boomed overhead like a mad lion. I was soaked to the bone. Shivering, I followed the warriors as they led me to a shelter from an overhanging branch. It wasn't exactly dry or warm, and trickles of rain dropped down from the leaves and splattered onto my nose. The thunder roared again and nearly deafened me.

Dewstep muttered, "Well, I guess we'd better wait the storm out before we continue any farther." He fluffed up his fur and lay down. After a few more moments, he was snoring softly. I furrowed my brow. How could he sleep in all this racket? But then again, knowing him, he could probably sleep through a badger rampage and not wake up until the next morning.

I rested my paws on the damp ground and sighed. The exciting feelings from before had evaporated, and the sky outside was a gloomy gray. Even though I did like rainy days, I didn't want to just sit here and do nothing. I had to get to the mountains as soon as possible.

"StarClan's territory is collapsing," Firestar had said. And he had told me something else: Don't leave without water, for it will guide you.

Water was pouring out of the sky and splashing onto the grass with harsh sounds.

Snowstorm pricked his ears up and asked, "Do you want to go hunting? It's boring here."

"But it's raining. Won't the prey be stuck in their burrows?"

He shrugged, and beckoned me to stand up. I reluctantly followed him and stepped out of the shelter of the overhanging branch. The rain immediately sloshed onto my fur. The water trickled down my face, and I trembled with the cold. I looked at the still sleeping form of Dewstep. "What about him?" I asked.

Snowstorm shrugged again, and replied, "He'll be fine. We won't be gone long."

We trudged slowly through the brown mud, avoiding puddles and still getting wetter all the while. His white fur was starting to look brown from the mud.

He crouched down and motioned me to do the same, and he whispered, "Since there's rain, we won't be able to scent the prey. Instead, we should listen."

I strained my ears and leaned forward, trying to detect any sounds.

There was a slight flurry of squeaks nearby coming from a clump of dandelions. "Over there," I whispered. "A mouse."

Snowstorm nodded. I crouched lower and began to sneak towards it. I could just make out the black beady eyes peering out from the leaves as it squeaked again. Tensing up my muscles, I sprang.

My claws landed on the mouse, and a bit of hope flickered inside me. However, it squirmed and wriggled out of my grasp and quickly darted away. Snowstorm sprang to his paws and killed it with a swift blow to its back.

He looked at me sympathetically and mewed, "Your hunting crouch is great, but you need to tighten your grasp, otherwise the prey will escape."

I hung my head, embarrassed. He licked my head and meowed, "Hey, it's alright. You'll improve soon enough."

We walked back with the mouse. Dewstep was awake and sitting up. He sniffed the prey and yawned, and mewed sleepily, "I'm not really hungry."

"You eat it, Snowstorm," I said. "After all, you caught it."

Snowstorm shook his head and pushed the rodent to me. "Here."

I mewed quickly, "No, it's alright. I don't deserve it."

We kept pushing the mouse back and forth, and Dewstep got so annoyed that in the end, he ate it instead.

OoOoOoOoOoOooooOOOOoo

The rain began to thin out. The thunder subsided to a low, echoing growl, and the clouds lightened. We padded out of the shelter and continued on our way. The grey clouds covered the distant mountains from view, but we had memorized our direction and followed it.

There was a river nearby. The water was high and almost overflowing, and trash littered the banks. There were several sad-looking and soggy magazine pages with pictures that had long faded, some bent soda cans, and even a beat-up, worn-down shoe.

My fur began to bristle. There was so much litter everywhere! Why couldn't people just learn to recycle or stop being litterbugs? It annoyed me to no end.

A waterlogged piece of paper drifted by on the current, and out of curiosity, I leaned down to examine it. The typed words were faded and almost impossible to read, but I could make out a few words: "..and day by day, the wings unfurled…"

The words felt a bit strange in my mind, since I hadn't read a single letter in months. The words echoed again and again in my brain and brought back the familiar pang of homesickness that rocked back and forth like a boat caught in a high sea. I sighed, and hurried after the others.

Something growled low in its throat. I slowly turned around, my fur on end, and was greeted by a dog staring at me in the distance. It growled again, a low, guttural sound that vibrated and seemed to penetrate deeply in my ears. I gulped and whispered, "Um…hey, guys?"

Snowstorm and Dewstep turned around, and their eyes grew wide when they saw the dog. The canine turned and barked loudly, and in a few moments, a smaller, shaggier mongrel appeared to stand next to the first. The warriors and I backed away slowly. The dogs began to follow us.

"Easy, boy," I whispered to the canines as they continued to advance.

The dogs barked, and the sound resonated and vibrated throughout my entire body like thunder. They suddenly charged and lunged at us with their jaws open wide and tongues flying out.

Snowstorm and Dewstep dashed away. I panicked and looked around wildly. My mind just went blank, and my paws felt rooted to the ground. I couldn't tear my eyes away as the canines sprinted closer and closer. My heart beat wildly.

Dewstep sprang towards me and snarled, "Move!" He butted his head into my shoulder, and the force toppled me over. Luckily, I snapped out of the trance, scrambled to my paws, and darted off.

Snowstorm and Dewstep followed me, their paws pounding on the earth and their fur bristling. My paws were already beginning to feel tired. I couldn't keep on running for long.

The dogs barked again and again, and they were gaining. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a flash of large white teeth in the sun, and of brown, wild eyes driven mad by the scent of cats.

Snowstorm turned and dove under a tangled thorn bush. He dug his way underneath and crouched there, trembling.

Dewstep sprinted the other way, and I didn't see where he went. The dogs were gaining. I could feel their hot breath on my neck.

I shuddered, and forced myself to run faster. Run! Run! Run! I urged myself on. My heart was beating so wildly that I was afraid that it would pound out of my chest.

Snowstorm yowled, "Ashley, climb up a tree!"

I looked around. Never once in my life had I ever climbed a tree, and all of the trunks looked too slippery for a good grip.

All of my instincts were telling me to run.

The dogs growled.

The dogs snarled.

The dogs roared like lions.

My breath caught in my throat as I suddenly tripped on a rock sticking out of the ground. I tumbled head over heels down the steep hill, and closed my eyes tight. I didn't want to see the dogs rip me up to shreds.

I stiffened, and tried to prepare myself.

Nothing happened.

I took a deep breath and waited some more.

The birds twittered from high up in the sky.

And I was still alive.

Confused, I sat up and blinked.

Far in the distance, I heard a flurry of barking along with furious hisses and spitting.

I immediately got to my paws. Snowstorm and Dewstep had flung themselves at the dogs and were slashing at them with all their fury.

The dogs shook their fur and tried to fling them off, but they held on with grim determination.

I sprinted towards them, and before I knew what I was doing, I had unsheathed my claws. The dog seemed to be too scared to move, so I brought it to my advantage. I quickly raised my claw and brought it down on one of the canine's hind legs, and it yelped in pain.

It howled and sprinted off to the distance. The larger dog watched it leave and it paused, wondering if it should follow. Dewstep snarled in its ear and bite down hard. Blood spurted out. The dog whimpered and yelped sharply, and after the warrior had loosened its grip, it quickly hurried after its companion with its tail tucked between its legs.

Snowstorm and Dewstep watched it go with satisfaction. I flattened my ears. I was still trembling, and my fur was still fluffed out. I forced myself to calm down.

Snowstorm nudged me gently, "Are you okay?"

I nodded and scuffled my paws.

He looked at the distance and meowed, "Those dogs sure are wimps. They run away as soon as we fight them."

He turned and asked me, "Do you want to continue the journey, or should we rest for the rest of the day?"

I didn't want to sound weak (even though everyone already knew that I was), so I murmured, "Let's keep going."

My voice sounded small and sharp, and my heart was still pounding wildly.

Snowstorm laid his tail against my shoulders and licked the top of my head. "It's alright," he said. Was it just my imagination, or did he look worried about me? I shrugged the thought away. I closed my eyes and felt his warmth, and was a bit disappointed when he pulled away.

Dewstep blinked at me kindly, and we continued the rest of the way in silence, making our way slowly across the land.

I dragged my paws half-heartedly. I hated the fact that I was so weak. I wanted to be able to fight, to hunt, to be a warrior like the rest of them. But I knew that I couldn't be. I wasn't even forest-born. I was only Ashley, just Ashley, and my skills were so terrible that I would probably be an apprentice for the rest of my life. I sighed wearily.