CHAPTER 23-City Bird

We padded up and down Twolegplace, and as night fell, I grew more and more desperate. Fear bloomed in my heart as the sky grew darker. What if I never found them? I paused to let Patch catch up, and then we started searching some more. Patch whimpered.

"Hey, it's alright. We'll find them, you'll see," I assured him. And yet, I knew that my words could be lies.

The streetlights came on, bathing the grey sidewalks with a soft, yellow glow.

A few bats fluttered around like black butterflies, searching for the moths that gathered towards the light.

My paws felt as if they would fall off, and my empty stomach blew in the breeze.

Patch sat down with a hard thump and moaned, "Can we rest now? I'm tired." I wanted to keep searching for my friends, but I reluctantly nodded.

I dug a small hole underneath a bush and we curled up in it. The night grew darker and darker still, and I eventually nodded off to sleep.

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Sometime during the night, I woke up. It was pitch black, with no sound at all other than the whistling of Patch's breath as he slept. The stillest hour of the night, I thought. Midnight.

The streetlamps flickered. There was no movement anywhere, and even though it was evening, the sidewalks glowed silver.

My head was foggy, and I was drifting off to sleep when I heard a howl. It was queer and strange, and it sounded nothing like a wolf's. Sounding high and thin, it broke off into silence, only to have it sound again a little farther off. A coyote.

Or a dog.

It howled again, and I held my breath. Eventually, the noise stopped, and I relaxed.

Somewhere, soft saxophone music wafted towards me by the wind. I closed my eyes and sank into the beautiful melody. Someone was having a late-night party in one of the houses.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I blinked, it was morning.

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The dawn wind brushed coldly against my fur and I suppressed a shiver. The leaves crunched under our paws as we hurried along.

The thought of not seeing the others again made me sprint faster. I had to find them.

Patch suddenly stopped and whispered, "Ashley! Look!" I slowed down with one paw poised in the air and glanced to where he was pointing.

A sparrow hopped along on the ground, pecking at the sidewalk. My mouth watered.

I quickly crouched down with my ears flattened and began to slowly stalk towards it.

Slowly…steadily…

The sparrow kept pecking.

I inched forwards ever so slowly. I held my breath, and bunched up the muscles in my hind legs.

My legs were like springs, and they pushed me upwards as I leaped.

The sparrow looked up in time to see me, and it unfolded its wings…a second too late.

I quickly killed it with my claw, and crumpled feathers flew everywhere.

Patch exclaimed, "Wow! You're good!"

I blushed in embarrassment and mewed, "No, not really."

After I divided the sparrow in half, we quickly gulped it down and continued on our way.

Even with my stomach full, there was an ache in my chest. It reminded me of Snowstorm, and Dewstep, and Rain.

A cold wind spat into my face. It was getting colder, with winter on its way. I shivered, and my teeth began to chatter.

Patch looked worried. "Are you okay?" he asked, and I nodded.

With all of his days spent in the city, he probably couldn't feel the cold and wind underneath.

The icy breeze circled its fingers around my fur, and just for a second, I thought I caught a whiff of Dewstep's scent. He was nearby!

I looked around wildly, and the black road was swarming with cars and trucks. The scent was stronger on the other side. We would have to cross the river of vehicles in order to get to the other sidewalk.

There were no pedestrian crosswalks nearby, no streetlights or stop signs or anything like that.

I flattened my ears in irritation. The scent was fading. I had to act now.

Patch looked up at me. "Are we going to have to cross the street?"

"Yup," I answered. I grasped him in my mouth by the scruff of his neck and waited for a gap in the traffic.

As the cars continued to speed past me, I felt frustration prickle the back of my neck. Dewstep's scent was fading quickly.

Finally, after about what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, the cars began to thin out until the road was completely empty.

At last!

Patch began to tremble, and I blinked at him kindly. Tightening my hold on his scruff, I bunched up my muscles and dashed across the road. The crumbled ground grated against my sore paws, but I didn't dare slow down.

A rumbling growl made the road shiver slightly, as if it shared the fear that I felt. I looked up to see a large truck looming at us, its wheels grating on the ground and flying closer and closer as the seconds passed.

Patch screamed, "Ashley, run!"

Hearing him scream set my nerves in a frenzy. My heart pounded loudly in my chest as I scrambled towards the sidewalk, and the alarm went off in my brain.

I was going to get run over!

I forced my paws to move faster, faster, but the truck was gaining. I could feel its hot breath on my tail.

It charged like a maddened bull, the lights gleaming red.

It growled like a great beast and roared all of its fury like thunder, and with one final leap, with one great pounce, I landed on the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

The truck rumbled past me, disappearing to the distance.

I set Patch on the ground and tried to calm myself. I trembled all over. The kitten mewed softly and licked my chin, trying to comfort me.

"It's alright now?" he mewed, and for some reason, it ended in a high tone, like a question. Since I didn't know the answer, I kept silent, shivering and blinking.

This was the city! Since I was a Twoleg, I was supposed to feel comfortable in it, and yet, everything was too big, too loud. The houses loomed up like skyscrapers, the vehicles hacked up toxic clouds, and I didn't feel at all like home.

Had I been a cat for so long that I was no longer human?

The thought terrified me. I whimpered softly, and Patch leaned up to nuzzle my ear.

A warrior wasn't supposed to act like this. A warrior was supposed to be brave.

Finally, I calmed down for a bit, and forced my fur to lie flat. It was alright now, like Patch had said. The truck was gone, and I was on safe ground.

And now. Now what? The calm part of my mind told me to find the others before it got dark again.

"Come on, Patch," I mewed quietly, and he followed

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As we searched, he sang little songs, trying to cheer us both up.

"One little city bird, sitting on the sill," he sang. "Chirping in a tiny tune, gazing at the hill. The forest birds laughed and taunted him so, but tiny little city bird didn't really know..."

His voice drifted as he scurried past me. He rounded a corner and disappeared out of my sight. I could still hear his high voice singing faintly, "...and then one day, the star hawk came, and stole the city bird away...and poor city bird was all alone, he didn't know what to say..."

He abruptly stopped singing, and it left the air hanging in a brief silence. I was suddenly worried. "Patch?" Had he found something?

I picked up my pace and rounded the corner, and immediatley screeched to a halt.

Standing in front of me were two scruffy looking toms. Their ears were battered and torn, and scars criscrossed their pelts. One of them had a missing eye.

My eyes traveled downwards, and I gaped in shock when I realized that Patch was pinned down underneath the rogue's jagged claws. The kitten squirmed and wriggled. He hissed and spat, and tried to look brave even though I knew he was losing.

I gulped, and backed away. My movement caught their attention. Their eyes widened, surprised that I was there, and then their faces cracked into smiles.

I stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move. Now I knew how rabbits felt when they were cornered by rattlesnakes.

The grey and white tom hissed, "Hey, there, pretty. This your kit?"

I only stared him with wide eyes. I tried to move my mouth but no words would come out.

Patch scrabbled underneath the paw that pinned him down. He yowled, "Ashley, get away! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"

The tom meowed, "Shut up!" and cuffed him roughly to his head. The kit only hissed and flattened his ears.

The toms advanced foward threateningly. The one-eyed cat spat, "This is our place. No one ever dares to intrude."

I could only stare at them as they continued to slowly circle me, their eyes narrowed and teeth bared. My paws wouldn't move.

Rabbits freeze when they see rattlesnakes. They can't move a muscle. And then what? What happens after that?

The rattlesnakes lunge and kill them, and the rabbits don't even try to get away.

I slowly unsheathed my claws. I couldn't die here. Not when Patch needed me, not when my friends had no idea where I was, not here, not now.

The one-eyed tom yowled and sprang at me, his claws outstretched. I jerked away and swatted at him. My blow connected solidly to his face and sent him flying backwards, charging into the brick wall.

Patch cheered, "Yeah! Keep going, Ashley!"

The other rogue hissed and came at me. I instinctively dodged out of his way and lashed out at him. He screeched in fury as my claws left red marks on his hide.

He whirled around and slashed at my cheek, and I felt something warm and sticky drip down.

Even though I was scared out of my fur, I continued to fight. But one cat can't fight off two, and they were able to corner me. I bared my teeth and hissed, my paw poised in the air like an adder.

"Ashley!" someone screeched.

We looked up to see a fluffy white tom dashing towards us. Snowstorm! My heart leaped with joy.

Dewstep sprinted behind him. He yowled, and the two of them charged at the rogues.

The rogues' eyes widened in surprise. Even though the warriors were underfed, Snowstorm's claws were sharp and thin, and Dewstep's lean muscles rippled underneath his pelt. The rogues gulped and quickly scampered off.

Dewstep snapped, "And don't you dare mess with us ever again!"

Snowstorm leaned down and sniffed me, "Are you alright?"

Too relieved to speak, I buried my face in his long fur and breathed in his familiar scent.

Patch leaped to his feet and mewled with joy.

"Patch? Is that you?" a hoarse voice asked, and a scrawny brown she-cat hobbled out of the bushes.

"Mother!" the kitten cried, and practically flew into her arms.

I closed my eyes and relished the familiar feeling of being safe again.

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The stars were twinkling high up in the sky as we settled down underneath a bush.

Dewstep murmured sleepily, "We were looking everywhere for you. Snowstorm was crying your name all the way. You should have seen him."

Snowstorm sniffed indignantly, "I was not!"

I smiled and curled up tightly between them. The battle with the rogues had left a deep scratch on my cheek, but it was nothing serious. I flexed my claws in and out, feeling it slide against my paws.

Patch was nestled in between Rain's arms.

He sang softly, "... the city bird, he found some friends, and so one bird became three, and the big star hawk, she flew back down, and smiled for the world to see..."

Rain murmured, "What's that?"

The kit beamed proudly, "It's a song I made up!"

As he continued to sing his rhymths, Rain leaned over and licked my ear softly, like a butterfly brushing the petals of a flower.

I looked at her questioningly. She paused for a moment, and then softly, so no one else would hear, she whispered, "Thank you for saving my kit. You were a real hero."

I was surprised. Me? A hero?

The moon hushed us with its gentle glow, and far away, a long howl sounded. It was high and winding, mournful and crisp like the wind. A coyote maybe. Or a dog. But here, nestled between my friends, I felt no fear.

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Eeyup.