CHAPTER EIGHT

After we calmed the hysterical Dove's Wing down and explained the situation to her, she was only a little dubious of our wild tale. I was slightly suspicious of her meek behavior—she seemed to be a little too accepting of the truth, when Half Moon had been so unwilling to believe. Then again, Dovewing must have been used to the unusual, after living for so long.

It grieved all of us to hear of the Clans' demise, but they lived long and well. All good things must come to an end, after all, and they had quite a legacy.

She agreed to behave as a normal Tribe cat. She had apparently been given another chance at life, and she was desirous of taking it. I supposed that I would be, too, in that circumstance.

We went out and "explained things" to the Tribe; then Jay's Wing and Half Moon sent everyone back to their nests to finish sleeping. Bleary-eyed, I followed.

I opened my eyes to a shadowy forest. The trees were black, the grass beneath my feet dark. For a moment, my fur bristled—was I in the Dark Forest? Then I realized that the gloomy phosphorescence that lit the Place of No Stars was absent, and that above me the stars glowed faintly.

I looked around. I was alone. No, there off in the distance, a movement—Wolf walked out of the shadows.

"Where are we?" I whispered, keeping my voice low.

"I don't know," she replied, troubled.

"This is a dream," the voice of Jay's Wing said as its' owner padded over to us.

"So we're not stuck here?" I queried.

The gray tabby swished his tail and did not answer. A sick feeling grew in my heart.

"Jay's Wing? Is that you?" That was Lion's Roar. Why were we four here?

No; we five. Dove's Wing also appeared next to us, fright in her eyes.

"J-jayfeather?" she stammered. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Jay's Wing replied in a troubled tone.

"Well, we can't just sit here," Wolf said.

"True that," I agreed, and got to my paws.

Now you are all here, a whispered male voice came across the clearing.

We all jumped.

"Who's out there?" I demanded.

"Where are we?" Lion's Roar asked.

Patience, kittens, another voice said, somehow seeming female this time.

In front of us five cats, five figures appeared. Three were cats, two humans.

One was furless and hideous. I recognized him, as did Jay's Wing.

"Rock!" he gasped.

The ancient tom narrowed his eyes, but made no noise.

The other two cats were ageless and perfect-looking. The tom had a glorious silvery pelt and shining blue eyes; the she-cat's white pelt was flawless and her dazzling golden eyes were perfect. I shook my head, as if to clear it, but they remained just as... amazing.

The two humans were darker-skinned; not quite as dark as native Africans, more like Asians. They had long, silky dark hair and brown eyes. Their clothes looked modern, expensive, and well-cared for.

"We are the Originals," the perfect cats and humans said. "The first of your kinds."

"And I am Rock," the old cat growled.

"We have a task for you," the tomcat said.

"A task that only you can complete," the woman added.

"There is, among the mountains, near the crooked stream, an old wandering rogue," the man said.

"You must go to him, and he will divulge a secret to you," the she-cat continued.

"You will then act upon this secret," Rock finished. "We will return you to your homes when your task is complete."

"Go forth," the Originals said in unison. "Go forth and save the world."

They vanished, leaving us alone.

"Could they be any more cryptic?" I groaned.

Jay's Wing growled. "At least they're giving us some instruction, most of the time it's just a prophecy and then we're left to ourselves."

"This isn't much different," Dove's Wing griped.

I nodded in agreement. Wolf said, "Well, at least we know we have to do something."

"And where this rogue is," Lion's Roar added. "What did that Twoleg say? 'He is near the crooked stream'?"

We all looked questioningly to Jay's Wing, who knew the territory best.

"There's the Snake Stream," the gray tom said. "That's pretty crooked."

I opened my mouth in horror. Even Wolf and I had heard of the Snake Stream. "But—isn't the Snake Stream infested with snakes?"

Jay's Wing shrugged. "Well, if we haven't any choice about saving the world, we're going to have to take some risks," he replied.

"Have you ever fought against a nest of snakes, Jay's Wing?" Lion's Roar asked him soberly.

"Well, no..."

"Snakes, especially a whole nest of them, are no joke," Wolf informed us. "I lost one of my lives back at the Lake fighting a snake."

Jay's Wing shifted uncomfortably. "Well, this rogue manages to live there. If he can, we can too."

I sighed and shook my head. He was hopeless. Still, he had a point. "We have to go, guys. These Originals don't seem like people to be trifled with."

Suddenly, my vision grew hazy. "I think I'm waking up," I called out, and my voice seemed distant even to me. "We'll go..."

And then I woke.

The next morning, we headed out. Jay's Wing had almost habitually lied to Half Moon by saying we were going hunting, but I cut across him and told the truth.

As we picked our way across the mountain terrain, I stayed close to Dove's Wing, trying to go a little further into detail about our adventures that we had not told her last night. She did seem a little overwhelmed, but I was fairly sure that this craziness would become a little more normal as time went on.

We reached the Snake Stream in about an hour and a half. I began to hear an ominous hissing noise, and almost stopped short as it came into view.

The Snake Stream was truly a very crooked stream, winding through the rocks with no set course, sometimes splitting off of itself. But that was not what alarmed me.

Covering the rocks were dark brown snakes—adders.

Sitting in the middle of them was a dying cat.