The scent of rabbit was fresh in the air when Scorchstar led his hunting patrol towards the outskirts of WindClan territory. Skyheart and Heathercloud spread out behind him, tasting the air to find their own scent. Skyheart's ears shot up, and Scorchstar guessed she had smelled the rabbit, too. But Scorchstar frowned as he realized the scent drifted from the Twolegplace in the distance.
Skyheart began to bound away. Scorchstar gasped as she darted across the moorland towards the Twolegplace, where the rabbit scent was the thickest. "Skyheart!" Scorchstar called out, horror climbing up his paws as he realized just how far Skyheart had gone. "Come back here, right now!"
"The rabbit is here!" Skyheart yowled at Scorchstar, continuing her run without stopping. "I'll get it, and then I'll come straight back!"
"Skyheart, it's dangerous!" Scorchstar hissed in reply as the gray she-cat disappeared into the Twolegplace. "Mouse-dung!"
Heathercloud walked over to Scorchstar, her blue eyes dark with worry. "Should we go after her?"
"It's our only choice." Scorchstar let out a heaving sigh. He bounded after Skyheart and approached the Thunderpath. His paws wavered over it. How had Skyheart crossed this so easily? He looked both ways, and then hoping to get over it as quickly as possible, lunged his way across, barely feeling the hot, sticky sensation of the road beneath him as he landed on the other side. Heathercloud was right behind him, just as swift as he was.
The two cats followed Skyheart's scent until they reached the Twolegplace. Scorchstar swallowed at the busy scents coming from the Twoleg dens that packed the distance as far as he could see. He could hear the chattering of Twolegs and could smell several kittypets. He focused his nose on Skyheart and tracked her scent, deeper into the Twolegplace, where he found the lean gray she-cat lashing her tail.
"Ugh," Skyheart grumbled, casting an apologetic glance as Scorchstar and Heathercloud wavered before her. The shadows of the Twoleg dens dappled her pelt. "I missed it."
"Yeah, you did. Now let's get out of here, now." Scorchstar turned on his heel, ready to go, with Heathercloud behind him. He could hear Skyheart's paws moving, and then just as the two WindClan cats raced out of the Twolegplace to cross the Thunderpath again, a splitting yowl broke the sky. Scorchstar and Heathercloud spun around, their eyes wide with horror.
"Skyheart!" Scorchstar yowled, spotting a massive Twoleg behind her with a large stick, pointing it at Skyheart. "Run!"
Skyheart crouched to the ground with a hiss and yowled at the Twoleg. But the Twoleg was not fazed – it lunged out with the stick, trapping Skyheart in the netting material. Skyheart yowled and flailed as the Twoleg scooped her up and walked away, approaching a monster and throwing Skyheart inside. The Twoleg shut Skyheart inside and jumped into the monster, taking it off with it. Scorchstar chased after the monster, but it was too fast, and it disappeared into the distance.
"Skyheart!" Scorchstar yowled as the Twoleg monster roared away until it was no longer visible. His scream was so raw that his throat ached as he yowled Skyheart's name to the clouds. "Skyheart!"
Heathercloud's mouth was open in a gasp. "Skyheart…" she whispered.
"Oh, no!" The voice came from a soft she-cat, and the two warriors turned their head to see a stunning tortoiseshell she-cat appear from one of the Twoleg dens and approach them. The kittypet wore fabric around her neck with a bell that jingled loudly, and her green eyes were round with worry. "I saw everything! The pound took her!"
"Where is she going?" Scorchstar demanded.
"The shelter," the kittypet replied, her green eyes dark as she glanced back to where the monster had disappeared. "Usually the humans that live here don't touch the feral cats, but sometimes humans from out of town arrive and steal some cats."
"Is she going to come back?" Heathercloud asked worriedly.
"If one of the humans saw it happen, they'll go after her," the kittypet explained, shifting her pure white paws.
"But what if they didn't?" Scorchstar gasped. He hadn't seen any Twoleg watch the kidnapping of Skyheart. And why would a Twoleg help, anyway, if a Twoleg was the one who took Skyheart? What this kittypet was saying made no sense.
The kittypet frowned. "They would have. Their eyes are everywhere. They'll get her."
"I don't trust these… what are these… humans? Twolegs?" Scorchstar snorted. This kittypet didn't know what she was talking about. Skyheart was out there, alone and scared, being abused by Twolegs. Scorchstar had to rescue her. What would happen if no one came after her? "I need to go get her myself."
"So you can get trapped, too?" the kittypet inquired, tilting her head. "I'm sure my human will go after her, if she saw it."
"I don't care." Scorchstar lashed his tail, unwilling to listen to what this foolish kittypet was saying. Since when did kittypets care about Clan cats? "I'm going to go get her myself."
"Mm, all right." The tortoiseshell she-cat sat down, meeting Scorchstar's gaze brazenly. "I'm sure my Twoleg will leave in her own car to retrieve her. If you want to go after her, you'd have ride in her car."
"Car…?" Heathercloud echoed, eyeing the kittypet dubiously.
"The thing they took the gray cat in," the kittypet explained. "It moved across the road. Don't you warrior cats know anything?"
"The monster?" Scorchstar recoiled in horror. "Wait… who are you?" If he wanted to get a sense of what this kittypet was saying, he had to know her name. Was she trying to help them? He had no idea of this kittypet's true intentions. He couldn't read her, not with her shy posture but her brazen eyes.
"I'm Angel," the kittypet introduced herself. "I've seen your kind, here before. Some of them smelled like you." Angel sniffed Scorchstar. Scorchstar stiffened and stepped back, scowling at Angel.
"Smelled like us?" Scorchstar demanded. There were WindClan cats in the Twolegplace? "What are their names?"
"They made me promise not to tell," Angel said. She changed the topic quickly, giving Scorchstar no time to press further. "Anyway… you can come, but it might need to wait a while. I don't know when my human will go."
"This will be dangerous," Heathercloud said to Scorchstar, but the gray she-cat said nothing about not wanting to save Skyheart. Scorchstar knew she was eager to help, but she wanted to weigh the risks as well. "We need backup."
"Right." Scorchstar nodded. "I'll go get it. Heathercloud, stay here with Angel. Angel, protect her." He rolled his eyes – he knew that Heathercloud was incredibly capable of taking care of herself, but he wanted this kittypet to feel special, so she would be here when he came back. If she was his only chance at rescuing Skyheart, he'd be a fool to turn her away.
"I will!" Angel declared.
Faster than his paws could move, Scorchstar flew through the Twolegplace, across the Thunderpath, through the moor, and back towards his camp. His heart was pounding violently in his chest. Every moment he wasted was another moment Skyheart was lost. Scorchstar skidded down the hollow and burst into camp. Cats immediately turned their head to see their leader in such a state of shock and panic.
"Warriors, gather around me!" Scorchstar yowled. He had no time to beat around the bush. "Skyheart has been taken by Twolegs!" The first two cats that were at his side immediately were Blackdove and Cinderfall. Scorchstar whirled to look at them. "You two are coming with me to get her!"
"Okay!" Cinderfall nodded. Blackdove dipped her head with no protests.
"Can I come?" Hawkpaw raced over, her green eyes wide with fear for Skyheart, but there was a kindling of determination in them, as well.
"No." Blackdove shook her head. "It's too dangerous."
"Blackdove's right," Scorchstar said when Hawkpaw hung her head. "We can't afford you getting taken, too."
Sedgefall appeared from the medicine den, her green eyes wide with horror from the news about her sister. Sandfall and Aspenstep gasped with shock at Scorchstar's words, and they bounded over to him.
"How did that happen?" Russetstripe asked, walking over to Scorchstar. "What Twolegplace?"
"Beyond the moor," Scorchstar replied quickly. They were running out of time! He had to get his Clanmates to come with him. They had to rescue Skyheart!
"Huh?" Russetstripe narrowed her eyes. "But the Twolegs there leave cats alone."
"How do you know?" Scorchstar snapped at her.
"So I've heard." Russetstripe looked away.
"One of the kittypets says that sometimes Twolegs from other places come and take the cats," Scorchstar went on quickly. "We have to go, now!" He turned to look at Sedgefall. "I fear Skyheart may be hurt – or we will be. Can you come with us?"
"Yes, of course." Sedgefall lowered her head and turned to Mallowpaw. "You are in charge, for now."
Mallowpaw's yellow eyes were dark with fear. Sedgefall touched her apprentice's nose with her own and walked over to Scorchstar. Me, Heathercloud, Cinderfall, Blackdove, and Sedgefall. That should be fine. I can't risk anyone else.
"We'll be back," Scorchstar promised Harewhisker, who would be in charge of the camp now that Scorchstar was going to lead the rescue mission for Skyheart.
"Be safe," Harewhisker said. Scorchstar couldn't miss the anxiety shadowing his deputy's yellow eyes, but he made no move to stop his leader from going. This is something I have to do.
Scorchstar nodded and raced out of camp, his chosen cats behind him. He refused to slow down as he cut through the moorland and raced over the Thunderpath, reaching the Twolegplace in record time. The fresh air from the moorland that buffeted his fur was replaced by the stiff breeze from the Twolegplace, and the soft grass under his paws melted away to hard cobblestone that irritated his paw pads. He raced through the track that he had gone through when he left Heathercloud and Angel. He didn't want to spend time navigating the Twolegplace. Angel was sitting outside her Twoleg den with Heathercloud next to her, and they were joined by a golden-brown tabby with green eyes.
"Who's this?" Scorchstar asked, glaring at the tabby tom.
"Theo," Angel replied, beckoning to the tom with her big tortoiseshell tail. "He'll be coming with us."
"Is your Twoleg leaving?" Scorchstar demanded. "We can't just laze around all day."
"If you were a bit slower, she'd be gone by now," Angel said, pointing with her tail to a short Twoleg with dark brown fur walking over to a brightly colored monster. The Twoleg opened the back of the monster before walking away. "Now!"
With the speed of a WindClan cat, Angel raced towards the back of the Twoleg monster and leaped inside it. Theo was behind her, and even though Scorchstar would rather fight all the foxes in the world at once, he jumped into the monster with Angel and Theo. The rest of the Clan cats joined, and once they did, it was a tight squeeze, with barely any room the breathe.
"I think we'll all get to know each other very well," Theo purred, winking at Angel as each cat in the monster was pressed against each other.
Angel's Twoleg came back and shut the monster, unaware that there were mountains of cats piled inside. She then went to the front of the monster, and suddenly, the monster began to start with a vicious rumble. Scorchstar's ears flattened at the whizzing sound the monster was making, and then the monster started to move.
"Gah!" Scorchstar gasped. "It's… it's moving!" The back of the monster shuffled, and Scorchstar nearly found himself rocketing forward. Blackdove held him back, sympathy in her green eyes as she glanced at him.
"Well, what do you think a car does?" Theo asked. "It takes you from place to place."
"I have no idea," Scorchstar growled through clenched teeth, glaring at Theo. "I'm not a kittypet."
"I hope the pound isn't dirty," Theo complained, ignoring Scorchstar's pointed jab. "I was just groomed yesterday!" He let out a huff, while Angel prodded him with her small white paw.
"Oh, because that's the most of our worries," Heathercloud growled, rolling her eyes at Theo. Theo didn't seem to catch onto her sarcasm.
"Who are these two?" Blackdove hissed in Scorchstar's ear.
"They're two bumbling kittypets that we stumbled across," Scorchstar told Blackdove. "They're our only hope in rescuing Skyheart."
Blackdove nestled her paws under her chest. "Ah." She twitched her ears, and among the monster's roaring sound, some deafening noise that rang through the monster, and the roads the monster rolled on, no cat could hear each other as they tried to speak. So, they sat in silence, focused on the journey to retrieve Skyheart.
The monster ran down the road for quite some time, rolling over bumps that caused the cats to stagger to the side. Scorchstar clenched his jaws tightly, knowing this was just for Skyheart. If she had never ran off in the first place! Scorchstar sighed. No matter what, they had to rescue her.
Finally the monster came to a stop, and Scorchstar could hear the creaking of the door. Angel leaped over the seat and leaped outside the door. Scorchstar and the other warriors were on her tail, and they all skidded to a halt as they stared at a massive Twoleg den in front of them. Angel's Twoleg marched inside the den, and Scorchstar had never seen a Twoleg so furious. Angel was behind her, and Scorchstar knew this plan relied on the Twoleg not looking behind her.
"I hope we never have to ride in a monster's belly again," Blackdove muttered under her breath as they followed Angel and Theo into the Twoleg den. Scorchstar could smell a variety of different animals, and finally caved in to trusting these kittypets. The cats leaped into bushes around the building, watching as Twolegs entered and exited from the structure, either carrying a cat or a dog with them each time. Scorchstar flattened his ears as he realized that each cat was often locked into a box with silver handles, while the dogs roamed free on a leash.
Theo glanced at the group. "None of you look like a house cat," he remarked. "You're all dirty and scruffy, and none of you except Angel and I have collars."
"Who are you calling scruffy?" Scorchstar grumbled.
"Angel and I are the only cats who can pull this off," Theo repeated.
Angel nodded in agreement with Theo. She looks just like Dapplestar, except… a kittypet version, Scorchstar thought. Hopefully, she doesn't act like her. "We'll go in first, and we'll make sure the door is open behind us so you can come in."
"Watch and learn, darlings." Theo strutted out of the bush with Angel behind him. He walked over to a Twoleg who was leaning out of the den and wreathed around his legs, purring loudly.
Disgusting, Scorchstar thought, gagging at the thought of being so close to a Twoleg.
The Twoleg looked down in surprise and said something to Theo that Scorchstar couldn't pick up. He scooped Theo up in his furless arms, cradling the kittypet back and forth. Theo continued to purr. Then, still holding Theo, the Twoleg walked into the den. Angel was following him, and just as the door was open, she nodded to the WindClan cats. Like lightning, the WindClan cats raced into the building after Angel just as the door closed behind them.
Just as they entered, the Twoleg was gone, but Theo was on top of what looked an odd boulder. Theo leaped down. "You guys can't be found," he said to them. "Or else you'll be taken too."
Scorchstar shuddered, hating the feeling of the cold floor beneath him, and the walls that caved in on him from every side. There were so many different smells, none of them remotely close to what Scorchstar would scent in the moorland. Just as another door opened, Angel jerked her head towards the door. A Twoleg came out, and Angel bounded over to the Twoleg, wounding around her legs while purring loudly. Angel led the Twoleg away, and just as the door was ajar, the WindClan cats threw themselves in.
In front of them laid dozens of mesh cages with thin silver bars that obstructed the views of the animals behind them. How are we ever going to find Skyheart? Scorchstar thought miserably as the cages laid on top of other cages. The sight was horrendous, with every single cage being occupied by a cat, trapped behind the bars.
"Skyheart!" Scorchstar called out.
"I'm here!" Skyheart's voice came from one of the bottom cages. Scorchstar and the WindClan warriors bounded over to her. Blackdove began to fiddle with the latch, and Scorchstar noticed that Skyheart's claws were torn and bleeding, probably from previous attempts to escape.
"W-what's going on?" croaked out a voice from above Skyheart. Scorchstar looked up to see who it was, just as Heathercloud and Blackdove tried to pick the latch.
"Nick, my Clanmates are here to free me!" Skyheart exclaimed.
Who's Nick? Scorchstar studied the cat that spoke from behind the bars. From the obscured view Scorchstar could get from him, he could see the tom's patchy, dull ginger fur. His whiskers were graying and his eyes had lost their light. In comparison to Skyheart's claws, his claws were long and uninjured, telling Scorchstar that this cat had made no move to escape. It was as if he had simply accepted his fate.
"Save you, maybe," Nick rasped. "No housefolk wants an old, battered cat like me. I'll be put to death like the rest of them."
"The rest of them?" Scorchstar gasped.
Nick looked down at Scorchstar, arching an eyebrow as if he expected Scorchstar to know their fate already. "All the cats here are going to be put to death."
"You cannot be serious?" Sedgefall tilted her head. She turned to Scorchstar. "Scorchstar, we must help all of these cats out of their cages!"
But we came here for Skyheart! Scorchstar pressed his lips tight. He couldn't let so many innocent cats be led to their own death. "Okay. Blackdove, did you—" Scorchstar turned to see Skyheart's cage already free, and the gray she-cat had climbed up to start to free Nick.
Scorchstar sighed. "Start freeing every cat," he ordered his Clanmates. "Before the Twolegs come back."
"Don't bother," Nick said. "I told you, no cat wants me."
"But I want you to stay!" exclaimed another voice. From the cage next to Nick, a pale silver tom with pure black toes was crouched down, his yellow eyes glittering as he gazed at Nick's cage.
"You've got a lot more to live," Nick said, letting out a rusty purr. His eyes were soft as he looked up at the tom, with the glow of a father. "Much more than me."
"Every cat deserves a chance at life," Skyheart growled once she had removed Nick's latch and the cage door swung open. "Your turn." The WindClan warrior bounded over to the silver tom's cage and sank her teeth into the latch before pulling on it as tight as she could. The cage door opened, and the tom jumped out.
"…Thank you, young cat." Nick rose to his full height, gazing at Skyheart with admiration in his gaze.
"Free the rest of them!" Scorchstar ordered. He could count about a dozen cages, and if all the cats worked together, he was sure they could free the cats and get home in time. Scorchstar turned to the closest cage and mimicked Skyheart's actions – the taste of the latch in his mouth was cold and metallic as he pulled it open. The brown tabby tom who had been stuck in the cage immediately darted out.
"You're welcome," Scorchstar grumbled as he worked with his Clanmates to free each cat. The cats they were freeing darted out in the other way, but Nick and the silver tom were still standing in their way, making no move to escape.
"Aren't you going to go?" Heathercloud asked Nick when she had freed a few more cats. "This is your chance!"
"Where would I go?" Nick asked, clawing the latch of another cage.
"You could come with us," Cinderfall suggested over his shoulder as he climbed from cage to cage.
"I can't leave Hotaru." Nick glanced over his shoulder at the silver tom, who was looking around with wonder at the room they were in.
"He can come!" Skyheart declared after she freed another cat. The cat jumped past Skyheart and through the door.
"What…?" Hotaru's eyes widened.
"Leaving here will be the best decision you will ever make," Nick said softly to the silver tom.
What in all the hells is going on? "Does nobody think to ask their Clan leader for these decisions?" Scorchstar snapped as he freed the final cat, whirling onto the WindClan warriors.
"Guys!" Theo's voice split the building. "The housefolk are coming!"
"Scorchstar, you need to decide now!" Skyheart demanded. "The Twolegs are coming!"
Scorchstar looked back and forth at Nick and Hotaru. Nick's ragged pelt was an eyesore and sent a pang through Scorchstar's heart, while Hotaru's sleek fur and tense muscles underneath his pelt told Scorchstar that he might be a good warrior. The pleading eyes of Skyheart and Cinderfall burned through his pelt. Scorchstar sighed. "Fine."
The door to the room opened, and Theo and Angel were right at the entrance, their eyes wide. "Come on!" both of them shouted at the same time.
Scorchstar led his Clanmates towards Theo and Angel, and the kittypets pelted out through the rooms and out of the den. Angel's Twoleg was at her monster, and she had opened the back compartment of it. Just as Angel's Twoleg walked away for a moment, Angel leaped into the monster's belly, and the rest of the warrior cats, including Nick and Hotaru, jumped after her.
Angel's Twoleg shut the back of the monster, stuffing the cats into the car. Scorchstar panted heavily, both from the effort of the rescue and the fact that there was no room to breathe with all the cats packed in the monster. Nick's rancid breath attacked his nose, and Hotaru wouldn't stop moving from his other side. Angel grunted as Heathercloud smothered her, and Blackdove was nearly sat on by Theo.
Scorchstar gazed at Skyheart. "Don't scare us like that again!" he scolded her, furious that Skyheart had gotten herself caught after ignoring Scorchstar's warnings to not cross the Thunderpath. But the anger gradually fizzed away to be replaced by relief that Skyheart was safe.
Skyheart looked at her paws in shame.
"Who are your friends?" Angel asked, looking at Nick and Hotaru.
"I'm Nick," the old tom introduced himself. "I have lived many different lives, but I got caught, at last." Gratitude glimmered in his pale green eyes as he looked at the Clan cats. "Thank you for giving me a second chance."
Scorchstar gazed at Nick steadily. He admired his spirit – independent and strong-willed. He may be a good addition to the elders' den. I bet he'll have tons of stories to share to our apprentices and young warriors.
"I'm Hotaru," the silver tom introduced himself blankly. "Hi."
"Your name… it means 'firefly,' no?" Heathercloud asked him, tilting her head. Scorchstar wondered how Heathercloud knew that.
Hotaru nodded. "Yeah! But… I feel… weird."
"Are you ill?" Sedgefall asked, worry in her green eyes as she studied the lithe silver tom.
"No." Hotaru shook his head. "I feel… light. Like a weight is off my shoulders."
"Maybe you're feeling relieved," Heathercloud remarked dryly.
"Relieved?" Hotaru tilted his head, staring at Heathercloud as if she had grown a second head. "What do you mean?"
What…? Scorchstar stared at the silver tom. Does he… does not understand emotions?
"Relieved means…" Blackdove trailed off. "That you're happy after something bad happens, I guess?"
"Kind of like when you miss your first catch, and then you find something even better," Nick said.
"Do you hunt?" Scorchstar asked Nick. Surely he had to.
Nick snorted. "I bet I could out-hunt any of you wild cats. Say, where are we going next?"
"I assume the Twolegplace," Heathercloud replied, "if that's where Angel's Twoleg is taking us."
Angel nodded. "Yeah, my human's taking us back home. She doesn't go anywhere else." She let out a purr of amusement. "I keep her grounded."
The monster rolled along the road quicker than it had when they left, and then it skidded to a halt. Scorchstar could hear the monster open, and just when there was a shaft of light, Angel leaped out of the monster towards the open door and lunged immediately for her Twoleg den. The rest of the cats followed her and exited the monster, avoiding Angel's Twoleg.
"Bye, all!" Angel called out when the WindClan cats pelted away. Suddenly, Angel's Twoleg swung on her heel and stared at Angel. The Twoleg yelled out multiple curses, and Angel flattened her ears. "Okay, okay, sorry! I didn't mean to, oh, and now you're picking me up… uh…" The Twoleg scooped Angel in her paws, holding her tightly as she marched towards her den.
Scorchstar turned his head over his shoulder and met Angel's pale green gaze from where she was being held by her Twoleg. "Thank you," he told her, sincerely. "We couldn't have done this without you." He swung his head to Theo. "Or you."
Theo licked his belly fur. "It's my time for my supper. I'm gonna go home! It was a pleasure to meet… most of you." He bounded away, meowing a goodbye to Angel before disappearing into the Twolegplace.
Scorchstar let out a heavy sigh when they were free from danger. He looked behind his shoulder at his Clan cats, who were waiting for his orders. "We better get to camp. We have some explaining to do."
"Camp?" Nick asked.
"WindClan's camp." Irritation was beginning to prick at Scorchstar's fur. It had been a long day, his claws ached from freeing the latches, he hadn't had time to process all of the events, he was hungry, and he was tired. He just hoped he would be able to control his temper until they got back home.
"WindClan," Nick repeated. "So, it's true. You're all Clan cats? Are the stories true?"
"That we eat bones for breakfast and drink the blood of our enemies?" Scorchstar snorted. "Not in the slightest."
"So, what is true, then?" Nick inquired.
"We are cats of honor," Scorchstar replied. "We look after one another. We're family. We fight… and then we make up. But at the end of the day, we always have each other's backs. And if we had to, we'd die for each other. And a bond like that… that never goes away."
Nick gazed at Scorchstar, and for the first time since meeting this tom, he caught a glimpse of respect in his yellow eyes. The old tom lowered his head towards Scorchstar. "I didn't know that."
"Well, now you know." Scorchstar shook his ginger-and-white fur. "Come on, I don't want to stay in this Twolegplace longer than we have to." And, with a twitch of his tail, he led his Clanmates – all of them – away from the Twolegplace and back into the moor.