"What happened?" Trail demanded as he and Goosewind raced towards the fox trap.

"The wind got really strong, and things started flying. A branch hit me on the head and knocked me out," Goosewind explained. "I don't know how long I was out for, but when I woke up, Scythe was gone!"

They crested the hill and Trail raced over to the fox trap. Its jaws had been forced open, and the shiny teeth were coated in a thick layer of blood. An abundant trail of blood led away from the trap, across the moors. Trail lowered his snout to smell the blood, but the wind was so strong it whisked the scent away.

"You couldn't have pulled yourself free of this trap without severely hurting yourself," Goosewind panted. "I must have been knocked out for a really long time if he managed to get that far."

The ferocious wind was once again picking up speed. A terrible storm was coming.

"I'll go after him," Trail decided. "He'll be badly injured, and will have lost a lot of blood. I'll be able to deal with him."

"Let's go," Goosewind headed forward.

"No, you go to the Stormcaves," Trail directed. "I can't force you to be caught out here when the worst of the weather hits."

Relief in his eyes, Goosewind turned and raced back to the Windclan camp.

Trail turned towards the blood tracks and began to follow them. He raced as fast as he could, as though he could outpace the wind. He couldn't let Scythe get away, not when he'd been within justice's grasp.

Above the loner, dark clouds rolled. A loud boom echoed through the hills, but Trail kept running. Until lightning started, thunder was nothing but a loud noise.

Trail followed the blood past Windclan's scent markers, away from the lake territories. To walk that far with a leg that must have been torn open… Scythe would be in lots of pain. Trail was sure he could fight him.

The rain began to fall, fat droplets that tumbled down on him and soaked his fur. He hoped Pinestripe, Goosewind, Tallclaw and the other cats were safely in the caves. If the storm would be as bad as Shadestar claimed, Trail would have to hurry.

It became hard to see the ground through the rain. Trail had to squint to keep water out of his eyes and to follow the blood.

The thunder became louder and louder, rumbling more and more frequently. The wind was getting so strong Trail was staggering to the side, forced off course. He had to fight to follow the blood.

He had never seen weather like this before. The storm was becoming extreme. How much worse could it get?

As he ran, he thought he spotted a flash of green on one of the dark clouds that blanketed the sky. Whatever that meant, Trail was sure it wasn't good.

Trail nearly had his nose against the ground to follow the trail. He sputtered to a halt when he realized it had ended.

Ahead of him, the brown tom saw a white shape. Scythe! The rogue appeared through the rain, limping. But it was his usual limp, not one caused by the trap.

Trail saw the assassin didn't have a wound on his leg. But how? He had torn free of the fox trap!

"Expected me to be bleeding out, didn't you?" Scythe mocked.

"How?" Trail sputtered. He had to yowl to be heard over the wind, rain, and thunder.

"I used the branch that hit Goosewind to pry open the trap, so I got out easily," Scythe shouted over the noise. "I killed a rabbit and squeezed its blood all over the trap, and made a trail."

If only he'd been able to smell, he'd have known the blood wasn't Scythe's! The wind had been too strong.

"I knew the Clan cats would be hiding from the storm," Scythe continued, bellowing to be heard. "But I also knew you, Trail, would go after me, because deep down, you still think you can do everything alone."

"I can't believe you tricked me!" Trail yowled.

"Are you that surprised?" Scythe countered. "Looks like I have to kill you now."

Trail tried to back away as the bony white cat approached him through the rain, claws unsheathed, but slipped and fell in the mud. Scythe crowed as Trail lay there, struggling to rise. The rogue raised his paw and brought it down, but a strong gust of wind blew him aside. Trail took the opportunity to get back up.

A flash of lightning illuminated everything around them, including the snarl on Scythe's face. Trail couldn't be outside when lightning started.

The Stormcaves! He had to get there before it got worse!

Turning, Trail fled back in the direction of the Clans, Scythe hot on his tail.