Эрин Хантер - Thunder Rising

Tall Shadow still stood on top of her rock, her back arched and her fur fluffed out so that she looked twice her size. She was snarling and she had raised one paw, her claws out ready to strike if one of the dogs came within range. The small white dog pawed at the bottom of the rock for a few heartbeats, yipping in a frenzy, but he couldn’t reach the black she-cat.

Meanwhile the bigger dog had found some discarded rabbit bones and was chewing them up; Gray Wing winced as he heard the bones cracking. The dog spat them out a moment later and began sniffing at the tunnel where Jackdaw’s Cry and Hawk Swoop were trying to protect Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur.

“Oh, no!” Turtle Tail whispered. “Those poor kits!”

Gray Wing could hardly breathe with the tension, but he gathered himself to leap out and attack from behind if the dog looked likely to force his way in.

The dog had begun to scrape at the loose earth around the tunnel mouth when another sound rose above the dogs’ barking: the roar of a monster on the distant Thunderpath. The dogs paused, their heads on one side, listening. Then they headed back up the slope, chasing each other as they retreated the way they had come. Their yelping died away, but it was still many heartbeats before Gray Wing dared to emerge, with Turtle Tail nervously following him.

Tall Shadow leaped down from her rock and Rainswept Flower emerged from between the stones where she had been hiding. Jackdaw’s Cry poked his head out of the tunnel. “Are they gone?” he asked.

It was Dappled Pelt who replied, reappearing at the top of the hollow with Cloud Spots. “Yes, they’re running toward the river,” she reported, padding down to join the others. “We’re safe now.”

Letting out a breath of relief, Gray Wing glanced around the camp. Then his muscles tensed again as he realized that one cat was missing. “Thunder!” he exclaimed. “Where’s Thunder?” He raised his voice to a yowl. “Thunder!”

His cry echoed around the camp, but no cat replied.

“Who saw him last?” Tall Shadow demanded.

“He was here earlier, when Turtle Tail arrived,” Rainswept Flower replied.

“Has anyone seen him since then?” Tall Shadow’s gaze swept around the cats, who were huddled together, scared and shaken. “No? Okay, let’s search the camp. Check all the tunnels.”

The cats scattered, vanishing into the dens and beneath the lowest boughs of the gorse bushes, only to return a few moments later. There was no sign of Thunder.

Dread enveloped Gray Wing like cold, clinging fog. “Thunder must have followed Shattered Ice when he went out to hunt,” he meowed, realizing that the two of them were on the moor, and vulnerable if the dogs spotted them.

Turtle Tail nudged him. “It’s worse than that,” she told him, her sharp eyes ranging across the hollow. “Jagged Peak has gone too.”

Thunder took in a huge breath and let it out in a sigh of utter satisfaction. He couldn’t imagine anywhere he would rather be than here in the forest. He loved the sheltering branches of the trees overhead, the rustling of prey in the undergrowth, and the exciting scents coming at him from all directions. He couldn’t decide which of them he wanted to investigate first.

Bouncing gently on his paws, he exclaimed, “This is brilliant ! So much better than trying to chase rabbits on the moor.”

Shattered Ice, standing a couple of tail-lengths farther into the forest, gave him a suspicious look from narrowed eyes. “You got permission to come with me?” he asked.

Thunder felt his mouth turn dry. “Oh, yes… yes, I did.”

Shattered Ice still looked suspicious; Thunder couldn’t tell whether he believed him. Please don’t send me back to camp .

The gray-and-white tom twitched his tail impatiently. “Okay then. Are you going to stand there all day?” he asked.

“No, I’m going to hunt!” Spotting a tiny movement in the shelter of a clump of ferns, Thunder crouched down. “Watch me!”

It felt so natural to be creeping forward like this, using the undergrowth for cover and making sure he didn’t put his paws on a dead leaf or a twig that might alert his prey. His body was relaxed and his limbs moved fluidly; it was as if he knew instinctively what he had to do. Gray Wing wouldn’t expect me to run here , he thought.

The grasses parted and a tiny dark-pelted creature scuttled out from under the ferns. Pushing off with powerful hind legs, Thunder pounced. His paws slammed down on the soft body and he sank his claws into it.

“Got it!” he exclaimed. “I’ve caught a—what is it, Shattered Ice?”

His denmate came to sniff at the small body with the unusually long snout. “It’s a shrew,” he told Thunder, and added disparagingly, “A scrawny thing like that isn’t going to keep all of us fed. Come on, there’ll be bigger prey farther into the forest.”

Stung, Thunder considered carrying his prey back to the camp. But being in the forest was too exciting. He shoved the body of the shrew under the nearest bush, ready to collect when he came back, and pattered after Shattered Ice. I’ll show him! he thought. I’ll show all the cats. I can hunt and provide for us all .

He had never felt so free, able to follow his instincts without Gray Wing telling him he was doing it wrong. He would always be grateful to Gray Wing for saving his life. But now, he was ready to be his own cat.

Halting, he clawed at the ground in his frustration.

Shattered Ice stopped too, glancing over his shoulder. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked.

Thunder hesitated. I can’t tell him what I was thinking , he realized. I’d feel like a traitor . But Shattered Ice was still waiting for an answer.

Thunder glanced around, looking for a distraction. He remembered the stories he’d heard about Clear Sky’s cats guarding the forest and driving off any intruders. A shiver of apprehension prickled his pads. “We shouldn’t be here,” he mewed, suddenly wondering whether any of his father’s cats had spotted them. It was foolish of me to think we were alone here.

But Shattered Ice only let out a snort of amusement. “No, we shouldn’t,” he agreed. “Why do you think I came here in the first place? I won’t be told what to do—not by Tall Shadow and not by Clear Sky’s mange-ridden followers. I’ll only listen to cats I respect, and I go where I like.”

He looked disdainfully over his shoulder at Thunder, who was panting to keep up with Shattered Ice’s long strides. “Why don’t you go back to your kin, youngster? This place isn’t for kits. I should never have let you come.”

Thunder felt his neck fur bristling up. I’m not just a kit. And I’m not going back to my kin!

He stalked after Shattered Ice, ears pricked and jaws parted for the first sign of prey, so that he could prove himself. For a heartbeat his ears flicked toward the moor and he cast a swift glance to where he could still make out the rolling sweep of open country through the outlying trees. He could imagine what Gray Wing would have to say when he found out what he’d done.

Then he shrugged. I’m not going back! he resolved, determined to ignore his creeping sense of guilt. Wait till they see what I can do .

“I’ll show you how I can hunt,” he told Shattered Ice.

The trees were thinning out; there was a clearing just ahead, and in the middle of it was… a rabbit! The creature was nibbling on some grass, clearly oblivious to the presence of cats. Stupid puffball , Thunder thought. Now’s my chance! He took off toward it, but forgot all about his earlier caution, barreling through the undergrowth. Dry, crisp leaves on the forest floor crackled under his paws.