Эрин Хантер: Hawkwing’s Journey

A chill of terror gripped Hawkpaw. “Duskpaw!” he yowled.

With Ebonyclaw at his side, Hawkpaw raced back through the smoke and flames. When they drew closer, Hawkpaw saw that one of his brother’s paws was trapped underneath the thicker end of the branch, where the fire still hadn’t reached. For a moment he felt his heart stop, and he couldn’t take a breath.

Duskpaw wasn’t telling me to save Pebblepaw: He was asking me to help him !

Together Hawkpaw and Ebonyclaw thrust at the branch with their forepaws until it rolled off Duskpaw in a billowing cloud of sparks. Then Ebonyclaw grabbed him by his scruff and dragged him out to where they had left Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw.

Hawkpaw followed, pushing his littermate from behind.

Duskpaw’s legs were limp and his head lolled; he didn’t seem able to help himself.

Pebblepaw and Cloudpaw still lay slumped on the ground, coughing and letting out whimpers of pain. Hawkpaw could see that patches of their fur were scorched, giving off a strong scent of burning. But to his relief, neither of them seemed to have life-threatening injuries.

However, Duskpaw was hardly moving. Now and again he would feebly try to lift his head, and let out a weak cough, but then he would slip back into unconsciousness. Hawkpaw gazed at him in horror, and shook his shoulder with one paw.

“Duskpaw! Duskpaw, wake up,” he begged.

“ What were the three of you doing out here?” Ebonyclaw demanded.

Cloudpaw let out a mournful wail. “Duskpaw said we should sneak over here and look for scraps of Twoleg food.”

Hawkpaw couldn’t take his eyes off his unconscious littermate. And I might have been with you—if I hadn’t said no. He remembered his earlier hope that Duskpaw would get into trouble with a shudder of shame.

Ebonyclaw didn’t seem to notice. She lashed her tail at Cloudpaw, clearly frustrated. “If Duskpaw told you to jump off the cliff, would you do it?”

“I know it was our fault too,” Cloudpaw whimpered. “But when we got here, the fire was just over there, in that shiny thing.”

She pointed with one paw.

“The trash can, yes,” Ebonyclaw meowed. “And you didn’t have the sense to go back to camp and report it?”

“It seemed safe enough then.” Pebblepaw continued the story.

“Duskpaw said that the fire must have driven the Twolegs away, because Twolegs are scared of everything, but we were brave enough, and we shouldn’t let the fire keep us from the best scraps of tasty food.”

“There was stuff under there.” Cloudpaw pointed at the Twoleg rock, now collapsing into a smoldering heap. “But then the wind shifted, and the Twoleg rock caught fire, and then the branch fell and trapped us. We never should have listened to Duskpaw!” she finished with another miserable wail.

“You should have thought of that sooner,” Ebonyclaw snapped. “It’s too late to feel sorry, and we need to get Duskpaw back to camp so Echosong and Frecklewish can help him.” She flattened herself on the ground beside Duskpaw. “Hawkpaw, help me to get him onto my back,” she directed.

Hawkpaw worked his shoulders under Duskpaw and began to lift him onto the black she-cat’s back. Duskpaw revived a little and hooked his claws into Ebonyclaw’s fur. When he was settled, Ebonyclaw staggered to her paws and set off slowly back toward camp, with Hawkpaw steadying his brother on one side, and Cloudpaw and Pebblepaw limping behind. As they left the Twoleg greenplace they heard Twoleg monsters screeching in the distance, the sound growing closer as the cats trekked across the stretch of grass and into the bushes at the top of the gorge.

Gazing anxiously at his brother, Hawkpaw could hardly believe what had happened. “Hang in there, Duskpaw… ,” he whispered.

But now Duskpaw’s eyes were completely closed, and he didn’t respond at all to Hawkpaw’s urging. His legs were hanging limply and he had lost his grip on Ebonyclaw’s fur. Hawkpaw could barely manage to steady him and keep him on the black she-cat’s back.

Hawkpaw felt as if all his strength had leaked out through his paws, and there was a hard knot in his belly as if he had swallowed crow-food. He was sick with guilt. He couldn’t believe he’d wished that Duskpaw would get into trouble. Even worse, he could have saved Duskpaw from the fire, but he hadn’t.

Did I make the wrong choice, saving Pebblepaw first? he asked himself. And what if I lose Duskpaw because of it?

Helping Ebonyclaw carry Duskpaw down the narrow trail into the gorge was one of the hardest things Hawkpaw had ever done. He was terrified that his brother would slip off Ebonyclaw’s back and plummet down onto the rocks below, in spite of the black she-cat’s careful paw steps and his own desperate efforts to hold Duskpaw still. His heart was pounding and his legs trembling by the time they reached the bottom.

Already several cats were clustered at the end of the trail, gazing anxiously upward. The smell of smoke drifted on the air; Hawkpaw guessed that his Clanmates were already aware that something was wrong.

Duskpaw was completely unconscious when Ebonyclaw let him slide from her back. Hawkpaw couldn’t stop staring into his ginger tabby face, desperately searching for some sign of life. He almost expected his brother to wake up and bounce to his paws, explaining that it had all been a joke.

Duskpaw is always fooling around…

“What happened?” Waspwhisker thrust his way through the gathering crowd and gazed down at his motionless apprentice, deep concern in his eyes.

Billystorm, Pebblepaw’s mentor, was hard on his paws.

“Pebblepaw?” His voice was stern. “Where have you been?”

Pebblepaw’s head was bowed in shame, and it was Ebonyclaw who replied. “There’s no time to explain now. Some cat fetch

Echosong and Frecklewish, quickly.”

Billystorm turned and left, as more cats bounded up to see what was happening. Hawkpaw looked around for his mother and father; he spotted Sandynose and Sagenose, followed almost at once by Tinycloud and Firefern, but there was no sign of Cherrytail or Sharpclaw. Every cat was quiet, exchanging dismayed glances.

They know this is bad, Hawkpaw thought. Really bad.

M oons seemed to pass before Echosong and Frecklewish slipped through the crowd to reach Duskpaw’s side.

“Thank StarClan!” Hawkpaw murmured to himself.

“There’s a fire at the Twoleg greenplace,” Ebonyclaw meowed, before either medicine cat could ask a question. “There was so much smoke! Duskpaw breathed in most of it, because he was the last to be saved. We almost lost Pebblepaw, too, but Hawkpaw managed to get her out.”

Echosong gave a brisk nod. “Frecklewish, go and get some wet moss, and some comfrey and honey to treat the burns,” she ordered. As Frecklewish dashed off, she added, “Ebonyclaw, Hawkpaw, lay Duskpaw out on his back.”

It took all of Hawkpaw’s courage to help his mentor arrange

Duskpaw’s limp body on the ground. He could barely look at his brother; he seemed so lifeless.

Instead, he forced himself to look at Echosong, as she pounced on Duskpaw and began to press his chest rhythmically with her forepaws. From time to time she would stop, to breathe into

Duskpaw’s mouth from her own. Hawkpaw stared at her face, trying to glean information from her expression.

M aybe this was something that looked very bad, but was no big deal to an experienced medicine cat.