#chapter fifty four

It was like a codeword etched into the brains of ThunderClan; Fireheart didn’t even have to signal for every warrior to follow him outside. The apprentices and kits watched them go, visibly both wishing to follow and very glad they didn’t have to. Dustpelt, having been ordered to stay behind just in case, spoke to them softly—some reassurance that everything would be fine, and they just needed to let the grown-ups handle things. Goldenflower’s fearful eyes stuck to Fireheart’s back, even after he left camp and was in the forest.

“Where’s Teaselfoot?” he asked Lizardtail.

“He was still on the neutral grounds’ border when we saw him,” Lizardtail said immediately. “The dog was near the road.”

“Then we need to get there quickly and alert the other Clans.” Fireheart turned to his Clanmates. “Willowpelt and Frostfur, get to Sunningrocks. RiverClan’s station is on the other side of it. The rest of you, come with me. Mousefur and Ravenwing will get WindClan, and Sandstorm and Lizardtail, can you two get to ShadowClan’s tunnel? They’re situated right at its mouth.”

The addressed cats nodded curtly or gave obedient meows. Not wanting to waste another heartbeat, Fireheart started off at a run, the rest behind him while Frostfur and Willowpelt split off and raced away for Sunningrocks.

“Don’t over-exert yourselves,” Fireheart said over his shoulder. “We need all the energy and speed we can get for this.”

“Hard to get tired when we’re following someone with such short legs,” Sandstorm said.

“Beat me by one heartbeat,” Greystripe muttered.

Fireheart didn’t respond to either of them. Almost before the last words left his friend’s mouth, his focus was back on the path ahead of him. He didn’t register the fresh scents around him, or the fern-shoots tentatively emerging from the earth and waving their barely-there fronds in support as the warriors of ThunderClan ran on to, for better or for worse, what was their only stand against the final beast that had destroyed so many of them.

This run seemed instantaneously over—Teaselfoot was visible on the edge of the forest in moments. Fireheart slowed down to a light canter, gentle enough to keep everyone’s steps silent without giving up too much speed. Even so, Teaselfoot must have scented them, because he turned around to face them with a high tail. Fireheart signaled with his own and came to a quick stop in front of him.

“The dog is on the road, near the Aulmir,” he said in a low voice, as if it could hear him from here. “It hasn’t gotten any closer, right?”

Teaselfoot’s back-fur bristled, but he shook his head more or less calmly. “I’ve only seen WindClan’s scout tonight—Darkfoot, I think his name was.”

“Where is he now?”

“Should be back on WindClan’s border. He just came to check on me when I first got here.”

Fireheart looked back and jerked his head towards the moorland. Mousefur and Ravenwing split off and ran past the toms, the dead grass of the neutral grounds kindly sheltering them from view pretty quickly. Sandstorm and Lizardtail likewise booked it, this time for the tunnel that was barely a pawpad wide from here, but Fireheart thought he could see a tiny figure sitting just outside of it.

“You remember the plan?” he asked Teaselfoot.

“Of course.”

“Do you also remember what Mousefur told you?”

“‘No having fun with it’, yes.” Teaselfoot sighed. “I don’t get to play ‘keep away’ with my life, I know.”

“Thank you,” Fireheart said. “Let’s wait until the other Clans are ready before we make another move. Everyone, stay as hidden as you can, and stay together.”

This period of waiting was and would remain the longest in Fireheart’s life by far. Every small noise made him jump and look around for the dog, and every flicker in the corner of his eye inspired a flinch in case the beast was just around the next tree. His Clanmates were silent except the occasional shift of fur when they shivered nervously or a light tamp on the soil when their paws shuffled. The moon, waning, hovered above them, tilted curiously at the little mortals below it. A croak from a crow sounded off; when Fireheart looked, a small flock of them had landed in a fresh tree’s healthy branches, cocking their heads with their dark eyes never leaving the patrol, as if they were curious about what was going to happen next.

If you’re Thlainra’s, you probably are, Fireheart thought. Please look out for us, just this once. We’ll need all the wit we can get here.

He fancied he saw the closest crow’s eyes twinkle, but none of them made a sound. He turned back to the neutral grounds, in time to see several clusters heading his way, including ThunderClan’s pairs.

“RiverClan said they’ll be good to go by the time we get to them,” Frostfur said as soon as she was close. “I guess there’re humans close by already.”

“I fear this is too many cats for this task,” Blackstar muttered when he and Rookstar’s party had reached ThunderClan’s. “We need distraction, not fighters.”

Rookstar tilted his head thoughtfully. “Worst comes to worst, we can stall for the humans to handle things by confusing this wretch on who to chase.” He spoke to Fireheart now. “You seen RiverClan?”

“My warriors have alerted them by now,” Fireheart said, straightening up.

“Good.” Rookstar looked at Blackstar. “Then ShadowClan should head over the bridge. Our lure will be ready close by. ThunderClan, you still want in?”

“Of course.”

“Stay behind the dog, in case it gets too close to our runners.” The senior leader’s eyes were unusually grim in their seriousness. “You don’t fight it unless you’ve got all of us with you.”

Fireheart lowered his chin. “That’ll be in the field. Should we get going?”

Rookstar grunted. At this, Blackstar ran off, his party in tow, and a couple cats from WindClan loped away, down towards the cluster of trees closest to the bridge.

“Pass-off for safety,” Rookstar explained to Fireheart. “Don’t need one cat getting tired.”

“Smart,” Fireheart said. To Teaselfoot, he added, “Are you ready?”

Teaselfoot blew out a breath, shook himself hard, and straightened up. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Stay in the grass and lead towards the bridge.” Rookstar flicked his tail, turned and raced off, his warriors following him. They were at the trees in what seemed to be moments.

Fireheart and his Clanmates backed up further into the forest, where the trees could somewhat hide them. Teaselfoot and Mousefur bumped heads before Teaselfoot started off at a trot, his tail puffed out.

“May all of the Three watch over us here,” someone whispered as Teaselfoot vanished from view around the corner.

A long stretch of silence, until a bark that sounded suspiciously like a meow flicked Fireheart’s ear. A bark that sounded much more like it should, deep and vicious, echoed, and rocks tumbled somewhere to the right. A moment later, Teaselfoot sprinted past the hiding spot, and behind him by a star-blessed significant distance came the massive brindled dog. It went right past the hiding cats, not even noticing them.

“Let’s go,” Fireheart whispered, and ran along the treeline, followed by his Clanmates.

They stayed on the border, weaving through the trees, all eyes on Teaselfoot and the dog. Once he got close enough to the cluster of trees, Fireheart led his Clan out past their border and after the dog, moving as silently as they could. Teaselfoot was still well ahead, and the dog seemed to have no idea it was being followed, just panting excitedly and thundering after the fastest cat in ThunderClan.

Abruptly, Teaselfoot leaped into the bushes under the trees, and a WindClan cat burst out of hiding, now sprinting across the bridge. The dog didn’t miss a beat, just changing targets without slowing down, even if its pants got heavier.

“You can stop here if you want,” Fireheart said to the rest. “Anyone who wants to keep on and help the other Clans, come with me.”

No one answered, but as they reached the bridge, he noticed that the sound of footfalls did not decrease at all. He couldn’t help a short beam of pride before leading everyone over the bridge—a curious, stiff feeling under his paws much like the wood of a fence—and into RiverClan territory.

The field-grass was much shorter than the neutral grounds’ or the moor’s; Fireheart could see why RiverClan would struggle sneaking up on land prey here. Flowers were already boasting buds and fresh leaves on their stems, and the grass was richly green, perfect for a mouse to chew without worrying about being spied on. One could see for a long distance, and beyond the end of the fields was a large house, the size of the Barn, as well as what looked to be a pathway.

Which had a couple of tall figures on it. Fireheart prayed they had a rronakrak.

Cats were spread out all over the flatland, some in groups and others braced for action on their lonesome. The leading WindClan cat was heading for the pathway with the tall figures, where what looked like a colorful bunch of RiverClan cats clustered together.

Unfortunately, at the sight of so many cats, the dog skidded to a halt, looking around wildly. Fireheart barely managed to stop before bumping into it and catching its attention. ThunderClan stopped behind him, some muttering concerns.

“OI!” a voice shouted; the WindClan cat had noticed they weren’t being followed and had turned around, facing the now distant dog.

The brindled beast didn’t mind it; its massive, wrinkled head twisted this way and that, starting for one cat, only for another to appear in its line of sight and distract it again.

“What do we do?” Willowpelt whispered.

“Spread out,” Fireheart said as soon as he thought of it. “Don’t give it a specific target to go after.”

ThunderClan obeyed, some of them running forward towards the other Clans and calling to the dog, Fireheart one of them. It looked back and forth, tail wagging eagerly and drool dripping off its mouth. It couldn’t decide what to do, where to go, and its paws kept carrying it only a few steps before it jumped at another cat, only to turn for someone else yelling at it.

Someone to Fireheart’s left whimpered. He looked back to see a dark grey ShadowClan cat shaking like a leaf as he stared in terror at the dog.

“Stay back,” Fireheart said. “Just don’t—”

The dog turned, its beady black eyes finding the warrior. The little tom trembled, but didn’t move as the dog started towards him.

Don’t you dare, Fireheart thought, even as he wanted nothing more than to flee. He gathered up his nerves, breathed in deep, and just as the dog was a couple body-lengths from the cat, bellowed, “NO!”

The dog’s head jerked up. Its stare zeroed in on him.

Fireheart turned and sprinted as fast as he could go, heading towards the humans even as fear made his vision foggy. Pounding footsteps warned him that the dog was close behind, and getting closer still. Voices shouted out, trying to redirect, but the footsteps didn’t stop or change direction. Fireheart’s feet were barely touching the ground, but he wasn’t as fast as his Clanmates, and a hot puff of air hit his back.

Paws slammed on his back legs. They buckled, sending him tumbling and rolling sideways with a yelp. Someone screamed as Fireheart ended up on his back, the behemoth beast above him. Reeking dog-breath fanned his face. He didn’t get a chance to move as two rows of teeth parted, dropped like a stone, and closed around his neck.

A boom, louder than anything Fireheart had ever heard in his life, shattered the air and echoed painfully through the field.

The teeth did not tighten their grip. Rather, they paused, loosened, and then fell away as the dog tilted to one side and collapsed with a thud.

Fireheart scrambled to his feet, almost hyperventilating, and stared at the dog. Its black eyes were empty, its mouth open and long, pink tongue flopped lifelessly out from between its teeth. A dark hole in its head trickled blood, just a little, and its sides were still. A gurgle came from deep within its throat, and then it was silent.

Fireheart looked behind himself to see a human, having stepped off the path, holding a long, silver stick that smoked at the end.

“Stars above,” was all he could say, and he turned towards the human as it approached.

The cats surrounding him skittered away, hissing and arching their backs as the human walked through them. Fireheart didn’t move, just tried to steady his breathing.

The human towered over him as it stopped, peering down at the dog. It gave a self-satisfied grunt before looking at Fireheart. He could hear someone hissing at him to “get away from it”, but… that didn’t feel right. Instead, he took a few steps forward and brushed his body against the humans’ leg with a purr:

Thank you.

The human didn’t bend down to pet him, but its voice came back soft and affectionate, just like his old human had spoken whenever he had done something they approved of. Fireheart looked up at it and blinked gratefully, just as an extra, before stepping away and walking slowly towards where most of his Clan had gathered together.

“Holy…” Greystripe stared at his approaching friend, jaw dropped and an absolutely terrified look on his face. “Fireheart, you could’ve…”

“And luckily I didn’t,” Fireheart said, trying to speak lightly and instead coming out with a voice shaking so hard he was surprised he himself didn’t fall over. “Is everyone else okay?”

“Y-yeah, we—” Ravenwing wobbled over to Fireheart and bumped his head on his shoulder, lingering there. “By the Three, Fireheart.”

“Don’t ever get that close to death again,” Teaselfoot said, just as shaken. “Please.”

Fireheart breathed in and out until his throat steadied before speaking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that to happen.”

He looked back; the human was peering down at the dog again, and slowly the other cats were gathering together and joining in a large group. Fireheart gestured with his tail and walked past the human, giving it a wide berth. He had no idea if he would be able to stay standing out of nerves if he went any faster.

“Blessings on every single soul in the sky and on the earth,” Blackstar said once ThunderClan reached them. “Well done, everyone. Fireheart, you live?”

“I live,” he said, trying to sound humorous and failing miserably. “That’s the end of it, then. Isn’t it?”

“It is,” Rookstar said quietly.

Crookedstar puffed out air. “Thank the stars! And not a soul lost tonight. The Three are looking out for us.”

Cats turned to each other and swapped words of joy and relief. Fireheart stayed silent until his insides had relaxed. He still felt dog-teeth on his throat.

“Let’s get home, everyone,” Crookedstar said to the collected cats. “This calls for many nights of relaxation. Our Clanmates will be thrilled that our only risks are each other and badgers now.”

“I agree,” Blackstar said. He bowed his head to the other leaders. “By all that is good, we’re free.”

Fireheart copied the gesture. “Thank you all for doing this, and letting us help.”

“We would have regretted it a split whisker later, if that dog didn’t die.” Crookedstar gave Fireheart a friendly pat. “But luckily we didn’t have to. Just that you touched a human, but I suppose that can’t be helped.”

Fireheart weakly snorted. “The least I could do was show my appreciation for being saved.”

“Fair enough.”

With a few more words of gratitude and farewells, the Clans split apart, RiverClan heading towards a patch of trees by the house and the other Clans walking somewhat far apart from each other and chatting amongst themselves as they went.

ThunderClan alone was silent. Fireheart could guess they were feeling exactly how he felt right now.

I will never get that lucky in my life, ever again.

Then, as if to forcibly lighten the mood…