‘Huh. That’s weird. Did a human do this? Did they do it to their own home? Or someone else’s home? When did they do it? Sometime before Starcross took it, probably.’ She let herself be engulfed by the unusual mark. All of her senses focused on it and only it, drowning out her problems along with the rest of the external world. The purples faded and got replaced with soft whites and muddy browns. ‘But what does it mean? Thai? Do you know what this symbol means?’
[Hold still. I’m going to take a picture for analysis.]
Ember obeyed. The familiar click of her ETAg’s tiny shutter told her she could move again.
[Okay, I’ve gone through all my databases and can’t seem to find the exact meaning of this symbol, only speculations by others who have seen symbols like it. Based on my search results, I believe it’s something you’re not supposed to know much about. It appears to be linked to a lot of conspiracy theories involving top secret governmentally funded experiments, among other things.]
‘Oh. That doesn’t sound good. So do you think I should try to tell Michelle about this?’
[She did disconnect earlier, but we can always try again. Who knows? Maybe she knows what it actually means. You could also try Matthew.]
‘Yeah, I could. Let’s call Matthew. He can tell Michelle if he thinks she knows what it is.’
Unlike last time, the call didn’t disconnect but went to his voicemail instead. His ever-cheery words bouncing through her head almost made her smile, but being left without answers once again kept her face blank. ‘Okay, I’ll leave a message. Hey Matthew, I was, uh, taking a walk, and I came across this . . . thing? I don’t know if you know what it is or not, but I thought—think it’s kind of interesting. I’m sending you a picture of it so you can see what I’m thinking to you about. End message. Attach recent photo. Send.’
[Message sent. Hopefully he’ll get it soon. Then maybe we can get some answers.]
Something tapped her nose. Her mind snapped back to reality. Ember jumped and spun around to face her assailant. ‘Hyrees, what are you—oh, uhm . . . Right.’
“Hyrees, what are you doing?” she asked, out loud this time.
“You froze again,” he said.
“I was busy.”
His tail twitched. “Looking at a wall? But it’s a wall. And I’m . . . You know what? Never mind. It’s okay. You’ll be you, and I’ll be fine with it. After all, you’re the one who’s going to be walking away from this when it’s all said and done.”
Ember shivered again. As she did, a strong breeze cut through the gorge, making her tremble even more. ‘Will you please stop talking like that? You’re scaring me, Hyrees. Am I doing something wrong? What are you trying to say? I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything, do I? I guess that’s my problem. I can’t understand. Whose fault is it? Yours for not helping me? Or mine for not being capable enough? I wish we could at least meet halfway. But that’s not going to happen, is it?’
She looked up at him and examined his lanky form. “I’m trying,” she whispered. “I promise I’m trying to listen and to understand you, and everyone else too, but it’s so hard, and with everything going on, I don’t know how much longer I can keep trying. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I-I-I . . .”
Hyrees moved closer until his neck rested against hers. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay, Em. I’m going to make sure you get out of this. I promise. Things will get better.”
“Hey coggies,” Bracken said. He loped toward them through the snow. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Starcross has officially made us unwelcome. She has, however, allowed us one more day in the gorge itself. We can wait here for Eclan and your parents, then you can all decide where to go from there.”
“Actually, I think I prefer the gorge,” Ember mewed.
He chuffed. “I don’t blame you. Now come along. Eclan won’t be back until tomorrow, so for the time being, I recommend we go hunting. I don’t know about you young ones, but I’m hungry.”
Ember sucked in a breath of stinging air. ‘Oh, that’s right. You have to hunt for yourself now, Ember. Might as well try to learn while you have someone nice on your side.’
“We can try. I’m not great at it, but maybe you can help,” she said.
Bracken smiled. “Odd old tomcat like me?” He laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 24
Cloud
Cloud yawned, stretched, then looked outside, where the storm had eased into a light snowfall. He nudged Songbird awake.
“Come on, it’s time to move. We should try to go as fast as we can, but not too fast; we don’t want anyone getting suspicious.”
Songbird opened her eyes and licked her lips. “I don’t know, Cloud. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Maybe we shouldn’t do it today, or at least not so soon. Lupine’s probably going to be watching us more carefully right now. It’s not safe. I think we should wait.”
“Song, living here isn’t safe. The East could come any day now and tear the colony apart. Even if they don’t, it may well fall apart on its own. I don’t want to be here when either of those things happen.”
She sighed. Her gaze fell on Kivyress, still sleeping peacefully beside her. “If it were just me and you, I’d be fine with taking the risks, but with Kivyress . . . I’m worried something will happen to her. I don’t know if this is right, Cloud, and my head is telling me it isn’t.”
Cloud pinned back his ears. “I don’t know. I get the feeling that today might be our last chance. If anyone catches us, I’m the one who will get punished. Kivyress is still a kitten, and one with a lot of potential. Lupine wouldn’t hurt her.”
“I know you’re talking about me,” Kivyress whispered, opening her eyes. “I don’t want to slow us down. If you think we should try today, let’s try today. I want to see Ember—and Hyrees too, I guess. And the sooner we get out, the sooner we can find a new home—maybe even find it before the next storm.”
Songbird licked her lips again. “I guess you both have a point. Several points, actually. In addition to those, Ember and Hyrees can’t stay in one place out there. We may lose them if we wait too long. If your feeling is right, and this is our last chance to escape, we should probably try to make it count. Right?”
Cloud nodded once. “Right. First, let’s go get some food. Then we do everything like we planned. You both remember what you’re supposed to do?”
“I do,” Songbird said.
“Yes, sir,” Kivyress replied.
“Good. Let’s go.”
‘I know you’re nervous,’ he thought as they left their family den for the last time. He looked over at Songbird, walking along beside him with her fur ruffled and her eyes still damp. ‘I’m scared too. We all are. If we don’t make it, there will be punishments, and if we do, there’s no telling what we’ll face in the Lowlands. It’s a lot of uncertainty, I know. But I promise we’ll make it out eventually. Whatever happens, we’ll make it work. I’ll make it work for us.’
They ate their meals in silence. Every so often someone would come over to offer condolences. A few attempted to make reminiscent small talk. Cloud brushed them off. They didn’t matter, not anymore, and he didn’t feel like talking about Farlight.
“Hey, uh, excuse me,” Lupine called after they finished. He stood atop his den, weak and scared-looking as ever. “I-I-I have some announcements to make. So if everyone could come over here before leaving for your a-assigned jobs, that would be great. Cloud, especially you.”
Cloud sighed. “Let’s go. It shouldn’t take long.”
He led the remnants of his family over to the gathering of cats. They sat down and waited for whatever the anxious commander needed to say.
“Y-you all know Dark’s law states the council should always have seven members in addition to a-a-a commander,” Lupine said. “Yesterday w-we lost two members, along w-with my future successor. Today it’s, ah, time t-to refill their positions. First off, Cloud, you-you’ve proven yoursel
f invaluable to the success of this colony. I allow you back onto the c-council as my advisor on the condition y-you keep your promise. You will not receive any credit benefits, but this work will be required of you until this war ends or you die.”
Cloud grimaced. ‘Ah, yes. And there’s the appreciation I get for making things work. Oh well. They’ll just have to figure out how to manage without me, because after today, I’m not coming back.’
“Next, I-I appoint Rowan as the seventh member of the council and my new future successor.”
“Me? What?” Rowan mewed from somewhere in the crowd.
‘Rowan? Why him, of all cats? I guess he’d be better than some though. Know what? I’m not even going to try to understand what you’re trying to do here, because I no longer care.’
“I also assign him to be Cloud’s new w-w-w . . . uhm, his new patrol partner. Cloud, you and him w-will patrol your usual route.”
‘Oh. You bobcat.’
“Songbird, y-you will, uh, group hunt this morning, and I-I’ll take over Kivyress’s training.”
“What!” Songbird said.
“I-I’m sorry, Songbird, but it’s for the better. A-a-announcements are over. Time for work, everyone.”
Her fur raised. She turned to look at Cloud, eyes wide and jaw slack with terror. “What are we going to do now? Wait a day or two?” she hissed under her breath, pulling Kivyress closer to her side.
“They’ll be more likely to expect that,” Cloud replied. His mind raced, trying to work out how much the plan needed adjusting based on Lupine’s orders.
Kivyress sighed and wiggled free. “You have a furball, I play ‘where’s Kivy,’ and Dad pushes Rowan into the ravine. I think that’s what Farlight would suggest,” she whispered.
He smiled. “And we meet at the same place. That’s my molly. I like that plan, though I’m not pushing Rowan into the ravine. I’ll find another way to get there. Let’s go to work.”
“Kivyress, c-c-come here,” Lupine said.
He climbed off of his den and walked toward them. As he approached, Cloud flattened his ears and fought back a growl.
Lupine shivered and shook his head. “L-look, Cloud, I’m sorry. I really am. I really don’t kn-kn-know what else to do. You’re, uh, you’re the only one I know who can-can help set us straight and keep us safe. You helped Aspen get through some tough times, so I need you on the council, and I also need you to train up Rowan. H-he’s got a lot of potential, he just needs discipline, which I know you can give him because I’ve seen you do so.”
“I will do whatever it takes for us to survive,” Cloud said.
“Glad to hear it. I’m scared, Cloud. Scared as anyone else in the colony. I-I-I’m just trying to keep everyone alive and together as much as I can. You know that, right?”
“You’re doing the best you can do. Kivyress, go with him. Train hard, train well, and tell me about it later.” Cloud turned to face Songbird and pressed his forehead against hers. “And Song, you be careful. I guess I should go find Rowan now.”
“You be careful too,” she whispered.
“Bye, Dad,” Kivyress mewed. “See you later.”
“You-you’re all dealing with this surprisingly well. I-I’m impressed,” Lupine said, eyes narrow. “Well, come on, Kivyress. Let’s go.”
Cloud and his family parted ways with bittersweet goodbyes, then he went to look for Rowan. He found him waiting beside the History Tree.
Rowan sat in the dirt, staring at his paws. “Tahg, this mooncycle has been a mess. I mean, me training to become commander? I’m not sure how I feel about that. We are at war, after all, and given what happened to Farlight . . . Is this really happening? And will I be good enough?” Rowan asked, more to himself than Cloud.
“If you train hard and learn to serve your colonymates, you will,” he replied. “Now come on. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
He nodded for Rowan to follow.
Rowan jumped to his paws and pranced beside him. “Yes, of course. Thank you, sir.”
The gentle snowfall had stopped, and the wall of clouds was breaking up, revealing cheerful blue skies—a little too cheerful.
Rowan chuckled nervously as they left the Glade. “You know, sir, I’ve been wanting to train under you for a long time. I, uh, wasn’t expecting to get chosen for the council, or to be the new commander-in-training for that matter. Today is . . . kind of crazy, isn’t it? But after all the bad things that happened yesterday, I guess it’s nice to get some good surprises. But, oh! And I really am sorry about what I did to Hyrees. I don’t know what came over me, but I, uh, yeah. My dad was really disappointed when he found out.”
Cloud sighed as they padded through the northern entrance. “I’m sure he was. Today’s lesson is on appreciating silence. You are at your most alert when you aren’t speaking. You can notice much more subtle things. For example, that cliff fungus you’re about to step on.”
Rowan stopped mid-step and looked around. “What? Where is it? Everything just looks like snow.”
Cloud lifted a paw toward the lump of white in front of them. “Notice how the snow suddenly goes upward right here. It’s the outline of fungus on a log.”
“Ohhh, I see it now. Hey, you noticed that while talking.”
“Yes, I did, because I practiced observing in silence. Now I want you to practice. Notice as much as you can without saying a word.”
For a while, Rowan walked quietly, his eyes darting around, latching onto various things before moving on. Together they made it to the creek and began the patrol. Cloud glanced down at the ravine. The creek already had ice forming over it, with snow gathering on the icy patches.
‘No, I’m definitely not pushing him in. I don’t need to kill him just to get out of here. I guess I’ll just have to play into his enthusiasm.’
“You’ve done well, keeping your quiet. Would you like some more training? I promise this one will be more interesting.”
His eyes lit up.“Oh! Yes. Yes, sir, that would be great.”
Cloud smiled. “Alright then, son.” Based on the look of pure awe on Rowan’s face, he knew he had metaphorically placed his paws well. His jaw tensed. Aspen had used the same tactic on him on the evening of his death. He mentally shoved the thought away. “Let’s begin. For this exercise, imagine you’re patrolling alone. I’ll go hide and wait for you, then jump out when you get close. When I do that, you fight me, and see if you can catch me in a scruff hold. Got it?”
“Yep. Got it. This is going to be fun,” Rowan mewed.
Cloud chuffed. “Indeed. Now I’m going to go a decent way up, so don’t expect to see me again for a little while. But don’t worry, I won’t go all the way to the log. That’s really the only dangerous area of this patrol right now, and I don’t want you there seemingly alone.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Okay, good. Now let’s have some fun. Give me a count of twenty before you start moving again.”
“Will do!”
Cloud offered him one last smile, then crawled into the thickest patch of bramble he could find. With the recent storm, it formed a snow tunnel of sorts with walls almost as thick as he was tall. He scurried out the other end, careful to stay outside Rowan’s field of view. When he knew he was out of sight and earshot, he broke into a fast trot.
‘We don’t have much time. It’s now or never. No going back. I just hope we all get there at roughly the same time. The longer any of us stays still, the more likely we are to get caught. Tahg, this plan has way too many variables. Maybe Song was right. What if we should’ve waited? There’s too much at stake today.’
His stomach churned when he reached the lower hardwood forest. Songbird sat beside a large elm, but Kivyress was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Kivy?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “She may be on her way, or she might still be with Lupine. Cloud, what if something happens to her?”
Cloud clenched his jaw and sat down.
“She’ll be fine. She’s a smart young cat, and it doesn’t take much to outwit Lupine.”
Songbird’s tail twitched. Her breathing became shallow and rapid, and her fur stood on end. “What if someone finds us? If we don’t get out soon, someone will. You know they will, and they’ll find a way to make us stay. I don’t even want to know how they’ll do it, but they will if we don’t make it out.”
“Calm down, Song. She’s going to make it here, and we’re going to make it out. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I don’t know. This doesn’t feel right. What if we don’t make it? And even if we do escape, what if they send someone after us?”
“They won’t. We’re going to be okay.”
Yet even as he said it, he wondered what would happen if she was right. ‘What if this is a mistake?’
Underbrush rustled nearby, the wind blew against their backs, preventing them from smelling their stalker.
“Kivy, is that you?” he asked.
When no one replied, he lowered himself into a fighting stance.
Kivyress burst through the brambles, panting and breathing heavily. “We have to go! Lupine—Lupine and colony . . . after us . . . they knew what we were planning. I don’t know how, but . . . s-sorry . . . Dad.”
Cloud and Songbird jumped to their paws. He didn’t need to give a signal to get them moving. The deepness of the snow prevented them from running, so they pounced their way toward the border, he and Songbird matching pace with Kivyress to keep her from getting left behind. The crunching of extra paws against ice caught his ears. He looked over his shoulder. Several leaps away, Lupine and five others chased after them. Up ahead, a row of trees marked the border. Crossing wouldn’t necessarily mean safety, but it would be one step closer to freedom.
“If they catch us, I’ll fight, and you run,” he said. “If they kill me, they kill me, and if they don’t, I’ll find a way to get to you.”
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