Tigerstripe's POV

I blinked open my eyes to the sun cascading over my face. Squinting, I lifted my head. The sun was just drifting up the sky then and I seemed to be the only one awake other than Smoketail, Shadowflower, Wildstar, Marshstar, and Lark. Blossomfrost was still fast asleep, lying next to me with her flank rising and falling slowly.

The birds sung in the treetops while the frost began to thaw. My fur spiked up as a chilly breeze blew through the campground. I sat up and began thoroughly cleaning my fur.

"Morning," I heard someone meow. I looked around but no one was looking at me. The group of five cats were chatting quietly together, uninterested in me.

"Er, morning." I replied, narrowing my eyes at them. The five of them looked at me. Wildstar and Smoketail looked back at Lark, seemingly because I wasn't in their Clan. Marshstar bowed his head to me, "Hello."

I looked away, my ears flat to my head, and decided to ignore the first voice.

Standing up, I realized I didn't feel as tired and weak as usual. The herbs had definitely done something good to my body. I padded quietly out of the ditch, ducking under the thorn bushes, and out onto the Thunderpath. The groaning and growling was louder from there. The Twolegs and few dogs and cats were staggering around, either dragging their limbs or their whole body. Blood was stained all over the Thunderpath.

A sudden feminine screech - none like any cat screech I had ever heard - made me duck and unsheathe my claws. At first, I thought it was my imagination like always, but as the Twolegs began to go the opposite way of our camp, I realized it was real. I watched all of the Twolegs, dogs, and cats shuffle away as fast as they could. Soon, the Thunderpath was empty. The only things that remained on it was the dead monsters.

"This is our chance!" Wildstar sneered. I looked over my shoulder at them and realized they too had heard the scream. "We can't stay here much longer, Lark. It's getting too hard to keep our voices low,"

Smoketail and Shadowflower nodded in agreement. "Not one of us even have real nests prepared." Smoketail commented. He glanced over at both Clans and shook his head.

I lashed my tail. More walking? Oh sweet SoulClan, no, I thought.

Maybe then you'll get stronger? Puny little thing, you are.

You just want to eat, don't you, you gluttonous beast?

No way, he wants Blossomfrost!

Yeah, to eat her.

My head began to pound uncontrollably. Ugh... Shut up, shut up!

I hurried off of the Thunderpath, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. "Tigerstripe, will you wake the Clan? Wildstar is going to begin waking StreamClan, too." Marshstar asked from where he sat with the group of cats. Lark watched me through his less-than attractive skull. I could smell it from where I was. I nodded and scrunched up my nose. "We're going to leave as soon as possible, so eat as soon as you can."

Padding over to Blossomfrost, I nudged her softly with my nose. She blinked open her eyes and moaned. Wow, what a jerk Marshstar is! One voice gasped. More like Tigerstripe is the jerk. Did you see the way he just woke up Blossomfrost? The other argued.

"Shut it!" I snapped. My voice echoed and everyone who was awake had turned to look at me. Blossomfrost looked at me with an unknowing look. Hot with embarrassment, I moved on. She had begun to accent the fact that when I snap, it isn't because of her, so she didn't look too confused or upset.

After waking most of the cats up, I glanced up in the trees as a squirrel began to chatter loudly. I soon realized Rowantail was no where to be found. She usually slept in the trees every moment of the day. Ever since she begun to sleep in the trees without coming down, no one was allowed to go back up in fear that more cats would do the same.

"Amberthroat," I rasped, padding up to the small red-brown she-cat, "Rowantail is missing."

The small she-cat glanced around as Dawnflower padded up next to her. Her elderly mother looked too ill and tired to really care. "Of course! The day we plan to leave, she walks off," Dawnflower complained, trekking over to Wildstar to inform her. Amberthroat padded after her so I left them alone.

Wildstar began whispering the news to Lark. Amberthroat rushed off into the forest, calling for her kin, "Rowantail! Rowantail, where are you?"

Ghostglow rushed after her with Whitefeather watching through numb eyes. A growl rose up my throat. Unsheathing my claws, I began lashing my tail in rage. That freak! Look at the way he looks at Amberthroat. She's too young to be around an insane tom like him. I thought, knowing what would happen to her if she stayed around him. Wolftail seen it as well. He was thoroughly glaring at the white tom as Chippaw chirped to him about his dream he had last night.

Wolftail and I met eyes. Knowing we were thinking the same thing, we nodded once to each other.

"Amberthroat, are you insane? You can't be that loud out here!" Ghostglow scolded, nudging her back to the Clan. "But she's out there alone. She isn't in the right state of mind to be alone!" She whined. Usually Amberthroat would just glare at everyone and stay silent, so this was a surprise.

I noticed that every cat who had taken the herbs looked fuller and more alive. Those herbs really did work, huh? But then I noticed the ones who didn't get any. They were all bony, sick, and looked as if they wouldn't make it much longer.

Zinnia bounced around Lark, saying he looked scary with the skull on his head and with how he "presented himself". He just watched silently without moving. Mistnose and Fireflywing glared at the small Bengal cat. I felt a purr rise up my throat. Stupid kittypets.

By the time everyone was awake, the sun was almost half way up the sky. There were few clouds, finally letting the sun come out to say hello. Though the bright sun was out and shining, the air was still crisp and cold.

"We will be traveling through the forest to find a suitable campground since something had alarmed the infected Twolegs," Marshstar announced. Lark nodded as well as Wildstar. Smoketail and Shadowflower began to round up the herbs they had left to prepare to leave.

Within only a few heartbeats, we all paired up and left the ditch.

***

Slowly and surely we headed through the frosty forest. Every leaf that remained on the trees were red and golden. By then it was close to the end of the day. The sky had gone from decent to bad. The sky was covered in dark, heavy clouds that threatened to either rain or snow. I hoped it would rain. The air made my nose hurt it was so dry, so I assume it wasn't rain that was coming.

Everyone in the Clans were getting anxious to eat and find a warm place to stay. "Where exactly are we going?" Jinx asked, peering over her shoulder to look at Lark. Instead, Foxtail answered.

"To find a new home, obviously." Jinx rolled her eyes and looked forward again. Mistnose and Fireflywing began to talk quietly to Foxtail. She didn't seem too interested in their whiny conversation, but she occasionally nodded anyway.

Blossomfrost was panting beside me. I wanted to help out, but I couldn't put her on my back because I was just as weak as everyone else. We had walked an extremely far amount in just a day. We only stopped once to hunt.

She glanced over at me so I did the same. I gave her a sympathetic look and she did the same. "Oh cool! A field with a pretty tree!" Chippaw gasped, rushing forward. Wolftail hurried after his son and paused at a wooden fence that was rotten and broken. "That's a maple tree," Wolftail gazed at the tree with wide eyes.

"This is a good place to stay," Smoketail murmured to no one in particular. Silverfeather nodded, hopping over the fence. She wasn't as healthy as the ones who took the herbs, but she was looking decent. Silverfeather always took care of herself.

I hurried away, nudging Blossomfrost along with me, to the fence. The both of us gazed up at the maple tree. Blossomfrost watched the large, tall, bright red tree swing in the breeze through her warming, hopeful green eyes. In the field were several infected cats, dogs, and Twolegs. Most of them were cats. There were only two Twolegs, one dog, and about four cats.

A small Twoleg farm was way off to the left side of the field. I assumed the group of infected Twolegs and such came from the farm-nest.

Wolftail noticed the infected group and turned to the Clans. Wildstar and Marshstar hopped up onto the fence while Silverfeather hopped back over beside Wolftail.

"The cats with the immunity, come with me. We will be getting rid of these infected things so we can claim this territory!" Wolftail yowled. Crowflight, Crescentmoon, Wolftail, Amberthroat, and I stepped forward. The infected were alarmed.

"Yeah!" Amberthroat, Crowflight, Silverfeather, Marshstar, Wildstar, and I yelled in return. Though Silverfeather, Marshstar, and Wildstar hadn't of taken the herbs, they decided to fight anyway. Snowfern cowered behind Foxtail with Dreampaw behind her. Blossomfrost sat down and refused to move.

"I can't," She breathed.

I touched her cheek with my nose and reassured her. "They will understand."

Whitefeather, Ghostglow, Foxtail, Silverfeather, and the two Clan leaders joined the group of immune cats. "Attack!" Marshstar and Wildstar ordered, pounding away.

Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as we bolted through the field. Screaming, we alarmed the few infected Twolegs, cats, and one dog yet again. Ghostglow and Whitefeather threw themselves onto the one huge dog with matted fur, Silverfeather, Marshstar, and Wildstar attacked one of the four cats, Foxtail and Crescentmoon attacked another cat, Amberthroat and I tumbled into a black-and-grey cat, while Wolftail and Crowflight led the two Twolegs away, scratching at their feet and running just in front of them, teasing them. The last cat was slowly dragging itself toward Amberthroat and I, but neither of us paid any attention.

Slashing and spitting, we sliced the cats face and neck. Even with all of the blood coming out of the wounds, it didn't die nor weaken. Just as the other infected cat reached for Amberthroat, Wildstar smashed into it from it's side. The two of them tumbled through the long, frosty grass. Her calico head popped back up as she began to throw huge and deadly hits to the cats head.

I shoved the cat back with all the force I could muster. I didn't even realize that Amberthroat had left the battle. Before I knew it, a large, sharp stick was sent though the right side of it's head. It didn't go through completely, but it was enough to puncture it's brain and send it to the ground.

"Good work," I puffed. Amberthroat didn't reply because she was trying to get the stick out of the cats' head.

I nudged her away. With one paw on its head and my jaws wrapped around the stick, I managed to yank the stick out of the dead cats' head with a loud "slurp". A loud snap came from the cats neck and I found the head almost completely torn off of its body.

Amberthroat heaved up what she had been able to eat that day all over the cats' dead body.

***

Sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoyed, have a good week! I won't be on as often as I could be after this week because school will be out so I apologize in advance for being inactive later on!

P_A83 out!