Frostfeather scanned the leafy branches that hung behind her brother. She tried to set her eyes on what Brokensong had seen. Who's watching us?

Elkleap stepped towards Pineheart and Smallfire, his attention fixed on the bush just beyond their haunches. "Whoever you are, come out now!" he growled. The monsters on the path beside them screeched and thundered on their journey passed, oblivious to what occurred on the thin strip of grass.

After several long heartbeats, a lithe shape leaped from the cover of the shadows. She landed in front of the toms to come and stand before Elkleap.

Brokensong gasped in astonishment as she sauntered closer. "You're... you're Dewdrop, aren't you?" she stammered. Her whiskers twitched in amazement, her eyes darted all over the silver pelted stranger.

"Yes, but I have not been called that name in some moons," she purred, "I have lived on my own since BreezeClan was defeated."

"Why didn't you want to come live with your Clanmates in IceClan?" Elkleap pondered, "they had assumed you were dead."

Dewdrop's eyes sparkled with fury as she retorted, "and I had thought they'd been killed by IceClan scum!"

She cast her attention over their small group. "It doesn't look like any of them are with you. How am I to know that IceClan didn't kill them all?" Frostfeather gasped in surprise, how could she think that?

"Your Clanmates lived peaceful lives in IceClan before a sickness spread over the forest. Right before we left, wolves attacked the camp and left many dead. We are all that are left," Elkleap meowed gently, "I'm sorry we could not have been blessed with more BreezeClan survivors."

Frostfeather could see sadness flash across the features of the old BreezeClan medicine cat. Her shoulders hunched as she let out a small, strangled sigh. "I see..." she murmured.

Brokensong rested her tail tip lightly against Dewdrop's side. "But we do have some descendants of your old Clanmates. Smallfire is Foxstreak's son. And I'm sure you remember Frostkit and Pinekit. They've grown up, and are also fortunate to be traveling with us."

Dewdrop's interest instantly turned towards Frostfeather. She thought she saw malice in her expression but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. "So, Blizzardstar is not with you?" she asked slowly.

"No, Blizzardstar gave his life to allow us all to escape," Pineheart spoke as he stood and started to guide Smallfire closer to the rest of the patrol.

A smirk spread across Dewdrop's face. Frostfeather opened her mouth to confront her, but Elkleap had already began to reply, "if you'd like to travel with us, we wouldn't mind. We are trying to find a new territory, away from this sickness."

"Yes, I think I'd like that," Dewdrop confessed, "it'll be nice to be in the company of Clan cats once more." Her reply sounded sincere but everything about this situation sent a wave of doubt over Frostfeather's fur.

"Now, we just need to figure out how to cross this," Elkleap commented as he swung around to stare across the black river once more.

"Oh, that? I've crossed this Thunderpath dozens of times," Dewdrop chimed, "you just have to wait until the thundering stops and then race across as quick as you can!"

Sootsplash grumbled from his place beside the others, "that sounds dangerous." Frostfeather agreed, those monsters were big enough to flatten even the largest badger.

Dewdrop took a couple of pawsteps closer to the edge of the Thunderpath. She let her paws graze the edge of the bumpy, black surface. "It's not very dangerous, really. You can feel the vibrations in your paws. If the rumbling stops, there's plenty of time to cross."

Another monster flashed passed. Its brilliant crimson coat dazzled Frostfeather's eyes. She didn't exactly trust this strange she-cat. The delighted look on her face at the mention of Blizzardstar's demise had made her pelt crawl.

She watched as Dewdrop lined her Clanmates up next to the verge of the dark path. "It's best to go in small groups. Everyone should pair themselves with another cat," she instructed.

Pineheart remained next to Smallfire while Elkleap slunk closer to Lionpaw. Sootsplash took up his position beside Meadowshine. That left Frostfeather with Sweetmind, the timid, calico she-cat.

They waited there for some time, while monsters constantly rushed by on the Thunderpath. "This is taking forever!" Lionpaw wailed.

"Hush, Dewdrop needs to concentrate," Meadowshine scolded her. Frostfeather sunk her claws into the grass, anticipation swirling like a storm in her chest.

Miraculously, the endless quake of the monsters eased. "Whoever is going first needs to be ready," Dewdrop warned.

Elkleap traipsed forward with Lionpaw practically glued to his side. His tail wrapped protectively over her back and down her flank. As the monsters disappeared, Dewdrop howled, "Now!"

Elkleap sprang onto the surface of the Thunderpath and flew in the direction of the opposite side. Lionpaw seemed like a blur of russet fur as she kept pace with him and finally came to rest in the grass on the other side.

"See, easy," Dewdrop purred. Frostfeather still wasn't convinced. Next came Sootsplash and Meadowshine, who crossed without incident. It sounded like the monsters had taken a break.

"Next," Dewdrop urged as Pineheart and Smallfire inched forward. As they started to hobble across, Frostfeather was painfully aware how slow they were.

In the distance, the hum of monsters once more vibrated the oily, black surface. Frostfeather held her breath until Pineheart and Smallfire fell into the soft grasses on the other side.

"We will have to wait again," Brokensong murmured as the Thunderpath erupted with the harsh sounds of monsters as they shot passed. All that remained was Brokensong, Dewdrop, Sweetmind, and Frostfeather.

"Do you know where you're headed after this?" Dewdrop questioned Brokensong as they waited for their chance to cross.

"I figured we could just keep moving onward. The sun sets in front of us, so we can just keep following that," she explained. Dewdrop nodded and turned her attention back to the Thunderpath.

"I think our chance is coming," Dewdrop mewed, "you'll have to cross by yourself so that I can instruct you." Brokensong nodded in response.

Frostfeather could feel Sweetmind tremble next to her. She watched with wide eyes as the monsters ceased and Brokensong flung herself across the Thunderpath. Her black tipped tail vanished into the bushes where the others had stopped to wait.

"Your turn next," Dewdrop meowed as Frostfeather and Sweetmind stepped up to the edge. She glanced back at Dewdrop as foreboding boiled deep in her limbs.

"Alright, go!" she grunted. As Frostfeather went to take her first leap onto the path, something solid snagged hold of her tail. The pain made her stagger, like hot needles up her spine.

She turned to see that Dewdrop had her tail tip firmly clamped between her jaws. With a defiant yowl, she tore her tail free and scrambled to catch up to Sweetmind. But as she neared the center of the path, a screech sounded from down the Thunderpath. She stopped and lay her eyes on a monster that hurtled straight towards her.

Oh no, I'm done for! She felt her limbs freeze with shock, too numb to move. But just as the monster was about to strike, something pushed her out of the way. With a thud, she landed on the side of the Thunderpath. The monster swerved  away in a cloud of gritty smoke and dust.

Frostfeather stared back across the path to set her eyes on Dewdrop. The gray medicine cat glared back at her, her face creased with fury. She lifted her head to look where she had been frozen to the black surface. What she saw made her heart start to slam against her rib cage.

In the middle of the Thunderpath, lay a smear of bright orange, white, and black fur. "Sweetmind!" Frostfeather cried. Dewdrop advanced across the path in a few moments, her tail twitched behind her.

She felt Dewdrop grab her scruff as she started to drag her across the last section of the road. "Let me go!" she shouted, "I need to get Sweetmind!"

"She's as good as dead," Dewdrop hissed around her fur. She twisted her body to attempt to free herself, but Dewdrop just clenched her teeth harder into the soft skin of her scruff.

As they finally padded onto the opposite side, Frostfeather felt Dewdrop release her as she was dropped into the furry embrace of the lush grass.

"Where's Sweetmind?" Elkleap asked. Frostfeather wanted to answer, she wanted to confess they had left Sweetmind's body, crushed, back on the Thunderpath.

Why? Why did you have to save me, she thought wretchedly as the angry hum of the monsters intensified and swallowed up the lifeless body of Sweetmind.