Angry, gray storm clouds swelled over the morning sky. The smell of rain was carried on the breeze, quite unlike the salty tang of the ocean air.

Frostfeather sat near the edge of the camp entrance alleyway, her shoulders tense. A small group sat around her, their heads bent inward as they talked. The violent gusts of air threatened to blow their words away with the wind.

"We shouldn't be out too long in this," Elkleap shouted, "this storm seems dangerous!"

Sun'ka lashed her tail beside him, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "No! We will have to hunt!" she reminded him.

That was true, despite the whipping of the wind they still had to eat. "Then we will have one hunting patrol," Elkleap meowed loudly as he turned to look at the cats around him.

Not many had dared to leave the comfort of their dens. Only Falcon, Sootsplash, Sparrow, Stone, and Frostfeather hovered nearby to hear their daily duties. "I will lead the patrol," Elkleap began, "Sootsplash, Sparrow, and Stone will join me."

Frostfeather had to lean in closer to be heard, her ears strained to hear what Elkleap was saying. I don't think he said my name, she thought as the others turned to pad down the alley.

Sun'ka strode towards her, urging her towards the safety of her den. As they padded inside, the harsh sound of the wind instantly died.

"Did you need to speak with me?" Frostfeather asked in confusion as Sun'ka padded to her nest.

She didn't answer for a few moments. She made herself comfortable in the soft moss of her nest, and turned to look at Frostfeather. "My den is big enough to share," she purred, "I prefer company than to be alone anyways."

"Why didn't Elkleap just have you join the hunting patrol?" Frostfeather asked curiously.

"He's just trying to help me," Sun'ka assured her, "he knows how hard it's been for me to be leader after Cairn's murder. I know he likes to shoulder my burden."

"That's very kind of him," Frostfeather mewed softly, "that's kind of what he did for me, when we had to leave our home."

Sun'ka's ears perked, her attention instantly drawn to her words. "Really? No one ever told me what happened in your old home," Sun'ka murmured, "Elkleap usually gets upset when I ask him."

Frostfeather's pelt prickled uncomfortably. What would make him not want to tell her?

"Well, things were normal for almost my entire life up until one of our elders got sick," she began to retell, surprised that she could still remember it so vividly.

The dreams, all the visions she had of Spottedrose. "My ancestors tried to reach out to me. They wanted me to convince my leader, Blizzardstar, that we had to leave," she meowed.

"He didn't want to believe me at first. He still thought of me as just his kit, that I was just having bad dreams. But after the sick elder went savage and killed one of our apprentices, he knew I was telling the truth," her voice was surprisingly strong, despite the terrible memories that flashed in her mind.

"We went to the Firestone to speak with our ancestors. But when we got there, they had already gone. They had left to find our new home."

Sun'ka gasped, her tail flicked at Frostfeather's words. "How could they just leave you?" she asked in shock.

"They knew we had to leave. And wherever we were going, they wanted to be there to welcome us," Frostfeather explained.

Sun'ka nodded slowly, not entirely content with her answer. "While we were away at the Firestone, a wolf attacked our camp," Frostfeather continued, "it was infested with the same illness that corrupted our elder. It killed and infected almost all of our Clanmates."

"Blizzardstar knew that the last healthy members of IceClan had to leave to find our new home. He passed over his leadership of IceClan to me, he thought I'd be able to just lead us to find some prophesied land in the stars," her voice cracked, "I should have known it was impossible."

Sun'ka shook her head, "no, I am certain your home is still out there," she insisted.

"How?" she sobbed, "we are at the edge. All that's left is the ocean."

"I'm not sure... but I know you will think of something," Sun'ka assured her, "you made it this far."

"Yeah..." Frostfeather sighed, "I don't think we would have if Elkleap wasn't leading us."

As Frostfeather finally felt her muscles relax, a commotion erupted outside the entrance to Sun'ka's den. Elkleap fell inside, his face and neck streaked with blood.

"Elkleap!" Sun'ka cried as she leapt up and towards the exhausted tom.

"Cassius... he's coming!" Elkleap gasped, his flanks heaved with the effort to breathed, "he killed Sparrow!

"I need to gather the others," Sun'ka mewed as she quickly exited the den. Frostfeather dared to inch closer to Elkleap, her pelt stood on end.

"Are you ok?" she whimpered.

"Yes... we need get everyone out of camp," Elkleap meowed as he started to push himself back up onto his paws. He seemed a little unstable but he didn't waste any time as he padded out into camp.

Frostfeather followed, relieved to find the gust of wind had declined slightly. Already, almost all of the Dockcats were assembled in the clearing. Sootsplash, Meadowshine, and Lionpaw were huddled beside Brokensong, Blue, and Pineheart.

Jewel hobbled from the depths of her den, her eyes alight with worry. "We will be leaving the camp," Sun'ka addressed the throng of cats, "we want to be out in the open. If Cassius and his rogues trap us here in camp, we are doomed."

"Is Drizzle here?" Meadowshine asked as she looked over the heads of the other cats, "I don't think she got out of her nest."

"I will fetch her. Falcon, lead everyone to the docks," Sun'ka instructed.

He dipped his head and started to make his way down the pitch-black passageway. Frostfeather watched Sun'ka as she strode across the camp towards one of the boxes that lined the edge. Meadowshine was hard on her paws.

Elkleap appeared at her side, his voice weak but a strong determination shone in his eyes. "Are we leaving?" he asked wearily.

"Yeah, we are supposed to go to the docks," Frostfeather meowed.

At the rear of the group, Frostfeather watched as Pineheart's tail tip disappeared down the tunnel. She quickly picked up her paws and followed, Elkleap right beside her.

The tunnel was filled with the sound of frantic pawsteps on the stone walkway. Frostfeather could hear Falcon at the head of the cats, already out on the docks.

"Cassius is coming! Hurry!" he yowled. Frostfeather picked up her pace, her breath hoarse as she bolted down the dark alley. She could see the bright light of the entrance only a few foxlengths away.

As she hurtled into the open, she looked to her left and froze in shock. An entire line of unrecognizable rogues were advancing towards them across the docks. She turned right and started to follow the others, who weren't far ahead. The dockcats were pinned against the buildings as they ran, Dockworkers shouting and stomping as they shot by.

Elkleap was still beside her, his pelt spiked with terror as the rogues yowled and howled behind them. Falcon had stopped the rest of the group just ahead, his gaze locked on the scene before him.

"They're coming this way too!" he shouted, his tail lashed as he scanned the docks for a way to escape. Frostfeather peaked around the others, horrified to see an equally massive line of rogues charging towards them.

Elkleap looked back towards camp, "is Sun'ka here?" he asked shakily.

Oh no she's still back at camp! Frostfeather remembered suddenly. "Meadowshine and Drizzle aren't here either," Sootsplash meowed in disbelief.

Everyone turned their gazes back towards the alleyway towards camp. The rogues were already tearing down the entryway, their pelts instantly swallowed by its darkness.

Sootsplash wailed in distress, "what do we do?" he cried.

"To the boats!" Pineheart yowled.

The Dockcats looked towards the drifting wooden objects for a short moment before surging across the dock and towards the nearest boat. Sootsplash lingered near the building, frozen as he watched the rogues pouring down the tunnel.

"Come on!" Elkleap grunted as he pushed his Clanmate across the wooden planks. Beside the boat, there was a small wooden walkway that sloped up towards its wooden facade.

Pineheart lingered at the end, urging the cats up the tight wooden slope one-by-one. Frostfeather felt it shudder beneath her paws, wobbling with each step. On the deck of the boat, there weren't any Dockworkers in sight.

She looked up at the massive sails, already amassed and ready for departure. She felt the entire structure of the boat shift, a loud horn sounded nearby.

"What's happening?!" Elkleap yowled as he ran up the last few steps of the slope. Sootsplash tumbled onto the deck beside him, his flanks heaving.

"I think the boat's moving!" Brokensong shouted, her claws unsheathed to try and keep herself stable.

"I don't think everyone is here," Falcon cried as he ran back towards the edge of the massive boat. It was already beginning to pull away from the wooden plank, dropping it into the murky water below.

"Sun'ka!" he shrieked, hoping to hear her voice over all of the commotion.

All around him, the rogues filled the air with their yowls. The loud horn was still booming, combined with the creaking of the boat as it inches further away from the docks.

"It's Meadowshine!" Falcon shouted as he turned to the others, "she's coming!"

Sootsplash instantly leapt to his paws and ran towards the edge of the boat. Already, several foxlengths spanned between the boat and the edge of the wooden docks.

Meadowshine was racing towards the boat, with only the small body of Drizzle right behind her. Frostfeather could see the rogues as they turned to intercept her.

"No!" Sootsplash yowled, ready to leap off the boat to save her.

But before he could move, she had reached the edge of the docks. Her uncertain gaze scanned the boat, her muscles tense. But she did not jump.

She grabbed Drizzle's scruff in her teeth. Using all her might, she reared back on her hind paws and flung Drizzle through the air using her forepaws for a last minute boost. Falcon grabbed her silver fur in his claws, pulling her up onto the safety of the boat.

Frostfeather pushed her way past Falcon, ready to grab Meadowshine as she took her turn to leap. But the tortie she-cat just sat back on her haunches, watching as the boat continued to drift away.

"Meadowshine!" Frostfeather gasped, not taking her eyes off of the IceClan queen. But the rogues were upon her. With screeches of triumph, they surged all around her.

Frostfeather turned back to look at Drizzle who was scarcely breathing. Lionpaw and Drizzle has made their way over the slippery deck and were sniffing her fur.

"Is Meadowshine ok?" Sootsplash whimpered as he tried to see his mate over the edge of the boat.

Frostfeather looked back towards the docks, dismayed to see that Meadowshine was gone. Only the rogues remained, sitting and watching the boat as it sailed onward, towards the horizon.