The light grew stronger and Hollyleaf screwed up her eyes. It wasn’t sunshine—this light was cool and gray—but it was brighter than anything she’d seen in a long while. The entrance to the tunnel was a circle of dazzling white, too painful to look at directly. Suddenly there was a crashing noise beyond the brightness, the sound of branches cracking beneath heavy paws. Then a volley of barking, mixed with a high-pitched yipping. Hollyleaf winced as the noise hit her ears; she was used to the heavy silence of the tunnels. She shrank back against the wall, too startled to know which way to run. There was an explosion of paw steps at the entrance and a huge dark shape burst through the light. At the same time a wave of stench hit Hollyleaf’s nose. Fox!
Fear rooted her paws to the ground. The intruder crashed into her, bounced off the opposite wall, then turned and stared back the way it had come, taking no notice of Hollyleaf cowering in the corner. A head was thrust through the circle of light at the mouth of the tunnel. A long pink tongue hung from dripping jaws, and huge ears flopped down on either side of mean yellow eyes. The fox let out a yelp and scrabbled backward, squashing Hollyleaf against the wall of the tunnel. She held her breath, dizzy with terror. The dog at the entrance growled and took a step toward them. It blocked out the light so that its features vanished and all Hollyleaf could see was the faint outline of its massive shoulders. The fox crouched down, filling Hollyleaf’s nose with soft, tickly fur. She longed to sneeze but couldn’t risk being discovered.
There was a shout from outside—a deep Twoleg voice, raised in anger—and the dog’s ears twitched. A moment later it jerked backward, and Hollyleaf squinted into the glare to see the Twoleg holding the dog’s collar with one fat, pink paw. The dog whined as it was dragged away. The fox relaxed, giving Hollyleaf just enough room to slide gently back. It was only a cub, no taller than she was, and its fur smelled of milk and earth from its den.
Suddenly Hollyleaf heard a fierce whisper. “What’s happening? Are you all right?” Fallen Leaves was standing just around the curve in the tunnel. She ran toward him. His eyes gleamed like moons in the half light.
“Look out!” Hollyleaf hissed. “There’s a fox behind me! Run!”
Chapter 5
Hollyleaf tucked her nose under her tail and tried to shut out the noise that drifted down the tunnels to her nest. The fox cub was still somewhere underground, whimpering in the dark. Why hadn’t it left? Was it afraid that the dog was waiting for it? Hollyleaf sniffed and wriggled deeper into the feathers. The high-pitched whine broke through, niggling her like thorns.
Hollyleaf sat up. For StarClan’s sake, shut up! There was no way she could sleep through this noise. She hopped out of her nest and padded along the tunnel to the river-cave. It was filled with a pale gray wash of starlight. Fallen Leaves was sitting at the edge of the water.
“Can you hear the fox?” Hollyleaf asked irritably.
Fallen Leaves shrugged. “It’ll find its way out eventually.”
“But it’s keeping me awake!” Hollyleaf complained. Doesn’t Fallen Leaves need to sleep too?
The fox let out a loud yelp, as if it could hear them talking. Hollyleaf felt a rush of pity. She knew what it felt like to be lost and frightened in the dark. “Maybe I should go find it,” she murmured.
Fallen Leaves stared at her in surprise. “But it’s a fox!”
“It’s a baby,” she countered. “You wouldn’t leave a kit down here, would you?”
“A kit wouldn’t try to eat me,” Fallen Leaves pointed out.
“I’m too much of a mouthful for this cub,” Hollyleaf assured him, hoping that was true. The fox had smelled strongly of milk, which meant it probably wasn’t eating fresh-kill yet. And it certainly hadn’t noticed it was sitting on top of prey when the dog chased it into the hole. She shook out her fur and started toward the woods-tunnel.
“You’re not really going to look for it, are you?” Fallen Leaves sounded astonished.
“Yes, if it means I can get some sleep,” meowed Hollyleaf. “If I’m not back by dawn, come and fetch me, okay?” she added, only half-joking.
“Of course,” Fallen Leaves replied somberly.
The darkness felt even more solid than usual, and Hollyleaf struggled against the urge to turn tail and flee back to the river-cave. The fox cub’s whimpering echoed off the walls, confusing her senses and disorienting her. She paused when she felt cold air blowing on one side of her head. There was an opening to another tunnel here; had the cub gone this way? She listened for a moment. There was a tiny scraping noise, as if soft pads were shuffling against the stone. If the fox really had gone down here, it would be truly stuck, because this particular tunnel got narrower and narrower until it ended abruptly in a rockfall. Which meant that if Hollyleaf followed the cub, she could get trapped in a dead end…
Hollyleaf took a deep breath and stepped into the tunnel. Almost at once, the fox let out a shriek as if it had heard her approaching. “It’s all right, I’m not going to hurt you!” Hollyleaf called into the darkness. There was a fast scrabbling sound, and a wave of fox-scented fear rolled down the passage toward her. Hollyleaf reminded herself that this was just a lost and scared youngster, so she wasn’t in any danger. She padded closer. “Hush, don’t be frightened,” she murmured.
The scrabbling stopped, and Hollyleaf guessed the fox was pressed against the rockfall with nowhere else to go. It let out the tiniest whine. “Poor little scrap,” Hollyleaf mewed, as if she were comforting a kit. “Did you get lost?”
She took another step forward, and her muzzle bumped against soft, strong-smelling fur. Trying not to gag, Hollyleaf gave it a lick. The fox tensed, rigid as a rock, then relaxed as she kept licking. Feeling bolder, Hollyleaf moved closer to where she guessed the cub’s head was. Her nose touched the tip of a feather-soft ear. “It’s all right, you’re safe now,” she whispered between licks.
The cub’s head drooped until it rested against Hollyleaf’s chest. She felt the faint tickle of its whiskers as it tucked its chin under its front paws. Hollyleaf wriggled closer until her body was curled around as much of the fox as she could reach. She could feel its breath slowing and becoming steadier. She stopped licking and rested her head on the fox’s neck. “Sleep, little one,” she murmured. She pressed close to the cold fur beside her, hoping that some of her warmth would seep in. It crossed her mind that none of her former Clanmates would ever believe she had slept next to a fox. But she wasn’t in the Clan anymore, and this cub needed her, just as a kit needed its mother. Hollyleaf shifted her head into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes.
She was woken by something pinching her front leg. Was Fallen Leaves getting her attention by biting her? Hollyleaf opened her eyes to a faint gray light. A shape loomed over her, and when she looked down at her leg she saw tiny white teeth sinking into her fur. “Ow!” she yelped, scrambling free.
The fox cub tipped its head to one side and looked at her. “Yip!”
Hollyleaf backed away. The cub was bigger than she remembered, twice as broad as her across its shoulders, and its teeth were small but definitely sharp. “Okaaay,” she mewed, taking another step until she was safely out of reach. “Let’s get you out of these tunnels.”
The fox bounced to its feet, filling the space. Hollyleaf braced herself. There was no sign that the cub thought she was prey; in fact, it looked as if it wanted to play. It let out another high-pitched bark and bounced on its front feet. Hollyleaf turned and looked back over her shoulder. It went against all her instincts to have the fox behind her, because now she felt as if she was being chased. Not chased—followed, she told herself firmly. “Come on!” she meowed.