All the tensions there had been between Gray Wing and Clear Sky vanished in that moment. He remembered how they had played together as kits and how they had supported each other on their journey. I didn’t come with him out of the mountains to see him die in a forest fire!
Gray Wing raced toward the flames that blocked the way into the deeper forest, running back and forth as he tried to find a way to pass the fiery barrier. But every time he spotted a gap in the flames that he might fit through, it closed up in front of him.
“Gray Wing!” Rainswept Flower called out. “You must get away!”
“You’ll set your fur on fire!” Jackdaw’s Cry added.
“Yes, come back.” Tall Shadow spoke in a voice of authority.
“No!” Gray Wing meowed. “Clear Sky and his denmates are in there! We have to help get them out.” He could picture his brother and the other cats, crouching, terrified, in the middle of the fire as the blaze drew closer.
But the other cats were drawing back, clearly terrified by the crackling flames. Only Thunder stayed near Gray Wing, uncomfortably close to the blaze.
“Get back!” Gray Wing snapped. “The heat is worse for you, being so small.”
Thunder shook his head determinedly. “I’m staying with you.”
Gray Wing had no time to argue further. He’s flea-brained, but so brave! Just like his father…
Thunder remained beside Gray Wing as they darted toward a gap between the fire-damaged trees.
“Through there!” Gray Wing gasped, struggling to breathe in the smothering heat. “Clear Sky’s camp is down this way. If we can reach it, we can lead them out.” If the fire doesn’t spread farther, he thought, then pushed the idea away.
Gray Wing believed they could make it through the blaze, but then one of the trees began to groan and tilt alarmingly, so that they had to scramble back before it collapsed.
“What can we do?” Thunder asked. “Do you think we could jump over the flames?”
Gray Wing looked up at the edge of the fiery wall, trying to work out if he could make it to the other side. A branch fell from the tilting tree, closing up the last of the gap, flames leaping many tail-lengths into the sky.
Then Gray Wing saw movement beyond the blaze; a heartbeat later a cat came hurtling across the barrier from the other side. He gasped with shock as he recognized Moon Shadow.
The black tom’s paws didn’t quite clear the flames. He let out a yowl of pain and instinctively tried to curl up in midair, abandoning his strong leaping posture. He landed with a hard thump on the ground, in a chaos of waving paws and tail. Fire crept through his pelt and along his tail.
“Help me!” he screeched.
Gray Wing, Thunder, and Tall Shadow raced toward him, battering at him with their paws to put out the flames. But panic held Moon Shadow in its grip. He rolled over, and tried to scramble up and flee before the flames were out.
Thunder leaped after him, throwing his whole weight across Moon Shadow’s lower back. “Keep still!” he yowled.
Gray Wing and Tall Shadow went on crushing out the fire. Gray Wing hissed with the pain of his scorched paws, but he had to ignore it to help Moon Shadow, who was moaning in agony.
As the flames died, Gray Wing’s nose twitched, picking up the smell of charred flesh. He spotted a patch on Moon Shadow’s side where the fur had been burned away, revealing an area of angry red skin. Spots of dark blood welled up and spread, running into one another.
The cats stood around Moon Shadow, briefly frozen with fear as they watched his life leaking away. Then Cloud Spots gave his pelt a shake. “Come on, Dappled Pelt,” he meowed. “We’ll find some healing herbs.” To Moon Shadow he added, “Don’t worry. This doesn’t have to end badly.” Moon Shadow groaned and turned his head away.
Cloud Spots and Dappled Pelt vanished into the darkness, weaving their way between smoldering branches. The rest of the cats pulled the limp form of Moon Shadow away from the fire and the heat.
Gray Wing stared at him, thinking of Clear Sky. Was he lying somewhere, injured and helpless in the path of the devouring flames? He felt a tingle of determination run through his paws. If my brother is behind that wall of fire, I will save him.
Straightening up, he began to race toward the barrier of flame. A chorus of desperate meows followed him.
“No, Gray Wing!”
“You mustn’t!”
“Come back—you’ll die!”
Gray Wing ignored the voices. He was readying himself to jump when a weight crashed into him from one side and he was bowled off his paws. He looked up to see Thunder, who was holding him down with both forepaws on his chest.
“Get off!” he gasped, trying to wrestle himself free.
Thunder didn’t move. A moment later he was joined by Jackdaw’s Cry. “There’s nothing you can do,” the black tom insisted.
Gray Wing stopped struggling, letting out a long sigh. I know they’re right… but oh, Clear Sky, where are you? Thunder let him get up, and Gray Wing padded back through a fog of misery toward the other cats.
They had formed a protective guard around Moon Shadow, who was still moaning with pain. Tall Shadow stood beside her brother, her green eyes wide with fear and grief. Seeing her made Gray Wing’s anxiety grow even sharper, and he crouched beside Moon Shadow.
“Was Clear Sky with you?” he asked urgently. “Do you know if he’s safe?”
But Moon Shadow only stared at him with glazed eyes and let out another drawn-out groan. Gray Wing realized that he was too badly hurt even to understand the question.
Tall Shadow bent her head to nuzzle Moon Shadow’s shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she mewed. “Cloud Spots will be back soon with something to make you better. Every cat knows he’s the best at finding healing herbs.” Her voice shook, as if she wasn’t quite certain of what she was saying, but she steadied it again. “You know that, Moon Shadow. Everything will be all right.”
Seasons seemed to pass in flickering scarlet and the crackling of flame before Cloud Spots and Dappled Pelt returned, darting between the patches of fire. Hope kindled in Gray Wing as he saw the bunches of leaves in their jaws, but sank again as they dropped their bundles beside Moon Shadow. These weren’t healing herbs, just random collections of grass and weeds.
Cloud Spots bowed his head, looking helpless. “The fire has left so little,” he mewed.
Making a huge effort to ward off despair, Gray Wing tried to encourage him. “Come on, let’s chew up the grasses and dribble the juice on Moon Shadow’s wound. It’s bound to do something, if only to stop the bleeding.”
“We can try,” Cloud Spots responded, though he didn’t sound hopeful.
The cats gathered around and began grinding the leaves and grasses with their teeth as best they could, placing the chewed-up lumps on Moon Shadow’s burnt patch. But within moments the lumps turned an angry red as Moon Shadow’s blood soaked into them.
“He’s bleeding too much,” Dappled Pelt muttered.
Suddenly, to Gray Wing’s surprise, Moon Shadow lurched to his paws, swaying. For a moment he stood shakily. “I will walk,” he hissed determinedly.
Gray Wing knew that the cats had no choice but to retreat with him. If they left Moon Shadow here alone he would certainly succumb to the flames and smoke.
A fresh wave of heat surged over Gray Wing’s body, making him shrink back. Looking up, his eyes stinging from the smoke, his breathing rough and irregular, he saw that the fire was creeping closer. While they had tried to save Moon Shadow, they had taken their eyes off the angry flames. Now the blaze was slowly stalking them.