The cats’ control was slipping away. Seeing the flames advance, they began retreating and scampering around in tight, chaotic circles as they tried to find a way of escape.
“We’ll never get out!” Jackdaw’s Cry wailed.
Gray Wing struggled with a mixture of fury and dread. This is the worst disaster we’ve ever faced, he thought as he scanned the fiery circle where they were trapped. Somewhere in there Clear Sky could be dying—and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Chapter 11
We have to do something!
Thunder saw that Gray Wing’s head was drooping and his breathing was harsh, as if he had lost the will to fight. Desperately he looked around, to see that he and his denmates were trapped in a circle of fire. Flames had caught on the grass and were spreading fast.
“This way!” Thunder heard an unfamiliar voice coming from beyond the fiery barrier. He peered through the smoke, trying to work out who was calling to him, but he couldn’t see any cat. “You have to jump the flames!”
Thunder didn’t need telling twice. Not allowing himself to think, he broke into a run.
“Thunder! No!” Tall Shadow yowled after him.
Thunder ignored the command. Some cat has to do this. It’s our only chance!
As he drew closer he could just make out, beyond the dancing flames, the glimmer of water.
A stream! Thunder thought, relief surging over him. “Come on,” he called to the others. “There’s water here!”
Making a tremendous effort, he launched himself high into the air, feeling the heat on the tender skin of his belly as he soared over the flames. He landed in a soft roll on the other side and leaped to his paws.
A silvery, long-furred tom was looking down at him. Thunder had never seen this cat before in his life, but he couldn’t stop to talk to him. He spun around and called once more to the others. “Jump! Come on. You can do it!”
His heart was beating fast and he felt a strange exhilaration come over him, like the first time he’d made a kill. The silver tom padded across and touched noses with him.
“Who are you?” Thunder asked.
“My name is River Ripple. You did well, young one.”
Thunder could barely stay still long enough to enjoy the praise. He remembered Gray Wing telling him about meeting this cat beside the river, but until now he had forgotten. He padded up and down beside the flames, calling again to his denmates. “Tall Shadow! Gray Wing! Hurry! It’s safe here!”
Jackdaw’s Cry was the first to appear, clearing the flames in a strong leap and landing hard on the other side. “Made it!” he gasped.
Rainswept Flower followed, then Dappled Pelt and Cloud Spots. The black-and-white tom dabbed irritably at sparks on his long-furred body, and muttered, “Never again!”
Thunder realized that the fire was beginning to die down here, as the collapsed tree burned itself out.
Peering through the flames and smoke, Thunder spotted Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Moon Shadow hesitating on the other side. “Take a long run up,” he called out, “and then leap into the air as if you were catching a bird.”
“Moon Shadow can’t make it,” Tall Shadow snarled in reply.
Then what are they going to do? Thunder asked himself anxiously. They’re all trapped—they’ll die if they can’t get out.
Jackdaw’s Cry padded up beside Thunder. “Gray Wing, you jump,” he meowed. “Then we’ll work out how to help Moon Shadow.”
The smoke from the forest was growing thicker and thicker, almost hiding the stranded cats. “Come on, Gray Wing!” Thunder yowled desperately. “You have to do it!” Even as he spoke he wondered whether Gray Wing could manage the leap. He seemed so shaken by the danger and Moon Shadow’s injuries.
As a breeze fluttered the flames, Thunder saw Gray Wing and Tall Shadow exchange a quick word. Then Gray Wing backed up. He raced toward the fire, but as he leaped a cloud of smoke billowed into the air and he disappeared from view.
“Gray Wing, where are you?” Thunder yowled.
A rolling ball of fur landed heavily at one side. Thunder and his denmates darted across to find Gray Wing, his eyes streaming as he lay curled up in the dirt. He was coughing so hard that he could scarcely breathe.
Thunder could see that Gray Wing’s hind paws were scorched, and the tip of his tail was on fire. Pouncing on the tail-tip as if he was catching a mouse, Thunder crushed out the flame, ignoring the pain in his paws. All that matters is that Gray Wing is safe.
“I’m fine,” Gray Wing choked out through his hacking coughs as the other cats closed around him. “We have to help Moon Shadow. He can’t move fast enough to dodge the flames. Tall Shadow ordered me across, but she won’t leave him.” Coughing overtook him again and he sounded angry as he continued, “What are we going to do? We can’t leave them there. They’ll burn to death.”
Thunder felt a cat prod him in the side, and turned to see Jackdaw’s Cry. “I’ve got an idea,” the black tom mewed. “But I need some help. Are you up for it?”
Thunder nodded tensely. “What do you want me to do?”
“Follow me.” Jackdaw’s Cry padded down to the stream and plunged in, crouching down to dunk all his body under the surface. He rose up again with water streaming off his pelt. His body looked skinny as the fur clung to his ribs. “Get yourself wet like this,” he told Thunder. “Then we’re going through the fire to fetch Moon Shadow.”
Hope flared into life inside Thunder. Of course! If we’re completely wet, the flames won’t harm us.
He jumped into the stream beside Jackdaw’s Cry, making sure his fur was thoroughly soaked. His whole body trembled from the cold shock, but he set his teeth, determined to do whatever he had to. Then he floundered out again and headed back to the line of fire.
Tall Shadow and Moon Shadow were still trapped on the other side. As Thunder had feared, the flames seemed to be closing in on them. He could hardly see the two cats anymore.
“Tall Shadow!” Jackdaw’s Cry called out. “Get your tail over here! We’re coming for Moon Shadow.”
“I’m not leaving him,” Tall Shadow snarled in reply.
“You have to!” Jackdaw’s Cry responded. “Thunder and I are coming through, and there isn’t room for four cats over there.”
Silence for a moment, except for the roar and crackle of the flames, and the sound of Gray Wing coughing.
“Do you promise?” Tall Shadow demanded at last. “You won’t let Moon Shadow die?”
“We promise!” Thunder called back. “We’ll do everything we can.”
There was another brief silence; then Thunder spotted a flash of movement beyond the blazing undergrowth. Tall Shadow appeared, skimming so closely over the top of the flames that Thunder caught his breath in horror, certain that her belly fur would catch fire. She landed hard and flopped onto one side, panting.
“Now get Moon Shadow out,” she gasped.
Thunder gulped. We have to get this right! If we fail, Tall Shadow will never forgive us.
For a heartbeat he gazed at the flames, feeling instinctively that it was wrong to run straight into them. He wasn’t sure that his paws would carry him forward. Is this a crazy idea? he wondered. But there’s no other choice.
“Thunder, no!” Rainswept Flower exclaimed. “You’re too young for this. I’ll go.”
“Come on!” Jackdaw’s Cry exclaimed at the same moment.