“Oh… yes,” Turtle Tail muttered.
Gray Wing was pretty sure she had known all the time. “Thanks, Bumble,” he meowed. “Can you show me the way?”
Bumble hesitated for a moment. “I won’t go in with you. That place gives me the creeps.”
Gray Wing glanced at Turtle Tail, wondering if she would come too. But she simply mewed, “I’ll see you later,” and streaked across the grass to the fence, leaping over it and vanishing.
Sad and confused, Gray Wing followed Bumble back along the wall, then down beside a Thunderpath with monsters passing by so close together that he almost despaired of getting across. The noise beat at his ears and he felt the stink soaking into his fur.
Finally a gap opened up; Bumble yowled, “Now!” and they darted across side by side. Another monster roared by as they reached the other side; the wind of its passing ruffled their fur.
“That only missed us by a paw-length!” Gray Wing exclaimed.
Bumble led him past Twoleg dens with huge holes in their sides, covered by shiny transparent stuff that showed glaring lights and bright colors within. Crowds of Twolegs were walking to and fro; Bumble and Gray Wing had to slip along close to the wall to avoid their clumping paws.
“I don’t know how you can stand living here!” Gray Wing exclaimed.
Bumble glanced back at him. “Well, I don’t know how you can stand living out in the open, getting cold and wet the whole time. We both get used to it, I guess.”
Eventually Bumble led Gray Wing around another corner. A vast red stone den stood in front of them. Empty holes gaped in its side, and a huge entrance yawned like an open mouth.
Bumble flicked her tail. “There you go. I’ll wait for you and show you the way back.”
Gray Wing’s eyes widened in shock. “Storm lives in there?”
Bumble nodded. “There aren’t many places to stay around here, if you don’t live with a Twoleg.”
Horrified, forcing back panic, Gray Wing padded up to the entrance and went inside. The only light came from the holes in the walls. A vast stretch of stone lay in front of him, broken at intervals by stone trees that held up the roof. A foul reek washed over him from Twoleg debris scattered here and there, and beneath it he picked up the stale scent of monsters.
“Storm! Storm!” he yowled.
There was no reply. Gray Wing padded forward, glancing from side to side; there was nowhere here where Storm could be hiding.
A few tail-lengths away, a stone slope led upward. Gray Wing bounded to the top, then emerged more cautiously onto the next level. He saw the same thing: dark desolation, more rubbish, more stone trees, and no sign of Storm. A damp, chilly draft ruffled his fur, and he could hear the distant drip of water.
Up and up Gray Wing climbed, until he guessed he was almost at the top of the den. Still he couldn’t find Storm, and she didn’t reply when he called out to her. Was Bumble wrong? Maybe Storm doesn’t live here.
Hesitantly approaching one of the gaps in the wall, Gray Wing saw how far he had climbed. He almost felt as if he was back in the mountains, looking out from a high peak. The Twolegplace was spread out below him, monsters creeping along like shiny beetles. Beyond the Twolegplace was the mass of the forest, mostly gray-brown now that the leaves had fallen, with patches of dark green here and there where pines grew. Beyond the forest Gray Wing could just make out the swelling line of the moor, and he longed for the clean air and the vast stretches of grass where he could run and run.
A faint paw step behind him made Gray Wing spin around. “Storm!” he exclaimed.
The silver tabby she-cat stood a couple of tail-lengths away from him. Gray Wing’s heart swelled as he looked at her. She had clearly given birth; she was thin, her sides sunken and her fur filthy and matted. But her green eyes were still as brilliant and beautiful as ever.
“Storm,” Gray Wing repeated, taking a pace toward her. “You’ve had your kits—are they okay?”
Storm nodded. “Three of them… and yes, they’re fine.”
“Where are they?” Gray Wing asked, glancing around. “May I see them?”
The silver-gray tabby hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “Better not.”
Disappointment gathered over Gray Wing like a dark cloud. “But they’re my family too. Please, Storm. You know I would never hurt them.”
Storm shook her head again, more decisively this time. “These are my kits,” she meowed.
Frustrated, Gray Wing wondered what he could do to change her mind. Clearly she had decided to cut him and Clear Sky—and all that she had experienced with them—out of her life.
But is that the best choice? Why doesn’t she want help from any cat to look after them?
Gray Wing wanted to ask those questions, but in the face of Storm’s proud, challenging gaze, the words wouldn’t come. Dipping his head in acceptance, he murmured, “Good-bye, Storm. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
Then he turned away and padded down, down through the bleak levels of the monster den, until he was out in the open, where Bumble was waiting.
Chapter 26
With every paw step he took away from the Twolegplace, Gray Wing became more and more convinced that he was doing the wrong thing. That night, he slept only fitfully. His cozy nest in the new camp seemed full of thorns and pebbles. And when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Storm, so thin and desperate, and yet full of courage.
As dawn light began to trickle over the moor, Gray Wing came to a decision. I won’t give up on Storm. She and her kits are part of my family now. Family should look after one another.
On his way across the moor, Gray Wing kept a lookout for prey, and pounced on a rabbit as it popped its head out of its hole. I’ll carry it to Storm’s empty den, to help her feed her kits.
Gray Wing saw no sign of Clear Sky or his cats as he padded through the forest, but as he approached the Twolegplace he spotted Turtle Tail racing away from the red stone dens. Her ears were flattened and her fur fluffed up in panic.
Gray Wing bounded across her path to intercept her. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
Turtle Tail’s eyes were stretched wide as she fixed a wild gaze on Gray Wing. “You’ve got to come!” she panted. “Storm’s den is under attack!”
Without waiting for a reply, she spun around and raced back toward the Twolegplace. Gray Wing dropped his prey and took off after her. An image of the desolate den came into his mind and he wondered what could possibly attack something so huge.
Turtle Tail must be wrong! But if Storm is in danger, I have to help!
Before the den came into sight, Gray Wing could hear a low rumbling sound, which grew and grew until it filled the whole world, as if thunder was breaking right overhead. The air was thick with the scent of stone and dust and the reek of monsters.
Gray Wing’s whole body shuddered with apprehension. Something terrible is happening!
As he skidded around a corner, shoulder to shoulder with Turtle Tail, Gray Wing got his first sight of the den. He halted as sharply as if he had slammed into a wall. The huge den was half hidden in a cloud of dust. Behind the billowing screen Gray Wing spotted a vast monster. Its paws were bigger than he had ever seen before; its sides were a glaring yellow, and it had shiny silver jaws that were steadily chomping into the red stone walls of the den.