Yellowfang’s Secret полностью

Then a yelp from beyond the fence distracted her. Yellowfang let out a wail of fear when she saw that the cats on the far side of the fence were surrounded. More and more rats had poured out of the pile, too many to fit into the trap. With nowhere to escape, they had turned on the warriors, clawing and biting, and the warriors were badly outnumbered, trapped against the fence while waves of rats crashed over them.

Raggedpelt was the first in his patrol to notice what was happening. “Stop killing!” he yowled. “We have to help the others!”

But the hole in the fence was blocked by terrified rats; Raggedpelt and his cats had to scramble over the silver mesh in a desperate attempt to help their Clanmates.

Yellowfang’s belly clenched as Stonetooth went down with a couple of huge rats clinging to him. More cats rushed to help him, but the swarming rats blocked their way. Cedarstar disappeared under a wave of brown bodies and lashing hairless tails.

“I can’t bear this!” Yellowfang exclaimed. “We can’t just stand here and do nothing!”

Sagewhisker slid out from under the bush and rested a paw on her shoulder. “We have to protect ourselves,” she meowed.

Yellowfang stared at her. “There’s no point if we have to watch all our Clanmates die!”

Shaking off Sagewhisker’s restraining paw, Yellowfang rushed up to the fence and flung herself over it. Just below her a huge rat was attacking Deerleap; Yellowfang leaped straight down on top of it and killed it with a single blow to its neck.

All around her, ShadowClan cats were fighting for their lives. Yellowfang spotted Foxheart battling two rats at once, killing both of them in a whirl of teeth and claws. Nutwhisker and Rowanberry dragged off a rat that had fastened its teeth in Brightflower’s shoulder; then all three cats turned to help Stonetooth to his paws and fend off the rats that were attacking him. Yellowfang felt the gnawing of sharp teeth in her muscles, and concentrated on blocking it out.

She caught a glimpse of Raggedpelt diving into the snarl of rats swarming over Cedarstar. For a heartbeat he vanished, then fought his way up again, dragging Cedarstar with him, his teeth in the Clan leader’s scruff.

“Clear the hole!” he yowled.

Yellowfang, Archeye, and Mudclaw fought their way through the battling rats to the hole in the fence. Yellowfang felt a savage satisfaction as she sank her claws into rat after rat and hurled them out of the way. Her warrior training flooded back and she focused on nothing but slicing and slashing, feeling warm bodies split beneath her claws.

Fighting together, the three cats managed to clear the hole so that Raggedpelt could pull Cedarstar through. Brightflower followed with a feebly staggering Stonetooth. Shoulder-to-shoulder with her Clanmates, Yellowfang fought the rats off, keeping them away from the hole so that the rest of her Clan could struggle through.

When the last cat was out, Foxheart and Mudclaw pushed the branches of the barrier up against the hole to block the rats inside, though some of them were already starting to squeeze through the mesh into ShadowClan territory.

“Back to the camp!” Raggedpelt screeched.

The cats fled, the stronger warriors helping the ones who were badly injured. Yellowfang spotted Sagewhisker fleeing with them, abandoning the herbs they had brought, and raced to catch up.

Yellowfang paused for breath, taking a moment to control the pain she felt from her Clanmates. Around her the camp was in chaos; injured warriors lay everywhere in the clearing. Her mouth was flooded with the taste of bitter herbs. She knew she had to eke out the remaining stocks as sparingly as she could, for so little was left.

I wish we hadn’t had to leave so much under that holly bush.

Two warriors in particular worried Yellowfang: Stonetooth, who had been bitten badly on his hind leg, and Hollyflower, who had a bite in her neck. She wanted to consult Sagewhisker, but the medicine cat had vanished with Cedarstar into his den, and hadn’t yet reappeared.

Eventually Sagewhisker emerged from among the oak roots, looking somber, and padded over to Yellowfang. “Cedarstar has lost a life,” she reported quietly. “It was hard, but he’s recovering now.”

Yellowfang’s eyes widened in shock. She had never known the Clan leader to lose a life before. “How many lives does he have left?” she asked.

“One,” Sagewhisker replied, her eyes darkening with worry. “But keep that to yourself. Only medicine cats know how many lives the Clan leader has.”

Yellowfang nodded.

“What about the other cats?” Sagewhisker prompted. “Let me see what you’ve done.”

Yellowfang led her around the clearing, showing her the poultices she had applied, the wounds covered in cobweb, and told her which cats had been given poppy seeds for the pain.