Chapter 2

                Minnowstream forced herself to keep walking. Her Clanmates followed behind, except for Ratpaw and Littlepaw, who raced ahead. “Come back!” the silver she-cat shouted. “We don’t know how close the monsters are!”

                Minnowstream did quicken the pace though. She wanted to reach the forest by sunrise tomorrow, which probably would require them to speed up.

                Minnowstream stared in horror as the monsters appeared at the edge of her vision. It was just as Pebblestar had said, except worse. The RiverTree laid on its side in the middle of camp and the bramble thickets and thorn bushes that made up each den except the warriors den had been tossed on top of it. Speaking of the warriors den, the stone wall at one end of the island had been crushed by the monsters’ mighty paws. Now, all that was left of it was a pile of fragments of rock.

                Minnowstream watched helplessly as a monster scooped up some soil with its forepaws and carried it over to the stream. They are trying to get rid of the stream! But why? WHY DO THEIR DUMB HORSES NEED MORE LAND!!!

                “Keep walking, but be cautious and quiet!” Minnowstream hissed.

                The Clan crept onward stealthily, passing through what was left of the stream. It was once a river of great depth, but now it was shallow enough for even Goldenshine’s kits to wade through. The cats continued on through the terrain, with seemed strange and foreign.

                Suddenly, a monster noticed them and spun around with a terrifying snarl, propelling itself towards the frightened cats. The Clan dashed in different directions, diving out of the monster’s path. Fur spiked with fear, Minnowstream leapt to her right, narrowly avoiding being flattened by the beast.

                The silver furred she-cat crouched there, trembling uncontrollably. The monster vanished into the distance. Trying to regain her composure, Minnowstream straightened up and managed to shout shakily, “RiverClan, gather around and should something like this happen again, don’t panic! That only makes the situation worse.”

                Eyes glittering nervously, the cats hesitantly padded towards Minnowstream. She carefully scanned the crowd.

                Willowstorm pushed her way through the crowd and sat down beside her sister. Her posture was calm and she casually licked a forepaw, as if nothing had happened. Only her eyes betrayed the fact that she was as startled as the rest of them. “Have you seen Thistletail?”

                I knew we were missing someone! This is a catastrophe! We can’t afford to lose our medicine cat!

                Minnowstream desperately looked around, hoping to spot the medicine cat. She glanced back in the direction of the old RiverClan camp and saw a reddish-brown tom leisurely making his way towards them. She guessed he had just left the island, judging by the distance between him and the rest of the cats.

                When he finally arrived, Minnowstream shoved her nose in his face. “Where have you been?” she demanded furiously.

                The silver she-cat wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted her. Thistletail looked up. His eyes held a shattered look, their usual confident gleam nowhere to be seen. His tail drooped miserably. “I couldn’t bring myself to leave the camp! It’s destroyed! Everything we ever worked for…utterly demolished!”

                Minnowstream tried to reply, but her voice faltered. She made another attempt. “We’ll find a new home.”

                Thistletail bowed his head as if ashamed. “We didn’t even try to defend our old one! We were ordered to flee! It’s cowardly and cannot be StarClan’s will!”

                Minnowstream didn’t know what to say. Instead, she turned to the Clan, who were just starting to get suspicious. “Let’s continue on towards horse-place!”

                The medicine cat fell in beside her. Minnowstream glanced sideways. “Thistletail, it wouldn’t have been StarClan’s will for us to fight a battle we would never win,” she growled. “They will guide wherever we go.”

                Thistletail didn’t respond. Instead, he stared blankly out at the horizon and Minnowstream wondered if he’d even heard her.

                The Clan continued on for a while. Finally, the massive Twoleg structures of horse-place materialized in the distance. Strangely, Minnowstream felt more comfortable in the maze of Twoleg animal lands than what used to be her own territory.

                Thistletail abruptly paused and gazed at her, eyes clouded with sorrow. “I hope you’re right,” he murmured. “But I fear that Pebblestar’s decision may mean the death of us all.”

                Minnowstream couldn’t take it any longer. She whipped around and glowered at the medicine cat. “Why must you be so pessimistic? You didn’t use to be like this!”

                Thistletail narrowed his eyes. “You don’t understand! StarClan sent me a sign! I saw a river, but the river...it was flowing with blood. And a voice whispered, ‘Before the moon rises in the sky tonight, the cats of the journey will witness death.’ At best, one cat or a few cats will be with StarClan by this evening. At worst, our whole Clan will be wiped out!”

A/N: YAY! Another cliffhanger! :) *Dramatic suspense music starts playing*

Anyhow, what do you think is going to happen? Hope you enjoyed and can't wait to hear your thoughts! :D