Thunder Rising/Chapter 5

Chapter description

 * Thunder and Shattered Ice are running to the edge of the ridge to escape dogs chasing them. Thunder takes a glance over his shoulder and notices Jagged Peaks silhouette in the distance. He exclaims what he is doing so close by, but Shattered Ice tells him they have to pull away the dogs getting closer to the tom. However, as the two cats grew closer to Jagged Peak, Thunder could make out Gray Wing's figure heading for Jagged Peak. Gray Wing hurls himself at the nearest dog as another dog attempts to chase the dark gray tom away.


 * Gray Wing calls out to Thunder and Shattered Ice to help Jagged Peak and the two cats immediately dash for the tom's brother. As Gray Wing finishes off the last of the dogs, Shattered Ice cooly asks Jagged Peak why he is out so far from the camp, but Jagged Peak rasps that he can do what he pleases. Thunder notices that the tabby tom is too exhausted to argue with Shattered Ice and informs him that they can head to camp and hide in their dens.


 * The yelping dogs Gray Wing attacked, return more aggressively and Jagged Peak turns and tells his campmates to leave him so he can finish off the dog pack. Before Thunder could open his jaws, Shattered Ice quickly leaps away from the group of cats and back to camp. Thunder looks back at him fleeing and thinks of him as a coward. Thunder tells Jagged Peak that they will fight the dogs together. He notices flaws in the earth he could use to his advantage while fighting the dogs and immediately pushes Jagged Peak down the hole away from the dogs. The remaining light was covered up by one of the dog's snouts as it excitedly awaits for one of the cats to come closer.


 * Jagged Peak complains about sitting in a rabbit hole instead of fighting the pack of dogs, but as he finishes speaking, Twolegs pull the pack of dogs away from the cats. As Thunder's heartbeat soars, Jagged Peak asks the tom if the dogs are gone. Thunder stays silent as Jagged Peak thanks the tom for helping him fight the animals. Thunder dismisses his actions claiming Gray Wing would have done better than he did.


 * Gray Wing finds the two cats in the rabbit hole and tells them that they are safe, but Jagged Peak doesn't leave the hole. Gray Wing snaps at Thunder for being so far away from camp, but the tom ignores him and asks where Shattered Ice had gone. Thunder informs the older tom that he retreated back to camp. As Gray Wing opens his mouth to protest, a large yowl from a distance cut him off. Thunder notices a large line of cats appearing. Thunder excitedly calls out Shattered Ice's name to Jagged Peak and revokes his statement about the tom being a coward. The gray tabby tom mumbles something to Thunder, but it is muffled by the cat's coughing and dusty voice.


 * Gray Wing takes a quick glance at Thunder and Jagged Peak and quickly tells them to get away from the hole they are near. As Thunder leaps off quickly, Gray Wing anxiously awaits Jagged Peak to leap out after him, but he is buried under the earth alive.