Midnight (book)/Epilogue

"[The monster] rammed its shoulder up against an ash tree; the tree shook under the impact, and then, with a shriek like all the prey in the forest dying at once, its roots tore out of the earth. The tree crashed to the ground. The monster rolled on. The destruction of the forest had begun."

— Narrator in Midnight, page 302-303

Midnight (book)
Chapter number:	Epilogue (of 24)
Page numbers:	301-303
Point of View:	Leafpaw
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for the epilogue of Midnight (book). If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: epilogue (of 24)

Page Numbers: 301-303

Chapter Summary

Leafpaw's PoV

The grass parts as Firestar prowls into the open, the sun shining on his pelt. Beside him, Graystripe sniffs suspiciously and comments that it smells foul. Cloudtail and Sandstorm pad up to join them, and Leafpaw turns away from a clump of marigold. Cloudtail complains that his fur reeks after every time he comes there, and Sandstorm rolls her eyes but says nothing. Firestar glances up and down the Thunderpath and notices that there are no monsters in sight, but that the smell is worse than ever. Leafpaw pricks her ears as she adds that she can hear something, and the wind carries a deep-toned roaring sound toward the group of cats that is faint with distance but gradually grows louder. Cloudtail turns to his Clan leader with a puzzled look in his eyes, and the former asks what the source of the sound is. The white warrior also notes that he has never heard it, but his voice trails off and he stands gaping.

Over the rise in the Thunderpath comes the biggest monster that any of the cats have ever seen. Sunlight shines off of its body and its shape ripples in the heat rising from the Thunderpath's surface. The monster's throaty roaring grows louder, and it comes slowly, followed by several others. Twolegs swarm over them, yowling at each other, but their words are drowned out by the roar of the monsters.

Suddenly, the leading monster heads toward the five cats, but instead of going past, it swerves and heads for them. Graystripe asks what is going on as Firestar orders them to scatter. The ginger tom shelters in a clump of bracken while the deputy flees deeper into the forest and turns to stare out from underneath a thornbush. Cloudtail shoots up the nearest tree and gazes down from a fork between two branches. Sandstorm heads into a narrow gully with a trickle of water and the bottom, pausing to look back once reaching the other side, fur bristling in shock and anger. Leafpaw follows her mother and flattens herself in the long grass.

The monster barrels forward, crushing everything in its path, and the ThunderClan cats watch, frozen in horror, as it rams its shoulder up against an ash tree that shakes under the impact. The tree's roots then tear out of the earth with a shriek, and the hardwood crashes to the ground. The monster rolls on, and it is noted that the forest's destruction has begun.

Characters

Major

• Firestar
• Graystripe
• Cloudtail
• Sandstorm
• Leafpaw