The Tests: Test 2

The Tests: Test 2

### Characters Present

Harnor, Dune, Sunny, Frostsong, Feather, Quintessa, Wren, Black Bird, Eclipse, Luana, Echo, Snow, Rattlesnake, Pebble, Cobweb, Frost, Storm, Marina, Fringe, Thunder, Tawny, Palm, Chao, Wildflower, Fini, Leaf, Stemwhisker, Tornheart, Caspian, Dusk, Leafy, Tess

### Important Events

Tawny and Thunder meet, Scratchwind dies, Scratchwind is revived, Tornheart, Caspian, Dusk, and Leafy die, Wren betrays the cats

**Test 2** is an episode in *The Tests*.

## **The Tests: Test 2 (The Run)**

Harnor tucked in his blood-red wings and stooped down, his green eyes glinting in the sun. The black stone around his neck seemed to glow as he flew over the cats, brushing his wing-tips across their heads. He spiralled up in the air and then landed in front of the massive crowd of cats. “Well, I see you’ve all enjoyed acquainting with cats old and new.” He glanced at a dark brown she-cat and a white-and-gray tom who kept sending death glares at each other.

Dune unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth at Harnor.

Harnor simply smirked. “Now to business,” he purred. “The second Test is about to begin.” He opened up his wings and lifted himself into the air, then dived down to the ground, claws outstretched. He smashed into the ground, causing crevices to appear in the rocks. Dust flew up into the air, and then a strange glow appeared in the sky. “When the glow stops, the ground will fall,” he laughed. “And you will die.” He lifted himself up in the air and was gone. “Let Test Two begin. . .”

Sunny ran, careful not to step on any cracks or crevices.

Dune sprinted over the rocks, his paws sore from the stone. He saw a large crack in the rocks and jumped over, his paws only just landing on the other side. Small rocks scattered across the ground. “Hey, Sunny,” he cried. He had quite taken to the small golden she-cat after he had saved her in the water cave. “Have you seen Feather around anywhere?” he asked. He hadn’t seen the beautiful gray she-cat for a while now, and was looking out for her face in the crowd. He slowed down to match Sunny’s pace, but he was beginning to tire from his jump and the amount of sprinting.

“No,” Sunny mewed. “No, I haven’t. Sorry. I’ll tell you if I see her!” She kept running quickly but carefully, keeping her small paws light on the ground. She slowed down after running for hours, walking steadily.

Frostsong thought about it quickly. As she thought, she ran, careful not to step on crevices or cracks. I have to run at least two miles every day in order to be able to make it there at a reasonable pace. *My goal: catch up with Sunny and Dune. I can’t lose this. I can’t lose everything again.* Her thoughts made her run faster. Tears began streaming down her cheeks, but she quickly shook them off and ran even faster. She panted heavily. She was very tired. Slowing down, she started traveling at a fast walk instead of a run. “I have . . . to keep . . .  going!” she panted. She had been running for hours and it was getting to her. She collapsed and gave into sleep.

Feather looked around the cats, in search of Dune while keeping up a fast pace. She was fast, but she didn’t have much stamina. She slowed down and trotted instead. She spotted Dune and went over to him, picking up the pace. “Dune!” Suddenly, she saw a huge chasm ahead and screeched, “Slow down!”

Dune heard a cry from behind him — it was Feather! He sprinted back to her, worn out from his run earlier. She was faced with a huge chasm and was looking petrified on the other side. “Jump!” he cried. “I’ll catch you!”

Quintessa hurried, absolutely *not* wanting to die. She felt the earth crack at her feet and had to leap into the air over the collapsing ground. She looked around, and following the other cats, ran for her life. She heard shrieking, horrible sounds of cats falling, and pressed her ears to her head, hoping to keep out the cruel sounds of death. She gazed at all the cats running for their lives. She saw one cat — the same one who had approached her and faked an attack at her — race to help another. She saw the others desperately trying to live. *This isn’t right,* she thought, feeling her energy deplete. *All these cats worked hard to live — to survive, even — and now Harnor can just take it away from them. It’s all a game he’s playing with us, picking us off one by one until only one will remain. And he doesn’t even care that some of us will die. He was just bored one day and said, “I know! I’ll get some mortal cats so I can play with them!”* She looked down, then realized the ground underneath her was collapsing. She quickly ran, not caring that she was hungry or thirsty. All she needed was to live. And that was what she was going to do.

Wren started walking along, quite careful to save her energy. She had never really run much, so she was not at all prepared for this. As her brother disappeared into the distance, she gulped. She didn’t want to lose him again, and she didn’t think he would cope well to even more loss in his life. She looked out for Luana — she didn’t know why, but she really liked the black she-cat, and she really needed some support to get through this.

Black Bird tried to keep up with Eclipse, who was a faster runner than almost everyone there. That fact was proved in the caves. But he was fast also, and stayed about a kilometer behind her.

Eclipse began to have second thoughts. She was starting to get tired, half or more of her energy gone, and she slowed down.

Black Bird hated being separated from his sister, but he was well behind her.

Eclipse panted and wondered how far the other cats were. She was lonely; she hated being alone. She secretly hoped Wren had made it as far, but she hid it far down from herself. She pushed and pushed when she eventually collapsed. Not having enough energy to continue sprinting, she slowed to a walk and eventually stopped. She was, after all, pretty far from the beginning. But she pushed down the tiredness and continued running. She stumbled, her energy lost. She didn’t have much farther to go, but she had sprinted all the way. She had to keep moving, though. So she walked, walked, and walked. She looked behind her to see if Black Bird had caught up, but saw nothing. That was before she saw Wren’s body. Or she thought she did. She was exhausted. So she stopped for the cat to catch up with her.

Black Bird regained the energy to keep going and sprinted forward, only to stop. The ground opened up, but not far enough to stop him. He jumped over almost perfectly, except he lost his back footing and slipped a bit. Then he scrambled up and edged away, as he didn’t want to die.

Wren saw how far in the distance that stubborn furball Eclipse was, and she started to panic. She began to run.

As Wren passed Dune, his eyes widened; he had never seen her run much before.

Wren hoped Luana would catch up; she wasn’t far from the start, and she was pretty sure Luana was fast.

Luana switched between trotting quickly and running, desperately wanting to catch up to Wren. She was nervous and worried about the pretty she-cat. Finally, she caught up to her. “Wren!” she purred.

Echo slipped through the shadows, her paws instinctively carrying her as fast as they could through the land. She could hear the distant rumbling of crumbling earth and shrieking cats.

Snow looked around and her eyes widened in alarm at Harnor’s words. She took off running, looking around for any other cats in case they needed help. She cursed herself silently and just ran, ignoring the cats around her. She leaped over a rock, but didn’t slow down. She knew she would tire soon, but didn’t stop.

Rattlesnake was cowering when a beautiful she-cat pushed him forward.

“No one will die on my watch!” Pebble exclaimed. She pushed forward, Rattlesnake at her side.

Rattlenake was propelled by fear, Pebble by excitement. They felt ground crack and crumble below their feet, and they tried to run faster.

Pebble was fine, but Rattlesnake was falling behind. He let out a small yelp as the rocks below his paws came loose, and he jumped.

Pebble grabbed the smaller cat by the scruff and yanked him away.

Rattlesnake and Pebble were running faster than ever. Both of them kept going, now caught up with each other.

Snow dashed past a she-cat, but came to a walk. She was tired — she had to stop, but she couldn’t. Her life was at stake. She decided to keep traveling, but walked for a while.

Thunder smiled. This was what he was meant for. Ever since he was a kit, he had been the most energetic and the fastest of his litter. Fuzz often joked and called him a cheetah. He stretched as he watched the other cats speed past. He didn’t want any cramps while he ran. He took a quick drink and ran — ran faster than he had ever run before. He swiftly leaped over cracks and around holes in the ground.

Cobweb flexed her claws. “Stupid furball!” she hissed as she ran quickly. She was good at running, she enjoyed it a lot, and it was one of her favorite pastimes — that and climbing trees. She sprinted across the ground, kicking the dirt from behind her. *A little faster!* she thought as she clawed her way forward, trying to block out the shrieks in the air. *I can do this!* she thought as she jumped a rock and climbed up a steep ledge and ran faster, her heart breaking at every screech that filled the air. *I was a medicine cat; I’m supposed to help!* she thought. *I can’t go back, not now!* She flung herself down a hill, running as fast as her paws allowed her to. The sound of the earth crumbling terrified her. Since her brother’s death, she had hated being on loose ground; it reminded her too much of him. “It’s a miracle if I live through this,” she muttered as she ran, too scared to stop in fear of death.

Frost, like the curious she-cat she was, wandered around, exploring the cave-like place, taking a sip of water from a stream, playing with the flower on her tail, and eventually working on running. She ran for about twenty minutes and got tired. She took a break and walked and had some more water.

Storm panted, carefully trotting over to a nearby creek to lap up water. She could feel her younger sister Marina’s fur pressed against her own.

Fringe sprinted down the path, knowing she would be able to keep the pace for a while yet. The strange glow still hung in the sky, so she knew she had plenty of time. Hours later, she struggled to keep pace. Her tail sketched lines in the dust behind her. Suddenly, her legs collapsed and she tumbled to the ground, exhausted. “No. . .” she murmured. “Have to — keep — going—” she panted, trying to get up. With a long sigh, she flopped back down, giving into sleep.

Thunder continued to run until he saw a she-cat sleeping on the ground. *She’s going to get herself killed!* he thought. He ran up beside her. “Wake up!” he yelled, nudging her.

Tawny raced forward. Her paws pounded hard on the rocks. She was very fast, but this was some competition. Bounding over the stones and slowing at narrow crevices, she bolted through the long rock walls. Echoes of other cats’ voices and footsteps rang through the walls, giving off a very sinister environment to the caves. She pushed on, trying to ignore the creepy breeze that tingled the end of her fur, then came to a crack. She leaped over it with ease — her legs were made for jumping and running — but as she leapt over, she collided with a rock. Her leg throbbed, but she pushed on again. She came face-to-face with another gap a lot bigger than the first one. There was only one other way, but it was almost fully blocked with rocks. She was thin enough to fit through, but didn’t want to risk her life when she could jump. Bunching her muscles, she leaped over. But due to her injured leg, she slipped. “Help me!” she gasped, though she was sure that no cat would be near enough to save her. *This is my end,* she thought. But then pawsteps sounded above her. She looked up to see a tom staring down at her. “Please!”

Palm saw the crevices before him and sprinted, leaping over the gaps. His paws drummed against the rocky ground, but he didn’t notice, he was so scared. Oh, why had he joined the Tests? He was happy before he came here. The palm branch in his ear hung heavy, reminding him of his losses. Dragon, the bright ginger she-cat. Diamond, the blue, gray, and cream tom. *Twelve marks for twelve friends,* he thought as his paws hit the ground. With each step, he felt the palm earring. He repeated the names under his breath. “Dragon, Diamond, Jarminbal, Cobra, Mirage, Lmanamly, Wolf, Jarbil, Stormfrost, Quixgee, Kuvibac-Fox, Goldenshade.” He didn’t realize how fast he had gone until he stopped for breath.

Chao wasn’t built for strength; he was made to run long distances. He took off as soon as Harnor left. He had had just enough time to get on his paws before the Test started. Just his luck to arrive when he did. He slowed down to a walk, exhausted after his desperate charge to safety. Despite the fact that he could die very soon, he still needed to eat and rest. He decided to hunt on the way toward the finish. There was no time to lose. The others were much farther ahead. He ran over rocks and grass and got as far as possible from the start. He could almost feel the ground giving way behind him . . . or maybe it was his imagination. . . He gasped for air. He was very far, though he didn’t know how far and was unsure of the distance left to travel. Instinct told him to run, reason told him to rest. He continued his pace until he couldn’t go on. This was how he handled these situations. He made instinct become reasonable and vice versa. His eyes were bleary as he collapsed next to a rock and closed his eyes until exhaustion overcame his mind and led him into a mercifully dreamless sleep. He sleepwalked a kilometer. He was falling. He hadn’t covered enough ground, had he? How could he have been so mouse-brained? He had been so careful! Well, apparently not. This was it. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he fell toward the ground. He shouldn’t have come. He had been too eager to prove himself. “I came here for the wrong reasons,” he realized, speaking the words out loud before pain overcame every one of his senses and the earth below broke nothing but his fall.

Frostsong woke up to the feeling the ground below her was swaying. Driven by fear, she sprinted ahead, not wanting to die. After a while, she slowed and hunted and drank some water near a small puddle. Suddenly, the ground before her began to split open. *W-what’s going on?* Gulping down the rest of her mouse, she leaped over the enlarging crack. She made it to the other side, her paws scrabbling at the rocks. She painted heavily. *That was so scary!* She started to walk casually, careful to avoid cracks and crevices. I have a lot of time left. No rush.

Wildflower found themself on the edge of the ground falling apart beneath them. They hurried their pace so they wouldn’t be so far behind. How were they supposed to win when they were already behind by this much? They found a stream as the sun was going down and stopped to hunt and drink, then rest.

Day one had ended. The first five hundred yards of the ground had collapsed.

Some cats had to cling on for dear life.

Feather took a step back. “It’s too far!” She looked down the chasm. She couldn’t see the bottom of it. Then she looked to the other side, where Dune was standing. It looked about ten fox-lengths long. She quickly thought out an idea. “I can see a narrow spot over there!” She pointed her tail further left. “What if . . . I go over there? It’s still a bit wide, but I can jump that far!” She trotted to the narrow part, careful to save her energy. She took fifteen steps back, sprinted, and leapt over, rolling in the dusty dirt. She panted.

Pebble and Rattlesnake carried on.

The wounds in Pebble’s paws were opening up once again. They were getting harder to handle, running once again over rock and cut stone to escape something horrible. So they pushed on.

Rattlesnake stopped for a breather, though, since he was so unused to running. You never had to run this fast in the desert!

Dune saw cats appear in front of him, and worried that they would fall off the edge, he nudged Feather and began to sprint towards the cats. His paws hurt, but he thought, *I would rather survive with aching paws than die but have perfectly soft, delicate pads.*

 Feather dragged her paws after Dune. “Dune,” she puffed, “I can’t . . . keep . . . going. We should . . . stop and . . . rest.” She sat down and started licking her sore paws. “We’ve gotten . . . far enough.”

Pebble didn’t see the edge, wherever it was. Her paws tried to stop as she saw a tom, but a small rock had gotten into one of the opening wounds and she yelped with pain. That was when she slipped and fell next to the edge. Her claws scraped against rock, but she couldn’t get a hold on anything.

As Pebble slipped through, Rattlesnake grabbed onto her scruff and tried to pull her up.

The young tom wasn’t anywhere near strong enough, though, so Pebble just dangled over the edge.

Tawny looked up at the tom. “Please!” she repeated. She looked down at her flailing hind legs and then back up. She gave a hiss and kicked her legs. She gave a gasp of relief as her paws found holds. Finally getting a grip on them, she hauled herself up to the ground. “Thanks a lot,” she muttered. Thinking quickly, she looked the tom in the eyes. “We need to go . . . now!” Without checking if the tom had followed, she raced forward, her paws scraping off of rocks. Some rain dripped down from the caves and onto her face. She panted hard, her eyes narrowed as she ran, turning corners and jumping gaps. She raced on and on until she thought that she had run the world. She really didn’t know how far she had run, and wouldn’t know if she tried. She gasped for air and kept running. *Will I ever make it out of here?* she thought, shaking her head as she ran, her vision a blur. Then she heard a noise. Not bothering to turn back, she pelted forward. The sight of cats running for their life gave her more strength. This was their lives — how could they turn back now? Even if they didn’t pass the Tests, they would be heroes back at their homes. She shook her head, angry with herself. This wasn’t for fame! This was their chance to prove themselves. She thought back to when she had almost fallen to her death at that gap. That was a terrible feeling. But that could have been any cat — which meant they all had to be on each other’s side, which was something she would never admit; she worked alone. She felt so free — like a cat in the stories the older rogues used to tell — as she ran with the others over rocks and crates. She would surely be at the end by tomorrow . . . but a thought stirred her mind: would she?

Thunder ran at a pace as steady as possible with the unstable ground. He had been running for about an hour when the ground cracked in front of him, tripping him. His paw hurt and he had to run slower.

After ages and ages of running, Tawny felt like she would collapse. She felt dizzy and the corners of her eyes seemed clouded. She gasped for breath and sat down. She had no energy left. *I should have hunted earlier on! When I had time! But instead, I kept running and running until. . .* She shook her head. She had to keep going. Voices of two tired cats sounded up ahead. She knew a lot about herbs, and she had vowed to help any cat she saw, but she had a feeling that she was almost at the end. She decided not to help them. But as she passed by, she felt a pang of sympathy for them. Shaking her head again, she pushed on, not before shooting the cats a sorry glance — but they didn’t notice her. She ran and ran and ran until she couldn’t feel her paws. She must have reached the end by now! Hadn’t she? But there were no cats around. She ran forever — or at least, it felt like forever — and occasionally hunted small pieces of prey to keep her on her weary paws. *Just a bit more. . .* she thought, her paws pounding hard off of rocks. She heard the sound of a cat up ahead again. This time, it was only one: a tom. She sighed and bolted forward. She usually wasn’t friendly, but this cat looked strong, a cat that might be a useful ally soon. . . “Hello,” she mewed coldly, not wanting to make the cat feel that she was kind. “Who are you? I haven’t got many allies right now. . .”

Echo ran until she couldn’t feel her paws touching the ground beneath her. Her breaths came in short gasps. How long could she manage this? *Think about Mother and Father. Think about Lark.*

Fini quickly dashed two kilometers from the start in a day, desperate to reach the end. Her breaths she took were quite deep, and as drowsiness began to dawn on her, she decided to get some rest, but she vowed to run even faster and work even harder.

Frost stopped and walked for a little while, and started to prance around a little instead of walking. She wondered if any other cats were nearby. The only cats she had seen were ahead of her. “Hello?” she called out, to see if anyone would want to talk with her. She heard a loud crumble behind her, and ran as fast as she could for a good three hours, then took a break to hunt and drink. Then she took a little while to sleep, and then ran even more.

Sunny took a deep breath and jumped over the chasm, her paws scrabbling on the rock. She climbed to the top of the chasm, glad to have made it. She sniffed the air, looking for a sign of prey. She ate a small vole as well as a thrush, rested for a bit, and then went back to running. She ran for a mile before stopping to rest, then hurried on.

Fringe shot to her feet, gasping awake. “Ugh, nightmares again,” she groaned. “Better keep going.” There weren’t any other cats around, so she started off, deciding to walk. *I probably have plenty of time. . .* Less than an hour later, she stopped by a stream to hunt and eat. After a day of resting at the stream, she kept going until she reached what looked to be the end of the road. She glanced around, worried. Had none of the others reached the end yet?

Cobweb panted as she slowed to a jog. She looked back to see cats sleeping. “I’m not giving in!” she muttered as she kept going. She yawned and panted; she had been jogging for hours. She looked to her right to see a pool and graciously lapped at the precious drops. She then sat down for a few minutes before she started jogging again, regaining some of her energy from her rest. Her paws itched to run, but she saved her energy. She looked up to see the strange glow and sighed. *I’ve got to make it,* she thought as she jogged, ignoring her growling stomach and aching paws.

Storm sighed. She and Marina had gotten a good few yards ahead of the others — at least, she thought so, as they had travelled through the night. She silently hoped for the safety of the other cats. “Come on,” she mewed to Marina. “Let’s continue on.”

“Can we catch up with another cat? I want to get to know the others,” Marina replied.

“Fine,” Storm mewed. “We’ll see if we meet them.”

Marina panted heavily. She really just wanted to meet some of the other cats, as Storm and her hadn’t really gotten the chance to during the first Wait and first Test. However, Storm seemed fixed on just getting through it. “Stormy,” she called. “I smell some cats. We still have three days — can we please meet up with them? We never got the chance last time.”

“Fine,” Storm replied.

Quintessa felt her paws ache. “Have to . . . keep . . . going. . .” she murmured, dragging herself. She felt pushed; pushed to the limit of her abilities and more. She felt as if she would pass out. She looked around desperately, looking for something to eat. She saw the dead carcass of a mouse and quickly gobbled it up. Feeling slightly regenerated, she started quick-walking, as she called it. She felt a burst of energy and suddenly felt herself run faster and faster. However, once she had run about a kilometer, she felt all her energy burn out. She passed out.

Chao was dead. He had to be. There was no way that a cat could feel this much pain. As he thought about it, he reasoned that he wouldn’t feel pain if he was dead, would he? He told himself to get up, to look around. But lifting his head was about as hard as lifting the crumbling ground around him. He assessed his situation. There was water in a puddle a few tail-lengths from him, but he would have to reach it. He would try that later. The only thing he was good for at the moment was thinking. He had no idea how he had fallen into a gap. He had woken up falling. He supposed he should worry about that later. He had accepted Harnor’s invitation because he wanted to finally be accepted by other cats. Because he had ambition. Now he was lying at the bottom of a pit that he had fallen into for reasons unknown, unable to move. He was certainly seen as a weakling. He sighed; he was a long way from any comfortable place. He hoped that everyone here would make it out of Harnor’s little game alive. He vowed he would change who he was if he made it out. Though he supposed he would have no choice.

Palm sprinted forward, his paws hitting the ground, making the sores even worse. “Dragon, Diamond, Jarminbal, Cobra, Mirage, Lmanamly, Wolf, Jarbil, Stormfrost, Quixgee, Kuvibac-Fox, Goldenshade,” he whispered under his breath, and so lost in his past, he nearly fell down a crevice. “Woah,” he cried. Then he saw a bright white tom at the bottom of the crevice. “Are you okay?” He swished his tail. Of course the tom wasn’t okay — there was loads of blood on the ground. “I’ll get you out,” he mewed. “I promise. I’m not losing another cat.” This massive rocky gap reminded him of Jarbil; other cats had told him that the sandy tom had fallen down into a chasm while travelling alone. He grabbed a long branch and stuck it down the gap, and shouted down at the tom, “Grab this!”

Chao reached up with his teeth and grasped the branch. He pushed himself up with his back legs to find that one was broken. He almost dropped the stick, but just managed to cling to his only chance to get to safety. He took as deep a breath as he could and began his climb. He pulled himself out of the gap with a pull that left him completely drained of energy. “Thanks. I didn’t think I would ever get out of there,” he said in between gulps of air.

Luana ran harder than before. *I have to find Wren.* While the chances of seeing the she-cat seemed slim, she continued running in hope of a miracle.

Wren turned around to see Luana running towards her. She paused for breath and then shouted back to her, “Luana, I’m here!” Her breath was short, but she managed to shout quite loud. She thought that the black she-cat heard her, but she wasn’t sure.

Snow paused and looked behind her in horror to the part of the ground collapsing. She raced ahead, now full of unleashed energy, leaping over cracks as she went.

Black Bird raced towards Eclipse, seeing her now once again.

Eclipse staggered, as now the smaller cat was heavier than herself. She had made plans not to eat until she was done, and she had been running for some time now.

Black Bird and Eclipse set off together when they reached what seemed to be a finish line, and stopped for the last time.

Cobweb then tripped over a bramble bush and sprained her paw. She yowled in pain. “StarClan-forsaken brambles!” she hissed in annoyance. She tried to get up, but she fell back down. “I’m so close!” she meowed as she saw cats gather in a group nearby. She gritted her teeth as she limped towards the cats, fighting back a screech of pain at every step. She collapsed when she had crossed the finish line. She looked around for herbs and found a few that would help. She limped over to them and chewed them up. The pain instantly eased away and she stalked towards a mouse. She pounced, giving it a swift blow on the neck before sitting down to enjoy her catch.

The second day had ended. Several miles of the ground had fallen.

Snow slowly stopped, now exhausted. She quickly hunted and began to walk slowly, trying to get her energy back after her run. She had been running for what seemed like moons. She could see the finish line. She purred, her heart racing, putting on an extra burst of speed.

Frostsong ran across the plain. The first cats had died. It was dangerous now. But she was so tired! *It won’t hurt to sleep a bit. . .*

Leaf woke up at moonhigh feeling refreshed, and got back to running. She ran through the dawn, although by sunhigh, she began to feel tired. *No . . . I can’t stop. I can’t get killed,* she thought and kept running. She pushed through her growing exhaustion, determined to get to the end. “I can do this . . . I can do this,” she muttered to herself. Suddenly, she spotted two she-cats walking side-by-side. It was the first she had seen any cats on the trail. *Am I that behind?* She ran up to the cats, even though it hurt so much. “Hi . . . I’m Leaf . . . do you mind if I walk with you for a bit?” she asked wearily. She hoped that she could. She didn’t usually talk to cats, but these Tests were changing her. Hopefully she could stand up for cats at the end of all of it. . . *If I’m still alive,* she thought darkly.

“Yes!” Storm replied, a bit concerned for the obviously overworked she-cat.

“Hey!” Marina greeted her. “I’m Marina, and this is my older sister Storm. Well, her full name is Stormy Skies, but call her Storm.”

Storm gave the new she-cat a smile. “Leaf, right? We were just going to jog to a stream for some water before we start running again, and you’re welcome to join us.”

Quintessa woke up, dazed. *Where am I?* she thought groggily. She fought to get up, wavering around before finally getting a grip and standing fully upright. *Ugh, this is heaven? Am I dead? Hopefully not.* She looked around. *Nope. I feel hungry, and you can’t be hungry in heaven.* She looked around and saw a weak, crippled raven. She tried to pounce and managed to catch it. She quickly consumed the measly prey and felt a lot better. She got up and walked for about thirty minutes, where she stopped to rest.

Storm and Marina eventually left Leaf and continued at a steady jog, stopping only twice that afternoon for breaks.

“Marina!” Storm called. “I think I see a cat!”

Marina and Storm headed over to the cat.

Quintessa turned and saw two other cats coming up to her. She contemplated what to do. *Now, they* could *be trying to kill me,* or *they could be innocent. Eh, doesn’t matter if they’re either, since I’m already half-dead anyway.* She let the two cats come closer, and on closer examination, she thought they seemed friendly enough. “Hello,” she said, glancing around. She continued walking slowly so the other cats could catch up, but still moving.

Storm and Marina jogged over to the cat.

“Hey,” Storm greeted.

Marina introduced herself and Storm before asking, “What are the other cats like?”

Frostsong woke up to see three cats a little bit behind her. *They don’t seem too bad,* she thought. *I’ll wait for them here and hunt for a while. They might talk about something useful.*

Quintessa noticed a cat in front of her, Marina, and Storm. *Oh,* she thought happily. *It’s that she-cat named Frostsong!* She realized that she hadn’t answered Storm and Marina’s question. She turned back to the duo. “Most of the cats are nice — that I’ve met,” she replied. “Except for one; his name is Dune. You better not bother him, though I think he personally just has anger issues.” She then nodded towards Frostsong and said, “Let’s go over there. I know that cat and she’s good.” She started walking towards Frostsong.

“Alright, then. Wait — do we have to kill cats in the Tests?” Marina asked.

Storm and Marina approached Frostsong.

Chao realized that he didn’t know this cat’s name. “My name is Chao. What’s yours?” He walked.

“Hey, Chao,” Palm mewed. “I’m Palm. I feel like we should try to catch up with the other cats — are you okay to run?” He took off, repeating the names of his friends in his head. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought about each death, especially Dragon, who had been the first. He shook the tears away.

Chao was glad to catch up with the others. “I think I can make it,” he said to his new ally.

At about seven and a half miles, Rattlesnake tried to pull the young adult she-cat, Pebble, to safety. If he failed, they would both die. But he couldn’t do it alone. He whispered a prayer and heaved upwards once again.

“Hi! I’m Thunder!” Thunder said happily to Tawny, slowing a bit more to talk.

Tawny looked him in the eyes. She dipped her head. “It’s good to talk to some cat like you,” she meowed. “Where are you from? Were you a rogue too?” She liked this cat’s personality and was glad to have him beside her. “We should finish this together. I — I never thought I would say this, but it’s good to have some company.” She winced at her friendliness. She had vowed never to get close to another cat after her last two best friends — Ashclaw, who’d had to leave, and Luca, the rogue who had convinced her to make a home outside of her kittypet nest. Luca had been her closest friend, and he had died while she had gone to live with the Clans. Instantly, grief took over her. She tried her hardest to hide it, hoping that Thunder wouldn’t realize.

“Sure! It gets lonely around here with no one to talk to,” Thunder said, excited to have a friend. “I lived with my mother, littermates, a few other cats, and Fuzz. Are you okay? You seem sad.” Living in a group made him good at sensing emotions.

“Oh, I’m. . .” Tawny shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I’m fine.” A friend . . . Thunder had called her a friend. Something she hadn’t been called since Ashclaw. And before that, Luca. She hissed at herself on the inside. She had just cleared those thoughts! “It does get lonely. You’re the first cat I’ve talked to in these caves. I — wait, what’s that?!” she gasped, starting to panic. “I think the ground is falling. But it’s quite a bit behind us. Either way, we have to move! Come on, let’s finish this thing!” She stared into Thunder’s yellow eyes, then bolted forward. *A friend. . .*

Frost decided that this was a good place to take a rest, as she hasn’t really slept yet, and seven miles should be a good place to stop. She slept almost what she thought was all day, ate a finch, and drank some water. She ran for a little while and she was a little lonely, but she was okay with that for now. She thought she would have to get to know somebody, because otherwise, she would be lonely the entire time. She looked around for other cats and didn’t see anyone else, so she just walked for a while longer.

Fringe paced back and forth. *How much longer is this going to last? I haven’t seen any cat since the race started. . .* She flopped down on her belly. “Might as well get some sleep,” she muttered. Soon she was snoring softly and dreaming of her sister.

The next two days were a little more challenging for Fini, but eventually, she almost tripped off a distant crevice. She had run five more miles, each step pulling her farther from the start. She instantly flopped over after she backed away from the ravine, taking a few moments to relax her muscles and lungs after the long, exhausting run. A finch lay on the ground. The run had actually made her not notice the rumble in her stomach, but now she felt it and it was extremely painful. Although the bird could be crow-food and probably wouldn’t do much, she didn’t hesitate to take bites out of the dead creature. After she had stripped the finch of its meat, only its bones remained. Now she felt normal and less hot and ready to reach the other side. A part of the black she-cat thought that she would fall and become one of the deceased, but she had no choice but to keep going. So she backed up a couple of steps and dashed and leapt off the edge, giving an extremely powerful jump to the other side.

Feather laid down. Her paws ached so much. They hurt so much that they hardly moved. She panted and licked her paw, which had cuts in it. She noticed her growling belly and tried to stand up to look for prey. “Dune,” she meowed, “I’m going hunting.” She stalked a mouse, pounced, and caught it. She turned around to find Dune, but she forgot where she came from. She sniffed the air, but couldn’t pick up a trace of her scent. “Well, I guess I’ll just go the rest of the way alone,” she muttered. She ate quickly, licked her paws, and started galloping towards the finish. She leapt over crevices. After a long run, she slowed, then stopped her pace completely. Her wound had opened up again and was bleeding. She sat down, putting her paw on some soft, flattened grass. Her body was screaming to stop. *No! I can make it today if I walk.* After a last lick, she limped some way until she felt like laying down again.

Dune saw Feather vanish off into the distance. *I think she’s finished,* he thought. He ran at full speed, jumping over crevices like they were tiny. Then, when he saw Feather wasn’t at the finish line, he was going so fast that he had to skid to a halt about a hundred yards in front of her.

Echo leaped across the crevices, her energy draining away slowly by the minute. She had hungrily devoured a small rabbit a few hours ago, but once again, exhaustion was beginning to overcome her. And then she could feel her paw slip as she flailed desperately. As she glanced down, she realized it was trapped in a thinly-slit crack. *No.* “Help!” she cried, pulling at her leg. She already felt like she was the young kit she had been a long time ago, abandoned in the frosted, dusty hollow of the ancient oak tree. She remembered her wails for help and the fact that no one had come to her rescue all those moons ago. *I can’t be left alone again. Please.*

Pebble got her paw into a small crag. She was still too heavy and she hoped some cat would come help him.

Rattlesnake hoped not, for he wanted to impress the she-cat by getting her up on his own. He knew that would not happen, though, seeing as he was young and she was almost-full grown and very well-fed.

Wildflower ran through the night while it was cool. They jumped across most of the cracks in the ground, only stumbling on a few. They stopped to sniff at some flowers at one point. They had seen nobody else so far, which felt strange to them. Were they even going in the right direction? They had been running for a while when they saw a cat on the horizon. As they neared, they saw that the young tom was accompanied by half of a female cat. *Then* they realized that the she-cat was stuck in the ground. The young tom seemed to be having trouble helping the she-cat, who looked older. “Hello,” they called tentatively. Perhaps this was a bad idea. What if they killed them on the spot? This was about becoming a god, was it not? And it could be a trap — then they would be alone in a two-on-one fight. But they couldn’t stand not helping a cat in need after what happened to their family. Plus, they had already notified the other cats of their presence. Finally, they called out, louder this time, “Would you like some help?”

Pebble heard a cat run up and start talking. She yowled, rather annoyed that she was barely above ground, “Yes! I’m kind of *dangling* here!” Then she added, “Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude. Just, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to *die*.”

Wildflower was glad that these cats weren’t about to kill them. For now, at least. But in a test to become a god, all comrades were precious. Right? They grabbed the she-cat’s flank, which was as far down as they could reach, and started tugging. *Please don’t die,* they thought. *Don’t kill me either.*

“Thank you so much!” Pebble said to Wildflower.

Then, as if one, Pebble and Rattlesnake jumped the crevice and landed on the other side. Then, a few hours later, they finished.

Pebble tried to dig out the small rock in her paw, but wasn’t able to, so they just sat and rested together.

Day three had ended. Out of pity, Harnor had revived Scratchwind, one of the cats who had died.

Stemwhisker was walking through the woods when he stumbled upon a she-cat. *What should I do?* he asked himself. He decided to approach her.

Thunder nodded, taking off at full speed after Tawny. He didn’t stop until they reached the end.

Stemwhisker followed Thunder, struggling to keep up. He kept running, praying that he would make it to the end without collapsing. He leaped across the finish line, silently applauding himself.

Sunny kept running before stopping to rest and eat. She then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Fini amazingly made it through the horrifying jump, and it was time to go on. *Just three more miles left,* she reminded herself, driving her pride and ambition up a notch. Then, to her horror, the ground rumbled, splitting open! But luckily, she made it once more. Now fear was straining in her mind and her heart was pounding with shock and surprise. So to get this over with — and hopefully not experience the ground crack again — she used most of her speed to force her legs to go faster, running a yard only because she frequently now needed to stop to rest. Since the incident, she was more careful and often watched the ground for fractures. She knew that she was almost at the end, so without hesitation, she dashed at a quick but fair pace. This was the way to go, the way to maintain the finish line the quickest. Wildly, the she-cat’s heart thundered in her ribcage, scared of another ground-fracture and exhausted from the running, but forced to go on. After this Test, she could rest and find something to eat. After many, many, many moments, she could see the end of the line. Finally — what she was waiting for. Now she stopped running and limped step by step to the finish. Now her heart skipped actually knowing that she had made it this far. *Time for some well-deserved rest.*

“I’ll see you at the end!” Palm called out to Chao before sprinting off. He was worried about making more friends; he didn’t want any more scratches on his palm branch. He ran for quite a way until his paws hurt so badly that he had to collapse on the ground. A wind blew around his paws. It was just a gentle breeze, but it lifted up dust into his face. He could see Diamond in front of him, and his eyes widened and his breath quickened. He saw the figure of Diamond crash down onto the rocks and blood soaked the ground. He ran. He didn’t care that his paws were bleeding from the effort, but he could see cats all around him, all the cats he had lost. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “No. Go away. I don’t want to see this again,” he sobbed. His paws drummed against the ground. He saw Mieginck and Kinkaroy screaming for him to go, begging him. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his past overcame him. And then it was gone. His breath was heavy and he collapsed down nearby on a she-cat’s paws. He looked up and saw that she had odd-colored eyes just like him and just like Mirage. No. He wouldn’t let himself have another panic attack. “Sorry.” He stood up, only half the size of the she-cat. “I get these panic attacks sometimes.” He hung his head in shame and embarrassment.

Chao was sad to see Palm leaving so soon, but he understood. He himself had always gone alone. He started to make his way to the finish, glancing down at his red emerald he kept on his paw. It was the only thing he cared about — or was it . . . he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Never again. . .” he spoke to himself. “Never again. . .” He knew he should sleep, but there was a feeling that prevented him from doing so. A feeling that he needed to run . . . now. . .

The too-quiet forest was starting to grate on Fringe’s sanity. With no other cats around, few prey, and silent trees, the abandoned woods had a strange and frightening vibe. “This had better end soon,” she shouted into the trees. “You hear me? I’m done with this! *Bring me to my sister!”* Panting, she staggered back to her makeshift nest and flopped into it. “Sparrow,” she whimpered. “Where are you?” Her pelt was ragged. She hadn’t bothered grooming it since she had made it to the finish. She had only hunted when she was starving, which wasn’t often. And when she wasn’t hunting, she was lying in her nest, mumbling to herself. Or to anything that would listen. She had given up trying to hunt. She had given up trying to remember. Why she was here. Who she was here for. Who she was. . . She knew that she would die soon. *Maybe that isn’t so bad,* she thought. *There’s nothing left for me here.*

*“Fringe. Get up.”*

 Fringe. Her name. She knew that voice. But who. . .

*“Get up!”*

 Fringe pried her eyes open. A familiar tom . . . but . . . etched in stars . . . she felt herself slipping away.

“Fringe! Get up! Fight!” His voice faded as he disappeared, leaving only the mouse he had dropped in front of her. Not even a pawstep in the dust.

Fringe scrabbled at the ground, trying to stand. She gasped, finally placing the voice. *Perch!*

Luana ran with Wren for a long time out of worry.

Wren ran with Luana for a while, not even noticing the pain in her paws.

Luana slowed down next to Wren. “Wait,” she meowed. “Are you alright? You’re kind of limping. We can stop and rest for a bit if you need it,” she mewed, worried.

Wren turned around to Luana and mewed, “No, I can make it.” Then she realized the pain in her paws. “Maybe just a little slower, then.”

Luana trotted alongside Wren as the two made their way to the finish line.

Wren swished her tail as Luana padded beside her. Finally, her paws were hurting less and she felt ready to run. “Come on, Luana,” she cried. “Race you to the end!” She sprinted off into the distance before collapsing onto the ground at the end in a fit of laughter.

Luana gasped. “No fair, you got a head start!” she yelled, laughing as she sprinted towards the end.

Cobweb had finished her meal and watched in amazement at how many cats were finishing the Test. Some cats were new — well, more new than her, at least. *I hope none are from the Clans,* she thought as she licked her front paw and drew it over her ears. After her bath, she collected some moss and set it inside a small holly bush, making a makeshift nest inside. “This will have to do,” she muttered as she curled up inside and fell asleep.

*Cobweb woke up to find herself in a dream.*

*Star was running, his tail streaming behind him. “Come and get me, Cobweb!” he yowled.*

*Cobweb then saw herself bolt after him. “Just you wait, Star!” she yowled after him.*

*Cobweb’s heart broke. This was a memory from when they were rouges.* I miss you so very much, Star, *she thought.*

Cobweb then woke up and yowled in pain. I miss you so much, Star! she thought as she felt her heart begin to break all over again. She winced as she remembered the dream again. They had enjoyed playing chase with each other. She felt her claws flexing, shredding her nest into bits. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Relax,” she muttered to herself. “It was only a dream — no, it was only a memory.” She then walked out of her nest towards a small stream and lapped at the silver surface. After her drink, she decided to hunt. She crouched down and stalked a rabbit. She pounced, hitting its head before carrying it up a tree and eating her meal. *I don’t want anyone to steal my catch,* she thought. Once she finished her catch, she threw the bones off the tree and then bounded off the tree. She yawned and stretched. She was already wide awake now; there was no use trying to sleep when she knew it would be a waste of time. She couldn’t sleep.

Sunny kept running, glad to be almost there.

“I’m here!” Snow cried, racing over to the group of cats who were at the finish line. “I-I’m here. . .” she panted, sitting down, glad that she had finally made it.

Echo ran until she couldn’t catch her breath. She could literally see the edge of the finish line taunting her as she used the last bits of her energy to hurl herself over it. Finally, it was over. For now.

Quintessa was about to sit down with Frostsong when she heard the unmistakable sounds of cats falling to their deaths. She winced and realized the sounds were coming closer. “We better go,” she said to Storm, Marina, and Frostsong. “This ground won’t last much longer and we’re almost there. We can talk at the finish line.”

“We better hurry up,” Frostsong said, finishing up her squirrel. “I’m going ahead. You don’t need to come with me.” *But I would like it if Quintessa did. . .* She jumped over cracks and crevices, determined to reach the end. She sprinted across the land, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. *It’s been so long since I’ve run with the wind in my fur and everything behind me!* She purred gently to herself.

Storm sighed. She waved her tail in goodbye at Quintessa. “I hope that we meet again,” the black she-cat mewed in a friendly tone. “Marina and I both would love a cat to talk to.”

Marina nodded in agreement as she licked some squirrel bits from around her muzzle.

Marina and Storm stood up.

Marina nodded at Quintessa.

Marina and Storm began to sprint, the wind tickling their pelts, their feet pounding against the rocky floor. The two gracefully leapt over small cracks.

*It feels so good, so free, to be running next to my sister as fast as possible, no matter the conditions,* Storm thought happily. For a moment, she forgot all about the shadow of death and the stress of the Tests and just let herself run. She didn’t understand how she had done it, but she had.

Storm and Marina burst into a space full of cats.

Something inside Storm told her that it was over.

Quintessa took off, not caring how much her paws burned. She gaped. *Wow,* she thought. *There are a lot of cats. That’s good. Hardly anyone died.* She had finally reached the finish line and decided to hunt. After skillfully catching a rabbit, she settled down into the grass, her stomach clearly signaling to dig in. Later, after eating her rabbit very crudely, she licked her lips of the blood and laid down, thoroughly enjoying the end of the road.

Frost heard the ground crumble. She ran for dear life, even though the ground fell three miles behind her. It took her a little while, but she made it to the end.

Feather jerked back, startled. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, relieved. Her paw had stopped bleeding now. She stood up and started trotting towards Dune. She purred. “I’ll see you at the finish.” Then she burst off at top speed until reaching the end.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Dune cried with renewed energy. His paws drummed against the ground and he powered forward, overtaking Feather just at the end of the race. “Slowcoach,” he joked.

Feather ate the sparrow she caught, waiting for the few remaining cats to finish. “Dune!” she called, waving her tail over. “Come share this sparrow!”

Wildflower watched as the two other cats raced off into the distance. They followed at the same pace for a bit, then went at a slower tempo. They found a clump of small purple flowers and took a mouthful, then raced off again. Soon they saw a group of cats in the distance and put on a burst of speed to reach them. Hopefully they wouldn’t be in a murderous mood.

The fourth day had ended. Several were dead: Tornheart, Capsian, Dusk, and Leafy.

The cats paced around.

“Well, what happens now?” Quintessa huffed. The Test was over! They had made it to the finish; why wasn’t Harnor here?

Wren padded over and stood in the middle of the cats.

“What are you doing, Wren?” Dune cried. “That ground might be unstable.”

Wren jokily glared at him before kneeling down and whispering, “Harnor, I pray to you, let this Test end.” She flicked her tail towards the still-stable ground and it fell.

It left the cats standing shocked at the ten-mile mark.

Lifting her head, Wren faced the heavens and looked up to the sky, mewing loudly this time, “Harnor I pray to you, let this Test end!”

Suddenly Harnor was there, gazing down all the cats. “Thank you for letting me know, Wren. I’m glad to see that you’re commanding these cats correctly.”

All the cats stared at her, some hissing, some simply glaring or looking confused.

“But there’s one more test that I want you to complete.” Harnor fiddled with the black stone and its rope. He lifted his wings up and the breeze caught him, sending him up in the air. Like he had at the start of the Test, he charged down towards the ground, but this time, he stopped just before he hit it. Holding the stone in both paws, he whispered a mystical chant and the ground began to split. Bright yellow coated it, then blood-red, then black. A massive crevice appeared in front of the cats and Harnor. “Jump,” he laughed, looking down at some of the cats who were beginning to panic. It was so much fun playing with their memories!

Chao shuddered as he looked down the huge drop. It reminded him of his fall earlier — but this time, he wouldn’t be sleepwalking; he would be hurling himself off of his possible doom. But he knew there was no other choice but to jump off the edge. He looked behind him and he knew that wherever the ravine led, it was better than where the empty space did. So he stepped off of the ground, his paws flailing around in the air. As he fell, he decided that it might not be a bad thing if he died, because he might find it if he did. . .

Sunny cursed under her breath. She was horrible at jumping. Maybe if she dropped into the ravine and climbed out from the other side . . . she sighed. Officially deciding that she hated Harnor, she jumped into the ravine.

Quintessa cursed Harnor. *Of course,* she thought. *We have to jump into a freaking cliff and hope not to die. I swear, if he kills me with this, I’ll haunt him as a ghost or angel or whatever.* She glared at the sky, then at the giant ravine, and suddenly jumped in.

Pebble backed up and slipped once again, but saved herself. She didn’t like ravines after having to have that random cat come help Rattlesnake get her up. Ravines almost killed her. She couldn’t bear having another fall like that.

But then Rattlesnake walked up to her. He smiled and meowed slowly. “I’ll jump the ravine with you. We’ll do it together.”

Pebble swallowed and nodded.

Then, running from where they were, Pebble and Rattlesnake made a running leap and jumped down, confident that they were going to be okay. Pebble was originally scared to go down, but Rattlesnake had convinced her to do it with him.

Frost looked at the gaping hole in the ground, thinking that there would be nothing bad down there. That calmed her down enough to go down. She thought that if she was going to fall there, she might as well make it awesome, so she calmly walked off as if she didn't notice that there was a hole there.

Fini tried so desperately to avoid ravines, but now she had to jump in! The fracture seemed bottomless. A wave of fear crashed over her, but there was no choice but to go down. She made a powerful leap as she hurled herself to the crack. Now she was leaping — no, she was falling, falling quickly, but she could still not see the ground.

As Chao fell, he entered a state of mind that he couldn’t access normally. Wren had been with Harnor the entire time? But how? He hadn’t thought anyone would want to be on the ruthless immortal's side, and the fact that someone was was hard to process. What did Wren have to gain? Or lose? Harnor didn’t need Wren, did he? Had she chosen this path? Personally, he didn’t see why anyone would want to know Harnor at all. Why Wren would have chosen this path was beyond him. He made a mental note to jump off another cliff soon to sort this out. He wondered how much longer he would be falling. He was concerned that this was a trick and they were all going to die. He sighed; not that it mattered. Either way, he would be closer to taking back what was always meant to be his. However long it would take.

Fringe stared at the ravine. Even from her place away from the others, she had heard Harnor’s command. But jump? Into . . . that? “Gods protect me,” she prayed. Then she ran off the edge of the cliff. Her last tangible thought as she hurtled into the dark was that if she died, at least she would see Perch again.

*What the heck?! Wren can . . . what?!* “Whatever,” Luana mumbled, jumping the hole, screeching curses all the way down.

Wren swallowed, tears filling her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to work with Harnor, but there had been no other way for her to be sent back with her brother. She hoped that this would be the last time Harnor asked anything of her. He had come to her in her dreams and told her what to do, but by the pained look on Luana’s face, she immediately regretted it. *“That’s it,”* she cried up at Harnor. *“I’m done.”* She flung herself off the cliff, knowing exactly what to expect at the bottom.

“Feather,” Dune mewed, “let’s jump together. I jumped without you before. and I don’t want to do that again.” He flung himself off the cliff, trusting his sister, who had just jumped, and knew that it was safe. *It’s strange how things come full loop,* he thought. At the end of the last Test, he had been falling with Wren’s spirit, and here he was again. He flicked his grey tabby tail up at Feather, hoping that the beautiful gray she-cat would follow.

Feather sighed. *If I die, I’ll be with Dune and my family.* Taking a deep breath, she jumped off the edge after Dune.

“Oh, Jarbil help me,” Palm mewed quietly as he jumped, feeling the wind rush in his face.

There were flashbacks before Palm’s eyes, and he saw Cobra falling beside him.

Palm smiled, knowing that he was with Cobra now, and if he died doing this, then he would see him again.

Cobweb looked at the ground-split. “Stupid mange-ridden furrball!” she yowled at Harnor, even though he probably didn’t hear her. She jumped, her anger ebbed away, replaced by fear. Her instincts yowled for her to climb and escape, but something inside told her to stay calm.

*“Relax,”* a voice whispered.

“Star?” Cobweb whispered.

*“Relax, Cobweb,”* the voice said again.

Cobweb closed her eyes. All her fear was gone and replaced with strength and calmness. “Thank you, Star,” she whispered as she fell deeper into what seemed like a never-ending fall.

“There’s no one left for me anyway,” Frostsong mumbled. And with that, she jumped in. It was deep. Really deep. She didn’t scream. Yes, it was scary. She was scared, but she didn’t show it. Her stomach felt like it was still at the top of the trench. She stayed calm, tumbling through the air as she thought about everything that had happened. *Before I jumped, I said no one was there for me. But I can’t be so sure. What about Quintessa? Storm? Marina? They’ll help me. And Sunny. I know I want to be friends with her. She seems like a useful ally and a good friend. Well, at least I’m not alone anymore. So much has changed since I was a kittypet. The Tests have really changed me. I used to be cold and harsh like winter without warmth. But now I’m exposing the soft, warm side of me. It’s scary and thrilling at the same time. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?*

Thunder stared down the hole and watched as other cats jumped in. Knowing there was no other way, he closed his eyes and jumped in.

Tess shrugged, looking at all the shapes jumping into the ravine. *If* those *furballs can do it, then so can I.* Without a second thought, the brown tabby leapt into the gaping darkness.

Storm narrowed her eyes. Curse that Harnor, always laughing and acting like he was entitled to evil behavior. She sighed. *Well, if the other cats have done it, no harm in trying. If I die, then that means that everyone else is dead. Which wouldn’t happen, of course,* the she-cat reasoned logically. *He wants to keep playing with us. So he wouldn’t just tell us to die. . .* With that calming thought, she squeezed Marina’s paw and jumped.

Echo gazed at the darkness staring up at her. She swallowed, remembering being left alone in the blackness of isolation. *Nonononononono.* As she inhaled, she leaped forward and plunged into the abyss.

Of course. A giant abyss. Everyone else had jumped, and there really wasn’t another choice. Plucking up their courage, Wildflower jumped, relishing the wind through their fur and the feeling in their gut. They felt like they were flying. *This isn’t so bad.*

Eclipse and Black Bird just watched with interest.

Secretly, Eclipse waited to make sure everyone made it before herself. She had a heart. Just not a very big one, and she hid it under layers and layers of not caring and rudeness. So she looked at Black Bird and smiled. “Let’s go!” she mewed.

Black Bird and Eclipse were perfectly in sync.

Eclipse faked out and didn’t jump.

As Black Bird was going down, he realized there was no one next to him. So he went down, fuming at Eclipse.

Eclipse stayed there, waiting for everyone to go down before her. When all the cats were okay, she jumped down with them.