Journey to Hope: The Journey Begins

Chapter 7

It had been a week since the pack had settled in their temporary home. The burrows were small but finished, and there was even a small den made out of stone. Jasmine slept in the stone den. There wasn't too much prey, but there was enough to get by.

Honeycomb was resting in the Stone den along with Crystal. Jasmine hadn't been able to sleep much because of the pain she was going through.

"Where's Snow?" Lilac squeaked. Lilac was snuggled against her mother, and had just noticed her sister's absence.

"I have no idea," Crystal answered. "Honeycomb, can you go look for her?"

"Of course I can," Honeycomb said before leaving the den.

Suddenly, she heard a loud screech. She recognized the sound, and it made her fearful.

Hawk, she thought. She then looked up to see Snow. Snow was far away from the den and squeaking loudly. The hawk was circling over the trees, looking for its prey.

Without thinking, Honeycomb sprinted as fast as her paws could carry her towards the pup's cry. She knew there was no time to lose. This pup's life was in her paws right now, and she couldn't fail Crystal. If this hawk killed Snow, Crystal would be devastated.

The hawk let out a loud caw, and dived towards Snow. But Honeycomb was faster, and snatched Snow by her scruff and ran towards the den. The hawk flew up into the sky, let out another loud caw and dove again. Honeycomb sprang into the den, and again, the hawk missed. This time, it flew into the sky, and it called out a screeching caw as it flew away.

"What's going on?" Bandit asked with a worried tone, "Is everything alright?"

He noticed Honeycomb's fur was standing on end, and she looked terrified. It seemed like she could barely breathe.

"Hawk?" Bandit asked.

"Yes," Honeycomb gasped after putting Snow on the ground.

"Oh, thank goodness she's alright! Thank you very much, Honeycomb," Crystal said.

"You're welcome," Honeycomb sighed, still breathing heavily. "Now, how's Jasmine?"

"I finally got her to sleep," Bandit replied, "Her pups should be here any day now."

Honeycomb looked over at Jasmine. And there she was, fast asleep in her grass-bed.

Later that day, Crystal and Honeycomb were out hunting when they heard a screech.

"Hawk?" Honeycomb asked.

"No," Crystal said, "that sounded like a mongoose."

"Jasmine?" Honeycomb stuttered.

"Oh, no," Crystal gasped. The two rushed towards the stone den.

"We heard a screech," Crystal said, trying to catch her breath. Then she looked over at Jasmine, who had two tiny pups snuggled up against her belly. Bandit was sitting next to Jasmine, observing his two new baby pups.

"They're here already?" Honeycomb asked in amazement.

"Yes, they are," Bandit said with a smile, "and they're so precious, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," Honeycomb agreed.

"Have you two decided on their names yet?" Crystal asked.

"The one with the lighter gray fur is Ember, and the one with the darker gray fur is Smoke. Don't tell Jasmine, but Smoke's my favorite," Bandit whispered.

"Um, A-hem," Jasmine snapped, "I'm right here, you know. Don't talk like I'm not here."

"Yeah, I knew that," Bandit said with a nervous laugh.

"You know, Crystal, I'm just a bit concerned about my pups. The plan was that we'd leave a week after they were born. That's only a quarter moon," Jasmine sighed while looking down at her tiny pups, "Will they be okay? They won't have much fur yet, and they won't be able to walk."

Crystal and Honeycomb exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. But Crystal decided to speak up. "I don't know. I'm sure they'll be fine- I can help carry one if you want me to," Crystal offered. "Besides, it's still summer, so we won't have to worry about the fur problem."

"Thank you for offering, but I'm sure Bandit and I can do it ourselves. Right, Bandit?"

"R-right, Jasmine," Bandit stuttered nervously. He seemed to be breathing heavily, looking at the pups and then back at Crystal.

"He's probably just nervous," Crystal observed.

"And so am I," Jasmine yawned, "But I'm also tired. I'm going to get some sleep. We'll discuss this later."

Jasmine laid her head down on the grass-bed, and started making soft snoring sounds.

"Are you coming, Crystal?" Honeycomb called from outside the den.

"Oh, you left?" Crystal called back, seeming to snap out of a deep thought. Which in fact, she was. She still couldn't stop thinking about that dream, and what it could have possibly meant.