The Better Choice

The Squirrel Takes Flight

A familiar orange she-cat crawled past RiverClan territory and laid down on the half-bridge, her blood-bathed body rising and falling.

A mouse looked into her eyes and she bared her teeth, her paws too weak to lash out at the small rodent.

The mouse tauntingly groomed his paws before dashing away from the cat, Squirrelflight.

Squirrelflight had cuts everywhere, her front right paw was cut and her left ear was torn clean off by the fierce brambles.

She closed her eyes and the tears from them fell into the cuts on her face. She licked the sharp red cut on her rosy pink nose and winced. More tears came just from feeling the pain.

I had it all, I was deputy. Even though I could never expect kits, I was at my highest as deputy. Maybe I could've stayed as deputy if I wasn't so fierce to Jessy...no, he hated me and saw me as a threat to his and Jessy's relationship, if I hadn't gotten in trouble for accusing Jessy, I would have gotten in trouble for something else. Bramblestar would have made sure of that.

The moon stretched over Squirrelflight and bathed her in a soft light as she laid across the half-bridge.

Which is why Bramblestar has to be punished, along with his little scamp deputy and mate!

The hatred was returning to her gaze and she unsheathed her claws.

I'm coming for you BOTH

The sun stretched over the half-bridge where flies jumped on Squirrelflight's body. She growled and shook them off before realizing two important things.

One, she didn't know where she was going to go.

Next was that a RiverClan patrol was heading her way.

"I'm proud of your kits, they're all healthy!" Heronwing purred to Mallownose.

"Now I'm a mentor and a father!" Mallownose raised his head high.

Squirrelflight's eye twitched.

Ugh, he's like the RiverClan's Berrynose!

"Intruder at the half-bridge, Mallownose!" Havenpaw growled.

Squirrelflight bared her yellow teeth at the three cats and her limbs shook.

"Look! She's weak!" Heronwing snarled with a smile. The three of them stopped sprinting.

Squirrelflight growled and limped away from the half-bridge.

Mallownose leaped in front of her.

"Not so fast." Mallownose hissed in her only ear. "I haven't had a little...action since Petalfur moved into the Nursery."

Squirrelflight gasped and shoved Mallownose into the nearby lake, she sprinted away like she had no injuries whatsoever.

She didn't look back at Heronwing and Havenpaw, but she heard no pawsteps. She ran into ShadowClan territory.

She zoomed past any possible patrol and zoomed into the same Twolegplace where the kittypets were fought off.

They may take me in, twolegs might.

"STOP!"

Squirrelflight saw a ginger she-cat and a silver tabby tom jump from the fence above and circle her.

"Are you one of those Clan cats?!" the ginger she-cat snarled. "She looks like one, right O'Hara?"

"Yes, Scarlet. She does." the silver tabby glared at Squirrelflight. "CATS!"

Squirrelflight flinched as she heard sprinting behind all the fences. Dozens of kittypets leaped from the fences and surrounded any possible chance of escape.

"ZIGGY!" O'hara growled. "WE FOUND ONE!"

A fierce ginger and white tom jumped off the fence and ran to Squirrelflight, his teeth bared. His glare slightly faltered and he started checking Squirrelflight out.

Squirrelflight jumped back and growl.

"Hey, if don't want me to kill you, you will let me do whatever I want, got that?" Ziggy snarled and Squirrelflight nodded. "Good. Now tell me why you're here."

"I was a rogue passing through Clan territory." Squirrelflight lied. "And when I passed through, several of them attacked me! Can you believe that?!"

"Yes." Ziggy muttered. "They're quite heartless, what is your name?"

Squirrelflight hesitated, she knew if she gave her real name, they'd know she was a Clan cat.

"Squirrel." Squirrelflight said. "My name is Squirrel."

"Well, Squirrel." O'hara growled. "We hate the Clans, and you promise you're not a Clan cat?"

"I promise, the scars prove so." Squirrel meowed. "I need somewhere to stay, and I need these scratches healed. Can one of you take me in?"

"I will."

Squirrel turned around and saw a dark gray she-cat with amber eyes.

"My name is Jocelyn." the cat gave a warm smile. "My twolegs are very friendly, and will be more than happy to take you in."

"Thank you." Squirrel started crying and she padded to Jocelyn and rubbed her head on her shoulder. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"It is no problem at all." Jocelyn purred. "Come along now, they'll need to take you to the Vet before it gets dark."

Squirrel followed Jocelyn over the fence. The two she-cats went around the twoleg nest till they reached the other side. Squirrel and Jocelyn climbed the steps till they reached a brown tree-like thing.

"This is a door." Jocelyn explained. "That thing below is the cat-flap, it lets me in after I've had enough outside and I'm ready to eat."

Jocelyn and Squirrel went inside and Squirrel saw a huge expansion of things she didn't even know what they were.

"HELLO?!" Jocelyn yelled.

A male and female twoleg walked through the tall opening and gasped when they saw Squirrel's bloody body.

"Don't panic, but they're going to put you in a crate to take you to the Vet." Jocelyn touched Squrrel's nose before she trotted up more steps.

"WHAT?!" Squirrel growled as the female twoleg picked her up.

I'm giving up all my dignity because of that fox-heart, Jessy!

Squirrel went limp and she was placed in the crate. She saw the ground disappear and sensed the crate she was locked in had lifted. She turned her back to the crate opening.

JESSY WILL PAY FOR THIS, AND BRAMBLESTAR WILL TOO