Epilogue

The moon was high in the sky, its cold silver light washing over the small group of cats as they staggered forward. Not for the first time, the cat at the head of the ragged group stopped and turned back, the tip of his fluffy tail flicking anxiously to and fro. He pricked his ears, straining to hear any signs of pursuit as he waited for the others to catch up. Fear-scent engulfed the wounded cats as they struggled forward; they knew as well as he that they couldn't afford to stop moving. The distance between them and their certain deaths was still too slight.

"Be strong," the red-furred tom murmured. His quiet voice carried clearly through the silent night air. "We must not give up, not yet."

A soft murmur of agreement passed through their ranks as they clustered around him. His eyes—as dark blue as the midnight sky above them—swept across the exhausted cats, taking in every wound and missing patch of fur. Finally, his gaze met the pale, ice blue shade of his brother's.

"Hailfall," he called softly. "How is Sorreltail?"

The pale silver tabby bowed his head. "She won't be able to travel much farther," Hailfall admitted quietly. "Her pains have grown more frequent. She's definitely begun kitting." He brought his gaze up again, his voice growing more serious and straightforward. "Foxtail, I know you're worried that we're being followed, we all are, but we must stop for now. I must tend to Sorreltail, and every cat needs rest."

Foxtail hesitated, weighing his options as he once again scanned the remains of all four Clans. Cedarheart and Stormfur stood on each side of Feathertail, supporting the young queen's weight between them. Whitetail huddled close to Mosspelt, all of the kits that were old enough to walk taking shelter beneath the two queens. Crowpaw was trying to convince Thistlepaw to keep moving, and Sagepaw lay nearly unmoving save the rise and fall of his thin chest as Littlecloud checked his wounds again. Sorreltail lay panting in the grass, Sootfur and Loudbelly hovering at her shoulder. Powerful shudders rippled down her flanks, but she was too exhausted to even make a sound.

With a resigned sigh, Foxtail bowed his head. "You're right," he amended. He raised his voice to address the bedraggled cats, "We will rest here while Sorreltail kits."

Almost before he had finished his sentence, cats began collapsing gratefully in the grass. They made no nests, they only huddled close together in the cold, too tired to even lick the mud and blood from their mangled pelts.

Hailfall immediately moved to Sorreltail's side. Mosspelt, the oldest queen present, joined the young medicine cat. Foxtail remained standing.

"Stormfur." As he called, the dark gray warrior stood and approached. "Find another cat that's able and see if you can't find some fresh-kill. I'll stand guard."

Cedarheart flicked his ears. "Smokepaw can go," the ShadowClan warrior offered gruffly. His apprentice pushed himself to his paws and nodded an agreement.

"I can go, too," Loudbelly, a RiverClan warrior, put in. "We'll need all the prey we can get."

Foxtail touched his muzzle briefly to Stormfur's. "Be careful," he whispered. Stormfur nodded, his amber eyes glowing with understanding. They had all lost so much—they couldn't afford to lose any more. Stormfur stepped away and gathered his hunting patrol with a flick of his tail. As they left, Foxtail beckoned for Cedarheart.

"You're too injured for hunting, but you can walk better than some. I want you to gather a small patrol as well, scout as far past Highstones as you can for a place we can shelter. We'll rest here for now, but we can't protect this place as we would a camp."

Cedarheart nodded. "Not bad for a ThunderClan cat," he grunted. "Hey, Tawnypelt, right? Can you come with me?"

The tortoiseshell warrior nodded. "Yes," she croaked, pushing herself to her paws. "Let's get going. The sooner we have a safe place to rest the better."

Foxtail moved to stand between the small group of cats and the territories they had long since left behind. Though his body ached and his paws were heavy, his mind was as restless as ever. The events of the battle played over and over in his head, and his fear for the small group of cats that had managed to escape clawed relentlessly at his conscience.

Unsettled, the red-furred warrior shivered and forced himself to focus on keeping watch. They had come as far from their old territory as they could—surely BloodClan wouldn't follow them this far?

If they do, we won't be able to fight… We'll have to keep running until they get tired of chasing us… Still, he lifted his chin as he watched the dark sky begin to lighten. But we will make it through this. As if in response to his thoughts, a single star lingered in the growing morning light, shining as brightly as the dawn itself. We have to.

GUYS! What did you think? This is the official end of "Light in the Darkness," as well as a bonus teaser of what's to come! I really and truly hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it; I only wish it hadn't taken quite so long for me to find the motivation I needed to finish it!

Thanks again to the many people who have followed, favorited, and most of all reviewed-I never would have been able to complete this without you guys. You're really my heroes, and I hope you'll check out the third installment once I put it up!

Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think! I would love to hear your input moving forward, and I look forward to sharing the next story with you all soon!

Until next time!