Faster

Faster

Chapter One
My name is Quickshadow,and I shouldn't be alive...

My paws skidded in the mud.“Do you expect to catch me?"I hissed.

He glared,his amber eyes filled with rage.“I'm going to find you,you...you...you monster!"

I had heard that same thing my whole life.It didn't phase me.I ran by,pausing mid-stride,just to watch his face as I escaped without his claws ever connecting with my body.

Paws pounding on the forest floor,I could barely see my path as the world blurred around me.“Quickshadow!"A blur raced up to me,stopping in a heap of fur.Clawwind's blue eyes were filled with fear as I tumbled to a stop in front of her.

“What?"

Clawwind was panting,the run taking all her energy.I knew the feeling,the wind in my fur,the rush of speed,then stopping and nearly falling to the ground.But the race was always worth it.

“Where's Mudpelt?"She asked.

I glanced back.He couldn't have caught up that quickly.“Back by the river.Why?"

“Fawnsky's calling for us."Clawwind looked frantic.“I think it's about us...Dawnstar has been looking for reasons to exile us for months.Mudpelt is sure to tell him,convince them all we aren't safe."

“None of the Faster are safe,"I reminded her.

She waved it aside.“Runningfoot has a place to hide,down by Fourtrees,at least for a little while."

“Gather the Faster.Quickly."

I watched my sister's tabby fur streak through the forest,fading into a blur.No cat should run that fast.But we were Faster.

I heard pawsteps behind me.Mudpelt.Immediately I took off at a run that would cause a normal cat to pass out from lack of oxygen.I had never tested the limits of my speed,but all of us knew that if we overdid ourselves,we could hurt more than just the Faster.

My paws skimming over leaves and branches and undergrowth,I burst out onto a plain space.There they were - the Faster.Occasionally cats would fidget,moving back and forth for a brief moment,trying to sit still.Everything around us slowed sometimes,but no,really it was us moving too fast to see everything normally.

Clawwind curled next to Breezepond.The tom's pelt was tabby,a common pattern about the Faster.My own plain ginger was unusual standing next to these cats,the only cats like me.

The normal cats just didn't understand.We were Faster,not better.Sometimes the speed we achieved caused more harm than good.We couldn't pay attention because of the bursts of energy we used when running.

I am not sure why Clawwind and I have the abilities of the Faster.Neither of our parents,nor their parents were Faster.Just us.But that only made it harder on us.

Blackswan raised her head.“Quickshadow,Dawnstar knows you and Clawwind are Faster.He is going to cause trouble