Is this the End?
Finchbreeze pounced and landed on a thrush. He swiftly killed it and then grinned as the senior warrior Doveflight purred, "Nice catch!"
Finchbreeze flashed her a grateful glance before picking up the thrush. He took a paw step forward toward the cache when the ground gave way underneath him. Finchbreeze let out a screech of terror as the ground tried to consume him. Heat washed over him as he struggled to escape the sinkhole.
"Finchbreeze!" Doveflight yowled. "Talonpelt! Help me!" Doveflight bounded forward, the gray tabby skidding to a halt at Finchbreeze's nose. The brown tabby pelt of Talonpelt appeared as he raced to help the two cats. Doveflight and Talonpelt dug into the ground around Finchbreeze, and before the brown tabby tom could fall lower, Doveflight grabbed his scruff and hauled her former apprentice up.
Finchbreeze let out a yowl as he was pulled upward and then carried to the top. Finchbreeze gasped, eyes wide and heart beating rapidly. All three cats peered into the black hole Finchbreeze had fallen into.
"We have to tell Redstar," Talonpelt murmured urgently and Doveflight gave a nod of agreement.
"Let's go!" Finchbreeze screeched and began racing for home. The other two warriors exchanged a glance before following him.
Finchbreeze's whole body quivered as he burst into camp. "The world is falling apart!" he screamed, eyes wide in horror.
Each StormClan cat gave a look of distrust to him and Finchbreeze turned to Redstar as a last resort. The ginger tom's ears were pricked in surprise at the scream, and he asked, "What are you talking about, Finchbreeze?"
"The ground is caving in and melting!" Finchbreeze yowled.
"What?" Redstar looked completely disbelieving.
Finchbreeze frowned. "It's the truth!"
Redstar waved his tail. "I think we've heard enough of your chattering," he muttered and turned to disappear into the leader's den.
"Finchbreeze," Doveflight murmured as the nervous tom opened his jaws to shout something.
Finchbreeze looked at her and the gray tabby shook her head. "If Redstar won't listen, he won't. We'll just have to rally as many young warriors and apprentices as we can. Particularly kits and queens."
Finchbreeze hissed, hackles raising, "No! We need to fix it now!"
Finchbreeze yowled, "If you believe me you need to come with me out of camp! We need to escape!"
Clawtail laughed, "Yeah, right! Of course we have to escape!"
Yowls spread through the Clan that the warrior was mutinous. Finchbreeze frowned and turned his back on the cats, heading for the warriors' den. Finchbreeze collapsed onto his nest and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.
Finchbreeze padded into the nursery, the full moon casting silver light over his pelt. He hadn't been chosen to go to the Gathering, so he planned on seeing the kits. Finchbreeze poked his head into the nursery as wind picked up and small fire sparks lit the sky, singing whatever they touched. Finchbreeze grabbed Bristlekit, Owlkit, and Rainkit and then called for Talonpelt softly and Doveflight. Talonpelt grabbed Fallenkit, Specklekit, and Poolkit while Doveflight grabbed Gorgekit, Grasskit, and Seedkit. The three cats padded to the apprentices' den, ducking to protect the kittens they held from the small miniscule flurries of sparks. Once inside, Finchbreeze released his bundles and nudged Silverpaw, Jaypaw, Leafpaw, Lakepaw, and Gorsepaw awake.
The apprentices raised their heads and Silverpaw, the oldest, gasped, "What are you doing?"
"Saving your skins," Doveflight grunted. "You need to follow us and escape from here before matters get worse. Take some of the kittens and shield them."
Silverpaw nodded and gave a quick nod to the others. "Let's go," she whispered, and grabbed some kittens.
Finchbreeze hurried out, nervous energy sparking through him. The five apprentices appeared with kittens in their jaws and shielded them from the fiery rain that had been appearing since that morning. A foul stench filled the air as each cat escaped from the camp and out into the forest. They were lucky the sparks hadn't touched a dry leaf yet, but just as Finchbreeze was thinking so, flames appeared, licking at a nearby tree.
"Run!" Doveflight ordered, and the other cats followed, protecting the kittens. Talonpelt, not only being a wise warrior but deputy, shoved the other cats forward; rushing them.
Finchbreeze broke into a sprint, grasping Bristlekit in his jaws. The cats dashed after him, and Finchbreeze let out a yowl as his paw broke through the ground. Fear grasped him and he jerked backward, leaping around the hole and dashing onward. The sky began to turn orange with flames and the moon red in their wake. Sparks flew everywhere, singing the cats' pelts and lighting up everything around them. If the cats did escape, it would be narrow, but Finchbreeze was beginning to doubt it.
The cats sprinted across an open plain, the fire eating everything after them. Finchbreeze screamed and raced faster, the others following him.
Jaypaw let out a screech as the ground collapsed underneath him and he threw Owlkit to Talonpelt. Talonpelt picked up the kit and paused in horror as Jaypaw disappeared under the surface of the earth, undoubtedly reaching death. The cats sprinted faster.
"There's a river ahead!" Doveflight screamed over the roaring of the fire, and Finchbreeze caught sight of the river that would impede the fire's savage wake…. Hopefully.
Finchbreeze had only a moment of shock as the ground gave way once more and he clung to the hole's side, but it was crumbling. "Take Bristlekit!" he screeched, and threw the kitten into Doveflight's paws. Finchbreeze watched his only kit.
Bristlekit was the offspring of Finchbreeze and Heatherheart. Heatherheart had passed away when giving birth to Bristlekit and now she was gone. Morningflight had taken care of Bristlekit with her kittens instead, even though she hated Finchbreeze.
Finchbreeze felt the ground crumble under his clinging paws and soon he was falling. "Finchbreeze!" Doveflight screamed for her former apprentice, eyes flashing with loss.
"Go!" was all that Finchbreeze managed to say before he hit the ground and everything went black.
Heat singed Finchbreeze's pelt when he awoke. The warrior could hardly believe he was still alive, but not for long. Finchbreeze was exhausted and unable to move. Finchbreeze closed his eyes, then opened them once more. The flames flickered before his pale blue eyes, and turned his white underbelly orange. Finchbreeze felt the flames grow closer, and he let out a sigh of acceptance.
This is the end…