Chapter One
Sunstar trudged through the deep snow, orange pelt heavy with white. His entire Clan followed, down to the smallest kit. He hated putting them through this, but they had no choice; the Twolegs had destroyed their home in the forest. Sunstar was startled out of his thoughts by Goldenwing, the SunClan deputy, yowling over the blizzard. "The kits can't last much longer! We have to bring them to shelter!"
"But where is shelter?" meowed Sunstar. "We're in the middle of nowhere!"
"I'll scout ahead. I have the thickest fur, so I won't freeze and I can last much longer than any other cat," called Skypelt, a strong young warrior.
"Please do that, Skypelt. But try to be quick. Everyone's getting tired and cold!" Goldenwing yowled to the disappearing form of Skypelt.
Skypelt dashed out into the snow, heading in front of the clan. It wasn't long until he found a darker patch on the snow. As he dashed over to investigate, he fell into empty space.
"I hope Skypelt doesn't take much longer. I'm freezing!" meowed Rabbitpaw, the smallest SunClan apprentice. "I'm sick of standing here in the snow. I feel like a living icicle." Cherrypaw, another apprentice, yawned and lay down in the snow. "I feel like taking a nice, long, nap. Then I would never have to wake up and I wouldn't feel the cold so much…"
"No, you don't want to take a nap!" mewed Gingerpaw, Cherrypaw's sister. "It's so cold, and if you went to sleep you would just be colder!"
"Fine," meowed Cherrypaw. "I'm too cold to care." All the apprentices crowded together, trying to warm their snow encrusted fur. "Ow," mewed Rabbitpaw. "My stomach hurts."
"I'll get you some herbs from Grasstail," offered Cherrypaw. Rabbitpaw nodded silently. Just as Cherrypaw was about to run off, Rabbitpaw vomited and fell down in the snow. "Now we really have to go get Grasstail!" yowled Gingerpaw. Cherrypaw nodded and ran out to where Grasstail was sitting with Aspenpaw. "Help!" mewed Cherrypaw. "Rabbitpaw fell down in the snow and vomited!" Grasstail looked up sharply and dashed over to where the apprentices were crowded around Rabbitpaw. They moved away when they saw the medicine cat approaching. None of them saw Silverpaw sneak away.
If Skypelt was surprised to have fallen into thin air, it was nothing compared to how surprised he was when he landed on something soft like dry moss. And when he looked up from his landing area, unhurt, he was speechless with astonishment. The hole he had landed in was warm and lined with moss, and big enough to fit three Clans. The scent of mouse was fresh upon the air, and as Skypelt walked further into the hole he saw a tunnel full of delicious prey-scents. "The clan would be comfortable in here," thought Skypelt out loud. His voice echoed eerily in the silence. "Cats have obviously abandoned it, and any smell but that of the prey is stale." As Skypelt looked up the hole he had fallen down, he saw a series of ledges forming a way to get in and out of the hole without falling in. Skypelt leaped up the hole and ran as fast as he could toward his Clan's smell.
Grasstail bent over Rabbitpaw. She listened to the dead-looking apprentice's heartbeat, and found it to be quick and shallow. She was having trouble breathing so Grasstail quickly popped a mashed-up juniper berry into her mouth and waited to see if her breath was any better. It did get slightly better, but Grasstail was still worried about her. She had never seen that kind of sickness in SunClan before.
Skypelt sped into the group of cats that was his Clan, searching for the bright pelt of Sunstar. It was hardly recognizable because it was so thick with snow. "Sunstar, I found the perfect place to rest! It's got prey and nests and I even scented a few herbs!" he said quickly.
"We have to go right away. Rabbitpaw's not well, and the kits might freeze if they're left out here much longer! We have to get the Clan ready. Skypelt, go and check If Rabbitpaw's well enough to travel. Stripefur, Pinebranch, go and get the queens and kits. Seedtail, you are in charge of Herbfoot, and Lakestream and Stemclaw have to get the apprentices. Goldenwing, you must help Skypelt and Grasstail with Rabbitpaw," Sunstar yowled to everyone, and then ran to help the kits and queen. All the cats followed Skypelt, but the blizzard grew thicker and the wind blew more fiercely. "We should be there by now," Skypelt murmured. Then he realized. "The wind blew us off track! We're going the wrong way!"
"Help! Oh, StarClan, Save me!" a yowling voice sounded out of the blizzard, followed by a few screeches. "Heeeeelp! Someone, help!"
"Just what we need," said Pinebranch over the mystery screeches. "More trouble. But that cat sounds really scared. Sunstar! Should we go and take a look?"
"Yes. Take Stripefur and Seedtail and go investigate."
The three cats trotted out into the snowstorm towards the meows.
Pinebranch, Stripefur, and Seedtail dashed toward the sounds. A gigantic eagle was holding Silverpaw, a SunClan apprentice, high in the air. She was fighting hard, but tiring quickly and bleeding from a large gash in her side. Her claws did not seem to pierce the eagle's thick plumage. Without warning, the eagle dropped Silverpaw. Pinebranch, Seedtail, and Stripefur were powerless against her speeding descent. With horror, the watched as Silverpaw went down, down…and disappeared into the earth.