The dogs closed in around us, their stench making it hard to breathe. I was getting dizzy. I knew we were losing the fight. I hissed at the mutt in front of my which made him pause for a moment, but it was enough. I leaped onto his back, flaying his muzzle with my claws.
"Swiftpaw!" I heard a screech from behind one of the big rocks that made up Snakerocks. I jumped off the dog that I was holding on to and raced around the boulder to see what was going on.
"Brightpaw!" I called, trying to reassure her. "We're winning. Just keep on going! Bluestar could never ignore this!" The two dogs were yapping and snarling at them. I shot past one of them, leaving a claw mark on his cheek as I went. Brightpaw gripped one of their legs in her teeth, drawing blood, but it shook her off easily. She stumbled in the dust.
"I don't think I can go on much longer!" She screeched. Then more dogs started to arrive. Soon, we were outnumbered and surrounded. Even if we failed, we couldn't turn back now. Fury like all of LionClan coursed through my paws, and with a yowling battle cry, I turned to meet the new threat. I moved so fast I hardly realized what I was doing, what I was hitting, just that I was hitting things. And then a screech of pain brought me back to my senses.
A dog gripped Brightpaw's head in it's mouth, and despite her weakening struggles, the dog wouldn't let go. With a screech of fury, I jumped on it's head, ripping out it's eye and sent it baying into the bushes. I turned to Brightpaw, one eye open as wide as the full moon, the other eye sealed closed. Her breath grew weaker; her eyelid drooped.
"Oh, don't go, Brightpaw," I moaned, flopping down beside her. "Don't leave me." I whispered. A dog snapped at my tail. I turned around, fury coursing through my veins. The dogs surrounded Brightpaw. Horror-struck, I realized they wanted to eat her. "No!" I roared at them. I slashed and I fought, and I sent two of the mutts running into the bushes. The others, seeing me coming, fled into the bushes. All but one. He was just angry now, and somewhere in the back of my mind a little twinge of fear appeared. I stood over Brightpaw's body. "You can not have her," I spat through gritted teeth. With a roar of fury, the dog leaped on top of me, crushing me, sending me into a state that felt like I was spinning towards the stars. I felt teeth scrape my bones, my fur and flesh rip, and I quickly stretched my paw towards Brightpaw when darkness overtook my vision.