Yowls and screams of pain echoed through the camp. Blossompaw cowered in the shadows of the apprentice den, ears covering her paws, trying to block it all out. Her best friend, Pinepaw, sat beside her, tail resting on her shoulders, but even the comforting presence of her best friend couldn't quiet the shivers running through her body. The horrible, piercing wails, shrill with fear, resounded through her skull, and a tiny whimper escaped her lips as she pressed herself into the ground.

Pinepaw crouched next to her and pressed his pelt against hers. "It's okay," he told her, "it will be over soon."

Blossompaw couldn't reply, only let out a choked sob as the screeches outside turned to hysteria. Howling, tortured hysteria. Most of the Clan would be out in the camp, trying to make the sufferer's journey to StarClan more peaceful. Blossompaw knew what was going on out there, even though she had raced into her den as soon as the first yowl split the morning air.

It was a disease. A horrible, terrifying disease that had been plaguing the ShadowClan cats for only a quarter moon, and yet had already taken out almost a dozen warriors, kits, apprentices and elders. No one was safe from the disease, and once you caught it, there was no hope of survival for you.

First, an affected cat would lose their appetite. Cats would go a day without eating, refusing even the freshest, juciest delicacies. By that evening, they would become confused, unsure of what was going on around them. The next day, they were as good as gone.

This disease… It affects the brain. Echoflower's simple words ran through Blossompaw's mind again and again as the screams outside stopped, cut short. Either a cat had killed the diseased Sparrowfang by now, or his voice had merely given out. Sparrowfang had gone two days without eating, no matter how others had plead with him, knowing his fate, and somehow accepting it. When he felt fuzzy-headed and confused the second night, he merely went to Echoflower's den and spent the night. When he awoke, earlier than the sun, all traces of Sparrowfang had vanished. Instead, Echoflower was roused by the feeling of hot breath on her neck.

Sparrowfang had lost it. Like all other cats who contacted the disease, he had been unable to realize that the cats around him were not enemies, and tried to kill half the cats left in the Clan, jumping off one victim onto another, screaming in that horrible, tortured way. When held to the ground by four or five different cats, his mind collapsed into panic mode, and the wailing, hysteric howls were what rang through the camp now.

Blossompaw knew it was the last step. Slowly, she forced herself to count the heartbeats until Sparrowfang was lost forever.

Then, they stopped. The last wail's echoes faded into the afternoon air, and though every cat tried to hold it back, a wave of relieved sighs swept through the camp.

Blossompaw only buried her head in her paws, wanting to yowl in grief, wanting to scream, leave the camp, and never come back. But she stayed silent as Pinepaw licked her ear in a futile attempt to comfort her. "It's okay," he whispered, "he's safe in StarClan."

"But he's there without me." Blossompaw was Sparrowfang's daughter, and he had been the only family she had left. Her mother was the first to be taken by the disease, and she was an only kit. Sparrowfang was the best father she could have asked for, always there for her, cheerful and a strong cat she could hide behind when the going got tough. But who could comfort her now, in this time of torture after his death?

Pinepaw sighed and pressed his pelt into hers. "I know it hurts," he mewed, "but he wouldn't have wanted you to dwell on this, would he? Come on. Go to sleep. I'll tell Echoflower and Emberstar you're unable to attend the ceremony."

"I don't want to miss it," Blossompaw protested, "he's my father!"

Still, Pinepaw took her scruff in his teeth and dragged her into her nest. Giving up, Blossomapw let the comforting veil of sleep overtake her, and she drifted into a deep, dreamless slumber.

A single yowl split the air, waking Blossompaw from sleep. Instinctively, Blossompaw curled into a ball, trying to block it out. Who else had been taken? Who else had mindlessly tried to kill the cats they had formerly loved, laughed with, cherished? Who else's mind had collapsed under the shock of the disease?

When Pinepaw skidded into the den, his eyes were bright. "Blossompaw, get up!" He told her, "Echoflower's received a dream from StarClan. There's a cure for the disease!"

Blossompaw raised her head. "Really?"

Pinepaw nodded, "she's in Emberstar's den right now. There's talk of a quest!"

It was a lot to process for Blossompaw's sleep-muddled brain, but she rose from her nest and she and Pinepaw joined the noticeably smaller throng of cats below the TallTree. Almost every cats was sick with a 'milder version' of the disease- Confusion, lack of appetite, but so far, no cat had died from it. Only the full-blown thing, it seemed, affected the brain and killed its victim. In any case, Pinepaw and Blossompaw, along with Emberstar, Echoflower and a few warriors were the only healthy cats. Blossompaw had a feeling that she hadn't contacted anything because she spent all her time hidden in a tiny crawlspace between the apprentice's den and the wall protecting their camp. Pinepaw spent all his time back there with her, so both had remained healthy through the turmoil of death.

The muddled voices of the Clan died down as Emberstar and Echoflower emerged from Emberstar's den at the base of the TallTree. The slight, black-and-orange mottled ShadowClan leader leaped up onto the thick, claw-scored branch where she always addressed her Clan from, and Echoflower joined her moments later. "Cats of ShadowClan," Emberstar called, "Echoflower has received a message from StarClan!"

The pale gray she-cat stepped forward and raised her voice to be heard by all the cats in the clearing. "Last night, I dreamed I was on the edge of a great cliff. Around me, growing in the crags of the rocks, were strange, spotted flowers with an unusual shape I had never seen before. The cliff was very tall, so tall that I couldn't see the ground. As I was examining a flower, Ravenstar, the leader before Emberstar, appeared next to me."

The medicine cat paused for a moment, then continued: "He told me that these flowers, 'jewel blossoms' were the only way to save affected cats. Once they had eaten a petal from this flower, they would be safe from ever getting it again. Without a cat to latch onto, this disease would die out and the Clan would be safe."

"Where can we find them?" A cat called out.

Echoflower's face darkened. "It will be a long and perilous journey," she mewed, "For the cats must travel in the direction of the Sun-Drown place, but veer off-course and instead climb what Ravenstar called the Sky Mountain. There, they will find the jewel blossoms that can save our cats."

"Then it is to be a quest?" Someone asked.

Emberstar stepped forward and nodded. "I will choose four cats to journey to the Sky Mountain. They must be healthy and strong, prepared for whatever lies ahead. Echoflower and I will discuss it, and announce the quest-goers at sunhigh. They will travel to the moonpool for StarClan's guidance, and then return here for strengthening herbs. We can only hope those two things will be enough." Emberstar dipped her head and leaped down from the tree, signaling the end of the meeting.

**I know, I know. Annoying ending. Blech :P Too bad for you. So, what did you guys think? God, my writing is so much better than it used to be… Please review! I mean really. You read this, you like this. Review it! Even if you don't have anything particularly helpful, just drop a review to let me know you've seen it. Kthxbai ;)**

~Tabby