My heart clenched with fear as I felt claws pick me off the ground. I looked up only to find evil yellow eyes staring back at me. A hawk! That was why everyone had hid! I cursed my deafness. Even if my deafness wasn't full, I didn't hear if people didn't scream.

I clawed with fury and terror at the foot that held me. The hawk screeched but didn't flinch. I could see cats running from the camp. They looked so small...
I wailed helplessly. Even if I couldn't be a warrior, I didn't want to die.

We kept rising. Soon we were too far up. I stopped fighting as horror of being dropped filled me. The warriors chasing us fell back. In my heart I knew they'd never catch us. I found myself wondering if I'd be missed by anyone. Speckletail, most likely. Bramblekit and Tawnykit, maybe. These thoughts just made me more miserable. I clenched my eyes shut.

I tried to think clearly. Maybe there was a way out of this mess. But my mind was functioning awkwardly. I felt lightheaded and sick. All of a sudden I noticed a change in the air. It was colder. I realized we were somewhere completely different. I blinked my eyes and for a moment I thought I was blind. Then I realized the ground was simply white. Snow! I thought.

I looked at the horizon and realized that pointed white peaks stood there. I gazed at them in surprise. I wondered what they were, and also realized they were slowly growing bigger! I gazed at them, captivated, even if I was terrified. There was something beautiful about them, despite the fact that I was far above the ground, being carried by a hungry hawk. I screeched in shock as we swooped down. The hawk was landing! The were bigger up close. They were also made of stone! I realized what a stupid thought that was. Anyone could see that. Now my thoughts were a jumble. We flew so close to the rocky wall that I thought we might crash, but the hawk just flew in a circle and...dropped me.

I screamed. The feeling of falling from a great height was awful. I tried to grab onto a stone, but it just broke off. Crunch! I had landed in a pile of sticks! As I wormed my way out, three pairs of eyes followed my every move. Uh oh. Now I understood why the Hawk had dropped me. I was food for her chicks. They were probably almost full grown. One eyed me in a way that made me shiver. I backed away, only to realize that we were on a ledge. The only way to escape was to fall. But if I stayed, I'd get torn apart. Neither idea appealed to me much.

While I was doing my decision-making, the boldest-looking hawk decided he was hungry. He lurched forward, beak outstretched. I jumped back, hair on my back standing up on end. I landed on the very edge, and rock crumpled beneath my feet and fell away while I scrambled to get up. I stood, shivering, carefully watching the hawks. Their mother was flying above again. There was one hawk I never wanted to meet again. And then it happened. A second hawk jumped at me, and, without thinking, I jumped back.

Terror filled me as I realized I was only standing on air. It was over. I was about to fall to my death. I closed my eyes...and crashed into something that wasn't quite soft and wasn't quite hard. It was a pine tree directly beneath the ledge! I saw three faces staring at me angrily from above, and I felt a strange tingle of pride at escaping both them and the fall.

And then I realized I had no way of getting down. I carefully walked along the branch, making sure each pawstep was strategically placed so I wouldn't fall. When I reached the trunk, I observed that there were branches under me. I hopped lightly from one to another, until I reached the one closest to the ground. I eyed the snow below me suspiciously. It was still at least four fox-lengths away from me. But it couldn't be that dangerous, could it?

I stepped off the branch. It was stupid and spontaneous, as I decided later, but just then it seemed like the only idea. The snow cushioned my fall lightly, but I still felt bruised. I growled in frustration as I fought my way out of the pile I had landed in. It was so cold. I wanted to be next to my mother in ThunderClans nursery. I slowly pushed myself up, and wandered into the snow-covered forest next to me. I have no idea how long I walked. Only that my feet were numb by the time I stopped. I saw a hole in the ground. It didn't smell of any animal. I figured it was abandoned.

I crawled in and curled up with my tail over my nose. I was tired, scared, and alone. But an idea hit me. Bluestar would send warriors to find me! I'd be back in ThunderClan soon. I felt hopeful. Of course they would come. They wouldn't forget me, right? I fell asleep feeling better, with this thought still in my head.