Flametail heard a crack. He gasped as cold water engulfed him. He felt it seep into his skin. It chilled him to the bone. Help me! He screamed silently. Where was Dawnpelt? Or Tigerheart? Suddenly ripples echoed through the water. He felt a presence next to him, and opened his eyes. Jayfeather? The cat was almost the same color as the water, a blue gray tabby. It has to be Jayfeather! Jayfeather pulled and tried. Then he stopped. What are you doing? Save me, please! I'm barely a medicine cat. I can't die now! Littlecloud needs me! Flametail tried to see what Jayfeather was looking at. There was another cat in the water. A hairless cat with bulging, blind eyes. He told Jayfeather something, but Flametail couldn't make out the words. Jayfeather then started swimming to the surface. No! Flametail knew it was hopeless. He sank to the bottom of that damned lake. Flametail woke up in a blue gray sandy world. There seemed to be fish swimming around him. Then it all came back to him. I don't know how I survived that, but I'm alive! He swam to the surface. The cats that were on the surface when he fell were staring in horror. "Guys! I'm alive!" No cat moved. Dawnpelt had a look of shocked grief on her face. Flametail walked over to her. He could feel her thoughts, which was weird. "We'll never even get his body. Did Jayfeather murder him? How am I going to tell Tigerheart? He goes on patrol, and his brother dies."
"But I'm not dead. I don't understand."
"Flametail."
"Sagewhisker?"
"Yes. I am here to tell you something you have not yet realized. You drowned. You must now find your way to Starclan. Your journey begins now. Unless, of course, you want to stay and watch the clans forever. You can do that in Starclan as well. I wish you well. And I'm sorry you died so young. But it will serve a purpose. Goodbye and good luck.
