When I woke up, the sun was shining overhead. I could feel it, even if I was in a dark, damp place like the tunnels. Something about this place's sun was warm and welcoming, as if it was forgiving you for everything you had done.
I stumbled out of the tunnels, still half-asleep. That's why I didn't notice Ashfur until I bumped into him.
"Ow. Watch where you're going mouse-brain! What are you, blind?" I could tell Ashfur wasn't that mad, he was just pretending. I don't know if he knew that or not.
"Were you watching me sleep Ashfur?" I made a weird face. I was pretty disgusted with him. Besides, he was sooooo old! Ashfur looked offended.
"Of course not! That's disgusting. I was waiting for you to wake up. I've decided we need to get out of here." Ashfur looked proud by his breakthrough. I tried not to get mad. At least he was willing to work together.
"I have a plan. Now, Hollyleaf, if my observations are correct, this place is exactly like the forest, no?" Ashfur was right. It was like an exact replica. I nodded.
"So we travel to the Moonpool and talk to StarClan. See if we can get any information. If we can know anything, we'll be better off. You in?" I have to admit, it was a genius plan.
"Of course I'm in."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
We left for the Moonpool almost immediately. I wanted to hunt, but Ashfur reminded me that we couldn't eat if we wanted to talk to StarClan. He was right, as usual, so we headed out.
I remembered the way to the Moonpool from when I trained as a medicine cat, so I took the lead. It was easier, since we didn't have WindClan to worry about. We went out on the moor, and followed the little stream at the edge of their territory.
We were soon in the little stone hollow. I went up to the pool of clear water, and lay down next to it. With my tail, I motioned for Ashfur to do the same. He lay next to me, and we both lapped up the cool water.
Almost at once, my vision blurred, and I was soon fast asleep.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I was in a forest. It was beautiful, with trees of all kinds and plenty of mice around. I could see pretty flowers, and the sun shining above.
I was suddenly transported to a small tunnel made of brambles. When I walked through it, I was in a small clearing. There were dens all around, like a clan lived here, but it appeared to be deserted.
I peaked in all the dens, one by one. They were all empty except for one. It smelled of herbs; I recognized tansy, marigold, and borage.
Inside, I saw the back of Ashfur. He was talking to an old, grey she-cat with cold, piercing eyes. She noticed me, and her eyes glowed.
"Finally had the decency to grace us with your presence. Come, sit down." Ashfur turned around, and smiled at me. I sat down next to him, and the she-cat nodded.
"Your friend here found his way to me a while ago. Where have you been?" The she-cat questioned me gruffly, and I was surprised by her roughness.
She seemed to be studying me, her eyes prying at my sides and eating up even my deepest secrets. "Hm. Well, be better about coming next time. You think I enjoy waiting around?"
The question seemed to by hypothetical, for she turned back to Ashfur and continued talking.
"As I was saying, you can't escape this place. No cat has ever."
I perked up. "There are other cats here?"
The she-cat growled, but not at me. "There used to be; until they faded. Cats here don't last quickly." She gave an eerie smile that made me feel uncomfortable, which was probably the point.
Ashfur didn't notice. "Well, there has to be some way out of here. We got in, didn't we?"
Yellowfang thought about that for a second. "It is true that with every entrance there is an exit," she chose her words carefully.
"Well," Ashfur and I said at the same time. "Where is it?"
Yellowfang licked her lips, again thinking about that. "The entrance to here is death, do you not agree?"
We both nodded.
"So the exit is death as well."
I stared at her. "That's it? All we have to do is die, and we'll go back?"
She gave me another 'smile.' I could tell that she loved me. "It's not that simple. You must right your wrongs. You must be a hero."
"So, Hollyleaf has to say sorry to me, and I have to say sorry to Squirrelflight?"
The cat rolled her eyes. "This generation is so stupid. No, I mean you have to be heroes in this world. Save someone's life or something."
It was my turn to roll our eyes. "But we're the only ones in here!"
The she-cat flashed off another winning smile. "Then I guess you're stuck here." She began fading away, until she was completely gone.
Ashfur sighed. "Well, we're one step closer to getting out of here."
I batted him over the head. "Yeah, we learned we can't do anything about it!"
Ashfur growled, though more at this place in general than at me. "There has to be another cat here. There just has to be. Think, what other cat has done something bad?"
"Tigerstar."
"For the right reason." Ashfur rolled his eyes and swished his tail in annoyance. "You sure got Crowfeather's stupidity."
I couldn't argue there, even if he was insulting me.
Ashfur sat down, and I could tell he was thinking. Whenever Ashfur thinks hard, his face gets all twisted up and he unsheathes his claws.
I sat down next to him and began to think. Who could be here? I racked my brain, but couldn't think of anyone that would end up here.
"Well?" Ashfur asked me. I just shook my head. "No cat comes to mind."
"Hollyleaf, we'll never get out of here."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ashfur and I awoke, back at the Moonpool. I stood up and shook my pelt, ruffling up my fur and warming me.
Suddenly, Ashfur let out a shriek. I looked up, and saw three cats lounging around the Moonpool.
"I think they're looking for us Smallstar," one cat said. The cat called Smallstar chuckled, and I didn't know if it was a genuine chuckle, or a sarcastic one.
"I think you're right. New here, are you?" He looked from me to Ashfur, but both of us were speechless.
"Can't talk can you? Not many new ones can. They're too shocked. You'll come around, and we'll be waiting."
Without warning, all three cats stood up and ran away, quickly disappearing. I was too shocked to run after them, and clearly so was Ashfur. We turned to each other and blinked, unsure of what to say.
Finally, I spoke up. "I guess someone else is here after all."
