"No." Dust took a step back. "I can't join the clans! They're evil!"

"They're evil?" Shimmer stared at him "Everything they do, they do it for the good of the clan, at they don't imprison kits because they're weak! The cats down there have never even seen sunlight!" Dust shook his head.

"I didn't know that till today," he mewed shakily. "I'll bet a lot of cats don't know that. I can go on living here without knowing about those cats. What I do doesn't affect them, and what they do doesn't affect me." Shimmer's bright eyes flashed and then dulled.

"So…you won't come with me?" Dust shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Shimmer," he replied. "I just can't leave." Shimmer dipped her head.

"I respect your decision," she murmured. "You're all grown up now, and you won't follow me everywhere anymore." Dust nodded.

"It's okay though," he mewed. "We're still together at heart." Nuzzling her, he turned around to leave. "I'll miss you though."

"I'll miss you too," Shimmer replied before bounding off again into the trees.

I don't care if Dust isn't coming. I'm still going to ThunderClan. But I can't go alone…

She stopped. Suddenly she knew exactly where to go. And as the rain fell on, Shimmer turned on her heels and dashed off.


"Amber!" Shimmer raced into the cavern. The dirt-covered she-cat raised her head.

"What is it, Shimmer?" In a heartbeat, Shimmer spilled out everything that had happened in the past day. Amber's brilliant eyes widened.

"Wait…you're leaving me?" Shimmer shook her head.

"That's why I'm here," she whispered. "I want you to come with me!" Unlike Dust, Amber stood up, her eyes filled with determination. "Then I will," she mewed. "I'll go wherever you go." Shimmer pressed against her.

"Thank you."

Amber padded over to Angel, who lay quietly on the ground. She whispered something into her ear and nuzzled her. Angel lifted her head and rasped her tongue over Amber's ear. "You'll always be my kit," she murmured. Amber purred affectionately.

"It's okay," she mewed. "I'll be back, and we'll get you all out of here, I promise." She bounced back to Shimmer. "Okay, how do we get out?" Shimmer blinked. Why didn't I think of this? Suddenly, it hit her.

"Angel," she mewed. "Can you tell us where that secret tunnel is?" Angel looked surprised, but she heaved herself up and padded along the cave wall. Brushing a small area with her tail, she uncovered a hole in the wall. The two cats bounded over and peered into the tunnel. "Are you sure it's safe?" Amber mewed worriedly. Angel nodded. "Scratch has traveled in and out of it plenty of times." Shimmer ducked into the tunnel.

"Thanks for everything, Angel." She bowed her head. "We'll come back to get you guys out of here as soon as we can." Amber nuzzled Angel one more time and followed Shimmer into the tunnel.

"So what's the plan once we get out of here?" Amber mewed.

"Well," Shimmer began. "First we clean up so we look presentable. Then we head right to their camp so we don't seem like cowards. According to Crystalfur, they'll welcome us so there should be too much of a problem. But if they don't want us, we run for it and come right back here."

"Sounds good," coughed Amber. The dirt was falling from the roof of the tunnel. Shimmer could barely see her paws in front of her, but she knew they were going the right way. "I think I see a light ahead," she rasped, speeding up her gait. The tunnel became brighter and brighter as they neared the exit. Amber screwed her eyes shut. "It's so bright!" she gasped. Shimmer purred.

"You're just lucky it isn't sunny today, or you'd probably be blind!" At last they reached the end of the tunnel and burst out into a mossy clearing. Shimmer blinked. She had been here a few times before while hunting. How could she have never noticed the tunnel? Amber gaped as she looked around. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "It's everything like I imagined! The trees and the grass…" She trailed off, too in awe to say anything. Shimmer nudged her. "Hurry!" she urged. "Let's go down to the river so we can wash all this dirt off, and then we'll leave. You can't let anyone see you!" The two she-cats streaked through the trees and down to the river. The water level was high because of the rain. The two carefully washed all the grit off their pelts and sat on the bank to groom themselves. Shimmer looked at Amber in surprise. The she-cat's pelt was an iridescent dark ginger, free from tangles and burrs despite being stuck in a cave all her life. She stood up, blinking. "Are you ready?" Shimmer nodded and the two friends set off towards the ThunderClan border. As the heavy scent of ThunderClan grew stronger, Shimmer's heart tightened. Am I making the right decision? They stopped at the border, glancing at each other. Suddenly, Shimmer heard pawsteps pounding behind her. "Wait!" a voice yowled. Shimmer whirled around to see Dust running towards them. He skidded to a stop, breathing heavily.

"I thought about what you said," he mewed breathily. "I'm not grown up. I won't be able to survive without you. I still have to follow you everywhere." Shimmer purred.

"It's alright," she replied. "I probably wouldn't have been able to survive without you either. But now it's time for something new and there's no way we won't survive if we're together." She stared into the ThunderClan territory. "Let's go." The three cats ventured into the territory.

"Stop!" a patrol caught them midway. "What are you doing on our territory?" A dark grey she-cat led the patrol, and she didn't look welcoming. Shimmer dipped her head respectfully.

"We'd like to speak to your clan leader," she mewed politely. "Could you take us to your camp?" Glaring at them suspiciously, the she-cat jabbed her tail in the direction of the camp, beckoning them to follow her. As they approached, Shimmer pressed close to her brother. Would he be okay in ThunderClan? When they stepped into the clan, she felt multiple heads turn to look. Whispers floated around as the three huddled together, waiting for something to happen. A golden brown she-cat stepped up to them, her eyes shining. "We've been expecting you," she mewed. "The whole clan rejoiced when we found out you were alive." She stepped aside so they could see the whole camp. "Welcome to ThunderClan."