Chapter 8
Bramblestar looked around the clearing wildly. The cats were taking their time, causing Bramblestar to become even more frustrated. "Hurry, this is an emergency!" he growled.
"What's going on?" Leafpool asked nervously.
"The lake is flooding. In fact, the water is almost to our camp as we speak. W-We need to evacuate now or we will all drown! And not to mention the wind from this storm is so strong that trees are being pulled out of the ground left and right. We aren't safe here!"
An eruption of shocked cries and gasps rang out. Cats began panicking; he could see Cinderheart and Lionblaze gathering their daughters together, and Brackenfur was comforting Lilypaw and Seedpaw.
"Where are we going to go?" Thornclaw called out.
"Yeah, where will we go to shelter from the storm? And what about Briarlight? She'll never make it! If she dies I'll never forgive you, Bramblestar," Millie hissed. A chorus of agreement rose up from some of the cats.
"We should go stay in the tunnels," Lionblaze suggested loudly. "It's the only place that we could go to get out of the rain and wind. Plus we'd be safe from falling trees and branches."
Jayfeather's blind blue eyes widened in absolute horror. "No, we absolutely cannot go into the tunnels! Lionblaze, you know they flood. We'd be in immense danger down there...Maybe going to the abandoned Twoleg nest would be the best option."
Ivypool shook her head. "The Twoleg nest is too dangerous. If a tree falls on it, it'll crush us all. And if the water does get as high as the hollow, then it wouldn't be long til the water reached there as well. The tunnels are our best option."
Bramblestar nodded. "The tunnels it is then." He glanced up at the black sky and realized they didn't have much more time to sit around talking about this. Big branches were already beginning to fall into the hollow, and the ground was so soaked with water that it couldn't hold anymore, causing big puddles to form. He carefully made sure that every cat was accounted for, and then signaled his tail for his Clan to follow Lionblaze. Bramblestar took up the back, and before he left he made sure that all the dens were empty.
When he padded out of the camp, he noticed that the water was already making its way towards the hollow. Thank StarClan we left when we did! He thought.
Bramblestar ran through the forest, trying to catch up with his Clan. Here and there branches fell, and he could hear a tree falling in the distance. Soon he could make out blurry shapes in the rain and he saw his Clan mates making their way towards the tunnels.
"Is everyone here?" He called when he got close enough to them. He scanned the group for Briarlight and saw her being carried by both Millie and Bumblestripe. Good. She's safe.
"Everyone's here," Sandstorm spoke up.
Bramblestar nodded and signaled for the Clan to pick up the pace. As they continued on, the storm got extremely worst. The wind completely knocked the cats down and there were times when they couldn't even stand back up for periods of time. The group had to essentially crawl to get to the their shelter, and several of them ended up cutting themselves on debris that was lying around on the forest floor.
Soon the tunnel entrance came into sight and Bramblestar let out a silent thanks to StarClan. One by one the Clan made their way down the long and dark tunnel into one of the main caves.
"I want Lionblaze and Ivypool to begin scouting the tunnels for any leaking before we settle down. Come back immediately if you see any water down here. I don't want to take any chances," he ordered.
Lionblaze and Ivypool nodded and split up to go exploring.
Bramblestar flopped down towards one of the walls of the cave and began grooming his wet fur. He felt so exhausted, but he knew he couldn't go to sleep until all of his Clan mates were safe and comfortable.
The sound of paw steps soon alerted Bramblestar, and he saw Graystripe and Blossomfall rushing towards them with the most terrified look on their faces. "Bramblestar - Millie, Bumblestripe and Briarlight are missing!" Graystripe warned. His yellow eyes were wide with fear and his fur was fluffed out.
Bramblestar's heart began to beat wildly. He had promised Millie that he wouldn't let Briarlight die, and now Millie and two of her kits were lost...or possibly dead. "T-The storm must have separated them from the group. I'll go out and find them. White-"
"No, I'll go," Blossomfall interrupted sharply.
"Absolutely not, Blossomfall. This storm is way too dangerous and I'm not going to let you go out there. You need to stay here with your father," Bramblestar ordered.
"Don't you care about them? They'll die if we don't do something," Blossomfall argued.
"I do care. It's just that there is nothing we can do. It's too dangerous to send a search party out there to go find them. Millie and Bumblestripe are smart cats and I'm sure they'll find their way here. In fact, they could be coming down the tunnel right now," Bramblestar said.
Graystripe let out a deep sigh before meowing, "Bramblestar is right, Blossomfall. It's way too dangerous to go looking for them. I'm sure they'll come back soon. Until then there is nothing we can do."
Blossomfall's eyes burned with rage. "I'm going to save my family. This may be my only chance to ever get Millie's praise, and I'm not going to waste it. I have to show her that I do love her and Briarlight...that I love my entire family!" And with that, Blossomfall turned and darted through the tunnel.
Graystripe's eyes widened in fear and he cried out, "Blossomfall, no!"
"You wait here. I'll get her back," Bramblestar promised. Without waiting for an answer, he darted through the tunnel and raced after Blossomfall. The cave walls pressed at his sides and he became aware of the pounds of rock hanging above his head which slowed him down even more. No matter how fast he ran, he just couldn't catch up with the tortoiseshell she-cat.
Soon he spotted the light from the entrance and broke out into the storming forest. Luckily, Briarlight and the others had neared the tunnel, however he could see blood running down Bumblestripe's shoulder and Briarlight's eyes was swollen. Blossomfall was making her way towards her littermates and mother.
Bramblestar started to make his way towards the group, but the sound of loud groaning and creaking stopped him in his tracks. He glanced around and saw that a beech tree was being dislodged by the wind and the rain, and it wouldn't be long before it toppled down right onto them all.
"We're never going to make it!" Millie shrieked.
"Yes, you will. Millie, Blossomfall, go! I'll take Briarlight myself," Bumblestripe offered.
"No, Bumblestripe. Let me help you two," Blossomfall told them.
Millie just hissed at her and said something that Bramblestar couldn't pick up, but he could tell it wasn't something friendly. Blossomfall ignored it though and the the three cats hurried along, each with Briarlight across their backs. The tree groaned again and leaned down ever father, causing Briarlight to scream out in fear. The cats picked up as much speed as they could and it wasn't long til they were close enough to the tunnel entrance. Bramblestar stood there, waiting to help them. He kept watching the tree to make sure it wouldn't fall. It was dangerously close to losing it ground, and Bramblestar's heart pumped wildly in his chest. He could hear his blood roaring in his ears and he worried he would lose all four cats.
When they reached the entrance, Bramblestar padded out and helped them get Briarlight safely down into the tunnel. We just might make it!
Then a loud groan sounded, and a mighty snap! rang through the air. The beech tree came tumbling down. Blossomfall's eyes darted from the tree to her family, and she roughly pushed both Bumblestripe and Millie into the tunnel.
Bramblestar was shoved backwards along with another cat, and together they tumbled down through the long tunnel. A blood curdling scream rang through the air and Bramblestar's heart dropped into his chest.
The other cat leaped up immediately after hearing that and together the two of them ran back to the entrance. Two shapes were huddled by the entrance, and branches completely blocked this way out. "BRIARLIGHT? ARE YOU HERE? PLEASE, TELL ME YOU'RE SAFE!" The cat - Millie - cried out.
"She's here..." Bumblestripe meowed hoarsely, "but...Blossomfall..." he broke off and Bramblestar saw he had a haunted look on his face.
Millie stopped covering Briarlight in licks and stared at Bumblestripe worriedly. "W-What about Blossomfall?" she whispered.
"Blossomfall is dead, Millie."
Bramblestar sank to the ground and just sat there, completely shocked. She gave her life up to save her family...
Millie let out an angry scream and she lashed her tail wildly. "She can't be! Oh StarClan no. No, no, no, NO! Oh Blossomfall..."
Bumblestripe and Briarlight made their way over to Millie and pressed up against their mother. Millie just sat there screaming and shaking, and Bramblestar's heart broke. Poor Millie...
"What happened?!" Graystripe demanded as he ran up. "We heard screaming...please tell me Briarlight is okay."
Bramblestar gave the gray elder a sympathetic look and took a deep breath. "It's Blossomfall. She didn't make it. I'm so sorry, Graystripe."
Graystripe's eyes widened and he hung his head down in shame. "She can't be...I should have done more to stop her. It's all my fault she died... Oh why, oh why? I promised myself that I wouldn't let another cat I loved die. I already lost Silverstream and Feathertail, and now I've lost Blossomfall!"
Bramblestar's heart ached for the grieving family. "It's not your fault, Graystripe. It's no ones fault. Blossomfall died an honorable death. She saved the lives of her family members. No one will ever forget that." He stood up and he nudged the cats in the direction of the cave.
Slowly the grieving cats made their way back to the main cave. Bramblestar explained to them what had happened to Blossomfall and together the entire Clan mourned for her.
Graystripe, Bumblestripe and Briarlight were all curled around Millie and were whispering to her, trying to comfort her. "I'm such an awful mother. All I ever did was yell at her and now she's dead! I can't believe this. Oh, Blossomfall...I'm so sorry. If you can hear me I hope you forgive me for what I did to you. I always loved you no matter what, and I'm so sorry for what I did to you."
"Oh Millie," Daisy meowed, walking up to the silver tabby. She rested her plumy tail across Millie's shoulders and said, "Blossomfall knows that you loved her. She wouldn't want you to be so upset. She would want you to be happy that she's in a better place now. I bet she's up there playing with Hazeltail and Toadstep right now."
Several cats mewed in agreement, and one-by-one they made their way towards the grieving family in order to share their condolences.
The cats sat there and mourned for their lost home and for Blossomfall that night.
"Everyone," Briarlight suddenly called out, breaking the silence, "if I may, I'd like to make a speech about my sister."
"That would be lovely," Dovewing whispered.
"Yeah, go for it!" Amberpaw called out.
Briarlight nodded and waited for the Clan to grow silent once more before beginning. "My sister, Blossomfall, was the greatest sister a cat could ever ask for. I don't blame Blossomfall for how she felt. In fact, I completely understand. Despite what many think, Blossomfall was a great cat and she was always very kind to me. Blossomfall, if you can hear me, I just want to say thank you so much for saving us. I really appreciate that and I will never forget what you did for me and our family. Even though I cannot walk and that I don't know if I'll make it to see another day, I will uphold your memory each and every day I have left. Thank you so much, and may you rest in peace in StarClan."
"Blossomfall! Blossomfall!" Blossomfall!" ThunderClan cried out.
A loud purr rose out in Bumblestripe's throat and he nuzzled Briarlight. "I couldn't have said it any better myself."
Aw, poor Blossomfall! I really like her, so it was hard killing her off. I've always wanted her to have an honorable death though, and I think that saving her family would be the best way to go. Also thank you to every one who is supporting this story. It means the world to me!
Thanks for reading!