(A/N: I'm going to be on vacation from May 4-21, so I won't be updating this for a while. I will continue when I get back.)

Chapter 10

Swallowflight ducked under a thick bramble bush. "Are you guys coming?" she called back at her patrol.

A cream-colored tom pushed his way behind her. "I am going to get thorns in my fur!" he grumbled, shaking his pelt. "Are you sure you scented a rabbit warren?"

"Yes, Berrynose," the black she-cat meowed. "It's definitely this way."

A brown-and-cream tom and a tortoiseshell she-cat joined the two warriors. "We'd better get those rabbits," Molewhisker meowed. "Leaf-bare is nearly here and rabbits would give everyone a good meal before the snow comes."

The tortoiseshell she-cat nodded seriously. "Mama said we're going to be hungry when it gets really cold."

"That's right, Brindlepaw," Berrynose meowed to his apprentice. "All the prey either starves or hides down where it's warm. We need to eat well now so we can last through leaf-bare."

"And I know I scented a rabbit warren this way!" Swallowflight mewed. "It's just beyond that old maple tree with the rotting branches."

Molewhisker narrowed his eyes. "Usually rabbits make their home on the moor. I'm surprised they settled here in the forest."

"Well, I'm glad they did," Berrynose purred. "That means good eating for us!"

The cream-furred tom pushed to the front of the patrol and marched through the undergrowth. He held his head high as he led the patrol in the direction of the maple tree.

Brindlepaw trotted alongside Swallowflight, her small paws pattering gently over the fallen twigs. "Are you liking being a warrior?" she asked.

The black she-cat nodded. "It's great," she meowed. "I love going on patrols and hunting and guarding our camp from trespassers. It's nice feeling important to the Clan."

"I hope you're sleeping better in the warriors' den," the apprentice squeaked. "In the nights before the ceremony you made a lot of noise in your sleep. Were you having nightmares?"

A wave of embarrassment washed over Swallowflight. Could the younger she-cat guess the warrior had been meeting her father in her dreams? Shaking her head quickly, she regained her composure and cast the apprentice a friendly glance. "I'm sleeping just fine. No nightmares at all."

Brindlepaw twitched her tail, not looking convinced. "I've seen Streampaw staring at you. She looks so serious. I think something is wrong and you aren't telling me what it is."

The mention of her sister surprised Swallowflight. Surely Streampaw didn't know she was still seeing Onestar at night. The one time Onestar had brought them together Streampaw had made sure she and Swallowflight both stormed off together. The tabby she-cat had no reason to think Swallowflight and Onestar were getting along or that she actually liked talking with her father.

"I'm fine, Brindlepaw," Swallowflight meowed. "Really."

"Are you two just going to talk the whole time?" Berrynose growled, leaping onto a large root branching out from the bottom of an old maple tree. "You'll scare every piece of prey in the forest!"

The apprentice ducked her head sheepishly. "Sorry, Berrynose."

Swallowflight raised her head to scent the air. "The rabbits are here," she meowed. "They must be gathered beneath the tree."

Molewhisker nodded. "Good scenting. I see there is more than one hole leading under the tree. We should each take an entrance and go in. If we do that we can trap the rabbits so they can't escape."

"That's good thinking, son," Berrynose meowed, a flash of pride showing in his eyes. "I'll take this entrance by me. Molewhisker, you take the one between the two smaller roots, Swallowflight can take the one dug against the base of the tree, and Brindlepaw can take the one out by that far root." The tom motioned with his tail to each entrance, pointing out where his Clanmates should go.

Swallowflight sprang over to her hole, bending her head down to peer inside. It was dark, so she could not see down, but the faint sound of rabbit claws scratching across the dirt met her ears.

"Ready?" Berrynose called. "Let's go!"

The black warrior raced down the rabbit hole, colliding with the smaller, fluffy body of a rabbit. She tore into the creature's flesh with her claws, biting at it sharply. Once the animal fell limp she tossed it to the side and flung herself deeper into the warren. She caught another rabbit as it tried to flee, grabbing it with her paws and thrusting it's head back against the hard bark wall of the tree.

"Ow-ow! Someone help me!" a shrill voice cried, her voice echoing through the warren.

"Brindlepaw!" Berrynose's deeper voiced called. "Where are you?"

Swallowflight swung her head around, trying to make out the outline of cats, but it was too dark to see the apprentice.

"I don't know!" the smaller cat wailed. "A rabbit got my eyes! They hurt!"

The black warrior shoved her way through the den, flinging rabbits away as she searched desperately for Brindlepaw. As she padded quickly in the dark her paws slipped in something wet and slimy, and the sharp scent of blood hit her nose.

"Swallowflight, is that you?" Brindlepaw's pitiful mew sounded from nearby. "Help me, please!"

"I found her!" Swallowflight called back toward Berrynose. "She's bleeding!"

The warrior grabbed Brindlepaw by her scruff and hauled her back the way she had come. She turned around and dragged the apprentice up the narrow slope that led up to the forest. Reaching the world above, she dropped Brindlepaw gently on the grass. With a gasp of horror she saw the apprentice was bleeding from her eye sockets.

"Why can't I see you?" the apprentice wailed. "My eyes hurt so bad!"

Berrynose and Molewhisker raced up the slope and skidded to a halt beside Swallowflight.

"Her eyes!" Berrynose cried.

Brindlepaw swung her head around. "What's wrong with them? Why can't I see?"

Molewhisker and Swallowflight exchanged horrified glances. "We've got to get her back to Jayfeather!" the brown-and-cream tom meowed.

Berrynose nodded. "Swallowflight, run on ahead and get your sister and Jayfeather. Let them know Brindlepaw's been injured."

With a nod the she-cat turned and raced away from her patrol. Her paws barely touched the earth as she pelted toward the camp. The hunt was all but forgotten, the rabbits they had caught still lying dead in the warren. All that mattered now was getting Brindlepaw help.

The she-cat burst through the entrance of camp, alerting her Clanmates of danger. As the cats in the camp stared at her with wide eyes, the warrior fought for breath.

"We need Jayfeather and Streampaw!" she gasped. "Brindlepaw's been hurt!"

A tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat standing by the fresh-kill pile stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. "What happened to my daughter?" Blossomfall demanded.

"Her eyes!" Swallowflight panted. "They're gone!"

The apprentice's mother stared at the warrior, trying to understand what she said. After a brief hesitation she sprang away from the fresh kill and raced out of the camp, calling Brindlepaw's name.

Streampaw poked her head out of the medicine cats' den. "Brindlepaw's been hurt?" she asked, hurrying out of the den. "Her eyes scratched by rabbits?"

Swallowflight nodded. "She can't see and she's terrified!"

The tabby narrowed her eyes. "Jayfeather went to ask Willowshine if he could exchange catmint for daisy leaves. I guess I'm on my own. I'll have to save Brindlepaw myself."

"Please help her," Swallowflight mewed.

Streampaw straightened herself, looking determined. "I'll do what I can. Oh StarClan, help me heal Brindlepaw."