Chapter 13
It had been three sunrises since the earthquake, and neither of her parents had been recovered.
They're never going to be found, Viperpaw thought. They're going to sit there, rotting away under all of that rubble. The young she-cat tried to push that thought away, but it was impossible. She needed to figure out whether or not her parents really were dead. They would have died by now, anyways, a small voice inside of her whispered.
"You're right," she meowed to herself.
Sighing, Viperpaw stood up and headed over to the fresh-kill pile. She studied it for a few moments, wondering what she should chose. I'm not hungry, she finally decided, before padding away.
"Viperpaw, have you eaten today?" a concerned voice questioned.
Looking up, Viperpaw saw that Daisy was approaching her. "No," Viperpaw confessed.
"You need to eat something," Daisy pressed, padding over to the fresh-kill pile. "How about a mouse?" The cream-colored queen picked up a mouse and carried it over to her.
Viperpaw shook her head. "You and your kits need it more than I do."
Daisy frowned. "That's nonsense, Viperpaw. You're a growing cat; you need prey to keep your strength up," she argued.
"Your kits are growing too," Viperpaw retorted.
Daisy let out an annoyed huff. "Viperpaw, please eat this mouse. I've been watching over you since Bramblestar's search party found me and the others, and I can tell you're not doing okay." Daisy pressed up against her side and began to lick her ear. "We're going to find your parents," she whispered.
Viperpaw pulled away. "Don't try to feed me lies, Daisy," she hissed. "We both know my parents are dead. Even if they had managed to survive being crushed by all that rubble, they would have died by now."
"You don't know that!" Daisy meowed, remaining calm. "We just have to hope that there are survivors down there."
Viperpaw sighed. She wanted to believe that her parents were both alive and well, but at the same time she knew it was pointless to get her hopes up. "Give me that mouse," she said.
Daisy smiled, and slid the mouse over to her. As Viperpaw ate, the ThunderClan queen watched over her.
"Thank you," Daisy purred.
Viperpaw just shrugged, before padding over to the apprentices den. There she laid down in the shade of the den, and looked out across WindClan's camp.
Since the five ThunderClan cats had been recovered two sunrises ago, only two more cats had been rescued since. A search party had gone into ShadowClan territory in search of survivors, and came out with Pinenose and Jaggedpaw. The two had claimed they had scented other survivors, but unfortunately hadn't been able to find them.
"You don't look so good."
Looking up, Viperpaw sat that her mentor was standing there. "So I've been told," she commented quietly.
Bramblestar stood there for a few moments, before taking a seat.
The two cats sat in silence, before Viperpaw decided to break the ice. "Bramblestar, what are we going to do now? So many cats are dead, and our homes are destroyed. W-will we end up becoming rogues?"
Bramblestar shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I'm still wondering why StarClan would call us from the lake to the gorge if they knew this disaster was going to happen. More importantly, why would they trick us like that? They told Leafpool that this Gathering would be special, and look what happened! They caused so many deaths..." he trailed off, his neck fur bristling.
Viperpaw was silent. Everything her leader had said was true. StarClan had tricked them, and for what reason?
"I just... I wish we had stayed at the lake," he growled, before stalking off.
Viperpaw pushed her way through the undergrowth, searching for any scents. To her disappointment, she couldn't find anything. Today she had been sent out with a patrol to search around part of SkyClan's territory on the opposite side of the gorge.
"Hello?" she finally called out, hoping that there was some cat close by.
To her surprise, a low moaning sound came from a clump of brambles. Eyes wide, Viperpaw rushed over to the brambles. As she slid under the prickly plant, she spotted a gray tabby tom laying on his side. He was covered in bloodied cobwebs, and his eyes were half-shut.
"Sunpaw?" he croaked.
"No," Viperpaw said. "My name is Viperpaw."
"V-Viper..." he trailed off, too weak to talk.
"I promise I'll get you some help," she said, backing out of the brambles. As she turned to head for the rest of her search party, she crashed into another cat.
Looking up, she spotted a golden she-cat starting at her. "Who are you?" the she-cat hissed, hackles raising.
"My name is Viperpaw," she repeated.
The she-cat's eyes widened, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank StarClan you've found us. Creekfeather and I have been so scared ever since that horrific shaking of the earth! We thought we were the only cats to make it out alive. Viperpaw, please tell us there are more survivors!"
This must be Sunpaw, she thought. "There are a few," Viperpaw explained. "Bramblestar, Leafstar..."
"You hear that, Creekfeather? Leafstar is alive!" Sunpaw exclaimed. "Please take us to her."
"It's a long walk," Viperpaw said, flicking her tail all the way in the direction of WindClan's camp. "That's were the survivors are living at."
"We can make it," Sunpaw said. Slowly, Sunpaw nudged Creekfeather up.
Together, the three cats slowly trekked around the gorge before heading across the moorland. By the time they reached WindClan's camp, Creekfeather collapsed with exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" Sunpaw demanded, rushing to her Clan mate's side.
"I-I will be in a moment. Just give me some time to rest," he panted, laying down on the ground.
Viperpaw frowned before glancing at Sunpaw. "I'll go fetch Leafstar," she meowed, before rushing off. As she padded into camp, she spotted Leafstar having a discussion with Crowfeather.
"Leafstar, I found two of your warriors while out on patrol," the apprentice called out.
Leafstar's eyes widened. "Lead me to them!" she said, before following Viperpaw out of camp.
"Leafstar!" Sunpaw yowled, rushing up to her leader's side. "It's so good to see you. Creekfeather and I were so worried that you were..." Sunpaw trailed off, not able to finish her sentence. Finally she asked, "Are the rest of our Clanmates here?"
Leafstar was silent for a few moments. "No," she finally whispered, her eyes clouding over.
"So everyone is...dead?" Sunpaw choked out.
"We believe so. We are still searching for survivors," the SkyClan leader explained. Turning to Creekfeather she asked, "Do you need help walking?"
Creekfeather shook his head. "I can make it." Slowly the SkyClan tom stood up and limped into WindClan's camp. As Leafstar got them settled, Viperpaw padded out of camp to hunt.
After a few minutes of searching for prey, Viperpaw collapsed on the ground. She didn't want to hunt. She just wanted to curl up in a hole and die. After all, what was there left for her to do? She was an orphan now, with no one left to care for her. "Please come back," she sobbed, lowering her head. "Please don't leave me here alone."
Suddenly she felt the presence of another cat beside her. For a split second, she thought that it was one of her parents. Looking up, she realized that it was just Bramblestar.
"Did I scare you?" he questioned.
She shook her head.
"Oh. You jumped, so I thought I had." Bramblestar was silent for a couple of minutes, unsure of what to say. "Are you okay?" he then asked.
Viperpaw shrugged. "I'm doing the best I can," she replied quietly.
Bramblestar frowned. "You're very depressed," the leader meowed.
"Aren't we all? After all, half of the Clans have been wiped out. Nearly every cat alive has lost most of their family and friends. In my opinion, it's hard to be cheerful when something like that happens," Viperpaw snapped, slightly annoyed.
Bramblestar just sighed. "I'm not expecting you – or any cat for that matter – to be cheerful. I'm just saying you aren't doing very well. You aren't eating, you're not sleeping, you're just... barely scraping by."
"I could say the same for you. You haven't been yourself since the earthquake," Viperpaw argued.
"So you've noticed?" he muttered.
"Every cat has noticed," she replied. "Even a newborn kit could tell something isn't right with you."
Before Bramblestar could reply, the tall grass around them rustled. Suddenly, a patrol burst through the grass, panting.
"We need backup at the gorge!" Mudwhisker panted, his eyes wide.
Bramblestar leaped to his paws. "Why? What happened?"
"We think we've found some survivors, but they're trapped in one of the caves," Lionblaze said. "We need help to move the boulders that are in the way."
Bramblestar glanced at Viperpaw. "Let's go back to camp right away and fetch backup. You wait here," he instructed the patrol, before racing away.
As they burst through the camp, Bramblestar called out, "We need a large patrol of cats to go down to the gorge!"
Crowfeather looked at him, confused. "I already sent a patrol down to the gorge."
"They think they've found some trapped survivors," Bramblestar panted. "And they need our help to free them."
"I'll go!" Pinenose said, leaping to her paws.
"As will I," Flameclaw offered.
As Bramblestar collected a few more cats to go help down in the gorge, Viperpaw's heart began to race excitedly. What if her parents were alive after all?
"Ready to go?" Bramblestar asked, shaking her from her thoughts.
Viperpaw nodded, before following Bramblestar and the others back to the patrol. Once they met up with Mudwhisker, Lionblaze and the others, they immediately headed towards the gorge.
"Where do you think these cats are trapped?" Flameclaw asked.
"They're on the very far end of the gorge," Mudwhisker explained. "Lionblaze spotted some buzzards flying around, so we went down there to investigate. As we recovered the bodies, we suddenly heard what sounded like a screeching cat. At first we thought it was our imagination, but it continued on. Together we searched around for the source of the call, before realizing it was coming from a blocked cave."
"Who were the bodies?" Pinenose asked, her eyes clouding over.
"Cherryfall and Whitestar," Lionblaze sighed. "By the looks of their bodies, a fox had dug them out of the rubble before dragging them away, but for some reason they abandoned them..."
Bramblestar's eyes clouded over. "May StarClan light their paths," he whispered.
The rest of the run to the gorge was silent. By the time they reached the cave Mudwhisker and Lionblaze were talking about, the sun was setting in the sky.
"Here we are," Mudwhisker meowed.
"Should we just start digging?" Crowfeather asked.
"I think that's our best option," Lionblaze said, padding up to the pile of blockage. Before he started digging, the golden warrior called out, "Hello? Is anyone in here?"
A moment later, a cat yowled out, "Please help us! Please!"
"Don't worry. We're going to do our best to save you," Lionblaze responded, before digging through the rubble.
The rest of the patrol followed, hoping to be able to make a hole that the trapped cats could get through.
As Viperpaw dug, she couldn't help but imagine that her parents were safe and sound inside. The thought that they were alive pushed her harder than ever before.
"Keep digging!" Bramblestar called out. "We've almost got an opening."
Viperpaw's eyes widened with excitement as she continued on. Pretty soon, every cat backed away. There beside the boulder was a small opening, just large enough for a cat to squeeze through.
"Can you make it out?" Bramblestar yowled into the hole.
No reply.
Together, the rescue patrol huddled around the hole, waiting for a cat to appear. Finally a small black tom began to squeeze out of the hole.
"Reedwhisker!" Bramblestar purred, rushing over to his friend's side. The ThunderClan leader leaned down and grabbed the RiverClan deputy's scruff, before hauling him out.
Reedwhisker sat back, panting. "I... I can't believe it. I thought we were going to die in that cave."
"It's a miracle that you all survived. How did you do it without any food or water?" Crowfeather asked.
Reedwhisker's gaze darkened. "I'd rather not discuss that right now," he muttered darkly, before looking away.
Crowfeather gave him a skeptical look, before glancing back at the hole. "How many cats are in there?"
"There are about thirteen, counting me," Reedwhisker answered, before calling out, "Come on, everyone! It's safe to come out."
A moment later, a small tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat climbed out of the hole. Based on her size, Viperpaw assumed she was an apprentice. The she-cat stood still for a few moments, almost as though she were in a daze. "I can't believe it," she breathed. "I'm free!"
After the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat climbed out of the hole, a familiar ginger she-cat came crawling out of the hole. Her dark ginger pelt was ruffled and covered in blood, but her green eyes shined with triumph.
"Squirrelflight!" Bramblestar yowled, rushing up to his mates side. "You're alive!" The dark brown tabby tom began covering his mate in excited licks.
Squirrelflight happily nuzzled him back. "I never thought I'd see you again. I thought I was going to die in that wretched cave."
Next came out Nettlebreeze, the ShadowClan medicine cat. After her followed Hootclaw and Featherpool of WindClan. Another apprentice climbed out after them, followed by two RiverClan cats, and two SkyClan cats.
Viperpaw's heart sank as she realized her parents hadn't been fortunate to make it out alive.
"Where's Spiderleg?" Reedwhisker asked.
"We tried to free his leg from under those rocks, but we couldn't," Otterbreeze of RiverClan explained.
Viperpaw's yellow eyes widened and she shrieked, "You have to save him! H-He's my father!"
Bramblestar pressed against Viperpaw. "Don't worry. We'll save him." Glancing at Lionblaze the ThunderClan leader asked, "Let's go help Spiderleg."
Lionblaze nodded, and together he and Bramblestar crawled down the hole that lead to the cave.
As Viperpaw waited for them to return with her father, her heart began to beat fast in her chest. Her father was injured, but he was alive and that was all that mattered.
After what felt like a season, Bramblestar and Lionblaze crawled out of the hole. Slowly, Spiderleg followed after them. His back leg was crushed and covered in blood, but he would survive.
Immediately, Viperpaw rushed up to her father and buried her face in his chest.
"Viperpaw," Spiderleg choked out. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Viperpaw nodded her head, speechless. She then glanced down at her father's injured leg. It was bloody and mangled beyond repair, making Viperpaw believe that her father would be forced to retire to the elder's den. That is, if we ever get out lives back in order.
"We need to get back to camp right away," Bramblestar yowled, looking around at all of the cats.
"What camp, exactly?" Reedwhisker questioned, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"WindClan's camp," Crowfeather replied. "Our camp was the only one that didn't get destroyed, so that's where every cat is staying."
Reedwhisker nodded. "I see. Well, as soon as I'm better, I'll send a patrol over to RiverClan's camp so we can start working on it. I'm sure Mistystar doesn't want to over stay her welcome."
Bramblestar and Crowfeather exchanged glances. Finally Bramblestar murmured, "Mistystar... hasn't been found yet."
Reedwhisker's eyes widened. "You mean she's...?" he trailed off, to upset to speak.
Bramblestar nodded slowly, his amber eyes full of sympathy for the RiverClan deputy. "Come on, let's just head back to camp. You all are clearly exhausted, and you need to rest up immediately." Looking over at Spiderleg the ThunderClan leader asked, "Can you manage?"
Spiderleg hobbled forward a few paces, before collapsing onto the ground. Grunting, the black-and-brown tom tried to stand up once more, but failed.
"I'll help you," Lionblaze offered, padding over to his Clanmate's side. Mudwhisker followed after the golden warrior, and together they nudged Spiderleg back to his paws. Viperpaw stood back a few paces, unsure whether or not she should help as well. After a few thoughtful moments, she decided that she was too small to support the weight of her father. I'll stand back and make sure he doesn't slip going up the steep gorge side.
The walk home was slow and painstaking, but the cats managed to make it back by nightfall. As they padded into camp, they were all met with a group of surprised cats.
"It's a miracle from StarClan! I knew they hadn't completely abandoned us!" Daisy yowled, her eyes shining.
"I smell an infection," Heathertail reported, sniffing the air. "Is any cat hurt?"
"Spiderleg is," Lionblaze reported. "His leg was crushed when part of the cave's ceiling he was in collapsed."
Heathertail frowned, before beckoning Fernsong over with her tail. "We need to bandage his wounds as soon as possible," the WindClan warrior murmured.
"And then what will we do?" Fernsong questioned, her blue eyes wide. "We don't have the proper knowledge of herbs to care for an injury as intense as his. What if he dies?"
"He won't," a quiet voice spoke up.
Both WindClan cats looked over to see Nettlebreeze hovering close by. "I can care for him."
Fernsong let out a sigh of relief. "Thank StarClan you survived, Nettlebreeze! We haven't recovered any of the other medicine cats... alive, that is." Fernsong seemed to whisper the last part, as though she didn't want to admit that the Clans had lost their medicine cats.
Nettlebreeze just gave her a blank expression. "I should have suspected as much," she muttered under her breath, before walking over to Kestrelflight's den.
As Viperpaw watched Heathertail and Fernsong help Spiderleg over to the medicine cats den, her stomach churned nervously. The Clans had been extremely fortunate to recover the thirteen lives they had found, but what about all of the other missing cats? Would they ever be found?
Suddenly an image of her mother's dead body flashed in her mind, crushed beneath mounds of heavy rock and soil. Viperpaw began to shake as she pushed the thought away. I can't bare to think of her like that! She thought, squeezing her eyes shut.
Suddenly she felt another cat's pelt brush up against hers. Looking up, she saw that Thrushfeather was standing there. "Have you eaten today?" she asked, her eyes full of sympathy.
Viperpaw was silent for a few moments, unsure whether or not she had actually eaten. "I... I think so?"
"Ah, okay." Without another word, Thrushfeather trotted off. As Viperpaw watched her, she felt her eyes begin to droop with fatigue. Slowly, she headed over to the apprentices den. The once unfamiliar den was now as familiar as ThunderClan camp to her. Shutting her eyes, she curled up in the closest nest to her and fell asleep.
I'm sorry I haven't been updating lately. My internet wasn't working, so I haven't been able to update until now. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Also, here were all the cats that were rescued from the cave (since not all of them were mentioned by name in the chapter): Reedwhisker, Nettlebreeze, Featherpool, Hootclaw, Webpaw, Lichenpaw, Patchfoot, Birchflower, Honeysplash, Squirrelflight, Sandstripe, Spiderleg and Ottersbreeze . Also, you will figure out how these cats survived in the cave in the next few chapters.