Chapter 27

Bramblestar didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

Every time he tried to fall asleep, the image of Ivypool's death flashed through his mind, sending him into a panic. More could have been done to save Ivypool, he thought grimly. No matter what Ivypool had told him, he just knew she could have been saved.

And what on earth did StarClan mean by 'his time would come soon'? Surely he wasn't going to die? But what if he did die? After all, Firestar, Blackstar and Onestar had all recently died... it didn't seem too far fetched that StarClan would try to claim his life as well.

"Have you eaten yet?" Leafpool asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

Bramblestar shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

Leafpool gave him a stern look before growling, "As your medicine cat, I command you to eat. You need to keep your strength up!"

Bramblestar gave Leafpool an amused look, before heading to the small fresh-kill pile. He quickly snatched up a mouse, and within a matter of seconds devoured it.

Leafpool smiled, before hurrying off. In the distance, Bramblestar could hear her asking Crowfeather if he had eaten yet.

"Ready to get going?" Squirrelflight wondered as she walked up to him.

"Yeah," he said.

Squirrelflight nodded, and together she and Bramblestar started to gather up all of ThunderClan.

"Are we traveling again?" Sorrelkit whined to her mother.

"Yeah, I'm tired of traveling! I want to go back to the lake," Hollykit squeaked.

Cinderheart gave her daughters a sad look before murmuring, "We can't go back to the lake, little ones." The gray tabby then bent her head and gave the three of them little licks. "I promise you we will find our new home soon."

"Why do we need to find a new home?" Fernkit asked.

"Our old home is not suitable for us anymore," Cinderheart sighed.

"Why?"

"...Don't worry about it right now." Cinderheart then nudged them towards the group.

Bramblestar chuckled at the kits before turning away. He quickly made sure that every cat was accounted for, and then went to check with the other leaders.

"Is everyone accounted for?" he asked as he approached Rowanstar.

The dark ginger tom turned away from his conversation with Dawnpelt, and nodded. "All of ShadowClan has been counted."

"Same goes for RiverClan," Mistystar announced.

"As is WindClan," Whitestar said as she walked up.

Rowanstar nodded and then asked, "Should we head out now?"

Mistystar gave him a look of approval, and together the four Clans began to head for High Stones. In the distance, Bramblestar could barely make out the shapes of horses.

"What are those?" Snowfeather asked, his eyes wide with excitement.

"They're called horses," Dustpelt explained.

"They won't attack us, will they?" Snowfeather questioned, gazing at the dusty brown elder.

Dustpelt shook his head. "They're harmless."

After about an hour, the Clans reached the shiny mesh that surrounded the horses. "Be very careful," Tawnypelt warned. "This mesh is very sharp, and if it digs into your skin it can cause a serious injury. Also, try not to get stuck." The tortoiseshell she-cat gave Squirrelflight an amused look as she spoke.

"It was one time," Squirrelflight huffed, lashing her tail in annoyance.

Tawnypelt and Bramblestar both chuckled, before crawling under the mesh. As Bramblestar pulled himself under, he could feel the mesh poking at his fur. Then it was Squirrelflight's turn, and as she crawled underneath, Bramblestar couldn't resist but to whisper, "Don't get stuck!"

Squirrelflight shot him an annoyed look, before pulling herself out from underneath the mesh.

Bramblestar twitched his whiskers in amusement, before turning to watch the other cats crawl under the mesh. For the most part, everyone made it under without any problem, but a couple of cats managed to get stuck. Luckily, they were freed quickly, and no cat received any serious injuries.

"Don't get under the horse's hooves," Tawnypelt warned as the group continued on.

As the cats walked, Bramblestar could hear one of Dawnpelt's kits crying about the smell of the horses.

"They're yucky!" a black-and-white she-kit was crying.

"Hush, Shadekit!" Crowfrost scolded his daughter.

"No! They smell so bad, daddy! It's making me sick," Shadekit argued, wrinkling her nose.

"It won't be long now," Dawnpelt said, attempting to soothe her daughter.

Shadekit didn't say anything, but the small kit still looked extremely upset.

After a couple of minutes of dodging around horses, the Clans reached the edge of the field. On the other side, there was a small Thunderpath. Beyond the Thunderpath stood...

"High Stones," Bramblestar breathed, too stunned to move. They had finally reached High Stones! I never thought I'd see them again.

"Is every cat ready?" Mistystar asked, stunned as well.

When every cat was ready to continue on, the Clans quickly crawled under the last bit of shiny mesh, before crouching on the edge of the Thunderpath. Since the Thunderpath was so small, there weren't very many monsters running along it. Because of this, every cat was able to easily cross the Thunderpath.

On the other side, the ground turned to stone and began to slope upwards. As they stood in the shadow of High Stones, Bramblestar felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. If only we could just move back into the old forest, he thought glumly. He knew that wasn't possible though, as everything had been destroyed. Even if the Twolegs had left some of the Clan's old territory, it wouldn't be enough to support all four of the Clans.

Glancing at the other leaders, he could tell they were waiting to see what was on the other side as well. The dark brown tabby then glanced up at the peak of High Stones, before slowly heading up the steep, rocky slope. With every pawstep he took, his body quivered and his mouth went dry.

As time passed, Bramblestar's body began to ache with fatigue.

"It won't be long now," Squirrelflight whispered to him when she noticed he was shaking.

Bramblestar gave her a determined look, before carrying on. Almost there... almost there... there!

Bramblestar's happy expression suddenly darkened as he gazed out across the old territory. While he knew that the Twolegs had completely destroyed everything in the forest, part of Bramblestar just couldn't help but think that the old forest was still standing.

The forest had been destroyed though.

Nothing had remained since they had left the forest. All of the trees had been cut down, the moorland was gone, and the entire territory was now covered in bustling Thunderpaths and Twoleg nests.

"I can't bear to look," Sandstorm wailed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I feel as though a piece of my heart has been ripped out," Whitestar agreed as she gazed towards the place the moorland used to be.

"Not even a single pine tree is standing," Rowanstar sighed.

"It shocks me how much this place has changed since Graystripe and I passed through," Millie whispered, glancing at her mate.

Graystripe just stood there, frowning. Finally the gray elder rasped, "It doesn't even feel like the same place anymore."

The longer they stood there, the more Bramblestar felt sick to his stomach. Glancing around for a place to rest, the shape of a familiar barn caught his eye. "Look!" he yowled, flicking his tail towards the barn.

"Barley and Ravenpaw's barn!" Squirrelflight gasped.

One by one, the cats started to look at the barn. "It's still standing," Whitestar meowed with a sigh of relief.

"Should we rest there?" Bramblestar wondered.

Rowanstar snorted. "Do you know anywhere else we could sleep at?"

Bramblestar lashed his tail in annoyance, but didn't reply to Rowanstar's rude comment. "Let's get going then," he sighed before heading down the slope.

When he reached the bottom, he paused at the edge of the Thunderpath. Since the Twolegs had enlarged it, even more monsters than before raced along the black path. As a group of gigantic monsters roared past, they sent stinking fumes into Bramblestar's face, making him grimace.

"Oh dear StarClan!" Tawnypelt sighed as she looked across the Thunderpath. "How are we ever going to be able to cross that?"

"There isn't any way we'll be able to cross that!" Snowbird complained. The ShadowClan queen gave her Clanmate a scared look, before looking at Rowanstar.

As Rowanstar padded up, he gave Snowbird a reassured look. "Don't worry, Snowbird. I'll make sure every cat makes it across safely."

Snowbird didn't look so sure, but she didn't challenge her leader.

"How should we cross?" Bramblestar asked.

"Maybe we could send one group of cats across at a time? Like one warrior, apprentice, queen, kit and elder?" Tawnypelt suggested.

"I think that sounds good," Bramblestar said.

Rowanstar nodded in approval, and together the three of them began to put cats into groups. Bramblestar made up the first group, along with Cinderheart, Hollykit, Sorrelkit, Fernkit, Graystripe and Featherpaw.

Together, the seven of them padded up to the edge of the Thunderpath. Finally, a gap in the monsters came. "Go!" Bramblestar yowled, before quickly grabbing Hollykit by the scruff. The seven cats raced across the Thunderpath as fast as they could, before flopping down in the safety of the grass on the other side.

"Are my kits safe?" Cinderheart panicked, glancing around for her daughters. When the ThunderClan queen had made sure all of her daughters were accounted for, she ushered them into the safety of a nearby bush.

As Bramblestar and the others waited for the rest of the group to cross, Bramblestar's stomach churned nervously. To his relief, nearly all of the groups had made it across safely. Now it was the last groups turn.

Bramblestar held his breath as he watched Crowfrost, Kinkfur, Hootpaw, and Sedgewhisker cross the Thunderpath. Within a couple of seconds, Sedgewhisker and Hootpaw had made it across safely, but Crowfrost and Kinkfur were still struggling to get across. As Bramblestar watched, he could tell Kinkfur was limping.

Suddenly, a monster came roaring at the two cats.

Crowfrost's eyes widened with fear, and he frantically began to shove Kinkfur towards the other side of the Thunderpath.

Kinkfur hobbled on as fast as she could, but it wasn't fast enough. The monster was nearly there!

With all of his strength, Crowfrost grabbed Kinkfur by the scruff before dragging her across the Thunderpath. Right as the ShadowClan deputy landed in on the safe side, the monster roared past. When it did, Kinkfur let out a howl of pain.

"What happened?" Littlecloud demanded, rushing to the elderly she-cat's side.

"The monster ran over my back legs!" Kinkfur wailed.

Bramblestar turned away from the scene, too upset to look. Poor Kinkfur...

"It won't be long now," Rowanstar was telling the she-cat. "Once we arrive at Barley's barn, you can rest."

Slowly, the shaken up group headed through the bushes and towards the barn.

To Bramblestar's relief, the Clans reached the barn within a couple of minutes. Slowly, the ThunderClan leader crept through a hole in the door.

Inside, the warm scent of hay and mice overwhelmed him, and his mouth started to water with hunger.

"Barley! Are you here?" Bramblestar yowled. "It's us – the Clans!"

Suddenly a flicker of movement caught his eye. Bramblestar's ears perked up as he stared at the shape in the shadows. "Barley? Is that-"

Oof! Bramblestar was then slammed into the barn floor. His amber eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at a brown tabby she-cat.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my barn?"


104 reviews?! I... I can't believe it. Thank you so much, every one. I always look forward to your feedback, and I'm so happy that you love my story. Honestly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Also, I'm sorry this chapter isn't very detailed. Writing about traveling isn't exactly my best skill. I also didn't feel like dragging out the journey for so long, when I didn't plan for much to happen.