The next several days were agonizing for Graystripe. Try as he might, he could not get the latch to his cage open. The gaps between the wires were just too narrow. For their part, the Twolegs who would periodically enter the room to clean their cages and refill their food and water bowls had learned from their previous encounter with Graystripe. Each time they entered the room now there were always more than one Twoleg. Usually there were about three or four who came in, and whenever they entered, the first thing they did was to close the door, so that even if Graystripe somehow managed to get out of his cage, there was no way he could elude the Twolegs and escape the room. In addition, there was a small window set high up the wall, but not too high as to rule it out as a possible escape route. So whenever the Twolegs came in, they closed the window too. After a while he began to understand what Tigger and the other cats meant by giving up trying to escape after so many futile attempts. As the days progressed, Graystripe became more and more despondent and pessimistic about his chances of ever escaping and rejoining his Clanmates. He would often think about them, and wonder if Firestar, Brambleclaw and the others made it safely to wherever they were heading.
One night, when thinking of his Clanmates, he began praying to StarClan to guide Firestar and the rest of the cats safely to their new home. He thought he was praying silently until he heard Tigger call out, "Who or what is this StarClan you refer to all the time"?
"Yeah, you mention the name often enough," said the spunky tortoiseshell from before, the one that Graystripe remembered had thought forest cats ate kittypets.
"Basically, StarClan refers to our warrior ancestors from our clans who have passed on before us. When a cat from our clans loses its life, he goes off to join StarClan in the heavens and stars above the forest. Whenever we need guidance, we turn to them. Many times they come to us in dreams and give us cryptic prophecies that we are left to decipher to find the answers we seek". He paused and looked at the tortoiseshell. "What is your name by the way?" "It's Fluffy."
"Well, Fluffy, I am still holding out hope that StarClan will come to me and show me that my Clanmates are okay, and that I may find a way out of here."
"Fat chance of that happening," snorted Tigger. "If you continue to think you can find a way out of here, then you are one of the most stubborn cats I have ever laid eyes on".
Graystripe didn't answer this time. Instead, he laid his head upon his paws and tried to go to sleep. He was tired, and he wanted to rest.
During the night, he dreamed. He dreamed of a big lake, of standing on the shore and looking out as far as the eye can see. He saw some Twolegplaces and Thunderpaths, but nowhere near to the extent as they were in their old forest home. He glanced to his right and saw Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw lying side-by-side, sleeping. Nearby were Longtail and the other Thunderclan elders, Goldenflower and Mousefur. His heart became full of joy to see them and saw that they were okay. He couldn't see any sign of Firestar or any of the other cats though. He walked over to Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw. When the two cats opened their eyes and saw who was standing there, they sat up, eyes wide and ears twitching.
It was Squirrelpaw who spoke first. "Graystripe? Is it really you?" "Great StarClan, you're alive!" said Leafpaw." He looked down at them and said, "Tell Firestar I am alive and working on a plan to get to you again. By the light and guidance of StarClan I will find you. I promise." And with that Graystripe woke up. When he woke up, sunlight was coming in through the window, and at that moment he knew. He knew that StarClan did not abandon him and that today would be the day he would finally escape and set out to rejoin the Clan. He just didn't know how the opportunity would present itself.
Many moons journey away, Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw both woke up suddenly with a yowl of surprise. From the look they gave each other, they both realized that they received a vision from StarClan. Their movements were enough to wake up Longtail and the other elders. He said, "What's gotten into you two"?
Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw turned to the elder. "We both just received a vision from StarClan. Graystripe's alive!"
Longtail's ears perked up sharply and he raised his head. "Are you sure?"
"Don't be mousebrained Longtail", said Goldenflower.
"Are you seriously going to question a vision from StarClan?" added Mousefur.
"Well, of course not," said Longtail.
"We better go find Firestar at once!" proclaimed Squirrelpaw. And with that, Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw took off in search of their father, who they knew would want to hear this good news right away.
Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw found Firestar and their mother Sandstorm sharing a piece of freshkill at the base of a large tree. They skidded to a stop in front of them, and for a moment said nothing as they tried to catch their breath from running so fast. Firestar watched them carefully and knew immediately something was up, but neither he nor Sandstorm was prepared for what came next.
"We just received a vision from StarClan," said Leafpaw in between trying to catch her breath.
"Both of you? At the same time? asked SandStorm.
"What did you two see? What did StarClan show you?" asked Firestar.
"It's about Graystripe. Firestar, he's alive!" exclaimed Squirrelpaw.
Firestar couldn't believe what he just heard. He shared a look with Sandstorm. Hardly a day had gone by when the Thunderclan leader didn't think of his good friend and Thunderclan deputy. In his heart he had never given up hope that Graystripe was alive, which was why he had not named a new Thunderclan deputy to replace him.
"Did he tell you where he was? What exactly did he say to you?" asked Firestar.
Leafpaw shook her head. "We don't know. All he said was to tell you that he's alive and is working on a plan to find his way to where we are, that StarClan will help him."
"I hope you're right Leafpaw," Sandstorm said. She turned to Firestar. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know," he said after a moment's thought. He turned to Sandstorm. "In any event, we need to let the rest of Thunderclan know. Leafpaw, Squirrelpaw, go find Cinderpelt. Sandstorm, go tell the rest of the cats to gather around here by me." As they turned away to go carry out their orders, Sandstorm turned back. "What about the other Clans? Should we tell them as well?"
"For the time being, let's not tell the other Clans just yet. For now I just want to keep this knowledge within ThunderClan. Although I may tell the other Clans at the next Gathering, whenever and wherever that may be" said Firestar.
When all of Thunderclan had gathered around Firestar, the leader said, "Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw received a vision from StarClan."
"What did you see?" asked Sootfur.
"Yeah, what did you see?" added Spiderpaw.
"Graystripe's alive," said Firestar.
At once the clearing erupted in yowls of surprise and joy, and questions began coming in one right after another.
"Is he still being held by the Twolegs, or has he escaped already?" asked Dustpelt.
"Where is he now? Is he hurt?" This from Cinderpelt.
"How will he find his way here?" said Brackenfur.
"Can we mount a rescue attempt?" asked Brambleclaw.
"Unfortunately, there is not much we can do at the moment. We have no idea where Graystripe is right now. We can only hope that StarClan will indeed show him the way to our new home. For the moment just keep your eyes and ears open. Leafpaw, Squirrelpaw, if you get any more visions from StarClan regarding Graystripe, I want you to let me know at once." The two cats dipped their heads in acknowledgement. "Yes Firestar." The Thunderclan leader looked out over the faces of his Clan. "I have known Graystripe for many moons. If anyone can escape capture by Twolegs and find his way back to us, he can."
