"Tell me why we're running again?" Lionblaze panted as he raced after Jayfeather through the tunnels. The Rite of Passage to be exact.
"The softpaws would have to make it through in one day," Jayfeather explained between breaths as he rushed through the tight passage. Walls were very close to them on all sides but it was too dark to really tell. "They'd do it running and we started late. We're not going through the whole thing but we should still hurry."
"What happened if they didn't make it through in a day?" Dovewing asked. She was trailing behind Lionblaze a bit. I hope she makes it. He then looked at his brother. He seemed a bit tired but otherwise fine. How is a blind medicine cat fairing better than two seasoned warriors?
"They'd die," Jayfeather said bluntly.
"That is so reassuring!" Lionblaze hissed, knowing that Jayfeather found it annoying when he said that.
"How?" Dovewing asked, ignoring Lionblaze.
"I don't know, they just did," Jayfeather said. His nimble paws kicked up dirt as he ran over a particularly soft patch. Lionblaze was showered with dirt but he resisted the urge to stop and shake out his pelt. "I- uh, Jay's Wing actually, wait no, me and Jay's Wing- spent three days in the Rite of Passage during mine… his… our trial."
Lionblaze became worried for his brother. Jayfeather seemed to be having some confusion over who he was. I really hope he's alright.
"But that was unheard of," Jayfeather continued. "Supposedly there's something that happens after a certain amount of time has passed. I haven't seen anything in my time down here though."
"So we have nothing to worry about?" Lionblaze asked, really hoping they could stop running. If he gave in to the exhaustion first, he'd be embarrassed until the day he join StarClan.
"Best to be safe," Jayfeather said to Lionblaze's disappointment. "Besides, we've been gone for awhile, our clanmates must be worrying about us."
"Crane's Wing said he'd cover for us," Lionblaze reminded.
"He can't do that forever," Jayfeather said. Lionblaze could hear the silver tom's breath bouncing off the walls of the tunnels alongside his own. Lionblaze tried to focus on the sounds of their breaths to distract himself from his tiredness as the three continued through the depths of the earth.
They ran for a considerable distance further, trusting Jayfeather to know when to twist and turn, but Lionblaze soon heard something other than breathing echoing through the tunnels.
"What's that?" Lionblaze asked once he was certain he was hearing something.
"What?" Dovewing asked.
"That sound. Don't you hear it?"
The she-cat shook her head. "Just our breathing. It's really loud."
"I hear it too," Jayfeather said. "Let's stop for a moment. Catch our breath so we can listen."
Lionblaze was more than happy enough to stop. They'd started moving late last night and it must've been past sunhigh by now. I really need to start training again. Or not. I never want to run again.
Dovewing crouched down, leaning her weight onto her forepaws, and began taking deep gasps. Jayfeather did the same but it surprisingly was far less intense. Lionblaze crouched down though more to rest his burning muscles than to regain his breath.
The three took some time and breathed deeply as they could for a few dozen heartbeats. Lionblaze felt his blood rush to his head now that he stopped. He really hoped he wouldn't fall unconscious. If he thought that being the first to give in to the tunnels would be embarrassing, passing out them would be infinitely worse.
Once his racing heart calmed, Lionblaze was able to focus on listening but his clanmates' breaths kept him from hearing much. Once they too calmed, they joined him.
"It sounds like… roaring," Dovewing murmured after a few moments.
Jayfeather's eyes widened in alarm. He exchanged a look with Lionblaze. The golden tom didn't know where the sound was coming from but he felt like he should. The sound sounded so familiar…
"Flood!" Jayfeather yowled and bolted off into a run. Dovewing and Lionblaze stood stunned for a moment in confusion until they saw the water filling up the space behind them and rushing towards them. They both turned tail and took off after Jayfeather.
"I thought you said they couldn't flood!" Dovewing hissed.
"I didn't say that!" Jayfeather snapped. "They shouldn't be able to flood!"
"This must be that thing you were talking about," Lionblaze said. "The thing that kills the softpaws if they don't make it through fast enough."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Jayfeather hissed. "It's not even raining!"
"You said this Rock cat was connected to our ancestors, right?"
"No, but what are you getting at?"
"The StarClan of the cats who lived here must send these floods as part of the test!" Lionblaze said. The roar of the water became louder and he poured a bit more energy into his legs. The water was up to his paws, splashing with each stride.
"Why would they want to kill us?" Dovewing asked.
"I don't know."
"We're going through the Rite of Passage, it must be customary for them to send the floods when someone attempts it or something," Jayfeather meowed. His blind gaze flicked back worriedly at the water as his paws thundered against the ground in a dead sprint. "We've got to get to Rock's Cave."
"We've got to get out of here before we drown!" Dovewing said.
"Rock's Cave doesn't flood, we'll be safe there," Jayfeather said.
"How far is it?"
"Are you willing to bet your life on that?"
Jayfeather was quiet a moment as he pondered both questions. "Let's find a bigger tunnel, one that's not just a tail length wide. It takes longer for those ones to flood and I can try to figure out a way for us to get out."
"What? You don't know the way out?"
"You're not exactly supposed to leave the Rite of Passage," Jayfeather snapped. "Follow me."
Jayfeather veered a hard right at a three-way fork in the tunnels just as Lionblaze felt water reach his hindquarters. He put on another burst of speed. The water was closer than he thought. He looked around for Dovewing and saw she was right at his side.
"Get in front of me," he ordered. There wasn't enough room for them to stand side by side. Too breathless to argue, she nodded and got in front of him.
Soon the three of them broke into a larger tunnel. More of a cave than a tunnel. The stone ceiling were a tree's height above them and the walls were far apart. Water wasn't rushing in and filling entirety of the space in the tunnel like it had been in the smaller one. Several similar small tunnels lead into this bigger one. Water was spouting from all of them covering the ground in a layer of water. It was nearly halfway up Lionblaze's legs already and rising.
"Can you swim?" Lionblaze asked his former apprentice. She nodded. The warrior looked to the medicine cat. "How do we get out of here?"
"That tunnel," Jayfeather said as he pointed to an opening a few fox lengths away.
"Um, Jay? There's water coming out of that one."
"What?" Jayfeather said alarmed. Lionblaze almost snapped something rude and sharp at his brother then he once again remembered he was blind. He had no way of knowing.
"There's water pouring in through every opening," Dovewing said looking around worriedly. "We're trapped."
Jayfeather looked down at his paws. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Lionblaze said firmly. "We're getting out of here."
"How?" Dovewing asked.
How should I know? Jayfeather's supposed to be the expert here. Lionblaze's mind scrambled for a solution. He looked around. They were surrounded by stone and dirt and water was coming in fast. It was already up to his belly. Both Jayfeather's and Dovewing's legs were already fully submerged. They'd have to start swimming soon.
Lionblaze saw no openings that weren't gushing water. Dirt was mixed in with the water. One wall of the cave was made of dirt, the other stone. The dirt was strong and compact but bits were washed off from the greater mass by the force of the water.
"We dig," Lionblaze said.
"What?"
"We have to dig, it's the only chance we've got," Lionblaze said. He rushed over to the wall and began scraping at it with his paws. It was harder than he thought. He unsheathed his claws and began working at the wall even faster. Clumps of dirt fell loose and splashed into the water at the ground.
Jayfeather came to his side and joined him. "I think there's another cave on the other side of this wall. If we break away enough, the wall shouldn't be strong enough to hold the water."
"And it'll break," Dovewing realized. She rushed to the brothers' side and began pawing furiously at the wall.
"Try to concentrate on one spot," Lionblaze told his kin. They wordlessly nodded and continued working.
The three had worked until they were unable to remain standing on the ground. They had to swim to keep their heads above water. But as they treaded the water, they still pawed at the dirt wall in hopes that even the little bit of work would help.
Lionblaze found himself tiring. Swimming and digging simultaneously after half a day of running and an exhausting night was not easy. Dovewing and Jayfeather didn't seem to be faring any better. At several points, Jayfeather and Dovewing's heads went below the water's surface when they spent too much time digging and not enough swimming.
Lionblaze knew Jayfeather was a strong swimmer, probably stronger than both him and Dovewing, but he still panicked every time he disappeared under the water. The most recent time Jayfeather had been under for a while and resurfaced coughing.
"Take a moment of rest," Lionblaze told him. "It won't kill you."
"If I stop, it will kill all of us," Jayfeather gasped as more water spluttered out of his mouth. He took a deep breath and dove under. Lionblaze was shocked that he did that purposefully and dove after him.
Underwater, Lionblaze saw his brother clawing at their earlier work. If we wear away at a single weak point, that point won't be able to take the pressure and it'll break. It was genius. Lionblaze wondered if Jayfeather was actually having a hard time swimming or if he'd been dropping deliberately this whole time.
Lionblaze's lungs screamed for oxygen and he swam to the surface. He expected Jayfeather to break alongside him but he didn't. He did several heartbeats later and coughed up more water.
"Take it easy," Lionblaze cautioned. "Breaking the wall won't do you any good if you drown first."
"You have a mate and kits to get back to," Jayfeather gasped as he began digging at the wall that was still above water. The water was nearly at the ceiling. Only a bit longer and their heads would be hitting the ceiling and a few moments after that, they'd be fully submerged. "Work harder. You have to get back to them."
An emotion that Lionblaze had never felt filled his body like he was struck by lightning. Strength flooded to every muscle in every limb. His expression turned from one of worry and fear to one of determination. He took a breath and dove down. He dug furiously at the wall until his lungs burned but he kept working. He felt something hit his back and he looked up to see Dovewing. The two traded places and Lionblaze swam to the surface.
The two did this for a few transitions then Jayfeather joined. But eventually, the water rose to the ceiling and the three spent the last few moments trying to get enough oxygen into them to hold them off for a while.
This could be my final breath… Lionblaze took a deep breath and the water rose above his head. Dovewing and Jayfeather floated beside him. … but it won't be.
Lionblaze lowered in the water until he reached where they'd been digging the hardest. He worked at it with all four paws. He barely noticed Jayfeather and Dovewing at either side of him. His entire focus was on breaking this wall.
Lionblaze's chest hurt more than it had ever before. Beside him, Jayfeather went limp and Dovewing's movements slowed. A new determination filled Lionblaze and he began digging at a newfound speed.
Suddenly, the wall broke. Too much water had been trying to fill the tunnel and the weakened wall couldn't take it. It a rush, all the water flooded out of the cave and into a larger one that wasn't nearly as full.
The rush of water washed the cats into the new cave but the water was still too high for them to stand. Lionblaze raked his claws over Dovewing's shoulder to snap her out of her exhaustion. She gave a small cry of pain but Lionblaze felt no regret. Blood leaked from her wound and into the water but Lionblaze didn't care, it did its job. Dovewing was wide awake and swimming strongly.
Lionblaze grabbed Jayfeather by the scruff and struggled to hold his head above the surface. Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay…
Jayfeather suddenly spluttered and began churning his paws again. Once he was certain the grey tom could swim on his own, Lionblaze released Jayfeather.
"Do you know how to get out of here now?" Lionblaze asked quietly.
Jayfeather coughed as he tried to find words but couldn't. He nodded through his coughs and began swimming forward. Lionblaze followed him and his eyes fell upon a slope leading upwards.
The three's paws soon were on solid ground. Jayfeather began slumping over but Lionblaze shoved him forward. "Not much farther."
Jayfeather responded with a coughing fit. His stomach heaved causing water to gush from his mouth.
Dovewing's shoulder was bleeding heavily and Lionblaze really hoped he wouldn't have to claw her again. She trailed behind a bit but shook her head and caught up with them.
The slope had no water in it. The three were able to walk out without much problem and soon, light flooded down from above and they broke to the surface.
Wordlessly, the three walked on the flat, solid ground. They were all breathing hard. Jayfeather began coughing again and he was soon unable to hold himself up and collapsed.
"... Jay…" Lionblaze groaned and took a step towards him then the exhaustion from the running and the swimming and the digging overtook him. He heard Dovewing fall beside him. The light from the setting sun shone into his eyes and he closed them and fell into the realm of darkness.
Author's Note: Finally some excitement! It's really hard to write natural disasters though.
The tunnels have flooded once again. The Three aren't doing so well. Jayfeather has surprising physical capability but he pushed himself far too much, Lionblaze worked hard to get his kin out of there and Dovewing managed to pull through but will it be enough? They managed to get out but now they're unconscious, exhausted, and injured at an unknown location. Let's hope they're alright.