A.n: Oh yea, three updates in two days 8D Getting toward the end now ^.^ I love this chapter, even though Hawk's Shadow's ideas are a bit strange... and very hard to actually come up with something plausible. Sorry xP
Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors series, and I only take pleasure from writing this Fanfiction. By now, we all know what I'd do with the Warriors series if I really owned it ;)
I raced down the tunnel until I reached the rest of the cats, following their fear scents until I was right on top of them. Narrowly avoiding a collision with Lionpaw's hindquarters, I let my breathing slow silently, narrowing my eyes to focus on where I was sure Lionpaw's pelt was. Aided by his voice, I could shift back onto my hindquarters and glare through the darkness, painfully aware that Breezepaw was blocked from me through Hollypaw's and Lionpaw's bodies. 'Hollypaw.' The name that Hawk's Shadow had muttered could have only belonged to the black she-cat.
Rain streamed through a hole in the tunnel ceiling, letting the tempting scent of heather and moorland drift down into the bare stone passage. The rock was slippery under my paws as the rain trickled downhill, probably to gather in the low dips of the tunnel.
"Which way now?" I breathed, squirming into the slightly larger intersection that the other cats were in. I shied away from the ThunderClan pelts, attempting to keep a snarl of disgust off my muzzle.
"There are three tunnels." Lionpaw was calling to Jaypaw, far in front of him. I tried to squirm over to Breezepaw, his dark pelt identifying him. Only when I drew up Hollypaw's scent did I realize my mistake.
"How do you know we're going the right way?" My Clanmate mewed. I could smell the fear scent of each cat in the small space, but mine was not the fear of the dark. 'Breezepaw!' The grey tomcat was attempting to push forward into the tunnel that Jaypaw was sniffing, and then followed him closely in. "I can smell them," Jaypaw meowed confidently, leading them down an even smaller branch of the maze.
I had a sinking feeling that it was a dead end, even before the boulder loomed out of the darkness ahead of Jaypaw. "I knew it was a dead end," I stopped, ready to flee. I hadn't managed to get to Breezepaw, and the solid block of fur behind me was Lionpaw. I shivered with fear. 'He wouldn't attack me here, would he?' But I couldn't see what was stopping the rival tomcat.
"We'll never get past that," Breezepaw confirmed my fears. Jaypaw didn't respond, and Breezepaw's annoyed mew sounded again in the darkness, accompanied only by the drip of rainwater pooling on the stones. The floor of the tunnel was wet already, and my claws shot out to grip the ground carefully. "Now what? Do you think you could lead us back? Or did you just bring us here to show us this boulder? Let me guess, it's a special StarClan rock, and it's going to tell us where the kits are." His voice was sharp, both with anger and fear.
I couldn't help but yelp quietly, "Shut up!" If the ThunderClan cats were planning to kill us… Why hurry them? I needed time to plan how to get us out, unharmed.
"Why?" He spun as well as he could in the passage, fixing me with a yellow glare. I attempted to show him the fear that I felt for him, communicating only with my eyes. If Only I could talk to him like Hawk's Shadow! "We're lost underground! Do you want me to thank him?"
"Shh!" Hollypaw hissed, and I could hear the hiss of her claws come out. My heartbeat thudded loudly with the terror that I tried to keep in, and the only hope that I could find is that we were both strong fighters. If it really came down to a fight, we may be able to get away. The kits… I would never be able to forgive myself if I lost the kits in these tunnels, the ones that I led them to.
"I'll say what I like!" He aimed at me, and then his eyes flickered over to Hollypaw. "Just because he's your brother-"
"I can hear something!"
"What is it?"
The ThunderClan siblings hushed as the sound came again, a soft mewl, barely louder than the pitter patter of the rain, which was growing steadily louder.
"Anyone there?" Jaypaw called, his head tilted back as if he could see over the boulder. The sound grew louder in response, and Lionpaw's pelt prickled behind me. "I think I can climb over it!" The golden tom pushed roughly past me, threading his way through the procession of cats in the tunnel. After a few seconds, the sound of claws scraping stone could be heard, and the splash of Lionpaw landing in the puddles on the other side of the boulder. "They're here!" His happy mew meant so many things to my ears, could I sense a edge of anticipation in it as well?
Breezepaw leapt the offending stone next, pushing Jaypaw aside. I could hardly see, but Hollypaw slipped ahead of her brother, whispering for him to stay before leaping over. I followed last, impatience making my paws shift over and over. As soon as I passed over though, I fell on the kits with the passion that a queen might. I had to get them out of these tunnels, away from these cats! "Thank StarClan we found you!"
One of the kits, a small tabby that I recognized as Sedgekit, voiced his thoughts joyfully. "We couldn't climb back over!" His sister, Swallowkit added her own thoughts, big eyes shining up at me in the half-light. "We thought we were stuck forever!"
"We'll take you home," Breezepaw reassured him calmly, and for once, his amber eyes were soft with positive emotions.
"Go on, Swallowkit," I picked up the little she-kit and pushed her halfway up the rock. When I was sure she had a purchase, I let go and nosed her upward and over. Once I heard the resounding splash on the other side, I turned back to Sedgekit, though Breezepaw had beaten me to it. "Your turn Sedgekit." I nosed the tom kit over quietly, and turned back to Breezepaw for the last kit, little Thistlekit.
"Oh no," Breezepaw's eyes were glowing in the dark, and he gazed down at the small shape of the youngest kit.
"Take her over, quickly. Jaypaw will help her." I urged, and cast a glance at Hollypaw and Lionpaw, who stood like silent sentinels farther down the passage. Their eyes also glowed, and I could barely make out the shape of their bodies. Just the thought of my enemies being so well hidden gave me a shiver of dread. Not only Thistlekit, but all our lives were in danger if we stayed down here with the ThunderClan cats."Breezepaw… we need to get out of here." I whispered close to his ear as he picked up Thistlekit. I pointed subtly to the two shadowy cats, and Breezepaw met my gaze, finally figuring out the message I had been trying to send him. Without a word, he leapt over the boulder, leaving me with the other two cats.
"Heatherpaw…" Lionpaw attempted to start, with a glance over his shoulder at Hollypaw. He stepped toward me, and I backed away, feeling my tail brush the boulder. Without a word, I leapt over the boulder after my Clanmate and kits.
"Is she okay?" I addressed Jaypaw. The medicine cat wasn't cold enough to reject a kit in need, was he?
"Help Breezepaw warm the other two!" The grey tabby's bright blue eyes glanced straight at me, making me shiver. I spotted my Clanmate, licking Swallowkit with a bright pink tongue. I drew my tongue up Sedgekit, and blanched at the taste of stone and mud on my tongue. Apprasing the little kit more thoroughly, I saw that she was covered in mud, and it wasn't from the moorlands… The stone beneath my paws were covered in it as well.
"We're hungry!" Sedgekit mewed with an authority that made me choke on a purr of laughter despite the situation. Pushing the little kit into the fur of my flank, I silenced his voice gently. "It serves you right for wandering off," I chastised, and thought of the battle that these three kits had caused made the giddiness in me dry up like the streambed in Greenleaf.
It seemed like Breezepaw was having the same issues with his own kit, as Swallowkit murmured "Do you know the way out?"
"Of course we do, we found our way in, didn't we?" His voice was far too confident for how he felt, but the need to keep the kits calm outweighed everything else. "Getting out will be even easier." A small smile curved his muzzle as he licked the kit again, and I felt a little spark in me. He was always a big soft mossball around the kits, and even now, in the face of danger, the tomcat could put aside how he felt to help Swallowkit.
The ThunderClan kits had wrapped themselves around Thistlekit, who was now awake. A sigh of relief escaped me, and I ignored Lionpaw's questioning look that I could feel burning into my pelt from where he stood.
"You're from ThunderClan," the little kit mewed in surprise, a look of caution shadowing even her young face.
"We've been helping your Clanmates to find you," Hollypaw purred gently, her black fur blending into the stone and slowly warming the chilled, soaked kit.
"You've caused a lot of trouble," Breezepaw's growl carried to all three of the kits, just so that they knew that they weren't free just yet. I myself had some choice words for the kits before we got them back to camp.
"We can worry about that once we're out." Lionpaw's deep voice resonated through the tunnel in a commanding way.
A sound pounded through the tunnels after the echoes of Lionpaw's voice had faded, and I spun around to face the darkness, bristling. Sedgekit was still at my side, and I held him there with my tail as Hollypaw commented, "The rain is getting harder,"
"That's not rain," Lionpaw started slowly, ears swiveling carefully on his head. "It's coming from inside the tunnels."
His voice held so must sincerity that I knew he was right, and gathered Sedgekit to my side even closer. In my head, I could see the rain pouring into the river from the hole in the ceiling that normally revealed the stars in the night. The river was bursting, raging, a snarling beast with no way to control its fury. The smooth floors in the tunnels made so much more sense now, worn down not only by the paws of ages, but the sloping, endless current of water. And to be trapped in the tunnels with the water… I could too easily imagine the current battering me on all sides, kicking upward but finding no air, only more water as darkness clouded over my eyes… The age-old fear of dying raced through my veins, adding a jolt of adrenaline to whatever already swamped my body.
Pulling myself out of the dark thoughts, I saw Lionpaw reach down and pluck Swallowkit up in his jaws. My body started for Sedgekit before he had even muttered, "Breezepaw, Heatherpaw, take the other two." These were my Clans' kits, and I would not let them die down here.
"I'll lead," Jaypaw mewed, and burst forward, disappearing into the darkness without another word. Lionpaw sprinted past as I dug my claws into the shifting silt and leapt after him with furious energy. Sedgekit bumped along the ground against my best efforts as I squirmed through the tunnels after Jaypaw, and their cries of fear and pain made me flinch even more. "Nearly there!" His reassuring mew came from farther ahead than I would have liked, but with Breezepaw hot on my tail, I hared after the sound of Jaypaw's voice through the darkness. Water splashed away from my paws, and I lifted Sedgekit even higher.
Exploding into the cave again, I immediately saw that the river was bursting with water, the surrounding stone was misted and dark with moisture. Lionpaw had come out ahead of me, and immediately shouted, "Take Swallowkit!" to Jaypaw.
"What's he doing?" Hollypaw yowled to Jaypaw as she burst into the room as well. I bit back a yowl as I watched Lionpaw leap into the air, paws stretched in front of him as if jumping down a cliff. But instead, he jumped into the sucking black waters of the engorged river.
"Lionpaw!" Jaypaw screamed, dropping Swallowkit and scrabbling over the slippery surface toward the river. "Can you see him?" Jaypaw's desperate voice could barely be heard over the roar of the river.
"He's swimming!" I wasn't sure whether it was Hollypaw or I who said the words, but it was definitely Breezepaw's voice that murmured, "He's crazy!"
"I'm okay!" The golden tom's head appeared, fur flattened with water on the other side of the river and his muscles heaved as he pulled himself out. I cursed the relief that flooded my body, and instead mewed, "How are we going to get the kits across?" It was a stupid, apprentice move to jump into the river and put his life at risk.
"He's testing the water." Hawk's Shadow appeared by my side, and his breath stirred my whiskers. "Don't go near the edge."
"There's no point! The tunnel's blocked!" Panic ran through his voice. "The rain has washed soil into the entrance. There's too much mud to dig through."
"The ThunderClan kitty doesn't like it when his plan goes array," Hawk's Shadow grimaced.
"You did this?" I muttered quietly, head down. Sedgekit glanced at me, and I smiled gently back at her.
"I had to save you, Heatherpaw," Hawk's Shadow mewed gently.
"What about our tunnel?" I called, spinning around to watch Breezepaw skid across the wet stone. "Blocked too! Boulders have fallen from the roof! It's like a waterfall in here. We'd never get the kits up it!"
"I had to save you, Heatherpaw," Hawk's Shadow repeated, and his eyes glinted in a way I hadn't seen before. "The ThunderClan cats couldn't take you from me. They would have drowned you in river… and let your body float away. But if you died… here, in these tunnels… I could take you with me."
I stared at Hawk's Shadow, and he smiled slowly. Another apparition was forming at his shoulder, with a long, shaggy coat and a nick in its ear. A pale scar was slashed across its nose, and long black stripes ran across a brown body like the rivulets that dripped from the ceiling. But the most prominent thing was the overlarge, ivory claws that disappeared into the ground, and the familiar amber eyes that haunted bedtime stories.
"Hello Heatherpaw," Tigerstar murmured, but it shook me like thunder. I shook my head and looked back to Lionpaw. My vocal cords constricted and I choked, but somehow managed to get one screech out. "We have to try!"
Or else we were trapped in these tunnels… Even if we died.
A.n: Ugh, slightly Anti-climatic. Probably a bit more than confusing. Im so sorry. It'll all be over soon... and questions are welcome in the meantime XD
R&R? 3