Sunstrike just stared at the water. Her only expression was heartbreak. Foxwhisker looked over at her, then the water. His shoulders fell with despair. Were their kits still alive? What had happened to them? Sunstrike snapped out of her daze. She looked around her frantically, as if expecting an enemy to burst from the water at any moment.
Foxwhisker walked over to her. "Sunstrike...?"
She didn't answer. She just ran down into the water. Foxwhisker ran after her. "Sunstrike!" he called. "You can't swim!" But he was too late. She plunged into the murky Lake water. Even though he could not swim either, he jumped in the water after her anyway.
Sunstrike waded through the dark water, hardly able to keep her head above the water. Within ten seconds, her nose and eyes were all Foxwhisker could see of her.
On the shore, a RiverClan patrol had seen them struggling in the water. Their eyes got large and full of fear when they saw the blood in the water. The RiverClan patrol had about three cats, which were only silhouettes to Sunstrike and Foxwhisker. Sunstrike still kept trying to keep her head above the water. The RiverClan cats plunged into the water, but they were still far away. Sunstrike would be completely submerged under the water by then.
"Sunstrike!" Foxwhisker yelled out to her again, his voice full of desperation. "Please! Come back! You're going to drown!"
She didn't slow down.
Then, she saw a small lump of fur floating on the top of the water. It was a reddish-amber kind of color. "OAKKIT!" she screeched and swam to her kit. She was almost to him when she found herself submerged under the water now. She was gasping for breath, and now falling unconscious. She heard her mate's calls from above the surface, but he was too far to help her. Then, her world went blank.