Blossompaw's Escape

Part One: The Capture

Wake up

Eat

Sleep

Survive

Wake up

Eat

Sleep

Survive

That is all Blossompaw has come to know in the moons of captivity. She lost track of time in its entity, perhaps she has only been in the facility for a few moons. Perhaps a few years, so doesn't know anymore.

All she knows is the routine to survive.

And the side effects.

Whatever the twolegs were doing, whatever their goal is, it had something to do with making the animals sick. Chance suspected they were testing to see how fast disease spread among the animals. A cat called Sylvester assumed the twolegs were trying to find cures for the diseases to help other twolegs. The animals were nothing more than subjects.

But the side effects were bad, worse than anyone could have imagined. There was paranoia, fear, deliria, vomiting, coughing, scratching, death...many had died already. And more would fall ill if they did not escape soon.

"We need a plan, something, anything!" Blossompaw shouted, her fur bristled with anger. How could so many creatures be so dumb? How could they not figure this place out? Each week they smelled the smoke of ashes. They smelled the dead being burned in the furnace. Was that not enough cause for escape!

"It's useless!" Talia barked. She was a small terrier, Chance had begun teaching the other dogs how to speak cat, and vise versa.

"It's only useless if you give up," Blossompaw pointed out. "Our cages have a latch that secures the door closed. It can only be opened form the outside,"

"Yes, so it's useless to try and open them," Talia said with a note of finality. Blossompaw smirked.

"I agree, it is useless to try and open them on our own. But what if they never closed?"

That caught everyone's attention. Sylvester prompted her to explain her thoughts. Chance looked thoughtful as he studied his cage. Talia was reluctantly optimistic. And the others were simply praying this would be it, this would be the end of the cruelty.

"The next time the towlegs take one of us, we need to make sure the hatch on the door doesn't close. When they bring us back from whatever torture they have devised, you must slide a food pellet between between the door and the hatch. It will be small enough they won't notice. Then it will be simple enough to push the door open and jump out. From there we can open other cages form the outside," Blossompaw finished. She waited expectantly as they mulled over the idea.

"It might work," Chance ruffed. "But once we are out of our cages, what next? This place could be a labyrinth we will never find our way out of,"

Blossomapw had no reply. The old dog could be right, he probably was. If they got out of their cages they could still be trapped and everything would have been pointless.

"Do we just sit here and die without trying?" Blossompaw said softly, but her eyes were narrowed dangerously. She felt a passion burning inside her like she had never felt before. "Will we just wait for death? Will we suffer this sickness in silence!" she roared. The animals began to clammer and shout their support. Cats and dogs alike cursed the white coats and vowed their freedom to come. Chance nodded once before settling on his mat.

Blossompaw wondered if that had been his plan, to make her rally the other animals. Chance knew Blossompaw had the most support within the ranks of the others because of her stories. His plan had been to make her prove she was worthy of leading them.

"Tonight, we will escape," she shouted victoriously. Courageous cries filled the air as dogs and cats alike proclaimed their soon to be freedom. Blossompaw was filled with a surge of love for her comrades. Almost unknowingly she had become their friend, and they hers. Her stories bonded everyone together, like they were already a clan. She lead them in hope to escape. Chance was like a deputy, making sure she could keep her head.

"My friends, my clan," Blossompaw breathed as they continued the chant.

Talia, although a pessimist, was clever and levelheaded. Sylvester was good natured and kind. Chance was wise albeit gruff. Missy was like a mother, comforting everyone in their time of need. Hevner was always enthusiastic and never let the world bring him down.

Like clock work the white coats entered the room, disturbed by the eruption of barking and meowing. The female twoleg mad her way over to Blossompaws cage. The white furred she cat placed three brow food pellets by the cage door, so when the twoleg brought her back she could easily slide them in place.

"I'll see you soon," she smiled at Chance as she was picked up by the twoleg. The old dog snorted.

"I'll be waiting," he muttered with dry amusement.

The female twoleg once again injected her with a strange fluid once they were in the testing room. Blossompaw immediately knew this one was different from the first. The first made her hallucinate, this one instantly made her feel sick and queasy. Her head was spinning and she wobbled on shaky legs. Her stomach was churning and her vision blurred. Surely this must be what death felt like.

Without even realizing it she was being carried back to her cage.

Got...too...jam the door, she mustered the thought as she saw her cage. But her vision was swimming by now and she couldn't think properly.

Food pellets...move them, Blossompaw told herself as she was set down. She felt sluggish as she prodded the pellets between the door and the hatch. The female twoleg was muttering to herself, probably about Blossompaw being in the way. The twoleg prodded the she cat so she could close the door. Before Blossompaw could complete the mission she felt herself retch. She had never felt this sick in her life, she closed her eyes and stumbled back, falling into a troubled unconsciousness.


This time I'll do it, this time I'll be able to jam the door shut.

This time will be different, I won't panic.

This time it will work, the food pellets will support the weight of the door without being crushed.

This time...

This time...

"There is no more time left," Blossompaw snarled at the voices giving their excuses for the failed mission. "We are all too sick to even think of escaping at this point, I have resigned myself to death. I'm done,"

No one uttered a word. Blossompaw had given up, just like that. Maybe she had reason to not believe in them anymore, they had made no progress in their attempts to get out of the prison. They were fighting a loosing battle.

"If you quit, if you say it's over. Then it's over. We'll all give up too. She be careful when you say that," Chance cautioned with a dangerous tone to his voice. Blossompaw didn't correct herself, she didn't need to repeat what they all knew to be true.

"Tell us another story," a meager voice whispered. Blossompaw glanced at the cage below hers. A small black cat with green orbs for eyes sat below her. Mylph, was her name.

"The story already ended. Ashclan perished and the other three moved on," Blossompaw stated with exasperation.

"Then make something up," Mylph pleaded.

"You won't get anywhere with that stubborn one, Mylph, she's pouting like a kit," Chance snorted. Blossompaw felt a certain sting at his harsh words. Her blue eyes narrowed into slits and she settled herself to begin a fanciful tale.

"Smogfoot couldn't give up on his fallen clan so easily, even though his friends had. Some of Ashclan's warriors had escaped the fire, and joined the other clans so that their heritage would not leave the forests and beaches forever. Smogfoot had other plans for his clans dark fate," her voice rolled like ocean waves. When she stopped speaking it was like a clap of thunder hushed the crowds. The glowing eyes like stars watched in captivation as the story began.

"Smogfoot's spirit found the cats who had joined Seaclan, Cedarclan, and Ravenclan. He told them to come with him, where they would journey beyond Cedarclan's hills and past twoleg place. They would find another forest to call home. The small group of Ashclan warriors began their journey, hopeful of rebuilding their clan. They found another forest by the mountains. Slowly they found rouges to join them in their quest to survive,"

Blossompaw made up the story as she went. Of course it wasn't true though, Ashclan was gone. Some had mingled and integrated into the other clans, but they hadn't delved past that. It never hurt to pretend though.

"As they grew, so did their thirst for revenge. The other three clans had wronged them, betrayed them. They had left Ashclan to die off instead of helping them. Despite Smogfoot's wishes they organized a patrol of warriors to challenge the other clans to the rights of their land. Ashstar himself came to stop the vengeful warriors. He told them they had rebuilt themselves stronger than before. They were prosperous. Why would they destroy that over something so futile. The Ashclan warriors realized their errors and returned to their home.

The three other clans thus never knew the fourth clan was still alive, and that was their punishment. They would forever remain guilty for letting their friend down," Blossompaw finished the story, but it didn't sound complete. Her other tales had always had a sound resolution. This one...did not. The other animals didn't seem disturbed by that fact, they were pleased none the less.

Blossompaw curled up to sleep, she told herself it was simply to rest. She was weak and nauseous. But she really just wanted to forget about her failure to help her friends escape. She had let her own friends down by not coming up with a better plan. Her story had mirrored her feelings, she would always remain guilty for giving up so easily.

"Hello, my daughter," a voice awakened the sleeping apprentice. Her blue eyes flitted open and were amazed to see starlight all around her. She had forgotten what the sky looked like in her captivity. But if she was seeing Starclan did that mean...

"Am I dead?" she whispered. The dark cat shook his head.

"No, but you are close. I have an important message for you," the cat murmured. Blossompaw suddenly recognized him.

"Dad...what are you...no. You can't be dead! I've only been gone a moon, you can't be dead!" Blossompaw cried in anguish. Tears filled with glimmering stars rolle dover her cheeks. Her father Adderfang wiped them away with his tail.

"You've been gone nearly six moons. Your friends are all warriors. I am dead, there was a thunderpath accident,"

"Wha-, what is your message?" Blossompaw sniffled.

"It will take some time to explain, come, sit with me," Adderfang beckoned. His daughter followed as he lead her to a cliff overhang. As far as the eye could see was a vast expanse of ocean. The moonlight rippled over the black waters in an ominous way. It reminded her of Seaclan, but there were no beaches here. Just jagged cliffs against the weight of the ocean.

"You certainly have a gift for story telling, my daughter," Adderfang laughed softly. "I suppose Silverstorm taught you that. A remarkable cat, with an even more remarkable story,"

"Do you mean Silverpaw? Is her warrior name Silverstorm?" Blossompaw said excitedly. Adderfang nodded with a slight smile.

"What did you say about her being remarkable?"

"That would take even more time to explain. You'll learn her story when you reach Starclan someday as well. Let's just say your friend dabbled with fate a lot,"

Blossompaw mulled over this new information. She wanted to ask more questions about Ravenclan and the other apprentices, now they didn't have time for idle gossip. Whatever Adderfang needed to tell her she knew it was something big.

"When you told the other animals the legends of the clans, Starclan couldn't help but listen in as well. The last story you told...it was more true than you thought. The survivors of Ashclan did leave the forest and head someplace far away. The other three clans forgot them, and Starclan certainly tried too. But when you brought up the guilt the clans would always feel for letting Smogfoot and Ashstar down, Starclan was awakened by hat guilt. They realized it wasn't too late to fix their mistakes."

"I don't understand," Blossompaw interrupted.

"You will my daughter, you will. But now you must promise me, you must try to escape," Adderfang asked. He began to fade and Blossompaw realized she was waking up.

"You must escape," he repeated.

"I'll try," the apprentice whispered.

"You must escape," Adderfang said fiercely.

"I will! I'll escape," Blossompaw said just as Adderfang vanished.


Oi! I AM ON A ROLL TODAY! I basically just dished out four chapters after a three month hiatus. Ya know, reliable updating skills at their finest. Anyhow tell me what you think in the comments. Are ya'll excited for the great escape? I know I am *snort*.