CAN'T EVEN SAVE MYSELF

I awoke to a harsh, hacking cough beside me. I slowly turned my head to see Tawnykit lying in her moss nest. She squirmed in pain as she coughed harder. She turned to me. "Hollypaw…please…please save me."

"Brightflower and I are working hard to save you, Tawnykit," I replied gently. I stood and handed her some catmint, and then she chewed and swallowed the sweet-smelling leaves.

"Brightflower, I gave Tawnykit some more catmint-" I broke off in a gasp. Brightflower lay in her nest, her eyes half open and glassy, her fur dull and whiskers drooping. "Brightflower!" I raced to her side to feel her paw pads, but she rose to her paws slowly.

"I'm fine, Hollypaw," she rasped. "I just woke up."

"Are you sure?" I demanded. "You look so ill!"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, well…I gave Tawnykit more catmint, because she seemed worse," I explained.

"Did you just wake up?"

"Yes."

"Well…can you give Dustclaw some poppy seeds? He was complaining that he couldn't fall asleep yesterday."

"Sure…okay." I grabbed a few black seeds, padded into the patient's part of the den, and passed them to the gray tabby elder. He coughed, lapped them up and closed his eyes.

I headed back into the storage den where Brightflower was gathering some dried oak leaves from last leaf-fall. She cleared her throat. "Um…I'm going to take these to Rabbitfur. He was scratched by some brambles when coming back from that walk that Runningbreeze and Specklepelt took the elders on…" She coughed and left the den, carrying the dried leaves in her jaws.

A quarter moon passed. Hollypaw felt overwhelmed taking care of all the sick cats, including Brightflower, by herself. Brightflower had come down with greencough as well, and added to the seven sick cats, now eight. She'd asked the Clan deputy, Berrywhisker, to send out some patrols to search for catmint, but only a few stalks were found.

Hollypaw felt Brightflower's paw pads. They were burning, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Your fever hasn't broken yet. Let me bring you some borage, because we're out of feverfew…" Hollypaw dashed into the storage den, grabbed some of the hairy leaves, and rushed back to Brightflower. "Chew these."

"No, Hollypaw," Brightflower rasped, coughing. "Give them to Tawnykit. She's getting worse by the heartbeat."

"You are too!"

"No I'm not. I have greencough, and she's on the verge of blackcough!" Brightflower gave a hacking cough.

"I already gave her the last of our feverfew a little while ago. Please, Brightflower, eat these!" Hollypaw gently pushed the leaves in front of her muzzle. Sighing, Brightflower lapped them into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"Thank you," Hollypaw sighed. "Do you want some poppy seeds?"

"No," Brightflower snapped. "Quit fussing over me and start worrying about the other patients!"

Another quarter moon passed, and Hollypaw soon found herself lying in a nest between Tawnykit and Brightflower, burning with fever. She awoke in the middle of the night to harsh hacking beside her. "Tawnykit," Hollypaw wheezed. "Are you all right?"

Tawnykit turned to her, her green eyes shining with high temperature. "Hollypaw, please…save me..."

Hollypaw sighed, knowing there was no hope for the sick cats. There was no cat to care for them. Brightflower couldn't, because her greencough turned to blackcough. Hollypaw was too ill and too inexperienced, at that, to take care of the twelve sick cats, not including herself. "How can I save you, when I can't even save myself?"

Um, crap. This is some serious crap I wrote here.

xx-Starfall-xx