Dark River

Jaypaw blinked, startled by the emotion flooding between them. Then light flickered in his vision and he saw the old cat again.

Leave now!

He thought of all the cats who had ventured into this place; their fear and hope seemed to whisper in the air around him. The scratches on the stick had marked their fate.

Did the new lines really predict the Clan cats would survive?

He had to believe that they did.

“We have to go!” he ordered.

“Line up at the edge of the river,” Hollypaw instructed.

“Lionpaw, you take Sedgekit, I’ll take Thistlekit, Breezepaw can take Swallowkit.”

“What can I do?” Heatherpaw asked.

“Hold on to my tail,” Jaypaw mewed. “We’ll help each other.”

“Okay,” Heatherpaw agreed. He felt her take the tip of his tail lightly in her teeth.

“I’m not going!” Swallowkit’s paws splashed through the shallows as she tried to make a run for it. She shrieked as Breezepaw grabbed her and dragged her toward him through the water. “Don’t worry, Swallowkit,” he soothed. “I won’t let go. There’s no way I’m going to let you drown.”

Swallowkit whimpered but didn’t try to escape again.

“Come on,” Lionpaw urged.

Jaypaw waded through the shallows. His paws throbbed with dread as he felt the tug of the river.

“Ready?” Lionpaw mewed.

“Yes!” Hollypaw answered.

Jaypaw tensed. “Jump!”

He hurled himself into the rushing torrent. Heatherpaw tugged on his tail as the water swirled her downstream. The current dragged him under and he was lost in his dream of drowning again, choked by the tumbling water with the bodies of cats all around him and his ears filled with roaring.

Chapter 20

Water roared in Hollypaw’s ears as the pale light of the cave faded from sight. The river dragged her into the tunnel, the current pulling her under. Her lungs screamed for air. She fought the urge to suck in water and kept her jaws firmly clamped around Thistlekit’s tail.

Rock scraped her ears and she felt air on her face as the river swirled her upward. She drew a quick breath before the river dragged her down once more.

A body brushed hers and was swept away. Thistlekit struggled, raking her nose with thorn-sharp claws. She resisted the urge to fight, trusting Jaypaw, letting the flood carry her, feeling stone graze her flanks as the water tossed her against the sides of the tunnel.

The roaring grew louder till she thought her ears would burst.

Then peace.

The current let her go and the noise died away. She strained to see through the darkness. Was that light? Bright dots sparkled in the distance. Was StarClan waiting to welcome her?

Her head swam and blackness pressed in on the edges of her consciousness. She fought her way upward, frantically seeking the surface, praying that she wouldn’t find rock above her. With a final desperate effort she pushed up and up until she thought the whole world must be water.

Suddenly, she burst through the surface of the lake, startled by the chill of the wind as it swept her face and filled her nose and ears. They had made it! She gasped and spluttered, drawing in lungful after lungful of cold, wonderful air.

Blinking water from her eyes, she saw that the dots were stars, glimmering through wind-torn clouds. The rainstorm was moving away.

Thistlekit thrashed in the water beside her, fighting to keep her head above water. Hollypaw grasped the kit with her forepaws, let go of her tail and grabbed her scruff, paddling with her hind legs to keep both their heads out of the water.

She forced herself to relax, letting the water support her and working her paws in a steady rhythm that held them afloat.

Thistlekit coughed and wheezed, trembling against her chest.

Hollypaw scanned the dark surface of the lake for the others. Joy sparked in her belly when she saw Lionpaw’s golden head bobbing a few tail-lengths away. Sedgekit was clinging to his back, eyes shining in the moonlight.

Bubbles exploded near him, and Breezepaw burst to the surface with Swallowkit.

Jaypaw? Heatherpaw? Panic started to grip Hollypaw. Had they made it? She heard splashing behind her and she twisted around, dragging Thistlekit so fast he squealed with surprise.

Jaypaw and Heatherpaw were flailing beside each other, their paws spraying water as they fought to stay afloat.

“Jaypaw!” she called.

“We’re okay!” Heatherpaw coughed.

Hollypaw swam toward them, kicking out with her hind legs, surprised to find herself swimming like a RiverClan cat.

“The shore’s over there!” She could see it not far off and, reaching Jaypaw, she nudged him toward it.

Heatherpaw was splashing toward Lionpaw. Why wasn’t the WindClan apprentice trying to help her own Clanmate?

Then she realized that Lionpaw was thrashing in the water, ducking his face under. As he came up for a breath, she saw his eyes were wild with panic.

“Sedgekit’s gone!” he yowled.

Heatherpaw dived beneath the surface. Hollypaw held her breath, treading water as Lionpaw ducked under again. Had the current dragged the kit back down into the black, bottomless water?