Fading Echoes

With a last heaving gasp, Lionblaze ducked out from underneath the branch and dived after Dustpelt. The tree crumpled around him and he shot from the tunnel a moment before the last prop gave way and the tree fell to a shuddering halt, its roots slamming against the nursery. With a heaving crash, its branches flopped to the ground like corpses.

Darkness crowded Lionblaze’s vision as he struggled to catch his breath. His legs shivered but he refused to let them buckle. He waited, letting strength gather within him and spread through his limbs. Then he stretched and blinked the darkness away.

A tail smoothed his back.

“Well done, Lionblaze.” Firestar was at his side.

Graystripe and Millie were crouching beside Briarpaw. Jayfeather grabbed a mouthful of herbs from the pile Rosepetal had passed through the branches. He dropped them next to Briarpaw and began to sniff her limp body.

“Will she be okay?” Millie rasped.

The young cat’s breath was coming in gasps and her eyes were glazed.

“I don’t think she can see us,” Graystripe wailed.

“Out of my way!” Jayfeather scooted around Briarpaw, sniffing her pelt, his eyes narrowed in a frown.

“Longtail?” called a trembling voice. It was Whitewing.

Lionblaze turned and saw the Clan creeping back into the hollow. They padded slowly, edging what was left of the clearing, and sniffing at the remains of their devastated camp. Blossompaw and Bumblepaw broke away and raced to Graystripe and Millie, pressing hard against them.

“Will Briarpaw be okay?” Bumblepaw whimpered.

Mousefur darted from Whitewing’s side and began to circle Longtail’s body. “No, no, no, no, no,” she moaned.

Purdy shuffled close to the old she-cat as she dropped to her belly and pressed her nose into her denmate’s chilly pelt.

Dovepaw and Ivypaw stared in horror at Briarpaw’s unmoving body.

“Is she dead?” Ivypaw whispered.

“Don’t just stand there like rabbits,” Lionblaze snapped. “Go and fetch her some moss. Try to make her comfortable!”

The two cats sprang away and raced from the hollow. They passed Leafpool, who padded through the thorns and halted. Through slitted eyes, she watched Jayfeather work.

Jayfeather lifted his head to face her. “Well?” he snarled. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Leafpool blinked, pain flashing in her eyes. Then her gaze hardened. “What do you want me to do?” She slid in beside Jayfeather and sniffed at Briarpaw.

“Shock’s setting in fast,” Jayfeather reported.

“She needs thyme,” Leafpool instructed. “I’ll make pulp.” She took a mouthful of leaves from the pile and began to chew them.

Jayfeather sat up. “I can’t find where she’s hurt. There’s not a scratch on her.” He sounded perplexed.

Briarpaw’s eyelids flickered. “I-I c-can’t feel my hind legs.”

Jayfeather leaned forward and gently took one leg in his jaws to lift it up. He let go and it dropped to the ground like dead prey. “Is that thyme ready yet?” he called to Leafpool.

“Yes.” She began wiping the pulp around Briarpaw’s lips with her paw. Instinctively Briarpaw licked it off and Leafpool applied more.

Millie was pacing around them, her eyes clouded with grief. “What’s wrong with her?” she begged.

Jayfeather didn’t answer. Instead he glanced up at Lionblaze. “Comfrey, please.”

Lionblaze hurried to the medicine den entrance and called through the branches to Rosepetal, “Jayfeather needs comfrey!”

“I’ve got loads,” Rosepetal meowed back. She began stuffing pawfuls of leaves through the branches.

Lionblaze grabbed a mouthful and carried them to Jayfeather. “Will she be okay?” he whispered.

“Her heartbeat is getting steadier, but her legs…” Jayfeather’s words trailed into a frustrated growl. He flicked Lionblaze away with his tail.

Ferncloud was trying to comfort Graystripe and Millie. “If anyone can save her, Jayfeather can.” She glanced at Jayfeather as he began rubbing a dark green poultice into Briarpaw’s hind legs. “And he’s got Leafpool helping,” she added in a hopeful whisper.

Firestar straightened up. “Dustpelt!” he called. “See if the nursery is secure. We can at least make sure the queens and kits have some shelter.” He glanced around the camp, which was half-hidden by the beech. “The apprentices’ den looks okay.” He nodded to Cloudtail and Squirrelflight. “Check that it’s secure. Then collect bedding. As much as you can find. The elders and queens and kits will sleep inside tonight. But the rest of us will still need nests.”

Squirrelflight nodded and beckoned to Berrynose, Thornclaw, and Brackenfur with her tail before charging out of the camp.

“Should I go with them?” Lionblaze offered.

Firestar gazed at him. “You’ve done enough for the Clan for today,” he murmured. “Thank you. And thank StarClan we have you. If it wasn’t for you, Briarpaw would be dead by now.”

Lionblaze looked at Briarpaw lying on the sodden ground. Leafpool was massaging her chest with a firm paw, her eyes more focused than they had been in moons.

Briarpaw opened her eyes and stared at her father and mother. “Where are my back legs? Are they still there?”