Bramblestar’s Storm

As Jayfeather turned away again, Bramblestar halted him with a touch of his tail, then drew him out of earshot of the apprentices’ den. “Any more omens?” he meowed.

Jayfeather gestured with his tail to take in the whole camp. “Let’s see… wind, rain, leaking dens… What exactly are you looking for, Bramblestar? You should thank StarClan that no cats have been injured.”

Bramblestar twitched. Unpleasant as the storm was, he didn’t feel it was bad enough to be the terrible doom that Jayfeather had prophesied. Unless there’s worse to come. Maybe the lake…

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Jayfeather asked sharply.

“No,” Bramblestar replied, still unwilling to reveal the encroaching lake. “We just need to make sure our Clanmates are okay. You’d better get back to your den.”

When Jayfeather had gone, Bramblestar ran to the nursery and pushed his way in, thankful to be sheltered at last. The air inside felt still and welcoming after the chaos outside, in spite of the tang of wet fur. It was almost completely dark, but he could just make out the shapes of his Clanmates, and spotted Squirrelflight waving her tail at him.

“Over here, Bramblestar. I’ve kept a space for you.”

Bramblestar headed toward her, weaving his way with difficulty between his Clanmates, who were packed in tightly from one end of the nursery to the other.

“Hey!” Molewhisker yelped. “That’s my tail you’re treading on.”

“Sorry,” Bramblestar muttered.

Cherryfall swiped her brother across the ear. “Careful, Molewhisker. You don’t talk to our Clan leader like that!”

“It’s okay,” Bramblestar meowed. “It’s tough for all of us, squashed together like this.” He squeezed into the gap between Squirrelflight and Birchfall and wriggled into the moss, trying to get comfortable. But his pelt was still wet, and it took a while for the warmth of the nursery to penetrate through it.

Some of his Clanmates were already snoring, though the younger warriors were whispering to one another with occasional mrrows of laughter.

It’s an adventure for them, Bramblestar thought wearily. I hope it turns out to be no worse.

From somewhere at the back of the nursery he heard Purdy’s voice. “This is nothin’ compared to the storms I remember when I was a kit…”

There was something soothing about the elder’s words. Nothing will stop Purdy telling his stories! The tale rumbled on as Bramblestar closed his eyes, but sleep was a long time coming. At last he fell into a doze, haunted by dreams of rising water and drowning cats, their paws stretched out helplessly as the waves swept them away.

“Bramblestar!” The voice jerked him awake, along with icy drops spattering onto his pelt.

Bramblestar opened his eyes to see Thornclaw standing over him. The warrior’s golden-brown pelt was dripping, plastered to his sides, and he was shivering violently. The first gray light of a new day was seeping into the den, but the storm hadn’t let up. Rain thundered down onto the roof of the den, and the wind still blustered through the camp.

“Bramblestar, there’s something you need to see,” Thornclaw mewed through chattering teeth.

Careful not to disturb his sleeping Clanmates, Bramblestar followed Thornclaw into the clearing, flinching as icy rain poured down on him. The floor of the hollow was awash with leaves and twigs floating on the water, while here and there a bigger branch rocked in the current with one end wedged in the mud. Up above, gaps had opened up in the line of trees, telling Bramblestar that some of them had fallen. Part of the thorn barrier had been torn away, leaving a ragged gap where the entrance had been.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to put this right,” Bramblestar meowed with a flick of his tail.

“It gets worse,” Thornclaw warned.

He led the way right up to the thorns. Staring through the gap, Bramblestar saw water surging up the slope toward them, gray and menacing. The line of waves broke and swirled as they met swift-flowing streams that had burst their banks and now crisscrossed the forest, flattening the undergrowth.

“Great StarClan!” Bramblestar gasped. “The lake has reached the camp!”

There was a tang in the air that reminded him of the sun-drown-water; the eerie sounds of lapping waves and trees groaning sent a shiver through him from ears to tail-tip.

“We need to leave,” Thornclaw meowed urgently.

Bramblestar spun around and raced back to the center of the hollow. “Cats of ThunderClan!” he yowled. “Come out now!”

For a heartbeat no cat appeared, though he could hear startled murmurs from the dens. Then Squirrelflight rushed out of the nursery. “What’s going on?”

“Go and look beyond the thorn barrier,” Bramblestar told her.