Bramblestar’s Storm

Once Purdy was biting down on the tendril, Bramblestar climbed down to the next curve of the path, so that he was directly underneath the old cat. “Let go of the bush!” he yowled.

Purdy hesitated, then pulled his claws out of the branch and clutched the ivy instead. He lurched down the cliff face, crashing and swinging from the tendril. Bramblestar fixed his hind claws into the gritty path and reached out with his front paws to take Purdy’s weight, guiding him to where he could stand. Purdy was stiff with fear, his eyes staring, but he let out a little snort of satisfaction when he felt his paws touch the rock.

Bramblestar thought it was too risky to expect him to climb down the path on his own. Instead he made Purdy keep hold of the ivy tendril and yowled instructions up to Lionblaze and Sandstorm, who lowered the old cat stage by stage until he reached the bottom of the cliff.

“We’re down!” Bramblestar called out to the cats at the top. But what do we do now?

“I’ll be fine,” Purdy meowed, shaking himself free from the ivy. “The hollow won’t fill right up. I’ll wait out the storm on the Highledge.”

“I’ll wait with him,” Briarlight meowed.

Millie moved closer to her daughter. “In that case, I’m staying too.”

Bramblestar looked at the water flowing into the camp through the thorn barrier. Already it was high enough to reach his flanks, and Briarlight was having to strain to keep her head above the surface. “No cat will be left behind,” he growled.

“Then what are we going to do?” Millie hissed, her eyes wild with fear.

Bramblestar spotted a branch bobbing past in the floodwater, and a plan began to form in his mind. “To start with,” he told Millie, “I want you and Leafpool to climb the cliff. Then I’ll know you’re safe.”

Millie stared at him in disbelief. “Have you got bees in your brain? I’m not leaving Briarlight!”

Bramblestar clenched his teeth on a sharp reply. He understood Millie’s anxiety for her daughter, but she wasn’t helping. To his relief, Leafpool stepped forward and curled her tail around Millie’s shoulder. “Come on,” she urged kindly. “Briarlight will be fine. You can trust Bramblestar.”

I hope she’s right, Bramblestar thought.

“It’s okay,” Briarlight mewed. “Go with Leafpool. I’ll see you at the top of the cliff.”

Millie narrowed her eyes at Bramblestar. “If she dies, I’ll never forgive you.”

Bramblestar dipped his head to her. “Millie, I promise you that I’ll get Briarlight out, or die trying.”

Millie held his gaze for a moment longer, then turned away with Leafpool. The two she-cats vanished up the path.

“I can climb the cliff too,” Jayfeather announced.

“No, I need you to help with Briarlight,” Bramblestar replied. “No cat knows as much about her condition as you.” And I don’t want a blind cat dangling off the cliff face. “Dustpelt, I’ll need your help too,” he continued. “And it would be good to have Brackenfur.”

He yowled the order to the top of the cliff, and a few moments later the golden-brown warrior appeared, treading sure-footedly along the path.

Squirrelflight scrambled down after him. “What’s going on?” she called.

“We need to find a different way out of the hollow,” Bramblestar explained. “I thought we might use some kind of branch to float Briarlight and Purdy and Jayfeather out on the floodwater.”

“Great StarClan, that’s risky!” Brackenfur exclaimed. “Do you want us to find a branch?”

“I have one in mind,” Bramblestar told him. “The memorial branch with the claw marks for the cats who fell in the Great Battle.”

Jayfeather let out an outraged yelp. “Can’t you use a different one?”

“It’s by far the longest and strongest piece of wood in the camp,” Bramblestar pointed out. “Besides, if we use it, perhaps our fallen Clanmates will be able to help us. If ever we needed StarClan, it’s now.”

Dustpelt and Brackenfur exchanged a glance, as if they were wondering whether their mates were watching over them.

“We’ll get it,” Dustpelt meowed.

The memorial branch had fallen on its side, but it was still visible, poking up out of the water below the Highledge. Brackenfur and Dustpelt waded over to it and dragged it back to the bushes where the other cats waited.

“It’s not floating very well,” Brackenfur remarked dubiously.

“That’s because the water’s too shallow here,” Bramblestar meowed. “We need to push it farther out.”

Dustpelt and Brackenfur maneuvered the branch away from the cliff face, until they stood in water that lapped against their shoulders. “It’s fine here!” Brackenfur called.

“Come on, then, this way,” Squirrelflight urged the other cats.

“You don’t have to do this,” Bramblestar murmured to her as they guided Purdy, Jayfeather, and Briarlight toward the branch. “You should go back up the cliff to the others.”

Squirrelflight turned a green glare on him. “You annoying furball, if you think you can send me—”