Bramblestar’s Storm

Following Graystripe out of the sleeping den, Bramblestar and his Clanmates slipped silently alongside the wall until they reached an uneven slope leading downward.

“This reminds me of the abandoned Twoleg den,” Bramblestar remarked.

“They call it stairs,” Graystripe informed him.

“You never told us any of this before,” Dovewing mewed as they began to descend the slope. “It’s really interesting.”

Graystripe snorted. “We’re Clan cats, not kittypets,” he reminded her. “How they live has nothing to do with us.”

Water was lapping at the bottom of the slope, and Bramblestar waved his tail for Graystripe to step back and let him go ahead. There were more gaps in the den walls, and at first he didn’t know which one would lead to the outside. Then he sensed a flow of cooler air coming from one of the gaps, and heard the shriek of the she-cat from that direction. “Where have you gone?”

Cautiously Bramblestar stepped down into the water, wincing at the cold, wet touch on his fur. At first it was shallow enough to wade, but as he stepped through the gap the ground suddenly gave way beneath his paws, and he found himself floundering, thrashing his paws until he managed to climb onto something solid.

“There’s another step just there, I think,” Graystripe mewed helpfully.

“Whatever.” Bramblestar gave his pelt a disgusted shake. “Jump from the top to this… thing I’m standing on,” he instructed.

“It’s a chair,” Graystripe told him. “And that big, flat thing over there is a table. If you jump up there, Bramblestar, there’ll be room for the next cat.”

“Good idea,” Bramblestar responded. “Thank StarClan you know a bit about these Twoleg places, Graystripe.”

“I’ll still be glad to get out of here,” the gray warrior grumbled.

Soon all four cats were standing on the table. More chairs were scattered around, as if the flood had carried them from their proper places. One of them was wedged by the opening that led outside, holding back the piece of wood that the Twolegs had used to block the gap.

Two jumps brought Bramblestar to this chair, and at last he was able to see outside. A fence ran around the garden and joined onto the den not far from where Bramblestar was standing. A few fox-lengths away a monster was crouching, with water lapping halfway up its shiny blue sides. Between Bramblestar and the monster was the tub, floating very low in the water now. The black-and-white she-cat was peering anxiously over the side.

“Please hurry!” she wailed. “The tub is sinking!”

Bramblestar turned to his Clanmates. “We’ll have to leap from here to the fence,” he told them. “It’s an awkward angle, but we should be able to manage it.”

“How are we going to get the cat out of there?” Dovewing asked as she landed neatly on the chair beside him.

Bramblestar wasn’t sure. Maybe the tub will bump up against the fence, and she can climb out of it. “Just go,” he meowed.

Dovewing obeyed, reaching the fence with Graystripe and Thornclaw just behind her. But when Bramblestar tried to follow he misjudged the jump because he was trying to avoid his Clanmates, who were crowded together along the fence-top. His claws raked the wood of the fence, but he couldn’t get a grip on it. A heartbeat later he plunged into icy water. His yowl of alarm was cut off as the flood closed over his head.

Bramblestar flailed his legs desperately, feeling the cold sink deep into his pelt. His chest ached with the need to breathe. It seemed like a whole season before his head broke the surface. Gasping for air, he glanced around, but at first he could see nothing but the tossing water.

“Over here!” the kittypet yowled. “Hurry!”

Bramblestar splashed in a circle until he caught sight of the tub, only a few tail-lengths away from him. It had floated away from the fence. Great StarClan! I hope I can move it!

Struggling to keep his head above the surface, Bramblestar thrashed his way over to the tub and started to push. It was sluggish, hard to move, because by now most of it was under the water. The black-and-white she-cat propped her forepaws on the rim, her terrified gaze fixed on Bramblestar. He didn’t have enough breath or strength to reassure her.

The tub was closer to the monster than the fence, so Bramblestar headed that way. At last he felt the tub bump gently against the shiny blue side. “Climb out!” he choked.

The she-cat floundered through the water that by now was filling the tub, and clawed her way onto the top of the monster. Bramblestar followed her, managed to give her a boost upward, then hauled himself to safety and flopped down on the monster’s back. Hearing a gurgle from below, he looked down to see the tub vanish under the surface of the water. The she-cat was watching it too.

“I could have been in that!” she gasped. “You saved me!”

“Not exactly,” Bramblestar grunted, waving his tail to indicate the silver water all around them.