Dark River

Where was she going? An owl called in the branches above his head. Lionpaw fluffed out his fur and glanced around nervously.

“Here!”

Lionpaw looked up the steep slope and saw Heatherpaw blinking at him from the entrance to a small tunnel. “What are you doing in there?” It looked like a rabbit burrow.

“You’ll never believe what’s inside! Come on!” Heatherpaw scooted backward into the darkness.

Paws pricking, Lionpaw squirmed under the brambles, wincing as their barbs tugged his fur. He heaved himself up the slope, out of the thorny tangle, and paused at the burrow entrance. “Heatherpaw?” he called, his heart pounding.

“Come inside!” Her mew echoed strangely from the shadows.

Lionpaw squeezed in after her.

The tunnel was pitch-black. Crouching, he wriggled forward, damp earth pressing against his pelt. What was Heatherpaw up to? This place was hardly big enough for a rabbit, let alone a cat. Suddenly, he felt space around him, cold air washing over his fur. The tunnel had widened.

Relieved, he straightened up and padded forward until he felt Heatherpaw’s breath on his cheek.

“It leads to a cave!” she mewed. “There are loads of tunnels under this part of the hill, and one of them leads right to WindClan territory.”

“How in StarClan’s name did you find it?”

“Breezepaw sent me to catch mice between the rocks just over the top of the moor, not far from camp. I chased one down into a crack and realized that the crack opened into a tunnel. When I went inside I found that there were tunnels leading everywhere.”

“Weren’t you frightened of getting lost?”

“I explored slowly at first, making sure I got to know each route really well before trying another. And then I found one that led to a cave. It’s amazing. There’s a hole in the roof where the light comes in. Then I found a way into your territory!” Her mew was triumphant. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

Lionpaw could hardly believe his ears. “A tunnel from our territory to yours!” he gasped. “That’s fantastic! If there was an attack or a fire, ThunderClan could use it to escape—”

“No!” Heatherpaw’s mew was sharp with frustration. “We mustn’t tell anyone else. Don’t you see? This can be our place!”

“Our place?”

“We can meet here without anyone ever finding us! Even Hollypaw won’t guess where you’re going.”

Lionpaw’s whiskers twitched. Now he could meet Heatherpaw as much as he liked and no one would ever know! “That’s a great idea! You’re brilliant, Heatherpaw.”

She purred and rubbed her muzzle quickly along Lionpaw’s cheek, then turned away. “Follow me. I’ll show you the cave.”

Her paw steps disappeared into the darkness. Fear surged in Lionpaw’s belly. He fought the urge to rush back out into the forest, and began to follow Heatherpaw. The blackness pressed in on him and suddenly he realized how Jaypaw must feel. He sniffed, searching for scents of fox, or rabbit or even badger, but smelled only damp earth. It was stale and musty as though no creature had walked here for moons.

“How come no one else uses this place?” he wondered.

“I guess no one’s been lucky enough to find it.” Heatherpaw’s mew echoed eerily up ahead.

“Someone must have discovered it before.”

“I’ve never smelled anything here except rock and water.”

Uneasiness tugged at Lionpaw’s pelt. “But it seems unlikely that we’re the first—” Suddenly, the tunnel brightened and opened into a large cave. Lionpaw stopped dead and stared around in astonishment. The rocky walls were lit by moonlight filtering through a small hole in the roof, just like Heatherpaw had said. The floor was smooth, dusty stone, rippled here and there as if giant paw prints had left their shape. And most amazing of all, a river wound across the floor and flowed away into a low, broad tunnel, disappearing into shadow.

A river underground? How could that be?

“Isn’t it brilliant?” Heatherpaw leaped up onto a rocky ledge. “It’ll be like our own camp! We could be DarkClan. I’ll be the leader and you can be my deputy!”

“Deputy? What if I wanted to be leader?” Lionpaw objected, scrabbling past her onto a higher ledge.

“I found the place, so I’m leader!” Heatherpaw jumped at him and knocked him off his perch.

Purring, Lionpaw landed lightly on the floor of the cave.

“Okay, Heather star,” he mewed. “What’s the plan?”

“Lionpaw, wake up!”

Lionpaw felt a soft paw nudging him in the ribs. He jerked his head up, surprised to find rock walls surrounding him.

Then he remembered. He was in the cave. Heatherpaw was sitting beside him, her eyes bleary with sleep.

“Look!” She jerked her head toward the gap in the roof.

“We dozed off.” The sky outside was pale with early morning light.

Lionpaw leaped to his paws. “I must go home!” He stared anxiously at the many tunnels opening around the walls of the cave. “Which one leads to ThunderClan?”

Heatherpaw padded to a narrow tunnel near the river’s edge. “This way.” She flicked her tail toward a wider tunnel in the facing wall. “I head up there.” Her eyes glittered. “Will you come again tonight?”

“Yes.” Lionpaw could hardly wait. “If I can get away.”