River Of Fire

Twigpaw looked at the shivering cluster of cats and wondered what they would do now. It was no use escaping from the fire, only to die later from cold and exposure. More RiverClan cats came to join them, dragging themselves out of the lake, but Twigpaw noticed that there were still cats missing.

Where are the others? she wondered. Oh, StarClan, don’t let them be dead!

Mistystar and Bramblestar were talking together, with Nightcloud from WindClan; Mistystar was clearly agitated, flexing her claws in and out. Twigpaw drew closer to hear what they were saying.

“I won’t leave any cats behind,” Mistystar was meowing. “Some of them are still missing.”

“But no more are coming,” Bramblestar pointed out patiently.

“I saw some cats escaping the other way,” Podlight put in.

“And the cats here need your care,” Bramblestar continued. “Some of them will die if they don’t find shelter. You can bring them back with us to our camp for now.”

“I’m sure Harestar would take in some cats, too,” Nightcloud added.

Mistystar hesitated, then let out a long sigh. “You’re right. We can’t stay here.”

“Then let’s get going,” Bramblestar meowed. “We can work out the details later.”

The RiverClan leader began to gather her cats together, but before they could move off, Twigpaw heard a desperate yowl coming from the other side of the stream. Whipping around, she spotted a RiverClan apprentice tottering toward the bank. Twigpaw gasped at the sight of her pelt; it seemed to be burned away down one side, exposing the flesh underneath.

She was trying to reach the log and cross the stream, but by now the fire had reached the far end of it, and flames were leaping up in her face.

“Help me!” the young cat yowled. “I can’t get on!”

“Softpaw!” The shriek of horror came from a RiverClan cat behind Twigpaw; she didn’t stop to see who it was. “Softpaw, no!”

Twigpaw was closest to the log. Before any other cat could respond, she darted across it and leaped over the licking flames at the far end. Her paws landed on hot ash, and she drew in a painful, hissing breath.

The young apprentice Softpaw was crouching on the ground in front of her, with ears flattened and her eyes screwed shut.

“It’s okay,” Twigpaw reassured her. “I’ll get you out.”

Gently she grabbed the young cat by the scruff and carried her up to the blazing end of the log. Swinging her backward to build up momentum, she tossed her high above the flames.

Softpaw let out a squeal of alarm. She landed on the log, and for a moment her paws skidded on the slick surface. Twigpaw cringed, expecting with every heartbeat that she would fall into the stream.

But at last Softpaw managed to dig her claws in and regain her balance. She scurried across the log; Shimmerpelt and Mistystar met her on the other side and covered her ears with licks.

Twigpaw spotted Alderheart standing at the far end of the log. “Twigpaw, get back over here now!” he yowled.

“I’m coming!” Twigpaw called back.

Bracing herself, she took a few paces back from the bank, then raced up to the log and hurled herself into the air with a powerful thrust of her hind paws. She felt the heat of the flames as she leaped over them. For a heartbeat she thought she had beaten the fire, but as she came down to land she felt an explosion of heat scorching along one of her back legs.

Twigpaw let out a screech of agony. She thumped down onto the log, flailed briefly with her paws, and felt herself slipping sideways. A moment later the icy water of the stream surged around her and her head went under. As she sank, she heard Alderheart yowling, “No!”

Twigpaw struggled blindly underwater, losing all sense of direction. Then her head broke the surface. Gasping for air, she thrashed with her paws and tried to propel herself to the bank. The current was much stronger here than at the border stream with WindClan, and the water deeper. The bank seemed to be racing past her at a tremendous rate.

I’ll be swept into the lake, and then I’ll never get back!

She caught a glimpse of Alderheart pelting along the bank to keep pace with her, and heard Mistystar’s voice. “Alderheart, you can’t swim! If you jump in, we’ll have to rescue both of you.”

Twigpaw was growing tired, and her waterlogged pelt was weighing her down. It was harder and harder to keep on struggling. Then, as she was sinking again, she saw Shimmerpelt and Mallownose diving into the water, with a smaller cat following them.

Finpaw? Oh, no!

Shimmerpelt and Mallownose grabbed Twigpaw, one on each side, and held her up as they pulled her toward the bank. Finpaw swam in front of her, encouraging her; Twigpaw couldn’t believe how confident he was in the water. “You’ll be fine, Twigpaw. We won’t let you drown.”

Alderheart was waiting as they reached the far side of the stream, and reached down to sink his teeth into Twigpaw’s scruff and help haul her to safety.

“Are you okay?” he demanded.