“It’s underwater, and I’m sure monsters can’t swim like fishes,” Bramblestar pointed out. Without giving Thornclaw time to argue, he launched himself onto the top of the monster. As he splashed down, the hard surface lurched beneath his paws, and panic stabbed through him as he fought for balance.
It’s alive!
But then the rocking motion steadied. Bramblestar stood still for a moment while his heart stopped thumping. “It’s fine,” he meowed breathlessly. “Follow me.”
Thornclaw, Dovewing, and Graystripe jumped onto the monster behind him, gasping as the creature swayed beneath their paws. It was impossible to sink in their claws and get a secure grip, so Bramblestar started moving as soon as Graystripe reached them, sliding his feet one by one across the slippery surface.
At the far end of the monster, it was clear they would have to swim across the deep water that covered the Thunderpath. But Bramblestar could just make out another fence leading away on the other side, past a Twoleg den toward the fields beyond RiverClan’s territory.
“Aim for that fence over there,” he meowed, pointing with his tail. “Swim!”
“Oh, StarClan,” Dovewing muttered, but she launched herself into the water and started paddling strongly.
Bramblestar reached the fence first and helped his Clanmates clamber onto it, water streaming from their pelts. The Twoleg dens here were joined together in a long line. The fence where they were clinging ran past the dens at one end, and by following it they could make their way around the back. Bramblestar led the way, finding it easier now to push his legs through the water and keep his footing on the narrow strip of submerged wood.
The cats sploshed their way past the Twoleg dens and stopped at the edge of the enclosed grass, looking out over a field to the place where RiverClan had once lived—but now it was just a stretch of shining water, with the top of a bush poking up here and there.
“It’s gone!” Thornclaw whispered. “Their whole territory is underwater!”
“There’s no way they could survive that much flooding,” Graystripe meowed.
“Wait!” Dovewing mewed. “You were at the Gathering, weren’t you? I wasn’t there, but Ivypool told me about it. Didn’t Mistystar say they’d already moved their dens away from the edge of the lake? She didn’t say where, but is it possible they were far enough away to escape the flood?”
Bramblestar nodded. “You could be right. We have to find out!”
He looked down into the field. Long strands of grass drifted on top of the water, like weeds in a stream. Bramblestar was pretty sure the cats wouldn’t be too far out of their depth now. The land had risen up slightly since the Thunderpath, and continued to rise until he could see a ridge of turf poking above the flood near the center of the field. He took a deep breath and leaped off the fence.
There was a mighty splash as he landed, but to his relief his paws struck a firm bed of grass, and when he straightened up the water only reached up to his belly fur. Without waiting for an order, the other cats jumped down beside him.
“Great StarClan!” Graystripe exclaimed. “It’s good to have my paws on the ground again.”
Bramblestar agreed, though it was still uncomfortable to wade through the flood and feel their paws sinking into sodden grass. He wasn’t looking forward to licking himself clean after this was over.
A stream ran along the far side of the field, though it had spilled over its banks, covering everything with a gray sheen. Bramblestar headed for the ridge that was clear of the flood. The water rapidly grew shallower until they were wading out onto the grass with droplets streaming from their fur.
“At last!” Graystripe exclaimed. “I thought I was turning into a fish.”
Thornclaw snorted. “You realize we’ve got to go through all this again on the way back? You’ve still got a chance to grow fins and scales.”
Farther up the ridge, as it curved toward the far corner of the field, there was a clump of low, leafless bushes. Bramblestar spotted a flash of movement underneath. He tensed, and stopped to taste the air. Beneath the now-familiar tang of the sun-drown-place, he thought he could detect RiverClan scent. Signaling with his tail for his patrol to keep close to him, Bramblestar crept forward. As they approached, two RiverClan cats rushed out of the thicket and halted in front of the ThunderClan patrol with fur bristling and eyes glaring. Bramblestar recognized the Clan deputy, Reedwhisker, and the black she-cat Shimmerpelt.
“Stop!” Reedwhisker growled. “What are—” He broke off, relaxing. “Oh, it’s you! We thought you were rogues.”
“Thank StarClan, you survived!” Dovewing gasped.
“Only just,” Shimmerpelt mewed with a shudder.
Now that he was closer, Bramblestar realized the bushes were heaving with mews and scuffling sounds. The scent of RiverClan was much stronger here.
“I’ll tell Mistystar you’re here,” Reedwhisker meowed, vanishing into the brambles.
A moment later the RiverClan leader emerged, with Mothwing, the RiverClan medicine cat, just behind her. In spite of everything, Mistystar looked calm and sleek, her blue-gray fur neatly groomed.
She dipped her head. “Greetings, Bramblestar. It’s good to see you. You must have had a struggle to get here.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Bramblestar agreed. “But we were worried about you. Is RiverClan safe?”
“RiverClan is fine,” Mistystar replied with a slight edge to her voice. “We knew the lake was rising, so when it reached our new dens we left and kept going until the water stopped chasing us.” Her voice shook a little, and it was clear that she and all her cats had been more terrified than she wanted ThunderClan to know.
“And Petalfur’s kits are okay?” Bramblestar pressed.
“Of course. Three warriors carried them. How are things in ThunderClan?” Mistystar asked.
“Not good,” Bramblestar told her. “The hollow flooded, but all of us survived, and we’ve found a safe place to stay for now.”
Perhaps it was Bramblestar’s admission that ThunderClan had lost their home too, but Mistystar seemed to soften. She padded forward to stand beside Bramblestar, and together the two leaders looked out across the flooded landscape.
“I wonder if things will ever return to how they were,” Miststar murmured. “The Great Battle, and now this… Doesn’t StarClan have the power to protect us anymore?”
“We can protect ourselves,” Bramblestar insisted. “The water won’t stay like this forever.”
“But what if it does?”
Bramblestar turned to face Mistystar. “Then we will all make new homes. We did it before; we can do it again.”
He saw warmth in her blue eyes. “Thank you for coming,” she purred. “It helps to know that we’re not suffering alone.”
Bramblestar touched his muzzle to the tip of Mistystar’s ear. “None of the Clans are alone,” he murmured. “Good luck, and may StarClan light your path.”
The RiverClan cats said good-bye with more friendliness than before, and Bramblestar led his patrol back the way they had come. There’s no way of going through the marshes to reach WindClan territory. It’s just floodwater as far as I can see.
They waded through the flooded field and with an effort, jumped back onto the fence. The water seemed even colder and murkier than before, whipped into splashy little waves by the breeze. None of the cats spoke; they just trudged along the submerged fence in concentrated silence.
Reaching the flooded Thunderpath, Bramblestar was bracing himself to swim for the drowned monster when a shriek split the air.
“Help! Oh, please help me!”
Chapter 11
