Warriors #4: Darkness Awakens

Chapter 6

Lilypetal's POV

I lay near the camp entrance panting heavily and listening to the large tree slowly hover over and then crash into the camp. There were lots of whimpers coming from behind me, and then there was silence.

I heard a gasp come from inside the camp, and I ran to see that Goldenshine, along with Pippy and Dusty, were staring straight at the tree that had fallen.

My mouth dropped as I saw that Longtail and Brairpaw were both under the tree.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Mousefur slowly trudging towards the crowd of cats that were beginning to emerge back into the camp.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Firestar asked as he ran through the gorse tunnel and into camp.

Mousefur lowered her head and then shook it slowly.

"They're gone, Firestar, I'm sure of it, and it's all my fault," Mousefur began to explain.

Firestar stared back at her, but his face showed no expression. He waited for her to continue.

"I went after a mouse, Longtail went after me and Brairpaw went after him," Mousefur went on,"None of this would have happened if it wasn't for my stubborn self. I'm sorry, Firestar."

Firestar put his tail tip on Mousefur's shoulder. "There's still hope," he almost whispered.

He turned to the rest of the Clan. "We need to try to lift this tree up! What can we do?"

Brambleclaw pulled through the crowd. "We can prop up the tree with branches," he suggested,"Then we will be able to pull Brairpaw and Longtail out of there."

Immediately, cats gathered together to pull branches from the tree in order to lift it up.

Some cats stayed behind to watch in nervousness, but I decided to pitch in and begin to gather branches to help lift up the tree.

It took a while, but finally the branches' hold was strong enough to keep the tree up, but still sturdy.

Immediately, Lionblaze started to creep his way through the branches of the tree and to the elders' den to get to Longtail and Brairpaw. I backed up to stand beside Thornclaw, my legs shaking a little from fear.

After what seemed like moons, everyone in camp was able to hear Lionblaze's yowl from the elders' den.

"Longtail is dead," he announced with dismay.

Gasps began to spread among ThunderClan, and many cats' heads lowered. I saw that Mousefur's gaze was on the ground, and she was shaking her head slowly still.

Suddenly, I could see Millie and Graystripe pushing their way through the crowd.

"Brairpaw! What about Brairpaw?" Millie shouted.

Without answering Millie, Lionblaze returned to the middle of camp after squeezing through the wreckage with Brairpaw in his jaws. He signaled to Jayfeather with his tail.

Jayfeather immediately trotted over to where Lionblaze was and observed Brairpaw, Millie and Graystripe we're close behind.

"She is still alive," Jayfeather said after a few heartbeats, "But I must see to her immediately."

As Jayfeather began to walk towards the medicine den, looking very stressed, Leafpool began to follow behind him. I tilted my head, wondering what was going to happen.

From where I was, I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but it seemed like it was a light conversation.

After a few exchanges, I could see Jayfeather nodding his head and letting Leafpool follow him into the medicine den.