Deep Blue Eyes-- a warriors fanfic (completed story!)

Chapter 32

Flameheart crouched down, terror flooding her gaze. She had heard nursery stories of hard black stone that monsters flew across, crushing any cats in their way. As she spoke, another monster thundered by, leaving Poppyleaf screaming and their fur buffeted, a harsh taste filling their mouths.

“We’ll have to cross it,” Flowerblaze announced, looking straight to the other side. “We just have to wait until the right time.”

“But we’ll get hit!” Poppyleaf protested, “what if we die?”

“We won’t die,” Flameheart soothed, “we’ll make it.”

“But what if we don’t?” Poppyleaf tentatively placed one white paw on the Thunderpath, abruptly jerking it away, whimpering in fear.

“Be fast or you won’t,” Nightclaw meowed briskly. “This is serious, Poppyleaf.”

“I know that!” Poppyleaf protested.

“Stop bickering. We need to figure out when to cross.” Flameheart warned, annoyed. “A second can change our lives.”

Another monster sped by. Poppyleaf collapsed into a hacking fit.

“Stop overreacting. It’s not going to kill you,” Nightclaw hisses.

“But it smells like mouse bile!” Poppyleaf complained.

Flameheart turned her head to exchange a look with Flowerblaze, but Flowerblaze was murmuring something under her breath at the words “mouse bile”.

Flameheart shook her head. “Come on. Let’s go. When I say run, that means you run as though there is a monster after you.” She stared at Poppyleaf. “Got it?”

“Yes Flameheart!” Poppyleaf chirped.

“Ready?” Flameheart dug her claws into the ground as the monster passed by.

“Now!”

The four cats began to run faster than they had ever run before. Flameheart swiftly made it to the other side, followed by Flowerblaze, Nightclaw and finally Poppyleaf.

“We did it!” Poppyleaf sang, spinning excitedly around in circles. “Yay!”

“Don’t be too cheerful,” Flameheart warned. “There’s still a ways to go.”

Poppyleaf’s cheerful gaze fell, and Flameheart immediately felt guilty. “But we’ll make it. This might be the only Thunderpath.”

Poppyleaf looked a little more hopeful.

Night was falling. The cats became more tired by the heartbeat, and Poppyleaf was endlessly complaining about her pads being sore. Even Nightclaw was beginning to look tired.

“We should find someplace to rest,” Flowerblaze yawned, “we could bump into something or run into a predator and be unable to defend ourselves.”

The other three agreed.

Eventually they came to a little crevice beside the river, softly layered with moss and grass. The starlight reflected off of the river, which was calmly churning against the riverbanks. Poppyleaf immediately settled down and went to sleep, followed by Flowerblaze.

Flameheart blinked up at the stars. StarClan… please let Silverflower be alright, and don’t let her worry about me. Let her know that I’ll be back, safe and sound, and I’ll never leave her again… Flameheart groggily closed her eyes, letting sleep wash over her.

Flameheart awoke to darkness. The whole world shuddered and began to crumble, huge boulders collapsing from nowhere and crushing the earth, throwing up dirt and pebbles in their wake.